Staff

Maria Adler joined the Simons Foundation in 2202 as the foundation’s Chief Financial Officer. She built and managed the foundation’s finance, human resources, operations, and information technology functions.

Chandni Ashra joined the Science, Society and Culture team toward the end of 2023 as its administrative coordinator.

Peri Lund is the program coordinator for Science, Society & Culture. Peri works on the strategic planning and execution of the division’s Presidential Lecture series, which aims to foster discourse, discovery, and a sense of belonging within the broader New York research…

Ivvet Modinou has been working in public engagement with science for over two decades. In her role as Senior Vice President of Science, Society & Culture, she leads public engagement for the Simons Foundation, including strategic oversight of Science Sandbox, a flagship…

Elizabeth Simolke joined the Simons Foundation in 2019 as the outreach coordinator for the President’s Office, and transitioned to the Science, Society & Culture team in 2021.

John Tracey joined the Simons Foundation in 2014 as part of a team to improve public engagement with science. As program director, Tracey works with the senior vice president of Science, Society & Culture to develop and execute funding strategy.

Kelsa Trom is a program manager who oversees special initiatives to support Science, Society & Culture awardees’ boundary-breaking work – and to propel new creative projects.

Omar Vera joined the Science, Society & Culture team in the fall of 2021. As program specialist, Vera is responsible for assisting with Science, Society & Culture’s program development, including assisting with the review of programs for its portfolio of science outreach…