Studio ʻIwa

Supporting people and projects in service of life.

An advisory studio.

Tatéi Haramara rising from the Pacific under an open sky.

Approach

Meaningful change emerges through relationships.

Our paths have crossed philanthropy, international development, public service, fundraising, consulting, community organizing, and cultural stewardship. Across all of it, one lesson kept returning: lasting change rarely begins with strategy. It begins with trust.

Studio ʻIwa was created as a home for that recognition — a place to support people, communities, and initiatives carrying work of consequence, and to help resources and opportunities move in right relationship.

A frigatebird in flight beside the white rock of Tatéi Haramara.
Tatéi Haramara · Pacific coast, Mexico

Stewards

Portrait of Jack Stanton.

Founder & Lead Steward

Jack Stanton

Jack's career has spanned international development, consulting, public service, community organizing, fundraising, and philanthropic advisory — from the World Bank Group to local campaigns, grassroots nonprofits, and a commercial lobster boat offshore. Across that range, his work has kept a single center of gravity: the trust and relationships required to bring meaningful work into the world.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and works between Mexico and the United States.

Portrait of Fernando Ausin Gómez.

Co-Founder & Steward

Fernando Ausin Gómez

For nearly two decades, Fernando has worked alongside Indigenous elders, community leaders, educators, and organizations across North America, cultivating relationships that strengthen the connections between people, place, and traditional knowledge.

As Founder and Executive Director of BioTU, he led sustainability education reaching thousands of students and built partnerships across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Fernando is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

Wisdom Council

Studio ʻIwa is guided by relationships with elders, knowledge keepers, community leaders, and stewards whose wisdom informs our work.

These relationships orient the studio and guide how reciprocity flows back to the communities and traditions that have shaped us. Our role is not to speak for these communities, but to remain in relationship with them.

  • Alejandrina Pedro CastañedaMazatec Elder
  • PaltemaiWixárika Elder
  • YolocoxcatlGuardian of Teotihuacan
  • Rutendo NgaraAfrican Indigenous Knowledge Keeper
  • Kahu Kalani SouzaHawaiian Elder

Reciprocity

Give first. Take what is needed. Return what is possible.

Beyond what sustains the studio itself, all profit returns to the communities, elders, and initiatives that have guided our journey. Resources are most meaningful when they flow in right relationship.

For those seeking to support work of consequence, we welcome thoughtful conversation.

studio@studioiwa.com

Studio ʻIwa takes its name from the Hawaiian word for the great frigatebird (ʻiwa), a seabird renowned for its mastery of the wind.