Our Team
Board
Dave Straley, Founder & treasurer
Dave Straley is Founder and Treasurer of 3rd Creek Foundation. He is also the Founder and General Manager of 3rd Creek Investments, 3rd Creek Accounting, and 3rd Creek Ventures. He is an investment advisor representative and certified public accountant. Prior to founding 3rd Creek, Dave worked in the public sector at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Foreign Service Officer. While at USAID, he developed programs in land reform, infrastructure, HIV/AIDS prevention, small business development, community based land resource development, democracy, and governance. Dave also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua from 1974 to 1976, working on post earthquake reconstruction of Managua as an urban planner. Dave’s domestic experience includes 20 years in tax planning and preparation, small business consulting, and specialty work in health care accounting and reimbursement consulting. Dave completed his BA and MA in Economics at California State University at Long Beach.
Pam Straley, founder & Director
Pam Straley is a Founder and Board Member of 3rd Creek Foundation. She is an M.S., R.N., and Family Nurse Practitioner with a diverse background in nursing and health care administration. Her international career took off in 1974, when she joined the Peace Corps in Nicaragua as a community health volunteer. Recognizing her passion for global health, Pam continued to work with medical centers in Costa Rica and Indonesia. She has also consulted for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as its HIV/AIDS Prevention Project Manager in Zambia, as well as for the American Public Health Association, and Peace Corps. Most recently Pam served as Manager of a clinic in Incline Village serving low income, uninsured residents of Northern Nevada. Pamela earned her B.S.N. at California State Long Beach (1970), and M.S.N./F.N.P at the University of California, San Francisco (1985). She has published a health education manual and guide to general health services for foreigners in Indonesia.
Gwen Straley, President & Executive Director
Gwen envisions a world where all people own their financial futures, lead dignified lives free from poverty, and are increasingly motivated to contribute to society and the natural environment. This guides her leadership at 3rd Creek Foundation and her work as wealth advisor with 3rd Creek Investments, Inc. Prior to joining 3rd Creek, Gwen led projects and consulted for private and public sector organizations in Somalia, Liberia, Nepal, Palestine, Vietnam, and Honduras. Gwen is grateful that the majority of these opportunities involved working with locally led organizations. She holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College with a concentration in Sustainable Development.
ANI CAMMACK, GRANTS MANAGER
As Grants Manager, Ani supports organizations in 3rd Creek Foundation’s grants portfolio and implements the foundation’s grant making strategy. Ani comes to 3rd Creek Foundation with a decade of supporting non-profits and social enterprises across the African continent to grow their sustainability, with a core focus on supporting organizations reaching base of the pyramid consumers.
Previously, Ani served as Senior Fundraising Manager at Anza, a Tanzanian entrepreneurship support organization. Since then, she has provided fundraising capacity building training, consulting and direct grant writing support for non-profits across the African continent including in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Egypt and South Africa. Ani has a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh.
Erica Jordan, director
Erica Jordan has served on the board of 3rd Creek Foundation since 2007. In addition to her work with 3rd Creek, Erica is a Court Appointed Special Advocate and Board Treasurer for Haight Ashbury Psychological Services. Erica has lived in London and Norway, and traveled for work and study throughout Europe, Turkey, Uganda, Nepal and the Philippines. She received her BA in Classical Studies from King’s College London, and is currently pursuing an MBA in Global Management from Dominican University of California. Erica is an avid photographer and loves to garden.
Zahra Radjavi, Director
Zahra is a multi-lingual international development professional and business consultant with over 12 years of multi-sector experience, developing partnerships and executing complex projects and programs. Zahra works as a collaboration and partnerships manager at Global Good (www.globalgood.com) where she is responsible for establishing and stewarding relationships with governments and international NGOs in order to better develop and strengthen smallholder agricultural incomes and sustainability, gender equity in nutrition, and water access systems and services in underserved communities.
Prior to joining Global Good, Zahra was a management consultant, supporting large-scale programs to optimize operations and improve cost effectiveness for healthcare organizations, technology companies, nonprofit organizations, and various U.S. government agencies. In addition, she developed and implemented a program that encourages local youth in Jordan to become involved in heritage conservation and the protection and management of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Zahra possesses a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Kanchan Shrestha, Director
Kanchan joined the 3rd Creek Foundation in 2022 as a board member. She has a diverse background in natural resource management, ecological research, and community development in Nepal and USA. She has managed projects related to climate change adaptation, water-related disaster risk reduction, and its intersection with livelihood generation. Currently, she works as an Environmental, Social, and Governance Analyst at Tessy Plastic Corporation to enhance sustainability initiatives across their manufacturing facilities. She holds a master’s degree in environmental science from Yale University.
Chris Zintel, director
Chris works as a learning manager, researcher and executive coach for IMD, a top global business school, and leads a consulting firm that specializes in the design, delivery and evaluation of customized learning engagements. He has managed poverty alleviation initiatives throughout Sub-Saharan Africa with the Grameen Foundation and the US African Development Foundation. Chris holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College. When not planning his next adventure, you can find Chris exploring the peaks and valleys in his native Pacific Northwest with his lovely wife Linda and scruffy dog Chewbacca.
Harris Kirschner, advisor
Harris joined the 3rd Creek Foundation in 2015 and supports the Investment Committee with sourcing and reviewing program related investments. He has been with 3rd Creek Investments and 3rd Creek Accounting since 2010. He is a investment advisor and a staff accountant. Harris graduated from the University of Denver with a B.A. in Finance and a double minor in Economics and International Studies. He serves on the board of 3rd Creek Medical Ventures, and as Chief Financial Officer of Spinal Surgical Solutions.