Our Team

Management Team

Sarah Symons, Founder and CEO - Sarah started HFC in 2005 with her husband John Berger.  Formerly, she was a composer of music for TV and film, and before that, a counselor and art teacher at Creative Arts Workshops in New York City.   Author of THIS IS NO ORDINARY JOY.  View Sarah's TED Talk about Living Heroically.  Sarah is passionate about empowering survivors to be change-makers in their families and communities.  St. Augustine, FL 



Amanda Bonfliglio-Cunningham, Development Director - Amanda crossed paths with Her Future Coalition in 2015 on a service trip to India and has been deeply connected to our work ever since. She has a B.A. in marketing, is a 500-hr E-RYT yoga instructor, and helps run her husband's United States Congressional campaign in Charleston, SC.

 

 

 Nafiza Khatun, Country Director, India - Nafiza has a degree in Business from Chandra Chowdury College and is passionate about commerce as a means for uplifting vulnerable women.  Before coming to HFC, she worked as a community liaison, computer skills tutor, and counselor at Apne Aap and Uddami. Kolkata, India


Soma Seal, Program Director  - In addition to her counseling, training, translation and management roles, Soma is a gifted goldsmith and jewelry designer.  In her spare time, she runs House of Hope, a sewing project providing income to vulnerable women in her community.   Soma is passionate about her newest role at HFC: training women jewelers in our red light area Resource Center. Kolkata, India  

Maura Hurley, Education Program Director -  Maura has been living and working in Kolkata for the past 20 years, as an art teacher, language teacher and translator.  She is passionate about helping provide top quality education to all children, regardless of their background or economic circumstances.  Kolkata, India.

 

Dianna Badalament, Entrepreneurship Program Director - Dianna has been working with HFC for  ten years -training, managing and designing for HFC’s multiple jewelry programs. With a background in political science and social issues and her own jewelry business, Dianna has a passion for empowering women and solidifying their economic solvency through the ancient art of goldsmithing, and lots of love. Healdsburg, CA.

 

Part-time, Advisory and Volunteer Staff:   

Our work would not be possible without the dedication and talent of our part-time and advisory staff and volunteers: 

Sarah Annay, Photography Program Director, Aslyn Baringer, videographer, Felicity Denby, Jewelry Trainer, Heather Deyo, Business Strategy Advisor, Nancy Edwards, Jewelry Trainer/Designer, Caroline Hughes, Social Media Manager, Erin Hunt Moore, PR, Paul Suit, Asia Program Advisor, and Angela Walter, Jewelry Party Coordinator

 

Board of Directors



Diane Davalos Beale, Board Chair -  When Diane saw the documentary “The Day My God Died” in 2009 she felt that abusing the most innocent and vulnerable among us for huge profits was the most egregious injustice on the planet.  Diane iworks with a dedicated group of people in Denver to educate and fundraise in support of our mission.  Diane has run her company, Expanded Learning, for 35 years, and recently published her first novel.  Denver, CO

John Berger - Co-Founder of Her Future Coalition, Impact Solutions Architect at Toniic, an impact investment advisory firm.  After 18 years on Wall Street, John left his job as an institutional sales investment banker to join his wife Sarah in starting this charity.  HIs expertise in social impact business, technology and international development continue to be integral to the success of the organization.  St. Augustine, FL.

Farah Khan - Farah is a Partner at L Catterton, where she focuses on consumer and retail-focused private equity investing in fast growing businesses including beverage, food, retail, restaurants, personal care products. Farah is a Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College and received her M.B.A from Stanford University.  Providing opportunities for women and girls in her native India is a family affair for Farah, whose brother, sister, and sister-in-law have all been integrally involved with Her Future over the past 15 years.  New York, NY

Jeanette Pavini - Two-time Emmy Award winning consumer and investigative reporter. Producer - RealDeal Productions, Columnist - MarketWatch.  Jeanette made a documentary short film about Her Future Coalition in 2011, and is currently running a highly successful jewelry party program for us in the Bay Area. Redwood City, CA

Shira Weinert Cornfeld -  As an arts program manager for multiple nonprofits, and a New York City public school teacher, Shira has dedicated much of her life to art education and community development through the arts. She has been passionate about the power of arts to heal and transform lives, including her own, since childhood as the daughter of an artist. She has been working in the field since she was 16.  Brooklyn, NY

Jenny Hansell - Jenny has worked in nonprofits for 30 years, in program planning, development and executive leadership. She is currently President of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council in Pittsfield, MA, and prior to that she led the North East Community Center in Millerton NY for 17 years. Jenny earned her BA from Yale, and her Masters in Public Administration from the Univ. of Connecticut She writes about film and dance, studies improv theater, and has been friends with HFC founder Sarah Symons since the sixth grade. Northampton. MA

Kara Penn - MBA, MPP, is owner and principal at Mission Spark, a management consulting firm dedicated to leading organizational change and improvement in complex and often resource-constrained settings. Kara has led award-winning community collaboratives; designed, managed, and evaluated multiyear social change initiatives; and provided in-depth consulting services to more than 100 nonprofits, social enterprises, corporations, and philanthropic foundations.  Denver, CO.

Sarah Symons - Founder and Executive Director. St. Augustine, FL.