March 2026
by Alina Taniuchi, ETB: Regional Incubator Project Manager and Fundraising Specialist

When the Pieces Align

Much of my work over the past few years has felt like working on separate sections of a puzzle — the sky, the mountains, the trees, the edges — each piece developing somewhat independently. I served as an evaluator for 50 grantees transforming the Denver food system, a project manager for a nationwide behavioral health initiative supporting community-based organizations, a data storytelling trainer for mental health providers, and helped create a platform that democratizes data and stories so Coloradans can use their data for advocacy.

While I brought lessons, organizational shifts, and new skills from one project to another, I rarely had the opportunity to fit the pieces together.

As my work shifts, I’ve been welcomed back to the Expanding the Bench (ETB) Team, a project I worked on years ago when we first partnered with The Annie E. Casey Foundation to develop early communications and program efforts. This time, I’m excited to join the team as the ETB: Regional Incubator program manager and fundraising specialist. I see this shift as an opportunity to bring those puzzle pieces together.

Over nearly nine years with Change Matrix and its many initiatives, I’ve been able to use my passions, interests, and skills to expand opportunities for underserved communities. Through this work, I’ve developed an unwavering belief that communities hold the knowledge and solutions needed to create meaningful change when they have access to resources, learning, and connections.

Stepping into this role — helping communicate this work to decision-makers and funders in ways that strengthen our impact as change facilitators — feels deeply satisfying in a strangely familiar way, akin to the final puzzle piece clicking into place.