Who We Are + Testimonials

Our Feet Only Walk Forward.

  • Founder + Principal

    Will Cordery (he/him) is the Founder and Principal of Freedom Futures. Will has 18 years of leadership experience in institutional philanthropy, community advocacy and social movements for advancing racial justice, economic justice, LGBTQI rights, and progressive public policy.

    Will has held several leadership roles in the philanthropic sector – from working at large national private grantmaking institutions to managing fundraising efforts for large, international nonprofit organizations. Over his career, Will has developed and implemented multi-million dollar grantmaking and fundraising portfolios aimed at advancing racial justice and economic justice.

    Will received his B.S.B.A. in Business Finance from Xavier University and his M.P.A. from New York University. He formerly worked with Marguerite Casey Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. His philanthropic board leadership includes the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Greater New Orleans Funders Network, Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing, and Grantmakers for Southern Progress. In May 2020, Will was elected to the board of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation as one of the first non-family trustees. In December 2020, Will was elected to the board of Tides Advocacy – a c4 funding mechanism for movement infrastructure. Additionally, Will is a 2021 Advisor for the Global Engagement Lab at the EDGE Funders Alliance, an alum of 21/64’s Certified Advisors of Color Program — a year-long leadership development opportunity dedicated to the training and advancement of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) identifying professionals and advisors working with philanthropic families and individuals in the field; and is an alum of the Association of Black Foundation Executives’ Connecting Leaders Fellowship.

  • Client Strategy Lead

    Simone Hassan-Bey (she/her) serves as a Client Strategy Lead at Freedom Futures working to ensure we meet all our clients’ needs as we deepen our work and partnerships.

    Prior to joining Freedom Futures, she launched the Yoonhee Yoshi Kim Memorial Scholarship to celebrate undergrad students who demonstrate resilience and service to BIPOC communities. Simone is a co-founder of Rooted Uprising, a social and environmental justice collective aiming to engage, elevate, and empower community, and serves as the Recruitment Director for Veggie Mijas.

    Simone graduated summa cum laude from the University At Albany with a B.S. in Business Administration, concentrations in marketing + management, and a minor in Korean Studies. Before attending university she took a gap year to participate on the prestigious Department of State scholarship NSLI-Y Korea. She also remains the first and only University at Albany student to receive the Critical Language Scholarship for the Korean language.

  • Client Development Lead

    Constance Paige Young (she/her) is a Client Development Lead for Freedom Futures. Constance is a racial justice and gender equity activist with the lived experience of a Black woman who has advocated for positive change since a young age. She is an multilingual individual who has had the opportunity to live in diverse communities across three continents. Constance's ideology is grounded in a deep appreciation of the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings. She is known for her bravery, once going up against a Fortune 500 company in a 5-year court battle to fight for women's safety. She also a is a survivor of the white supremacist car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she put herself in harm's way to humanize the fight for racial justice.

    Originally from south Louisiana, Constance holds a Bachelor's degree in International Business with a minor in Latin American Studies from Loyola University New Orleans, as well as a certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a former Goldman Sachs contractor, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and has supported communities as a consultant at the United Nations Office for Program Services in Copenhagen and as an Executive Assistant at the Omidyar Network in Washington, DC.

    Constance Paige is an unapologetic canine enthusiast, enjoys zydeco music and can probably make one of the best gumbos you've ever had.

  • Operations Consultant

    Khadya Hale (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of Khadya Hale, Online Business Management with a passion for optimizing efficiency that drives impactful change for organizations leading social impact initiatives. With over 17 years of experience and a rich background in business process optimization, she brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, technical expertise, and a collaborative approach to every project.

    Khadya has a B.S.B.A along with certifications in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship and Social Media Management. With a track record of success from her time in the Marine Corps to supporting organizations like A Place for Heroes, Inc, DigiGeeks Collective, the City of Charlotte, and Community Learning Partnership, she is dedicated to helping BIPOC organizations and nonprofits flourish while empowering them to achieve operational excellence.

    Khadya believes in the transformative power of streamlined operations and the profound impact it can have on an organization's ability to create lasting positive change. Her collaborative and empathetic approach ensures that every solution is not only effective but also resonates with the core values of the organizations she serves.

  • Social Media Associate & Graphic Designer

    Engin Markus Ulker (he/him) serves as a Social Media Associate for Freedom Futures. He manages and creates content for Freedom Future’s social media platforms to engage with the audience and promote brand awareness.

    Engin holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Ege University. He is doing his Master's degree at the University of Colorado Boulder in Data Science.

    Engin's compassionate nature extends beyond academia, as evidenced by his volunteer work with autistic children in Turkey with the ODER Autism Society. Through his dedication and empathy, he made a positive impact on the lives of those he worked with, embodying the spirit of altruism and understanding.

    Furthermore, Engin's commitment to environmental conservation is evident through his volunteer work with The Mediterranean Conservation Society. His efforts underscore his dedication to protecting the natural world and preserving its beauty for future generations.

    As an LGBTI+ immigrant from Turkey, Engin brings a perspective that can blend his expertise in science, environment and social work to create an impactful social media strategy.

  • Money Coach

    Wazi Maret (he/they) is a coach, resource mobilizer, and artist with Southern and working-class roots who supports individuals and communities in their capacity to transform, heal, and expand into their power and embodied leadership. With nearly 15 years working in social movements, the non-profit sector, and as a connector in philanthropy, Wazi uses a relational and community-centered approach to deepen connection, mobilize resources, and strengthen entire movement ecosystems. They have played numerous roles to support social justice movements, from cultural organizing to fundraising, organizational development, facilitation, and more. Some of Wazi's partners have included the Trans Justice Funding Project, the Transgender Gender-Variant Intersex Justice Project, Fund for Trans Generations at Borealis Philanthropy, Movement for Black Lives, and many more. 

    Wazi is a certified coach through the Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation (CHJL) Program and provides coaching support that is rooted in intuition, ancestral wisdom and centers support for folks in their personal transformation, executive leadership, development/fundraising, and donor organizing aimed at redistributing wealth to support liberation work in the US and globally. 

    As a multi-dimensional human who finds great joy and passion in bringing his many worlds together, Wazi is committed to deepening his creative practice as central to who he is and how he finds freedom. Wazi is a DJ, music producer and co-founder of Tender Bois Club, a music and creative production house focused on multi-media storytelling for social impact. They are also the development director and producer at Comfrey Films, a Black TGNCI-centered film production house.

  • Administrative Assistant

    Our Administrative Assistant provides internal and client-facing support; including correspondence with the bank/family office and grantee partners and ensuring all necessary relevant information so that wires are processed properly; compiling and organizing all wire instructions, gift notifications, and gift acknowledgments to ensure contributions are processed and accounted; and maintaining internal trackers to keep a record on the progress of attaining needed information.

Testimonials

  • “Will and the team at Freedom Futures have been leading our work to stand up the Reparative Action Fund, Satterberg Foundation’s first national grantmaking strategy aimed at returning money to the frontlines of Black and Indigenous social movements. They have brought vision, experience, relationships, heart and focus to the work with our entire staff and board. We as an organization and a family board continue to learn alongside this reparative philanthropic approach. We are inspired by this partnership and deeply thankful.”

    Sarah Walczyk
    Executive Director, Satterberg Foundation

  • "Freedom Futures moves with purpose and a vision of liberation for everyone. Through supporting Decolonizing Wealth Project’s grantmaking fund, Liberated Capital, Freedom Futures brings both lived experience and deep relationships across social movements to our reparative giving efforts. We consider Will and Freedom Futures deeply-aligned partners."

    Edgar Villanueva
    Principal Decolonizing Wealth Project & Liberated Capital

  • “We’ve been on a healing journey with Will and Freedom Futures both to redistribute money back to Southern communities as well as open up new ways of being together as a family. This journey is rooted in addressing our family's history of generating wealth in and from the south. We believe that our work with Freedom Futures is going to have long lasting impacts on our family both now and for generations to come.”

    The Milliken Family

  • "Freedom Futures has deepened my understanding of social movements and how to show up responsibly and respectfully when supporting social movements for racial justice in the United States. Further, the Freedom Futures’ team has been key to developing my leadership to organize my family successfully."

    Ren Short