A Message from Our Board
Dear Friends, Partners, and Allies:
We wanted to take this moment to share that Common Counsel Foundation’s Executive Director, Sangeeta Chowdhry, has made the decision to step down from her position by the end of October 2025.
We want to express our immense gratitude to Sangeeta for her leadership and dedication to the organization. Sangeeta joined CCF as Executive Director in 2023 after an impressive career with two decades in leadership positions in the non-profit sector and philanthropy. She joined the Foundation after a period of accelerated growth and immense change, helping to bring strong alignment across systems, structures, and policies.
Sangeeta shares: “It’s been an honor to lead an exceptional team in support of our community partners. I’m inspired by the courage and resilience of our partners and by CCF’s demonstrated commitment to our north star of being accountable to grassroots movements and centering community priorities.”
We are profoundly appreciative of the clarity and commitment with which she led CCF. We look forward to continuing to build from a place of strength and remain steadfast in our dedication to our movement partners and power building.
Edward (Ed) Sungkyu Lee will be stepping into the role of Interim Executive Director starting November 1. Ed has been on the Board of Directors at CCF since 2017 and has stewarded CCF’s growth during this time. His familiarity with CCF and expertise in nonprofit operations with social justice organizations and philanthropy — including formerly the COO at Magic Cabinet and Interim Co-Director at Californians for Justice, as well as roles at the Center for Third World Organizing, Public Advocates, Greenbelt Alliance, and Tides Foundation — will help ground the organization through this transition. Ed will support the continuity of our programs, including the incubation of Community Ownership for Community Power’s Integrated Capital Fund and growth of our philanthropic advising.
Sangeeta will serve as a Senior Advisor to the Interim Executive Director through the end of the year to ensure continuity. Please join us in appreciating Sangeeta and in welcoming Ed to his new role.
In solidarity,
Chandra Alexandre
Board Chair, CCF Board of Directors
