Our People
[Tag line]
Photo Credit: Hill-Snowdon Foundation
Hill-Snowdon Founder
Hill-Snowdon Trustees
Hill-Snowdon Staff
ARTHUR B.
FOUNDER
HILL
ARTHUR B. HILL | Founder of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation
Arthur Bullock Hill was born to homesteaders in Oklahoma City on October 20, 1892. As one of many children, money was very tight in the Hill household. He left school at the age of twelve to go to work at a drugstore, which he purchased within a few years. In his early twenties he sold the drugstore and took a job in pharmaceutical sales. On a sales trip to Dallas, he met Marguerite Stewart. They married in 1914 and settled in Dallas. Lillian Lee, their only daughter, was born in 1919 and married Edward Snowdon in 1941.
On another sales trip, Arthur met a senior manager of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which was fast becoming the nation’s largest medical product company. When Arthur was offered a job with the firm he moved the family to Chicago in the early thirties to head the Midwest sales division. In the late thirties, the Hills moved to New Jersey to be near J&J’s New Brunswick headquarters, settling first in Bound Brook and later in Plainfield.
Despite his lack of formal education, Arthur worked his way up in the company. When he retired in 1948, he was the Vice President of Sales and on the Board of Directors. Arthur retired relatively early for health reasons but remained on the Board for several years after his retirement. The company went public in 1943, and like many senior executives, Arthur took stock options in lieu of pay during the war. This would prove to be a fortuitous move, as stock prices steadily climbed over the following decades while the company expanded and diversified.
After his retirement, Arthur became more involved in social and civic life in Plainfield. He was active in a number of social organizations and local charities. He founded the local Community Chest, which later became the United Way of New Jersey. He also supported a home for wayward boys in Nebraska and funded a settlement house in the Black neighborhood of Plainfield. As a result of his humble beginnings, Arthur felt it was his responsibility to help those less fortunate. But he also believed that individuals are responsible for helping themselves, as he had done. He had a deep understanding of the medical system and worried that the unequal access to decent healthcare would lead to serious social unrest.
In 1959, Arthur founded the Hill-Snowdon Foundation in New Jersey with several thousand dollars in assets, primarily J&J stock. He served as a trustee until his death in 1983.
ASHLEY
BOARD
BLANCHARD
VICE PRESIDENT
ASHLEY SNOWDON BLANCHARD | Vice President
Ashley Snowdon Blanchard, great-granddaughter of Arthur B. Hill, is a seasoned nonprofit strategy and management consultant, with a focus on strategic planning for family foundations. She heads the philanthropy practice at Lansberg Gersick & Associates, where she helps families create philanthropic institutions that make a meaningful impact in the world, and that provide a rewarding family experience. She also works with enterprising families to develop strategies for integrating their philanthropic and wealth utilization activities into their broader continuity plans.
Ashley works with family foundations to help them clarify and align their social impact and family engagement goals. She helps families define their collective vision for their philanthropy, and then build the structures and programs to support that vision. She applies her deep knowledge of family foundation governance to her consulting work and regularly presents and writes on family philanthropy for the National Center for Family Philanthropy, Exponent Philanthropy, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and regional associations and affinity groups. She is a fourth-generation family trustee of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation and Vice Chair of the board of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. Before to coming to Lansberg Gersick & Associates, Ashley worked as a consultant to foundations, first at TCC Group, and later in her own practice.
Ashley is a graduate of Stanford University and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Public Policy. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.
ELIZABETH
BOARD
BONNER
PRESIDENT
ELIZABETH "LIZ" BONNER | President
Elizabeth Snowdon Bonner (Liz), great-granddaughter of Arthur B. Hill, is President of the Board of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation.
Liz is Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Advancement Committee of the National Children’s Museum in Washington, DC. Liz serves on the Development Committee of the Governing Board of National Cathedral School, her high school alma mater, and is a member of the Head of School’s Cabinet at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School. She was a co-facilitator of the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP)’s 2023 Trust-Based Philanthropy Learning & Action Cohort and is a Co-Chair of NCFP’s Board Chair Peer Network.
In 2004, she opened Nusta Spa, a full-service LEED-certified day spa in downtown DC. Liz owned and operated Nusta until 2017, when she sold the spa to her business partner. Her previous work experience was in corporate communications and investor relations in San Francisco. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where she was named a John W. Rollins Scholar for leadership and academic achievement.
Liz lives in Washington, DC with her husband, son, and two adorable dogs.
MARIA
COMMUNITY
BRENES
TRUSTEE
MARIA BRENES | Trustee
María Brenes is the proud daughter of immigrants from Mexico who settled down in Los Angeles with dreams of starting and raising a family in the United States. María is the eldest of four and lived in Los Angeles until the age of nine after her father suffered an accident that made his job as a gardener challenging. As the sole breadwinner, remaining in LA was economically challenging. María’s family moved to the border town of Tecate in Baja California, Mexico. To support his family, Maria’s father became a border commuter worker, and María and her siblings crossed with him to attend public schools in East San Diego County. Her parents’ sole dream was for their children to go to college.
From an early age, María experienced first-hand societal inequities. As a child, she and her younger brothers crossed the border hoping to get prepared for higher education. But this was not without struggle. In 1993, at the eve of the state ballot measure Proposition 187, María and her peers became the target of anti-immigrant sentiment and harassment that was brewing in California.
She refused to stand down. María organized hundreds of families to speak out against the racism and injustice they were enduring. Together, María and a groundswell of families urged the media and elected officials to listen to their cry – that regardless of skin color or ethnicity – Education is a Civil Right!
After graduating from UC Berkeley, María continued her work as a community organizer working to build greater unity and empowerment with Black, Brown and Asian American and Pacific Islander students at an Oakland public high school. She then went on to earn her Master’s in Education at Harvard University, where she became the first-ever Latina elected student body president of the graduate school of education.
In 2002, María returned to Los Angeles and began working as the Youth Organizing Director for InnerCity Struggle, advocating for educational and housing justice in the Eastside of Los Angeles. In 2006, she was appointed to serve as Executive Director. Due to María’s leadership, today there is a powerful voice for students and families on the Eastside, ensuring those most affected by the decisions of public officials – parents and students – can advocate for the education and housing justice and resources they deserve.
For over twenty years, María’s leadership helped youth and families secure historic wins for Eastside communities, including:
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In 2004, winning for the first time in over eighty years 5 new LAUSD public schools for the Eastside.
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In 2005, winning the historic A-G Life Prep Resolution, a landmark policy ensuring all LAUSD high school students had access to college preparatory courses to graduate college-ready.
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In 2013, securing the passage of the School Climate Bill of Rights that eliminated willful defiance suspensions in LAUSD that disproportionately targeted youth of color and led to the approval of alternatives to punitive discipline, resulting in increased graduation rates.
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In 2014, 2018 and 2021, winning the Equity is Justice LAUSD Resolutions, which annually allocated significant new funding to highest need schools impacted by historic disinvestment.
In response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and housing crisis, María led organizing and advocacy efforts resulting in LA County policies that ensured greater tenant protections including eviction moratoriums for unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Efforts also resulted in a winning campaign to secure a new affordable housing development in East LA.
An experienced leader rooted firmly in a commitment to justice, María has been recognized by LA OPINION, the Liberty Hill Foundation, UC Berkeley’s Chicano/Latino Alumni Association of Southern California, the Latina Lawyers Association, the LA Dodgers, and the Dolores Huerta Foundation. In 2015, she began her 9-year service as a Commissioner for the LA County Commission for Children and Families, appointed by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. In her Commissioner role, María helped advance key equity and racial justice issues foundational to catalyzing movements to transform the County. Furthermore, in 2018, the LA County Commission for Women gave María the Woman of the Year Award. She also serves as a Community Trustee for the Board of Directors of the Hill Snowdon Foundation, a national social justice fund.
In 2023, she was appointed by her movement peers to lead Bold Vision LA, an LA County-wide youth power building initiative that she helped launch in 2019 in partnership with movement leaders from across the County. Due to her leadership, Bold Vision has established a powerful youth leadership base of nearly 60 BIPOC youth from across the County engaged in the development of youth mental health and economic inclusion campaigns.
Starting July 2024, María assumed the role of co-executive director for the Movement Innovation Collaborative (MIC), a new California statewide movement infrastructure initiative focused on strategy innovation, intergenerational leadership development, healing justice and the development of power building centers. This is an incredible opportunity to strengthen movement work statewide.
In May 2024, The California Endowment announced a historic investment of $85 million to the Movement Innovation Collaborative, for the purpose of increasing and strengthening community organizing among marginalized communities who have been living in the margins in the state. The resources are also expected to accelerate the field of power building in California. Over 500 California community organizers and movement leaders took part in the creation and design of this new intergenerational, organizer-led model, a necessary ingredient to creating a more inclusive, belonging, and equitable state.
María is one of the founders of this historic initiative and was elected by her peers from across the state to serve in this inaugural role. For more information about MIC, please view the website here: Movement Innovation Collaborative.
María lives in the Eastside of Los Angeles with her family and enjoys practicing yoga and visiting art museums.
COMMUNITY
TRUSTEE
DIANIS
BROWNE
JUDITH
JUDITH BROWNE DIANIS | Trustee
Judith Browne Dianis is Executive Director of Advancement Project National Office.
Dianis has served as a lawyer, professor and civil rights advocate in the movement for racial justice. Hailed as a voting rights expert and pioneer in the movement to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, Dianis leads Advancement Project National Office’s work in combatting structural racism in education, voting, policing, criminal justice and immigration.
Since joining Advancement Project at its inception in 1999, Dianis has worked with grassroots organizations to wage successful campaigns using litigation, advocacy and communications. Dianis authored groundbreaking education reports including: Opportunities Suspended and Derailed: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track, detailing the unnecessary criminalization of students by their schools. Advancement Project National Office’s work with grassroots partners significantly helped decrease student suspensions and arrests in Denver, Baltimore and school districts throughout Florida.
Taking from civil rights activist Ella J. Baker’s philosophy, Dianis’ belief in the “genius of ordinary people” has helped Advancement Project National Office combat discriminatory voting rights measures. For nearly two decades, the organization’s Voter Protection Program has partnered with civic engagement non-profits to thwart voter suppression efforts like strict voter ID requirements, cuts to early voting, the closure of polling locations and felony disenfranchisement. Advancement Project National Office is proud to be a founding member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, recently credited with the historic passage of Amendment 4 to the Florida’s state constitution. The measure automatically restores the voting rights of those with prior felony convictions.
Judith Browne Dianis was awarded the Prime Movers Fellowship for trailblazing social movement leaders and was named one of the “Thirty Women to Watch” by Essence magazine. She serves on the Board of Directors for Friends of the Earth and the Skadden Fellowship Foundation.
WILL
COMMUNITY
CORDERY
TRUSTEE
WILLIAM "WILL" CORDERY | Trustee
Will Cordery (he/him) is the Founder + Principal at Freedom Futures – a philanthropic advisory firm moving money to the frontlines of social transformation for Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Will is also a Senior Advisor with Liberated Capital—a Decolonizing Wealth Fund that aims to move untethered resources to Indigenous and Black led change through a model of reparations and healing. Will has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in institutional philanthropy, community advocacy and social movements for advancing racial justice, economic justice, LGBTQI liberation, and public policy. Will serves on the board of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation as one of its first non-family trustees; and is on the board of Tides Advocacy – a c4 funding mechanism for social movement infrastructure.
Will’s advocacy work includes working across the US South with various organizations, activating donors to support global human rights campaigns, and recently activating donors and institutions to resource the Movement for Black Lives. Will has worked to advance global human rights on staff at Amnesty International USA and as board leadership of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Will’s institutional philanthropic grantmaking includes working Marguerite Casey Foundation, Surdna Foundation and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund – in all three roles Will developed grantmaking strategies focused on supporting equity for marginalized communities across the US.
Read Will's Letter: Dear Philanthropy: These Are the Fires of Anti-Black Racism
Read Will's Op-Ed: Stay Mad: The Path to Freedom in the US Runs through the South
ANDREW
BOARD
SNOWDON
TRUSTEE
ANDREW SNOWDON | Trustee
Andrew Snowdon, great-grandson of Arthur B. Hill. Andrew Snowdon is the General Counsel to the Inspector General of a federal government agency. Previously, Andrew has served as an attorney and investigator in a variety of contexts, including the Security & Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, on Capitol Hill, in private practice, and the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, responsible for the oversight of the federal program to stabilize the country's financial system in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Andrew and his family live in Annapolis, MD, and he enjoys playing golf with his son, watching his daughter's lacrosse games, boating, and Duke Basketball.
ARIANA
BOARD
SNOWDON
TRUSTEE
ARIANA SNOWDON | Trustee
Ariana Snowdon, is great-granddaughter of Arthur B. Hill. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in the Science in Society Program, concentrating in Environmental Science and Sociology, with a focus in Public Health. Prior to joining the Hill-Snowdon board, she served for four years as a member of the Grantmaking Committee for the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole.
Ariana has also held several internships with various environmental and social-service organizations, including two semesters with American Rivers in Washington D.C. She has volunteered extensively for non-profits focusing on environmental protection, public health, and domestic violence prevention. ,In the past, Ariana served as an Executive Fellow at Resource Generation in Seattle, Washington. In her spare time, she is a dedicated equestrian, back-country ski fanatic, and aspiring mountaineer.
BOARD
TRUSTEE
"TED"
SNOWDON
EDWARD
EDWARD "TED" SNOWDON, JR. | Trustee
Ted Snowdon, grandson of Arthur B. Hill, straddles two worlds – that of the philanthropic community, where he sits on several nonprofit boards and supports numerous charities, and that of the commercial New York theater, where he develops and produces new plays. In addition to his work with the Hill-Snowdon Foundation, he is president of The Ted Snowdon Foundation, which funds primarily the arts and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) causes.
Ted received his B.S. in speech and drama from Syracuse University and his M.F.A. in directing from Catholic University. He lives and works in New York City, where his recent productions have included The Mountaintop, Master Class, Time Stands Still, Our Town, Secrets of the Trade, Reasons to be Pretty, Souvenir, The Little Dog Laughed, and the musical Spring Awakening. His first producing credit was in 1979 with the Tony winner, The Elephant Man. Ever since then, Ted has strived to find and present theater that reflects his world view.
MARGUERITE
BOARD
SNOWDON
TRUSTEE
"MARGOT"
MARGUERITE "MARGOT" SNOWDON | Trustee
Margot Snowdon, granddaughter of Arthur B. Hill, has lived in Wyoming since 1979. She has worked with the HSF since 1967. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania '70, and has an M.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin. She taught at Boston College and later managed programs for special needs students in the Boston area before moving west. She became a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, taught yoga for 23 years and opened the first yoga studio in Wyoming in 1985.
In Jackson, Margot has served on a number of community boards, including the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, One22 Resource Center, and the Teton Science Schools. Her philanthropic focus is on working with and supporting organizations which address health care, affordable housing, women's issues and creating a community that is equitable for local workers. She is especially passionate in supporting Wyoming-based organizations addressing social justice issues. She is grateful to bring her experience from HSF to these organizations.
Margot has a great love of the outdoors, especially wild places, and continues to pursue her passions for skiing, especially backcountry skiing, hiking and road cycling. She lives in Wilson, Wyoming with her husband, Yves Desgouttes.
RICHARD
TREASURER
SNOWDON
& SECRETARY
RICHARD "DICK" SNOWDON, III | Treasurer & Secretary
Dick Snowdon, grandson of Arthur B. Hill, is an attorney. Dick has worked with the firm, Trainum, Snowdon & Deane, where he specialized in estate planning, personal and corporate income tax and taxation of exempt organizations. Dick holds a B.S. from Syracuse University, College of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor with honors from the National Law Center, George Washington University. Following two years of active military service with the United States Army (1968-1970), which earned him an Army Commendation Medal and an honorable discharge at the rank of Captain, Dick returned to the legal profession.
Dick is active in the Washington, DC community and has served on many nonprofit boards and advisory councils. Some of his current and past positions include National Children’s Museum, Vice Chair; Children’s National Medical Center, Chair; Children’s Hospital Foundation, Chair; Black Student Fund, Treasurer; For Love of Children, Vice Chairman; Protestant Episcopal Foundation of Washington (The National Cathedral), Chair; and Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, Treasurer; Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, two terms, Chair.
SHONA
SENIOR
CHAKRAVARTTY
PROGRAM
OFFICER
SHONA CHAKRAVARTTY | Director of Grantmaking
As Director of Grantmaking, Shona Chakravartty is responsible for leading and managing HSF’s Economic Justice grantmaking program, as well as developing and implementing learning and leveraging activities related to HSF’s economic justice interests. She was previously the co-chair of Neighborhood Funders Group, Funders for a Just Economy (formerly the Working Group on Labor & Community Partnerships), currently serves on the board of the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing, and on the board of the Neighborhood Funders Group.
Before joining the Hill-Snowdon Foundation staff in 2006, Shona served as Program Officer for the Four Freedoms Fund, a philanthropic collaborative that made grants to enhance the capacity of local and state organizations to actively engage immigrants in the civic, social and economic life of their communities and participate in national policy and advocacy efforts. Prior to that, she was a program officer at the Jewish Fund for Justice for almost six years where she was responsible for grantmaking in the areas of Women in Poverty, Assisting New Immigrants, and Economic Justice. Shona has also worked at a variety of non-profits in New York City including the National Council of Jewish Women, Sakhi for South Asian Women, and Women and Philanthropy. She also serves on the board of Chhaya CDC in Queens, where she resides. Past board service includes the New York Women’s Foundation, South Asian Youth Action, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants & Refugees (GCIR). Shona was born in India and holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a Master’s degree from Oxford University.
CHRISTINE
DIRECTOR OF
HARRIS
FINANCE &
ADMINISTRATION
CHRISTINE HARRIS | Director of Finance & Administration
As Director of Finance and Administration, Christine Harris is responsible for administration of grants, finances, payroll and benefits, as well as implementation and management of office procedures, systems, and technology. Christine received her B.A. in political science from Drew University and her M.B.A. in Public and Nonprofit Management from Boston University.
Prior to joining the Hill-Snowdon Foundation staff in September 2004, Christine served as Senior Project Manager for the law firm of Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville where she consulted to several nonprofit clients on matters of operations, membership, fundraising and government relations. In this role, she also held the position of Vice President of Operations for HalfthePlanet Foundation. Christine’s other past positions include Administrator, Melville Charitable Trust/The Philanthropic Initiative; Director of Administration, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research; Director of External Affairs, VSA Arts; and Executive Assistant, United Cerebral Palsy Associations.
ERIN
PROGRAM
MORRIS
ASSOCIATE
ERIN MORRIS | Program Associate
As Program Associate, Erin Morris is responsible for administrative and programmatic support to all HSF staff, website development, and providing support to the numerous funders forums and working groups in which HSF takes a leadership role. Acting as lead for the foundation's Fund for DC program area, Erin is committed to the growth and strengthening of the DC community organizing ecosystem.
Erin received her BFA in Graphic Design from Salisbury University. Before her time at Hill-Snowdon, Erin previously worked as a freelancer and in business operations. Her time in DC led her to the work of the foundation and she has been there learning ever since.
Erin is a South Korean Adoptee and believes in citizenship for all. She loves to cook and try out new recipes, travel, and is on a meandering journey towards minimalism. She has lived in Baltimore City, Maryland for the past decade+ with her husband, son Ben (4), and two cats.
NAT
EXECUTIVE
WILLIAMS
DIRECTOR
Ph.D
NAT CHIOKE WILLIAMS, PH.D | Executive Director
As Executive Director, Nat Chioke Williams leads the Hill-Snowdon Foundation in its philanthropic and programmatic work, operations and partnerships within the community. Nat manages HSF’s Youth Organizing and Fund for DC programs. He is also responsible for developing learning and leveraging opportunities in these program areas. Back in 2015, Nat took the lead on the Foundation’s newly launched Making Black Lives Matter Initiative, a three year grantmaking and strategic co-funding initiative that seeks to maximize this historic moment to begin building long term institutional and political power for Black social change and racial justice. In partnership with other social justice funders, Nat served as the co-chair for the Funders Collaborative for Youth Organizing as the organization established itself in the field. Nat led the development of and served as the co-chair for Grantmakers for Southern Progress, a network of local, regional, and national funders committed to leveraging resources to help build a vibrant and enduring infrastructure for social justice in the US South. In response to the racial justice uprisings of 2020, Nat is leading the development of the Freedom Funders – a philanthropic community of purpose, will, support and action dedicated to building a philanthropy for Black Freedom and Liberation. Nat is also currently serving on the Tides Advocacy Board and the Advancement Project Board.
Nat’s funding experience has focused on community organizing and youth organizing, and his background includes research on the socio-political development of African American youth activists, social movements, social oppression and liberation psychology; tenant organizing and non-profit management consulting. He previously served on the board of the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing and the board of the Neighborhood Funders Group. Nat’s prior philanthropic work in youth and community organizing includes positions as Program Officer for Youth Development at the Edward Hazen Foundation and Program Officer for the New York Foundation. Additionally, Nat has served as Assistant Professor of Black Studies for the State University of New York at New Paltz, Senior Program Associate for Community Resource Exchange in New York City, and Director of Organizing for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board in New York City. Nat holds a B.A. in Psychology from Morehouse College, as well as a M.A. and Ph.D. in Community Psychology from New York University.