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Unbound Philanthropy
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T 1-646-823-2404
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Press releases

For immediate release
March 17, 2008
Contact: Mail@UnboundPhilanthropy.org

Taryn Higashi is appointed first Executive Director of Unbound Philanthropy, effective June 1, 2008.

Taryn Higashi has been appointed as the first executive director of Unbound Philanthropy, a private foundation that seeks to ensure that migrants and refugees have access to justice, education and other fundamental human rights. She will assume her new position on June 1, 2008. Ms. Higashi, currently the deputy director of the Ford Foundation's Human Rights Unit, will oversee and further develop Unbound Philanthropy's emerging work on migration, with an emphasis on migrant and refugee women, children and youth, public awareness and advocacy.

"Taryn's experience as a grantmaker at the Ford Foundation and as a co-chair and board member of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees will be invaluable as we seek to increase the impact and scope of our U.S. and international work," says Deborah Berger, board chair and founder of Unbound. "She is respected as a funder who has worked effectively with other foundations to build support for organizations working to advance fair and humane treatment of immigrants. She was also an early advocate for incorporating global strategies and perspectives into this work. This experience makes her an ideal choice to guide Unbound."

Ms. Higashi is widely regarded as one of the leading voices promoting immigrant rights within philanthropy. Her tenure at the Ford Foundation coincided with an exponential growth in the field of immigrant rights organizing and advocacy—as well as a substantial increase in the number of foundations supporting that work. While Ms. Higashi was at Ford, the foundation provided crucial support for both new and existing national organizations, and for local coalitions and organizations that work directly with immigrants and refugees in the United States and abroad.

"It is difficult to imagine the vibrant, growing immigrant rights movement that is transforming the United States without the visionary leadership of Taryn Higashi," says Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change." "Taryn has successfully engaged grass-roots immigrant communities, promoted alliances between diverse groups, and recognized the historic immigrant rights and integration challenges faced by our nation. She is a visionary and community-builder, and has been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration to those of us in this struggle," says Donald Kerwin, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.

"We count on Taryn to bring concerns about forced displacement, as well a focus on women and gender, into our programs and publications," says Daranee Petsod, executive director of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. "Taryn will bring to Unbound unique expertise in both domestic and international migration. She has been a steadfast supporter of migrants, refugees, asylees, and internally displaced persons, funding advocacy and institution-building in the United States, Africa and other regions."

Ms. Higashi began working at the Ford Foundation in 1997 where she has managed the foundation's Migrant and Refugee Rights portfolio. Since 1999, she has served as a board member of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, where she was co-chair from 1999-2005. Before joining the Ford Foundation, Ms. Higashi was a program officer at The New York Community Trust, where she coordinated the Fund for New Citizens. She also worked for Safe Horizons, a victim's rights organization in New York City.

"I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to work with Unbound Philanthropy's visionary founders," Ms. Higashi said. "They are at the leading edge of a new group of philanthropists who recognizes the challenges migrants face worldwide as well as the impact of global migration on receiving communities and communities left behind."

Unbound Philanthropy, which will be based in New York City, will initially support work in the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa. For more information, visit www.UnboundPhilanthropy.org or contact Mail@UnboundPhilanthropy.org.

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