As co-founder and managing partner of the Jobin-Leeds Partnership for Democracy and Education, LLC, Maria with her spouse Greg plans and directs the firm’s research, investments, programs, client services, grants management, strategic alliances, communications and operations. She is leading the Partnership’s formation of a pipeline for progressive women candidates in Massachusetts.
For more than a decade, Maria has marshaled resources for candidates and ballot questions that motivate the electorate and speak to issues that are important to low income communities, African Americans, Latinos, immigrants and women. Maria’s career in philanthropy and civic engagement began at an early age from watching and helping her parents in their efforts on civil rights and feminism and global citizenship. She was born and lived in Puerto Rico as a child, and she spent time in the Sudan as a college student, where her education about the privileges of class, race and gender began. Maria started her education career as a health and biology teacher in a parochial, inner-city high school. She spent the first ten years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic providing counseling to people testing positive for HIV and training AIDS educators. She came to understand that only by addressing a root cause of the epidemic – the lack of political power on the part of people affected – would there be any chance for success in curbing the problem.
In 1999, Maria founded the Access Strategies Fund (www.accessstrategies.org). As Chair, with the board and staff, they address the political root causes of social and economic disparities. Access Strategies funds and assists community based organizations in underrepresented, low-income, communities of color and women’s communities to make their voices heard in the creation of sound public policies in Massachusetts. This collaborative, movement building work has produced large increases in voter turnout in urban African American, Latino and immigrant communities in the Commonwealth. Maria relishes and encourages the now frequent winning candidates resulting from community organizing and increased voter turnout supported by Access and she looks forward to the resulting shifts in policy and budget priorities. Maria’s strategy is to build organizational capacity for progressives and to help create opportunity for these personnel to become leaders and their organizations and issues to become mainstream and provide for the common good.
Maria helped found the Schott Foundation for Public Education in 1991, shaping mission, strategy, board, senior staff and outcomes, most recently as chair of the Strategy Committee. Schott supports the movement for high quality education by elevating the leadership of women and supporting the grassroots, bringing national attention to systemic discrimination against black boys, and leading funding efforts to better nurture all children.
Maria was a grants advisor to Tides Foundation Voter Action fund and is on the board of Campaign for America’s Future/IAF. The former Commonwealth Coalition of Massachusetts board also solicited her membership. She has advised donors and foundations focused on electoral engagement, and led workshops at foundation conferences showcasing the work of grantee partners in civic engagement. Her financial investment acumen marries socially-responsible investing with above-average returns. She is recognized by the Critical Impact Award from the Council on Foundations to Schott, the Monsignor Romero Award from the Foundation for Self Sufficiency in Central America (FSSCA), and the Morgenthau Award for Human Rights from the Cambridge City Democratic Committee. She was a 2008 recipient of the Center for Community Change Champion award honoring her efforts in immigrant and poor people’s civic advancement. Maria helped to established Young Sisters for Justice at the Boston Women’s Fund, getting girls to direct philanthropy to girls. Maria earned a Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Bachelor’s degree from Colby College.
As the Chief Investment Officer Greg works closely with the Investment Committee and Internal/External advisors. With over 20 years of experience Greg has made a career out of launching and nurturing successful, high-impact public policy organizations. His talent for recruiting effective leaders and guiding their efforts to break new ground has led to milestone victories for the nation's historically underserved children and most under-represented families.
In 2007, Greg was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to serve on the Massachusetts' Readiness Project Leadership Council, specifically as a member of the Long-term Funding subcommittee. Greg is a co-founder and the Chair of Schott Foundation for Public Education and a co-founder and a board member of Access Strategies Fund.
As the son of immigrants who escaped Nazi persecution, Greg lives the commitment of fighting for fairness and social justice. He is driven by the fundamental belief that excellence is the result of inclusion not exclusion. Greg has been dedicated to educational excellence throughout his career. Early on he worked as a high school English teacher, then he trained adult literacy teachers, and more recently he has worked to increase political access for disenfranchised populations.
He has a Master's degree from Teacher's College, Columbia University and more than 25 years of education, public policy, media, community organizing and leadership experience. He is a powerful speaker on the topic of "Strategic Philanthropy."
As Director of Programs at the Jobin-Leeds Partnership for Democracy and Education, Jeffrey shapes delivery of client-directed, original research and provides technical assistance to client-funded organizations that work to shift political power to women and people of color from low income communities.
Jeffrey’s more than 20 years of management expertise in business, non-profits, public policy advocacy and progressive politics along with a keen interest in social justice make him the ideal choice to augment the Partnership's uncanny knack for discovering new, game-changing political opportunities for its clients. The programs Jeffrey directs include the National Electoral Project, The Massachusetts Progressives Pipeline Project and the Partnership’s collaboration with Education Voters of Massachusetts. He served as an advisor to the Partnership for two years prior to joining the team as Director of Programs in 2008.
Jeffrey has developed public policy advocacy programs for non-profits that provide housing, social and legal services to people living in material poverty. A business plan Jeffrey developed for a community-based organization was a finalist in the Yale School of Management National Business Plan Competition for Non-profits. Jeffrey has served as District Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California and as policy staffer for United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. He has volunteered in political campaigns in several states, including Deval Patrick’s successful 2006 race for governor of Massachusetts.
Born in 1960s Mississippi where his parents (a pastor and an educator) were engaged in the movement for civil rights, Jeffrey sees civic engagement as the primary means for disenfranchised people to achieve political power in the United States. His first political memory is Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 campaign for President of the United States. Jeffrey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies at Brandies University and studied political philosophy at St. John's College, Oxford University in England. He began his professional career in real estate development in 1985. In the decades since then, his career has spanned real estate finance, entertainment, philanthropy, politics and public policy.
Jeffrey has served on many boards, including the Prison University Project at San Quentin, California and Head Start of Oakland. He is a proud alumnus of one of the first Head Start programs in the United States, the Child Development Group of Mississippi.
Michael joined the Partnership in 2007 and serves as the National Electoral Project Manager. Michael brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the Partnership. Michael has led and worked with grassroots tenant and environmental organizations in Massachusetts and New England since 1987 in 501c3 and 501c4 capacities, as well as with grassroots political action committees. Starting out as a community organizer in Lowell, he worked as a tenant organizer in Boston, helped to launch renewable energy programs at Mass Energy Consumer Alliance, and held a previous staff position as New England Regional Director with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund from 2000 to 2003. His experience and skills are in the areas of voter engagement, targeting, contact, and turnout programs; Electoral, legislative and grassroots strategy and organizing; Media communications, community education, and marketing. As a donor advisor since 2003, he has created and executed national funding strategy projects, directing resources to progressive efforts and organizations. Michael has a Masters Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University.
Remona joined the Partnership for Democracy and Education, LLC in 2007 as the Executive Assistant, and was later promoted to Operations & Special Projects Coordinator. She manages the administrative operations for the LLC. She brings a wealth of skills and experience from the field of human services and organizational management. Her experience and background consists of Human Services, Resident Organizing, Board Development, Criminal Justice, and Residential Property Management.
She has a passion for empowering people. A former member of the Boston Housing Authorities Resident Advisory Board she served 5 years as a board member and 3 years as a Co-Chair. In July of 2005 she initiated and successfully partnered with 8 organizations to hold the first Resident Leadership Summit for public housing residents in Boston. She continues to serve on the Community Committee sub-committee of Partners for Health and Housing Prevention Research Center. In 2008 Remona was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Advisory Board.
Remona has a M.S. in Organizational Management and a B.S. in Human Services with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Springfield College. She studied at Curry College for certification in Residential Property Management. When she is not involved in community service or playing Bingo, she enjoys spending time with her granddaughters Monet and Kennedi.
