About Us

Superbloom Fund is a women-led collective of changemakers.

Who We Are

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Co-Founders and

Circle of Advisors

The co-founders manage the daily operations of the Superbloom Fund, raise funds, and select the grantees.

Our advisors are the strength and heart of the Superbloom Fund. These women provide the sagacity that shapes our philosophy, informs our process, and grounds our practice.

  • Florencia Cicchini is an environmental and gender specialist with over 13 years of professional experience at the intersection of sustainability and gender equality across Latin America. As a project manager, she focuses on translating global commitments and funding into grounded, practical strategies that address the root causes of climate and social inequality. Her experience also spans research, consulting, teaching, and facilitation. She combines analytical depth with strong interpersonal and participatory skills, creating spaces where diverse voices can meaningfully shape decisions. She thrives in collaborative environments, working with actors from diverse backgrounds—from urban and rural communities to government institutions and international donors. Florencia holds a Master’s in Sustainability Sciences and a Diploma in Gender, Development and Sustainability from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and a degree in Biology and Ecology from the University of Buenos Aires. Beyond her professional work, her life is shaped by practices such as activism, dancing, photography, and a constant drive to learn and share.

  • Dr. Jessica Deichmann is an ecologist and conservation biologist dedicated to supporting community-led biodiversity conservation initiatives around the world, with decades of field experience and cross-sector collaboration. She currently serves as a program officer for the Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation, which is dedicated to the survival of wildlife and wildlands and to the vitality of the human communities with which they are inextricably linked. Prior to this, she spent over a decade as a senior scientist with the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the Working Land and Seascapes Initiative, conducting research to develop conservation strategies that serve both ecosystems and people. As a founding member of the Women in Nature Network (WiNN), she has seen firsthand how women building networks and support systems across boundaries strengthens the resilience needed to meet the biodiversity and climate challenges of our time, and how women's full participation produces conservation outcomes that are more sustainable, more locally grounded, and more durable. Throughout her career, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside people around the world committed to making it a better place, and those experiences have shaped her deeply. She has come to understand that connection across people, disciplines, and shared purpose is not just sustaining for those doing this difficult work, it is what makes the work itself more effective.

  • Dr. Penda Diallo is a global multilingual social science scholar, author, and sustainability practitioner with 15+ years of experience across academia, NGOs, industry, and international development. She works at the intersection of responsible mining governance, ESG, natural resource management, human rights, and climate action — with field experience and collaborations globally.

    What sets Dr Diallo apart is a rare combination of academic credibility, extensive field research, cross-industry experience, multidisciplinary expertise, and lived knowledge of the communities she serves — bridging local realities and global frameworks to deliver evidence-based and genuinely transformative change.

    A published book author and contributor to 10+ peer-reviewed publications, she has dedicated over 15 years to sustainable development, ESG, and mining governance in Guinea, West Africa, and the Sahel as both a research focus and a lived practice — championing environmental stewardship, human rights, and initiatives that empower rural communities, with a particular focus on rural women and youth. She serves on the Scientific Board of an international organisation and as a Co-opted Trustee of a university charity.

    Deeply committed to community well-being, she has also volunteered for over 19 years with a charity focused on food security and income generation for rural women across the agricultural value chain—supporting this work both remotely and in the field.

    Now embarking on a bold new chapter, Dr Diallo is building a platform to bring together her expertise, experience, and passion to scale her impact worldwide.

  • Maria DiGiano is a Program Officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where she works on conservation efforts across the Andes-Amazon region. Her work focuses on strengthening the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ lands. Maria’s work helps create the conditions for forests and freshwater ecosystems to thrive over the long term, recognizing that these landscapes are also home to cultures, livelihoods, and ways of life that are deeply interconnected with nature.

    Over the past decades, Maria has worked in environmental philanthropy and international development, collaborating with partners across Latin America, including Indigenous organizations, civil society groups, and public agencies, to advance conservation efforts that are both locally grounded and systemically relevant. She is particularly interested in how governance, finance, and collective action can come together to support not only ecological integrity, but also the resilience and self-determination of the communities who steward these territories.

    Maria is also committed to advancing women’s leadership in the context of climate change and biodiversity. She recognizes that women play a critical role in managing natural resources and shaping solutions, yet remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces and access to finance. She is interested in supporting pathways that elevate women’s leadership and strengthen their role in environmental governance.

    Her work is grounded in a belief that lasting change comes from trust, partnership, and listening, values she continues to carry into both her professional and personal life.

  • Beatrice Karanja is a development and environmental professional with over 25 years’ experience working across Africa and global development ecosystems, with a focus on conservation, climate action, and nature-based solutions. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, international relations, diplomacy, partnerships, communications, and resource mobilization, shaped by decades of navigating complex political economies and multi-stakeholder environments.

    Beatrice has worked with organizations including the BBC, Reuters, UNICEF, Oxfam, the African Wildlife Foundation, Northern Rangelands Trust, and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and has consulted for institutions such as the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Across these roles, she has engaged governments, multilateral institutions, philanthropy, and the private sector, helping shape narratives, partnerships, and collaborative approaches in politically and culturally diverse contexts. These experiences have deeply influenced how she thinks about leadership, power, diplomacy, and impact in development and environmental work.

    Beatrice is currently the Founding Executive Director of Nature’s Pitch, an African-led growth hub supporting early-stage green and blue economy ventures, with a particular focus on nano-entrepreneurship and African women in STEMM. She also serves as Director and Senior Advisor for Strategy, Partnerships, and Resource Mobilization at Natural State, where she advises senior leadership on organizational growth, governance, and international partnerships in nature finance.

    Beatrice holds a BA in Communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, USA, and is undertaking a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at SOAS, University of London. She serves as Board Chair of the Mara Elephant Project, a Trustee of Tusk Trust and Natural State, and a panel judge for the Tusk Conservation Awards. In 2024, Beatrice was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association.

  • Dr. Rebecca Kormos is the Executive Director and Co-founder of the Superbloom Fund. For more than 35 years, she has worked to address threats to wildlife through a wide range of approaches, including field research, conservation planning, policy and advocacy, fundraising, writing, and filmmaking. She is a National Geographic Society Explorer, serves on the Board of For the Good, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Nature Through Her Eyes. Rebecca is also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Section on Great Apes, and the IUCN ARRC Task Force, which she helped to establish. Rebecca is also a founding member of the Women in Nature Network.

    Rebecca lived in Lopé National Park, Gabon, for three years, where she studied primates and helped develop an ecotourism program. She later led the first nationwide survey of chimpanzees and large mammals in Guinea. She has worked at the headquarters of both WWF and Conservation International, helping to shape global conservation strategies and address the interconnected challenges of civil conflict, mining, bushmeat hunting, and biodiversity loss, particularly in relation to great ape conservation.

    Rebecca is the award-winning author of Intertwined: Women, Nature, and Climate Justice, a book that challenges dominant narratives and explores the deep connections between gender equality, environmental protection, and social justice. Through her work, she continues to advocate for a more just and sustainable future for both people and the planet.

  • Throughout her career, which included a 13-year tenure at Conservation International where she oversaw the Conservation Finance department and became the founding director of the Global Conservation Fund, Marianne was drawn into the artisan sphere through her love of traditional textiles and interest in economic development using a "trade, not aid" approach. From her work with over 50 artisan groups in 14 countries and founding a successful handicraft import wholesale and retail company, Marianne has seen first-hand how the artisan sector touches on all aspects of sustainable economic development, and in particular how Indigenous stewardship provides an essential framework for protecting endangered ecosystems. By combining traditional ecological knowledge with modern conservation practices, these efforts preserve threatened habitats while reviving traditional handicrafts that sustain local economies. She has edited two handicraft export guides focusing on the Maghreb, and delivered multiple workshops designed to foster sustainable handicraft production while encouraging fair employment practices, preservation of cultural heritage combined with effective business and marketing techniques.

  • Kalyanee Mam has always been intrigued and inspired by the story of home. Born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, which took the lives of nearly two million people, she and her family were forced to flee their homeland, eventually arriving in the United States in 1981. Even to this day her mother recounts stories of their flight through jungles laden with land mines. Her effort to understand home has led her to work on films about war and refugees, families threatened and displaced by the destruction of their land, forests, rivers, cultures, traditions, myths, and stories. Her debut film A River Changes Course won several awards, including the Sundance Grand Jury Award for World Cinema Documentary and Golden Gate Award for Best Feature Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The short, Fight for Areng Valley, was featured on the New York Times Op-Docs Series. Lost World, featured in Emergence Magazine, received The Eric Moe Award for Best Short on Sustainability. Her other works include documentary shorts Between Earth & Sky and Cries of Our Ancestors. She has also worked as a cinematographer and associate producer on the 2011 Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job. She is a frequent contributor, as a filmmaker and writer, to Emergence Magazine. Kalyanee's story was featured in the film Taste of the Land, directed by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee as part of the magazine’s Shifting Landscapes Film Series. She is currently working on two feature length documentaries - The Girl Who Could Not Speak and The Fire and the Bird's Nest. She is a film advisor to the Mekong Culture WELL project at Michigan State University and director of the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum Short Film Series. Kalyanee also serves as a board member of two Sonoma County-based organizations  - Landpaths, an environmental education and conservation leader with a mission to foster a love of the land and the Women's Lead Club, which provides support, empowerment, education, resources, and opportunities to facilitate and encourage women’s rock climbing both indoors and outside.

  • Faith Milkah Muniale, PhD, is a conservation leader from Nakuru, Kenya, advancing women’s influence, nature-based solutions, and climate-resilient communities across Africa. As Director of the Restore Africa Program at World Vision International, Faith leads one of the continent’s largest landscape restoration initiatives, guiding partners, technical teams, and global carbon compliance.

    With 20+ years of experience in ecosystem restoration, climate adaptation, and natural resource management, Faith publishes widely, mentors emerging women leaders as Global Coordinator of the Women in Nature Network (WINN), and has received numerous awards, including recognition from Women for the Environment Africa, WWF’s Education for Nature Program, and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World. She transforms knowledge into action—uplifting communities, ecosystems, and the next generation of conservationists.

  • Susan Winslow brings over 25 years of experience across advertising, entertainment, and conservation, offering a unique cross-sector perspective on driving meaningful impact. Originally from the UK, her lifelong love of nature has shaped both her career and commitment to conservation. She began in design and advertising, leading programs for national brands and building expertise in creative strategy and client leadership. She later moved into entertainment, overseeing high-profile product launches with major organizations and A-list talent, most recently as Director of Creative Services.

    Susan then transitioned into conservation, working with Friends of the National Zoo and later Conservation Nation, where she served as Director of Grants, Marketing, and Communications. There, she built a global grant program supporting over 100 women, people of color, and Indigenous conservation leaders.

    She currently serves on the Board of the Women in Nature Network and continues to support conservation efforts through fundraising and volunteer work. Susan brings a deep passion for nature and a career rooted in collaboration, creativity, and community.

  • Kristine Zeigler is a nonprofit leader, co-founder and former CEO of Planet Women, and Special Advisor for Fundraising & Capacity Building. Kristine works at the nexus of philanthropy and environmental action. For over 25 years, she has mobilized critical funding to protect land, water, oceans, and wildlife while strengthening the organizations behind that work.

    She has led major global fundraising efforts at Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, and supported mission-driven institutions from Yosemite Conservancy to the San Francisco SPCA and Zoological Society. Her influence extends beyond fundraising—helping shape strategy, build capacity, and accelerate impact across the conservation sector. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Daughters for Earth and on the Board of Directors of the Mono Lake Committee.

    A pilot, author, and mentor to emerging nature writers, Kristine brings together storytelling and strategy to drive resources, inspire action, and advance a more resilient future for people and the planet. Through her writing and mentorship, she helps elevate new voices and deepen the cultural connection between people and the natural world, expanding the reach and impact of conservation.

    Her recent book Fundraiser’s Companion – A Reference to Demystify Major Gifts and the Fundraising Process is a guide for nonprofit leaders about how to gain more support for their work.

Artists

These artists’ support, artwork, and skills have helped us to create our logo and find our voice.

  • Kim Koehler designed Superbloom’s beautiful logo and floral designs!  Kim Koehler is a Los Angeles–based artist and illustrator whose work is inspired by vintage botanical art, folk traditions, and the fleeting beauty of the natural world. Through her illustrations, she highlights the small, often overlooked details of nature – inviting others to slow down, reconnect with the outdoors, and care for the ecosystems that sustain us.

    She licenses her artwork internationally, runs her own online shop, and writes Looking for the Magic, a newsletter devoted to creativity, nature, and everyday wonder.

  • Lynne Hardy crafted the design below, which we will use in Superbloom’s communications. Lynne is from Arizona and currently resides in Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Her mediums are digital drawing and painting, created in Adobe Fresco. She describes her work as colorful, modern depictions of her Navajo people and culture. She gains inspiration from her ancestors and wishes to preserve their stories. Authenticity, Native representation, and inclusion are at the heart of her work, as she hopes to share her culture and stop harmful Native stereotypes. In 2020, she launched her small online business named "Ajoobaasani," which sells Navajo products that she creates herself (stickers, prints, and apparel). The launch of "Ajoobaasani" led to opportunities to work with Native-led organizations and companies that needed Native art, allowing her to become a full-time illustrator. Lynne has collaborated with companies such as Google, Yahoo, Adobe, and Visa. Still based in Utah, Lynne has grown as a full-time illustrator and is currently a contractor for a Navajo language organization. Her other projects include branding for Native small businesses and creating illustrations for marketing purposes. Mural painting is a new medium that Lynne hopes to start. She hopes to continue growing her art career and business, working with clients who value Native culture."

Dispersers

Everyone has a role to play in protecting nature and in supporting women. We are seeking dispersers - people with skills to help support and grow a Superbloom. Please reach out if you would like to get involved!

Join Us!