OUR VISION

Our vision is a world where people from historically excluded communities have the resources to fully realize their dreams and determine their own life paths.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to provide funded opportunities for learning, growing, and exploration. We support current and budding projects, social enterprises, and nonprofit groups led by people from historically excluded communities.

OUR VALUES

Equity

We believe that social change should blossom from the communities that are directly impacted by oppression and injustice. We create space for people and groups that have been historically excluded from decision-making to experiment with new ideas and approaches. We specifically support people of color and Indigenous peoples, especially those who are impacted by intersecting identities such as women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA2S+ people.

Courage

We believe in creative and bold solutions to old problems. As Audre Lorde famously said, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” We support ideas and plans that haven’t been tried before, and the courageous people behind them.

Community

Our current socioeconomic system prioritizes corporations, but corporations don’t prioritize us. We believe that together, we can build whole community transformations. We envision a people-first world that no longer relies  on exploitative mega-corporations. 

Dreaming

We believe that dreaming is not only freeing, but necessary - and fun! We recognize that dreaming has too often been reserved for people with the time and freedom that many historically excluded communities don’t have access to. That’s why we aim to foster an environment where our grantee partners’ dreams are supported, and nurtured. 

OUR TEAM

  • Whitney Meilan is a writer, artist, dog mom, noodle-enthusiast, and creator of Mixed Change. She is a mixed race, Asian-American woman born in Hong Kong and raised primarily in Shanghai, China.

    Whitney has worked with individuals and groups fighting for migrant justice, abolition, racial justice, international human rights, Indigenous self-determination, trans rights, and so much more.

    She believes that storytelling and cultural work have to be part of any movement for change. Whitney earned her MA Social Justice & Human Rights from Arizona State University, and her BA Sociology & Cultural Studies from University of London.

    She has over ten years of experience working at nonprofits and social enterprises, most recently as the director of programming and communications at a grassroots human rights organization.

    In her spare time she likes to go for long nature walks with her husband and three dogs, whom she often refers to as munchkins.

  • Andrew is a self-proclaimed international Aussie who has lived among cultures and continents including Australia, Germany, China, and the United States. 

    He is a designer and dreamer with a dedication to fostering imagination, believing in peoples’ visions, and bringing them to reality. Andrew attended Swinburne School of Technology and HAWK University where he studied Product Design and Industrial Design. He worked as a Principal Designer for Frog Design in Germany, a leading global creative consultancy, and founded his own design consultancy business in Shanghai, China called Beach Creative.

    Today, Andrew works as a Project Manager with Mixed Change and is a co-founder at The Bambi Fund where he directs programming. He spends his downtime building out the family campervan for nature adventures.

  • Jovana Renteria is an Indigenous Xicana from Phoenix, Arizona. She has been organizing and fighting with her community against the injustices in the immigration and criminal legal system since 2007. Her work has been instrumental in growing the political movement in Arizona. Jovana believes true change will come only when impacted communities organize, resist, and speak for themselves. She founded The Uno por Uno (One by One) Legal Clinic which reunited more than 477 families facing deportation. She helped two people with life sentences gain release through the Board of Clemency after 25 years of incarceration. Jovana has been part of several local and national campaigns and has fought against laws, policies, and other human rights violations including police and ICE collaboration, government corruption, and family separation.

OUR board of directors

  • A seasoned entrepreneur and accomplished leader, Jake Hylton brings a unique blend of business acumen and unwavering commitment to his role as Executive Director of LOOKOUT. His journey began at the age of ten, apprenticing under his mother in her restaurant consulting firm, where he gained invaluable experience in the world of small business. Jake's career has been marked by diverse pursuits, from managing and founding arts organizations to navigating the startup realm, where he ultimately established his own successful venture in residential housing. Driven by a profound dedication for Arizona's LGBTQ+ community, Jake spearheaded the launch of LOOKOUT as its Founding Executive Director.  His leadership is fueled by a potent combination of entrepreneurial spirit, a deep-seated passion for social impact, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

  • May moved to Arizona after high school to attend ASU to study Philosophy, but their college career ended when they were incarcerated for two years. During their time, May focused their energy on self development by completing programs and bettering their education through reading books donated to May by an ASU professor. May spent much of their time tutoring women to achieve their GED which they felt was extremely rewarding. May also was chosen to be a speaker of a TED X event and had training from professional speaking coaches and implemented that training for women incarcerated who wanted to work on their public speaking skills.

    After May’s release, May focused on being a voice for marginalized communities because they met so many women who helped them during their hard times who were disenfranchised. May finally found their calling when they met with the Community Coordinator of the ACLU of AZ and volunteered with them and was rewarded with the title as one of their keynote speakers because of their consistent activism and involvement in the community. For instance, when data showed that violence and harm increased towards the AAPI community, May led in organizing a vigil for the AAPI hate crime victims in Atlanta because their community needed to heal and not feel alone and unheard. After seeing mixed feelings from other communities of color, May was compelled to organize a Unity March because they believe change won’t happen unless we have cross-cultural collaboration and the community needs to fight for social equity in solidarity. Since working as the Advocacy Director for AZ AANHPI for Equity, May has led multiple political campaigns including defeating a predatory sports arena from being built in Tempe, and  in 2024, May was the honoree as the Changemaker of the Year at the American Courage Awards hosted by Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Washington D.C.

  • Dr. Yeshaq Sarra Tekola (they/he) is a passionate sustainability scientist and community organizer who has dedicated their life to climate justice and just transition initiatives. As the founder and executive director of Addis Alem Consulting, Dr. Tekola’s mission is to bring “the science to sidewalks.” They hold a PhD in Sustainability from Arizona State University, where their research explored the linkages between climate change and colonialism and argued decolonization as a climate solution. Additionally, they work alongside Indigenous communities in the Navajo (Din’e) Nation to fund and implement sustainable ecological restoration projects. Since 2018, they have been doing resource drives to land defender elder communities in Black Mesa.

    Over their career, they have founded three nonprofits and led countless campaigns. Their participatory research with Got Green in South Seattle led to impactful policy advocacy at the Seattle City Council. At Black Lives Matter Phoenix, which they co-founded, Dr. Tekola spearheaded the “People's Budget Tempe” project, successfully engaging over 500 frontline communities to reallocate millions of the city budget towards supporting BIPOC communities in accessing sustainability and building resilience in over-policed neighborhoods. In an advisory capacity, Dr. Tekola serves on the advisory board for the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice and is the Just Transition Climate Finance Consultant for the Chisholm Legacy Project where they research and write reports on climate finance.