Katherine Acey / Executive Director

Katherine is a highly respected activist, best known for her expertise and commitment to lesbian and women's philanthropy. Her creative and inclusive vision of funding has been instrumental in setting a standard for a more progressive, diverse and community-based definition of philanthropy.

In 1987, after serving on Astraea's Board of Directors for four years, Katherine was hired as its Executive Director—the organization's first paid staff person. Under her stewardship, Astraea has enjoyed tremendous growth. The Foundation's Grants program has been expanded to fund local, regional and international organizations as well as cultural and media work. In 1990, Astraea established the nation's first Lesbian Writers Fund; and in 1996, Astraea created The International Fund for Sexual Minorities—the only fund of it's kind in the U.S.

From 1982 to 1987, Katherine served as the Associate Director of the North Star Fund in New York City. She has been involved in the Women's Funding Network since its inception, serving as both board member and chair. She is also a founding member and past chair of the Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues and has served as a board or advisory member to countless organizations including: Women in the Arts, the Center for Anti-Violence Education, New York Women Against Rape, MADRE and Women Make Movies. Katherine is past chair of the National Executive Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, and a member of the Arab Women's Gathering Organizing Committee.

For her leadership in building a multi-cultural women's funding movement, Katherine was honored by the Women's Funding Network. Among her other honors are the Cross Cultural Black Women's Studies Institute for International Women's Leadership Award, the NYC National Organization for Women Susan B. Anthony Award and the Women & Philanthropy LEAD Award.

Katherine has traveled extensively in the U.S. speaking on issues of philanthropy, sexual orientation, race and class. Internationally, she has participated in numerous women's and LGBTI delegations and gatherings in Africa, Asia, Central America and Europe.

Jennifer Einhorn / Director of Communications

Jennifer is a communications strategist who has worked in the social justice, arts and health activism arenas for over fifteen years. She is a former Director of Communications for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and MAMM magazine (the publication for women with breast and reproductive cancers). During her tenure there, and as principal of her own public relations firm, Jennifer has designed media and investment campaigns, and served as an opinion piece writer, lecturer and spokesperson. She has secured top-tier coverage for clients including National Center for Lesbian Rights and the American Library Association in venues such as: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New Republic, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People; and on CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR and the BBC. She and her partner have a young daughter.

Miles Goff / Executive Assistant

Miles is a queer transman born and raised in rural Vermont, one of six kids. He received a BA in Critical Social Thought from Mount Holyoke College in 2004, focusing his independent work on power and resistance in the service sector of the economy. Most recently coming from Americans for Safe Access as well as various caffeine-pushing gigs, Miles is excited to be working at Astraea. In his spare time, he likes to ride his bike, read and try to make the world a better place. Miles feels lucky to have been able to work with the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop, the Movement Strategy Center, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and the Audre Lorde Project on various projects over the last two years.

Melissa Hoskins / Communications Associate

Melissa Hoskins is an organizer and communications devotee who works primarily in LGBTI, racial, and environmental justice. She holds a BA from Oberlin College in Women's Studies and Creative Writing, where she was a student leader in the Women's and American Indian movements, serving as a co-chair of the American Indian Council. Prior to joining Astraea, she served as a program coordinator for the Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. Currently, Melissa sits on the steering committee of the People of Color Leadership Roundtable and is Co-Chair of the Board of the North East Two-Spirit Society, a community building and advocacy group for LGBTI First Nations peoples.

Jazmine Irizarry / Director of Administration

Prior to joining Astraea, Jaz was the office manager of a physical therapy practice in Long Beach, California. Earlier, she had served as a physical therapy assistant at Bellwood General Hospital, and as the office manager for a manufacturing company. Upon arriving east, Jaz began her work with Astraea—initially as the organization's first administrative assistant in 1996. Over the years, Jaz has worn many hats at the Foundation, and recently became Astraea's Director of Administration. In her spare time, Jaz likes to visit book and music stores, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.

Mai KIANG / Associate Director of Grantmaking

Mai is a culture activist, born and raised under martial-law in Taiwan. Prior to joining Astraea's staff, she was the Special Events Manager at New York University. Mai is a past member of Astraea's U.S. Community Funding Panel, a two-term board member and a former board chair. Throughout her career, Mai has worked extensively with grassroots queer, feminist of color, and progressive media groups. She most enjoys bringing communities together to provide a space for sharing and dialogue across disciplines, focuses and strategies.
Mai arrived in New York in 1991 to join the staff of Women Make Movies, an independent feminist film distributor, and helped bring about feminist film exhibitions and productions locally and internationally. Later Mai joined Impact Visuals, a leftist photo cooperative where she was elected to multiple terms as the chief steward to the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers' Union, and later as a part of the management team to administer an archive of close to one-million social-issue photographs by over nine hundred photojournalists worldwide.
In addition to her work at Astraea, Mai is the co-founder and co-chair of the Institute for Tongzhi Studies, a New York-based group focusing on supporting queer artists and scholars in Chinese communities worldwide. Mai is also the co-convener of the 2007 Lala Camp, first multi-region mandarin speaking LBT leadership camp in mainland China.

Joy Michael / Accounting Clerk

Joy was born on the island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Growing up in a family of ten, she graduated with honors in the summer of 2006 from Monroe College, earning a BA in Accounting. While completing her studies, Joy shared her love of math as a tutor at the Boys and Girls Club and Jefferson Elementary School in New Rochelle, NY. In her spare time she enjoys reading, swimming, listening to music and traveling. Her next goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant. Joy believes in equal rights for all and that no person should be discriminated against based on their race, religion, gender, or sexuality.

Lorraine Ramirez / Program Associate

Lorraine is currently on the Capital Campaign Committee of the Audre Lorde Project (ALP), a community organizing center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color; and has served on the Board of ALP and Queers for Economic Justice. During her undergraduate studies at Pomona College, she was a leader in feminist and queer student organizing. She has lived and worked several summers at Hidden Villa Ranch, an organic farm in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is committed to community education, social justice activism and environmental stewardship. Lorraine currently lives in Brooklyn.

Dulce Reyes / Program Officer

Dulce Reyes is a Dominican immigrant, whose first job in the U.S. was at a potpourri factory. Her social justice/service work—with and on behalf of LGBT youth and adults, low-income people of color, and immigrants across all lines of difference—spans over 13 years. As an activist, she has volunteered multi-year service on the Community Funding Panel of the North Star Fund (the decision-making board of an activist foundation supporting multi-issue social change in NYC), the Steering Committee/Board of Las Buenas Amigas and the Latino Workers Center, and the Working Group on Women's Organizing at ALP. Dulce was also the first director of the New York Immigration Coalition's successful Community Action Program. Prior to joining Astraea, she worked at the Medgar Evers College Women's Center and taught ESL as a NYC Teaching Fellow. She holds a master's degree in Sociology from Brooklyn College and a graduate certificate in sexuality studies from the University of Amsterdam. Dulce has received many community service awards and has authored articles on sexuality and culture, as well as immigrant issues.

Alexandra Teixeira / Philanthropic Partnership Officer

Alexandra has been involved with women's funds and social change philanthropy for the past eight years. In addition to her work at Astraea, Alexandra serves on the board of directors of the Third Wave Foundation and Resource Generation - two organizations committed to increasing resources for progressive social justice agendas. Prior to joining Astraea, Alexandra developed strategies and tools for collaborative sexual rights advocacy within the United Nations as the global advocacy coordinator for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). She has also served on the NGO Task Force of the Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Women, worked as an evaluation consultant to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and as a program associate at the Global Fund for Women. Alexandra holds a master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Tata Traore-Rogers / Deputy Director

Tata recently joined Astraea as Deputy Director. With a strong emphasis on women's self-determination, she has an extensive background in non-profit management and service delivery. Fluent in five languages and a former resident of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and France, Tata brings a unique intercultural perspective to her work. For the past eight years, Tata served as a Director for the Prevention Division of Harlem United Community AIDS Center. During her tenure there, she designed and managed innovative HIV prevention programs, including behavioral interventions focusing on risk-reduction and prevention support for immigrant communities, women of color, and LGBTQ populations. Additionally, she worked to improve service access for undocumented, immigrant women--increasing cultural competency and bridging gaps present within the HIV service landscape of New York City. Prior to Harlem United, Tata worked at Montefiore Hospital, Pathways to Housing and Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, where she provided support and assistance for clients seeking mental health, homelessness, domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse services.

In addition to her work at Astraea, Tata serves as an advisor to Sauti Yetu Center for African Women, an advocacy organization that works on women's rights within the global women's, human rights and social justice movements. She is also is a candidate for a Master of Public Health (Community Health) at Hunter College's Schools of the Health Professions. After obtaining her MPH, Tata plans to pursue a PhD in either Cultural or Clinical Psychology, marrying her strongest academic passions of language, culture and psychology. She lives in Brooklyn with her two young daughters, Saffronia and Leilani.

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