Quinn Delaney

Template:TOCnestleft Quinn Delaneyis the founder and, until recently, President of Akonadi Foundation, a family foundation named after a West African goddess of justice. The formation of the foundation grew out of Quinn’s years of experience as a progressive donor, campaign activist and civil rights lawyer. She and her husband, Wayne Jordan, began Akonadi as an outgrowth of their commitment to racial justice. In 2016, to make room for new leadership, Quinn transitioned to the role of board chair and Lateefah Simon became Akonadi’s new President.

In addition to her ongoing involvement with Akonadi, Quinn works to build progressive networks and leaders. On the national level, she is active in the Democracy Alliance, a national network of donors committed to building progressive organizations and supporting leaders who will be a potent force in advancing progressive policies and culture throughout the country. As a member of California’s Progressive Era Project (PEP), she is involved in building progressive statewide infrastructure. PEP combines a political strategy with nonprofit organizing and training to develop an ecosystem of progressive leaders, organizations, and elected officials to empower people of color in California

Much of Quinn’s political awareness came through the women’s movement, and the issues and challenges facing women continue to be important to her. Through the Race, Gender and Human Rights Circle at the Women’s Foundation of California, Quinn works with a group of committed donors to transform conditions for women caught in California’s criminal justice system. Quinn is also a long time member of the Women Donors Network, which capitalizes on the power of women to bring about social justice.

Politics is another arena in which Quinn spends her energies. After the last presidential election, Quinn became involved with Organizing For Action, which builds on the Obama campaign vision. Closer to home, she has worked on a number of California electoral initiatives, including fighting restrictions on women’s choice and the dismantling of affirmative action. She has also supported measures such as abolishing the death penalty in California and, in 2014, an effort at sentencing reform called the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act.

As an attorney, Quinn worked for the National Center for Youth Law and the ACLU of Northern California. She went on to serve on the ACLU board for almost ten years and remains very involved. In addition to the ACLU, Quinn has serves on the boards of the Center for Community Change and the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, both in Washington, D.C.

Education

Quinn graduated from Pitzer College and University of Houston Law School.

Ear to the Ground Project

Ear to the Ground Project was financially supported by the Center for Third World Organizing, the Movement Strategy Center, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, the Common Counsel Foundation, the Solidago Foundation, Steven Phillips and Susan Sandler, Quinn Delaney, and Connie Cagampang Heller & Jonathan Cagampang Heller.

Supporting Jealous

Most of the big individual contributors to Maryland Together We Rise, a pro Benjamin Jealous PAC, are well-known donors from Northern California who have given to many other Democratic campaigns.

The largest single donor, with contributions totaling $250,000, was Susan Sandler. She and her husband, Steve Phillips, founded the Sandler Phillips Center, which advises donors to progressive politicians on how to maximize the impact of their contributions.

She also has been a major contributor to PACs backing Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — both of whom have endorsed and campaigned with Jealous.

A PAC disclosure initially reporting that a $100,000 contribution came from Phillips was later amended to say that it came from Sandler.

Sandler contributed to the pro-Jealous PAC because Jealous “has been a national social justice leader and anti-poverty crusader for decades,” said Emi Gusukuma, the center’s executive vice president.

Gusukuma said Sandler also liked Jealous’s work advocating in Maryland and elsewhere on behalf of “the Dream Act, marriage equality and ending the death penalty,” as well as increasing voter participation among racial minorities.

Another donor, Mitch Kapor, is managing partner of the venture capital firm Kapor Capital, where Jealous is also a partner.

Kapor, founder of the Lotus computer software company, said it’s rare for him to give money to a PAC because, in general, “Politics is broken and the funding is broken.” He made an exception in this case, donating $50,000 to the pro-Jealous PAC, because of his personal familiarity with Jealous and because Phillips, a friend, asked him to do so.

The other two big donors to Maryland Together We Rise are Quinn Delaney, founder of the Akonadi Foundation, which she and her husband launched “as an outgrowth of their commitment to racial justice”; and Mark Heising, who has given more than $500,000 since 2008 to mostly Democratic candidates and PACs.

Heising’s daughter, Caitlin Heising, contributed $50,000 to the Progressive Maryland PAC.