Staff
The staff of the Peace Development Fund is composed of dedicated people with years of experience in both the foundation world and as social activists, and young people committed to a career of social activism. PDF considers itself lucky to be able to find staff members who are dedicated to the ideals of social justice not only in their work for the foundation but also in their personal lives.
Lakota Holder
Executive Assistant
Email: lakota(@)peacefund.org
415-642-0900
My Name is Lakota Holder, I am a 2nd generation relocation Native born in Denver, CO, and moved to the Bay Area when I was 8 years old. I am an enrolled member of the Tlingit & Haida tribe of Alaska, my grandmother was from Sitka, my biological mother’s mother was Oglala from Wounded Knee, and her father was Dinè from Tuba City. I am a mother of two, I have been a Nanny, a youth PowWow dance instructor, I coordinate cultural performances through community and educational programs, as well as I currently serve on committees for Bay Area PowWows. I met my husband at Intertribal Friendship House of Oakland at their weekly Drum and Dance Practice that we have both attended since we were children. The tireless work of nonprofits, their fiscal sponsors, and generous grants have played a huge part in my life and I am happy to put to work what I’ve learned since my mother dragged me along to the various meetings she had with her own nonprofit work. Thank you for this opportunity
Alexis Horne
Foundation Associate
Email: alexis(at)peacefund.org
413-256-8306 x105
Alexis was raised just two streets away from our Amherst PDF office. She is a graduate of Stoneleigh-Burnham in Greenfield, received a degree in International Relations from Bradford College and a Paralegal certification from Northeastern University. After decades in the insurance industry and working as a Paralegal, she was looking for a change in careers. The opportunity to work at PDF as a temporary employee arose and she jumped at the chance. As the great-granddaughter of a Suffragist and the daughter of an LGBTQ activist, she was happy to join PDF and carry on the family legacy of assisting in progressive movements.
Sophia Trifone
Foundation Associate
Email: sophia(at)peacefund.org
413-256-8306 x107
Sophia Trifone joined PDF as a Foundation Associate in August 2022. She coordinates communications, events and assists with the Community Organizing Grant cycle. Sophia holds an Associate Degree in Language and LatinX Studies from Holyoke Community College. Sophia has experience working in the nonprofit sector and has worked with many arts and cultural entities in her community work.
Ian Husler
Foundation Associate
Email: ian[at]peacefund.org
413-256-8306
Ian Husler is a recent Amherst College Political Science and Computer Science graduate. He is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras but lived in several different Latin American countries in Latin America. His experiences growing up has given him a desire to help those less fortunate than himself, leading him to seek a career in the non-profit world, where he worked and volunteered in throughout college and is now seeking to continue with Peace Development Fund.
Jessa McCormack
Program Manager
Email: jessa(at)peacefund.org
413-256-8306 x100
Jessa McCormack has seven years of experience managing campaigns, leading coalitions, and designing programs that bring a more just and equitable world into being. At PDF she will be managing the fiscal sponsorship program and community organizing grantmaking. Her most recent work expanded and strengthened tenant organizing infrastructure in Los Angeles, CA through targeted small grants to emerging tenant unions, administering public funds for tenant education, and increasing general operating funds to anchor organizations. Her greatest achievement so far has been collaborating with lawyers and organizers to create Stay Housed L.A., the largest eviction defense and prevention program in the country. Jessa has a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a self-designed degree in Political Ecology from Hampshire College. She has received leadership and organizing training from The Management Center, Southern California Grantmakers, and the Sadie Nash Leadership Project. Jessa was born and raised in Westfield, MA and will be returning to the region in Spring 2024. She is excited to build relationships with organizers, donors, and philanthropy professionals in New England and beyond.
Lora Wondolowski
Director of Advancement and Communications, Interim Executive Director
Email: lora(at)peacefund.org
413-256-8306 x106
Lora began her career as a grassroots organizer and is excited to join the staff at PDF and return to her roots. She joins PDF after serving as the founding Executive Director of Leadership Pioneer Valley for the last 11 years. She was involved in all aspects of building the organization and its leadership program curriculum to strengthen the region by developing community-minded leaders. She has worked at the local, regional, statewide and national level to advocate for community leadership and the environment. Prior to her work with LPV, she was the founding Executive Director of the MA League of Environmental Voters, and worked for the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and National Audubon Society in DC. While at LCVEF and Audubon, she launched and organized several successful programs and youth and grassroots training programs.
She has nearly 20 years of experience with grassroots organizing and community outreach. Lora holds a BS from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and an MS from Bard College. She was one of the founders of the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls and was a volunteer and board member of Pride Zone Youth Center in Northampton, She currently serves on the Connecticut River Conservancy, Public Health Institute of Western MA, and United Way of Pioneer Valley boards. In 2018 she received the Women’s Professional Chamber’s Woman of the Year Award. She lives in Greenfield with her wife and teenaged daughters.
Interns
The internship program of the Peace Development Fund is comprised of dedicated and eager young people committed to a career of social activism through the midst of their collegic education. PDF considers itself lucky to be able to find interns who cleave to the ideals of social justice not only in their work for the foundation but also in their personal lives. Interns can be contacted via email at intern@peacefund.org.
Charles Doody | Communications Intern | cdoody[at]umass.edu
I am currently a junior at UMass Amherst studying communication and
public policy, and I am so excited to join such a great team working to expand the capacity of
community-based organizations here in Massachusetts. The work that is done at this incredible
nonprofit is something I have become very passionate about through my work. This past summer
I interned at the Office of Grants and Research in Braintree, Massachusetts. I worked with their
grant programs aimed towards promoting public safety and security in Massachusetts. The Peace
Development Fund sets out on a very similar mission, and I am so excited to be a part of it. I take
pride in knowing that my work can help better the communities that I have thrived in for the past
two years of my undergrad. As a communication intern, I look forward to sharing and promoting
the events, achievements, and initiatives of the Peace development Fund with the public. The
Peace Development Fund has been engineering positive change for over 40 years and I look
forward to helping grow its positive impacts even further. Please stay tuned for all we are going
to be doing over the next few months and beyond!
