Our team

 
 

Elisa Crespo | Executive Director

Elisa Crespo joined Stonewall Community Foundation as Executive Director in November 2024. Prior to Stonewall, Elisa spent several transformative years as the founding executive director of the NEW Pride Agenda, where she built the emerging organization from the ground up, creating a thriving state-wide advocacy powerhouse. Elisa was instrumental in the implementation of New York State’s multi-million-dollar Lorena Borjas Transgender and Nonbinary Wellness & Equity Fund, one of the first of its kind in the country. After graduating from John Jay College, where she studied political science and human rights, Elisa held numerous community organizing roles and served as the Education Liaison to the Bronx Borough President. As a trans Latina woman, Elisa is a trailblazer in the nonprofit sector, where just 5% of NYC-area nonprofit leaders are Latina women.

Elisa’s movement building efforts have been profiled in numerous media outlets including Them, LGBTQ Nation, OUT Magazine, Marie Claire and NBC News. Her work in the LGBTQ+ community has been recognized by several leading organizations including In Our Own Voices, New York Transgender Advocacy Group, Gay City News, the NYC LGBT Center, Stonewall Democrats of NYC, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Manhattan Democratic Party, the Bronx Democratic Party, Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo, GMHC, the NYC Comptroller's Office, and more. Elisa has been featured in City & State New York’s “40 under 40” list and graced the cover of their 2023 Pride Power 100 issue. A lifelong New Yorker, Elisa made history in 2020 as the first trans woman to run for public office in the Bronx.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

 

Lauren Todd | Managing Director

Lauren Todd is Stonewall’s longest-tenured staff member and, second to the executive director, has been chiefly responsible for the financial and operational administration of the foundation since April 2011. With almost two decades of experience in nonprofit management, Lauren has a well-rounded skillset to meet the day to day operational needs of the foundation from Human Resources, to fund administration, to budget management. During the recent period of transition, she worked closely with board and staff to ensure organizational stability. Just prior to her work with Stonewall, she served as Director of Operations for a theater company for children with disabilities.

In her spare time, Lauren served as Board Co-President for a small educational nonprofit; seeing it through a transitional period to renewed stability. Lauren holds a BA from Scripps College and is a San Francisco Bay Area native. She’s lived in Brooklyn since 2006.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Kazem Ghouchani | Major Gifts Officer

Kazem Ghouchani joined Stonewall Community Foundation in May 2023. Kazem is a Brooklyn-based development and marketing professional with over six years of experience in community building and cultural programming. They hold an MBA from Hult International Business School and have a passion for raising funds to develop programs for LGBTQ grassroots initiatives and communities. Social/racial/environmental justice has always been a driving force pushing them to look for ways to use social and cultural programs as a medium to build up diverse communities.

As a queer atheist from Tehran, Iran, Kazem also serves as a fundraising and development consultant for the Emruz Festival. They served the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly known as The Actors Fund) as a Major Gifts Manager and Rattlestick Theater as a Development Manager before joining the Stonewall team.

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Gattlin Miller | Director of Communications & Partnerships

Gattlin Miller joined the Stonewall team in 2017. In his current role, Gattlin stewards lasting and impactful relationships with corporate and foundation partners, directs Stonewall's major events, and leads all internal and external communications efforts. With more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit development and communications spheres, Gattlin is honored to put his dedication to the LGBTQ+ community into action for an organization as vital and innovative as Stonewall.

Prior to joining the Stonewall team, Gattlin provided development, operations, and event support to organizations like the United States Fund for UNICEF and AIDS Walk New York, and led alumni giving programs at various higher education institutions throughout the country.

Originally from Minnesota, Gattlin relocated to New York in [redacted] to attend Fordham University, where he studied sociology, anthropology, and humanitarian affairs. Hoping to one day soon be considered a true New Yorker, he lives in Brooklyn with his partner (and hopefully, soon, a dog).

Pronouns: he/him/his

Maryse Pearce | Program Director

Maryse Pearce joined Stonewall in April 2019. She brings over a decade of experience in LGBTQ advocacy and organizing. Previously, Maryse was the Community Engagement Coordinator at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), where she created and executed outreach strategies. During graduate school, she held fellowships at Unbound Philanthropy, a foundation that supports immigrants and refugees in the US and UK; and the Equality Federation, a coalition of statewide LGBTQ advocacy organizations. Before coming to Stonewall, Maryse worked as an analyst at HR&A Advisors, an economic development consulting company.

Maryse earned a Master of Public Policy and an MBA in Nonprofit Management at Brandeis University and a BA in History and Theater from Washington University in St Louis. A native of Queens, she lives with her spouse in Brooklyn.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Kalli Flores-Lyon | Operations & Executive Assistant

Kalli Flores-Lyon joined the Stonewall team in August 2022. Previously, they served the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice as a Legal Services Coordinator, overseeing a remote legal clinic for detained immigrants. Before that, they were a Program Fellow at the Al Otro Lado Border Rights Project, where they coordinated shelter and transportation for most vulnerable persons, including LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. During that time, Kalli is proud to have launched a pro se asylum clinic and court observation program for people subject to MPP stuck at the US/Mexico border. They are passionate about advocating for all members of the LGBTQ+ community and are thrilled to continue that work as part of Stonewall.

Kalli holds a BA in Global Justice from the University of Oklahoma. They currently reside in Washington Heights with their Boston Terrier, Lupe.

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Tenzin Saldon | Program Assistant

Tenzin Saldon became a member of the Stonewall team in August 2022. Their experiences prior to Stonewall include internships at the University of Chicago Urban Labs and Machik, where their focus was dedicated to various projects centered on racial justice and gender equity. A recent graduate of Cornell University with a BA in Sociology, she spent her time on campus leading organizations that centered marginalized student populations, such as first generation students and BIPOC LGBTQ students.

Tenzin is proud to be from the beautiful city of Chicago and currently resides in Brooklyn.

Pronouns: they/them/theirs & she/her/hers