Philanthropy New York Welcomes Two New Philanthropy Fellows, Ariane Cruz and Javon Robinson
Philanthropy New York is excited to welcome our new philanthropy fellows, Ariane Cruz and Javon Robinson. After a competitive application process, Ariane and Javon stood out, bringing their deep and varied academic and professional experiences.
Ariane Cruz received her M.S. in Culture, Organization, and Management from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Ariane’s undergraduate work included research on dyadic imitation in young children with the Child Development Project at Bard College. Prior to graduate school, she was a member of the development team at the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). At BPI, she evolved professionally alongside the organization as it experienced transformational growth through the launch of the Bard Microcolleges, a reimagination of its college program in prison created in partnership with community-based institutions such as the Brooklyn Public Library. Over five years, Ariane built out and codified development processes that adapted to an organizational budget that grew seven-fold, a constituency that more than doubled, and securing of new major philanthropic partners. Additionally, she supported BPI’s institutional advancement through prospect research, grant writing, and content creation as it related to fundraising, communications and marketing.
Javon Robinson received her Master’s in Public Administration from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (bringing the total number of Wagner alums in this office to 4!) Javon began her career in public service by joining NYC Service’s Civic Corps. During her term of service, she was assigned to New York Cares as the Financial Literacy Associate where she managed daily volunteer programs and planned and facilitated events for corporate volunteers. In this role, she was able to increase the math and financial knowledge of over 300 public school students.
This is the sixth year of Philanthropy New York’s fellowship program, previously called the Public Policy Fellowship. For 2021, we reframed the program to "Philanthropy" Fellows to reflect the range of topics in which Fellows engage across the philanthropic spectrum. Fellows play a critical role in facilitating issue-based collaboration between members and developing relevant, high-quality events and programs. The fellowship is designed for recent graduates whose identities and lived experiences have been underrepresented in the field of philanthropy, especially BIPOC communities, and reflects PNY’s deep commitment to creating a pathway for the next generation of diverse talent entering the philanthropic sector. The fellowship program is made possible by the generous contributors for The Fund for 2025.
Ariane and Javon start on July 15. Please help us welcome Ariane and Javon into the Philanthropy New York community as they begin their fellowship this summer.