Mizgon Darby_3SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 1, 2017 – RAFT – Resource Area for Teaching, the leading solution center to help educators in transforming a child’s learning experience through hands-on education, is excited to welcome our new Director of Development, Mizgon Darby.

“In the last year, RAFT has greatly enhanced our offerings with makerspace products and services, accompanied by 55 curricular units, and increased focus on under-resourced schools. In addition, we continue to offer our outstanding legacy products and services to our members. Our offerings are more environmentally conscious through the use of up-cycled materials in our kits and design challenges.  I look forward to bringing innovation to our fundraising programs and inviting funders to become investors and partners who help design with us, and mobilize RAFT to further deliver quality resources to educators,” says Mizgon.

Mizgon joins RAFT with over 15 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, marketing, communications, and program development and scaling. Prior to joining RAFT, she was a Founding Team Member and Director of Development at Literacy Lab, an early learning start-up non-profit. In 2001, Mizgon published the first Afghan-American inter-generational magazine in the United States. Following the publication of her magazine, Mizgon worked as a freelance writer and speaker focused on telling the stories of marginalized and otherwise silenced communities and programs. Mizgon has been published in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and other major newspapers and publications.

Mizgon completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature, and received an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, the first Afghan-American graduate from the program.  She holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in Global Innovation from California State University East Bay. Her passion to make quality-learning tools and experiences available for educators and their students is rooted in her from childhood as the daughter of refugee parents. It was then strengthened by having developed and taught a course with limited resources at California State University East Bay’s M.B.A. program.

“I am looking forward to creating partnerships to help sustain RAFT as we introduce more innovative programming,” states Mizgon.

“I am really excited that Mizgon will be joining the leadership team at RAFT.  Her experience, skills, and interests are a perfect fit for the organization. I am confident she will add immediate value to our development efforts and help us achieve our goals for 2017 and beyond,” says RAFT CEO, Grainger Marburg.

 

 

Find out more about RAFT and how to get involved at www.raft.729solutions.com