Hunter Johansson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
The common thread in Hunter’s journey has been an unwavering drive to serve and affect positive change through community organizing, advocacy, partnership building and fundraising. His career has spanned overseeing physical home reconstruction for Hurricane Sandy victims to leadership roles in fundraising for social and environmental impact organizations, nonprofits, and political campaigns.
Moved by the tri-fold opportunity to save lives, positively impact the environment, create cost-savings by equipping first responders with renewable energy, Hunter founded Solar Responders.
Hunter holds a BA in Applied Economics from the University of Vermont and an MPA in Non-Profit Management from NYU.
Sgt. Muñiz & Lt. Poupart
Fire Department Liaison, Puerto Rico
Sergeant Muñiz, a 14-year veteran of the Fire Department, serves as the supervisor for the Camuy, PR fire station. Lieutenant Poupart, a 25-year veteran, serves as the Lieutenant in the District of Humacao where he supervised the daily operations of 8 fire stations. Humacao took a direct hit from Hurricane Maria, with sustained winds of 155mph. Power did not return to the area for several months.
Lieutenant Poupart strongly supports the mission of Solar Responders because “the installation and use of solar panels on fire stations are of great benefit and will help to solve the communication problems so that the Fire Department can help the neighborhood when they visit our stations to use medical equipment or to give therapies and treatments. The systems help us to maintain basic and essential services for the people of Puerto Rico.”
Jeff Jiménez-Kurlander
Board Chair
Jeffrey Jiménez-Kurlander (he/him) serves as the Learning and Impact Officer for the Learning and Grant Operations department (LGO). In this role, Jeff works across all the Foundation’s program areas to develop and execute learning strategies that center racial equity, transparency, and commitment to learning and growth. He combines a mastery of program strategies, advanced data analytics, and emergent learning to surface actionable learning and insights.
Jeff began his journey at Surdna as a Program Associate with the Inclusive Economies (IE) team in 2018 and subsequently joined the LGO team as a Senior Analyst in 2019. As the IE Program Associate, Jeff supported the deployment of a $9.2M grantmaking portfolio focused on business start-up and growth and equitable economic development. He also supported the creation of indicators and metrics for the IE program.
Jeff earned a BA from CUNY-John Jay College in Criminal Justice and Economics, and an MPA from NYU Wagner, where he specialized in Social Impact, Innovation, and Investment.
Outside of his professional life, he enjoys playing chess, staying up to date on the market, reading non-fiction books, and spending time with his wife and daughter.
Our Leadership Team
Raj Thakkar
Board Treasurer
Raj is the Founder & CEO of FOREsight Financial Services for Good as well as Charter School Business Management (CSBM). Widely regarded as an expert on nonprofit and charter school finance. FOREsight/CSBM provides accounting, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting, forecasting and audit preparation services, and financial education workshops for hundreds of nonprofits and schools. Raj was named NYS’s Small Business Person of the Year by the US SBA in 2018, and under his leadership, FOREsight/CSBM was named Small Business of the Year for the Eastern Region of the US by the US Chamber of Commerce three times. As a Minority Business Enterprise, Certified B Corp and Benefit Corporation, FOREsight/CSBM was awarded Best for the World by B Lab multiple times, as well as one of the Best Places to Work by Crain’s NY Business.
Raj teaches Understanding Social Enterprise: How to Use Business as a Force for Good as an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service at the graduate level. Raj is the Board Treasurer of Camelback Ventures, which supports entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs launch and scale their nonprofits, schools and social enterprises. Raj is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and NationSwell.
He has an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern and a BS in Engineering Science from Hofstra University and graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program designed to help companies grow responsibly.
Melinda Wang
Board Member
Melinda Wang is a multi-hyphenate corporate attorney, strategic advisor, angel investor, contemporary art curator, educator and founder. The common thread of her pursuits is her passion to create and help others create.
Melinda receives inspiration through the start-up ecosystem and in fostering a new creative economy. She founded Ninth Street Collective, which empowers artists by developing their entrepreneurial skills; founded MW Projects, a cultural production firm that brings contemporary art to historic sites and non-traditional venues; and has curated over 35 socially-engaged contemporary art exhibitions. She revitalized New York Artists Equity, a non-profit founded in 1947, and founded Equity Gallery on the Lower East Side. Melinda developed and teaches a multi-disciplinary course for Glasgow Caledonian NYC’s master's programs in sustainability. Before joining the Board, Melinda served as SR’s legal advisor.
Melinda graduated from Princeton University and received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She serves on the Board of the Princeton Association of New York City and is active in NEW INC, the French-American Foundation, the White House Fellows, Dreamers & Doers, Princeton Alumni Angels, Pipeline Angels, and The David Prize.
Nita Baum
Board Chair Emeritus
Nita's head, heart and hands are focused on elevating the wellbeing and sustainability of people and our planet. Nita was compelled to serve Solar Responders' mission to raise the visibility of first responders who commit their lives to caring for and saving ours when we need it most and are rarely recognized or acknowledged until we're in dire need.
A Native New Yorker from Queens who grew up with Puerto Ricans, Nita feels a deep connection with the people and culture of the island. She is the founder of b*free which provides equity leadership coaching and consulting services to purpose-driven organizations to transform Workplaces to HealingSpaces where work centers equity and humanity and adds to, rather than detracts from, the holistic wellbeing of all of its people.
Nita has a BA from Columbia University and MBA from GW School of Business.
