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Home
About Us
- Our Work
- Who We Are
Research
- Generosity Commission Report
- Commissioned Research
News & Events
- In the News
Supporters
Report

Who We Are

The Generosity Commission is a nonpartisan group of leaders committed to better understanding giving and volunteering today, and protecting and promoting the future of generosity. The landscape of giving and volunteering in the U.S. is changing, and fewer people are giving to and volunteering with nonprofits. As a result, we miss out on the strength of diverse perspectives, spaces for social connection, and the practice of civic engagement. The Generosity Commission was created in response to these changes. Launched in October 2021, The Generosity Commission is an independent project of The Giving Institute and Giving USA Foundation^™.

Commission Members

Marla Blow

President and COO, Skoll Foundation

Marla Blow

President and COO, Skoll Foundation

Marla Blow is the President and COO of the Skoll Foundation where she leads Skoll’s program work, grants, investments, and financial management, including operations, endowment, and portfolio partnerships. Previously, she was North America lead at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and before Mastercard, she was Founder and CEO of FS Card Inc., a subprime credit card venture (sold to strategic acquirer).

Marla won the EY Mid Atlantic Emerging Company Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2018, and has been listed as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business. Marla was featured in the April 2018 Vanity Fair “26 Women of Color Diversifying Entrepreneurship” photo shoot, and she is a Henry Crown Fellow as part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Marla sits on the Board of Directors of Square Financial Services, an independent subsidiary of Square, Inc.

Previously, she was part of the Implementation Team to stand up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and ultimately served as the Assistant Director for Card and Payment Markets, where she shaped the CFPB’s regulatory priorities in these markets.

Prior to joining the CFPB, Marla spent seven years in a variety of functions at Capital One in the credit card business. Marla is a member of the US Capital Chapter of YPO, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Care.com (NYSE: CRCM, sold to IAC), and on the Board of Directors of Factor Trust (sold to TransUnion). Marla holds an MBA from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ann Mei Chang

CEO, Candid

Ann Mei Chang

CEO, Candid

Ann Mei Chang is the CEO of Candid, a nonprofit that provides the most comprehensive data about the social sector—where money comes from, where it goes, and why it matters. Ann Mei leads Candid in harnessing the precision of data, the power of technology, and the compassion of the social sector to increase its collective ability to do good during these unprecedented times of disruption and need.

She is a leading expert on social innovation and the author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good. Ann Mei served as chief innovation officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the first executive director of its U.S. Global Development Lab. In addition, she was chief innovation officer for Pete for America, chief innovation officer at Mercy Corps, and senior advisor for women and technology at the U.S. Department of State.

Prior to her work in the public and social sectors, Ann Mei was a seasoned technology executive, with more than 20 years of experience at Google, Apple, and Intuit, as well as at a range of startups. As senior engineering director at Google, she led worldwide engineering for mobile applications and services, with a mission to bring the next billion people online.

She was recognized as one of the "Women in the World: 125 Women of Impact" by Newsweek/The Daily Beast in 2013, "The 23 most powerful LGBTQ+ people in tech" by Business Insider in 2019, and "Top LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, Executives and Thought Leaders" by Global Shakers in 2019.

Ann Mei earned a B.S. in computer science from Stanford University and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellows class of 2011.

Cecilia Conrad

Senior Advisor, Collaborative Philanthropy and Fellows, CEO of Lever for Change, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Cecilia Conrad

Senior Advisor, Collaborative Philanthropy and Fellows, CEO of Lever for Change, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Cecilia A. Conrad, Ph.D. is a senior advisor of Collaborative Philanthropy and Fellows and founder and chief executive officer of Lever for Change at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Lever for Change helps donors find high impact philanthropic opportunities and has helped distribute more than $2 billion for social good, tackling issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, access to economic opportunity, and climate change.

Dr. Conrad was formerly a Managing Director at the Foundation, where she led the MacArthur Fellows program and steered the cross-Foundation team that created MacArthur’s 100&Change—an athematic, open call competition that periodically makes a single $100 million grant to help solve a critical problem of our time. She continues to manage the 100&Change competition.

Before joining the Foundation in January 2013, Conrad had a distinguished career as both a professor and an administrator at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. She held the Stedman Sumner Chair in Economics and is currently a Professor of Economics, Emerita. She served as Associate Dean of the College (2004-2007), as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College (2009-2012), and as Acting President (Fall 2012). From 2007-2009, she was interim Vice President and Dean of the Faculty at Scripps College.

As Associate Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Pomona, Conrad championed the College's summer undergraduate research program and expanded it to the arts and humanities, led conversations regarding the value and assessment of a liberal arts college education, nurtured collaborations between the arts and the sciences, and worked with academic departments to improve the campus climate for diversity.

As a member of the faculty, Conrad contributed to the curriculum of several interdisciplinary programs and, in 2002, was recognized as California's Carnegie Professor of the Year, a prestigious national award that recognizes faculty members for their achievement as undergraduate professors. Conrad's academic research focuses on the effects of race and gender on economic status. Her work has appeared in both academic journals and nonacademic publications including The American Prospect and Black Enterprise.

Before joining the faculty at Pomona College, Conrad served on the faculties of Barnard College and Duke University. She was also an economist at the Federal Trade Commission and a visiting scholar at The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Conrad is a member of the board of directors of the National Academy of Social Insurance, IES Study Abroad, the African Center for Economic Transformation, and GivingTuesday and a member of the TIAA Board of Governors.

Conrad received the National Urban League’s Women of Power Award in 2008 and the National Economic Association’s Samuel Z. Westerfield award. She is a newly elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Conrad received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College where she also received the 2023 Alumnae Achievement Award and her Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.

Asha Curran

CEO, GivingTuesday

Asha Curran

CEO, GivingTuesday

Asha Curran is CEO of GivingTuesday. She serves as Chair of the Board of Guardian.org, as a Board member of the Resource Alliance, and as Advisory Committee Co-Chair for the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y, where she was formerly Chief Innovation Officer. She is a Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society, a Marla and Barry Beck Visiting Social Innovator at the Social Innovation and Change Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Fellow at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Asha was named to the Nonprofit Times’ Top Fifty Power and Influence list annually 2019 through 2023

Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker

Former President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker

Former President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. An innovative and visionary leader, she is creating positive long-term change in her community and beyond. For more than 105 years, the Community Foundation has worked with individuals, families, foundations and organizations to steward their charitable assets. Today, the Community Foundation has grown to more than $870 million in charitable assets and is recognized for leading transformative change on key issues.

Clotilde led the Community Foundation’s strategy to create meaningful community change on behalf of the donors who have chosen to support this work. The Community Foundation brings together community partners to advance systems change through initiatives like Say Yes Buffalo, Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable and the WNY Impact Investment Fund, to name a few. Seen as a changemaker, Clotilde’s work has attracted more than $100 million to Western New York to support these collective efforts.

Clotilde is past chair of the Foundation Center- which merged with Guidestar to form Candid which she co-chaired. Additional leadership highlights include past president of the Association of Junior Leagues International and board member of FSG, Foundation Executives’ Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Young Men of Color and the Global Fund for Community Foundations.

In recognition of her civic sector expertise, Clotilde was appointed to the White House Council on Service and Civic Participation and named co-chair of the U.S. Committee of the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer. Clotilde speaks frequently about the role of philanthropy, community impact and nonprofit governance around the world. She presented at the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty Summit supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the Asia Forum on Philanthropy for Better Cities in Hong Kong.

For her contributions, Clotilde has received numerous honors and awards, including accolades from the Points of Light Foundation, the Governor’s Award for Service, the President’s Award for Service and The Buffalo News Citizen of the Year Award. She was named the 2018 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the University at Buffalo School of Management and received the Humanitarian Award from the Urban League in 2020. She is the recipient of the Dean’s Service Award from the State University of New York at Buffalo Graduate School of Education and the Canisius College Distinguished Citizen Award. An alumna of both institutions, Clotilde received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Canisius College and Masters of Arts degree in Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen and a native of Cuba.

Heather Templeton Dill

President, John Templeton Foundation

Heather Templeton Dill

President, John Templeton Foundation

Heather Templeton Dill is president of the John Templeton Foundation. Prior to assuming this role in 2015, she served as executive liaison to the president under her father, the late Dr. Jack Templeton. Dill is the granddaughter of the late Sir John Templeton.

She served as a trustee of the John Templeton Foundation from 1997-2003 and 2009-2015 and has been a member of the Foundation’s executive, finance, and strategic planning committees. Dill previously served on the Templeton Religion Trust steering committee and the Templeton World Charity Foundation board and is currently a member of the board of First Trust Bank Limited.

Dill has spoken at various venues on living in a pluralistic world, on the research-supported benefits of a life of purpose, as well as the importance of intellectual humility. She holds a master’s degree in American history from Villanova University and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in history and a concentration in public policy.

Michael Gianoni

Co-Chair, The Generosity Commission; President, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blackbaud

Michael Gianoni

Co-Chair, The Generosity Commission; President, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blackbaud

As President & CEO of Blackbaud, a Fortune Change the World company and repeat Forbes Most Innovative Growth Company, Mike Gianoni focuses on delivering unmatched value and innovation to people and organizations who change the world. Under his leadership as a top 50 SaaS CEO, Blackbaud is building a new legacy that reaches far beyond its position as the leading provider of software for powering social impact—a legacy that puts customers first every time, connects them in unique ways, and puts information and innovation in their hands at a level of quality and speed that no other vendor can provide.

An experienced IT services executive, Mike’s interest in technology was sparked in high school when he took his first engineering class. Today, with degrees in both engineering and business—as well as an MBA and Honorary Doctorate from the University of New Haven—Mike has a successful track record of strong operational management of IT businesses that deliver value for customers, shareholders and employees, and is an advocate for corporate cultures that encourage employees to thrive professionally and personally while accomplishing strong top-line growth.

Mike joined Blackbaud from Fiserv, Inc., a global provider of financial services technology solutions, where he was executive vice president and group president of the Financial Institutions Group. Previously, he was president of Fiserv’s Investment Services division, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree Investment Services, and the leader of numerous divisions at DST, where he focused on developing new platforms and ensuring stronger operational controls.

A first-generation American with a passion for veterans’ initiatives, animal welfare (especially dogs), and exploring the U.S. coastline by sailboat, Mike is currently the chairman of the board of directors for Teradata, a board member for the International African American Museum, and on the advisory board for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Mike is a former member of the board of directors for LibertyHealth System (New Jersey), the American Red Cross Southeast County (Massachusetts) and the University of New Haven.

Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder

National Commander, The Salvation Army

Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder

National Commander, The Salvation Army

Kenneth G. Hodder serves as National Commander of The Salvation Army, overseeing the work of two million officers, soldiers, employees and volunteers at almost 7,000 local units that annually provide help to more than 24 million people across the country.

In addition, Commissioner Hodder represents the organization to the Federal government, the corporate community, and the nonprofit sector. He has served as a member of the DHS Faith-Based Security Advisory Council, and he testified before Congress in 2022 on the needs of veterans. Commissioner Hodder serves on the Boards of Directors for the Christian Leadership Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals, and he is a member of the Generosity Commission, Leadership 18, and the JustServe National Advisory Council.

In 2023, Commissioner Hodder was selected by The NonProfit Times as one of the top 50 nonprofit leaders in the nation. A sixth-generation Salvationist, he is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. magna cum laude, 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983).

Michael McAfee

President and CEO, PolicyLink

Michael McAfee

President and CEO, PolicyLink

Dr. Michael McAfee became President and CEO of PolicyLink in 2018. During his time at PolicyLink, Michael has played a leadership role in securing Promise Neighborhoods as a permanent federal program, led efforts to improve outcomes for more than 300,000 children, and facilitated the investment of billions of dollars in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.

Before joining PolicyLink, Michael served as senior community planning and development representative in the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Before his public service, Michael served as the director of community leadership for The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and Affiliated Trusts. Michael’s commitment to the needs of people of color and those living in poverty extends to his work on the boards of Bridge Housing, Independent Sector, North Lawndale Employment Network, One Degree, and Sweet Beginnings, LLC, each of which is committed to creating opportunity for those among the 100 million economically insecure people in America.

Previously, Michael served in the United States Army and as Dean's Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Doctor of Education in human and organizational learning from George Washington University and completed Harvard University's Executive Program in Public Management.

Luis Miranda Jr.

Philanthropist, Strategist, and Advocate; Founder of the MirRam Group; Chair of the Latino Victory Fund

Luis Miranda Jr.

Philanthropist, Strategist, and Advocate; Founder of the MirRam Group; Chair of the Latino Victory Fund

Luis A. Miranda, Jr. has four decades of experience as a leader in the public, private, political, and advocacy sectors. He arrived in New York City from Puerto Rico in 1974 to study psychology at NYU but soon found himself drawn to community action when he organized his neighbors to fight for better schools for their children. In the 1980s he was a special advisor for Hispanic Affairs to Mayor Ed Koch, and he continued to serve in key roles for the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations. As a founding partner of the MirRam Group, Miranda has consulted on several successful political campaigns, including the senatorial campaigns of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Most recently he managed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ successful reelection. Miranda is the founding president of the Hispanic Federation and is currently the chairperson of the Latino Victory Fund, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Viva Broadway and the Public Theater. He is a board member of The City, and former chair of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Miranda’s memoir, Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America, was released by Hachette Books in both English and Spanish on May 7, 2024. In Relentless, he shares the fascinating narrative of his life and career—from his early days as a radically minded Puerto Rican activist to his decades of political advice and problem-solving.

Luis and his wife, Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, have three children, Luz Miranda-Crespo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Miguel Towns. Now as adults, Luz Miranda-Crespo and Lin-Manuel Miranda are married to Luis Crespo and Vanessa Nadal, respectively, with children of their own. For over 40 years, Luis Miranda and Dr. Towns-Miranda have been community activists since their first date in 1978, and since HAMILTON’s critical and commercial success, the family has expanded their work with additional resources through the Miranda Family Fund and Miranda Family Fellowship. Luis shepherds all the family’s philanthropic endeavors, which span increasing people of color’s representation throughout the arts and government, ensuring access to women’s reproductive health, and preserving and strengthening the arts in Puerto Rico.

Natalye Paquin

COO, The Rockefeller Foundation

Natalye Paquin

COO, The Rockefeller Foundation

Natalye Paquin is the Chief Operating Officer of The Rockefeller Foundation, a global institution with a mission to promote the well-being of humanity around the world. As COO, Paquin oversees the Foundation’s Finance and Information Technology, Human Resources, Legal, Sustainable Operations, and Connected Leaders teams, as well as its operations at offices in the United States, Italy, Asia, and Africa.

Before joining the Foundation in 2022, Paquin served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Points of Light Foundation, a non-partisan, global non-profit founded by President George H.W. Bush. Points of Light inspires, equips, and mobilizes millions of people across 38 countries to change the world through volunteerism and civic engagement. Her experience in the non-profit sector also includes serving as Chief Transformation Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA as well as serving as Chief Executive Officer of the 10th largest Girl Scout council in the country.

Paquin’s expertise sits at the intersection of the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors, leveraging more than 30 years of experience serving the community through professional roles and as an independent director on three corporate boards. She began her career as a litigation and civil rights attorney and spent more than 15 years in legal and executive leadership roles in the public sector. She earned a Juris Doctor degree at the DePaul University College of Law and a Bachelor of Science from Florida A&M University.

Paquin maintains her connections to her community through volunteerism and civic engagement. She is an avid traveler and is married with two adult sons.

Eboo Patel

Founder and President Interfaith America

Eboo Patel

Founder and President Interfaith America

Eboo Patel is a civic leader who believes that religious diversity is an essential and inspiring dimension of American democracy. Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division.

Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books, including We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and their two sons.

Valerie Rockefeller

Chair, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Valerie Rockefeller

Chair, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Valerie Rockefeller chairs the Board of Directors of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit philanthropic services organization that accelerates philanthropy in pursuit of a just world. She also co-chairs BankFWD, a network dedicated to persuading banks to phase out financing for fossil fuels and fund clean energy.

Her professional background is as a middle school special education teacher for adolescents with learning differences and emotional disabilities. Valerie has an M.Ed. in Special Education from the Bank Street College of Education and a MAT in Social Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University. She attended Stanford University and worked at the U.S. Department of Education.

She serves on the boards of Achievement First, the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, Columbia University’s Teachers College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the Rockefeller Family Fund and The Trust for Mutual Understanding. She was a trustee of Spelman College and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Aspen Institute’s This is Planet Ed, and the Generosity Commission.

Valerie lives with her daughters Percy and Lucy and son Davis in Old Greenwich, CT.

Robert Rosen

Former Director Philanthropic Partnerships, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Robert Rosen

Former Director Philanthropic Partnerships, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Until July 2024, Robert Rosen led a team that oversaw the foundation’s relationship with philanthropists and charitable organizations across the globe.

Before joining the foundation in 2007, Robert served as senior director of the Corporate Finance Practice of the Corporate Executive Board, the international business strategy and research firm. Previously he served as political director for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and in the White House as assistant to the president and director of Advance for President Clinton.

Robert received a Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont.

Lisa Marsh Ryerson

President, Southern New Hampshire University

Lisa Marsh Ryerson

President, Southern New Hampshire University

Lisa Marsh Ryerson is the president of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), where she leads the largest nonprofit provider of higher education in the U.S., serving more than 200,000 learners worldwide. With a focus on equitable access to education, she champions SNHU's "students first" culture. Prior to this role, she served as SNHU’s Provost and as president of the AARP Foundation. Lisa's career began at Wells College, where she significantly increased enrollment and contributed to community revitalization. She holds a B.A. from Wells College and an M.S. from SUNY Cortland. Lisa lives in Manchester, NH, with her husband George. Together they share a blended family with four children and two grandchildren.

Jerre Stead

Chair Emeritus, Former Executive Chairman and CEO, Clarivate

Jerre Stead

Chair Emeritus, Former Executive Chairman and CEO, Clarivate

With his wife Mary Joy Stead, Jerre founded the Stead Foundation, which partners with nonprofits and to date has granted more than $400 million to healthcare, education, and faith-based organizations. In 2023, Jerre founded Stead Impact Ventures as an extension of the Foundation’s commitment with the mission to invest with responsibility and purpose in innovators whose ideas will positively change the course of health and wellbeing. Jerre serves as the board chair of Stead Impact Ventures and co-chair of Stead Foundation.

Jerre is chair emeritus at Clarivate after serving as executive chair and chief executive officer for more than three years. Jerre was the CEO of Churchill Capital Corp until its merger with Clarivate in May 2019. He had been the CEO and a member of the board of directors of Churchill Capital Corp since August 2018. Prior to that he served as chairman and CEO of IHS Markit, Ltd.—a publicly listed company on NASDAQ and world leader in critical information, analytics, and solutions—and executive chairman and CEO at IHS Inc., its predecessor company.

Jerre has had a long and very successful career as CEO with 10 public companies. Over the last two decades he has created a world leader and one of the fastest growing companies in the information services sector, IHS Markit, Ltd. Prior to his leadership at IHS Markit, he led other highly successful technology and information companies such as Ingram Micro, Legent Corporation, AT&T Global Business Communications Systems, AT&T Global Information Solutions (NCR Corporation), NCR Japan, Square D, and Honeywell-Phillips Medical Electronics. He has also invested in nearly 40 startup companies.

Over his 42-year career he has achieved average annual shareholder returns exceeding 22% while serving on 36 corporate and 27 nonprofit boards. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including the Kenneth B. West Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2017 from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) in recognition of his service on corporate and philanthropic boards. He is chairman of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute as well as chairman of the board of Garrett Evangelical Seminary and he sits on the boards of the America Writers Museum and Guideposts

Jane Wales

Co-Chair, The Generosity Commission; Vice President, Philanthropy and Society, Aspen Institute and Executive Director of its Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

Jane Wales

Co-Chair, The Generosity Commission; Vice President, Philanthropy and Society, Aspen Institute and Executive Director of its Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

Jane Wales is Vice President of the Aspen Institute and Executive Director of its Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation. She is the founder of the Global Philanthropy Forum and its regional affiliates in Africa and Brazil, and the former host of the nationally syndicated National Public Radio interview show WorldAffairs. Previously, Jane served in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council. She simultaneously served as Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In the Carter Administration, Jane served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

In the philanthropic sector, Jane chaired international security programs at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the W. Alton Jones Foundation, and she directed the Project on World Security at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. From 2007 to 2008, she served as acting CEO of The Elders. Jane is a member of the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security. She is Co-Chair of the Generosity Commission.

Communications Task Force

Joanne Adebayo

Experiential Marketing Planner, L.L. Bean

Rick Dunham

Founder and Chairman, Dunham + Company

Lee Ernst

CEO and Senior Consultant, Johnson, Grossnickle + Associates

Derrick Feldman

Managing Director, Ad Council Research Institute

Rachel Hutchisson

Chair, Communications Task Force, Former VP, Global Social Responsibility, Blackbaud

Catherine McGlown

SVP, Communications, Sustainability and Public Policy, Pathward

Faith & Giving Task Force

Tony Banout

Executive Director, The University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression

Rick Dunham

Founder and Chairman, Dunham + Company Commissioner

Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder

National Commander, The Salvation Army

Amany Killawi

Co-Founder and COO, LaunchGood

David King

Co-Chair, Faith and Giving Task Force, Karen Lake Buttrey Director, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

Jeanné Lewis

CEO, Faith in Public Life

Vivian Long

Executive Director, Long Family Foundation

Elizabeth Lynn

Special Projects Director, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

Jacqueline Mattis

Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University

Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim

Deputy Director, U.S. Ruderman Family Foundation

Kerry Robinson

Co-Chair, Faith and Giving Task Force, President and CEO, Catholic Charities USA

Sister Jane Wakahiu

Associate Vice President of Program Operations and Head of Catholic Sisters, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Dilnaz A. Waraich

President, WF Fund

Policy Task Force

Sonya Campion

President, Campion Advocacy Fund

Sally Ehrenfried

Head of Government Relations, Blackbaud

Brian Flahaven

Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Council for Advancement and Support of Education; Chair, Charitable Giving Coalition

Jatrice Martel Gaiter

EVP External Affairs, Volunteers of America

Sarah Kastelic

Executive Director, National Indian Child Welfare Association

Terry Mazany

Former President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust

Elinor Ramey

Partner, Chair Exempt Organizations, Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Valerie Rockefeller

Chair, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Valerie Rockefeller

Chair, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Valerie lives with her daughters Percy and Lucy and son Davis in Old Greenwich, CT.

Sue Santa

Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Advocacy, Girl Scouts of the USA

Nina Ozlu Tunceli

Chief Counsel of Government and Public Affairs, Americans for the Arts; Executive Director, Americans for the Arts Action Fund

Art Taylor

Co-Chair Policy Task Force, President and CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance

John Tyler

Co-Chair Policy Task Force, General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Ethics Officer, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Angela Williams

President & CEO, United Way Worldwide

Research Task Force

Alan J. Abramson

Professor and Director, Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Ana Maria Argilagos

President and CEO, Hispanics in Philanthropy

Shena Ashley

Co-Chair, Research Task Force, President, Capital One Foundation

Nick Deychakiwsky

Senior Program Officer, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Tyrone McKinley Freeman

he Glenn Family Chair in Philanthropy and Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

Stephanie Fuerstner Gillis

Director, Impact Driven Philanthropy Initiative, Raikes Foundation

Matt Nash

Executive Director, Blackbaud Giving Fund

Amir Pasic

Dean, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

Woodrow Rosenbaum

Chief Data Officer, GivingTuesday

Deborah Small

Adrian C. Israel Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management

Piyush Tantia

Chief Innovation Officer, ideas42

Joshua Tripp

Chief Financial Officer, World Central Kitchen

Victoria Vrana

Co-Chair, Research Task Force, CEO, GlobalGiving

Team Members

Suzy Antounian

Commission Director

Suzy Antounian

Commission Director

Suzy Antounian has over 30 years of nonprofit management experience, with a focus on strategic planning, program design, institutional development, partnership building and operations. She was most recently COO of the World Affairs Council of Northern California where she has also managed World Affairs’ programs for many years. As Senior Vice President she oversaw the Global Philanthropy Forum and helped found its regional affiliates, the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum and the African Philanthropy Forum. As Vice President for Public Programs, she managed World Affairs’ annual programs and conference on international affairs. Prior to joining World Affairs, she helped establish the American University of Armenia as Vice President, Dean of University Extension and Director of Policy and Planning. As a consultant, she provided advisory services to clients that included the Aspen Institute and The Elders. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector, she was a tax associate with Ernst and Whinney (now Ernst and Young) and Howard, Rice et al. (now part of Arnold and Porter).

She serves on the boards of Myriad USA, Give2Asia, the American University of Armenia Corporation and Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia. She holds a J.D. from UC Law San Francisco and a B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Kelli Gabbert

Senior Programs and Partnerships Lead

Kelli Gabbert

Senior Programs and Partnerships Lead

Kelli Gabbert has over 15 years of experience with program and grant management in corporate philanthropy. She has worked at Microsoft Philanthropies, Target Community Relations, and within the Seattle nonprofit sector. Throughout her work in corporate philanthropy, Kelli has managed complex partnerships and programs with a focus on creating efficiencies and maximizing impact.

Ted Grossnickle

Counselor

Ted Grossnickle

Counselor

Ted served as Chair of the Working Committee that planned and organized the Generosity Commission. A leader to the JGA team and to the broader nonprofit community, he is known for his authentic voice and commitment to guiding organizations to achieve their best. After graduation from Wabash College, he worked at Procter and Gamble Company, his alma mater, and then at Northern Illinois University where he served in several roles including advancement and corporate relations. From 1983 until 1993, he served as vice president of development and public affairs for Franklin College and then as acting president in 1993. He co-founded JGA with Don Johnson in 1994. Ted serves as chair of the JGA board of directors, as managing counsel to several clients, and as a mentor to staff.

He is deeply engaged in the nonprofit sector as an author, speaker, teacher, and board member and has received numerous honors and awards for his achievements, including the Henry A. Rosso Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Ethical Fundraising. He currently serves as a member and is immediate past chair of the Giving Institute and serves on the board of Garrett Theological Seminary. He is a former member and chair of the board of visitors of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and was a member of the board of trustees at Wabash College for ten years during which he served as co-chairman of The Challenge of Excellence Campaign.

Benjamin Soskis

Editor, The Generosity Commission Report

Benjamin Soskis

Editor, The Generosity Commission Report

Benjamin Soskis is a senior research associate in the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. His work explores the ways historical inquiry can inform contemporary philanthropic practice. He is especially interested in the relationship between philanthropy and democratic norms and institutions. A historian and journalist, Soskis is the coeditor of HistPhil, a web publication devoted to the history of civil society and the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Previously, he was a fellow at the Center for Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, and Policy at George Mason University. A frequent contributor to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, his writing on philanthropy has also appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Guardian, Inside Philanthropy, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Boston Review. He is coauthor of The Battle Hymn of the Republic: A Biography of the Song that Marches On (Oxford University Press, 2013); author of “A History of Associational Life and the Nonprofit Sector in the United States” in the third edition of The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook (Stanford University Press, 2020); and coeditor of Giving in Time: Temporal Consideration in Philanthropy (Rowman & Littlefield/Urban Institute Press, 2023). Soskis has taught at the George Washington University and the University of California, Washington Center. He received his PhD in American history from Columbia University.

“The beauty of generosity is that it's an instinctual and inherent value every person shares, and the power of generosity is that it is at the very root of change across every challenge we face in society. That is why it's absolutely critical that we uplift everyday givers and create a culture driven by the question, "how can I help?”

— Asha Curran, Generosity Commission Member, CEO, Giving Tuesday

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