For the past 15 years Jo Ann Intili and her partner Ed Kissam have served as co- trustees of the Werner-Kohnstamm Family Giving Fund as it supported diverse charitable endeavors to advance social justice, community well-being and political equity in the U.S. and beyond. It is difficult for us to accept that Jo Ann passed away on April 22, 2025.

As a researcher trained in sociology, Jo Ann listened compassionately to people striving to overcome poverty and cultural, religious, political, and economic persecution. She allied with and learned from them. She combined her disciplined research with their perspectives to effectively provide and promote access to resources that strengthened their struggles to overcome oppression, discrimination, and exploitation; secure safety; and achieve education, justice, and equity. Her life’s mission began as a young college graduate who joined the Peace Corps in the late 1960s to serve in Afghanistan. Over time, she was especially drawn to migrants who courageously seek a better life for themselves and their families.

In her professional career as an evaluator, Jo Ann worked collaboratively with a broad range of research colleagues and community activists to combine diligent research, strategic planning, and technical assistance to advance education, health, and effective social programs. Her efforts produced insights that contributed to improving rural education in communities throughout rural Afghanistan and adult education in California. She applied research and technical assistance to AmeriCorps’ community service programs throughout the U.S. She enhanced the impact of Radio Bilingue, a public broadcast organization serving immigrants in the Central Valley, and she contributed to understanding the dramatic impact inclusion of a citizenship question would have had on Latino undercount in Census 2020.

Jo Ann’s philanthropic impact as co-trustee of the Fund was profound. She applied her sensitivity to the needs of immigrant communities to work that assured that these communities had access to information that enabled them to strengthen their voices and build their power to participate fully in public dialogue around civic engagement and politics.

A major focus for the Fund during her tenure was to provide support for Dreamers in efforts to secure DACA status, support for work to provide pathways to medical education for DACA recipients, and leadership training for young activists. She recognized how important it was for immigrant communities to secure access to high- quality news and public affairs information as a basis for continuous and effective civic engagement.

In the final year of her life, Jo Ann was increasingly concerned about the descent of the United States into a mire of authoritarianism and racist hate-mongering. She abhorred the dismantling of institutions that contribute to the well-being of disadvantaged families

and the decimation of programs whose value she knew well based on her decades of evaluation research: USAID, AmeriCorps, public broadcasting, and legal assistance. She saw our current sociopolitical crisis as a return to cruelty and the propagation of tropes nurtured in the Dark Ages. She admired the heroism of federal employees, university leaders, lawyers, judges, scientists, and community activists who stood up to confront the bullying and threats of the current administration and its allies. She was prepared until the end to join fellow activists in speaking out for fact-based social policy and marching for justice.

Jo Ann’s vision and passion are woven into the very fabric of the Fund. To honor her legacy, Ed Kissam is committed to ensuring that the Werner-Kohnstamm Family Giving Fund will continue to encourage and support efforts that protect immigrants’ rights, promote respect for longstanding social mores, protect the institutions crucial to fair and effective democracy, and restore integrity in scientific research.