Sewheat Asfaha

The Phīla Team

Strategic Grants & Impact Manager

Sewheat partners closely with advisors and families to steward the full lifecycle of grantmaking with rigor, care, and intention. Sewheat manages grants administration and compliance across multiple family foundations, balancing strong due diligence with trust-based relationships that honor both community partners and board priorities. With a deep interest in learning and process design, Sewheat supports research, impact analysis, and storytelling that help clients give with clarity, confidence, and connection to the communities they aim to support.

Bio

Sewheat comes to this work with a background in participatory grantmaking and grants management, and a deep passion for centering impacted people as leaders. As a Client Associate, she provides research and project management support to client engagements. She is excited to help operationalize big picture visions, and support processes that lead to deep learning and strategic giving to social movements.

She has worked in youth development and education programs, as well as facilitated grassroots fundraising processes, and created participatory grantmaking cycles at Social Justice Fund. At SJF, she co-led political education sessions for program participants and connected with grantees all over Northwest, learning about the variety of organizing strategies across the region. She continues to grow her analysis through reading and community teach-ins and deeply believes in building an intersectional social justice analysis as a tool for collective liberation.

Sewheat grew up and lives in South Seattle, and has a BA from Bowdoin College in Maine. She tries to show up as an active member of their community, volunteering with mutual aid based organizations and supporting fundraisers to resource organizations locally and abroad. In her free time, she loves to attend art showings and concerts. Sewheat also enjoys many creative hobbies, including taking dance classes, roller skating, and collaging.