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Current Multicultural Fellows
Meet Our Multicultural Fellows:
Jessica Buendía
Prasi Gupta
Shalini Iyer
Tara Genea Wilson
Jessica (Jessie) Buendía is the 2010-2012 environment program fellow at the San Francisco Foundation and
currently serves on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Community Advisory Committee, the Rose Foundation's Grassroots Funding Board,
and the Greenlining Academy Alumni Board. Before joining The San
Francisco Foundation, Jessie studied environmental policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs. As a graduate consultant, she worked with
Mayor Cory A. Booker to create a sustainability action plan for the City of
Newark. She also
worked with Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, an environmental
justice organization in India, to promote the role of waste-recyclers in
India’s climate change mitigation
policies. Before attending graduate school, Jessie was a legislative field
representative for East Bay Senator Loni Hancock and a policy fellow at the
Greenlining Institute. In both capacities, she led initiatives by multi-ethnic
coalitions to improve the environmental, health, and economic opportunities of
communities of color in California. While Jessie’s heart is in
California, her roots are in the Midwest. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from
Macalester College in Minnesota,
and was raised by an incredible single mother and extended family in Iowa and Mexico.
Prasi Gupta is the 2011-2013 public policy and civic engagement program fellow. Prasi’s
passion for direct organizing in the social and economic justice movement began
as an intern for the United States Student Association (USSA) and a fellow for
the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR.) He continued his activism by working for the
national office of Jobs with Justice. Prasi has spent the past 11 ½ years with the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees International
Union (AFSCME). Prasi began his career with AFSCME as a union organizer. After
several years leading 3 statewide organizing campaigns, he joined the Education
and Leadership Training department as the western region Education Coordinator.
Prasi is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Shalini Iyer is the 2011-2013 community health program fellow. Shalini comes to the Foundation
from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Tobacco Policy and
Control Program. As an analyst, she gained experience in conducting
program evaluation as well as providing technical assistance on various
aspects of evaluation including survey design, data management, analysis
and presentation of data. Over the past several years she has been
involved in numerous research projects on a variety of health issues
including primary care access, food access, cancer, CPR, diabetes,
trauma, and genetics. In a previous position she designed policy
proposals to train personnel from underserved communities, particularly
communities of color, for careers in health information technology and
management. A passionate advocate for accessible health services, Shalini
has been volunteering in a community initiative, Fixing Philly, which
provides short-term hunger and health care relief to homeless people in
Philadelphia. Shalini has a BA in Hispanic Studies and a Masters in
Public Health both from the University of Pennsylvania. She is also
Certified in Public Health by the National Board of Public Health
Examiners.
- Tara Genea Wilson, Education Program Fellow
Tara Genea Wilson is the 2010-2012 education program fellow. Prior to joining The San Francisco Foundation, Tara worked on critical state policy issues affecting California’s most vulnerable children and families as program manager of Child Care Law Center. After graduate school, she continued her investigation of early childhood education policy issues as a consultant with the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. A San Francisco native, Tara has worked to enhance the educational opportunities for young people in the city’s underserved communities with notable organizations including Aim High and Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, where she served as director of training and professional development. Tara completed the Leadership Program in Early Childhood at Mills College, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership and a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She currently serves on the board of directors of Blue Skies for Children in Oakland and sits on the alumni council of The Urban School of San Francisco.