Natalie Johal

Associate Director, People & Operations

Natalie (she/they) serves as Associate Director of People & Operations at The Education Trust–West (ETW) where they manage the employee life cycle within the California office and build the operational systems and structures that allow team members to work collaboratively, grow together, and maximize their impact. She also is co-chair of ETW’s internal Walking the Talk Committee which supports building and maintaining an anti-racist, just, and liberatory culture for staff across intersectional identities. Before her current role, Natalie was Manager of HR, Culture, and Equity at the Stupski Foundation. They built out Human Resources functions to support a growing team and operationalized equity and belonging within policies, practices, and culture. That work included revising hiring and onboarding policies, incorporating restorative justice practices, overseeing all-staff racial justice education, and building pathways to shared power and decision-making. Natalie has a diverse operations background, including working as a manager in the food industry, supporting the CEO of an investment firm, and serving as an executive assistant and board liaison in nonprofits.

Natalie is passionate about aligning internal operations and culture with organizational mission and values. She believes nonprofits must reflect on how they uphold systems of oppression rooted in white supremacy culture and colonization and imagine and build new lifegiving structures together.

Natalie is a queer, mixed-race South Asian American and a proud descendant of Punjabi immigrants who embodied Chardi Kala (Sikh philosophy of relentless optimism or joyfulness inside the struggle). Natalie earned a Bachelor’s degree in English at UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Administration at the University of San Francisco. She also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from San Francisco State and a Professional in Human Resources – California (PHRca) certification.