Worker Funds

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Starbucks Workers Fund

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Will Reopen Soon

Tech Workers Fund

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The Coworker Solidarity Fund was started by workers for workers, and continues to be led by workers today.

Our staff team collaborates closely with our board and worker committees. We are all workers.

Our Worker Committee members offer guidance and leadership in defining and ensuring eligibility criteria for stipends, as well as thought partnership for exploring new initiatives and programs.

Each of our funds is governed by a worker committee. Committee members are current and former employee activists in their fund’s companies or industries.

The Solidarity Fund Starbucks Worker Committee provides worker-focused advice specific to this Fund on everything from fund disbursement and applicant eligibility, to high-level initiatives and future programs. Its members are current and former worker activists at Starbucks. These workers represent themselves and not the company.

Veronica Gonzalez,
Starbucks Worker Committee Member

Current Starbucks shift supervisor, member of Starbucks Workers United, based in Los Angeles, CA.

Jaime Prater,
Starbucks Worker Committee Member

Former Starbucks shift supervisor, based in Claremont, CA.

Angel Krempa,
Starbucks Worker Committee Member

Former Starbucks shift supervisor, member of Starbucks Workers United, based in Buffalo, NY.

Nikki Taylor,
Starbucks Worker Committee Member

Former Starbucks shift supervisor, member of Starbucks Workers United, based in Memphis, TN.

The Solidarity Fund Tech Worker Committee provides worker-focused advice on everything from fund disbursement and applicant eligibility, to high-level initiatives and future programs. Its members are current and former worker activists and organizers in the tech industry.

Reverend Ryan Brown,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Amazon worker organizing in the Carolinas with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment. Based in Smithfield, NC.

Cher Scarlett,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Software Engineer at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Former Apple employee who helped lead the #AppleToo movement. Based in Seattle, WA.

Felipe Ventura,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Software Engineer and Community Organizer. Based in Richmond, CA

Irene Knapp,
Tech Worker Committee Chair

Formerly employed at Google as a software engineer, founding member of the Trans At Google employee resource group steering committee.

Laurence Berland,
Tech Worker Committee Co-chair

Terminated Google organizer, Based in
San Francisco, CA.

Crystal Coleman,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Product Support Manager employed at Google while serving on the committee, Based in Colorado.
Years Of Service: 2021 – 2022

Damien Desfontaines,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Engineer employed at Google while serving on the committee, Based in Europe.
Years Of Service: 2020 – 2022

Chewy Shaw,
Tech Worker Committee Member

Engineer employed at Google while serving on the committee.

Former Vice Chair of Alphabet Workers Union, Based in the Bay Area.
Years Of Service: 2020 – 2021

Board

Liz Fong-Jones, President

(she/her)

Field CTO, honeycomb.io; formerly a trouble-maker and organizer at Google/Alphabet

Vancouver, BC & Sydney, NSW

Eshanthi Ranasinghe, Treasurer

(she/her)

Principal, Exploration and Future Sensing, Omidyar Network

San Francisco, CA

Jess Kutch, Secretary

(she/her)

Co-Founder and former Co-Executive Director of Coworker.org, and former Executive Director of Coworker Solidarity Fund

Asheville, NC

Staff

Antonio Aguilera

(He/She/They)

Antonio is the Interim Executive Director of the Coworker Solidarity Fund and Senior Director of Worker-Led Projects at Coworker.org.

Antonio is an innovator at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and worker rights. Since joining Coworker, he has coached and supported workers organizing in tech companies to access networks, skills, and tools to successfully improve working conditions, and address ethical concerns in tech workplaces. She previously helped develop a non-profit app for organizing low-income immigrant labor and domestic workers. They are based in San Francisco, CA.

[email protected]

Tim Newman

(Him/He/Any)

Tim is the Director of Worker Impact for both the Solidarity Fund by Coworker and Coworker.org.

Tim helps people leverage both organization’s tools and peer networks to influence employers and win change in the workplace. Before joining Coworker.org, Tim served as a Deputy Campaign Director at Change.org where he supported site users to run and win campaigns on the platform. He also worked as a Campaigns Director at the International Labor Rights Forum.

[email protected]

Iva Torres

(She/Her)

Iva is the Fund Director for the Coworker Solidarity Fund and Director of Operations and Administration for Coworker.org.

She has been in movement-building work for almost a decade. Her work has included organizational development, strategy, and operations. Before joining the team, Iva worked as the Operations Manager for Demand Progress and Action St. Louis.Iva has been able to create a community across many beautiful Indigenous lands and currently resides in Troy, Missouri on lands of the Kickapoo, Oceti Sakowin, Kaskaskia, and Osage peoples.

[email protected]

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