What You Can Do to Support Black Communities: Calling Philanthropy Into Action

Nike Irvin

Vice-Chair, Riordan Foundation and SCG Board Member

Nike Irvin most recently served as Vice President of Programs at the California Community Foundation (CCF), where she provided strategic leadership in priority program areas and managed special initiatives. Before joining CCF, Irvin served as President of the Riordan Foundation for seven years and as a consultant and coach for nonprofits and foundations. She also has more than 20 years of experience in both nonprofit leadership and consulting to numerous nonprofit organizations, foundations and charitable arms of for-profit companies and organizations. A native of Los Angeles, Irvin serves on several boards of directors and is a trustee for regional and national organizations such as the Riordan Foundation and is a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute.

Rev. Sam Casey

Executive Director, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE), San Bernardino

Pastor Samuel J. Casey is a passionate husband, father of three daughters (Samantha 24, Tamia 22, and Kourtny 21) Pastor and Community Leader. Pastor Samuel serves as the Executive Director of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE). COPE's call is to galvanize the collective will of more than 5,000 congregants throughout the Inland Empire to revitalize the communities in which the live, work, and worship. Pastor Casey has over 15 years experience organizing faith leaders to engage in grassroots organizing efforts focused on education, prisoner reentry, and consumer advocacy. Pastor Casey formally led an empowerment program serving more than 500 at-risk youth in San Bernardino City Unified School District. February 2, 2014 Pastor Samuel Casey and his lovely wife, Pastor Tamika R. Casey launched a church in the city of Fontana, California where he serves as the Senior Pastor of New Life Christian Church. He is also an alumni member of the USC Center for Civic & Religious Studies – Passing the Mantle Clergy and Lay Institute.

Christine Margiotta

Executive Director, Social Venture Partners LA 

Christine Margiotta is passionate about channeling our collective power to create enduring justice and community. As Executive Director of SVP Los Angeles, she brings together nonprofit, community, and foundation leaders to fuel systemic transformation, facilitating mutual learning, deep connection, and synergistic collaboration. Christine launched SVP’s Systems Change Accelerator to bolster early-stage social justice initiatives and Anti-Racism for White People, a year-long learning journey for 170+ community leaders.

For nearly 20 years, Christine has leveraged a blend of community organizing, grantmaking, and policy change to create progress on racial and economic justice, homelessness, and LGBTQ rights. Prior to SVP, Christine was the Vice President of Community Impact at United Way of Greater LA, where she designed and led Home For Good, the region’s initiative to end homelessness. Home For Good brought together over 200 cross-sector partners and leveraged over $1 billion in resources to create housing for 35,000+ of the most vulnerable Angelenos.

Kaci Patterson

Owner, Social Good Solutions and Chief Strategist, Black Equity Initiative

Kaci Patterson brings over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to her consulting practice. She began her career in the nonprofit sector while in college and soon developed a passion to push the world forward by expanding educational, economic and political opportunities for people of color. Always with an eye toward human and community development, Kaci works with philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations and public entities to design, operationalize and manage strategic initiatives from concept to implementation. Her passion is advancing community-driven solutions to social change.

Prior to consulting, Kaci held entry-to-executive-level roles within the nonprofit sector, leading capacity building, education advocacy and social justice initiatives; serving networks of organizations, and, over 1,000 civil society leaders and public officials worldwide. In addition to managing multi-million-dollar grant-making portfolios in the United States and abroad, Kaci has created programs recognized as breakthrough contributions to the field: The School Boards and Community Engagement Initiative was highlighted by Harder+ Co Community Research in 2011 as a transformational strategy. In 2014, she co-founded and launched B.L.A.C.C. (Building Leaders and Cultivating Change), a grassroots social activism fund. She was named a 2016 California Community Foundation Unsung Hero of Los Angeles for her work with the fund; and, has served as the Chief Strategist for the Black Equity Initiative since 2017, a racial justice, systems change effort.

Gloria Walton

President & CEO, Strategic Concepts in Organizing Policy & Education (SCOPE)

Gloria Walton is President & CEO of Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), a South LA-based community organization widely recognized as a leader in the development of cutting-edge strategies to ensure that black and brown, poor and working-class communities have an equal voice in the democratic process. Under Walton’s leadership, SCOPE successfully advocated to pass a set of landmark climate bills that set targets to reduce greenhouse gases by 2030; bring accountability and transparency to state climate agencies and top polluters.

Walton currently serves on several Boards and is a Founding Advisory Board member of a national collaborative known as BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity). Additionally, she holds a Governor-appointed seat on the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council.