Post: Firearm Violence is Not Inevitable
The last few weeks have brought us Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton––more mass shootings, more deaths by firearms. We grieve with the victims, their families, and their communities.
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Post: Making Headlines: Grantees in the News, July 2019
The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in July 2019. Ways to Better Serve Often-Misunderstood English-Learners With… Continue Reading
Post: U.S. Cities and States Stepping Up to Lead on Climate Change and Clean Energy
As more Americans become concerned about climate change, cities and states around the country are taking bold actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to cleaner sources of energy.
Post: Op-Ed by Board Chair Liz Simons on Early Childhood Education and Women’s Rights
“In Gavin Newsom, California finally has a governor who gets the need for high quality, accessible early childhood education and care. His budget makes a down payment of nearly $2 billion addressing the early years. And yet a recent poll conducted by the Policy Analysis for California Education and the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education shows that California voters rank early childhood spending below other educational priorities,” Heising-Simons Foundation Board Chair and co-founder Liz Simons writes in an Op-Ed for CalMatters this week.
Post: Grantee Borealis Philanthropy Launches Spark Justice Fund
Earlier this month, Borealis Philanthropy announced the official launch of the Spark Justice Fund (SJF), a new donor collaborative awarding $1,745,000 to eight organizations to end money bail, advance pretrial justice reform, and build power in communities most impacted by incarceration.
Post: Crisis Resources from First 5 Santa Clara County
In the wake of the tragedy at the Gilroy Garlic Festival this weekend, Heising-Simons Foundation grantee partner First 5 Santa Clara extends support to the Gilroy community.
Person: Gina Peralta
Gina Peralta is a program officer with the Human Rights program at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2019, Gina served as the director of site management at The W. Haywood Burns Institute (the Burns Institute), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing racial and ethnic equity in the justice system by… Continue Reading
Post: Astronomer Andrea Ghez Transforms Scientific Understanding of Supermassive Black Holes
Over the past 23 years, grantee partner Dr. Andrea Ghez and her team of astronomers at UCLA’s Galactic Center Group (GCG) have patiently observed and analyzed data to understand the interplay between galaxies and supermassive black holes. The latter possess such strong gravitational fields that not even the speed of light can escape their pull.
Person: Jessica Hickok
Jessica Hickok is the Salesforce administrator and architect at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the foundation in 2019, she served as grants manager at several Bay Area philanthropies for over a decade, including the Pisces Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation. Jessica received her bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Princeton University.