Helena Huang
Project Director, Art for Justice Fund
Helena Huang manages the Art for Justice Fund. Established by art philanthropist Agnes Gund in June 2017 and administered by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the $100 million, five-year fund is dedicated to ending mass incarceration in the United States through criminal justice grants in support of high-impact campaigns in the justice sector and the arts. The Ford Foundation is responsible for the Fund’s grantmaking strategy, which focuses on bail reform, sentencing reform, and reducing legal barriers to reentry for people coming home from prison.
Helena has held leadership positions in both the foundation and advocacy world. She was a program manager for two national philanthropies for nearly 10 years: at the Open Society Foundation (1997-2002) and the JEHT Foundation (2002-06) where she worked in support of grassroots advocacy, fellowship programs, and public-private partnerships addressing criminal justice reform. Later, she co-founded and directed Oregon Voice, a state civic engagement organization that helped to pass the first automatic voter registration law in a US state. Before joining Ford in 2017, Helena served as senior director of Philanthropy and Communications for the State Voices Network in Washington, DC.
Helena holds an MPA from the Columbia School of International Affairs and a BA from Cornell University.