Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Announces 2025 Class of Piper Fellows

Piper Trust celebrates 25 years of the Piper Fellows program and awards 13 Fellowships.

Thirteen dedicated Maricopa County nonprofit leaders were selected for Piper Trust’s 2025 Class of Piper Fellows. The Fellows are:

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Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust 2025 Class of Piper Fellows. Front from left: Latrice Hickman, Jolyana Begay-Kroupa. Middle row: Michael Zirulnik, Debbie Castaldo, Valentina Restrepo-Montoya, Jennifer Caraway, Tracy Leonard-Warner; Piper Trust CEO Steve Zabilski. Back row: Richard Crews, Shonna James, Lloyd Hopkins, Jaclyn Pederson, Nate Rhoton, Eric Spicer.

• Jolyana Begay-Kroupa, CEO, Phoenix Indian Center (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving tribal nations across Maricopa County and beyond, including the Navajo Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Tohono O’odham Nation, and the Hopi Tribe, among others).
• Jennifer Caraway, founder and CEO, The Joy Bus (located in Phoenix, AZ, and providing services throughout most of Maricopa County).
• Debbie Castaldo, senior vice president of corporate and community impact and executive director, Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation (headquartered at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ, with programs that serve schools, neighborhoods, and tribal communities statewide).
• Richard Crews, director of strategic impact, Keys to Change (located at the epicenter of people experiencing homelessness in Phoenix, AZ, and providing services throughout Maricopa County).
• Latrice Hickman, chief risk and compliance officer, Copa Health, Inc. (headquartered in Mesa, AZ, with services at multiple locations throughout Maricopa County, as well as through an integrated care clinic in Show Low, AZ).
• Lloyd Hopkins, founder, Million Dollar Teacher Project (headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, and serving schools across Maricopa County with a focus on under-resourced and Title I campuses).
• Shonna James, president and executive director, Shemer Art Center (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving Maricopa County, as well as artists across Arizona).
• Tracy Leonard-Warner, executive director, Ryan House (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving children and families across Arizona).
• Jaclyn Pederson, CEO, Feeding Matters (headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, and serving children, families, and professionals from across Arizona and the U.S.).
• Valentina Restrepo-Montoya, executive director and CEO, Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving Maricopa and Pima Counties).
• Nate Rhoton, CEO, one∙n∙ten (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving statewide through 21 satellite locations as well as digital platforms).
• Eric Spicer, chief development officer, Arizona State University Foundation (headquartered in Tempe, AZ, and serving statewide and globally).
• Michael Zirulnik, PhD, assistant vice president, university relations, Creighton University (located in Phoenix, AZ, and serving statewide; Creighton University is based in Omaha, NE).

“Our 2025 Piper Fellows demonstrated such an astute depth and breadth in their desires to enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for people in our communities,” said Steve Zabilski, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. “Today we celebrate them and look forward to all that they will add to the collective Piper Fellows community. Today, we also recognize and sincerely thank our inaugural Trust CEO, Dr. Judy Mohraz, now a Trustee, for her infinite wisdom in creating the Piper Fellows program 25 years ago—its transformations continue in so many ways.”

The 2025 Piper Fellows will each participate in a self-designed Fellowship program/plan. Plans include professional development experiences and activities designed to strengthen leadership skills, hands-on learning about current issues, and study at renowned programs. An intentional, connected respite activity that allows the Fellow to reflect on their learnings is also a component. The culmination of each Fellowship is to support the leader (Fellow) and the nonprofit to become even more effective and more connected across sectors in the community. The newly selected class becomes part of the larger and enduring Piper Fellows network, which is now a community of 131 Fellows.

The Fellowship also supports related professional development for the staff and/or board of a Fellow’s organization. After completing the Fellowship, Fellows may apply for an Organizational Enhancement Award to implement learning or programming inspired by their study. In total, a Piper Fellowship offers up to $90,000 in potential grant awards for a Fellow’s organization.

The 2025 Piper Fellows applications were reviewed and selected for recommendation to Piper Trust Trustees by an external committee, comprised of: Marc Ashton, a nonprofit consultant, and, the retired CEO of Foundation for Blind Children (and a 2015 Piper Fellow); Dr. Maria Chavira, Chancellor, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix; and, Kirk Johnson, Founder/CEO, SOUNDS Academy (and a 2022 Piper Fellow).

About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $765 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit pipertrust.org| Facebook | LinkedIn | X. For Piper Trust’s Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ending March 2024, visit FY2024.

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“Our 2025 Piper Fellows express such an astute depth and breadth in their desires to enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for people in our communities,” said Steve Zabilski, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.