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Community Matters: The Power of Community-Led Giving
Jhane Myers, Marsie Silvestro & Raashan Ahmad
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
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In the first of a special two-part Community Matters episode, host Sandra Session-Robertson sits down with Jhane Myers of the Native American Advised Fund, Marsie Silvestro of the Envision Fund (LGBTQ+), and Raashan Ahmad of the Empower! Black Futures Community Fund to explore the origins and guiding values of these powerful identity-based giving circles. Together, they discuss how each fund supports historically underserved communities to build a more equitable future for all of New Mexico.
Jhane Myers is an Emmy award winning filmmaker, Sundance Alumni, and member of the Comanche and Blackfeet Nations recognized for her passion and dedication to films surrounding and preserving the legacies of Native communities. As an originator of Native community engagement she has established herself as a vital cultural and community resource for Native-content projects produced by the networks and studios, which over the years have included: “Prey” (20th Century/Disney) “1883” (Paramount); “The Wilds”(Amazon); “Monsters of God” (Plan B/TNT); “Magnificent Seven” (MGM/Columbia Pictures); “Wind River”(Weinstein Co.); “The Lone Ranger” (Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films); and “Apocalypto” (Icon Ent./Touchstone).
Jhane chairs the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s Native American Advised Fund, founded by renowned sculptor Allan Houser in 1993, and the community-conscious Silver Bullet Productions whose mission is to empower Native youth through the art of filmmaking. She is a member of the Polo Ralph Lauren Native American andIndigenous Advisory Council.
Marsie Silvestro brings four decades of expertise to her roles as an intuitive and dynamic Executive Director, Board and Staff Trainer, Group Retreat Facilitator and Mentor. Her leadership experience spans work on both the local and national levels. She is proficient in the Appreciative Inquiry Strategic Model which focuses on identifying an organization's strengths through individual and group interviewing progresses that honors what has been done, creates transformative collective dreaming and creating effective solution based and accomplishable work plans that will move an agency toward growth and a new pathways toward a successful mission.
Marsie serves on the advisory committee of the Envision Fund of the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Founded in 1997, the Envision Fund is New Mexico's first and largest philanthropic entity dedicated to LGBTQ+ causes.
Raashan Ahmad is a father, musician, poet, community worker, and DJ. He has released six critically -acclaimed albums which have taken him to over thirty-five countries around the world. This, in turn, has led him down a path of international collaboration across artistic mediums, borders, and cultures. Raashan loves the intersection of the arts & community and is passionate about equity and access to the arts, he is an Arts Commissioner for the city of Santa Fe, a founding member of Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, a commissioner for the Santa Fe Film and Digital Media Commission, sits on the advisory board for the National Parks Arts Foundation and is a director & producer of video and storytelling projects. Raashan lives by the Emma Goldman quote “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be in your revolution,” so is also passionate about throwing the best dance parties. He brings his passion for building connections across barriers that can divide communities to his work at Vital Spaces.
Together with the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Raashan Ahmad formed the Empower! Black Futures Community Fund in 2023 to support Black life, arts, and culture in New Mexico.
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About Community Matters
Our monthly radio show invites subject experts and community leaders to talk about the challenges and inequities our region faces and possible solutions that could contribute to its growth. Hosted by Santa Fe Community Foundation staff, Community Matters airs on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM on KSFR (101.1 FM). Listen to past episodes here.
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