WELL/BEINGS supports locally led conservation initiatives in the most ecologically critical ecosystems on Earth, as funders, as programmatic partners, and as connectors across each region.

WELL/BEINGS is a 501(c)(3) charity movement established 2018. A start-up venture philanthropy – disruptive in both mission and approach. We believe the wellbeing of ecosystems, animals, and communities can't be separated - so we look at the whole landscape, work hand-in-hand with the people already doing the work, and stay accountable for every dollar.

Our TRANSPARENCY

100% of every public donation goes directly to our programs and on the ground work.

Drawing on their own experience as philanthropists, the Founders were repeatedly struck by how little visibility they had into where their donations went or what they actually funded. That gap became a founding principle for WELL/BEINGS: full transparency with our donors, and a commitment that every dollar given goes directly to our partners.

Our MISSION

We support locally-led conservation initiatives in the most ecologically critical ecosystems on Earth- as funders, as programmatic partners, as connectors across each region.

Our APPROACH

We fund conservation where it matters most: places where ecosystems, wildlife, and communities are inseparable, and protecting one means protecting all three.

We use a bioregional approach. Rather than funding isolated projects, we support under-resourced, locally-led organizations working across the same ecological region, whether that's a rainforest ecosystem, a mangrove coastline, or a wildlife migratory corridor, so conservation addresses the full picture: the landscape, the species, and the people whose lives depend on it.

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Our dynamic grants ensure 100% of donations goes directly to our partner programs

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Our CORE VALUES

We partner with under-resourced, locally-led organizations, because they hold the local knowledge, relationships, and trust that no outside actor can replicate. Our work has reinforced a simple idea: more money doesn't automatically mean more impact, better-directed money does. Small, flexible funding to community-led efforts builds trust, adapts quickly, and acts as a multiplier, restoring ecosystems while strengthening the local capacity and governance systems that sustain impact over time.

EVERYONE can HELP

No donation is too big or too small because every little bit helps. 100% of your donation goes directly to our campaigns because transparency in philanthropy is our priority. Every person’s contribution counts, even if it’s simply making small changes to your daily lifestyle.

OUR FOUNDERS

Amanda Hearst Rønning and Breanna Schultz co-founded WELL/BEINGS in 2018 after working together for almost a decade at NYC animal welfare organizations. Amanda founded Friends of Finn, an initiative dedicated to ending the puppy mill industry, and spent three years on the Executive Board of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Currently, she is the co-founder of MAISON-DE-MODE.COM, a luxury sustainable fashion platform, and sits on the advisory boards of ethical fashion non-profits NEST and Remake.

Breanna has served on the Executive Committee for the National Council of the HSUS and is a member of the organization’s Humane Generation. She also holds a Master of Arts in Animal Behavior and Conservation and sits on the Executive Board of Animal Haven, one of the pre-eminent no-kill shelters in Manhattan.

Female founded, both women came together to build a non-profit that offers sustainable solutions to both climate change and animal welfare issues. 

Our TEAM

Rachel Schaming
Operations Manager

  • Rachel brings together operational strategy and creative experience across systems design, production, and organizational development. She has spent her career building thoughtful workflows and helping teams balance purpose with creativity. Before joining WELL/BEINGS, Rachel worked across creative industries—from sustainable fashion labels like Slow and Steady Wins the Race and ORGANIC by John Patrick to vintage curation and photo production—before moving into operations and organizational design. Her approach emphasizes collaboration, transparency, and culture-building. Outside of work, Rachel is an artist, vintage enthusiast, and proud dog mom to Blanco, her deaf rescue pitbull.

Hanna Layton
Programs & PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER

  • Hanna Layton is a sustainability professional and social entrepreneur with over eight years of experience advancing equity, resilience, and ecosystem wellbeing. She co-founded Epic-Cure, a nonprofit that has rescued and redistributed over 35 million pounds of food, and continues to support its mission through board service and advocacy. In 2020, she launched Thrive Consultancy, a Benefit Corporation providing training and support for cooperative and values-based businesses in Arizona.

    Hanna holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in Sustainability from Arizona State University and has worked across international development, economic empowerment, and resilient food systems. She now contributes to conservation efforts at WELL/BEINGS, developing programs that benefit people, animals, and the planet. Deeply connected to the natural world since childhood, Hanna brings passion and expertise to her work in community investment and habitat protection.

Board of DIRECTORS

  • Doug Melville is a 20 year executive in the field of Marketing, Reputation Management and Corporate Diversity. He most recently lived in Geneva, Switzerland where he traveled to 40 countries to implement sustainability and DEI efforts in the luxury industry. In his free time Melville is an author, his debut book Invisible Generals was released on Simon & Schuster in 2023. Originally from Connecticut, Melville attended Syracuse University.

  • Brigid Fitzgerald is a passionate advocate for animal welfare, serving on the Board of Directors for the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation. She is a media & technology software sales executive, and spends much of her free time volunteering to help local animal welfare organizations. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, and lives with her husband, her son and 2 rescue dogs in New York City. She is a lifelong animal lover.

  • Erin Gore has dedicated her career to helping great leaders propel purpose-driven growth whilst in parallel playing an active role in philanthropy. At SYPartners, she’s partnered with leadership at Starbucks, the Schultz Family Foundation, Georgetown University, and others, to use creativity and human-centered approaches to elevate strategies and potential.

    She began her career at Bain & Company, and has held leadership roles at Purpose, The Bridgespan Group and Boston Consulting Groupher. Her experience includes work across sectors, including telecom, education, retail, consumer packaged goods, youth services, and industrial goods. Erin has written extensively on innovation and strategy for publications including the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, HuffPost, and The Washington Post, among others.

  • Vienn, before joining the Board of Directors, was CFO for WELL/BEINGS. Previous to this, Vienn worked in investment banking and venture capital. After leaving finance, she joined the lifestyle startup, Goop, as the Manager of Finance where she helped raise the company’s Series A funding round.

    Vienn earned her Masters degree in Real Estate from Columbia University and Bachelors degree in Finance at The University of Georgia. She is a proud mother of two rescue dogs, Taco and Barney and one glorious human.

  • Taylor Hawes is Senior VP & Chief Financial Officer for Pacific Dental Services (PDS), a $2.5B dental services organization with over 900 offices servicing patients in 48 metro service areas. Prior to PDS, Taylor’s breadth of experience spans multiple challenging roles throughout his 25 years at Microsoft. Hawes is also a lifetime member of Financial Executives International (FEI), on the Advisory Board of USC’s Leventhal School of Accounting and Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of Pilchuck Glass School.

  • Andrew McKechnie is a highly acclaimed marketer with over 20 years of experience building some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Apple and Verizon. He specializes in purpose-driven marketing, sustainability, and innovation as platforms to amplify brand growth. Andrew’s diverse experiences across Africa, Asia, New Zealand, and the Americas bring a truly unique and global perspective to his work. He is a tireless advocate for impactful DEI initiatives that create systemic change in the industry.

Board of ADVISORS

  • Andrew deCoriolis is the Executive Director of Farm Forward where he advocates for safe, healthy, and humane farming. Andrew is an expert in animal welfare standards, certifications, and policy. He works with food companies, universities and cities to help them improve the welfare of animals and increase the proportion of plant based food in their supply chains. Andrew was responsible for creating and launching the Leadership Circle, a program aimed at helping institutions source more climate friendly food. Andrew’s work at Farm Forward has been covered in leading periodicals including The New York Times, Wired, and Civil Eats. Andrew is currently an advisor to the WellBeings charity, the Game Changers Institute, The Good Food Purchasing Program, and the State Innovation Exchange and was a board advisor for FindHumane.com. Andrew lives in Portland Oregon with his partner, two kids and rescue mutt Tater Tot. 

  • Hassan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Maison de Mode. After studying at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Hassan launched his label "Way It Should Be," recycling and reinventing vintage couture fabrics into luxurious demi-couture collections. His passion was to help consumers make informed decisions about their purchases, fusing the way for sustainable fashion to be the standard fashion.

  • Karla Stewart is the founder of Revelry, a consultancy that helps companies grow by getting the right people, partners, and backing around them. She also serves as Growth Advisor to a leading talent firm, where she draws on deep industry relationships to connect brands with exceptional talent and shape their thinking on M&A and strategic partnerships.

    Karla began her career inside some of advertising's most creative agencies before co-founding Moody, the first hormone-tracking app to integrate women's hormonal health with daily wellbeing, where she remains an active board member. Her work today centers on a mission close to her heart: connecting hormonal health to career performance and longevity for women, so the physiological transitions too often overlooked in the workplace no longer push talented women out of leadership.

    Karla is based in New York City.

  • Masha Kalinina, Esq, coordinates The Pew Charitable Trust's cross-campaign efforts with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), working to ensure the ambitious global biodiversity strategies and sets targets adopted annually are maintained for the planet in their natural state. Before joining Pew, Masha worked for Humane Society International to protect elephants, lions, leopards, polar bears, and other species through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, and the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

  • Katherine Wong is a communications and advocacy professional whose career bridges global luxury business, entrepreneurship, and a lifelong commitment to animal welfare and environmental sustainability. She holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and an M.A. in Animal Studies from New York University, where her research focused on food systems and the impact of early childhood plant-based eating on lifelong dietary habits. Her mission is to help individuals and communities build a more compassionate and sustainable relationship with the animals and natural world around them, bringing relationship-driven energy, academic grounding, and personal conviction to her advocacy for organizations working to protect animals and the planet. Kathy lives in New York City with her husband, four children and senior rescue fur baby Rosie.

  • Mike Sacks is a Senior Advisor with Court Accountability, where he focuses on shaping pro-democracy constitutional politics. Before his current role, Mike built a career as a journalist covering the intersection of law

    and politics across every branch and level of government, with a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court. His work in print, broadcast, and digital media has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC,

    NPR, Sirius/XM, and the major television networks' local affiliates across the country. A former candidate for New York's 17th Congressional District, Mike holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law and a B.A. from Duke University.

    He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, with his two sons.

  • Alexandra Azevedo is a marine scientist working at the intersection of science, storytelling, and systemic change. She has worked across all seven continents, engaging with governments, international organizations, and private industries to drive impactful conservation projects. Alexandra translates complex science into compelling narratives that inspire action, and her mission is to empower individuals and communities to become stewards of the planet by fostering a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. 

  • Dahlia Topkis is a philanthropy advisor, nonprofit leader, and entrepreneur with a passion for helping people give thoughtfully and strengthen their communities. As a Philanthropy Advisor at the Jewish Federation Bay Area, she advises individuals and families with donor-advised funds (DAFs) and foundations, helping them develop thoughtful giving strategies and connect their philanthropy with the causes and communities they care about.

    Dahlia began her career in luxury hospitality with Fairmont and Four Seasons, where she developed a strong foundation in service and relationship-building. Her career also includes serving as Development Manager at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco and founding a mission-driven food company addressing food waste and food insecurity.

    A business graduate fluent in English and Hebrew, Dahlia has called San Francisco home for more than a decade. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and Walter, the family’s resident cuddle expert.

  • Prio Opelanio is a New York City based operations/administrative management professional and consultant, who formerly served as WELL/BEINGS Director of Operations and Programs. Originally from the Philippines, he started his professional career working with indigenous communities in disaster risk reduction and management. He later moved to NYC and has since worked in operations for for-profit businesses before pivoting back to the nonprofit sector when he joined WELL/BEINGS. 


    Prio received double bachelor’s degrees in health sciences and development studies from Ateneo de Manila University. In his free time, he hikes local nature and mountain trails in New York state and US national parks.

FOUNDERS circle

ANNE HEARST MCINERNEY

KICK KENNEDY

SCHULTZ FAMILY FOUNDATION

Tara Smith Swibel

We are all interconnected.

WELL/BEINGS is committed to fostering a culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that aligns with our mission and the well being and holistic impact of [animals] people and the planet. 

We recognize the intrinsic value of diversity and strive to create an environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or ability, feel respected, valued, and empowered. Our dedication to DEI extends to our partnerships, programs, and community engagement efforts, ensuring that we embrace diverse perspectives and work collaboratively to address global challenges.

By upholding the principles of DEI, we aim to inspire positive change, foster meaningful connections, and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future for all.