Bread & Roses Community Fund’s board of directors is a dynamic, energetic, and creative group of people dedicated to advancing racial and economic justice in the Philadelphia region.
Yahya Alazrak
Yahya’s experience growing up with one wealthy parent and one poor one has instilled in them a commitment to building a world where all people have three things: enough resources, power over their own lives, and community. They see Bread & Roses as having a key role in nurturing those things in the Philadelphia area, and they couldn’t be more grateful to serve that work. Yahya has been with Resource Generation since 2015 and currently serves as executive director of their work organizing young people with access to wealth towards the redistribution of wealth, land, and power.
Patrice Green
Co-chair
Patrice Green is a dedicated advocate, public servant, grant maker, and philanthropist for change. For 15 years, in both the nonprofit and government sectors, she has worked passionately to transform economically distressed but culturally rich communities by building innovative cross-sector partnerships. As Program Officer for Inclusive Economies at the Surdna Foundation, she seeks to actualize racial equity through wealth creation, systems accountability, and democratic participation for communities of color across the nation. Patrice knows first-hand that we rebuild neighborhoods with neighbors, hand in hand with the people who know these places best and call them home. In her free time, she can be found carrying out her passion for people, dance, and food.
Jean Hunt
Jean has lived in Philadelphia since 1965 and has been active in a variety of struggles for justice: civil rights, the anti-war movement, the grape boycott, the women’s movement, and neighborhood organizing. Jean’s career has included paid organizing, staff nursing, running a feminist women’s health center, working for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, foundation work, and running two nonprofits: Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women and the Campaign for Working Families. Jean has always supported the People’s Fund/Bread & Roses because she believes in its mission of strengthening organizing at its base, in neighborhoods, among people most directly impacted by injustice.
Jeri Nutter
Treasurer
Jeri Nutter is a longtime professional in the nonprofit sector, offering 20 years of experience in mission-focused nonprofits and research settings. Jeri previously served on Bread & Roses’ community funding board from 1997 to 2000 and board of directors from 1999 to 2006. Jeri is looking forward to supporting the work of Bread & Roses Community Fund.
Andrea Pien
Secretary
Andrea Pien lives in (and loves) South Jersey and can’t go ten days without eating something with tomato sauce in it. She organizes young people with wealth and/or class privilege for the equitable distribution of land, wealth, and power with Resource Generation. As a college counselor at Friends’ Central School, she sees the ways that capitalism creates stress and anxiety in the U.S. college process. She feels seen by the term “Type B personality” and likes Euro-style board games, dumplings, and big dogs.
Pedro Rodriguez
Pedro Rodriguez is an experienced community activist and organizer. Mr. Rodriguez has led several organizations in the Philadelphia area, including the Open Borders Project (Proyecto Sin Fronteras) a Hunting Park/Olney based organization providing community programs such as English classes, computer courses and after-school programs. From 1997-2007 he worked at the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens, a group committed to addressing issues affecting the elderly, first as a Legislative and Healthcare Organizer, ultimately becoming Executive Director. Mr. Rodriguez is married to Pamela Waltz and has two children.
Julia Stone
Julia Stone is a microbiologist for the Philadelphia Water Department. Her social justice work has included organizing young people with wealth or class privilege to redistribute land, wealth, and power with Resource Generation and organizing tenants to fight back against unscrupulous landlords with Philly Socialists’ Solidarity Network. Julia believes that Bread & Roses’ focus on change, not charity, and democratic grantmaking moves power from people with money to people working for real change. She believes that board service with Bread & Roses will deepen her commitment to social justice.
Sandra Thompson
Co-chair
Sandra brings comprehensive experience in nonprofit administration, implementation of policies and training programs, and resource development. She also has a long history as a volunteer in HIV/AIDS services, juvenile justice, and LGBTQIA+ issues. She served on Bread & Roses’ Community Grantmaking Committee in 2015 and served on staff as Interim Director of Grantmaking from 2020 to 2022.
Tiffany Thompson
Tiffany Thompson (she/her), Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence at Swarthmore College, has over 15 years of experience in social justice work. Native to Philly, she has been a leader for nonprofits that support sexual and reproductive health, gender justice, youth and young adults, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Tiffany shifted focus into higher education where as a black queer woman of color, she has been able to combine her lived experiences and passion for youth development to challenge the system through diversity, equity, inclusive, and accessibility that centers anti-racism and anti-oppression. She currently resides in South Philly, with her cat named Cheeks, where you might find her cross-stitching something nerdy.