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

Yalda Mohammadi is a program associate for Human Rights at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Yalda brings a demonstrated commitment to working and volunteering in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on women’s and immigrants’ rights. Some of her previous roles include teaching at-risk communities with the Institute of Reading Development, mentoring refugee families from Afghanistan, and co-leading statewide capacity… Continue Reading

Chhandasi Pandya Patel is a program officer for the Human Rights program at the Heising-Simons Foundation, where she focuses on immigrants’ rights grantmaking, and on the criminalization of immigrants. She previously worked on immigrant integration policy and demography at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington DC. Earlier in her career, she served as a program… Continue Reading

Justine Choy is a program officer for the Human Rights program at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2013, Justine served as the director of grantmaking at The Health Trust, and held program officer positions at The California Endowment, Peninsula Community Foundation, and Koret Foundation. She earned a master’s degree in public… Continue Reading

Peggy Chang is a program associate for Human Rights at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2015, Peggy was an associate consultant with VIVA Strategy + Communications, where she managed a zero-to-eight collective impact initiative. Other experiences include nonprofit fundraising and behavioral therapy to children with autism. Peggy received her master’s degree in… Continue Reading