Staff – Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund

Anan Ayibotele, Senior Accountant & Controller — Anan Ayibotele

Senior Accountant & Controller

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Rukmani Bhatia, Advocacy and Legislative Director — Rukmani Bhatia

Advocacy & Legislative Director

Rukmani Bhatia is the Advocacy and Legislative Director for Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. Rukmani previously served as a lobbyist for Giffords, where she advocated for federal gun safety legislation, including the now enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Prior to that, Rukmani was a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, where she regularly published on ways to strengthen federal and state laws and regulations to reduce gun violence in communities across the nation. Rukmani also served at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Obama administration and was the inaugural Hillary R. Clinton research fellow for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security. Rukmani received her Bachelor’s Degree from Wellesley College and her Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

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Iván Cazarin, Senior Policy Coordinator — Iván Cazarin

Senior Policy Coordinator

Iván Cazarin is the Senior Policy Coordinator at AFR/AFREF where he works across issue areas to provide relief to consumers and take on unjust financial practices. Prior to joining AFR, Iván was a Senior Research Associate at Roosevelt Institute where he worked to advance a progressive economic agenda across issues like wealth taxation, anti-monopoly, industrial policy and climate justice issues. Iván graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) with a Bachelors in Public Policy, with a concentration in Economic Development. Prior to this, Iván worked with state and local organizations in Illinois to pass legislation like the Mental Health Early Action on Campus act and worked with the University of Illinois Chicago’s United Faculty Union and Graduate Employee Organization to organize and bargain for a fair contract. He also worked with community organizations on the West Side of Chicago to develop policies to redistribute vacant, city-owned land to low-income renters of color. In his spare time, Iván enjoys cooking, watching live music, and both watching and playing soccer.

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Olive Deally, Operations Coordinator — Olive Deally

Operations Coordinator

Olive Deally is the Operations Coordinator at AFR/AFREF. She assists in AFR/AFREF’s operations support, development, scheduling, work environment coordination and other organizational projects. Prior to becoming Operations Coordinator, Olive joined AFR/AFREF as the Executive Fellow. Olive holds a Master of Arts in Environment, Development & Peace from the UN-mandated University for Peace and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from American University.

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Lisa Donner, Co-Executive Director — Lisa Donner

Co-Executive Director

Lisa Donner is the Co-Executive Director of AFR/AFREF. Prior to joining the organization, Lisa was the Executive Director of the Half in Ten Campaign, and the co-director of the Center for Working Families. In these positions she developed and promoted policies on fair taxes, work and family, anti-poverty measures, and green jobs. Lisa began her career in advocacy as a union and community organizer and campaign strategists at ACORN, and as the Director of the Financial Justice Center, where she fought against big banks and predatory lending. Lisa previously served as AFR/AFREF’s Deputy Director before becoming Executive Director.

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Dustin Duong

Research Associate

Dustin Duong

Research Associate

Dustin Duong is a Research Associate at AFR/AFREF. They undertake research across all of AFR’s research areas, but specialize in climate justice, housing, cryptocurrency, private equity, and money in politics. Before coming to AFR, Dustin worked as a journalist for several organizations and as a freelancer, during which time they pursued human interest stories that intersected with salient social issues. In those roles, his work has appeared in the BBC, Associated Press, and other news outlets across the country.

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Mark Hays, Associate Director for Cryptocurrency & Financial Technology — Mark Hays

Associate Director for Cryptocurrency & Financial Technology

Mark Hays is the Associate Director for Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology with AFR/AFREF and with Demand Progress. He works to ensure effective regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency and other financial technologies. Previously, Mark was the Anti-Money Laundering Campaign Director at Global Witness, where he led advocacy efforts to secure financial transparency measures, including legislation requiring shell companies – often used to facilitate corruption and financial crime – to reveal their true owners. In other roles, Hays has led advocacy work at the intersection of business, human rights, and the environment for a range of organizations, including The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Greenpeace, Mighty Earth, NAACP, Public Citizen, The Sierra Club, Waxman Strategies, and others.

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Alex Martin, Ph.D., Policy Director, Climate Finance — Alex Martin, Ph.D.

Policy Director, Climate Finance

Alex Martin is a Policy Director for Climate and Finance at AFR/AFREF. He manages the organization’s growing engagement and policy portfolio at the intersection of financial regulation, climate change mitigation, and climate-related systemic financial risk. Before joining the organization, Alex served as a legislative fellow on the climate team for Senator Schatz (D-HI) and as informal committee staff for the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, focusing on carbon storage tax incentives, climate-related systemic financial risk, economy-wide decarbonization, and environmental justice. Prior to that, Alex worked at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on projects related to clean energy, low-carbon vehicles, and deep decarbonization pathways. His research experience spans atmospheric chemistry, materials science, and optics.

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Avery Mead, Grants Manager — Avery Mead

Grants Manager

Avery Mead is the Grants Manager at AFR/AFREF. Prior to joining AFR/AFREF, Avery worked in public education for more than 15 years. They created grant-funded programs to improve reading accessibility for multi-language learners and students with disabilities. They also spearheaded the anti-racist task force at their school and served as a vocal and visible advocate for LGBTQ+ people. Avery collaborated with state and local agencies and policymakers to improve the school environment for marginalized students, staff, and families. In addition to their background in education and advocacy, Avery has an MFA in creative writing. They recently served on the ALA’s Stonewall Book Award Committee and the Washington State Book Award Committee for youth titles.

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Hibba Meraay, Research Analyst — Hibba Meraay

Research Analyst

Hibba is a seasoned advocate, researcher and network weaver. She has worked to produce actionable research and translate research findings into accessible recommendations at various think tanks, research institutions and nonprofits. She brings experience in many fields including the startup world, nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and public policy. She is a dreamer and a doer, with the ability to design strategy and also drive execution. Hibba obtained her B.A. from Boston University with a double major in Economics and International Relations. She is a serial hobbyist who pursues story-telling through the mediums of painting, printmaking, podcast producing and interior design.

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Caroline Nagy

Associate Director of Housing Policy

Caroline Nagy

Associate Director of Housing Policy

Caroline Nagy is the Associate Director of Housing Policy at AFR/AFREF. Her research and advocacy work focuses on fighting housing displacement, climate change, affordable housing, and consumer financial protection. She was previously the Senior Housing Strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, and has also worked for the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, and the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. She has organized several coalitions, including United to End Homelessness, a coalition of more than 100 organizations created to highlight New York City’s homelessness crisis during the 2013 Mayoral election, and the Coalition for Affordable Homes, which works to prevent displacement and support long-time residents of working-class neighborhoods. She received a JD from NYU School of Law in 2010, and graduated from Ohio University with a BA and MA in Political Science.

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Annie Norman, Associate Director, Campaigns — Annie Norman

Associate Director, Campaigns

Annie Norman is the Associate Director for Campaigns. Previously, she served as the Associate Field Director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, where she oversaw their statewide field organizing team. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Oklahoma. In between obtaining her degrees, she served in the Peace Corps, where she spent two and a half years working on sustainable community economic development and sexual health education projects in the rural farming community of Tierra Blanca de Cartago, in Costa Rica’s central valley. Since then, she has worked nine electoral campaign cycles, and as a sexual health educator and then as an organizer for Planned Parenthood affiliates in Waco, TX, Tulsa, OK, and Detroit, MI.

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Maura Pond

Digital Strategist

Maura Pond

Digital Strategist

Maura Pond is the Digital Strategist for AFR/AFREF. Before joining the organization, she was the Digital Organizing Director at Concerted Action, where she provided digital strategy and technical support for union organizing and economic justice campaigns, including the Committee for Better Banks and Wells Fargo Workers United. Previously, Maura spent 12 years at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, where she managed the international union’s digital properties and supported major efforts like the 2019 Stop & Shop strike, the Walmart Black Friday protests, and the COVID-19 response.

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Natalia Renta, Associate Director for Corporate Governance & Power — Natalia Renta

Associate Director for Corporate Governance & Power

Natalia is the Associate Director for Corporate Governance and Power at AFR/AFREF, where she works to change the structures of corporate decision-making to build a more equitable and sustainable economy. Prior to joining AFR/AFREF, Natalia was a Senior Policy Strategist at the Center for Popular Democracy, where she provided policy and legal counsel to several campaigns, including those related to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. Prior to that, Natalia was an attorney at Make the Road New York, an organization that builds the power of immigrant and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and her B.A. from Harvard University.

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Gynnie Robnett, Chief Operating Officer — Gynnie Robnett

Chief Operating Officer

Gynnie Robnett is the Chief Operating Officer at AFR/AFREF. Gynnie previously served as the organization’s Payday Campaign Director, before expanding her role as the manager of administration and system organization. Prior to coming to AFR, Gynnie led the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), a network of organizations working to strengthen the nation’s system of regulatory protections and encourage sound enforcement. She has extensive issue campaign and coalition management experience and has worked with state and local groups across the country on environmental, consumer and financial reform issues. In addition to her advocacy work, Gynnie loves to be outdoors with her 2 kids.

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Aditi Sen, Managing Director of Research & Campaigns — Aditi Sen

Managing Director of Research & Campaigns

Aditi Sen is the Managing Director of Research and Campaigns for AFR/AFREF, leading campaigns and research work to increase the organization’s impact and capacity. Prior to joining AFR, she worked for several years as a tech regulator for the City of New York, strengthening protections for tenants and workers and ensuring enforcement of the platform tech sector at the municipal level. Before joining the public sector, she was a campaign researcher at the Center for Popular Democracy and SEIU Local 32BJ, working on a wide range of state and local policy areas including tenant organizing, fair scheduling, and public school funding; and supporting union organizing in the building services industry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Harvard College and a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University.

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Jarice Thompson

Senior Communications Coordinator

Jarice Thompson

Senior Communications Coordinator

Jarice Thompson is the Senior Communications Coordinator at AFR/AFREF. Prior to joining the organization, Jarice worked as the Communications Assistant for the Democracy team at Accountable.US where she focused on creating written and digital content on Supreme Court ethics, judge shopping, and reproductive rights issues. Over the course of her career, Jarice has served in previous roles as a Communications and Research Fellow, Media Monitor and Newsletter Contributor.

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Ericka Taylor

Co-Executive Director

Ericka Taylor

Co-Executive Director

Ericka Taylor is the Co-Director of Americans for Financial Reform, where she previously held roles as the Acting Chief of Staff and Director of Popular Education. Immediately prior, she served as a Co-Director of DC Working Families Party, a state chapter of the national organization working to build progressive political power in communities across the country. Ericka has spent the bulk of her career in organizing and advocacy, including positions with Organizing Neighborhood Equity DC (ONE DC), DC ACORN, and Tenants and Workers Support Committee. She has also worked as a program officer with the Public Welfare Foundation and trained young people and youth organizers as the Southeast Regional Program Coordinator for YouthAction. Ericka earned her BA in English from Cornell University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She currently sits on the board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and has served on the boards or steering committees of the National Organizers Alliance, Progressive Technology Project, YouthAction, Western States Center, National Priorities Project, La Clínica del Pueblo, and Jews United for Justice.

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Oscar Valdés Viera, Senior Policy Analyst, Private Equity & Capital Markets — Oscar Valdés Viera

Senior Policy Analyst, Private Equity & Capital Markets

Oscar Valdés Viera is the Private Equity and Capital Markets Senior Policy Analyst at AFR/AFREF. In this role, he works with staff and partners to formulate, analyze, and respond to regulations, legislative proposals, and market dynamics around capital markets and the private equity industry, focusing on the industry’s impact on various stakeholders and the broader economy. Previously, Oscar served as a Research Manager at AFR/AFREF, conducting research to enhance the fairness and resilience of the U.S. financial system. He was also a summer scholar at The Century Foundation, where he worked with the labor team on initiatives to improve economic prospects for low- and middle-income individuals.

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Patrick Woodall, Managing Director for Policy — Patrick Woodall

Managing Director for Policy

Patrick Woodall is the Managing Director for Policy at AFR/AFREF. Patrick has previously worked as the research and policy director at the AFL-CIO Technology Institute and the research director at Food & Water Watch as well as policy and research roles at ACORN, Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America on issues pertaining to economic and social justice, financial services, globalization, and antitrust. Patrick has written scores of reports and co-authored a book on international trade. Patrick previously served as AFR/AFREF’s Research Director.

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