Our Staff

Get to know our global team at The Christensen Fund, made up of experts in topics such as Indigenous law, human rights, environmental issues, finance, philanthropy, and social welfare. Together, we are united in supporting the global Indigenous Peoples’ Movement to advance the inherent rights, dignity, and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples.

Get to know our global team at The Christensen Fund, made up of experts in topics such as Indigenous law, human rights, environmental issues, finance, philanthropy, and social welfare. Together, we are united in supporting the global Indigenous Peoples’ Movement to advance the inherent rights, dignity, and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples.

Carla F. Fredericks

Chief Executive Officer

Carla F. Fredericks is a seasoned leader and innovator in the fields of sustainable economic development, human rights, business and finance, Indigenous Peoples law, and federal Indian law. She is a proud enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of North Dakota. She has significant practice experience in litigation, and has authored and co-authored numerous studies and papers on sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and Indigenous rights for various law reviews and policy journals. Carla’s leadership and contributions have helped expand Indigenous rights across the country. Among her vast experience, Carla has provided core support to the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous Peoples and served as counsel to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, helping to bring international attention to their opposition of the Dakota Access Pipeline. She assisted the Maya peoples of Southern Belize in implementing the affirmation of their land rights and developing a model for Indigenous-driven consent processes and remedy. Through her long affiliation with the Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group, Ms. Fredericks has advocated full integration of human rights into the capital markets, and facilitated improvements to environmental and social risk management frameworks, including the Equator Principles.

Casey Box

Director, Global Strategy

Casey joined The Christensen Fund in 2021 as our director of global strategy. He brings over a decade of experience and expertise in advocating for Indigenous rights, participatory grantmaking, network building, and environmental issues. Since joining The Christensen Fund, Casey has increased the amount of global grantmaking to Indigenous-led organizations, increased support to Indigenous-led funds, and serves as The Christensen Fund’s lead in the $1.7 billion Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Forest Tenure Pledge (IPLC), which was signed at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Prior to The Christensen Fund, Casey was the executive director of Land is Life, a global NGO dedicated to supporting the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples.

David Allen

Controller

David Allen is the Controller for the Christensen Fund, and joined the organization in 2020. His primary responsibilities include overseeing day-to-day accounting and financial procedures and assisting in ensuring that The Christensen Fund’s financial resources are properly safeguarded. David prides himself on bringing a mission-aligned lens to the work of financial management. Prior to joining The Christensen Fund, David worked for a charter school in the Bayview District of San Francisco where he managed business operations, state compliance, and human resources. He was proud to help lead a team addressing education inequity and the achievement gap in one of San Francisco’s most historic and diverse neighborhoods. David brings a decade of experience of nonprofit financial management with him to The Christensen Fund. Adopted into a family in the United States from South Korea, David is proud of both his Korean and Midwestern heritage. He currently lives in San Francisco with his partner and their children. David earned his undergraduate from Kent State University and a master’s degree from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. David believes that any day he can spend time on his bicycle is a good one.

Hassan Roba

Director, Kenya Strategy

Hassan joined The Christensen Fund in 2014 as the program officer for the African Rift Valley and currently serves as the director of Kenya strategy. Before joining The Christensen Fund, he worked at the National Museums of Kenya for 10 years as a senior research scientist with focus on participatory resource governance, pastoralism, and Indigenous knowledge of rangeland. While working at the Museums of Kenya, Hassan held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Bergen and the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL) at the University of Kassel. He maintains his research affiliation with DITSL and assists in co-supervision of MsC and PhD students. Hassan holds a Ph.D. in development studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, an MSc. in Dryland Biodiversity from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, and BSc from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He speaks fluent Swahili, English, and Borana. Hassan is based in Moyale where he lives with his family.

Matt Aguiar

Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Matt joined The Christensen Fund in 2019. He leads financial and operational functions, including oversight of investments, risk management, compliance, information technology and human resources. Matt also spearheads implementation of strategies to improve organizational effectiveness and purpose alignment. Prior to joining Christensen, Matt served as Chief Operating Officer of CollegeSpring, a nonprofit committed to supporting high schools across the US in boosting their students’ SAT and ACT scores in order to increase college access opportunities. During Matt’s three years at CollegeSpring the organization’s service footprint increased 40%, from 3,600 to 5,000 students. Before that, Matt spent nine years building Reading Partners, a national elementary literacy nonprofit. Matt held several positions at Reading Partners, including Chief of Staff and Chief Regional Operations Officer. In those capacities he led a number of strategic initiatives, facilitated leadership groups and cross-functional projects, and drove the organization’s expansion from the San Francisco Bay Area into six states. Before joining Reading Partners, Matt was the Director of Scholarships at the University of California Berkeley Alumni Association, where he built and managed the largest alumni volunteer program in the country. Matt has a degree in economics and business administration from UC Berkeley. He attended Harvard Business School’s executive education program on performance measurement, and completed the Society for Nonprofit Management’s certificate series. Matt lives in Oakland with his wife and two children and enjoys spending time outdoors.

Shawn Watts

Director, Strategic Initiatives

Shawn has dedicated his entire legal career to Indian law. He joined The Christensen Fund in 2021 after having most recently served as director of the Tribal Law & Government Center, Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, and Mediation Clinic at Kansas University. Prior to KU Law, Shawn taught at Columbia Law School in New York City where he was the associate director of the Mediation Program and also taught a Native American Peacemaking Clinic at both Columbia Law School and Yale Law School. As a law professor, Shawn specialized in helping tribal courts to integrate traditional and customary tribal justice practices. In addition to his work with Indian tribes and tribal organizations, Shawn is also a lead trainer and formal partner for the United Nations Institute of Training and Research where he trains and advises world diplomats on the issues facing the world's Indigenous Peoples. He also provides the U.N. training and curriculum on conflict resolution, negotiation, and peace dialogue. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Shawn is also a district court judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Shawn lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Stanislava Stancheva

Director, Partnership Strategy

Stanislava joined The Christensen Fund in 2013. She leads the Foundation’s efforts to foster best practices in the field of philanthropy with a focus on equitable, values-aligned, and trust-based grantmaking. Stanislava works across all programmatic portfolios to facilitate meaningful strategies and learning for staff and partners. Stanislava holds graduate degrees in International Economics and Political Science. Born and raised in Bulgaria, she worked with the Bulgarian government and the European Commission to develop strategic cooperation agreements and advised on the design and implementation of key European Union funding programs. Earlier, Stanislava had been actively involved in strengthening the capacity of the newly emerged civil society sector in her country and assisted with the implementation of several programs and reforms in the field of cultural policy and rural development, among others.Stanislava is based in California, U.S., and is the proud mom of three totally awesome kids who teach her to be fearless and to live life fully.

Tatiana Amor

Director, Mexico Strategy

Tatiana joined The Christensen Fund in 2017. She brings two decades of experience working alongside Indigenous communities in Latin America with an expertise in Indigenous rights advocacy, Indigenous territories protection strategies and supporting Indigenous autonomies. Since joining The Christensen Fund, Tatiana works with our partners throughout Mexico, from Sierra Tarahumara to the Maya Península, in strengthening holistic approaches that contribute to building self-determination processes and Buen Vivir for Indigenous Peoples in Mexico. Tatiana received her Bachelor’s Degree in Latin American Literature from Universidad Iberoamericana and holds a PhD Social Anthropology Degree at the National Anthropology and History School in Mexico. She is now specializing in human rights at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences with a focus on Indigenous territories and land rights. Tatiana enjoys family, dogs and books.