Meet Our New Board Member — Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez

The Boston Women's Fund recently added new leaders to our incredible Board of Directors!

We are excited to welcome Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez (she/her) to the Boston Women’s Fund board! D.J. currently serves as an Associate at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP. In her legal practice, Stephanie regularly advises clients on matters related to private foundations and charitable giving. She is also on the board of Project LEARN, a nonprofit that supports public schools in her hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

We connected with Stephanie to learn more about what liberation means to her and the work she hopes to do with the Boston Women’s Fund!

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Boston Women's Fund: What initially drew you to the Boston Women’s Fund?

Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez: I believe that BWF has the right approach to philanthropy because we, first, listen to communities and their grassroots leaders to understand their needs. This is a unique model in philanthropy that places the power back in the hands of the communities with which BWF works. It also allows philanthropists who work with BWF to obtain a true understanding of a community’s needs and ensures that their contributions will have the most impact.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role as a Director of the Board?

I am excited to hear directly from grassroots leaders and gain a better understanding of the innovative initiatives that they wish to implement. 

What does liberation mean to you?

In the context of my role as a board member of BWF, liberation means the freedom and ability for communities to make the changes they wish to make. 

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about philanthropy, what would it be?

Often when decisions are being made about how to structure philanthropic giving, the people that philanthropy seeks to serve are not invited to the conversation. Decisions are made on behalf of communities by individuals who are not members of those communities. I believe BWF is making the exact change that I most wish to see in philanthropy by amplifying the voices of grassroots leaders when they express the needs and goals of their communities, permitting donors to better serve those communities via their philanthropic efforts. 

What are two fun facts about you?

1. My family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. Most of my family - including many aunts and cousins - now live in Massachusetts, which means that our typical family gatherings include 20+ people.

2. I have a dog named Lulu, and we love going on long nature walks together.

What’s one quote that gives you life?

“But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.” ― Samwise Gamgee

Announcing Our Leading Us Toward Liberation Honorees

In October 2023, we asked our community members: who are the innovative changemakers who have touched your life and the lives of your community members? Who are the women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals who have fought for their communities and have yet to receive their flowers?

We received 86 nominations of incredible unsung heroes and beloved community leaders in the Greater Boston area. We assembled a Selection Committee of BWF staff, board, grantee partners, and community members to conduct interviews, research, and select our honorees. Our Selection Committee spent six months getting to know the nominees, their commitment to our collective liberation, and their impact on community. We prioritized individuals who have not yet received any awards or press, founders of one-of-a-kind organizations, and disruptors tackling racial, gender, economic, and social justice issues with an intersectional lens. These 40 honorees — our Liberation Leaders — emerged as some of the most innovative changemakers trying to create new systems for our communities to thrive.

We are so excited to present our 40 Leading Us Toward Liberation honorees!

Learn more about each of these incredible leaders on our website, and be sure to stay connected with us on social media as we uplift their work!

We hope you'll join us in rolling out the red carpet for these 40 Liberation Leaders!

Asha Abdullahi Executive Director of Somali Parents Advocacy Center for Education	Dr. Valerie Batts Founding Director, Senior Consultant, VISIONS, INC.
Jamila Batts Capitman Mental Health Counselor/ Youth Development Specialist/ Drama Therapist	Dara Kwayera Imani Bayer Co-Director of Cambridge HEART
Stefanie D. Belnavis Founder | Perinatal Movement Psychotherapist + Creative Wellness Practitioner for A Bucket For the Well LLC., Founder | Kinesthetic Storyteller + Portrait Photographer for The Diahann Project and Founder | Perinatal Photographer for Birthlooms	Keturah Brewster Executive Director of I Have A Future
Ivelisse Caraballo Founding Member and Executive Director of CPLAN	Cherie A. Craft Founder/CEO, Smart from the Start, Inc.
Angella Foster Director of Member Engagement and Outreach at Matahari Women Workers Center	Jamila Gales Founder | Executive Director of Girls Reflecting Our World
Krystal Elizabeth Garcia Deras Dance Movement Therapist	Dr. Perpetual Anastasia Adjwoa Baiswa Hayfron Humxn, Altruistic Hedonist & Black Feminist Scholar
Denise Barbosa Lane Co-Founder and Executive Director of Raising Multicultural Kids	Lisa Lazare Executive Director of Educators for Excellence
Pamela Aimee Leins Executive Director of the Boston Education Fund	Beth Leventhal Executive Director of The Network/La Red
Dorotea Manuela Organizer & Activist	Denise Matthews-Turner Co-Executive Director of City Life/Vida Urbana
Sandra M. McCroom President & Chief Executive Officer of Children's Services of Roxbury	Sam Montaño MA State Representative
Liz Najjar Executive Director, Shadida Solutions	Radha Natarajan Executive Director of the New England Innocence Project
Nickey Nesbeth Founder & Executive Director of Boston Girls Empowerment Network	Chioma Nnaji Senior Program Director at the Multicultural AIDS Coalition and Founder / CEO of Ocha Transformations
Clare Louise Okalany Chief Operations Officer - ACEDONE CDC	Miriam Ortiz Director of Education and Training, Just A Start
Kishana Osei Executive Director of the Massachusetts Women of Color Network	Camila Amanda Rojas Pineiro Pagan Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Beat The Odds
Stacy Reed-Barnes CEO & Founder of Stacy's Joy Consulting LLC	Aziza Robinson-Goodnight Founder and Co-Director of Repair America Collective
Shanique Rodriguez Executive Director of Massachusetts Voter Table	Ruth Rollins President and Founder We Are Better Together Warren Daniel Hairston Project
Ivanna Solano Founder of Love Your Magic	Joanne Christine Suarez Founder and Executive Director of Prospera Institute
Andrea Swain Chief Impact Officer, Boys & Girls Club of Boston	Olga Tacure Executive Director of Women Encouraging Empowerment
Magalis Troncoso Lama Executive Director of Dominican Development Center	Tiffany Vassell, RN Manager of Community Engagement & Communications of the Neighborhood Birth Center
Dr. Fatima A. Watt Chief Executive Officer, Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children	Anuradha Yadav Founder and Executive Director of Women of Color Entrepreneurs

Meet Our New Board Member — D.J. Baker

The Boston Women's Fund recently added new leaders to our incredible Board of Directors!

We are excited to welcome D.J. Baker (they/them) to the Boston Women’s Fund board! D.J. currently serves as the Program Manager at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, one of BWF’s Community Impact grantee partners. Early in their career, D.J.’s work focused on food justice and access in economically disadvantaged communities. Later, they became a certified birth doula and their work has niched in working with queer and trans/nonbinary individuals and families. 

We connected with D.J. to learn more about what liberation means to them and the work they hope to do with the Boston Women’s Fund!

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Boston Women's Fund: What initially drew you to the Boston Women’s Fund?

D.J. Baker: The history of the Boston Women’s Fund is a powerful history and witnessing the leadership of Natanja, I saw a vision of the future. BWF is playing a crucial role in communities across the Boston Metro. The approach is deeply intentional, unique, and very personal with every organization and partner.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role as a Director of the Board?

Being in collaboration with other directors, the leadership, and staff. There’s a beautiful combination of talent, backgrounds, and simply personality in BWF. I am elated to share space and vision with the incredible women and people who make up this organization.

What does liberation mean to you?

Liberation, to me, means never-ending curiosity. Curiosity lets go of social constructs and barriers, and invites exploration to what has been and what could be. I love to think about how curious children are, and some may see naivety, but I see a willingness to new perspectives, new paths, and frontiers. I am always in awe of where a child’s mind goes because we adults fell out of practice of the curiosity we once had.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about philanthropy, what would it be?

The need of philanthropy, if I’m being truly honest. But because we do need it, I would change the tax-incentive. This challenges entities who do give to really work towards a collaborative self-interest and alignment to their values, rather than a tax front. It’s actually putting your money where your values are not where the tax-incentive or marketing convenience is.

What are two fun facts about you?

1. I am a certified Master Naturalist.

2. I am a twin, and his name is J.D. He also works in civic engagement and philanthropy.

What’s one quote that gives you life?

My grandmother used to say a lot of things — funny and inspirational — but my favorite quote of hers, “Do all you can, while you can. In all that you do, let it be good and let it be out of love.” This keeps me going, this would be my ethos.