Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based Director operating in the Non Profit space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Denelle Dixon
CEO and Executive Director of Stellar Development Foundation
Denelle Dixon is the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit organization using blockchain to unlock the world’s economic potential by making money more fluid, markets more open, and people more empowered. Before joining Stellar, Dixon served as COO of Mozilla, one of the most successful mission-driven open-source organizations. During her tenure at Mozilla, she led the organization’s business, revenue and policy teams including the ongoing fight for Net Neutrality and the global effort to ensure that people can control their personal data. She also pushed Mozilla to understand how to partner with commercial entities while staying true to its core mission of openness, innovation, and opportunity on the web. A lawyer by trade, Denelle previously served as a general counsel and legal advisor in private equity and technology. Throughout her career, Denelle has been a vocal advocate for net neutrality, encryption, the disclosure of vulnerabilities by governments, and greater user choice and control.
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About Stellar Development Foundation: Stellar Development Foundation supports the development and growth of Stellar, a blockchain network that connects financial infrastructure.
Andrea Lo
Sr. Director of Investments of Stellar Development Foundation
Profile from 2013: Andrea believes that regardless of a person’s educational background or socio-economic status, success can be achieved by those who think big, work hard, and persevere. She hopes that Piggybackr can inspire youth to learn those skills early on.
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About Stellar Development Foundation: Stellar Development Foundation supports the development and growth of Stellar, a blockchain network that connects financial infrastructure.
Lisa Nestor
Director of Partnerships of Stellar Development Foundation
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About Stellar Development Foundation, Stellar Development Foundation: Stellar Development Foundation supports the development and growth of Stellar, a blockchain network that connects financial infrastructure.
Wendell Wierenga
Member of Board of Directors of SRI International
Wendell Wierenga, Ph.D., joined SRI’s Board of Directors in 2014. Previously, he was executive vice president of research and development (R&D) of Santarus, Inc. from 2011 to 2014, executive vice president of R&D at Ambit Biosciences from 2007-2011, and executive vice president at Neurocrine Biosciences, which he joined in 2003. From 2000 to 2003, Wierenga was chief executive officer of Syrrx, Inc., a private biotech company specializing in high-throughput, structure-based drug design (sold to Takeda in 2004/5). Prior to joining Syrrx, from 1997 to 2000, he was senior vice president of worldwide pharmaceutical sciences, technologies, and development at Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert (now Pfizer). From 1991-1997, Wierenga was senior vice president of drug discovery and preclinical development at Parke Davis. Concurrent with his tenure there, he was vice president of Medtech Ventures, a Warner Lambert investment fund. Prior to Parke-Davis, Wierenga was at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals for 16 years, where his last position was executive director of discovery research. Wierenga led and/or participated in the R&D of more than 70 Investigational New Drug (IND) disclosures, more than 15 New Drug Applications (NDAs), and 16 marketed products, including Lipitor®, Neurontin®, Lyrica®, and Uceris®. Wierenga serves on the following public company boards: Xenoport, Inc., Cytokinetics, Inc., Apricus Biosiences, Inc., Concert Pharmaceuticals, and Ocera Therapeutics, Inc. He also serves on the scientific advisory boards of Ferring Research Institute, aTyr Pharma, and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, and is an ongoing advisor to WibiWorks Pharmaceuticals and the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University.
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About : SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Karen Myers
Lab Director Artificial Intelligence Center of SRI International
Karen Myers is Director of SRI International’s Artificial Intelligence Center and an SRI Fellow. Dr. Myers’ research interests include autonomy, multi-agent systems, automated planning and scheduling, intelligent assistants, and privacy. She has led the development of several AI technologies that have been successfully transitioned into operational use in areas that span robotics, text understanding, collaboration tools, task management, and end-user automation. Myers has a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford, a B.Sc. in mathematics and computer science from the University of Toronto, and a degree in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Paul Chang
Director of Design of SRI International
Paul Chang, Ph.D., is Director of Design at SRI International and has over two decades of experience in the areas of product management, design strategy and user-experience design. At SRI, Paul provides user experience guidance to startups and large corporations for technology-intensive products. Previously, Paul served as Chief Product Officer at Otto Radio, a personalized (AI and human-curated) podcast and news service, recently acquired by Ximalaya FM of China. Prior to joining SRI, he consulted for corporate and startup clients including DataRobot, Immuta, Medidata, SolarWinds and Volkswagen.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Reenita Hora
Director, Marketing & Communications of SRI International
Reenita Malhotra Hora is SRI International’s Director of Marketing & Communications. She works directly with the SRI executives to communicate SRI’s strategic goals and objectives to drive storytelling around next generation technologies. Before joining SRI, Reenita was VP of Content for Otto Radio/Ximalaya FM, and prior to that she was an anchor, editor and producer for Bloomberg Radio. She was an award-winning producer for RTHK Radio 3 in Hong Kong and has also produced several broadcasts for the BBC. Over the course of her career, she has contributed to CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, the Hindu and has authored seven books (fiction and non-fiction). She is a regular speaker on content, marketing and communications strategies for tech, health care and financial companies, and also for digital literary platforms. Her background as an Ayurveda Clinician and coach has led her to teach clinical programs at the University of California schools, California Pacific Medical Center and Hong Kong University’s Li Ka Shing School of Medicine. An entrepreneur at heart, she founded, built and subsequently sold Ayoma, an Ayurvedic self-care product line and the Ayoma LifeSpa, a premier Ayurvedic wellness spa. Reenita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from Williams College and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Celia Merzbacher
Quantum Economic Development Consortium Associate Director of SRI International
Celia Merzbacher is primarily responsible for developing novel partnerships with stakeholders in government and the private sector in support of SRC’s research and education goals. Prior to joining SRC, Dr. Merzbacher was Assistant Director for Technology R&D in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she coordinated and advised on a range of issues, including nanotechnology, technology transfer, technical standards, and intellectual property. At OSTP she oversaw the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the multiagency Federal program for nanotechnology research and development. She also served as Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which is composed of leaders from academia, industry and other research organizations, and advises the President on technology, scientific research priorities, and math and science education. Previously, Dr. Merzbacher was on the staff of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington D.C. As a research scientist at NRL, she developed advanced optical materials, for which she received a number of patents. She also worked in the NRL Technology Transfer Office where she was responsible for managing NRL intellectual property. Dr. Merzbacher served on the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute and led the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Party on Nanotechnology.Dr. Merzbacher received her BS in geology from Brown University and MS and Ph.D. in geochemistry and mineralogy from The Pennsylvania State University.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Joseph Broz
Director, National Security Program Development of SRI International
Joseph Broz, Ph.D., is director of national security program development in SRI International’s Advanced Technology and Systems Division. He brings 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, and deep subject matter expertise in solid state physics, nuclear magnetic resonance, the energy domain, gas and oil recovery, alternative fossil production, renewable energy, and energy security. His experience also includes significant projects in homeland security, defense, and in the areas of climate change, environmental protection and remediation. Before joining SRI in 2014, Broz worked for the Spectrum Group in Alexandria, VA from 2005 to 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he was a Senior Fellow in the Security, Energy, and Environment department at NORC at the University of Chicago. He is also the managing member of Defense Capital Advisors, LLC, a technical consulting firm, founded in 2000. From 1992 to 2000, Broz served in four senior management positions at Tenneco and at TIMET in the U.S. and Europe; He was the laboratory, environmental, and quality director at Tenneco, and served as vice president of business development and laboratory director for the Titanium Metals Corporation. Broz served as a White House Fellow and as a Special Assistant to the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Special Assistant to Allan Bromley, Science Advisor to President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and 1992. He has been a member of the Homeland Security Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute since 2002, which supported the 9-11 Commission in its recommendations on private sector preparedness. He has worked closely with state governors and national laboratories on renewable energy and economic development issues around energy, economic development, and technology transfer. Broz has also participated on a number of international commissions and boards regulating industrial standards including ISO, and is a technical advisor to several ANSI standards working groups and committees. A former British-American Fellow of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1995), Broz is a member the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Swiss Physical Society. He has published numerous technical papers, and has been awarded several U.S. and foreign patents. Broz has a B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Ph.D. in physics is from the Swiss Federal Institute (ETH) in Zurich.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
John Young
Director of SRI International
John Young, appointed to SRI’s Board in 2009, brings a broad range of legislative and executive branch experience on defense technology, development, and procurement programs.
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About E6 Partner, JY Strategies, SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Denise O’Leary
Member of the Board of Directors of The Denver Foundation
O’Leary has been a private venture capital investor and a corporate director since 1996. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Medtronic, Inc., US Airways Group, Inc., and Calpine Corporation, where she currently chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee. She was previously the Chair of the Audit Committee at both Medtronic and US Air. She has also served on the boards of ALZA Corporation, Chiron Corporation, Del Monte Foods Company and numerous private companies. O’Leary was elected to the Board of Trustees of the University of Denver in early 2013 and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation as well as the Board of Directors of The Denver Foundation and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, where she recently stepped down as Chair. She previously was a member of the Board of Directors of Stanford Hospital and Clinics, where she served as Chair of the Board, and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. She was a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees for 15 years, during which time she was Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Committee on the Medical Center. She was a member of the Presidential Search Committee at Stanford in 2000 and was awarded the Stanford Medal for distinguished volunteer leadership in 2008. A graduate of Stanford University (BS, Industrial Engineering, 1979) and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration (MBA, 1983), O’Leary was a General Partner at Menlo Ventures in Menlo Park, CA for 15 years. She and her husband, Kent Thiry, relocated to Denver in 2009.
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About : The Denver Foundation connects donor, non-profits and community leaders to those needing help in the community.
Bernadette Meehan
Executive Director of International Programs of Obama Foundation
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About Obama Foundation: The Obama Foundation is a start-up for citizenship and an ongoing project for people to shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen.
Beverly Rider
Executive Director of NEOM
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About NEOM: NEOM is a government administration firm that offers economic growth, progressive laws, a healthy foundation and innovative solution.
Joshua J. Mark
Author, Editor, Researcher, Co-Founder, Director of World History Encyclopedia
Joshua J. Mark is the Author, Editor, Researcher, Co-Founder, and Director at World History Encyclopedia.
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About World History Encyclopedia: Non-profit organization publishing the world’s most-read history encyclopedia.
Scott Dworkin
Executive Director of Democratic Coalition Against Trump
Scott Dworkin is the Founder and President of Bulldog Finance Group and was a Senior Advisor on both the Draft Biden and Run Warren Run campaigns. He is also a veteran of both the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns. To date, Scott has worked in all 50 states.. Scott also serves on the Advisory Boards for the New Leaders Council and Democratic GAIN. He was named to the Campaigns & Elections Magazine’s 2011 class of Rising Stars. He received a BA in Political Science and a BA in Sociology at North Carolina State University.
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About Democratic Coalition Against Trump: Democratic Coalition Against Trump is the home of the anti-Trump movement.
Peter Kight
Member of the Board of Directors of Blackbaud
Peter Kight joined the Board of Directors in December 2014. Peter Kight has been a senior advisor at Comvest Partners, a private investment firm providing equity and debt capital to middle market companies across the United States, since January 2010. He served as co-chairman and managing partner of Comvest Advisors, LLC, from January 2010 to April 2013. From December 2007 to May 2012, Peter Kight served as director and vice chairman of Fiserv following Fiserv’s acquisition of CheckFree Corporation, a leading provider of electronic commerce services and products. Peter Kight founded CheckFree Corporation in 1981 and served as its chairman and chief executive officer until December 2007. Peter Kight has served on the board of directors of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, a multi-state diversified regional bank holding company, since June 2012. Peter Kight served on the boards of directors of Akamai Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded company that distributes computing solutions and services, from March 2004 to July 2012, and Manhattan Associates, Inc., a publicly traded company that provides supply chain planning and execution solutions, from October 2007 to July 2011. Among other experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, Peter Kight’s substantial experience at various other public companies, including strategic planning and operational experience, as well as valuable insight on public company governance practices, and his knowledge of the payment services industry led to the conclusion of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and of our full Board that he should serve as a director of our Company in light of our business and structure.
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About : Blackbaud is a provider of software and services designed for non-profit organizations enabling them to build strong relationships and more.
David White
National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator of SAG AFTRA
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About SAG AFTRA, SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, Ulu Ventures: SAG-AFTRA is an American labor union that aims to secure the rights of media professionals.
Constance Tzioumis
Director of Partnerships, The Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships of U.S. Department of State
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About The Awesome Foundation, U.S. Department of State: The United States Department of State, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the leading foreign affairs agency of the United States.
Paul Carlucci
Member of the Board of Directors of American Jewish Committee
Paul V. Carlucci was the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of News America Marketing, the leading single-source provider of consumer advertising and promotional services. The company’s product portfolio, marketed under the SmartSource brand name, consists of the first branded free-standing insert, known as SmartSource Magazine®, various in-store advertising and promotional products, merchandising services, database marketing tools, and digital programs including SmartSource.com for printable online coupons and the SmartSource Xpress coupon app which delivers savings directly to shopper loyalty cards. Paul held the title of Publisher of the New York Post from 2005 to 2012. Paul has been a member of the Executive Committee of News Corporation since October 1996. From August 1995 to September 1997, Paul held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of News America Publishing, Inc. (parent company of TV Guide, the Weekly Standard and News America New Media). Paul joined News Corporation in June 1991 as Executive Vice President and was appointed to President of News America FSI in July 1992. Before joining News America Marketing, Paul was Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing at Caldor, Inc., a 175-store general merchandise chain. Prior to his service at Caldor, Paul worked for the New York division of R. H. Macy’s, Inc., where he started as Advertising Manager in 1979. Paul was promoted several times over his nine-year tenure and was eventually appointed Senior Vice President, Director of Sales Promotion of Macy’s New Jersey. Paul began his career at the New York Daily News where he worked for nine years, holding several sales positions, before his promotion to Retail City Account Sales Manager. Paul previously served on the Board of Directors for News America Holdings, Inc. Additionally, Paul serves on the Lay Advisory of the New York Board of Rabbis, the Board of the American Jewish Committee. Paul was on the Boards of both Herald Media, Inc., and Winner International. Paul previously served on the Board of Children’s Miracle Network for 18 years. Paul resides in New York City, and has a B.S. degree in Marketing from Fordham University.
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About : American Jewish Committee is a global initiative to advance the well being of Jewish peoples across the world.
Lex Fenwick
Member of the Board of Directors of MoMA PS1
Lex Fenwick was the Chief Executive Officer for Dow Jones & Company and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones is the publisher of products including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron’s, MarketWatch and SmartMoney from February 2012 to February 2014. Fenwick guided a company that served millions of readers and business customers world-wide with unique content and innovative technology. Long a leader in newspapers, magazines and quality journalism, Dow Jones today is pioneering platforms to deliver news and inform business decisions. Fenwick joined Dow Jones in February 2012 after more than two decades at Bloomberg L.P. He started at Bloomberg in 1987 as a sales person where his first assignment was helping launch the Bloomberg Professional service in the UK and Europe. He later became manager of Bloomberg operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where sales outpaced the rest of the world under his leadership. In 2000, he was named manager of global sales and the following year he was appointed chief operating officer of Bloomberg LP, working alongside founder Michael Bloomberg. When Bloomberg ran for mayor of New York City in 2001, Fenwick became CEO of Bloomberg LP. During his seven years as CEO, the company not only increased its terminal base to 285,000 worldwide, but also launched many new businesses and innovations. Fenwick founded Bloomberg Ventures in July 2008. The unit was designed to explore opportunities to enhance, expand, and diversify Bloomberg products. Fenwick is a member of the board of MoMA PS1, one of the oldest and largest non-profit contemporary art institutions in the U.S.
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About : MoMA PS1 is a nonprofit contemporary art institution in the United States that organizes art exhibitions across New York City.
Klaus Biesenbach
Director of MoMA PS1
Klaus Biesenbach is Director @ MoMA PS1.
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About MoMA PS1: MoMA PS1 is a nonprofit contemporary art institution in the United States that organizes art exhibitions across New York City.
Stephen Colbert
Member of the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose
Stephen is the host, writer and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central as well as an accomplished author and actor. Recently, he starred as Harry in the New York Philharmonic presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” along with Jon Cryer, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Patti LuPone and Martha Plimpton, among others. “The Colbert Report” launched on October 17, 2005 and has received a prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in 2008 and 18 Primetime Emmy nominations. In 2010, Stephen and his writing team won the show’s second Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. “The Colbert Report” deployed to Iraq in June 2009 on a USO tour entitled “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” to tape and perform shows in front of the troops. “The Colbert Report” is the first TV show in USO history to produce a week of shows in a combat zone. Stephen’s book, I AM AMERICA (And So Can You!), spent 29 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller’s List; debuting and occupying the #1 spot for 13 weeks. The Colbert Report opened 2010 updated for high-definition broadcast and sporting a brand-new set. Iconic items from the original set, including Stephen’s “C” desk, interview table and portrait, were auctioned off to benefit the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development effort. Born and raised near Charleston, South Carolina, Stephen graduated from Northwestern University and quickly made a name for himself as a member of Chicago’s famed Second City improv troupe where he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. The threesome moved to New York City where they created and starred in “Exit 57,” a half-hour sketch comedy series which ran for three seasons on Comedy Central. “Exit 57” received five CableACE nominations for Best Writing, Performing and Comedy Series. Stephen reunited with Sedaris and Dinello to create Comedy Central’s first-ever live-action narrative series, the cult hit “Strangers with Candy.” Colbert’s other on-camera appearances include shows such as HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and NBC’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He was a cast member and writer on ABC’s “The Dana Carvey Show,” wrote for “Saturday Night Live” and was the voice of Ace on the “SNL” animated series “The Ambiguously Gay Duo.” He was also the voice of the President of the United States in Dreamworks animated film, “Monsters Vs. Aliens.”
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About : DonorsChoose is a nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers.
Tim Sommer
Senior Partnerships Director of DonorsChoose
Tim Sommer is the Senior Partnerships Director at DonorsChoose.
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About DonorsChoose: DonorsChoose is a nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers.
Genein Letford
Member of the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose
Genein Letford is an elementary music teacher from Canoga Park, CA and believes that every child, despite socioeconomic status, deserves a quality education that includes the arts. Genein began her teaching career as a third grade teacher of low-income English language learners. It was there she discovered the power of using music and dance to help teach vocabulary and academic concepts to her students. Genein is now the music director at the same elementary school and has created a dynamic award-winning music curriculum that not only teaches music standards but also incorporates corresponding math, science, language arts and social studies concepts. In 2009, Letford began the Music For All: Instrument Scholarship Fund, which awarded low-income high achieving students with instruments for their ongoing music education. In 2010, Genein was named the Great American Teacher of the Year and was a recipient of the Los Angeles Music Center’s Bravo Arts Educator Award. In 2014, she was honored with the ‘Innovation in Education’ Award from the Valley Economic Alliance for her dynamic arts program and has traveled to Japan and South Korea during the summer of 2014 as part of the prestigious Hilton Worldwide Teacher Trek program. Genein was honored with the Charter School Teacher of the Year Hart Vision Award in March of 2015. Letford received her bachelor degree from UCLA in psychology and completed her master thesis, ‘Integration With Integrity: The Importance of Keeping Music in the Elementary Classroom’ at California State University, Northridge in 2010. Due to her extensive knowledge in arts integration, she was recently appointed as a lecturer of the ‘Interdisciplinary Arts Education’ masters course at CSUN’s Eisner College of Education. She has done numerous professional presentations on this topic and remains focused on bringing arts education to underserved communities.
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About : DonorsChoose is a nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers.
David Rolston
Member of the Board of Directors of Mercy Ships
David Rolston is Member of the Board of Directors at Mercy Ships
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About Zed Medical: Mercy Ships is a global charity operating a fleet of hospital ships in developing nations.
Jennifer Friedenbach
Executive Director of Coalition on Homelessness
Jennifer Friedenbach is the Executive Director of Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco. She has also worked as Executive Director at Hunger and Homeless Action Coalition of San Mateo County for over five years.
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About Coalition on Homelessness: We shine a light on poverty and injustice in San Francisco.
Susan Wills
Director Strategic Sourcing and Contracts of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Susan Wills is the Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contracts for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been in her current position for five years. Susan has worked as the Director of Materials Management, covering departments such as purchasing, contracts, sterile central, courier, mailroom, print shop, medical equipment management, patient transport, warehouse, receiving and inventory control, for over 25 years in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire community hospitals. Susan has been a member of AHRMM since 1992, has been a CMRP since 2002 and recently received her Fellow status in May 2016. She has served on the AHRMM Educational Committee and has supported the New England Society of Healthcare Materials Management (NESHMM). She currently serves on the NESHMM Educational Committee.
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About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a center dedicated to carrying out adult and pediatric cancer treatment activities and advanced research.
James Cheng
Senior Associate Director, Analytics, Prospect Research of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
James Cheng currently holds the position of Associate Director of Analytics in Development Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Like many folks in development research, James’ background is not directly related to philanthropy. Besides resource development, he’s made intellectual and professional forays into cell and development biology, secondary science education, as well as educational research, measurement, and evaluation. While finishing up a doctorate degree in applied statistics in education at Boston College, James’ interest in development was piqued when he also took on the role of Prospect Data Mining and Modeling Specialist at MIT from 2006 to 2008. After spending time in the corporate world as a healthcare market researcher, James returned to the philanthropic sector, working at Dana-Farber Development & The Jimmy Fund since January of 2011.
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About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a center dedicated to carrying out adult and pediatric cancer treatment activities and advanced research.
Beth Gombala
Creative Director of Internet Society
Marketing Communications Manager at Internet Society
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About Internet Society: The Internet Society engages in a wide spectrum of internet issues, including policy, governance, technology, and development.
Daniel Eilemberg
Founder and Executive Director, abc Fellows Program of abc* Foundation
Daniel Eilemberg is the President of FUSION, the Fusion Media Group’s (FMG) cable network. He is a journalist, producer and new media entrepreneur who has worked across digital media, publishing, film and television. In this role current role, Daniel oversees all oversees programming and operations for the FUSION network. From going deep on cultural obsessions to telling impactful stories that matter, FUSION is a network that serves up a unique blend of enriching programming that reflects the shared passions and values of America’s diverse youth. The network complements FMG’s digital portfolio which includes some of the web’s most original media brands that cover topics ranging from news, politics, and pop culture to cars, technology, gaming, and comedy. Prior to his current role, Daniel served as Chief Digital Officer overseeing Fusion’s digital news operation. He is founder and Chairman of Animal Politico, México’s leading political news platform and Pajaro Politico (@pajaropolitico), the first news platform to launch exclusively on twitter in Mexico. Today, with over 1.7 million Twitter followers, and 1.2 million Facebook fans, and an audience of over 4 million visits per month, Animal Politico is widely recognized one of the strongest news and social media brands in Mexico. Prior to founding Animal Politico, Daniel served as Editor of PODER Magazine, a premier business magazine focusing on influential and innovative leaders in the fields of business and politics. Daniel also served as Editor of Hispanic Magazine and LOFT Magazine, which earned the prestigious Eddie Gold Award for Best Lifestyle Publication at the FOLIO awards. Daniel also produced the documentary “INSIDE: FARC Hostage Rescue” for National Geographic Channel. From 2002 to 2005 Daniel worked in the creative department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Daniel is the Founder and Managing Director of the ABC Fellows program, and a 2014 visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
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About abc* Foundation: The abc* Foundation is a think-do tank that identifies and supports high-impact initiatives.
Vandana Pant
Senior Director Design & Innovation of Sutter Health
Vandana has broad-ranging experience with social sector practice in the US and India and specializes in envisioning and implementing sustainable models for organizational growth. Prior to joining the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, she led strategic development at The Health Trust, a Silicon Valley-based operating foundation advancing solutions for health equity and wellness. Vandana has also consulted on strategic planning, program design and board development with several Bay Area organizations and continues to serve in an advisory role to build scale and capacity for nonprofit organizations. At PAMF’s Druker Center for Innovation, Vandana leads strategic initiatives to support deployment of the Center’s work including partnerships, program modeling & operations, communications and a student internship program. Vandana has a graduate degree in Mass Communications from the Mass Communications Research Center in New Delhi and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Delhi University.
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About Sutter Health: Sutter Health is a non-profit organization operating a network of hospitals and physicians in Northern California.
Veena Goel
Medical Director, Digital Patient Experience of Sutter Health
Goel is the Medical Director for Digital Patient Experience at Sutter Health, where she is responsible for providing clinical and change management leadership to garner patient engagement through digital health solutions. This includes My Health Online, the digital patient portal through which over 1.4 million Sutter patients to access their personal health records and activities as well as communicate with their providers. Over the past few years she has contributed significantly to the medical literature on her work using analytics and big data to improve bedside monitor alarm fatigue, and has also provided clinical informatics expertise and consultancy during local and international electronic health record implementations. Clinically, she practices as a pediatric hospitalist at PAMF, caring for newborns and hospitalized children, while helping patients and their families navigate the healthcare system.
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About Sutter Health: Sutter Health is a non-profit organization operating a network of hospitals and physicians in Northern California.
Steven Lane
Clinical Informatics Director, Privacy, Information Security & Interoperability of Sutter Health
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About Stanford University School of Medicine, Sutter Health, UCSF health: Sutter Health is a non-profit organization operating a network of hospitals and physicians in Northern California.
Raffi Krikorian
Managing Director of Emerson Collective
Raffi Krikorian was, until August 2014, Twitter’s VP of Engineering in charge of the Platform – the core infrastructure of Twitter. During his tenure, Platform Engineering was primarily responsible for the scalability, efficiency, reliability, and performance of Twitter, as well as the developer productivity of all software engineers at Twitter. He lead the Twitter’s transition from a Ruby on Rails web site, to a JVM-powered services oriented architecture which currently serves about 250 million monthly active users who send about 500 million tweets daily. He also created and used to chair Twitter’s Architecture Group, the team of senior software engineers in charge of Twitter’s overall technology portfolio as well as ensuring that software got written to the same consistent standards across its entire global development team.
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About Emerson Collective, WattzOn: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Stacey Rubin
Managing Director, Strategy of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Brad Powell
Managing Director, Investments of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Sarah A. Pinto Peyronel
Partner (Senior Director) of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Amy Low
Managing Director, Communications of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Ariane Bertrand
Director, Thriving Communities of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Ross Jensen
Senior Director, Strategy & Innovation of Emerson Collective
Senior Director, Strategy & Innovation at Emerson Collective.
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Anne Marie Burgoyne
Managing Director, Social Innovation of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Jonny Dorsey
Director, Innovation and Policy of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Arianne Nichol
Director, Special Events of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Kavitha Sreeharsha
Senior Director, Immigration Portfolio of Emerson Collective
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About Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Marshall Fitz
Managing Director, Immigration of Emerson Collective
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About Center for American Progress – CAP, Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Konstantin Guericke
Member of the Board of Directors of StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund)
Konstantin Guericke is a Partner at Earlybird. He is based in Silicon Valley. Konstantin is Co – Founder of LinkedIn, where he has led marketing activities from launch to first six million members and profitability as Vice President of Marketing. Previously, he has been CEO of jaxtr (social communications start-up, over ten million registered users, purchased by SabSe Technologies). Konstantin has long-time entrepreneurial experience as founder of successful startups and he has helped established companies towards increased growth. Currently, he is Board member of several startups and Mentor of student entrepreneurs at Stanford University. Konstantin holds a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from Stanford University.
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About : StartX is an educational non-profit that helps Stanford’s top entrepreneurs.
Dan Ha
Co-Founder, Sr. Managing Director of StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund)
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About StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund): StartX is an educational non-profit that helps Stanford’s top entrepreneurs.
Thomas Stehl
Deputy Director of Edesia
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About Edesia: Through innovative manufacturing, Edesia aims to reduce the alarmingly high rates of childhood malnutrition in developing countries
Erik Bethel
Acting Executive Director of THE WORLD BANK
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About THE WORLD BANK: The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Alister Smith
Executive Director at World Bank Group for Canada, Ireland & Caribbean of THE WORLD BANK
Alister Smith is Executive Director for Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the World Bank Group since January 2014. Prior to the World Bank Group, he held a number of senior positions in the Canadian government, including Senior Advisor to the Privy Council Office and Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board. Earlier, he was General Director of the International Trade and Finance branch of the Department of Finance. In that capacity, he served as Alternate Governor for the regional development banks. Previously, he worked for CIBC, a Canadian bank, as Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. Mr. Smith was educated in economics at Queen’s University and Carleton University. More recently, he completed the Directors’ Education program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Smith is on the International Advisory Committee of the Institute for the Study of Development (ISID) at McGill University.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Jeremy Hillman
Director Corporate Communications of THE WORLD BANK
Jeremy works at the World Bank Group in Washington DC. He helps to shape the organization’s media, digital strategies and employee engagement in support of the Bank’s mission to end extreme poverty.
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About THE WORLD BANK: The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Jorg Frieden
Executive Director of Swiss National of THE WORLD BANK
Jörg Giovanni Frieden, a Swiss national, serves as Executive Director on the Board of the World Bank Group since March 2011, and represents nine constituency countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since 2013, he is the Chairman of the Board’s Budget Committee. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Frieden was an Advisor to the Swiss Executive Director at the World Bank. Between 1986 and 2003, Mr. Frieden held positions at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in different capacities: Country Director in Mozambique and Nepal, and Head of the East and Southern Africa Division. From 1992 to 1993, he was responsible for the UN-led Civilian Component of the Demobilization Program in Maputo, Mozambique, and from 1999 to 2003, he was a Vice Director at the Federal Office for Migration, in Berne, Switzerland, and responsible for the Directorate of Finance and Social Affairs. Mr. Frieden earned a PhD in Economics in 1982 from the University of Fribourg. He also holds a license degree in Economics from the same university.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Merza Hasan
Dean of the Board of Executive Directors of THE WORLD BANK
Merza Hasan, a Kuwaiti national, was elected in 2006 to represent thirteen countries as Executive Director to the World Bank Group. Additionally, in 2012, Mr. Hasan became the Dean of the Board of Executive Directors. As an Executive Director, Mr. Hasan has a dual responsibility, as he represents the interests and concerns of his constituency to the Boards and the Bank’s management, as well as the interests and concerns of the Bank to the group of countries that elected him. In his role, Mr. Hasan considers and decides on the proposals made by the President on: IBRD loans and guarantees, IDA credits and grants, IFC investments, MIGA guarantees; and decides on policies that impact the World Bank’s general operations. He was the Undersecretary of the Industrial Sector in Kuwait, and held various positions at the University of Kuwait and the Embassy of Kuwait in the United States, as well as the private sector. Mr. Hasan was also a Board Member of several institutions. Mr. Hasan holds a Ph.D in Management Science from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, U.K. Mr. Hasan had a diverse career prior to assuming his position at the World Bank.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Vera Songwe
Country Director of THE WORLD BANK
Ms. Vera Songwe is the International Finance Corporation (IFC – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) Director for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar. She oversees the corporations’ investment decisions and public relations in these countries. Prior to joining the IFC, she was Country Director of the World Bank Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau. Ms. Songwe joined the World Bank Group as a Young Professional. She has experience working in the Middle East and North Africa and extensive experience on the East Asia and Pacific region where she worked as a policy economist on micro and macroeconomic issues as well supporting project implementation in the area of fiscal policy, trade, and governance among others.
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About THE WORLD BANK: The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Zach Hochstetler
Director, CPT Editorial and Regulatory Services of American Medical Association
Zach Hochstetler is the Director of CPT® Editorial and Regulatory Affairs in the American Medical Association’s Health Solutions unit. Zach’s work focuses on several key areas, including leading and setting strategic direction for the CPT® Editorial Panel and directing the communication of health care policies, through identification and resolution of national payment and reporting problems. He is also the Secretary of the CPT® Editorial Panel, ensuring that the process remains open and transparent.
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About American Medical Association: American Medical Association promotes the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.
Peter Adams
Managing Director of Rockies Venture Club
Peter Adams is managing partner at Pandemic Impact Fund.
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About Pandemic Impact Fund, Rockies Venture Club, Rockies Venture Club: Rockies Venture Club is a non-profit organization that encourages economic development by funding entrepreneurial companies.
Dave Harris
Director of Operations of Rockies Venture Club
Dave Harris is the Director of Operations for Rockies Venture Club (RVC), the longest running angel investor group in the US. Rockies Venture Club a non-profit organization furthering economic development in Colorado by connecting investors and entrepreneurs through conferences (Angel Capital Summit, Colorado Capital Conference, and Cannabis Capital Summit), networking events, educational offerings and facilitation of Colorado’s largest angel investor groups. Prior to joining RVC, Dave worked as a collaborative start-up consultant specializing in strategy, business development, and project management. He also has 7+ years experience in international finance and content management at Thomson Reuters and Lipper, covering the financial markets for Latin America, Europe, and Canada. Dave is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and he enjoys climbing 14ers, backpacking, fishing, and cooking; often all simultaneously, while still answering RVC emails.
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About Pandemic Impact Fund, Rockies Venture Club, Rockies Venture Fund: Rockies Venture Club is a non-profit organization that encourages economic development by funding entrepreneurial companies.
Lazar Finker
Founder and Executive Director of Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation
Dr. Lazar Finker is the Chairman of the Board at Forum Capital Group, a position he has held since 2012. Forum Capital is a private equity group specializing in real estate and seafood. When not overseeing operations at Forum Capital or servicing their select group of high net-worth individuals, Dr. Finker focuses on philanthropy, primarily through his organization the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation. Lazar Finker got his start in Russia, where he founded the country’s first community college. He was later invited to teach at Florida Community College. Originally only slated to stay for a semester, he and his family loved Jacksonville so much that they decided to move there. Though they travel often, they have come to be very involved in their community in the United States. The main mission of the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation is to be a family-run organization of like-minded philanthropists joined in their commitment to improving the lives of others and passing the Foundation’ principles from one generation to the next. The Foundation makes an impact by supporting causes in multiple fields such as medical research, education, religious development, and children’s welfare. By emphasizing the role of family in the Foundation’s efforts, Lazar Finker has passed his passion onto his son, Eugene Frenkel, who is equally committed to making a difference through philanthropy. Over time, as this passion is passed from generation to generation, the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation will achieve its mission. Since its founding, the Foundation has greatly expanded in scope, encompassing more causes and supporting larger projects in the area. In addition to promoting a myriad of causes through the Foundation, Lazar Finker is also involved with organizations like the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Mount Sinai. Through his connections, he strives to build a better community in southern Florida, supporting his friends and neighbors in their respective missions to improve health, religious groups, and education.
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About Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation, Forum Capital Group: The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation funds world-changing initiatives both at home and abroad.
Raissa Frenkel
Executive Director of Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation
Raissa Frenkel is the CEO of Forum Capital Group, as well as the founder and executive at the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation. Born in Kazan, Russia, Raissa earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Kazan Finance and Economics Institute in 1982 and accepted a position as the Political Economy department chair at the Institute. She taught at the university for nine more years, until she and her husband moved to the United States. Today, Raissa Frenkel is the CEO of Forum Capital Group, an independent private equity firm based in the United States. She oversees and leads operations within the group. She is also involved in numerous philanthropic efforts. In addition to the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband, Lazar Finker, she is also active in organizations like Make-A-Wish, Mount Sinai, and Chabad of Southside. Teaming up with these various organizations, the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation supports a variety of causes, including medical research, education, religious development, and children’s welfare. By building a network of like-minded philanthropists, Raissa Frenkel hopes to truly make a lasting difference. In this respect, the Foundation makes regular donations to renowned philanthropic organizations in addition to sponsoring scholarships, the most recent of which being a sizable contribution to the University of Miami.
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About Forum Capital Group: The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation funds world-changing initiatives both at home and abroad.
Le Dong Hai Nguyen
Founder & Executive Director of Global Association of Economics Education
Le Dong Hai Nguyen is a Vietnamese economist and social activist for economics education reforms. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Global Association of Economics Education (GAEE) and was the first person under 18 years of age to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Nguyen studies international economics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS) and has contributed to The Diplomat, Asia Times, USA Today, Thrive Global, and The Georgetown Gazette, to which he has also served as Managing Editor since 2021. He is one of 36 persons being honored in the Royal Economic Society’s 2019 list of Young Economists of the Year.
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About Global Association of Economics Education: GAEE is an international NGO working to democratize economics education, financial literacy and entrepreneurship incubation
Jennifer Vaughan
Country Directors or Coordinators, Bolivia of Plan International
Jennifer Vaughan has dedicated most of her professional career to development and human rights issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. She joined Plan in 2006, having previously worked at other development agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean, inspired by Plan’s commitment to children’s rights. With her academic background reflects her keen interest in development: an undergraduate degree in development studies, followed by a masters degree in rural resources and environmental policy at Wye College, University of London, Jennifer’s commitment to change stems from the courage and vision of the Latin American and Caribbean people she has met over the years who dream and work for a better life for them and their children. Assigned to Plan Honduras in 2006, Jennifer has been struck by the intelligence and passion of its young people and by how Plan’s work on citizenship and participation is opening up possibilities for them to engage with local government and to promote and defend children’s rights. Now, she is country director in Bolivia, a few months ago.
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About Plan International: Plan International is a children’s development organization that promotes child rights to end child poverty.
Ingrid Kuhfeldt
Americas Deputy Regional Director Operations of Plan International
Ingrid has 25 years of professional experience in the academic, private and development sectors both in the Americas and Africa. Born in Colombia, she holds a degree in business administration from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and a specialist degree in tourism management from the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft in Germany. In 1995 Ingrid started her development career with Plan in Colombia and her first assignment was as field office manager for the programme operations in Cali. In 1999 she was appointed as country director for Plan in Honduras. Later, from 2004 – 2010 she filled the post of country director for Plan in Guinea-Bissau, arguably one of the most challenging duty stations amongst the Plan countries mainly because of its challenging environment. The operations covered over 700 very poor and extremely poor communities where she has worked to improve the sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness and quality of programme design and delivery. “When the opportunities are provided to children they can contribute significantly not only to their own well being but also to the well being of the whole society,” Ingrid says.Her proven leadership in a cross-cultural setting comes with solid language skills in Spanish, English, German and Portuguese.
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About Plan International: Plan International is a children’s development organization that promotes child rights to end child poverty.
Dirk Maele
National Directors, Belgium of Plan International
Dirk Maele is National Directors, Belgium at Plan International.
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About : Plan International is a children’s development organization that promotes child rights to end child poverty.
Tjipke Bergsma
Regional Director, Americas of Plan International
Mr. Tjipke Bergsma joined the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROA) of Plan International as its Regional Director.Mr. Bergsma comes with a long trajectory in the NGO sector, and in Plan. After working in various positions since 1992 to 1998 in Senegal, Ecuador and Denmark, he was appointed Country Director at Plan in the Neatherlands. In 2011 he became Deputy CEO at the International Headquarters in Woking, UK. There, he was responsible for successful implementation of Plan’s Program Operations in 50 developing countries, working closely together with the teams at Headquarters in the UK and in 4 Regional Offices.
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About Plan International: Plan International is a children’s development organization that promotes child rights to end child poverty.
Tiziana Fattori
National Directors of Italy of Plan International
Tiziana Fattori is National Directors , Italy at Plan International.
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About : Plan International is a children’s development organization that promotes child rights to end child poverty.
Danielle Cass
Silicon Valley Initiative Director of Amnesty International
Danielle Cass is Director of Amnesty International’s new Silicon Valley Initiative, which aims to connect with the technology sector to transform the human rights movement. She explores how technology can expand Amnesty’s reach and impact, how to mitigate the risks of technologies that pose a human rights issue, and how to leverage technologies to protect human rights and human rights defenders. Danielle joined Amnesty International in October 2017 from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Global Development Lab, where she established USAID’s first-ever Silicon Valley presence in January 2015 to engage the technology, innovation and investment communities in global development.
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About Amnesty International: Amnesty International is a global charity organization of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights.
Jeremy Dean
Director of Education of Hypothes.is
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About Hypothes.is: Hypothes.is a distributed, open-source platform for the collaborative evaluation of information.
Kathleen Savesky
Chairman and Board of Director of IFAW
Kathleen Savesky has more than 35 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit and higher education fields. Now an independent consultant with her own Savesky & Company LLC, she specializes in visioning, governance and strategy development for foundations and non-profit organizations. Her diverse list of clients has included A Kinder World Foundation (NY); the Timocracy Foundation (CT); PetSmart Charities (AZ); COVE Center for Grieving Children and Families (CT); Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (ME); Maine Community Foundation (ME); Potter League for Animals (RI); Camp Hazen, YMCA (CT); the Giving Back Fund (MA); VSA Arts (ME); Compassion in World Farming (UK); and the Pryor Foundation (MA). She has served in a variety of executive roles at such organizations as the Peninsula Humane Society, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the National Association for the Advancement of Humane Education. She was the executive director of the Bosack and Kruger Charitable Foundation, which supports scientific education and animal welfare, from 2000 to 2008 and was a lecturer and mentor at the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine from 1998 to 2013. She currently serves on the board of directors or advisors for the North American Friends of Chawton House Library, the Maine Philanthropy Center and the Humane Research Council. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science in English Education from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Connecticut College in New London, CT.
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About : IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
David Metzler
Board of Directors of IFAW
Metzler was Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations at Colgate Palmolive Company. During his 35 years with the company, he was President of a number of Colgate’s international operations.
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About : IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
Kevin McGinnis
Director of Human Resources of IFAW
As Director of Human Resources, Kevin oversees the human resource strategies and programs for approximately 250 in IFAW’s 14 international offices. The HR team, with local guidance, provides strategic and operational support to align fair and relevant policies and practices within each local jurisdiction. Kevin possesses over 15 years of human resources experience in the non-profit and healthcare sectors. His expertise includes policy development, employee relations, talent management, compensation and benefits and support and coaching and counseling to staff at all levels.
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About IFAW: IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
Elsayed Mohamed
Middle East Regional Director of IFAW
Elsayed’s focus as Director IFAW Middle East has been on training government officials who are responsible for implementing CITES convention agreements. In cooperation with IFAW’s Wildlife Trade Programme staff, he organizes Prevention of Illegal Wildlife Trade (Wildlife Law Enforcement) training in many Arab-speaking countries and works to increase capacity for fighting the trade within the region. In addition to working with government officials on illegal trade, Elsayed has implemented Animal Action Education programmes for school children and conservation campaigns for the public in Middle Eastern and North African countries, increasing awareness of key IFAW wildlife and habitat concerns to the community at large. Under Elsayed’s leadership a “Think Twice” campaign, which educates tourists regarding the damage caused by trade in wildlife souvenirs, has also been organised within the region. As a member of the United Arab Emirates national CITES team, Elsayed was responsible for issuing CITES permits and certificates, attending national CITES meetings and preparing United Arab Emirates Humane Handling of Marine Mammals in Captivity Guidelines. Internationally, Elsayed has been a regular attendee at CITES Convention of the Parties for many years
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About IFAW: IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
Grace Gabriel
Regional Director of IFAW
Grace has been the driving force behind IFAW China from its inception, nurturing protection for both domestic animals and wildlife in a country where policies regarding conservation and animal welfare were lacking. Projects initiated by Grace include establishing the first raptor rescue center in China, initiating anti-poaching operations to protect the Tibetan antelope and participating in the development of China’s first Animal Welfare Law. IFAW China has developed outreach and education programs to improve regulations and conditions for domestic animals and works closely with local animal rescue groups. Grace was instrumental in linking wildlife protection with development in rural Yunnan province in China where the remaining Asian elephants roam. IFAW’s project helps to alleviate human-elephant conflicts, raise conservation awareness and motivate local communities to live in harmony with wildlife. The project was featured in the Animal Planet documentary “China’s Last Elephant”. Grace is a strong voice in the fight to reduce the devastating impact wildlife trade has on tigers, elephants, bears and many other endangered species. She has testified before the European Union Commission on protecting wild tigers and was invited to speak at the INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group meeting regarding controlling global online trade in wildlife and wildlife products. Grace has also testified on the escalating global wildlife crime before the UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee. Because of her work as a champion of wildlife, Grace was featured in Julie Scardina and Jeffrey Flocken’s book, Wildlife Heroes, 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals they are Committed to Saving (page 208). As native of China, who respects the cultural heritage and health benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Grace has been in the forefront of promoting TCM alternatives to the use of endangered species, a view supported by legitimate TCM practitioners in China and around the world. To that end, Grace has overseen IFAW’s global campaign to reduce the use of endangered species in traditional medicine.
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About IFAW: IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
Phyllis Bayer
Director of IT and Facilities of IFAW
As Director of IT and Facilities, Phyllis oversees the global information technology strategy and services for IFAW headquarters, country offices, and remote users. In addition, she manages the operation and ongoing maintenance of IFAW’s international headquarters, which has received a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification in the United States. Phyllis’ accomplishments at IFAW have included building a state-of-the-art consolidated data center and playing a lead role in the development of IFAW’s headquarters building. With more than 25 years in the IT world, Phyllis brings to the Executive Management Team expertise in industry best practices for technical support for IFAW’s staff and data security and protection for IFAW’s donors.
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About IFAW: IFAW is a non-profit organization that saves individual animals, animal populations, and habitats all over the world.
Ellen Levy
Managing Director of Silicon Valley Connect
Ellen Levy is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Connect.
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About Arizona State University, Arizona State University, Birdeye, Broadway Angels, Silicon Valley Connect: Silicon Valley Connect creates programs, services and initiatives meant to build bridges between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world.
Brooke Stafford-Brizard
Director of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
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About Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative supports community-driven solutions to accelerate progress in science, education, and justice.
Gadi Ben-Yehuda
Social Media Director of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Gadi Ben-Yehuda is the Social Media Director for the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator for events with State Department, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and other agencies. He has also delivered presentations both nationally and internationally, at SxSW Interactive, the Global eGovernment Forum in Seoul, South Korea, and conferences in venues ranging from Washington, DC, to New York City, and Las Vegas, NV, to Burlington, VT. He is a prolific writer, with articles appearing on the Center’s blog, in Government Executive and Fast CoExist. He is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Vine. Mr. Ben-Yehuda has worked on the Web since 1994, when he received an email from Maya Angelou through his first Web site. He has an MFA in poetry from American University, has taught writing at Howard University, and has worked in Washington, DC, for nonprofits, lobbying organizations, and government.
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About American Association for the Advancement of Science: American Association For The Advancement Of Science promotes scientific education, science outreach, cooperation among scientists, and more.
Shirley Malcom
Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Dr. Shirley Malcom directs Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This includes programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. In addition to Digital Promise, Dr. Malcom serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments and Public Agenda. She is a Regent of Morgan State University and a trustee of Caltech. Dr. Malcom has chaired several national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. She is a fellow of AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; served on the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation (1994 to 1998) and on the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1994-2001). Dr. Malcom received her Ph.D. in ecology from Penn State; masters in zoology from UCLA; and B.S. with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. She holds 16 honorary degrees. In 2003 Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.
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About American Association for the Advancement of Science: American Association For The Advancement Of Science promotes scientific education, science outreach, cooperation among scientists, and more.
John Crews
Staff Director, Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance & Investment of United States Senate
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About United States Senate: U.S. Senate is a legislative chamber in the bicameral legislature of the United States of America.
Addison Nuding
Managing Director of WellDone International
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About WellDone International: WellDone International employs design, technology, and advocacy to empower communities that lack access to water and sanitation
Shingo Yatsui
Managing Director of BTIG
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About BTIG: BTIG provides institutional brokerage and fund services worldwide.
Joe Passaro
Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets of BTIG
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About BTIG: BTIG provides institutional brokerage and fund services worldwide.
Keith Berwick
Founding Executive Director, Henry Crown Fellowship Program of The Aspen Institute
Keith Berwick is founding Executive Director of the Henry Crown Fellowship Program and the inaugural recipient of the Keith Berwick Chair on Leadership at the Aspen Institute. In this capacity, he serves as a consultant to the Henry Crown Fellowship, the Aspen Global Leadership Network and other programs of the Aspen Institute. Keith is also an Emmy Award-winning television broadcaster, and principal of Berwick Communications, Inc., a newspaper and communication consulting company. Keith has taught at various universities, including UCLA and the Claremont Graduate School. He has been associate editor of Pacific Historical Review and editor of New Management magazine. Among his published works are The American Revolutionary Experience, 1776-1976 and The Federal Age, 1789-1829: America in the Process of Becoming. He is currently at work on The Search for an American Hero, a book on the American presidency.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Rima Cohen
Managing Director, Health Innovators Fellowship of The Aspen Institute
Rima Cohen is the former counselor for health policy to the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services where she advised the Secretary on a range of health care matters and helped to develop and lead Obama Administration initiatives related to programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Office for Civil Rights. During her tenure, Ms. Cohen also stepped in to lead the Department’s planning and evaluation office for six months. As the Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Ms. Cohen advised the Secretary on policy development in areas that include health care, disability, human services, and science; and she provided advice and analysis on economic policy. Prior to assuming this position, Cohen was the Director of Health and Social Services for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where she oversaw the City’s health care programs and agencies, including Medicaid, the City’s public hospital and health care system, and the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Cohen also spent a decade on Capitol Hill as former-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle’s senior health policy advisor, and she founded and directed Insurance Options for the Uninsured (IOU), a project sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Foundation that developed and implemented strategies for expanding health insurance coverage in New York. In that position, she developed the original blueprint for the state’s Family Health Plus program – a Medicaid expansion enacted in 2000 that covers up to 500,000 low-income adults – and she created the first web-based tool linking New Yorkers with free and low-cost health and social services. Cohen has a master’s degree in public affairs, with a concentration in economics, from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan; she also did undergraduate work at the London School of Economics. After graduate school, Cohen was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study program evaluation methods employed by U.S. NGOs operating in Indonesia. Ms. Cohen sits on the board of the California-based non-profit organization, Social Interest Solutions, and she is on the advisory board of a health care IT start up. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and daughter.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Cristal Logan
Vice President, Aspen, And Director Of Aspen Community Programs of The Aspen Institute
Cristal Logan, Vice President, Aspen and Director of Aspen Community Programs at the Aspen Institute, is responsible for creating and overseeing year-round public programs for the Aspen community. During her tenure at the Institute, Cristal has expanded the number of community events exponentially. The Aspen Community Programs hosts a variety of events including the McCloskey Speaker Series, the Hurst Lecture Series, The Murdock Mind Body Spirit Series, the Hurst Student Seminars for Middle School, and High School Students; Great Books and Great Decisions Discussion Series’, Fireside Chats, Teen Socrates, the Sharing Shakespeare and Athens to Aspen Series, as well as a host of diverse offerings throughout the years. Under Cristal’s leadership, the Aspen Community Programs hosts over 60 program days each year for local residents, visitors, and teens. Prior to joining the Institute in 1999, Cristal worked in Administration at Aspen Valley Hospital; and in Finance at the Aspen Skiing Company. A fourth generation resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, Cristal has been a committed member of the community by serving on the board of the Aspen Hall of Fame, participating as a member of Leadership Aspen Class of 2000, and as one of the inaugural members of the Aspen Community Foundation Spring Board. She is Vice Chairman of the Board of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, and served on the Aspen Valley Hospital Community Advisory Committee (2006-2016) and the Colorado Mountain College Community Advisory Committee (2008-2016). Cristal is married to Mark Logan, Principal at Cadence Brand Marketing, and they have a wonderful son.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Maureen Conway
Vp For Policy Programs, Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program of The Aspen Institute
Maureen Conway serves as Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute and as Executive Director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program (EOP). Ms. Conway founded EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (AspenWSI) and has headed up workforce research at the Aspen Institute since 1999. She leads a team of researchers and consultants in a variety of initiatives to identify and advance strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today’s labor market. A featured speaker at numerous national and regional conferences, she is a nationally recognized expert in sectoral, or industry-specific, workforce development and has been quoted in a variety of news media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Journal and National Public Radio’s Market Place. Under her leadership, EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative has investigated the outcomes of sectoral workforce development, provided innovation seed grants to leading programs in order to illuminate promising practices and explored key operating features of programs in specific industry sectors. Maureen is the author of numerous publications including research reports, case studies and policy briefs, including co-editing, together with Robert P. Giloth, the book Connecting People to Work: Workforce Intermediaries and Sector Strategies, a collection that brings perspectives from philanthropy, policy, research, and practice, together to chart how sector-based workforce development has evolved and the implications for the future. Recently, Maureen led the creation of the Working in America and Reinventing Low Wage Work speaker series at the Aspen Institute, bringing together voices from business, worker advocacy, media, academia and others to discuss the challenges experienced by many in today’s labor markets and new ideas for addressing these challenges. In addition, her current work includes multi-year evaluations of several promising innovations in workforce development and a new project exploring an emerging practice of work that strives to create economic stability as a platform for economic mobility by engaging in strategies that seek to improve job quality while also helping workers improve their job skills. Ms. Conway’s previous experience includes consulting for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and work for the U.S. Peace Corps, where she advised on the design, management, and evaluation of the organization’s economic development programs in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Maureen has an M.B.A. from Columbia University, a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, and a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Holy Cross College.
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About Aspen Institute Italy, Aspen Institute Italy, Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Joanna Smith Ramani
Associate Director of The Aspen Institute
Joanna Smith-Ramani is the Associate Director at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, leading the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), a first-of-its-kind initiative in the field of consumer finance designed to accelerate knowledge synthesis and problem solving among a wide cross section of experts from applied, academic, government, and industry settings working on critical dimensions of financial security. Prior to joining FSP, Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at the D2D Fund, leading the unit that designs, tests, and evaluates promising financial service innovations. Joanna has led national and state legislative campaigns, resulting in the passage of a federal law and over 10 state laws expanding a savings innovation. Joanna holds a master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Baltimore and Maryland CASH Board.
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About The Aspen Institute, The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Eric Liu
Executive Director of The Aspen Institute
Eric Liu is the founder and CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. He is the author of several books, including “You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen,” “A Chinaman’s Chance,” “The Gardens of Democracy,” and “The Accidental Asian.” Eric served as a White House speechwriter and policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. He is a regular columnist for CNN.com and a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Arthur Brooks
President & Board of Directors of American Enterprise Institute
Arthur C. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise at AEI.Immediately before joining AEI, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Brooks is the author of 10 books and hundreds of articles on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness, and the morality of free enterprise. His latest book, “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise” (2012) was a New York Times bestseller. Among his earlier books are “Gross National Happiness” (2008), “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008), and “Who Really Cares” (2006). Before pursuing his work in public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain. Brooks is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows and has been published widely in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Brooks has a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in policy analysis from RAND Graduate School. He also holds an M.A. in economics from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in economics from Thomas Edison State College.
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About American Enterprise Institute: Tech Policy Daily offers research and commentary on broadband, FCC policy, cybersecurity, and competition in high-tech industries.
Terry Chay
Director, Features Engineering of Wikimedia Foundation
Terry started editing Wikipedia in 2006. At the end of February 2012, Terry became Director of Features Engineering at Wikimedia Foundation. Terry’s role is to be administrative overhead at the Foundation. If he is not doing his job, it probably means the others are doing theirs.
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About Wikimedia Foundation: Wikimedia Foundation encourages the development and distribution of free educational content with projects such as Wikipedia.
Zachary McCune
Director of Brand of Wikimedia Foundation
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About Wikimedia Foundation: Wikimedia Foundation encourages the development and distribution of free educational content with projects such as Wikipedia.
Soumya Sanyal
Director, Engineering Efficiency, Digital Innovation Group of Providence Health & Services
Soumya Sanyal is director of engineering efficiency at Providence, where he leads the teams that tackle reliability engineering, developer experience, and quality engineering for the company’s Digital Innovation Group.
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About Providence Digital Innovation Group, Providence Health & Services: Providence Health & Services is third largest not-for-profit health system in the United States
Gretchen Kalonji
Assistant Director of General for Natural Sciences of UNESCO
Dr Gretchen Kalonji is Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO. Dr Kalonji has served in various leadership roles in the University of California system, including as Director of International Strategy Development at the UC Office of the President, where her responsibility was to lead in the design and implementation of the first coordinated and comprehensive international strategy for the ten-campus UC system, and as Director of Systemwide Research Development. Dr Kalonji came to the UC from the University of Washington, where she served as Kyocera Professor of Materials Science from 1990 to 2005. Prior to 1990 she was Assistant and then Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Her work, both in materials science and in research and educational innovation, has been recognized with multiple honors and awards. She holds or has held visiting faculty appointments at the Max Planck Institute (Stuttgart), the University of Paris, Tohoku University, Sichuan University, Tsinghua University and the newly established Peking University Graduate School in Shenzhen. Dr Kalonji was educated at MIT, receiving her Ph.D. in 1982.
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About UNESCO: UNESCO encourages international peace and universal respect for human rights by promoting collaboration among nations.
Heidi Miller
Member of the Board of Directors of Conservation International
Heidi Miller joined the First Data Board of Directors on April 14, 2014. She is a well- accomplished senior executive in the financial services industry. Prior to retiring in 2012, Miller was president of JPMorgan International, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Before that she served as CEO of JPMorgan Chase’s Treasury and Security Services, leading 35,000 people in 50 countries. Miller also served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Bank One Corporation. She has held other CFO positions including at the Travelers Group and later at Citigroup. Miller has an extensive background leading diverse companies and organizations. She has been a director for General Mills Inc. since 1999, and has served as a director of Progressive Corp. since 2011. She is a trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, and is a director for Conservation International. She also serves as trustee at Princeton University. Miller was featured in American Banker’s Most Powerful Women ranking from 2003-2010 and was No. 1 on the banking list from 2007-2009. In 2008, she topped Crain’s list of the “50 Most Powerful Women in New York”. Miller graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in history and completed her doctorate in history at Yale University in 1979.
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About : Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Charles Kahindo
Acting Country Director of Democratic Republic of Congo of Conservation International
Dr. Charles Kahindo’s work focuses on the management of community-supported projects which are designed to contribute to the well-being of people in the DRC through good governance, sustainable production, and the protection of the country’s life-sustaining natural capital. Congolese biologist Dr. Charles Kahindo serves as Interim Country Director and ongoing Technical Director for Conservation International’s (CI) program in Democratic Republic of Congo. New to CI in August 2013 and based in Goma, Charles focuses on the management of community-supported projects which are designed to contribute to the well-being of people in the DRC through good governance, sustainable production and the protection of the country’s life-sustaining natural capital. Charles has extensive experience in community-focused conservation initiatives which support local people by helping to strengthen their knowledge, skills and role in the management of natural resources, while also contributing to their livelihoods and living conditions. Prior to joining CI, Charles served as Project Leader with World Wildlife Fund in Uvira, in the eastern part of DRC where his primary role was to manage and implement the Democratic Republic of Congo Component of UN Development Programme/Global Environment Facility Transboundary Project. In this capacity, Charles worked to ensure full integration of project activities for local community development and sustainable management of the Lake Tanganyika Catchment. Born and raised in the DRC, Charles has a Master of Science in Environment Science and a PhD in Conservation Biology (2005) from Makerere University in Uganda. After his PhD he worked as Regional Coordinator for the Albertine Rift Conservation Society in Kampala before joining Bukavu State University (DRC) as scientist, lecturer and Head of Biology department. He is an avid bird watcher whose favorite species to observe in the wild is the Grauer’s Swamp-warbler (Bradypterus graueri), and a father of five children.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Agustin Silvani
Managing Director of Conservation International
Agustin Silvani heads CI’s Conservation Finance Division (CFD), which is dedicated to the development and financing of pioneering solutions for lasting change in environmental conservation. For more than a decade, CFD has been one of the most active investors in global conservation, raising and deploying with partners over $250million through varied mechanisms such as trust funds, debt swaps, loans, carbon finance, conservation agreements, and payment for ecosystem services. Working with local partners, we have impacted over 50 million hectares and thousands of people that depend on nature for their wellbeing. Many long-term conservation and sustainability projects, once created, lack the funding and structure to be effective over the length of time necessary to ensure lasting results. As a leading thinker in the field of conservation finance, Agustin has been responsible for creating and executing innovative financial mechanisms to encourage more investment in conservation, including the largest privately financed avoided deforestation project and first sustainable fisheries fund. These projects help support everything from coffee growing farmers in the Amazon to Maasai communities that wish to maintain their traditional ways of life, knowing that finding natural solutions to human problems offers huge un-tapped potential. Agustin moved to CI from the private sector with the goal of using public-private finance to drive natural capital conservation and low carbon development, primarily by catalyzing the growth of ecosystem service markets.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Enrique Nunez
Executive Director of Philippines of Conservation International
Enrique Nunez’s work focuses on the future efforts in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape and Palawan by enhancing the adaptive capacities of communities and using a model climate resilient transboundary network of marine protected areas and sustainable fisheries. Enrique Nunez is the country executive director for CI-Philippines. The Philippines program will focus future efforts on the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape and Palawan. The program is looking to enhance the adaptive capacities of communities in Sulu Sulawesi by using a model climate resilient transboundary network of marine protected areas and sustainable fisheries. The Philippines program will house the regional geographic information system (GIS) capacity for the region. The program focuses on regional policy, particularly in engagement with the Asian Development Bank. In this role, CI can become a trusted advisor to guide the Asian Development Bank in its development investments, and will help to engage the USAID Mission in Manila, which manages Pacific investments. Enrique has over a decade of experience on environmental and natural resource management, having previously worked for environmental NGOs and development agencies. He has experience in coastal and marine conservation; uplands and community forestry issues; biodiversity and protected area management; climate change and indigenous peoples’ concerns.
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About Conservation International, Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Johnson Cerda
Director DGM Global Executing Agency of Conservation International
Johnson Cerda conducts research related to climate change, biodiversity and protected areas in Ecuador. Johnson is currently a member of the GEF/NGO Committee that represents the indigenous peoples of Latin America. Johnson Cerda is an indigenous Kichwa of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Comuna Santa Elena – Limoncocha). Cerda has worked with indigenous organizations in Ecuador and also in the regional organization of the Amazon CONFENIAE. He has collaborated with government institutions in Ecuador such as the Development Council of Nationalities and Peoples of Ecuador (CODENPE) and the Institute for Eco development of the Amazon Region (ECORAE). In 2000, Johnson was nominated by indigenous organizations in the Amazon to serve as Co-Director of the Amazon Alliance in Washington, DC where he worked until 2005. He has since returned to work in Ecuador, conducting research related to climate change, biodiversity and protected areas. He is a former member of the Indigenous Parliament of the Ecuadorian Amazon representing FOKISE, and was a member of a Technical Advisory Panel of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank; he is currently a member of the GEF/NGO Committee representing indigenous peoples of Latin America. Cerda has started working with Conservation International as Indigenous Advisor since February 2009.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Madeleine Bottrill
Senior Director of Monitoring & Evaluation of Conservation International
Dr. Madeleine Bottrill leads monitoring and reporting of CI’s institutional achievements. Madeleine also advises CI’s programs on performance measurements and impact evaluation to track ecological and social outcomes and assess the effectiveness of conservation actions and strategies. Dr. Madeleine Bottrill is the Senior Director of Conservation Monitoring and Evaluation at CI where she is responsible for supporting monitoring and reporting on CI’s institutional achievements. Dr. Bottrill also advises CI’s programs on performance monitoring and impact evaluation to track ecological and social outcomes and assess the effectiveness of conservation actions and strategies. She has published on aspects of evaluation, systematic conservation planning, and prioritization of conservation investments. Originally from London, she graduated from the University of Edinburgh, holds a Masters from the University of East Anglia in Applied Ecology and Conservation, and earned her Ph.D. in program evaluation of conservation policy and practice from the University of Queensland, Australia. Prior to joining CI in 2011, she worked as a researcher and environmental consultant specializing in landscape-scale conservation planning and threatened species conservation with several NGOs including IUCN, WWF and FFI, and private consultancies. She has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Samoa.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Thomas Stephenson
Member of the Board of Directors of Conservation International
Thomas Stephenson is Member of the Board of Directors at Conservation International.
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About Sequoia Capital: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Jonas Rupp
Director of Marine Policy for the High Seas Issues of Conservation International
Jonas Rupp provides advice and guidance about international policy in order to promote understanding and to assist in the implementation of international sustainable development commitments. Jonas developed partnerships to produce a new Global Seafloor Geomorphology Mapping Project and a Global Ocean Life distribution concept to map the characteristic features of ocean and sea bottoms. Jonas Rupp is Director of Marine Policy for the High Seas Issues at Conservation International. In this role, he provides advice and guidance about international policy, in order to promote understanding and to assist in the implementation of international sustainable development commitments. He developed a partnership between CI, UNEP/GRID-Arendal, and Geoscience Australia in order to produce a new Global Seafloor Geomorphology Mapping Project and Global Ocean Life distribution concept to map the characteristic features of ocean and sea bottoms. Jonas also established business and finance partnerships by working with the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and the World Bank to solidify the creation of the Global Partnership for Oceans. This partnership focuses on sustainable fisheries, habitat protection, pollution control and cross-cutting issues of climate change resilience. Jonas is also responsible for forming other partnerships to foster sustainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Prior to joining CI in 2010, Jonas worked as a legal specialist in sea law, environment law and Antarctic policy for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Assistant Director for Australian and Overseas Natural Heritage; Assistant Director in Intergovernmental Relations for World Heritage Australia; and Science and Policy Advisor of Australia’s Ministry of Land and Water Conservation. He also lived in New Zealand, where he worked as Senior Adviser/Policy Officer for the Ministry of Fisheries; Senior Advisor for the Ministry of Justice; and Fisheries Specialist Contractor for the Canadian High Commission. Jonas is fluent in Swedish and spent most of his childhood years in either Australia or on Swedish merchant navy vessels. From the University of Technology, he earned both his Masters in Integrated Coastal Resource Management and his Bachelors in Ecology/Biotechnology.
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About Conservation International, Global Environment Fund Management: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Trond Larsen
Director of Rapid Assessment Program of Conservation International
Dr. Trond Larsen has worked on a broad range of projects regarding the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss across the tropics, often using invertebrate taxa as a model. Trond has worked on a broad range of projects regarding the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss across the tropics, often using invertebrate taxa as a model. He was a founding director of the Amazon Conservation Association. As Science Director for the non-profit Friends of the Osa, he established a new center for research, education and conservation of terrestrial and marine biodiversity on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Trond has been a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution since 1998 and was a research fellow with the Encyclopedia of Life. He recently finished a Fuller Fellowship with WWF and Princeton University examining the impacts of climate change, land-use change and infrastructure development on Andean biodiversity. Trond also enjoys nature photography.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
