Suzanne Gollin is a writer, activist, and philanthropist who supports left-of-center causes and campaigns. She is the daughter of Las Vegas businessman and alleged former mobster Moe Dalitz and the wife of former investment banker James Gollin. ¹

Gollin and her husband founded the Angelica Foundation in 1992 which funds “progressive organizations and programs in the U.S. and Mexico.” ² They have sat on the boards of left-leaning organizations and made donations to a number of Democratic politicians, including former President Barack Obama and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. ^{1 3}

On her Facebook profile, Gollin describes herself as “Mother of three. Wife to one. A New Mexican. A writer. A progressive. An activist. Lover of Mexico.”⁴

Family Life

Gollin was born Suzanne Dalitz in 1957. ⁵ Her father was Moe Dalitz, a bootlegger and racketeer from Cleveland, Ohio who moved to Las Vegas, Nevada; became a casino owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist; and helped build up Las Vegas in the 1950s and 1960s. ^{1 6} In her early years, she lived with her father and mother Averill in Las Vegas and at the D.I. Ranch in Utah. ⁷

When Suzanne was about to enter kindergarten, the Las Vegas school system suggested to her parents that she not attend due to her father’s reputation, so she and her mother moved to Mexico at that time. ⁸ Her parents divorced when she was 6 years old. ⁹

She lived in California and was a writer and editor for San Diego Magazine. She collaborated on the book entitled Couples and Money and is working on a memoir about her early life with her father. ¹⁰ When her father passed away in 1989, she was Suzanne Brown, married to David Brown with two children, Christopher and Chelsea. ¹¹

In 2011, she went back to Las Vegas to research her father’s life. She collaborated with and donated articles to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. ¹²

As of 2024, she lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her second husband James Gollin, a former investment banker, and her three children, Christopher and Chelsea Brown and Noah Gollin. ¹³

Philanthropy and Advocacy

Gollin is the former president of the Threshold Foundation, a “member community of donors and allied progressives.” She continues as a board member and co-facilitator of its Immigration Justice and the Americas Funding Circle. ¹⁴

In 2023, the Threshold Foundation granted almost $2.3 million to left-of-center advocacy organizations such as the Americans United for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency in Elections, the Coalition for Good Governance, Equality Federation, the Groundswell Action Fund, the OneVoice Movement, the Tides Foundation, and Way to Rise. ¹⁵

Gollin and her husband founded the Angelica Foundation in 1992. ¹⁴ The Angelica Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation with a 2022 fair market value of almost $2 million ¹⁶ that focuses on left-of-center causes immigration and environmentalism. Its website describes itself as a “key progressive funder and philanthropic force for positive social change in Mexico and in the US borderlands.” ¹⁷ The foundation partnered with the Sigrid Rausing Trust on its grantmaking efforts until 2020 and participated in Human Rights Funders Network events. ¹⁷ Between 2001 and 2018 the Angelica Foundation awarded $11 million in grants to the Tides Foundation, which makes grants “to activist groups covering almost every policy issue on the left.” ¹⁸

In 2022, the Angelica Foundation awarded grants to the left-leaning environmentalist organization Rainforest Action Network, the liberal donor community Threshold Foundation, environmentalist advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, and activist group Community Change, which supports guaranteed incomes, healthcare for all, and immigration for everyone. ^{19 20} It received funding from Sigrid Rausing Trust, liberal billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Institute, the Livingry Foundation, the Center for Civic Policy, and the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for the decriminalization of drugs. ^{21 22}

In her online biography page, Gollin claims that she continues to “work for human rights and progressive social change in the borderlands.” She is a frequent speaker at events on open immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. ¹⁴

In 2012, Gollin and her husband organized and supported the immigration activist effort Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity, a 120-person caravan that crossed the United States and held events in 26 cities in support of illegal immigration into the United States. ²³

Political Activities

Gollin and her husband are reportedly involved in the Democracy Alliance, an organization co-founded by liberal billionaire George Soros that “pumps money into liberal nonprofits and Democratic Super PACS.” ¹ According to NBC News, “The nation’s largest network of left-leaning megadonors poured millions of dollars into California and New York House races [in 2024] to build a get-out-the-vote operation in states so blue that Democrats have not bothered to build much political infrastructure.” ²⁴

Since 2008, the Gollin family has contributed over $60,000 to Democratic groups and candidates. They donated $11,000 to former President Barack Obama’s campaigns and visited the White House at least 10 times during the Obama administration. ¹ More recently she contributed to Democratic political action committee Powered by People, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. ³

1. Bill McMorris. “Suzanne Gollin: Family History.” The Washington Free Beacon. September 25, 2012. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://freebeacon.com/democracy-alliance/suzanne-gollin-family-history/
2. Angelica Foundation homepage. Accessed January 24, 2025. www.angelicafoundation.org
3. OpenSecrets search: Suzann Gollin. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.influencewatch.org/person/suzanne-gollin/
4. Facebook – Suzanne Gollin. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/suzannegollin/
5. Ira. “Talking with Suzanne Dalitz – July 3, 2014.” Talk About Las Vegas with Ira. July 3, 2014. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://talkaboutlasvegas.com/talking-with-suzanne-dalitz-july-3-2014/
6. “Moe Dalitz.” The Mob Museum. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://themobmuseum.org/notable_names/moe-dalitz/
7. Mark Eddington. “Decades after his death, the legend and legacy of ‘Mr. Las Vegas’ and his southern Utah mobster hideaway live on,” The Salt Lake Tribune. April 13, 2024. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/04/15/decades-after-his-death-legend/
8. Rachel Christiansen. “Daughter Of The Desert Inn: Dalitz Talks Of Dad’s Legacy.” KPNR Morning Edition. May 19, 2015. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://knpr.org/show/knprs-state-of-nevada/2015-05-19/daughter-of-the-desert-inn-dalitz-talks-of-dads-legacy
9. Mark Eddington. “The Utah ranch that became a hangout and hideout for mobsters, prostitutes, polygamists … and Adam and Eve?” The Salt Lake Tribune. April 1, 2024. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/04/01/utah-ranch-that-became-hangout/
10.  “Suzanne Dalitz and her father, Moe Dalitz.” Moedalitz.com. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.moedalitz.com/About-us.php
11. Harold Hyman. “Las Vegas gaming pioneer ‘Moe’ Dalitz dies at 89.” Las Vegas Sun. September 1, 1989. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://lasvegassun.com/news/1989/sep/01/las-vegas-gaming-pioneer-moe-dalitz-dies-89/
12. “Suzanne Dalitz lecture.” Washington County Historical Society. November 19, 2016. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://wchsutah.org/flyers/2016-11-19-suzanne-dalitz-gollin-lecture.pdf
13. “Meet Suzanne.” Dalitz in Vegas. Accessed January 24, 2025. http://dalitzinvegas.com/suzanne-dalitz/
14.  “Directors.” Angelica Foundation. Accessed January 23, 2025. http://www.angelicafoundation.org/directors.html
15. Threshold Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I.) 2023.
16. Angelica Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (990-PF.) 2022.
17. “Grants.” Angelica Foundation. Accessed January 24, 2025. http://www.angelicafoundation.org/grants.html
18. Hayden Ludwig. “Unearthing the Tides Nexus: The Tides Nexus.” Capital Research Center. March 8, 2022. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/unearthing-the-tides-nexus-part-2/
19. Angelica Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (990-PF Supplementary Information.) 2022.
20. “What We Do.” Community Change. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.communitychange.org/what-we-do/
21. Angelica Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (990-PF Schedule B.) 2022.
22. “Decriminalize Drugs, Invest in Health Services.” Drug Policy Alliance – Issues. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://drugpolicy.org/issue/decriminalize-drugs-invest-in-health-services/
23. “Activism.” Angelica Foundation. Accessed January 24, 2025. http://www.angelicafoundation.org/activism.html
24. Alex Seitz-Wald. “Why Democratic megadonors poured millions into blue New York and California.” NBC News. October 23, 2024. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democratic-megadonors-poured-millions-blue-new-york-california-rcna176771