Co-founded by Connie and Steve Ballmer, Ballmer Group funds organizations and leaders to reshape opportunity and expand economic mobility across the United States.

Salman Akhtar is the Senior Manager of Advocacy with Ballmer Group, where he builds and strengthens advocacy investment strategies across issue areas and portfolios, with the goal of advancing policies to increase economic mobility. Salman brings eight years of experience using policy and advocacy action to improve issues like education, homelessness, and environment.

Cynara Lilly is the Executive Director of Advocacy and Communications, leading Ballmer Group’s strategy to advance policies and amplify work that increases economic mobility for children and families. Cynara holds two decades of experience at the intersection of strategic communications and public policy. She has also led and advised on impactful national, state, and local political campaigns that secured lasting educational and environmental wins.

Raelene Magee is an Executive Assistant with Ballmer Group’s Technology and Data and Advocacy and Communications teams. Raelene brings 10 years of experience supporting senior executives at diverse companies including Esterline, Tableau, and Northwestern Mutual.

Brittny Nielsen is a Senior Manager of Communications with Ballmer Group, where she builds and manages external communications strategies to uplift grantees and their work. Brittny holds 17 years of marketing and communications experience in the nonprofit sector, working on issues such as education, social services, homelessness, and affordable housing.

Kevin Bromer is the Executive Director, Head of Technology and Data Strategy, leading Ballmer Group’s approach to increase economic mobility and drive social impact through data and technology. Kevin’s career spans complementary industries—business, nonprofit, and philanthropy—that deliver products, services, and data to strengthen the social services sector and help nonprofits meet their missions at scale.

Korey Klein is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Ballmer Group, developing and managing investment strategies that increase economic mobility and drive social impact through data and technology. Previously, Korey led data operations at United Way of Salt Lake, supporting its collective impact strategy through data analytics and visualization, partnerships with state and local government, and technology implementation.

Soon Lee is a portfolio manager on the Technology & Data Team. Before joining Ballmer Group, Soon served as a Senior Analyst/Strategic Advisor for the City of Seattle. An accomplished data scientist, Soon has worked on a variety of projects bringing data to the forefront for both the City of Seattle and Home Visiting Programs within Los Angeles County. Soon supports the Technology & Data team in evaluating technology-related grants and projects across Ballmer Group portfolios.

Raelene Magee is an Executive Assistant with Ballmer Group’s Technology and Data and Advocacy and Communications teams. Raelene brings 10 years of experience supporting senior executives at diverse companies including Esterline, Tableau, and Northwestern Mutual.

Mekaelia Davis is the Director of Black Family Economic Mobility at Ballmer Group, where she leads national work and advises regional strategies to remove barriers and expand pathways to economic mobility for Black families. Mekaelia has an extensive career working at the intersection of public and private systems to improve economic mobility and racial equity in communities across the United States. Prior to Ballmer Group, Mekaelia was the Director of Inclusive Economies at the Surdna Foundation, Director of Corporate Giving at Prudential Financial, and Program Manager of the Ascend Network at Aspen Institute.

Loren Harris is the Executive Director of National Impact at Ballmer Group where he sets and leads the organization’s national grantmaking strategy, expanding and integrating work in key impact areas for economic mobility. For more than two decades, Loren has worked to develop philanthropy strategies that remove structural barriers to equity and improve economic and educational opportunities for children and families. He most recently served as the Chief Program and Strategy Officer at Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and prior to that led impactful programs at the Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and C.S. Mott Foundation.

Dr. Raychael Jensen is Ballmer Group’s National Director of Early Childhood and Families, where she leads the national strategy to support stable families and improve early childhood outcomes. Raychael has dedicated her career to closing opportunity gaps so that children who are disproportionately likely to remain in poverty have a strong foundation to reach their highest potential. She most recently served as Deputy of Strategy at the Harlem Children’s Zone and brings decades of experience designing and implementing strategic improvement efforts that deliver improved results.

Kayla Roney Smith is Director, K-12 Education with Ballmer Group’s National Impact Team, developing and managing investments focused on improving K12 and higher education outcomes for children and youth. Kayla spent a decade serving in education-focused nonprofit organizations, including most recently as Executive Director of the Hazel Park Promise Zone and College Access Network, where she led organizational strategy, partnership development, and program cultivation to increase educational attainment for young people.

Emma Uman is the Director of National Career Success for Ballmer Group, developing and managing investments focused on college, training, and employment opportunities. Emma brings a combination of program and policy experience having previously served as a Senior Program Manager with the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and Policy Director at MBSquared Solutions. Earlier in her career, Emma worked as a classroom teacher.

Bethany Wylie is a Portfolio Manager with Ballmer Group’s National Impact team, where she contributes to strategy and collaboration and supports cross-team grantmaking processes. Prior to joining Ballmer Group, Bethany advised philanthropies and nonprofits across a wide range of issue areas on strategic problem solving, leadership communication, and process management. She also brings more than a decade of interdisciplinary experience designing and managing programs in the nonprofit sector.

Jennifer Baugh is a Senior Grants Manager with Ballmer Group’s Strategy and Operations team, where she manages all aspects of the grantmaking process, from decisioning to reporting. Previously, she served as the Grants and Finance Manager for the International Clinical Research Center at the University of Washington, as well as held a variety of program management and business operations roles at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Emma Beiser is a Grants Manager with Ballmer Group’s Strategy and Operations team, where she manages all aspects of the grantmaking process, from decisioning to reporting. She brings extensive experience in nonprofit operations and grants management, most recently overseeing the grant portfolio at Special Olympics Washington. With a master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership & Management and extensive experience managing grantseeking processes, Emma has honed her skills in creating efficient systems, building relationships, ensuring compliance, and maintaining accurate data.

Julie Butters is a Grants Manager with Ballmer Group’s Strategy & Operations team, where she supports all aspects of the grantmaking process, from decisioning to reporting. Previously, Julie served in project and operations management roles at The Gates Foundation, where her work focused on supporting teams to implement philanthropic investment strategies that improve equitable education outcomes for students across the United States.

John Griffith is the Executive Director of National Housing and the Strategy and Operations team, which oversees day-to-day operations of the Philanthropy team and helps to develop and hone the organization’s strategy for improving economic mobility. John joined Ballmer Group in 2019 after more than a decade working at the intersection of housing policy, community development finance, and impact investing. Prior to joining Ballmer Group, John was a Director at the strategy consulting firm Tideline Advisors, the National Director for State and Local Policy at Enterprise Community Partners, and an Economic Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress.

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Joe McNulty is the Senior Manager of Strategic Finance at Ballmer Group, advising the grantmaking team with financial insight and due diligence. He joined Ballmer Group’s Strategy & Operations team in 2020 after a decade in financial management and strategic modeling for nonprofits and social enterprises of all sizes. His most recent roles were as Senior Finance Analytics Officer at PATH and Business Strategy Analyst at Grameen Foundation.

Kylie Palzer is a Senior Grants Manager with Ballmer Group’s Strategy and Operations team, where she supports all aspects of the grantmaking process, from decisioning to reporting. Previously, she served as the Senior Foundations Officer for Landesa, a global land rights nonprofit. Kylie draws upon diverse experience in the philanthropic, nonprofit, and public sector spaces, including grant processes and systems management, stakeholder relations, and program evaluation.

Anneka H. Preston is a Senior Grants Manager with Ballmer Group’s Strategy & Operations team, where she manages all aspects of the grantmaking process, from decisioning to reporting. Anneka holds a wealth of experience across due diligence, stakeholder communications and relations, database management, reporting, and research.

Frances Yang is the Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives within Ballmer Group’s Strategy & Operations team, where she hones the organization’s approach to increasing economic mobility. Frances develops strategies and supports the execution of initiatives across Ballmer Group. She draws from prior experience in impact consulting at Next Street and corporate philanthropy at BlackRock.

Nicole DeCario is Chief of Staff at Ballmer Group where she works cross-functionally with and on behalf of the CEO on a broad range of initiatives and projects. Nicole has two decades of experience building and leading philanthropic and non-profit organizations with a focus on empowering individuals and communities to thrive.

Heather Smith is the Executive Assistant to Ballmer Group’s CEO of Philanthropy. Heather’s 20-year career as an administrative professional spans a multitude of industries including sales, private practice administration, and construction. Her passion for mission-driven work led her to a career in philanthropy. Heather’s previous employers include Gates Ventures’ Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative and The Gates Foundation.