Board of Directors

Tina has over 20 years of experience in the Technology sector. She has been an Investor/Venture Capitalist (NYSE: GS, NYSE: SFE), a Corporate Development Executive (NASDAQ: TW) & a CFO/Financial Operator.

Her interest in tech began while on the West Coast during the dot com boom working with an Idealab startup. Tina then consulted in the Bay Area before transitioning back to the East Coast where she became VP of Principal Strategic Investments Group for Goldman Sachs & Co.

During her time in NYC, she focused heavily on financial technology as evidence by her roles as Managing Director and Head of Corporate Development of Tradeweb Markets LLC then to SVP/Managing Director, Head of Financial Services Technology and Member of the Investment Committee of Safeguard Scientifics

 She has held numerous fintech board positions and has been an advisor to several tech accelerators and named to the Institutional Investors’ FinTech Finance 40.

Tina received her BS at the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

Tom founded and has led The Giving Spirit since 1999. He continues mobilizing and inspiring stakeholders and volunteers to drive direct impact educational strategies. He leads our teams to provide comprehensive platforms and programs to meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors – and their communities.

With over 30 years of entrepreneurial executive experience in running venture capital, private equity, and owner-financed product and service companies, Tom uses his diverse set of business skills to grow The Giving Spirit from what was a local project into a renowned and universally respected organization.

He received his BA from Virginia Tech University, his MBA from George Mason University’s School of Business and is a Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.  

Both of Tom’s alma maters have recognized him for his humanitarian work with the unhoused community, and he’s received commendations from the Office of the Mayor and the City Council of Los Angeles in 2015 and 2019.

Dawn has over 20 years in education, entertainment and philanthropy.

Dawn works in all areas of feature film, first as a Decorator, then as Art Director and now as a Production Designer for television, live events, music videos, commercials and documentaries.

Dawn was an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts and a guest lecturer at Columbia University in Chicago

She initially volunteered with Hand2Hand, a program providing meals to the unhoused n Santa Monica, which introduced her to the needs of the homeless. Dawn is passionately involved in animal rights and rescue. She currently volunteers with Sanctuary, Animal Assisted Therapy.

Dawn received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts. She taught undergraduate classes at University of Southern California Film School where she earned her Masters of Fine Arts. 

Tatyana is a globally minded strategist and consultant with over 18 years of experience at the intersection of politics, culture, and entertainment. 

Tatyana specializes in planning, stakeholder engagement, and problem solving, with an emphasis on fostering meaningful partnerships. Passionate about social equity, creative collaboration, and community empowerment, Tatyana brings a distinctive combination of political expertise and cultural awareness to every project she undertakes. Tatyana earned her MSc in International Relations from the University of Glasgow and a BA in History from Carleton University.

Brett Yates was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Michelson Found Animals Foundation (MFA), an animal welfare non-profit that believes people and pets are better together. He oversaw a range of initiatives, including grants and programs that put resources in the hands of communities in need and research that promotes pet-friendly policies.

At MFA, Brett was able to expand One Health community vision where the health of the people, the health of the pets, and the health of the community are symbiotic.

While at MFA, Brett was able to introduce innovative programs and work with partners locally, nationally, and internationally through scientific research programs and investment accelerator programs to confront the industry’s broken legacy systems.

Previously, he held senior executive for for-profit companies First American, Fiserv and Janus Mutual Funds and has consulted for multiple startup organizations.  Brett holds a degree in finance and real estate from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.