Justice And Education Fund

The Justice and Education Fund was founded on a belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings. Too many people are excluded from influencing the political, economic, and social forces that shape their lives. Therefore, the Justice and Education Fund serves a vision of the world where all people can participate in the decisions that affect them, share equitably in the knowledge, wealth, and resources of society, and are free to achieve their full human potential.

Programs

Funding Priorities

The Justice and Education Fund will provide key funding for the creation and operation of Popular Education Schools in the Global South and in the United States. The Justice and Education Fund will also issue grants to organizations developing educational curriculum, social media content, and other tools that support movements seeking to advance the human condition. The Justice and Education Fund will fund programs and organizations that help people better understand the historical, social, economic and political factors contributing to the hardships they face on a daily basis, and the power they possess to change their conditions.

Philosophy

We believe that social transformation happens through developing individual leadership, strong organizations, and pursuing innovative yet often risky ideas. Overcoming many of the world’s most pressing economic, social and humanitarian problems—including profound economic inequality —will require harnessing the power of capital across the spectrum of capital (individuals, foundations, pension funds and other sources). It also requires global diversity, equity, and inclusion in our efforts. We are committed to leveraging capital to create lasting change through social impact investing. Through strategic grant-making aimed at educating those who have leadership potential and those who have not been privileged with substantial formal education, the Justice and Education Fund will support the growth of social activity seeking to improve the human condition.

Board of directors

David Chung

Is an organizer, educator, and activist born in Korea and now living in New York City. He became politically active around the struggle to fight for legal protections for undocumented immigrant youth in 2012. Organizing in the immigrant rights struggle, he realized the need to connect the different fronts of struggles and unite marginalized communities in the US and internationally. Currently, he serves as the General Manager of the People’s Forum.

Manolo de los Santos

Organizer and social justice activist. He was founding director of the People’s Forum, a movement incubator for marginalized communities to build unity across historic lines of division at home and abroad. Since then, he has served as an educator and consultant with social movements across Latin America and Africa.

Karina Garcia

is a Chicana organizer and popular educator in NYC. She started organizing young women as a high school student in Southern California 20 years ago and has been committed to fighting for working class women and families ever since. As a NYC city public school teacher, she organized students and coworkers to protest against budget cuts, the Iraq war, police brutality and anti-immigrant laws. As the Education Director for a national reproductive justice organization, she’s traveled around the country training working-class Latina activists principally in New York, Texas, Virginia and Florida to become leaders and organizers in their communities.

Pilar Troya Fernández

is an Ecuadorian activist, researcher, and feminist anthropologist. Her main areas of interest are social public policies, especially concerning gender equality and the feminist movement. Her activism began in college as part of the student movement and she was involved in the Women’s Assembly in Quito. She worked as a researcher with the System of Social Indicators (SIISE) and the Latin America Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), where she also taught classes on public policies and social indicators. She then served as an advisor to the Ministry of National Planning, and as an advisor and Deputy Minister to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Ecuador.