Development Team

Faisal Al-Juburi has served the not-for-profit sector for over 15 years, positioning dynamic public and private partnerships that facilitate lasting social impact. His credits include leading the philanthropy team at RAICES; negotiating the merger of Bridges of Understanding into Soliya, a pioneer in Virtual Exchange education; heading the public health and environmental initiative MillionTreesNYC for New York Restoration Project (NYRP); serving as a corporate relations specialist at the Kennedy Center, where he advised on “Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World” and leveraged special events for expansive sponsorships; and working with Ford’s Theatre to launch “The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign,” a $60 million effort that reinvented the historic site as an education and leadership campus. Standing at the intersection of art and administration, Faisal has also executive produced myriad experiential tributes in honor of trailblazing global citizens, including Reem Acra, Heather Headley, and, Julie Taymor, and creative-directed the 70th anniversary celebration of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, featuring opera star Isabel Leonard and immigrant rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas. A first generation Iraqi American, Faisal currently resides in Manhattan, where he leads the Board of Directors for Rosie’s Theater Kids alongside the organization’s namesake Rosie’ O’Donnell.

Email: [email protected]
Location: New York, NY
Pronouns: he / him / his
Start Year: 2019

Marlene Diaz is an experienced and energetic Executive Assistant with over 20 years of experience in events, marketing, and promotions, including award shows and concerts featuring Ricky Martin, Alejandro Fernandez, Shakira, and Gloria Estefan. She has supported c-suite executives in both for-profit and not-for-profit corporations. In her current capacity of Executive Assistant, she is responsible for key project management initiatives for the Office of Development. She is guided by her passion for community building, which makes RAICES the perfect place for her!

Email: [email protected]
Location: San Antonio, TX
Start Year: 2020

Megan VanKuiken has over a decade of experience fundraising for campaigns and national not-for-profits around social impact movements including LGBTQ+ equity, reproductive freedom, workers rights, and immigration. Megan’s professional portfolios have included the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, South, and Western territories of the U.S. She views philanthropy as a revolutionary act and loves connecting people’s giving power to their respective passions, which ultimately determines history, her-story, and our collective story. A proud Midwesterner, Megan holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and currently resides on the West Coast.

Email: [email protected]
Location: Sacramento, CA
Start Year: 2019

Rhonda Rogers Armor has more than 20 years in not-for-profit fundraising, higher education, arts administration, association management, and government. During her five years with the revered Alley Theatre, Rhonda established the first major gifts program in the company’s history. She then became the first and only regional gift officer for the LSU Foundation during a critical juncture in the institution’s growth. Earlier in her career, Rhonda’s love of theater, music, and dance was stoked by producing a smash improv comedy show and presenting Broadway productions and world-renowned artists to a university community. She is also proud of founding Volunteer LSU, which still serves the university and region today. Rhonda’s approach to fundraising is focused on giving donors more access to the organizations they support and providing opportunities to accomplish something meaningful with their gifts. That paired with her “it never hurts to ask” philosophy has resulted in significant increases in philanthropic support everywhere she has served. An alumna of LSU with a degree in English Literature, Rhonda is a Louisiana native and now makes her home in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Stan. They share three children living on both coasts. She sings whenever anyone will listen, serves in several leadership roles at her church, actively works to increase the Monarch butterfly population, and is in training to become a volunteer deputy voter registrar.

Email: [email protected]
Location: Houston, TX
Pronouns: she / her / hers
Start Year: 2019

Malwina Łyś-Dobradin has over 15 years of experience in creating and managing strategic initiatives at the intersection of art, culture, and social justice. She began her career by developing a Columbia University residency on the theme of arts and citizenship for the late President Václav Havel. The residency featured 20 public events on campus and at collaborating organizations, including the Apollo Theater, MoMA, and The Public Theater with special guests including Anna Deavere Smith, Wole Soyinka, and President Bill Clinton. At Columbia, she continued to develop two signature arts and culture programs, the Arts Initiative and Studio-X, with the collaboration of artists, cultural organizations, and strategic partners from across New York City and around the globe. Today, she leads RAICES creative projects and partnerships that aim to elevate the discourse on immigration justice, unite us through our common humanity, and build bridges towards mutual understanding. Malwina immigrated to the United States from Poland. She is a graduate of Columbia University with a BA in Political Science and Creative Writing, an MS in Fundraising Management and Nonprofit Administration, an MA in Sociology, and an MPhil in Communications. She is a PhD candidate in Communications at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she developed a course that examines the role of arts and culture criticism across eight art forms in shaping public discourse on key cultural, political, social, and economic issues, and served as the researcher for Dr. Agnès Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
(mal-vee-na)

Email: [email protected]
Location: New York, NY
Start Year: 2019

Alma Sove, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, is a licensed attorney whose work focuses on writing that deconstructs complex legal topics for ease of accessibility and practical use. While working three years in private practice, Alma represented several clients whose choice for Spanish-language often meant vital legal concepts were not readily available in Spanish, including estate planning, employment law, taxation and business formation, workers compensation adjudications, and medical billing. Resolving this information gap spurred Alma’s path supporting others navigating the legal field. Following private practice, Alma worked in complex discovery for nearly five years with a top-100 litigation firm, regularly translating Spanish-language business communications as part of government, internal, and shareholder initiated investigations — work that increased a legal and language affinity with corporate law, finance, consumer protection laws, and litigation. She also devoted significant time outside firm hours devoted to pro bono writing projects, and volunteering throughout the Dayton, Ohio, community. In addition to formal training in the law, Alma has completed training in grant writing, editing, journalistic ethics, and fact-checking. Her work experience incorporates extensive digital copywriting, fundraising, SEO and data analytics, and best practices in major donor cultivation.

Email: [email protected]
Location: Dayton, OH
Pronouns: she / her / ella
Start Year: 2020

Kelcey Harvell has been part of the RAICES team since the not-for-profit’s extraordinary growth in 2018, strategically applying her background in youth leadership development, operations, and interdepartmental administration. Her credentials include structuring a corporate employee giving program currently valued at $2.5 million annually. With her strong understanding of both philanthropy and business, Kelcey has also helped Girls on the Run Bexar County and Lonestar BMX establish their own workplace giving programs. She earned her associate’s degree in General Studies at Austin Community College. Kelcey is a proud dog mom, Brené Brown aficionado, and currently resides in San Antonio, where she volunteers for Girls on the Run.

Email: [email protected]
Location: San Antonio, TX
Pronouns: she / her / hers
Start Year: 2018

Selina Hernando is an experienced freelance writer and database administrator with a demonstrated history of working in educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations. In her capacity as Development Systems Manager at RAICES, Selina oversees all donation data entry within the CRM EveryAction; works in partnership with Finance on accrual reconciliation of contributed revenue monthly; and analyzes fundraising key performance indicators in coordination with department leadership. Prior to joining RAICES, she began her Development career at San Antonio Pets Alive! as Development and Marketing Associate and continues her local support of animal welfare as Volunteer Marketing Manager for Protecting Animals Within San Antonio (P.A.W.S.). Selina holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism (BJ) from The University of Texas at Austin and master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Location: San Antonio, TX
Pronouns: she / her / hers
Start Year: 2018

Isabel Lozoya joined RAICES in 2021 upon graduating from Texas State University with a BA in Political Science, International Studies, and Spanish. At university, Isabel served as President of Supporting Women in Political Science, Historian for Terry Scholars at Texas State University, and Event Coordinator for HSI STEM grant-funded programs. Prior to joining RAICES, she was an Administrative Aide at the Texas House of Representatives, where she assisted with constituent casework, and interned for the City of Houston.

Location: San Antonio, TX
Pronouns: she / her / hers
Start Year: 2021

Rodolfo “Ro” Moran has been in the not-for-profit field for over 15 years, working with organizations including New York Cares, ANDRUS, and Rising Ground to serve youth, immigrants, and people with mental health challenges. A passionate champion of volunteerism and community relations, Ro has served in both staff and board capacities; launched volunteerism and mentorship initiatives; developed corporate engagement programs that aid capacity building; and specialized in accreditation and not-for-profit best practices, focusing on training and coordinating national reviewers. He is passionate about social justice and has served locally as a member of his town’s Police Oversight Committee, Police Reform Committee, Downtown Redevelopment Committee, Comprehensive Plan Committee, Youth Bureau, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Ro holds a BA in Political Science, International Relations, and Economics from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.

Email: [email protected]
Location: New York, NY
Pronouns: he / him / his
Start Year: 2020

Victoria “Vikki” Ramirez is a lifelong San Antonio resident. As she moves to honor the communities that have bolstered successes through her, she believes in the reciprocity of investing back into community care. Additionally, her mother began a small not-for-profit in South Texas when Vikki was a child, so she has long understood the power of volunteerism and advocacy in service to mission-driven causes. Prior to joining RAICES, Vikki enjoyed tenures at Martinez Street Women’s Center and as an AmeriCorps member with City Year San Antonio. She holds a Master’s of Public Administration and is currently a PhD candidate in Culture, Literacy, and Language. As our Volunteer Engagement Manager, Vikki is driven by interconnection and works to deepen the relationships between our organization and our passionate volunteer community.

Location: San Antonio, TX
Pronouns: she/they
Start Year: 2022

Carla Gonzalez has specialized in volunteer data analytics and management at RAICES since 2018 after first being introduced to the organization as a volunteer herself. Carla immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a young adult and has amassed over 20 years in for-profit customer service, and engagement. She currently leads volunteer onboarding and orientation designed to maximize community relations, brand affinity, and retention.

Location: San Antonio, TX
Pronouns: she / her /hers
Start Year: 2018