In the 1990’s, Kim led the marketing of Sharp HealthCare’s new hospital in Chula Vista, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, and went on to serve on the senior team to launch Sharp Advantage, Sharp HealthCare’s first managed care product for families insured by California’s Medicaid program.

She then created and led a boutique marketing firm, Canopy Marketing, serving a diverse clientele locally and nationally. With over 50 clients, she focused on strategy and project management, and led the design and implementation of campaigns. While at Canopy, Kim continued her volunteer work in the community, which led to a significant career shift in 2013.

After learning about the epidemic of human trafficking in San Diego, Kim began volunteering at her alma mater, Point Loma Nazarene University, dedicating herself to establishing a brand, outreach strategy and donor base for the university’s Center for Justice & Reconciliation. While there she launched the first college scholarship program for survivors of trafficking, the Beauty for Ashes Scholarship, welcoming their first students in 2016.

Kim went on to lead the Center for Justice & Reconciliation as Executive Director, setting the vision and strategy for the Center, directing Center operations, leading donor development and serving as a Community Engagement Officer for PLNU.

After a decade in this work, Kim made the decision in 2023 to shift her focus to the other side of philanthropy. “After a decade writing grants, working with foundations and navigating the challenges of running a nonprofit, I was thrilled with the opportunity to bring this experience to the funder-side of the house,” said Kim. “Our systems are inequitable and the racial wealth gap is widening, while our infrastructure continues to deteriorate. There’s a power dynamic between funders and the nonprofit organizations that depend on that funding. I hope to be a small part of the efforts to shift philanthropy to a place where we trust the leaders doing the work on the ground, and accompany them with a posture of humility and learning. The values of the Kinship Fund reflect the best of who I hope to be as a person and member of our community.”

Maya Heffernan has spent the better part of the last 30 years helping people heal, grow and thrive. For decades, she has served as a volunteer and leader in several community organizations, including churches, parent-teacher associations, and local nonprofits.

Maya has been in the social service field for 15 years, and had her first experience working with underserved populations at the Salvation Army, where she counseled unsheltered folks struggling with substance addictions. It was the most formative and rewarding work she had ever done. Maya was recognized as Intern of the Year for her hard work and dedication to those she served. Maya continued in the social service field as a Domestic Violence Counselor, where she supported survivors with individual and group therapy.

Maya holds a Master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in Clinical Psychology. In 2019, Maya was licensed as Marriage and Family Therapist. She built and maintains her own successful private practice helping individuals, couples and families heal and grow.

Maya intuitively knows how to leverage resources to create meaningful impact in any community in which she serves. She’s an engaging and inspiring leader with a gift for bringing diverse groups of people together.  Whether by vocation or as a volunteer, Maya has invested the best resources of her life to bring hope and healing to others.

For the past 38 years she and her husband have lived in San Diego, , raised two amazing humans, and are now enjoying the gift of being grandparents.

Brooke Jones is a passionate educator and advocate for children, students and families serving as an Education Specialist in the La Mesa Spring Valley School District. In this role, she develops and implements individualized educational plans for students with various disabilities in the K-5 setting. Her biggest passion is coming alongside students experiencing emotional trauma and disturbance. She brings extensive knowledge of special education law and policy, as well as expertise in how this policy interacts in the lives of those in our communities.

With a background in the study of social philosophy and many years of experience in the K-12 education system, Brooke offers a unique perspective to the Kinship Fund that is grounded in the belief of radical kinship with Earth, Self and Others. Through her studies and career in education, she has focused greatly on the work of Paulo Freire, a social philosopher, most famous for his work Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). This has guided much of her personal philosophy, and the “why” behind her reasons for engaging in an “education [which] is freedom.”

“Education needs to be and has to become a conversation,” Jones says. “It is in the transformation of the discourse, the ‘way-we-do-it’, of our educational systems that revolutionary change will, and is, happening. Our young people need to see themselves as the ones responsible for that change.”

Brooke is an active member in her school district’s union, serving previously as a union representative for her school site. She is the leader of a new school campus initiative to use gardening and farming work as a therapeutic outlet for students experiencing trauma and behavior troubles in the school setting. She leans into the label of “ideas girl,” and is honored to be able to apply this attitude and devotedness to her work with the Kinship Fund.

Sydney Pidgeon, serving as Treasurer of the Kinship Fund, brings her experience in higher education and commitment to educational access and community development to the board. Sydney presently holds the position of Study Abroad Manager in the department of International Affairs at University of San Diego, a renowned international leader in global immersion and education. In this role, she builds international education programs to foster cross-cultural understanding and development, while offering direct advising for students on the alignment of their educational pursuits with their academic and professional aspirations.

This experience, in partnership with Sydney’s Masters Degree in Higher Education Leadership and Certificate in Restorative Justice, inform Sydney’s approach to community partnerships and collaborative dialogue aimed towards creating a sustainable impact. Sydney has demonstrated this commitment through her career in Higher Education and work as a Restorative Justice practitioner focused on community reentry, police-community collaboration, victim-offender mediation, and community building.

Sydney is a life-long San Diegan, and dedicates much of her time supporting San Diego based initiatives. Sydney currently serves on the Board for San Diego County Crime Stoppers, is an active member of the La Mesa Village Association, volunteers through the National Center for Restorative Justice based in San Diego, and serves on the personnel committee at her church, Normal Heights United Methodist. Sydney currently resides in La Mesa, California, with her husband, Zach, and two dachshunds, Willie and Juni.

Ginger Shaw is a community leader and advocate who sees possibility in all situations. Her work has led to local and international collaboration. Ginger’s drive to end human trafficking began with an oversee trip through World Concern International to study education, child protection, and economic development programs for women and children-at-risk. That first-hand view of the personal, familial, and societal devastation of labor and sex trafficking led to her work as a World Concern field representative leading multiple oversees trips to Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Kenya and Thailand in support of national workers through communications, training and donor development.

In 2011, Ginger connected with California Against Slavery (CAS) during the Prop 35/CASE Act campaign, acting as volunteer coordinator for San Diego County. Serving as a driver/team mom for CAS road trips, she built connections with dedicated advocates and service providers across the state. As the executive director of CAS, she used those connections and experience to develop a state-wide Directory of Services and coordinate a network of 40+ regional service providers to more expediently locate shelter for survivors.

Ginger led California Against Slavery as President and Executive Director and continues to Chair its Board of Directors. She is the former chair of the San Diego Human Trafficking Advisory Council and Coordinator/CoChair of the SoCal Safe Shelter Collaborative.

She has been named a Mission Hero by Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking and Connector of the Year by North County Lifeline. Ginger was also honored with the Hope Rising award from the Center for Justice and Reconciliation at Point Loma Nazarene University and awarded an honorary doctorate from California State University San Marcos for her passionate dedication to end human trafficking.