Co-Founder | Co-Executive Director, Operations + Impact

Mona’s executive-level nonprofit experience spans program management and development, strategic planning, and operational capacity building roles at anti-poverty and equity-focused nonprofit organizations. Most recently, she served as the Chief Program Officer for one of the largest Community Action Agencies with a program portfolio of over $150 million.

Mona believes that systems change is driven by strategic planning, collective action, and community-driven interventions. Her experience in leveraging community partnerships and developing social services programs informs her commitment to challenging systems and bridging gaps. Mona has spearheaded projects to include a county-wide Community Needs Assessment, COVID-19 agency continuity plan, and federally funded statewide initiatives to combat water inequities.

Mona is a Nationally Certified Results-Oriented Management & Accountability Implementer. She currently serves as Board Secretary and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee for the Marianas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations Board of Directors. She previously served as the Chair of the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program Committee for the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies and as a member of the Community Task Force for Water Equity for the Center for Water Security & Cooperation. Mona earned a Master of Social Work from Widener University and a B.S. in Law & Society with a minor in Psychology from Thomas Jefferson University.

Mona’s passion for community empowerment stems from her upbringing and identity as a CHamoru & Pacific Islander. A daughter of the island of Luta in the Northern Mariana Islands, she saw how the lack of community resources had a pervasive impact on her island. Mona dedicates her work to building collective power and identifying sustainable solutions for communities to thrive.