OUR PEOPLE
We’re honored to offer our whole selves–not just our funding–as we work alongside our partners in the collaborative pursuit of gender, economic, and racial justice.
Staff and Board
Our staff and board work in partnership with one another—sharing power and decisions as we steward Tara Health's resources toward justice.
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Board Chair
Rachel is a Black, queer leader transforming finance into liberation by centering those traditionally locked out of wealth. She is the Founder and Co-CEO of Adasina Social Capital, partnering with social justice organizations to identify and invest in companies aligned with racial, gender, economic, and climate justice principles. A long-time spiritual student and self-identified math nerd, she finds joy sharing meals with beloved community. Rachel knows true wealth means collective well-being.
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Executive Director
Elise’s professional journey centers on one truth: relationships transform everything. This belief has shaped both her and Tara Health Foundation– a mutual blooming she’s deeply proud of. A friend, mother, and full human, Elise finds joy in her Oakland community, tidying up, and in her encyclopedic knowledge of car models. She envisions justice as everyone able to live in their full humanity: held with support, care, and love, joyful and plump with life.
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Board Member
Michael embodies how transformation happens through relationship—his own yes to board leadership came from heart, not head. Son of civil rights leaders, he brings their justice legacy to his role as board chair where he holds space with gratitude and humility. Connection and energy guide everything he does. He envisions philanthropy as liberation, believing power amplifies when people unite in solidarity and that justice is alignment between values and action.
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Founder and President
Ruth channels her service calling through healing systems—whether individual patients or entire sectors. Energized by complexity, her proudest achievements include her career at Kaiser Permanente, work to create Rhia Ventures' nonprofit-owned venture fund structure and co-writing The XX Edge: Unlocking Higher Returns and Lower Risk. Ruth finds joy among the roses with her beloved dog and husband, and envisions justice as a world with abundant resources, contentment and health for all.
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Deputy Director
Mia believes we can't realize futures we can’t imagine—so she brings those visions into vibrant, multifaceted clarity through narratives that center equity, joy, and shared abundance. Raised in a family where Jewish values met scientific inquiry, she learned knowledge belonged in service of collective liberation–shaping how she moves through the world. Dancing, reading speculative fiction, or seeking peace outdoors, she envisions justice as collective flow, free from constraints that block our becoming.
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Board Member, Secretary
Kimberly believes stories are powerful tools for transformation–tiles that create the mosaic of collective change. A journalist-turned-tech founder whose work centers Black and Brown mothers and birthing people, she brings her grantee perspective to Tara Health’s board where she helps demonstrate another way: relationships over transactions, vulnerability over performance, and action over buzzwords. She knows her communities deserve radical shifts in philanthropy so that they can thrive, not just survive.
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Board Member and Treasurer
Fueled by passion for gender and social justice, Ellen's journey spans 40 years as a philanthropic leader; redistributing wealth, power, and control from institutions to movements. Guided by her Jewish ancestors' legacy, she knows justice requires radical inclusion, creativity, connection—values she brings to her coaching and facilitation practices. Ellen feels the world we can create together: honoring the humanity of all beings, celebrating community, persisting in our work for freedom, joyful connections, and love.
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Manager of Operations and Administration
Ellen brings 25+ years of nimble foundation management expertise, energized by learning from each unique partnership. Visiting Montgomery's Legacy Museum was life-changing— transforming her understanding of how America was built. The more she learns about systemic racism and its persistence today, the more compelled she becomes to change these systems. A "live to eat" enthusiast who loves cooking, hiking, and lake time with family, she envisions justice feeling like blooming spring after a long winter.
In Partnership With
We don't do this work alone. These partners shape how we show up and share what we're learning.
Video production
Illustration
Editorial & content strategy
Animation
Brand & digital strategy + design
Make Shift Happen
You’re invited to dive deep alongside us into the sticky questions philanthropy has been reluctant to ask. Join us in exploring how we all can work differently to support change—leading with relationships, sharing power, and transforming from the inside out.
Ongoing Reflections
Reflections from our founder, Dr. Ruth Shaber
Hear from Ruth how questioning assumptions about power, expertise, and change reshaped her approach to philanthropy.
Meet Tara Health's Board of Directors
In 2022 we welcomed a new board and board chair to steward our foundation through close.