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Spark Community Advisors Lend Their Expertise in Transforming Student Basic Needs
Published Date
In a state where over 50% of community college students face housing or food insecurity, creating system solutions is vital. These solutions must address student basic needs challenges in higher education. To combat this, the 2024 Student Basic Needs Spark Grants funding cycle focuses on innovative strategies that advance student basic needs in California.
2024 Student Basic Needs Focus Areas
In order to drive a scalable impact within the communities we serve, the funding cycle emphasizes the following areas:
- Systemic approaches and actionable strategies for higher education systems to implement state and/or federal policies addressing student housing and food insecurity.
- Best practices to support students who are ineligible for public benefits, state aid, and federal aid. Students ineligible for state or federal aid can include but are not limited to, undocumented students, DACAmented/Dreamers, and/or international students.
Innovative approaches and promising practices to promote positive academic outcomes for students receiving direct financial assistance aimed at mitigating student basic needs concerns. This could include research, evaluation, or efforts that scale the impact of public benefits assistance, tax credits for eligible students, universal basic income, guaranteed income programs, and approaches to liquidating institutional Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) dollars.
Meet the Spark Community Advisors
No one knows the needs of a community better than those with boots on the ground. Recognizing this, we proudly introduce an incredible group of advisors, who provided insights to help students meet their basic needs. Their expertise and dedication informed strategies that promote equity, support for vulnerable populations, and innovative approaches to improving academic outcomes.
Heather Brandt: Heather Brandt serves as the Student Trustee at City College of San Francisco (CCSF), where she leads initiatives to revitalize the campus post-pandemic and reinstate essential services. Brandt has a unique commitment to supporting a diverse student population that stems from her role as president of Student Parents United (SPU), a club dedicated to advancing the needs of pregnant and parenting students. With over a decade of experience in community-based organizations, Brandt is a dedicated advocate for equity, environmental sustainability, and student success.
Sadie Brown: As a Program Manager for the Real College California Coalition, Brown leverages over a decade of experience in higher education, with a focus in event planning, program management and corporate partnerships. In her role, Brown leads initiatives supporting the CEO Affordability, Food, and Housing Access Taskforce. Her work focuses on advancing basic needs through professional development, advocacy, and research for practitioners. Brown’s leadership drives efforts to ensure students have the resources needed to achieve academic success.
Irene Lewis: As the Senior Policy and Research Analyst at the Food, Research, and Action Center (FRAC), Lewis supports strategies to enhance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits access for students. Her background includes extensive work in food security, and policies addressing food security and policies addressing racial equity in federal aid programs, and policy.
Danielle Muñoz-Channel: As the Director of Basic Needs at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), Danielle brings over 20 years of experience in managing disability, mental health, and basic needs programs. Her work emphasizes creating systemic interventions. She also helps scale innovative programs to support underserved student populations. Most recently, Muñoz-Channel has scaled the CalWORKS program at CSULB to expand food, emergency grants, and housing services for students. Additionally, Muñoz-Channel proudly serves as the Co-Chair for the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. She is also a fellow in the President and Provost’s Leadership Fellows program. Muñoz-Channel is dedicated to fostering equity-minded leadership and creating programs and services that help individuals feel seen, valued, safe, and liberated.
Mayra Nunez Martinez: Having immigrated from Sinaloa, Mexico, Martinez grew up in California’s rural San Joaquin Valley. Her commitment to increasing college access motivated her to pursue a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Davis. True to her roots, Martinez’s focus is on advancing educational equity for Latinx students in rural areas. As a postdoctoral scholar at Wheelhouse and an affiliate of the California Education Lab, her research addresses student outcomes in California Community Colleges.
This community of advisors plays a critical role in shaping actionable strategies. These strategies align with our key focus areas for this funding cycle, including implementing state and federal policies, supporting students ineligible for financial assistance, and scaling impactful financial assistance programs. Together, they help build a future where all students can thrive academically, regardless of their basic needs challenges.
About Michelson 20MM
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
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