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Our Future is Collective

Annual Member Day & Summit

Brooklyn, NY

About the Event

Women Moving Millions’ Annual Member Day and Summit 2025 will take place October 15-17 as we return to Brooklyn, New York.

The Women Moving Millions Annual Summit is an invitation-only event for our members and select guests. Our 2025 Annual Summit will bring together experts, thought leaders, and changemakers to reimagine a future that is equitable for all. 

This year’s Summit theme, Our Future is Collective, calls us to consider how the power of community can transform hope into impact and possibility into progress. Over two transformative days, we will examine the barriers to advancing gender equality; spotlight organizations achieving scalable, lasting impact; and identify concrete opportunities to invest for real change.

Member Day: October 15, 2025 (for WMM members only)
Member Day: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Member Dinner: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Summit Day 1: October 16, 2025
Program: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Community Dinner: 6:15 PM – 9:15 PM

Summit Day 2: October 17, 2025
Program: 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM

To get a sense of our Summit programming and speakers, we encourage you to visit previous Annual Summit pages here. If you are interested in learning more about our Annual Member Day and/or Summit, please reach out to Amanda Griffin, Director of Community Engagement.

Agenda

Summit Day 1

Brooklyn, NY

Registration and Breakfast

8:00am

Pre-Opening Opt-In Session

8:00 - 8:45am

Morning Session

9am - 12:30pm

Welcome

Sarah Haacke Byrd, Chief Executive Officer, Women Moving Millions

Building a Collective Future for Women & Girls Worldwide

Moderator: Amb. Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security

Sarah Costa, Executive Director, Women’s Refugee Commission

Alyse Nelson, President & CEO, Vital Voices Global Partnership

Amb. Geeta Rao Gupta, Former Ambassador-at-Large for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Dept. of State; Co-Founder, Arch Collaborative

Fired Up For Our Collective Future

Moderator: Emma Bloomberg, Founder & CEO, Murmuration

Shannon Watts, Founder, Mom’s Demand Action & Author of Fired Up

Investing in the Future of Women’s Wellbeing

Katy Brodsky Falco, Founder & Executive Director, Foundation for Women’s Health

Colleen Foster, General Partner, Amboy Street Ventures

Priyanka Jain, Member, WMM; Co-Founder & CEO, Evvy

Breakout Sessions

Lunch

Afternoon Session

1:45pm - 4:35pm

Exploring the Power of Film to Achieve Justice

Moderator: Jenni Wolfson, CEO, Chicken & Egg Films

Sara Khaki, Filmmaker, Cutting Through Rocks

Nisha Pahuja, Filmmaker, To Kill a Tiger

Monika Parekh, Board Member, WMM; President of P-Squared Philanthropies

Building a Global Movement to End Childhood Sexual Violence

Moderator: Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Member, WMM; Executive Director, Phillips Foundation

Daniela Ligiero, Chief Executive Officer & President, Together for Girls

Soma Sara, Chief Executive Officer, Everyone’s Invited

S. Mona Sinha, Former Board Chair, WMM; Global Executive Director, Equality Now

Breakout Sessions

Cocktail Reception

6:15pm

Community Dinner: Our Future is Collective Impact - The WMM Catalyst Award

7:15pm

Award Recipient: Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland; Co-Founder, Project Dandelion

Moderator: Pat Mitchell, Co-founder of Project Dandelion & Co-Founder Editorial Director of TEDWomen

Summit Day 2

Brooklyn, NY

Breakfast

8:00am

Morning Session

9:00am - 12:00pm

Welcome Back

Stacey Keare, Board Chair, WMM; Founder, Girls Rights Project

Special Award Presentation & Conversation

Moderator: Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor & Co-Managing Editor, PBS News Hour

Special Guest TBA

The Imperative of Ending Child Marriage in the U.S.

Moderator: Errin Haines, Editor-At-Large, The 19th*

Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, The Clinton Foundation 

Antonia Kirkland, Global Lead, Legal Equality & Access to Justice, Equality Now

Fraidy Reiss, Founder/Executive Director, Unchained At Last

Our Future is Now: Resourcing the Movement for Girls’ Rights

Moderator: Sarah Hendriks, Director for Policy, Programme, & Intergovernmental Division, UNWOMEN

Shabana Basij-Rasikh, Co-Founder & President, School of Leadership, Afghanistan

Dr. Monique Couvson, President, Grantmakers for Girls of Color

Celina de Sola, Co-Founder & President, Glasswing International

Lunch

Afternoon Session

1:15pm - 3:00pm

Breakout Sessions

Closing Reception

Speakers

Dimple Abichandani

Dimple Abichandani

Dimple Abichandani is a nationally recognized philanthropic leader, lawyer, advisor and author of A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth Into a More Just and Sustainable Future, a book that reimagines how philanthropy can meet this moment. For two decades, she has worked to reshape philanthropy’s purpose and practice while leading innovative funding institutions. As Executive Director of the General Service Foundation (2015–2022), she aligned the foundation’s grantmaking, investments, and governance with justice values. She was the founding director of the Rise Together Fund, a donor collaborative at the Proteus Fund, and previously led the Center for Social Justice at UC Berkeley School of Law. A National Center for Family Philanthropy Fellow, Dimple’s leadership has been recognized with a Scrivener Award for Creative Grantmaking. She serves on the Board of Directors of Solidaire Network and has served on the boards/steering committees of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, Northern California Grantmakers, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. 

Laila Alodaat

Laila Alodaat is a feminist leader and lawyer with two decades of experience advancing social justice through movement building, strategic litigation, and international advocacy. She currently serves as Executive Director of Prospera – International Network of Women’s and Feminist Funds, where she leads a global community of women and feminist funds committed to transforming resourcing practices and strengthening collective power. Previously, Laila was Deputy Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), where she engaged in advocacy on issues related to militarisation, conflict-related human rights violations and feminist movement resourcing in the Global South. Her previous litigation work focused on human rights, international accountability and state extraterritorial commitment. Laila also serves on several boards and advisory groups, including the Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains, the Feminist Review Trust, and Lawyers for Justice in Libya. 

Karen Keating Ansara

Karen Keating Ansara makes grants to end global poverty and provide health care for women (primarily in Haiti). She founded and chairs Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID), a network of 350 active philanthropic members.  After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Karen cofounded the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation, now the Haiti Development Institute (HDI). In addition to HDI and NEID, Karen serves on the boards of Women Moving Millions, Groundswell International, MCE Social Capital and Build Health International and on the Leadership Council of Oxfam America. In her early years Karen worked for the Massachusetts chapters of Planned Parenthood and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Karen is a graduate of Wellesley College, Andover Newton Theological School, and Boston University’s Non-profit Management and Leadership program. She is currently a Senior Fellow in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. She and her husband Jim, founder of non-profit Build Health International, have four young adult children and live in Essex, MA.

Madeleine Ballard

Dr. Madeleine Ballard

Dr. Madeleine Ballard serves as CEO of Community Health Impact Coalition, a global movement making professional community health workers the norm by changing guidelines, funding and policy. Her work alongside the Coalition was awarded the Roux Prize in 2024 and the Skoll Award for Social Innovation in 2025, and has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Foreign Policy, and Lancet Global Health. Through research, advocacy, and organizing with community health workers, she’s driven policy changes that ensure quality care for millions—including those who provide it. Dr. Ballard earned her PhD from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She is the recipient of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Award, and co-founded of the Anti-Racism Task Force at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she is on faculty.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh

Shabana Basij-Rasikh

Shabana Basij-Rasikh is the co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA). SOLA is the first and only boarding school for Afghan girls, operating in Kabul from 2016 through 2021 and the Taliban’s return to power. In August 2021, Shabana led the evacuation of her entire school community from Afghanistan to Rwanda, where SOLA reestablished its operations and its students resumed their studies; in 2024, SOLA expanded into the digital realm with the launch of SOLAx, a WhatsApp-based online academy with more than 20,000 learners. Shabana is a 2011 magna cum laude graduate of Middlebury College and holds a Master in Public Policy from Oxford University. In 2023, she received the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year award from the National Geographic Society.

Amie Batson

Amie Batson is President of WomenLift Health, an organization dedicated to expanding the power and influence of women leaders in global health and catalyzing systemic change to improve health outcomes. With more than 35 years of experience, she has held senior leadership roles across major global health institutions. At PATH, she served as Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President, guiding global health programs and partnerships. At USAID, as Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Global Health Bureau, she shaped strategies to advance U.S. leadership in global health.

During more than a decade at the World Bank, Amie spearheaded the development of innovative financing mechanisms that mobilized billions for vaccines and health, helping to establish Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Financing Facility. She also held a joint appointment with WHO and UNICEF, where she designed and launched UNICEF’s Vaccine Independence Initiative, a revolving fund that continues to enable timely vaccine procurement for countries worldwide.

Tobi Becerra

Tobi Becerra

Tobi Becerra is a vice president of Philanthropic Strategies for Fidelity Charitable®, an independent 501(c)(3) public charity that has helped donors support more than 433,000 nonprofit organizations with more than $100 billion in grants.1 The mission of Fidelity Charitable® is to grow the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving accessible, simple, and effective. In her role as a Philanthropic Strategist, Tobi helped ideate and launch Fidelity Charitable Perspectives, a program designed exclusively to support the country’s most generous philanthropists. She is responsible for the ongoing execution of Perspectives, providing donors, advisors, and family offices with guidance, insight, and solutions to meet their philanthropic goals. With 20 years in the nonprofit sector, her array of experiences helps inform donors about how they can maximize their charitable giving and how the philanthropic sector can spur greater social change.

Dr. Kate Bezanson

Dr. Kate Bezanson is a senior policy scholar and advisor with expertise in political economy, public and constitutional law, gender, rights, federalism, Canadian and comparative social, economic, and labour market policy.  She holds a BA Honours (Trent), MA and PhD (York), and LLM (Osgoode Hall Law School).

She was seconded from 2022-2025 to serve as senior advisor to the Prime Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, advising in areas such as federal budgets, intergovernmental affairs, select foreign and international development matters, constitutional and Charter matters, social policy (notably childcare, school food, reproductive rights, housing, gender-based violence, and fiscal federalism) among others.

She is a full professor of Sociology at Brock University, and has served as Associate Dean (Faculty of Social Sciences), Department Chair (Sociology), University Senator, Chair of the Senate Student Appeals Board, and faculty affiliate with the MA in Critical Sociology and the MA in Social Justice and Equity Studies programmes at Brock University. She is a faculty research fellow at the Gender and the Economy Institute at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Dr. Bezanson has also served as a member of the Canadian Judicial Advisory Committee, on the editorial boards of the Canadian Review of Social Policy and the Canadian Review of Sociology, and is the past president of a not-for-profit childcare centre and a not-for-profit second stage housing centre.

She strives to bridge academic research with practicable policy approaches, and to translate this work both for general audiences and into government policy. Her analysis and commentary have appeared in Canadian and international print, radio and television media such as the CBC, Globe and Mail, New York Times, National Post, TVO and CTV.

Emma Bloomberg

Emma Bloomberg, is founder and CEO of Murmuration, a non-profit tech company that works with local organizations to amplify the power of civic engagement by providing the data, tools, and research necessary to build healthier and more equitable communities.

Bloomberg has been working with communities and leaders for over 20 years to tackle some of our country’s most pressing challenges and believes deeply in community driven change. From working in the New York City mayor’s office to fighting poverty in New York, Bloomberg has worked with communities across the country to marshal the support needed for America to live up to its founding ideals. She founded Murmuration with the fundamental belief that the collective power of community-driven civic engagement can affect sustainable systems change.

Bloomberg is a board member of Bloomberg Philanthropies, KIPP Foundation, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, UndauntedK12, and LEE. She also runs, with her sister, the Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, a private charitable foundation supporting education and animal rights groups. She has been an advisor to the Mayoral Leadership in Education Network at Harvard Kennedy School and chair of the Stand for Children Leadership Center.

Bloomberg holds a BA from Princeton University, an MPA from The Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jess Braverman

Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice, a nonprofit in St. Paul Minnesota dedicated to removing barriers to gender equity. She has successfully litigated high impact cases involving sex discrimination in the broadest sense including the constitutional right to abortion, trans rights in schools and prisons, and access to contraception. Jess came to Gender Justice from the Hennepin County Public Defender’s office where she spearheaded the office’s Special Litigation Unit focusing on racial profiling in policing. Jess has also worked at the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Project, representing young people in delinquency and child protection cases. Minnesota Lawyer honored Jess Braverman as one of their Attorneys of the Year in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Jess holds a JD from New York University School of Law where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.

Ted Bunch

Ted Bunch, Chief Development Officer and Co-founder of A Call to Men, is an author, educator, activist, and internationally recognized leader in advancing gender and racial justice. He is a leading voice on manhood, male socialization, and preventing violence against women and girls, while promoting healthy, respectful masculinity.

Bunch is co-author of The Book of Dares and co-creator of Live Respect: Life Skills and Well-Being for Boys and Young Men, curricula used nationwide to promote healthy relationships and prevent violence, bullying, and harassment. He is also an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and previously directed the largest domestic violence offender program in the U.S., shaping prevention strategies now considered best practice.

A trusted adviser to the NBA, Bunch has trained the NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB, the US Military and helped lead #TimesUp’s Engaging Men efforts across the entertainment industry. He has presented at the United Nations, served as a U.S. State Department lecturer, and was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to UNiTE, a network of global leaders ending violence against women.

His commentary has been featured on national media including the TODAY Show and NPR, and he has consulted on Law & Order: SVU and the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill.

Ronda Carnegie

Ronda Carnegie

Ronda Carnegie is a movement builder at the intersection of gender equity, climate justice, and storytelling. As Executive Director and Co-Founder of Project Dandelion – a global campaign mobilizing women and allies to amplify bold, collective solutions to the climate crisis – Ronda is helping shape a hopeful future rooted in community, equity, and action. She also co-founded Connected Women Leaders, a network of global changemakers working to elevate feminist leadership on the world’s biggest challenges. Prior to launching Project Dandelion, Ronda helped transform some of the most influential media brands of our time, from The New Yorker to TED. As a member of TED’s original executive team, she was instrumental in scaling TED from a single annual conference into a global media platform. She founded both the TED Institute, unlocking ideas within institutions, and TEDWomen, spotlighting women’s voices worldwide. Ronda currently serves on the board of GOOD/Upworthy and on the advisory boards of Giide and the Omega Institute.

Christina Chang

Christina Chang

Christina serves as Executive Director of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, bringing decades of experience in public health in public service and as an advocate. Prior to joining the Alliance, Christina served as Chief Program Officer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After the overturning of Roe v Wade, she spearheaded the launch of the nation’s first municipally funded Abortion Access Hub, a confidential call center connecting people seeking abortion services to NYC providers, and the provision of medication abortion through its sexual health clinics. Christina previously served as Deputy CEO at Vital Strategies where she launched a global initiative to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Before that, she served as Chief External Affairs Officer at Planned Parenthood of NYC and led efforts to pass legislation to protect and expand access to abortion and contraception, paid family leave, and a $15 minimum wage. Earlier in her career, she served in leadership roles at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene including as Chief of Staff and as Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.

Chelsea Clinton

Dr. Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton is an advocate, storyteller, investor, mentor, teacher, and most importantly, mom to her three kids. As Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to improve global health and wellness, increase opportunity for girls and women, create economic opportunity and growth, and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. A longtime public health advocate, Chelsea also serves as vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and uses her platform to increase awareness around critical issues such as vaccine hesitancy and health equity. In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea is the co-founder of Metrodora Ventures and has written several books for young adults and readers including the #1 New York Times bestselling She Persisted. Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford, a Master of Public Health from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University.

Sarah Costa

Sarah Costa is the Executive Director of the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), a global leader in protecting the rights and well-being of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crisis. Since 2010, she has guided WRC in advancing sexual and reproductive health care, preventing gender-based violence, and promoting the social and economic empowerment of refugees.

With more than 25 years of experience in women’s rights, reproductive health, gender equity, and youth development, Sarah has worked across philanthropy, academia, and grassroots movements. She previously served as regional director of the Global Fund for Women, expanding support for organizations advancing economic security, health, education, and leadership. Earlier, as a program officer at the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York, she led initiatives addressing gender, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and health policy.

Sarah began her career as a professor of women’s health at Brazil’s National School of Public Health, where she was active in the national women’s movement and advised the National Council on Women’s Rights. She serves on World Learning’s Global Advisory Council and holds a master’s in medical demography from London University and a DPhil in social medicine from Oxford University.

Monique Couvson

Dr. Monique Couvson

Monique Couvson, Ed.D. (formerly Monique W. Morris) is an award-winning author, social justice scholar, and philanthropy executive with nearly four decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and criminal justice. Dr. Couvson is the President and CEO of G4GC, a premier philanthropic intermediary focused on resourcing movements and organizations that center the wisdom and wellbeing of girls and gender-expansive youth of color. Under her leadership, G4GC has developed four signature funds, including: the Black Girl Freedom Fund, which as part of the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, seeks to mobilize $1 billion in investments centering Black girls over the next 10 years; the New Songs Rising Initiative for Indigenous Girls in partnership with the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples; the Holding A Sister Initiative for Trans Girls of Color with the Black Trans Fund; and G4GC’s general grantmaking fund, Love is Healing. Since June 2020, G4GC has granted more than $26 million to more than 400 organizations located across all 50 states, Washington, DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico, as well as launched a Future Economy Fund to foster robust investments in entrepreneurial efforts that align with the priorities of girls and gender-expansive youth of color.

Marie Dageville

Marie Florence Dageville is the Co-founder of The Patchwork Collective—a family philanthropic effort that funds innovative organizations tackling inequities in the human condition, in particular those with locally-led programs developed in close collaboration with the communities affected.

Before founding TPC, she was a hospice nurse working with fragile patient populations in San Francisco. This experience informed how she wants to leverage TPC to facilitate positive outcomes for individuals most adversely affected by socioeconomic and environmental stressors. A passion of hers is exploring how the philanthropic community can be redefined and energized through evangelizing trust-based, proximate partnerships.

In her spare time she loves to create through mosaics and is an avid skier and diver – splitting her time between California and Hawaii.

Sadé Dozan

Sadé Dozan

Sadé Dozan is the Vice President of Advancement at Borealis Philanthropy, where she leads efforts to mobilize transformative resources for grassroots movements at the heart of building a more just and inclusive democracy. She views philanthropy as a vehicle for community-led change—where investments not only meet urgent needs but also amplify narrative power and long-term infrastructure for liberation. With two decades in nonprofit leadership, Sadé has designed and scaled initiatives across housing, care, disability justice, education, health equity, and criminal justice reform. She has steered cross-sector initiatives, cultivated partnerships, and built equity-centered strategies that strengthen movements and philanthropic ecosystems. Her leadership style is deeply intersectional and abundance-minded, grounded in the belief that sustainable growth is foundational for lasting change. Beyond her role at Borealis, Sadé is a trusted advisor and board member to key movement and philanthropic organizations. She is also the founder of Melanate., an equity incubation project designed to shift philanthropic ecosystems and reimagine fundraising as a practice rooted in equity and care. A Brooklyn native, Sadé holds a B.A. from Pace University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Metropolitan College of New York. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Certified Crisis Counselor, and Highland Leader.

Katy Brodsky Falco

Katy Brodsky Falco

Katy Brodsky Falco is the Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Women’s Health. She comes to this work through an equity lens, having worked in criminal justice reform for 20 years. After surviving both HELLP syndrome and breast cancer, Katy was horrified to learn about the long history of inequities in rigorous research of women’s health. Seeing how clearly the public sector failed to close the gender equity gap in health for decades across both democratic and republican administrations, she created the Foundation for Women’s Health as a private sector solution to not only equalize research funding for diseases across gender, but also across disease. Katy has built and managed non-profit research organizations for leading academic institutions for the past decade. She was the Executive Director of NYU School of Law’s Criminal Justice Lab, and prior to this, she was Executive Director of Crime Lab New York, a criminal justice research organization based at University of Chicago. She was also Executive Director of Reentry Services at the NYC Department of Corrections and a staff attorney at Legal Aid Society in the Criminal Defense Division. Katy attended Harvard University for her BA and NYU School of Law for her JD.

Bridgit Antoinette Evans

As a teen, Bridgit Antoinette Evans was obsessed with one question: What is the relationship between a great story and widespread cultural change? She has since explored this question of impact and scale from every angle—as an award-winning Off Broadway and international actor-producer, a social impact advisor to high profile artist-activists, culture change strategy designer collaborating with renowned social justice leaders, and narrative researcher for global foundations. Today, she is a widely respected narrative change thought leader investigating this question as CEO of Pop Culture Collaborative, a $70M+ pooled fund and network of pop culture artists, social movement leaders, strategists, researchers, and donors laser-focused on building narrative power and public yearning for a just and pluralist future.

Tracy Ferron

Tracy Ferron is Founder and Board Chair of Life on Art, a California-based non-profit using artmaking as a tool for well-being and community resilience. Life On Art’s offerings combine community artmaking, creative arts therapies, social action, and large-scale public art exhibitions. These meaningful experiences are led by Life on Art’s team of female artists and facilitators. The customized programs further social and environmental justice movements and transform the world through love, creativity, and community building.

Her passion for mental health and arts equity emerged from her experiences with her two severely mentally ill brothers, and her personal journey of transforming childhood trauma into purpose and social action through art. With Life on Art, Tracy developed a platform to create large-scale art installations through participatory and therapeutic community processes with populations facing systemic injustices.

Through the symbology of winged hearts and cages, Ferron’s artworks have illuminated incarcerated rights at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (2020) and gender equity and voting rights at the Sacramento Women’s March (2020). Large-scale installations at the Museum of Sonoma County explored medical experimentation on children (2018), the murder of global activists (2019), and community celebration of loved ones for Día de los Muertos (2021, 2023, 2024). Tracy conceived and produced the award-winning Unbound (2021-22), an 80-foot sculpture of hundreds of winged hearts flying free from a cage, in an innovative year-long program at one of California’s largest state psychiatric facilities.

She lives in Northern California with her husband and their three dogs and loves depth psychology and storytelling.

Colleen Foster

Colleen Foster

Colleen Foster is a seasoned executive and former partner at Goldman Sachs, with a 30-year track record of building businesses, driving transformation, and delivering strategic value across industries. She is currently a General Partner of Amboy Street Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in women’s and sexual health solutions for all genders. At Amboy Street, she leads strategic partnerships with limited partners, founders, and investors, and oversees portfolio strategy, value creation, and brand positioning. A thought leader in emerging health markets, Colleen co-authored the firm’s “Ghost Market” report—an analysis of the $360 billion care gap in women’s and sexual health—which was featured in *Fortune* and *Forbes*.  Recently, Forbes recognized Colleen’s accomplishments on their 2025 Forbes 50 Over 50 list. Previously, Colleen spent over two decades at Goldman Sachs as the partner who led the $1B+ global commodities business across energy, power, and metals, advising institutional investors and Fortune 500 CEOs on risk management and capital strategy. Colleen’s board experience includes serving as Treasurer of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Chair of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, where she helped modernize financial operations. She currently serves on the boards of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and StoryCorps, where she plays a key role on the finance and investment committees, guiding long-term sustainability and strategic stewardship. Ms. Foster holds an M.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Neela Ghoshal

Neela Ghoshal is Outright’s Senior Director of Law, Policy, and Research, based in Washington, D.C. They oversee the Global Research and Advocacy and Global Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex programs at Outright. Neela authored Outright’s report on LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis and frequently speaks and writes about issues including repressive legislation, gender liberation, inclusive democracy, and peace, security, and accountability. Neela is also an adjunct professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Before joining Outright in 2021, Neela lived and worked in East Africa for 11 years and was Associate LGBT Rights Director at Human Rights Watch. They were recognized as one of The Advocate’s Champions of Pride in 2022 for their work using research and advocacy to advance global LGBTIQ movement goals.

Fatima Goss Graves

Fatima Goss Graves

Fatima Goss Graves is a nationally recognized leader in the fight for gender justice and an expert in law, policy, and culture change. She is President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, President of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, and a co-founder of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. Ms. Goss Graves has a distinguished track record working across a broad set of issues central to the lives of women and girls – including income security, child care, equal pay, ending sexual harassment and violence, health and reproductive rights, education access, and workplace justice – with a particular focus on outcomes for women and girls of color. She is widely sought after for her effectiveness in the complex public policy arena at both the state and federal levels and regularly testifies before Congress and federal agencies. Ms. Goss Graves has received numerous awards and recognitions for her leadership and currently serves as a member of several boards – in both advisory and governance capacities – including Indivisible and Equal Justice Works. She has appeared as a legal and social commentator on international, network and cable news programs, and has been published and quoted in numerous outlets. She is a graduate of UCLA and Yale Law School, and resides with her family in Washington, D.C.

Neela Ghoshal

Neela Ghoshal (any pronouns) is Outright’s Senior Director of Law, Policy, and Research, based in Washington, D.C. They oversee the Global Research and Advocacy and Global Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex programs at Outright. Neela authored Outright’s report on LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis and frequently speaks and writes about issues including repressive legislation, gender liberation, inclusive democracy, and peace, security, and accountability. Neela is also an adjunct professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Before joining Outright in 2021, Neela lived and worked in East Africa for 11 years and was Associate LGBT Rights Director at Human Rights Watch. They were recognized as one of The Advocate’s Champions of Pride in 2022 for their work using research and advocacy to advance global LGBTIQ movement goals.

Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta

Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta is co-founder of the Arch Collaborative, a newly-established strategic initiative to bridge critical analysis, conversations, and collective action to confront today’s challenges to women’s rights and gender equality in the United States and globally. From 2023 to 2025, Ambassador Rao Gupta held the position of Ambassador-at-Large for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State, a Senate-confirmed position. She previously served as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation  and Senior Advisor to Co-impact, a global collaborative philanthropy. From 2012 to 2016, Ambassador Rao Gupta served as Deputy Executive Director, Programmes at UNICEF and prior to that as a Senior Fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier, Gupta served as President of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) for more than a decade. Ambassador Rao Gupta has also chaired and served on numerous boards and been the recipient of numerous awards, including InterAction’s Julia Taft Award for Outstanding Leadership and Harvard University’s Anne Roe Award. Ambassador Rao Gupta holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Bangalore University and an M.Phil. and M.A. from the University of Delhi in India. 

Mandy Gutmann

Mandy Gutmann serves as the Vice President of Communications and External Affairs for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) where she leads communications, social responsibility and government affairs efforts.

Prior to the PWHL, Gutmann ran her own communications consulting firm working with the PWHL as well as NY/NJ Gotham FC, Fund for NYC Public Schools and Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center.

Previously, Gutmann was Executive Vice President of Communications and Community Relations at BSE Global properties, including Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets and their NBA G League team, the Long Island Nets, and their NBA 2K League affiliate, NetsGC. In this capacity, she oversaw all aspects of corporate communications and implemented new strategies to engage both internal and external stakeholders.

During her BSE tenure from 2012 through 2022, Gutmann played a pivotal role in launching the Brooklyn Nets brand after the team’s move from New Jersey, the grand opening of Barclays Center, the reopening of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, and the reopening of the iconic music venue, Webster Hall.

Gutmann began her career at the Women’s Sports Foundation before joining the New York Knicks. She subsequently held various public relations positions at Madison Square Garden and MSG Network. 

Errin Haines

Errin Haines

Errin Haines is a founding mother and editor-at-large for The 19th, the nation’s first nonprofit newsroom at the intersection of gender, politics, policy and power. The goal is to empower the audiences they serve with the information, resources and community they need to be equal participants in our democracy. She’s also a regular MSNBC contributor. An award-winning political journalist focused on issues of race, gender and politics, Errin was previously the Associated Press’ National Writer on Race and Ethnicity. She has also worked at The Washington Post, The Orlando Sentinel and The Los Angeles Times.

Margaret Hempel

Margaret Hempel has the privilege of being the first Executive Director for the Collaborative for Gender + Reproductive Equity (CGRE) and the aligned, independent 501(c)(4), the Gender Equity Action Fund (GEAF). Both collaborative funds are learning communities of individual, family and institutional donors who pool resources to advance and protect gender, reproductive, and racial equity in the United States, centering grantee partners led by and for those most impacted by this trifecta of inequities.. Since 2018, the collaboratives have provided $250M in grants to over 300 organizations.

Prior to CGRE and GEAF, Margaret served for nine years as the Director of Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice at the Ford Foundation and, before that, was Vice President for Programs at American Jewish World Service and earlier, the Vice President for Programs at the Ms. Foundation for Women. Earlier in her career, she helped design the Ford Foundation’s Reproductive Health program, worked at the Quaker United Nations Office and for Women of China Magazine based in Beijing, China. Margaret holds a M.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and is a Columbia Business School/Teachers College certified leadership coach. She is the proud mom of a blended family of five, an avid reader, and dedicated to catching up on old TV series.

Sarah E. Hendriks

Sarah E. Hendriks is a visionary leader in global cooperation and development with more than 25 years in programme and policy work on gender equality. With extensive experience in leadership and strategy design, she supported the development and execution of UN Women’s new Strategic Plan 2022–2025 within six geographic regions and across the core impact areas of governance and participation; ending violence against women; economic empowerment; peace, security and resilience; and humanitarian action. She provided overarching leadership to UN Women’s global response to COVID-19, including through the advancement of research and policy analysis to meet women’s needs. To advance results on the Sustainable Development Goals, Ms. Hendriks spearheaded the agency’s efforts as convener of the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalitions, a leading global multi-stakeholder initiative to accelerate investment and implementation on gender equality.

Prior to joining UN Women, she served as the Director, Gender Equality, Global Growth and Opportunity at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2015–2019), developing the Foundation’s first-ever strategy on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, driving new global philanthropic investment of USD 170 million. Prior to this role, she worked as the Director of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion at Plan International Headquarters (2010–2015), where she led the strategic direction across 50+ countries that drove more than EUR 500 million in new resources towards innovative work on gender equality and adolescent girls’ development.

Yamani Hernandez

Yamani Hernandez

Yamani Hernandez (she/they) is a visionary and transformative leader from the Midwest, committed to the balance of rigor and compassion. She has been working in non profits since 16 and has 30 years of experience in the social sector at neighborhood, city, state, and national levels and is overjoyed to bring her leadership learnings to Groundswell Fund which has funded nearly $200M to grassroots organizing for reproductive and gender justice led by women and gender expansive people of color. Prior to Groundswell she served as a partner at The Management Center, coaching some of the most critical leaders of our time. Prior to that she was the first Black executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, the membership, technical assistance, and advocacy organization for 100 grassroots organizations funding abortion and building cultural and political power.

Priyanka Jain

Priyanka Jain

Priyanka Jain is the co-founder & CEO of Evvy, a precision women’s health startup discovering overlooked biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. Evvy serves over 50,000 patients and has built the world’s largest dataset on the vaginal microbiome — powering groundbreaking research across infertility, preterm birth, gynecological cancers, and more. Priyanka serves on advisory boards for the XPRIZE Foundation and the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign. She received her B.S. from Stanford University and has been recognized as Forbes 30 under 30, Inc’s Top Female Founders, and Goldman Sachs’ Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs.

Dr. Chisina Kapungu

Dr. Chisina Kapungu is the Executive Director of WomenStrong International, a global women’s rights organization that supports and strengthens women-led organizations advancing gender equity. She leads WomenStrong’s bold commitment to mobilize $10 million to resource women-led organizations—especially those led by women of color—and to catalyze change across health, education, economic security, violence prevention, and climate resilience.

A clinical psychologist and global health expert, Dr. Kapungu brings over two decades of experience advancing the rights and wellbeing of women and girls. She directed large-scale maternal and child health initiatives in the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, and helped shape global policy and funding priorities for women and girls. Her career includes roles as a gender and youth specialist at the International Center for Research on Women, a global health policy fellow in the U.S. Senate, and an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. She has advised USAID, WHO, and UNICEF. At the intersection of research, policy, and practice, Dr. Kapungu is recognized for driving systems-level change and ensuring women’s voices and leadership are at the center of lasting solutions. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Duke University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Kat Kaufmann

Kat Kaufmann is a partner at Bridgespan, where she co-leads the early childhood area of expertise. Kat brings personal passion to her professional work, which centers on building systems of care for our youngest children and their families. She aims to catalyze trajectory-setting investments in caregiver wellbeing and growing bodies, brains, and relationships from an early age. 

Kat works with a variety of nonprofit and philanthropic clients, specializing in nonprofit strategy and funder collaboratives, in addition to her focus on early childhood. Kat has supported the leadership teams of All our Kin, Generation Hope, HealthySteps, ChildFirst, 10,000 Women, the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, and the Pediatrics Supporting Parenting Initiative, among others. Kat teamed with Illinois Governor and first lady J.B. and M.K. Pritzker in setting the foundational strategy for the Pritzker Children’s Initiative and women’s health investments. She also partnered with four foundations to establish a national early childhood funder collaborative to structure breakthrough investments in kindergarten readiness.

Prior to Bridgespan, Kat was a management consultant at Bain and Company, and served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Kat earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar and specialized in organizational strategy.

Stacey Keare

Stacey Keare is the current Board Chair at Women Moving Millions. She is an attorney, philanthropist, and public policy analyst who, along with her husband, is the Founder of the Girls Rights Project, an organization dedicated to advancing the rights of girls throughout the world using a combination of research, advocacy and philanthropy. Stacey has spent the last twenty years finding and supporting innovative grass roots organizations that help girls gain access to education and sport, develop leadership skills, and live lives of safety, hope, and economic opportunity. Stacey studied international relations at Stanford University, has a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a law degree from Hastings College of the Law. She has also been a Board member of Summit Prep Charter High School and Summit Public Schools, an organization creating progressive college prep charter schools in the Bay Area, and the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. She is on the Kennedy School’s Women’s Leadership Board, Tahirih Justice Center SF Advisory Board and is a founding investor in the Giving List Women. She has three daughters, Haley, Ryan and Brooke and lives in Woodside with her husband John Hodge.

Sara Khaki

Sara Khaki

Sara Khaki is a documentary director, producer, and editor dedicated to telling stories that promote gender equity. She is a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award winner, World Cinema: Documentary and Visions Du Reél Audience Award winner for her feature documentary Cutting Through Rocks, which follows the first elected councilwoman of a rural Iranian village. The film has been called “a deftly shaped work of cinematic nonfiction” by Indiewire and “one of those profound vérité documentaries that are only possible through the patience and perseverance of the filmmakers” by POV Magazine. Her short film Our Iranian Lockdown is now streaming on The Guardian and received an IDA Awards nomination. Sara’s co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Sara graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore with her BFA in cinematic arts and from the School of Visual Arts with an MFA in Social Documentary Filmmaking. A grantee of the Sundance Film Institute, Chicken & Egg Films, and Firelight Media, Sara’s work continues to amplify change on gender equity through cinema Vérité form.

Happy Mwende Kinyili

Happy Mwende Kinyili

Happy Mwende Kinyili is a global movement strategist, organiser, and storyteller working to build futures grounded in social and environmental justice. With over two decades of experience spanning grassroots organising and global philanthropy, they are a pivotal voice in feminist resourcing and participatory grantmaking. Based in Nairobi and rooted in the Global South, Happy brings lived experience and visionary leadership to their role as Co-Executive Director of Mama Cash. Their joy is defiant, their hope grounded, and their commitment to justice unwavering. Across every space they enter, Happy’s message is clear: every contribution counts toward shared freedom.

Antonia Kirkland

Antonia Kirkland is a human rights lawyer with an intricate working knowledge of how to use international law and human rights mechanisms to advance gender equality for all women and girls. She is currently the Global Lead for Legal Equality & Access to Justice at Equality Now. In this role, Antonia provides thought leadership and technical legal support to hold governments accountable under international law to uphold all women’s and girls’ rights. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights and the Coordination Committee of the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, and served on the Global Programme Advisory Committee (GPAC) of the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women for 10 years. Antonia has been part of the Equality Now family for over 15 years and has worked across all of the organization’s program areas, serving as the Legal Equality Program Manager, the Legal Advisor, and a Program Officer.

Previously, Antonia was the coordinator of the Next Generation Leadership program at the Rockefeller Foundation and served as a consultant for Equality Now on an amicus brief for a case before the US Supreme Court on nationality rights.

Stacy Kono

Stacy Kono is the executive director of Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network. She brings a personal commitment to upholding dignity and respect for women of color workers, as the granddaughter of a domestic worker, and over 25 years of professional experience in leadership development and community organizing. Hand in Hand is a national organization that supports employers of nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers to make their homes equitable and safe workplaces, and organizes people to advocate for care policies that protect domestic workers and expand access to care for families, people with disabilities, and older adults. Hand in Hand members have supported the passage of Domestic Workers Bills of Rights across the country and public investment in home and community based services. Before joining Hand in Hand, she worked at Rockwood Leadership Institute as the Director of Programs and at Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA), organizing with Chinese immigrant garment workers and their families. Stacy holds a Master’s in Public Administration from San Francisco State University and a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies from UC Berkeley.

Mũthoni Wambu Kraal

Mũthoni Wambu Kraal is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Democracy Lab (WDL), where she leads innovative efforts to address key challenges faced by elected women of color at the state and local levels. Additionally, she is the Founder and Principal of Dunia Political Impact, a strategic consulting firm.

She previously served as the National Political & Organizing Director for the Democratic National Committee, helping to secure victories in the 2020 White House race and critical races nationwide. Prior to that, with nearly a decade of experience at EMILY’s List, she nurtured women leaders across all levels of government and built state and local level campaigns and coalitions. She began her career in campaign fundraising for U.S. House candidates and co-founded a successful woman-owned fundraising firm.

A graduate of Howard University with a B.A. in journalism, she serves on the boards of ActBlue, Rock the Vote and D4 Women in Action. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband and their son.

EunSook Lee

EunSook Lee

EunSook has been with the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund since its establishment in 2013. Previously, she was the Senior Deputy for former U.S. Rep. Karen Bass; former executive director of National Korean American Service and Education Consortium which advocated for Korean American and immigrant communities on immigration reform and expanding democratic participation; and former executive director of Korean American Women in Need focused on providing direct services and advocacy against gender-based violence. She is also the founding president of the National Immigration Forum Action Fund and former member of the City of LA’s Board of Neighborhood Commission and California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. EunSook was born in Korea and immigrated to Canada at a young age. She began her career in alternative community radio first as volunteer news programmer at CKUT radio before becoming the News Director and later Station Manager of CKLN radio. Writings of her experiences in grassroots organizing have been published in books such as “The Political Awakening of Korean Americans” in Koreans in a Windy City (2005), “Women Immigrants” in the Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today (2010), and a chapter co-written with Hahrie Han titled “Engaging Korean Americans in Civic Activism” in A Companion to Korean American Studies (2019) as well op-eds in outlets such as the New York Times, Ms. Magazine, and the Hill.

Hali Lee

Hali Lee

In 2025, Hali Lee was named to the inaugural Time100 Philanthropy in recognition of her work building collective giving. In 2021, she was named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Impact in recognition of her work as a founder of the Donors of Color Network, the first-ever national network of wealthy folks of color, Philanthropy Together, a national collective giving support organization, and the Asian Women Giving Circle. Today, she leads a boutique consulting practice, Radiant Strategies, whose clients include Fidelity Charitable, the Bill Gates Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Hali is a frequent public speaker, who in the last year has made appearances at more than thirty conferences and events. Her work has been covered by the Washington Post, New York Times, and Good Housekeeping, who called her “The Mindful Giver” and one of “10 Women Over 50 Who Prove It’s Never Too Late to Change the World.” She lives in Brooklyn with her family, a big love of a dog, and rooftop honey bees.

Daniela Ligiero

Daniela Ligiero

Dr. Daniela Ligiero is the CEO and President of Together for Girls (TfG), a global partnership working toward a world where children and adolescents are safe and thriving, free from sexual violence. TfG uses a comprehensive, interconnected approach built on four core initiatives: Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys, which provides vital data to drive national action; the Safe Futures Solutions Hub, which shares evidence-based solutions; the Out of the Shadows Index, which tracks country progress and accountability; and the Brave Movement, which mobilizes survivors and allies to demand political action. Previously, Dr. Ligiero served as Vice President of Girls and Women’s Strategy at the UN Foundation and held senior roles at the U.S. Department of State, where she helped develop the first U.S. global strategy to end gender-based violence and co-designed the PEPFAR DREAMS program. She also held leadership roles at UNICEF, the U.S. Senate, and directly with survivors of sexual violence. A survivor herself, she has shared her story publicly for almost two decades. She holds a doctorate in counseling psychology, is fluent in four languages, and lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys scuba diving, furniture making, and meditation.

Chastity Lord

Chastity Lord is the President and CEO Jeremiah Program (JP), recognized by Aspen Institute Ascend as one of the nation’s most successful strategies for disrupting poverty, two generations at a time. Founded in 1993, JP is currently supporting over 2,000 moms and kids across nine residential and non-residential campuses: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Fargo, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester.

JP believes that generational poverty is a social justice issue and that families are the best owners and narrators of their lives. History has proven time and again that building infrastructure, leadership, and power for marginalized communities creates a contagion of economic mobility and long- term change.

She has spent two decades dedicated to dismantling systems of inequity for marginalized communities. She deeply believes that generational poverty is a social justice issue and that families are the best owners and narrators of their lives. Her professional North Star and commitment to equity and justice for the past two decades is influenced by her own personal experience as a first-generation college graduate. Prior to JP, Chastity served in senior level roles with Color of Change, Achievement First, and Posse Foundation.

She has a BA in organizational communication from University of Oklahoma and an MBA in strategy and marketing from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She resides in Washington, DC with her spouse and 11-year-old son.

Yasmin Madan

Yasmin Madan is a global leader with over 20 years of experience in the commercial sector, international development, and philanthropy. She has dedicated her career to supporting social change that shifts power, addresses discrimination, and fosters inclusion. Her expertise lies in Systems Change, Gender, Strategic Planning, Organizational Strengthening, Market Systems, and Making Markets Work for the Poor. Yasmin is passionate about bringing her lived experience to support social change. She understands the structural barriers that prevent systems from functioning effectively, especially for women and girls and those from marginalized groups.

Throughout her career, she has held senior leadership roles where she was responsible for setting the vision and strategy development, program development and management, change management, and organizational development. She has led diverse and senior teams across different countries and has extensive grantmaking and fundraising experience. She has worked across a broad range of sectors, including civil society, private sector, government, and international development. Her experience includes partnering with local actors, small and medium businesses, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and corporations.

In her current role as Director and US Lead, Philanthropic Collaboration at Co-Impact, she leads on developing and managing strategic partnerships and funder engagement.

Rose Maizner

Rose Maizner is an investment professional with more than 13 years of experience at the intersection of climate solutions, gender equity, and impact investing. She most recently served as Investment Director of Heading for Change, a legacy endowment that designed and built an integrated investment strategy and global demonstration portfolio advancing climate solutions through gender-smart investing. Prior to that, she worked closely with Jacki Zehner, founder of SheMoney, managing her direct and fund investment portfolios and developing strategies to unlock more capital for women and other underestimated founders and fund managers.

In addition to her work with funds and family offices, she advises and coaches early-stage, female-founded companies as well as next-generation women-led funds. She is also the co-founder of Womenpreneurs, a professional collective dedicated to closing the gender wealth gap by helping women build and fund their businesses. Earlier in her career, she was a Partner with RenewableTech Ventures, an early-stage cleantech VC investing in the US and Canada.

She is also an active contributor to the broader impact investing ecosystem, regularly speaking, writing, and advising on ways to accelerate the flow of capital toward inclusive climate and gender solutions.

Dr. C. Nicole Mason

Recognized by Fortune as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, Dr. C. Nicole Mason is the Founding President of Future Forward Women, a legislative exchange and policy network committed to building women’s political, economic, and social power and influence in the U.S. and globally.

Before Future Forward, she served as the President/CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) and the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the nation’s only research and policy center focused on women of color at a nationally ranked school of public administration. She was also the youngest person and woman of color to lead IWPR, one of the major inside-the-Beltway think tanks in Washington, D.C.

At the start of the pandemic, she coined the term she-cession to describe the disproportionate impact of employment and income losses on women. Dr. Mason is the author of Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America (St. Martin’s Press) and has written hundreds of articles on women, poverty, and economic security. Her writing and commentary have been featured in the New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, Washington Post, Marie Claire, The Progressive, ESSENCE, Bustle, BIG THINK, Miami Herald, Democracy Now, and numerous NPR affiliates, among others.

She serves on the boards of All Our Kin, the Jeremiah Program, and the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center. She is hard at work on her next book, The Revenge of Men: Men, Women, and the Cause of our Discontent (forthcoming 2027).

Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller is vice president of Donor Effectiveness for the Private Donor Group at Fidelity Charitable®, an independent 501(c)(3) public charity that has helped donors support more than 433,000 nonprofit organizations with more than $100 billion in grants.1 The mission of Fidelity Charitable® is to grow the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving accessible, simple, and effective.Rebecca joined Fidelity Charitable in 2020. She partners with Fidelity Charitable’s most generous donors and provides guidance and solutions to meet their philanthropic goals. She uses her knowledge of grantmaking to learn from and center communities, partner with nonprofit organizations, and help donors have the greatest impact with their Fidelity Charitable donor-advised fund.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a Professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at the American University in Washington, D.C., where she is the founding director and chief vision officer of the pioneering Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), which creates, tests, and scales up real-world solutions with a scholarly evidence base. A prolific writer and speaker, Miller-Idriss has a commitment to public engagement that places her at the forefront of a movement to catalyze change in how violence is understood and prevented in the US and globally. She is a columnist for MSNBC with recent bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Politico, and more. Her most recent books include Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism and Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right. She is a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a member of the College of Fellows at the University of Tübingen, and a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur. In 2022, she served as the inaugural creative lead for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s residency program on social cohesion in Berlin

Pat Mitchell

Pat Mitchell

Throughout her career as a journalist, producer and pioneering media executive, Pat Mitchell broke new ground for women, elevating women’s stories and ideas, with more than 35 Emmy and Peabody awards, and a lifetime achievement award from the Women’s Media Center. Her Emmy-award-winning TV series, “Woman to Woman,” was the first national talk show produced and hosted by a woman in America. She continues that mission as the co-founder of Connected Women Leaders, a cohort of global leaders committed to collective problem solving and focused on Project Dandelion, a women-led climate justice campaign to sustain a habitable planet. Mitchell is also the editorial director, co-founder, curator, and host of TEDWomen. She serves on many nonprofit boards, including The Skoll Foundation, Participant Media, Woodruff Arts Center, and CARE’s global advisory board. She is a founding member of the Sundance Institute, V-Day. She was honored with a congressional appointment to The American Museum of Women’s History Advisory Council. In her memoir, “Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World”, Mitchell shares her journey as a frontline advocate for equality and social justice, defining ‘dangerous’ as a commitment to speak up for those unrepresented, to speak out against abuse and injustice, and to show up for others. Pat Mitchell’s life and work models how to share power and the difference each of us can make in shaping a fairer, more equitable and sustainable world.

Amna Nawaz

Amna Nawaz is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning journalist who currently serves as Co-Anchor and Co-Managing Editor of the PBS News Hour. 

In addition to anchoring PBS News’ flagship national news broadcast, where she regularly interviews officials and thought leaders on the biggest stories of our time, Nawaz has hosted PBS podcasts, a primetime arts show, and documentaries on everything from America’s childcare crisis to global plastic pollution to life after incarceration. 

Her reporting ranges from politics and foreign affairs to immigration and education to culture and sports. She has anchored the show from the U.S. Southern border, Israel after the October 7th attacks, and Kyiv, Ukraine, after interviewing President Zelenskyy. 

Prior to joining PBS, Nawaz was anchor and correspondent at ABC News, anchoring breaking news coverage and leading the network’s livestream coverage of the 2016 presidential election. She also hosted a podcast and reported a documentary on the Texas county with the highest rate of support for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Before ABC, Nawaz was a foreign correspondent and Islamabad Bureau Chief for NBC News, where she regularly reported on the war in Afghanistan and the broader region. 

She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and their two daughters.

Alyse Nelson

Alyse Nelson is president and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A cofounder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for more than 27 years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role in 2009. Under her leadership, Vital Voices has directly served over 47,000 women leaders across 188 countries.

Previously, Alyse served as deputy director of the State Department’s Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative and worked with the President’s Interagency Council on Women at the White House.

Alyse is a regular speaker on leadership and global women’s issues. She has spoken before the United Nations General Assembly, the Clinton Global Initiative, Fortune Most Powerful Women, Oxford Student Union, Forbes 30/50 and Women in the World, among others. She has conducted leadership training with women at the Central Intelligence Agency, DFID, the UK Development Agency, Fortune 1000 companies and at numerous conferences. 

Alyse is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served as an official Observer for the World Bank’s We-fi Initiative for Women Entrepreneurs. She serves on advisory boards of Chime for Change and Global Citizen. Fortune Magazine named Alyse one of the 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter and she was featured as one of Newsweek’s 150 Women Shaking the World. 

Alyse was also honored in 2015 with a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award and in 2018 Apolitical named her one of the most influential people in global gender policy.  She is a recipient of the 2022 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award.

Alyse is the author of the best-selling book Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World and the editor of Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power to Empower. She has been featured in various international and national media.  

She holds a BA from Emerson College and an MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Nisha Pahuja

Nisha Pahuja

Nisha Pahuja is an Oscar®, Peabody, Grierson and Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto. Her latest film, To Kill a Tiger, had its world premiere at TIFF where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Since then, it’s garnered 29 awards including the Best Documentary Feature, Palm Springs International Film Festival, three Canadian Screen awards and the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Feature, 2023. The film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India. In 2015, she won the Amnesty International media award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News. Pahuja’s other past credits include the multi-award-winning The World Before Her (2012 Best Documentary Feature, Jury Award Winner, Tribeca Film Festival; Best Canadian Documentary, Hot Docs; TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten; Best Documentary nominee, Canadian Screen Awards, the series Diamond Road (2008 Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series) and Bollywood Bound (2002 Gemini Award nominee). In 2024, Pahuja was invited to be a Member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Monika Parekh

Monika Parekh is President of P-Squared Philanthropies, a family foundation she co-founded with her husband in 2019. Her philanthropic endeavors are dedicated to advancing neurological research, women’s health and gender equity. Recognizing the transformative power of storytelling, she has been an Executive Producer and investor in films that align with the Foundation’s mission. In addition to serving on the Boards of WMM and Tisch Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, she’s on the Presidential Advisory Committee of Vassar College and the Collections Committee at the International Center of Photography. Monika graduated from Vassar College and holds a master’s degree in physical therapy from Columbia University. She worked with young children and families with the NYC Board of Education before raising her two sons. She is a passionate photographer, winemaker and an avid lover of travel and all things food-related. She currently resides in NYC and Miami.

Lorine Pendleton

Lorine Pendleton is a seasoned venture capital investor and former media and entertainment attorney with a background spanning sports, media, entertainment, and technology. She has established herself in the angel and venture capital investing ecosystem for the past decade. In 2024, she launched 125 Ventures, a VC fund investing in the future of sports (with a particular focus on women’s sports projected to grow 300% through 2030), and media and entertainment companies at the intersection of tech. In addition to the rise of women’s sports, investment areas include AI/Data Analytics, Creator Economy & Fandom, College Athletics/NIL, and Live & Immersive Events. Previously, she was a Partner at Portfolia, where she co-launched the Rising America Fund I in 2020, targeting high-growth sectors like sports, media, entertainment, fintech, and health. The fund achieved a remarkable net IRR of 31%, making it one of the top 5% of all VC funds vintage year 2020. It inspired the launch of Rising America Fund II in 2022, resulting in another top-performing fund. Lorine has invested in over 35 innovative companies directly as an angel investor and through her two Rising America Funds. Notable investments she has made include Oura, the popular health-tracking device with over 3 million rings sold, and the company’s valuation by 27x to $5.3B since her investment when it was valued at $200M, Canela Media (the 2nd largest Latin media brand/streaming service) with 66 million monthly viewers, Maven Clinic (first $1B+ women’s health company), Rhode Island Football Club & Tidewater Landing Stadium (professional USL League football team and its new stadium) Curastory (two-way marketplace for content creators and brand), MoCaFi (a fintech providing financial services to the unbanked and underbanked communities), and Goalsetter (an award-winning financial technology platform dedicated to enhancing financial literacy and inclusion among K-12 youth and their families).

Elizabeth Carlock Phillips

Elizabeth Carlock Phillips is an entrepreneur and investor who has served as the Executive Director of Phillips Foundation since 2013. As an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse and trafficking, Elizabeth raises awareness about the misuse of NDAs (TreysLaw.com) and supports statute of limitations reform in the U.S. She served two terms as a Governor-appointed Trustee for UNC Greensboro and is currently on the boards of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, The Dallas Foundation, Mission Investors Exchange, and SMU’s Maguire Ethics Center, along with other affiliations. She has been profiled by The Financial Times, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Forbes, The Business Journals, The New York Times, and featured on PBS and Good Morning America. Elizabeth and her husband, Kevin, are cofounders of The ImPact and managing principals of Phillips Enterprises. They enjoy life with their three children in Texas and North Carolina.

Jennifer Rainin

Jen Rainin’s personal mission is to use her experience in philanthropy, her credibility in the queer community, her filmmaking skills and her financial resources to build community and hope, eliminate shame, and inspire others through storytelling and film.

As CEO of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation since 2007, she works to enhance quality of life by championing the arts, promoting early childhood literacy and supporting research to cure chronic disease. She has developed major initiatives toward a world where all Oakland children read at or above grade level, no one suffers from Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Bay Area artists thrive.

Through Frankly Speaking Films, she and her creative partner make and support high quality films to address the deep need for representation of queer women’s stories. Their projects show powerful characters making positive changes in our world which complicate mainstream assumptions and lead to better questions, deeper empathy, and authentic connections.

With her wife, she co-founded The Curve Foundation, the only national nonprofit dedicated to championing lesbian, queer women, transgender, and nonbinary stories and culture. The organization supports journalists who tell our stories, produces speaker series to connect the community directly with our culture makers, and hosts intersectional intergenerational conversations on gender, queerness, race, ability, and activism.

Kavita Ramdas

Kavita Ramdas is a globally recognized advocate for gender equity and justice. As the principal of KNR Sisters, she provides high level consulting advice and guidance on initiatives to defend democracy and protect human rights both within the US and across the globe. In 2024, she was named a Richard von Weisäcker Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy, in Berlin, Germany. She served as Activist in Residence for the Global Fund for Women in 2023. During her tenure as Director of the Women’s Rights Program at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the foundation made its largest ever investment in gender justice with a $100 million commitment in support of the Generation Equality Forum in July 2021.

Kavita previously served as strategic advisor to MADRE, and as a senior advisor to the 2023 Independent Review of the United Nation’s capacity to advance Gender Equality. As Senior Advisor on Global Strategy at the Ford Foundation, she supported developing an intersectional equity approach to global philanthropic activities. As President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, the foundation grew exponentially to become the world’s largest public foundation for women’s rights.

Diana Mendley Rauner

Diana Mendley Rauner, Ph. D., serves as the President of Start Early, a nation-wide public-private partnership advancing quality early learning for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to help close the opportunity gap. With a budget of $124 million, Start Early develops and implements center-based and home-based programs for children and families, propels best practices within the field through professional development tools and trainings, fosters innovation for continuous quality improvement, and champions family-first public policies and funding.

She joined Start Early staff in 2007 and was appointed president in January 2011. Prior to joining Start Early, Diana was a Senior Researcher at the Chapin Hall Center for Children. Diana holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago, an M.B.A. from Stanford, and a B.A. from Yale.

Fraidy Reiss

Fraidy Reiss

Fraidy Reiss is a survivor turned activist. She was 19 when she was forced to marry a stranger who turned out to be violent – and subjected to a virginity examination before the wedding. She lost all sexual and reproductive rights within her abusive marriage, forced to have unprotected marital sex and forced to have two children without her consent. When she finally managed to escape her abusive forced marriage, her family shunned her.

Fraidy rebuilt her life and founded Unchained At Last, the only organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and systems change. Fraidy’s research and writing on forced and child marriage have been published extensively, including in the New York Times, Washington Post and Journal of Adolescent Health and by Oxford Press, making her one of the foremost experts on these abuses in the U.S.

Through Unchained, Fraidy has helped more than 1,100 survivors escape forced marriage and rebuild their life, and she now leads a growing national movement to end child marriage in every U.S. state and at the federal level. Legislation she helped to write and promote has been passed into law in 16 U.S. states – and counting.

 

Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson is a co-founder of Project Dandelion, which is a women-led global campaign for climate justice, Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin, and a member of The Elders. She served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. She is a member of the Club of Madrid and the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States Barack Obama. Between 2013 and 2016, Mary served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in three roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa, then on Climate Change leading up to the Paris Agreement and in 2016 as his Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate. Her Foundation, the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, established in 2010, came to a planned end in April 2019. A former President of the International Commission of Jurists and former chair of the Council of Women World Leaders she was President and founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002-2010 and served as Honorary President of Oxfam International from 2002-2012. She was Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1998 to 2019. 

Soma Sara

Soma Sara

Soma Sara is a multi-award-winning activist, author, and CEO of the charity ‘Everyone’s Invited’. In June 2020, Soma began sharing her experiences of rape culture on Instagram. In light of the overwhelming response from those who resonated with her story, Soma founded Everyone’s Invited (EI). EI exploded onto the national stage back in March 2021, receiving thousands of testimonies and sparking a national movement and conversation about rape culture. The publication of the testimonies triggered a national overhaul in policies, practices, and RSE in schools across the U.K. EI is a U.K. charity dedicated to exposing and eradicating rape culture. EI provides a safe space for survivors to share their stories, giving them a sense of catharsis, empowerment and a feeling of community and hope. The charity educates young people to empower school communities to foster healthy relationships, sexual well-being, and to tackle rape culture, advocates for survivors, amplifying their voices to foster positive change and engages with government, institutions, and key stakeholders. Soma published her first book under the same name, ‘Everyone’s Invited’, a collection of essays that grapple with the modern sexual landscape and the causes of a culture that enables sexual harassment, abuse and violence to prevail. 

Dr. Xanthe Scharff

Xanthe Scharff joined the Freedom Fund in February 2025, leading development and communications efforts while serving as an ambassador for the organization in the U.S. She is a media executive, nonprofit founder, and journalist dedicated to amplifying the voices of those on the frontlines of change. In 2014, she co-founded The Fuller Project, a global newsroom focused on groundbreaking journalism about women. Under her leadership, it drove large-scale policy change, won 39 industry awards, and investigated trafficking and workplace exploitation. Xanthe also founded Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa, an education nonprofit providing scholarships and mentoring in Malawi. In 2024, she received the National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Award for her reporting on the girls who inspired the nonprofit. She has held leadership roles at The Brookings Institution and received awards, including the HGB Foundation’s Genius Grant for climate journalism. Her work has been featured in top global media outlets.

Tuti Scott

Tuti Scott

Tuti B. Scott is a gender avenger, class jumper, and servant leader. Tuti coaches leaders, writes and speaks on women’s sports, values-aligned money moves, and facilitates workshops to activate women’s financial power. She works with Invest for Better, The Beam Network, Freedom School for Philanthropy, Omega Women’s Leadership Center, and curates the Women&Money community. Tuti was a certified fundraiser for 13 years, a strategist for multiple coalitions and networks, an interim CEO twice, and is a lifelong learner and forever point guard. She has been involved in the embodied fierceness that is women’s basketball since it was first televised in 1975. She authored two guides: Money, Gender and Power; Giving with a Gender Lens and Moving Money for Impact; Investing with a Gender Lens.  Tuti’s latest project is the February 2026 Investing in Women’s Sports Symposium that her firm, Changemaker Strategies, is producing alongside How Women Invest.

Lauren Shaughnessy

Lauren Shaughnessy is a partner in Bridgespan’s San Francisco office. Since joining the organization in 2012, she has worked with a wide range of philanthropic and nonprofit clients addressing systemic inequities and advancing economic mobility with a particular emphasis on place-based change. She has supported and led work related to strategic planning, performance measurement, and community engagement and planning. She also works with high-net-worth individual donors and family foundations to define goals and strategies, design sourcing and selection processes, and optimize philanthropic operating models that support improved giving over time. She’s a co-author of Philanthropic Sourcing, Diligence, and Decision Making: An Equity-Oriented Approach and Inflection Points in Family Philanthropy: Start up, Scale up, Tune up.

Between 2015-2019, she served as the Director of Measurement & Learning at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, where she led and implemented the organization’s performance measurement strategy resulting in programmatic theory of change models, definition of key beneficiary outcomes, and primary research design. 

Prior to joining Bridgespan, she worked in marketing in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, beginning her career in brand management at Kraft Foods. She holds a BBA and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

S. Mona Sinha

S. Mona Sinha is the Global Executive Director of Equality Now, a global organization that campaigns for legal and systemic change to address violence and discrimination against women and girls. She has been described by Gloria Steinem as “a powerful force who brings women and the world together.”

For 25 years, she has leveraged her corporate experience to launch, lead or advise over 90 mission-aligned organizations to create a gender-equal world. She recently stepped off as the Board Chair of Women Moving Millions where she helped co-create the Give Big Get Equal campaign. She serves on the Executive Council of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, as well as the Advisory Board of Gucci CHIME. Mona also serves on the Advisory Board and the Investment Committee of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia University. Creating and resourcing inclusive communities is at the center of her strategic approach, which she believes is the key to unlocking sustainable organizational growth. To date, she has catalyzed over $1 billion for social change. She has also served as the Board Chair of the Equal Rights Amendment Fund for Women’s Equality which seeks to codify the 28th constitutional amendment that prohibits sex discrimination. Mona is a Trustee Emerita of Smith College, where she was Vice Chair of the Board. She co-led the $486 million Women for the World Campaign and recommended the adoption of a trans-inclusive admissions policy.

She is the Executive Producer of 2024 Oscar nominated documentary To Kill a Tiger, which speaks to male allyship being critical in supporting survivors of sexual violence. She was Executive Producer of Disclosure, an award-winning Netflix documentary on the representation of trans people. She has produced Sell.Buy.Date and My Name is Andrea. She is also an Executive Producer of the 73rd Tony Awards nominee for Best Play, What the Constitution Means to Me.

She was recognized by Forbes 50 over 50: Impact in 2024 and the New York Bar Association honored her with their EPIQ award. She received the 2023 Columbia Business School Horton Award for Excellence in Social Enterprise. In 2022, she was recognized with the Smith College Medal and Children’s Hope India Distinguished Woman of the Year award. She received the CARE USA Impact Award in 2021 and the Exceptional Alumni Award from Modern High School in Kolkata. Women’s eNews named her one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. In 2019, Breakthrough honored her with a Lifetime Inspiration Award. She received the 2018 Exemplary Leadership in Development Award from Smith College. In 2017, she was awarded the Last Girl Champion Award by Gloria Steinem and Apne Aap. In 2015, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor,an award presented annually to US citizens whose accomplishments and service in their field are cause for celebration.

Celina de Sola

Celina de Sola is a Salvadoran social entrepreneur and the co-founder and President of Glasswing International, a nonprofit working across 12 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and New York City. Glasswing unlocks the potential of children and youth through programs in education, economic opportunity, and mental health. With more than 25 years of experience in international development and social impact, Celina began her career as a case manager and later worked as a humanitarian aid professional in countries affected by conflict and natural disasters, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Chad, Liberia, and post-tsunami Indonesia. She is an Ashoka and Obama Foundation Fellow, a Skoll Foundation Awardee, a Schwab Social Entrepreneur, Tällberg Global Leader, and a recipient of The Audacious Project. In 2022, she delivered a TED Talk on mental health and violence prevention and was recently named to the TIME100 in Philanthropy 2025. Celina serves on thr Boards of Kokoro and the InterAmerican Foundation, and holds master’s degrees in social work and public health from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs; is passionate about nature and wildlife; and dances to at least one song daily.

Kathy Spillar

Kathy Spillar

Kathy Spillar is Executive Director of Feminist Majority Foundation, a national organization working for women’s equality, empowerment and non-violence; one of the founders, she has been a driving force in executing the organizations’ diverse programs securing women’s rights both domestically and globally since its inception in 1987. She is also the Executive Editor of Ms., which the Feminist Majority Foundation acquired in 2001, and the editor and contributor to 50 Years of Ms: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine that Ignited a Revolution.

Sarah Stripp

Sarah Stripp

Sarah Stripp is the Director of Socioeconomic Well-being at Springboard to Opportunities, where she leads the organization’s cash-based initiatives and socioeconomic policy priorities. With more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, she provides strategic vision and expertise to the development and implementation of radically resident-driven programs and services that support families in reaching their goals. Since joining Springboard in 2016, Sarah has played a key role in launching and scaling initiatives, such as The Magnolia Mother’s Trust – a first-of-its-kind guaranteed income program for Black mothers in the U.S.– and Springboard’s Emergency Cash Disbursement programs. Her efforts have also advanced Springboard’s work in policy advocacy and narrative change, especially around the reform of safety net benefit and the ensuring the voices of families with lived experience are central to shaping public policy. A graduate of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fellowship and the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Leadership Academy, Sarah is dedicated to centering community voices and building diverse coalitions to drive bold, systemic change.

Katie Telford

Katie Telford is one of the most consequential people in Canadian politics, and the longest serving chief of staff to a Prime Minister in Canadian history. She studied political science at the University of Ottawa and has been a principal advisor and key strategist in several Liberal Party election campaigns.  

She began her political career as a legislative assistant to Ontario Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament Gerrard Kennedy in 2001. By 2004, she became the youngest chief of staff to a minister in Ontario at just 26 years old. She managed Kennedy’s unsuccessful bid for the Liberal Party leadership in 2006, where she met Justin Trudeau, who later became Prime Minister. 

In 2015, Telford served as Trudeau’s chief campaign advisor during the federal election, leading to a majority win for the Liberal Party. She was appointed Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Trudeau on November 4, 2015, and held this position until March 14, 2025. Telford is above all a mum and a life-long champion of rights, equality, and Canada’s role as a guardian of the democratic world order.

Jess Tomlin

Jess Tomlin is a global philanthropic leader and social entrepreneur who has mobilized more than $1 billion for human rights movements worldwide. As CEO of the Equality Fund, she has pioneered a 100% gender-lens investment portfolio while channeling flexible, trust-based funding to movements in more than 100 countries. She is recognized for spotting innovation
early, scanning for weak signals, and forging bold partnerships across governments, multilaterals, investors, philanthropies, and grassroots leaders to accelerate equity, climate action, and social justice. Her career spans work in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Asia with the UN, World
Bank, and civil society organizations, alongside leading the re-creation of Canada’s only global women’s fund, the MATCH International Women’s Fund. Named the Stevie Awards’ Most Innovative Woman of the Year and a Women of Influence honoree, she is known as a trusted convener and strategist, building ambitious initiatives that shift power and create lasting systemic change.

Vivian Topping

Vivian Topping

Vivian Topping works with state-based LGBTQ+ organizations to craft smart, effective legislative and electoral campaigns that build political power and allow supporters to take action in their communities. Most recently Vivian was the Field Director for the historic, winning Yes on 3 campaign in Massachusetts, Vivian previously led electoral and legislative advocacy programs in Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, and Illinois. Their work in Massachusetts was a groundbreaking success, building the leadership of transgender people, having more than 100,000 conversations with voters, and ultimately winning the first statewide referendum on transgender rights in the nation. Building from this experience, Vivian is one of the primary architects of the Trans Organizing & Narrative Shift (TONS) project, a multiyear project that seeks to build durable change for transgender and non-binary people through data-backed messaging tools and organizing strategies.

Jackie VanderBrug

Jackie VanderBrug is Head of Sustainability Strategy for Putnam Investments. She is responsible for leading Putnam’s ESG-focused business functions, including Stewardship, Engagement, Partnerships, and ESG Strategy and Integration and is a member of Franklin Templeton’s Stewardship and Sustainability Counsel.

A recognized thought leader in sustainable investing, she joined Putnam from Bank of America, where she served as Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment Strategy in the Chief Investment Office. Previously, she was Managing Director at Criterion Ventures, where she helped advance the field of Gender Lens Investing.

She is the author of a number of published works, including the book Gender Lens Investing: Uncovering Opportunities for Growth. She is a First Mover Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a Trustee of Heading for Change and of The Trustees of the Donations to the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Melanne Verveer

In 2009, President Obama nominated Melanne Verveer to be the first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues. In that capacity, she worked with the Secretary of State to coordinate foreign policy issues relating to the political, economic and social advancement of women, including the creation of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security. She is currently the Founder & Executive Director of the Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace & Security. She also served as the Special Representative on Gender Equality for the OSCE from 2015-2021. Earlier she was the co-founder and CEO of the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a global NGO investing in emerging women leaders. During the Clinton Administration, she was appointed Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to First Lady Hillary Clinton. Ambassador Verveer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on several boards, including the Atlantic Council, G7 Gender Advisory Council, and UN Women Director’s Advisory. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including US Secretary of State’s Award for Distinguished Service and honorary Orders from Ukraine and Japan. She holds BS and MS degrees from Georgetown University and is an honorary fellow at Cambridge University, Clare Hall College. She is the co-author of Fast Forward.

Erin Vilardi

Erin Vilardi is the Founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead (VRLA) and Vote Run Lead Action (VRLA), independent nonpartisan sister organizations working to create a reflective democracy where women hold more than 51% of public office. Her work has recruited and trained tens of thousands of women and gender-expansive people run for office as part of its mission to increase their representation and political power, especially in key state legislatures. As an expert on women’s leadership, democracy, and social change, Erin has two decades of experience scaling positive impact for women in the public and private sectors, including partnering with Fortune 100 companies, global girls’ initiatives, and the U.S. Department of State. She serves on advisory boards for Future Forward Women, the Brennan Center for Justice, and RepresentWomen and is a Keseb Global Democracy Fellow. Erin has appeared at the Skoll World Forum and Personal Democracy Forum. She has been interviewed on CNN, NPR, CSPAN, BBC, PBS, and more. Her work and writing has appeared in Oprah Magazine, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, New York Magazine, and others, and she is the co-author of the Athena Core10©, an innovative set of leadership competencies for 21st century women leaders. She is an Executive Producer of “Ann Richards’ Texas,” a documentary about the pioneering governor. Erin lives in the historic Harlem neighborhood of New York City with her husband and children.

Shannon Watts

Known as the “summoner of women’s audacity,” Shannon Watts organizes and mobilizes women to create political, electoral and cultural change. She was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 over 50 Changemaker, a Glamour Woman of the Year, a WORTH Magazine Worth 100 and a 2025 Parents Next Gen Award winner. She’s the founder of Moms Demand Action, the largest grassroots group fighting gun violence in the U.S. During the 2024 election, she organized the largest Zoom gathering in history, mobilizing over 200,000 voters and raising over $11 million in support of the Kamala Harris campaign, and co-hosted the weekly Women Wednesdays for Harris calls with Indivisible. Her most recent book, Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age, was an instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller and led to the creation of Firestarter University and Bonfire communities, online and in-person gatherings to help women tap into their political, professional and personal power.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

Attorney and author Jennifer Weiss-Wolf leads partnerships and strategy at Ms., the feminist movement-making magazine. She has simultaneously served in leadership roles at NYU Law, including as executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center and vice president and inaugural women and democracy fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. A prolific writer on and advocate for issues of gender and politics, Jennifer was dubbed the “architect of the U.S. campaign to squash the tampon tax” by Newsweek. She has presented at the White House and before Congress, as well as in state legislatures and major city governmental bodies; she works closely with domestic and global leaders, advocates, and innovators in pursuing policy reforms. Her debut book Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity (Skyhorse, 2017) was lauded by Gloria Steinem as “the beginning of liberation for us all.” She is a contributor to and editor of 50 Years of Ms.: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine That Ignited a Revolution (Knopf, 2023). She authored the 2025 Citizen’s Guide To Menopause Advocacy, featuring a foreword from advocate and journalist Maria Shriver; she is now writing a book inspired by the Citizen’s Guide to be published by Hachette US (Sheldon Press) in 2026. Jennifer’s scholarship has been published by the NYU Review of Law and Social Change and Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Her writing and work have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Oprah Daily, NPR, PBS, and MSNBC.com, among others. She is also a regular contributor at the Substack, The Contrarian.

Jenni Wolfson

Jenni Wolfson

Jenni Wolfson is a fierce human rights advocate and a trailblazer in the art of storytelling for social change. As the CEO of Chicken & Egg Films, her strategic vision has evolved the organization into a powerhouse of support for women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and BAFTA, an Aspen Ideas Fellow, and a Dial Fellow of Emerson Collective, Jenni has been honored with the Women’s Media Center Lifetime Achievement Award and DOC NYC’s Leading Light Award.

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