Our Values reflect how we want our staff to operate, as individuals and as a team. These values are central to our culture, and are critical for moving us most quickly towards our goals.

Passion for our cause – we are idealistic, bold thinkers; creative, and fun.
Discipline- there is rigor, focus and urgency to the way we approach our goals, and we take personal responsibility for achieving them. We work in a responsive and efficient manner to support our team, the mission, and the leadership of our organization.
Integrity- we are respectful, open and honest with each other and in our community, and we ensure alignment between our actions and our beliefs.

Our Team

Founder

Nancy Richards Farese is a philanthropist and photographer living in Marin County, California. She has been involved in the philanthropic community for most of her life, and photography for the past 15 years. As a photographer she provides photographic support to non-profit organizations to help document and promote causes, and has pioneered the concept of Photophilanthropy: Promoting Social Activism Through Photography to encourage and reward people who use photography for social purpose. Her work has been published in association with a wide range of NGOs in Africa and the US, including The Infectious Disease Institutes in Uganda, Wood River Land Trust, Mapendo, International Rescue Committee, and Envisions Schools. She has a BA from Vanderbilt University, is the mother of five children ages 15-23, and is originally from Carrollton, Georgia.

www.nancyfaresephotography.com

Executive Director

Nancy Clarke Cole has over 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector specializing in organizational capacity, outcomes-based philanthropy and fundraising. Most recently, Nancy has expanded into social media with web services provider Echo. Before that, Nancy was Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2). Her history with start-ups includes the launch of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation then running their Bay Area grants program and serving as program director for capacity building and higher education. Earlier, she led the west coast development and communications program for Conservation International, and was the institutional gifts manager at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She began her career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).

Nancy has an MBA and an MA in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University, and was first in her class in both programs. Her BA is in Economics and Art History from UCSB.

Nancy is a Bay Area native, parent, instructor at The Bar Method, and has strong interests in contemporary art, theater, and environmental conservation. She lives in Hillsborough with her husband and four kids.

Activist Awards Director

Kathleen Hennessy brings over 20 years of photography experience to PhotoPhilanthropy. Kathleen is director of photography for the San Francisco Chronicle where she has worked since 1998. She was picture editor of the Chronicle’s 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning entry for feature photography. Kathleen served as a staff picture editor in the Clinton White House, the Washingtonian magazine and USA TODAY.

Her contributions to nonprofit organizations include; photographer on medical missions for Operation Smile in Romania, Vietnam and Gaza; a coordinator for the National Geographic’s Photo Camp, a photography program for underprivileged children, and a faculty member of Somosfoto, a workshop for Latin American professional photographers in Miami, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Kathleen was a Knight Fellow at Ohio University, where she earned a masters degree in journalism. She has taught photojournalism at Ohio University, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco and the University of California-Berkeley.

Social Media Manager

Eliza Gregory is an artist and a writer. Her environmental portraits explore cultural identity and the relationships between people and places. She has created, photographed and written about a variety of mutually beneficial partnerships between nonprofit organizations and universities, artists, foundations and individuals. She has worked for nonprofits such as Community Outreach & Advocacy for Refugees, the International Rescue Committee, the Thacher School and Arizona State University. She was a co-president of the eye lounge artist co-op in Phoenix, Arizona in 2008-9, and her photographs have been exhibited at the Princeton University Art Museum and the Phoenix Museum of Art. Born in San Francisco, Eliza currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband.

Program Coordinator

Jessica Watson is a photographer, graphic designer and writer. Her photography and design work is done for multiple blogs and nonprofit organizations. She is also an artist working in public performance and installations pieces, often in collaboration with her husband and usually focusing on San Francisco's unique history. Her photography has been published in the Guardian UK, San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly and art ltd. magazine as well as on Apartment Therapy, the Huffington Post and Bold Italic. Her artistic collaborations have been displayed at Southern Exposure, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Root Division and Flax Art and Design.

Jessica has a BA in Political Science with a minor in Art History from the University of Arizona. She is currently working on her MBA in Design Strategy from the California College of the Arts. Born in Phoenix, Jessica currently resides in San Francisco with her husband.