Press

Laura is a Mexican feminist who has advocated for human rights, social justice, and civil society throughout her career. Before joining Global Greengrants, Laura served for seven years as the Executive Director of Fondo Semillas, a Mexican nonprofit organization that finances grassroots organizations to achieve gender equality. Laura has vast experience in grassroots philanthropy, human rights, and movements for social justice, and she has co-created networks to promote community philanthropy in the Global South. She holds a Master's Degree in International Peace and Security, from King’s College, London. She currently serves on the boards of Oxfam Mexico, Justicia Transicional MX, and El Día Después.

Dr. Nisha Owen is a conservationist with almost two decades of experience championing locally-led efforts to value and conserve the natural world for the benefit of communities and future generations. Having played an integral role in the rapid establishment and growth of charitable foundation On the Edge, Nisha brings expertise in charity leadership and organisational development, including exploring philanthropic best practices. Her previous roles at the Zoological Society of London included significantly growing their flagship EDGE of Existence Programme, and industry-leading collaborations with National Geographic and United for Wildlife, including developing the largest and only award-winning online learning conservation courses in the world. Nisha leads an IUCN expert group on the tree of life (IUCN SSC Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force), which engaged with the development of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new Global Biodiversity Framework. Nisha also sits on the Conservation Advisory Panel of the World Land Trust and serves as Trustee for London Learning Foundation, improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged communities around London. She holds a MSc, and a PhD from the University of Leeds on human-wildlife conflict in south India.

Kézha is the Vice President of External Relations at Global Greengrants Fund and comes from a long line of family working for women’s, community, and Indigenous rights. Her relative, Alice Paul, was a drafter of the Equal Rights Amendment and a key advocate for the passing of the 19th Amendment and the creation of the CSW, her father was a co-founder of the Métis Indian Alliance which advocated for Métis and Indigenous rights in the US and Canada, and her mother was deeply involved in addressing hunger and poverty in the Bay Area. Kézha carries her family’s dedication to movements seeking justice for all people, wildlife, and the Earth, and has worked to protect the health of ecosystems in the West, to strengthen communities, and to increase educational access and equity for young people in New Mexico, all with a lens of ensuring women and local people are at the heart of decision-making. She has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a M.S. in Wildlife Biology.

‘B’ de Gersigny (they/them) is a communications professional and community organizer from South Africa. For two decades they have amplified messages and movements for transformative social change. B served as Director of Communications at Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice for seven years, leading strategic communications efforts to build capacity and resources for LGBTQI communities, globally. They have consulted for grassroots nonprofits with an emphasis on solidarity philanthropy, gender and racial equity. They hold a Masters degree from Bard College, NY and a B.A. from the University of Cape Town. B has also trained in traditional healing arts, facilitating folks to come into deeper relationship with themselves, their communities and the shared planet. They believe that building narrative power is part of a longer lineage of challenging oppression, healing and resourcing for collective liberation.