At Global Heritage Fund, we protect the world’s special places and endangered traditions. This work would not be possible without our dedicated team. In this interview series, we shine a spotlight on the people behind our work – the conservation heroes working tirelessly to ensure that our projects are successful throughout the world.
As the latest employee to join GHF, Rand Montoya brings a strong background in donor stewardship and organizational fundraising. Read on to meet Rand and learn how his passion for environmental sustainability and animal welfare brought him to GHF, where our philosophy has inspired him to protect endangered historic sites and communities.
The first thing I notice is the kitten — fluffy, tiny, and obviously irate. Photographed mid hiss, the kitten’s flattened ears leave no doubt about its unhappiness. The picture is a surprising avatar to represent Global Heritage Fund’s new Senior Development Manager, Rand Montoya. “He was one of our rescues from the SPCA,” Rand tells me with a laugh. “I brought him to the office to socialize. As you can see, he wasn’t happy at first. But after a few weeks, he was doing so much better!”
This love of animals is not surprising. Before joining GHF, Rand worked in development at the San Francisco SPCA, where he ran online campaigns to fundraise for animal welfare projects. GHF is excited to now welcome Rand to the world of heritage and historic conservation. With his donor stewardship experience and background in fundraising, Rand is an invaluable addition to the GHF team.
Rand has always known he would work in nonprofits. This knowledge fueled his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a degree in Social Welfare. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to stay out of the corporate field,” Rand recalls. “After my initial experience with nonprofit work, I haven’t looked back.” His first nonprofit job was at the Hospice of Marin, and over twenty years later, he’s still passionately improving the world through nonprofits.
As a native Californian, Rand cares deeply about the environment. “I absolutely believe we must protect our globe for the next generations,” he asserts. His extensive travels have bolstered his desire to protect the natural world. While working for international organizations such as the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the online encyclopedia giant Wikipedia, Rand visited countries such as Argentina, Poland, and Germany. He’s also undertaken many personal travels through areas like Southeast Asia. “I traveled to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Cambodia, but I kept seeing so much overdevelopment while I was there. Especially in Siem Reap, I could see too much development progressing too quickly. I’m afraid to return and see how much development has negatively impacted the area.” These travels instilled in him a lifelong desire to protect endangered places from overdevelopment.
GHF’s emphasis on sustainability and responsible development is what attracted Rand to our organization. “I love how GHF works to balance development with sustainability. Take a look at GHF’s work in Morocco, for example. The collective granaries there are so compelling because they are building a tourist plan for the region. It’s so important that people can visit these sites while having sustainable travel plans that are inclusive of local communities.”
Learn more about our work in Morocco
Although Rand is new to the world of heritage, he is eagerly learning as quickly as possible. “I’m fascinated by how big the field is, and there is no one aspect of heritage to focus on. Heritage isn’t only about protecting major historic sites. In fact, it’s not just about protecting physical sites. There’s so much we can talk about to show our donors what we do and why their support matters.” Rand is looking forward to developing GHF’s donor messages and fundraising. “Our work is possible thanks to the support of individuals. It’s so important that we tell those individuals how they are making a difference”
So what is a typical day for the new GHF Development Manager? “There really isn’t a typical day so far,” Rand admits. “My current focus is on donor communications. Our supporters are so important, we want them to know that communication is open, and we would love to hear from them.”
Rand admits that it’s hard to pick just one favorite GHF site. “Our sites are so inspiring, I would love to see them in person!” For now, we are pleased to welcome Rand to the GHF team, and we look forward to many successes as he joins our work to conserve the world’s endangered historic sites.