Our Team
Tom Nazario
Founder and President
Tom is a California attorney, child advocate, author, and filmmaker. His expertise in children’s rights has led him all over the world documenting human rights violations involving women and children, as well as working with underprivileged kids in the Bay Area for some 40 years. Tom sits on TFI’s Board of Directors and makes presentations to community organizations, colleges, foundations, and corporations that wish to get involved with the work of TFI. It has been his vision and ideas which have shaped the work and goals of TFI.
Jennifer Zahgkuni
Director of Operations
Jennifer has been a part of TFI since its inception in 2007. She is TFI’s Director of Operations and directly assists Tom with TFI’s programmatic work. She manages all aspects of the San Francisco office and coordinates our local events. She also makes field visits on behalf of TFI to follow up with our current programs abroad to help discover new grassroots organizations that can benefit from the small grants that TFI provides.
Maisy Wildermuth
Program Officer & Project Coordinator
Maisy graduated from the University of San Francisco and joined the TFI team in 2019. She manages TFI’s social media and supports the foundation through various means including writing and editing, donor management, and design.
Part-Time Staff and Volunteers
Our part-time and volunteer staff provide an invaluable service to TFI and contribute in a variety of ways from helping with annual events to the day-to-day tasks in the office. The Treasurer of our Board of Directors, Vivian Ho, professionally reviews our accounts before our tax filing each year. We enjoy introducing young people to the not-for-profit world by hiring college students every semester to help with general tasks in the office which involves everything from data entry to researching new projects to our year-end solicitation. They inspire us with their enthusiasm and outlook, and we hope we open their eyes to situations around the world. Of course, we could not do our work abroad without the help of local people who often serve as guides and care about our programs. In particular, Darry Kwame in Ghana has been the guardian of our sponsored students there, and will see them through to their high school graduation. We are grateful to all for their kindness and contribution to our work.