About Us
A-Mark Foundation is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in 1997. Initially, A-Mark Foundation made grants to various organizations, including ProCon.org, a website used by an estimated 20 million people annually. ProCon.org was acquired by Britannica.com in August 2020. The Foundation also published unbiased research on a variety of topics, which can now be accessed in our Previous Content section.
Rob Eshman served as CEO from June 2022 to June 2024 to develop the Foundation’s operational strategy. During this time, the Foundation partnered with nonprofit newsrooms such as The 19th, The Trace, and The War Horse to fund independent, investigative journalism. Under Rob’s leadership and in collaboration with the Los Angeles Press Club, the Foundation launched the first A-Mark Prize for Reporting on Misinformation and Disinformation in 2023.
Given our successful partnership with the L.A. Press Club, in May 2024, A-Mark Foundation shifted focus to the A-Mark Prizes with grantmaking to organizations that recognize journalistic excellence, in furtherance of our mission statement: Making focused grants to organizations that offer awards to promote and encourage journalism and investigative reporting.
Our board
Steve Markoff is an American entrepreneur, film producer, author, and educator. He is the founder of the A-Mark Financial Corporation, a financial services firm based in Santa Monica, California that originally traded in rare coins and precious metals. He founded A-Mark Foundation in 1997 to provide nonpartisan information about a wide range of social and political topics. In 2004, the foundation funded the creation of ProCon.org, a pioneering internet site that presented all sides of controversial issues. Steve grew the site to tens of thousands of monthly page views before donating it to brittanica.com in 2020.
Justin Jampol is the founder and current executive director of The Wende Museum of the Cold War, an art museum, historical archive, and educational institution in Culver City, California. A Los Angeles native, he attended graduate school at Oxford University where he received a Master of Philosophy in Russian and East European Studies, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Modern History. In addition to his leadership role at The Wende Museum, Jampol is adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University and a frequent commentator on art as well as East European and Russian design.
Robert J. Frcek, CPA, CGMA is the Chief Financial Officer of A-Mark Financial. Prior to joining AMF, Robert served as an Audit Manager with Miller Kaplan Arase. Robert is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Benefit Plan Audit Services.
Michael Anthony Gatto is an American public official. After being elected to the California State Assembly in a special election, he served four terms, representing Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank. The Sacramento Bee concluded that Gatto was one of the most independent lawmakers. Gatto is known for authoring and passing the first California Rainy Day Fund and a 2019 statewide ballot initiative to comprehensively address the state’s homelessness crisis. Now an attorney in private practice, Gatto is a frequent guest analyst on television news programs, is a member of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, and a Captain in the California Guard.
Jeannie Gorman has been a federal prosecutor enforcing labor and employment laws to secure wage dignity and safety protections for the American workforce for over 25 years. She attended Los Angeles City College, San Francisco State University, and Willamette University College of Law. Jeannie: mentored first generation high school students into college; coordinated street law to the homeless in the 1990s; was a legal observer during large and small demonstrations, and; currently serves on the Selection Committee for the Western District of Washington’s Federal Bar Association’s Pro-Bono Committee.