Nicole Jakabcsin
COMMUNITY & STRATEGY MANAGER
Nicole is committed to advancing socioeconomic agency for women and girls. Her career has focused on building leadership and capacity-strengthening programs for gender equality that are inclusive, equitable, and community-centered. Most recently, she served as a Program Coordinator at the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up initiative. In that role, she managed Girl Up’s flagship Teen Advisory Board and Girl Up’s small grants program to support youth gender equality advocates. Prior to the UN Foundation, she was a Princeton in Latin America Fellow, serving in the Dominican Republic at an education NGO. She has also held previous roles at the Inter-American Development Bank, the Buenos Aires Government Undersecretariat for Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism, the Women for Africa Foundation, the GO Project, and the Institute for Community Leadership. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University and an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
LAURA RISIMINI
DIRECTOR OF GRANTS
Laura Risimini serves as the Director of Grants of the Amplify Her Foundation, where she oversees the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy and cultivates strategic philanthropic partnerships in the New York City area. Prior to joining the Amplify Her Foundation, Laura served as the Managing Director of the Purpose Foundation, a start-up organization acting as a fiscal sponsor for social impact campaigns and organizations. Prior to that role, she was the Foundation Manager of the HLH Family Foundation, formerly The Sister Fund, where she guided the organization through its transition from a women’s fund to a family foundation. Throughout her career, Laura has had the unique opportunity to support organizations in all areas of their lifecycle from start-up to sunset. She specializes in building nonprofit operating and programmatic structures and designing and implementing grant cycles aligned with feminist and trust-based funding principles. In addition to her leadership roles, Laura is the co-author of The Uprising of Women in Philanthropy, a work that explores the transformative impact of the global women’s funding movement. She holds a BA in International Studies and an MA in Political Science from Fordham University and is passionate about working for organizations that support the leadership and advancement of women and girls.
MARTI SPERANZA WONG
Founder & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Marti is deeply devoted to women’s empowerment. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Amplify Her Foundation and Amplify Her. Both organizations share the mission of supporting women from underserved communities to become transformative changemakers. Amplify Her Foundation partners with community-led organizations that build the economic and social power of women and girls through leadership programs, educational opportunities, career training and development. Amplify Her addresses women’s underrepresentation in elected offices by advising candidates, recruiting committed campaign volunteers and registering new voters. Prior to Amplify Her, Marti served as Director of Women Entrepreneurs (WE) NYC, a New York City initiative launching and managing innovative programs on access to capital and mentorship. Marti’s first role in NYC government was Director of Strategic Initiatives for New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs, the agency tasked with enforcement of consumer protection laws and empowerment of low-income New Yorkers. Marti was elected as Democratic State Committeewoman for the 74th Assembly District, was appointed to Manhattan's Community Board 5 and has served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity NYC and the RTW Foundation. In 2022, Marti was recognized by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson with a Proclamation for her work in the Community and in 2023 Marti was honored by City & State as one of 'The Responsible 100: New Yorkers serving the common good.' Marti studied Economics and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and earned her Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University.