Leadership & Staff

Jon Stryker is the founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, a private, global grantmaking organization with offices in New York City, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Cambridge, UK. Arcus supports the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) human rights, and conservation of the world’s ape populations. Mr. Stryker has supported the foundation’s ongoing efforts with more than $600 million in funding since its inception in 2000. Mr. Stryker is also a founding board member of the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, Save the Chimps in Ft. Pierce, Florida, and Greenleaf Trust bank in Kalamazoo. He is a Patron of Nature of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and a member of the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation Council for Hope, and he serves on the boards of The Museum of Modern Art and his undergraduate alma mater Kalamazoo College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kalamazoo College and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

John Battista III is co-owner and executive of an international manufacturing company based in Michigan. John’s roles within his business focus on management of the company’s operations and international sales networks, as well as decision-making on company investments in mergers and strategic acquisitions. John also serves as President of the Ronald J. Woods Charitable Trust. The trust’s activities span throughout the United States and across the globe, with focuses on animal welfare, service K9’s, individuals with disabilities, social justice, and education. John lives in Michigan with his wife and two children and spends time travelling among the international operations of his firm. He is a graduate of Northeastern University’s School of Business.

Sarah is a retired registered nurse residing near Toronto in Ontario. She is co-founder of the Canadian Whale Institute and has been involved with several cetacean conservation groups since 1992. Sarah supports Salmon Coast Field Station in its efforts to save the wild Pacific salmon on Canada’s west coast. Sarah and her three sisters own and operate Mount Wolfe Farm – a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) on their parents’ farmstead north of Toronto.

Janet McCartney is the Founder and a Principal of PDW, Inc., one of the largest event production companies in North America situated in Vancouver, Canada where she crafted and led teams designed to produce and manage complex multi-level projects and internationally award-winning events for a diverse range of organizations. She served on the leadership team as a Director of TED Conferences and has directed the growth, design and development of over 50 annual TED Conference events since it changed ownership in 2002, and whose mission is to provide a platform for spreading ideas to everyone, free of charge. Janet started her career in tourism marketing where she managed the highly successful tourism marketing team for Expo 86, developed the brand marketing for Tourism Vancouver, and established Jasper and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in international ski markets which solidified the viability of the resort into a year-round operation. Animal welfare, conservation and the environment have been her North Star and has led to parallel work to protect and improve the lives of all species and their natural habitats by driving change forward to elevate the conversation that recognizes human behavior and actions that affect the lives of other species, one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Jason North is Managing Director of Merchant Medicine, LLC a healthcare consulting firm providing thought leadership, strategic planning and operational engagements with health systems across the US. North has served on many not-for-profit boards such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Society, Angels of Charity and the Professional and Business Forum. His committee involvements include; Human Rights Campaign, Hope & Help, Make a Wish Foundation and the March of Dimes.

Mark O’Donnell advises high net worth families on family office issues, including governance, family office operations and procedures, inter generational change; and trust and estates strategies.

A passionate environmentalist, Mark is Treasurer and a Founding Board Member of the Amazon Biodiversity Center (Camp 41) Advisory Board. Camp 41 is a series of research camps set up for the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments, a collaboration between the United States and Brazil founded in 1978 by Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. He is also a Board Member of Save the Chimps, a organization in Florida with a mission to provide sanctuary and exemplary care to chimpanzees in need.

Mark is also on the President’s Global Advisory Board at New York University.

Chip resides in San Diego, California and is an investor in commercial real estate throughout the US. Locally, he is active in a number of community based conservation projects, animal welfare organizations and a past board member of and officer of a redevelopment agency. He is also an active supporter of a number conservation projects in other parts of the world especially in Africa where he is a trustee of Ewaso Lions. Chip has an undergraduate degree in business and finance from Indiana University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver College of Law.

Justin Stanwix is the former Chief Revenue Officer and currently an advisor to Nanotronics, a technology company that builds robotic, artificially intelligent microscopes, including nSpec® and nSpec® 3D. Their customizable software enables these products to serve the semiconductor, material sciences, rubber, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He joined Nanotronics in the summer of 2015 overseeing global sales, marketing, and communications for the company. Justin is a devoted advocate of the arts and humanities, working with a number of organizations and serving on several boards. He is the co-chair of Creative Time, a New York-based public arts institute, and chairs the advisory board of Pioneer Works, which is dedicated to the creation, synthesis and discussion of art, science and education. Previously, Justin served as Director of Special Projects at eBay developing new corporate strategies for innovation, recruiting and retention, and acquisitions. Prior to joining eBay, he served as Marketing Director at Gust, and started his career in architectural and zoning consultation.

Khadija resides in NYC and brings over 17 years of experience working in foundations, corporates, academic institutions, NGOs, and United Nation agencies.

Tim resides in San Francisco and is Vice President of Philanthropy at the San Francisco Zoo.