WITH Foundation Board of Directors
Juan Espinoza, Board Secretary
Juan Espinoza, MD, is the Chief Research Informatics Officer at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Associate Director of the Center for BiomedicalInformatics and Data Science at Northwestern University. He is also the Director and Principal Investigator of the Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics, an FDA funded pediatric medical device accelerator. His research focuses on identifying, refining, and innovating approaches to using data, media, and technology to improve health outcomes and narrow the health gap faced by marginalized communities in the US and abroad. Juan completed his undergraduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis and earned his MD from the USC Keck School of Medicine, completing his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He was an attending physician at CHLA and faculty at USC for nearly a decade before moving to Chicago in 2023.
Angel Miles, Board Member
Angel received her doctorate in Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Disability and Human Development and the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she became the Healthcare/Home and Community Based Services Policy Analyst at a prominent disability rights and services organization in Chicago. In multiple capacities she continues to speak, teach, write, and advocate on issues pertaining to social justice and inequality, especially as they impact women and people of color with disabilities. Her article entitled “Strong Black Women: African American Women with Disabilities, Intersecting Identities, and Inequality” was published in the February 2019 Gender & Society special issue: Gender, Disability, and Intersectionality. In April 2020, her piece “Disability: What Have Black People Got to Do with It?” was published by The African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) blog Black Perspectives as part of the Blackness, Disability, & Gender Identity Series organized by Vilissa Thompson. In October 2020, Angel contributed to the Health Justice and Black Liberation feature for Black Agenda Report and recently served as a Disability Inclusion Fund advocate Grantmaking Committee member for Borealis Philanthropy.
John O’Hara, Board Member
John O’Hara is a Horticultural Therapist and Master Gardener who has had direct support experience with people with a disability in the community. Presently John works with the memory care communities and provides sensory garden activities to his clients. John graduated from Multnomah Bible College and has been a layman and a volunteer in the church. John co-founded what was then known as The Special Hope Foundation (now known as WITH Foundation) along with his lovely wife Lynne.
Lynne O’Hara, Board President
Lynne O’Hara is the Founder and President of the WITH Foundation, a family foundation with a mission to promote the establishment of comprehensive healthcare services for adults with developmental disabilities designed to address their unique and fundamental needs. Working with a board composed of family and community members, Lynne has built funding capacity and increased effective grantmaking. In addition to a vibrant grantmaking program, the WITH Foundation (formerly known as The Special Hope Foundation) has also hosted several conferences and networked with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to improve the health care system. She is particularly interested in encouraging fellow funder organizations to incorporate more inclusive grantmaking practices. She is a member of Exponent Philanthropy, Northern California Grantmakers, and the USC Center for Body Computing.
In addition to her role at the foundation, she has played an active role in the community through her work with the American Red Cross, Urban Ministries in Palo Alto, and Hope for Kids in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married to John and has three grown children.
Megie Okumura, Board Member
Megumi Okumura, MD MAS FAAP, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. She conducts research aimed at studying and formulating interventions that will address barriers and facilitators to chronic illness care for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) as they transition from pediatric to adult-focused health care. She is dual boarded in internal medicine and pediatrics. In addition, she completed a health services research fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Program, Fellowship in Health Policy, and her Master’s program that focused on Implementation and Dissemination Sciences at UCSF. Dr. Okumura’s research goal is to generate rigorous evidence to improve the quality of healthcare provided to patients through implementation of interventions that integrate patients, health care providers, health care systems and community organizations. Her research has served to develop quality improvement interventions to improve transitions of care from pediatric to adult health systems at UCSF and in community settings. She teaches research methods at UCSF for the Designing Clinical Research course and is the Director of the Clinical and Translational Sciences research pathway for the UCSF Pediatric Residency Program. She is the scientific co-chair for the Health Care Transition Research Consortium. In addition to her academic interests, she sees patients in her primary care practice at the UCSF General Medicine Clinic at Mt. Zion. She also sees patients at the Screening and Acute Care Clinic at UCSF and in the Pediatric Acute Care Clinic at Mt. Zion.
For fun, Megumi enjoys whale watching, fishing, mushroom foraging, and sea glass hunting with her husband, Daniel.
Adela Ruiz-Olivo, Board Vice President
Adela is a grantmaker, strategist, professor, and lifelong New Yorker with proud Afro-Carribean roots. Her experiences as a member of historically excluded communities drive her commitment to actualize equity and expand opportunities for disabled, Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC), women, and immigrant families. She is a values-driven leader who has worked in Philanthropy, nonprofits, and Higher Education for over 15 years, leading sector-wide initiatives that uplift racial equity, disability justice, and inclusive approaches to grantmaking and programming. Having worked at Ford Foundation, Open Society, and served as a Disability Inclusion Fund Advocate at Borealis, among many other institutions, Adela has worked closely with executive leadership across foundations to create opportunities with and advance the inclusion of people of color and people with disabilities. She is a proud alumna of the respected Rockwood Equity in Philanthropy Fellowship (2021) and Hispanics in Philanthropy Líderes Fellowship (2018).
Her work has been spotlighted at many national conferences like Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) and Upswell and published several times in NPQ. A firm believer in centering justice and joy in all that she does, Adela currently serves as the first-ever NBA Foundation‘s Director of Programs. Adela earned her BA/MA in Sociology from St. John’s University, has completed Graduate Disability Studies coursework, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Phil Shemanski, Board Treasurer
Phil Shemanski grew up in West Los Angeles. He earned his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and later his Master’s degree in Taxation at Golden Gate University (GGU)(SF). Phil worked for 22 years as a CPA in the tax practice of Ernst & Young where he was part of a successful partner team, managing several tax specialty groups. He has also taught graduate tax classes on GGU’s CyberCampus. During the 1990s, Phil’s daughter was diagnosed with autism (ASD). As she progressed through high school, Phil became aware of the lack of available employment opportunities for those with ASD. In an effort to develop a change model, he founded the start-up Renewing the Renaissance™ in 2012—a company now dedicated to developing an online art school to be launched in 2017. Phil volunteers for the Wings Learning Center in Redwood City. He’s also a member of the Mountain View Los Altos High School Foundation and is the lead trustee of their Endowment Fund.
If you wish to contact members of the Board, they can be reached at board@withfoundation.org.
WITH Foundation Staff
Ryan Easterly, Executive Director
Ryan Easterly is a visionary leader who lives and works at the intersections of race, class, disability, and sexual orientation. As Executive Director of the WITH Foundation, he champions comprehensive healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities and advances systemic change within the U.S. healthcare landscape.
A recognized advocate for justice, Ryan has held key roles in shaping inclusive philanthropy. Before joining WITH, he served on its Board of Directors, solidifying his commitment to disability justice. His prior leadership includes managing the National Youth Transitions Initiative at The HSC Foundation and his work at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Throughout his life, Ryan has worked on a variety of community outreach and advocacy efforts.
Ryan co-chairs the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy alongside Dr. Rich Besser (of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) and serves on the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the Governance Committee of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum. He is also a 2024-2025 Obama Leader (USA) and was appointed by President Biden to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
A proud Alabamian with a degree from Troy University, Ryan carries his Southern roots into his work. He appreciates the joy and reminder a good glass of sweet tea provides amid the pursuit of equity and meaningful change.
Sofia Webster, Director of Communications
Sofia Webster is the Lead Consultant of Content Marketing and Strategy at LaVant Consulting, Inc, an impact focused social strategy and communications firm led by disabled women. Her love of and appreciation for the disability community on the Internet acted as kindling for her work creating accessible social media experiences for people with disabilities. She feels called to do disability-focused social impact work, having been a part of Sins Invalid, the Crip Camp impact campaign, and chronic illness advocacy groups.
Marika Garvey, Administrative Coordinator
Marika Garvey serves as the Administrative Coordinator for the WITH Foundation. She is an established and respected public servant, devoted to accomplishing vital functions in the state agencies that support and protect the people of Oregon. Marika is also a creative artisan, currently pioneering a new art form handcrafting tiles from fabric to create colorful mosaics. She enjoys exploring Oregon State Parks and spending time with her family, including her therapy cat—Tulio!
Anna Cruz, Learning & Evaluation Analyst
Anna Cruz is a strategist, evaluator, and thought leader with over a decade of experience advancing equity-centered philanthropy. As Principal at Cruz Strategic Consulting, she partners with foundations and nonprofits to strengthen learning, strategy, and impact through equity-driven evaluation, foresight, and capacity-building.
Previously, Anna served as Managing Director of Strategic Learning, Research, and Evaluation at The Kresge Foundation, where she led organization-wide efforts to embed equity in evaluation and learning across seven national and place-based programs. Her work is shaped by a deep commitment to racial justice, grassroots movements, and her background in cultural anthropology.
Anna serves on the Board of Directors for San Diego Made and is a certified Foresights Practitioner, helping organizations navigate complexity with vision and resilience. She enjoys creating pottery, spending time with her partner and daughter, and visiting her native Oaxaca, Mexico.