Leadership Forum: Moving From Friction to Firmer Ground

Jake Alexander

Jake Alexander is a strategic advisor to philanthropic donors and high-impact doers. He advises individual and institutional funders on grantmaking strategy, with particular expertise in building and scaling lifesaving healthcare programs for vulnerable communities in complex operating environments. He also co-chairs the Global Health Funding Circle, a group of donors providing catalytic funding to promising early-stage organizations.

Previously, Jake led the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s largest portfolio, and strategic health initiatives at the International Rescue Committee. He was a Knox Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and London Business School. He speaks Arabic, French, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, and Swahili, and is conversational in several other languages, the product of many years working on the ground across the Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and East Africa, including in some of the world's most politically complex environments.

Dr. Christoph Benn

Christoph Benn, MD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Global Health Diplomacy (CGHD) based in Geneva. He also serves as Chair of the Board of HealthAI – The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health. With more than 30 years of experience in global health, he is a co-founder of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, where he served as Director of External Relations for over 15 years, overseeing the first five replenishment cycles.

A leading expert in innovative health financing in low- and middle-income countries and advises several global health and development organizations, his focus includes financing models for health systems and the promotion of responsible, inclusive, and equitable digital transformation in health, including the ethical use of artificial intelligence across all income settings.

Dr. Benn also serves as President of the Transform Health Coalition, Chair of the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA), a Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Health Hub Germany, and a Member of the Board of Friends of the Global Fund Europe. He also holds an appointment as Senior Advisor on Debt Swaps to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), where he supports the Africa CDC's agenda on innovative financing mechanisms to strengthen health security and advance the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty agenda through sustainable and equitable funding approaches.

He holds an MD from the University of Giessen (Germany), an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USA), and a DTM&H from the University of Liverpool (UK).

Mitali Chakraborty

Mitali Chakraborty is the Executive Director of P150, a global community of philanthropic advisors working together to spark innovation, collaboration, and lasting impact for people and the planet. In 2025 the community collectively moved an additional $542M off the sidelines. Based in New York City, she brings 20+ years of experience leading initiatives across philanthropy, tech, and social impact—always focusing on connection and execution. Her career spans producing large-scale events for SXSW, Sundance, Live Nation, and the Tech Jobs Tour, as well as founding Youth Jobs Connect to expand opportunities for marginalized youth.

Mitali’s leadership is fueled by energy, warmth, and a deep belief in community. She is an alumna of Emory University, serves on the boards of Green 2.0 and Youth Service America, and is the proud aunt of two little nephews who keep her inspired. When she’s not building partnerships or hosting gatherings, you’ll likely find her on a tennis court, traveling, cheering on her beloved Liverpool F.C. or bringing friends and family together around the dinner table.

Yordanos Eyoel

Yordanos Eyoel is an Ethiopian-American democracy entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Keseb. Keseb is a nonpartisan organization building a transnational civil society ecosystem to advance inclusive and resilient democracies.

Yordanos’ expertise lies at the intersection of philanthropy and practice, building and strengthening ecosystems for social and democracy innovation. Prior to launching Keseb, Yordanos was a Managing Partner at New Profit, where she was the first person in the organization’s 22-year history to grow from Portfolio Analyst to Managing Partner.

Yordanos is an Ashoka Fellow, a Civil Society Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a recipient of several awards including from the Elevate Prize Foundation and Unorthodox Philanthropy. Her work and writing have been featured in TED, Fast Company, Stanford Social Innovation Review, NPR, and Harvard Business Review, among others. A former Fellow of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Yordanos earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Florida, where she was inducted into the University’s Hall of Fame. She also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.

Allison Fine

Allison Fine is a leading voice on how technology can accelerate social impact. She is President and CEO of Every.org, which is building a more generous world by making philanthropy easy, joyful, and impactful. Under her leadership, Every.org has grown 10x in three years, helping organizations of all sizes raise more money with less friction. Allison is the author of four influential books on technology and social change, including The Networked Nonprofit, Momentum, and The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World (with Beth Kanter), which are widely used by nonprofit leaders navigating digital transformation. A sought-after speaker and strategist, she is known for translating emerging tech trends into practical, human-centered approaches that help nonprofits grow, adapt, and lead with values.

Gabrielle Fitzgerald

Gabrielle Fitzgerald is the founder and CEO of Panorama Group, a platform for social change comprised of three entities: Panorama Global, Panorama Strategy, and Panorama Action. Gabrielle created Panorama to maximize social impact by partnering with visionary leaders to co-develop solutions with audacious thinking and bold action. Since its founding, Panorama has brought much-needed attention and funding to complex challenges, including pandemic preparedness, gender parity in politics, and adolescent mental health.

Chitra Hanstad

Chitra Hanstad is a nonprofit leader with a career dedicated to advancing social justice, poverty alleviation, and community empowerment on a global scale. With a background in Development Economics and International Development, she has worked in land rights, human trafficking, and refugee resettlement. Based in Bangalore, she focuses on strengthening initiatives that support marginalized communities and drive systemic change.

Melanie LeGrande

As the Managing Director of Panorama Strategy, Melanie LeGrande guides the organization's strategic direction as it continues to grow its support for clients around the world.

Melanie is a transformative and inclusive leader with more than two decades of social impact and communications experience across multiple sectors. Key among her accomplishments, Melanie designed and executed community engagement and philanthropic strategies for Major League Baseball and the Baltimore Ravens (National Football League), and managed similar programs for corporate and nonprofit clients while with Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Prior to Panorama Strategy, Melanie built the Rights & Equity strategy and portfolio on the Amazon Web Services' social impact team, providing oversight of programs supporting Black-owned small businesses, justice-involved individuals, and stakeholders focused on anti-human trafficking and the prevention of child sexual abuse material. She currently serves on the board of Empowered Network, where she supports survivor-led efforts to transform the systems that enable trafficking.

Melanie holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®️ (CAP®️) designation, and earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Morgan State University and a master's degree from Georgia State University. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her partner, Roger, and their pup Rock-o.

Sofía Marcía

Sofía Marcía is the Co-Executive Director of the Urgent Action Fund for Latin America & the Caribbean. She trusts in the collective power of women and conspires with them and their struggles, as well as with Black, Indigenous, trans, and nonbinary people of the Abya Yala. She is an anti-racist feminist in her activism and work. She has dialogued with Honduras's Garifuna and Lenca people, where she has her roots. She studied engineering and has a master's degree in rural development. Sofia is a member of the political ecology research group of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences and Humanities CLACSO since 2016 and has recently contributed to research about gender and climate justice.

Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn is the author of the bestselling Bridgerton Series, which inspired Netflix’s record-breaking show. Translated into 42 languages, her books explore gender equality and social pressures on women in 19th-century England—themes that align with Landesa’s work securing women’s land rights today. Longtime land rights advocate, Julia is dedicated to using her platform to elevate the voices of women and girls around the world.

Emily Ramshaw

Emily Ramshaw is the co-founder and CEO of The 19th*, the nation’s first independent nonprofit newsroom at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. The 19th* aims to elevate the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people at the margins of American media with free-to-consume and free-to-republish daily journalism, newsletters and live events.

Prior to The 19th, Ramshaw was editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, an award-winning local news startup and the largest statehouse news operation in the nation. She is the former board chair of the Pulitzer Prize, where she served for nine years. In 2020, Ramshaw was named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list.

Ramshaw started her career at The Dallas Morning News, where she broke national stories about abuse inside Texas’ youth lock-ups, reported from inside a West Texas polygamist compound and uncovered “fight clubs” at state institutions for people with disabilities.

A native of Washington, D.C., Ramshaw graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with dual degrees in journalism and American history. She lives in Austin with her filmmaker husband, their 10-year-old daughter and a puppy named Waffles.

Gerry Rodriguez

Gerry Rodriguez is U.S. Head of Impact at Edelman, where he advises senior leaders on trust, social impact, stakeholder engagement, and navigating complex societal and business issues. With more than 15 years of experience across the private, nonprofit, and public affairs sectors, Gerry works with organizations to connect business priorities with societal needs and build strategies that create meaningful, measurable impact. He is a member of Edelman's U.S. Operating Committee and Global Impact Leadership Team and serves on the board of PRISM: The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors.

Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist, the founder of Girls Who Code, the founder and CEO of Moms First, and executive producer of the new documentary No Country for Mothers. Named one of TIME’s Women of the Year in 2026, Reshma has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, to close the gender gap in tech, and most recently, for the structural changes moms deserve including affordable child care, paid leave, and equal pay. She is a New York Times Bestselling author of several books including PAY UP, Brave, Not Perfect, and the Girls Who Code book series. As a leading voice on women’s empowerment, her 2023 Smith College Commencement speech on imposter syndrome has more than 18 million views, and her influential TED talk, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection,” has more than 54 million views globally.  Reshma began her career as an attorney and Democratic organizer. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal; their sons, Shaan and Sai; and their dog Steve.

Jennifer Sciubba

Jennifer D. Sciubba, Ph.D., is President and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau and a leading voice on how population change intersects with politics and society. A political demographer and former professor, she helps audiences make sense of complex demographic trends and their policy implications. She is the author of 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World (W.W. Norton, 2022) and co-author of Toxic Demography: Ideology and the Politics of Population (Oxford University Press, 2025).

Mercina Tillemann Perez

Mercina Tillemann Perez leads global impact at Circle, deploying digital financial infrastructure to the people and places that are hardest to reach. Her work focuses on expanding financial access in underserved and fragile contexts, including building corruption-resistant systems for humanitarian aid and development delivery. As a member of Circle’s senior leadership team, Mercina has helped shape the company’s global mission and strategy — including during its path toward a 2025 IPO.

She also oversees Circle’s global foundation — stewarding an effort seeded with 1% of the company’s pre-IPO equity to advance more inclusive, transparent, and resilient financial systems worldwide. In 2016, Mercina founded what became the largest industry association in the web3 ecosystem, scaling it to more than 500 institutional members. She has represented her work at the United Nations, G20, World Bank, IMF, Federal Reserve, European Parliament, and U.S. Congress, and has lectured at Yale, MIT, Georgetown, and HEC Paris. A contributor to the World Economic Forum, she has also authored publications for global enterprises including Johnson & Johnson. She continues to advise organizations worldwide on responsible innovation and building trust in digital systems, advancing Circle’s vision for a more inclusive global economy.