Making informed decisions in the context of philanthropy and policy seems like a sensible, even obvious goal. Yet the actual practice of optimizing organizational decisions using the best evidence available is quite challenging. In this session, funders, researchers, and decision theorists will share a diverse and thought provoking set of approaches to directing dollars and resources where they can do the most good.

Speakers:

• Elizabeth Suarez, Director of Philanthropic Relations, GuideStar
• Robin Lipp, Evidence-Based Innovation Manager, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
• Sara Farley, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Global Knowledge Initiative
• Lewis Bollard, Program Officer, Farm Welfare, Open Philanthropy Project

Moderator:

Ian David Moss, Vice President, Strategy & Analytics, Fractured Atlas

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Learn more about the presenters:

Elizabeth Suarez: Beth Suarez is responsible for the GuideStar Foundation Membership Program and for securing general operating and strategic gifts in support of GuideStar's mission. Beth joined GuideStar with 25 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and development, including positions with PBS, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Catholic Charities USA. Throughout her career, Beth has directly solicited, or empowered, trained, and counseled staff and teams in raising, in aggregate, more than $1 billion in contributions. She is active in the local nonprofit community, serving on several nonprofit boards and participating in pro-bono nonprofit projects through Compass. Beth received her Bachelor of Arts from St. Lawrence University.

Robin Lipp: Robin works for the DC Office of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, where he manages the Foundation’s Evidence-Based Innovation (EBI) portfolio. EBI focuses on projects that improve the capacity of governments to use and build policy-relevant evidence. Before joining the Foundation, he served as a Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellow in Nonprofit Law at the Vera Institute of Justice, where he worked on a number of initiatives to support Vera’s legal department, demonstration projects, and centers, including its Center on Sentencing and Corrections. Robin holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Swarthmore College.

Sara Farley: Sara co-founded the Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI), nurturing it from a concept to an organization that today serves more than 60 countries and one that The Rockefeller Foundation designated as one of the "Top 100 Social Innovations for the next century".  Over the seven years since GKI’s founding, Sara’s cultivated more than 1000 strategic partners globally, hailing from universities, private sector, government, and civil society.  She manages design for and oversees all GKI programs, including collaborative innovation trainings, network optimization programs (e.g., formulating/ sustaining problem-solving networks), and collaborative innovation strategy setting (with partners including the World Bank, African Development Bank, etc.).  Prior to founding GKI, Sara spent a decade as an innovation strategist for the World Bank and other donor and development organizations.  She has been commissioned by national governments, and international development organizations to lead thinking, develop networks, and devise policies to strengthen developing countries' science and innovation capacity. Sara graduated with honors in Science, Technology, and Society from Stanford University’s School of Engineering where she also earned a Masters degree in International Policy Studies. Following her time at Stanford, she was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Fellow at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. 

Lewis Bollard: Lewis Bollard leads the Open Philanthropy Project’s strategy for Farm Animal Welfare. Prior to joining Open Philanthropy, he worked as Policy Advisor & International Liaison to the CEO at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Prior to that, he was a litigation fellow at HSUS, a law student, and an associate consultant at Bain & Company. He has a B.A. from Harvard University in Social Studies and a JD from Yale Law School.

Ian David Moss specializes in the alignment of evidence and action in the social sector, and has helped create frameworks that have guided the distribution of nearly $100 million in grants to date by some of the nation’s most important arts funders. Currently, he is a member of the senior leadership team at Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit technology company that serves artists and arts organizations. Ian is also founder and CEO of Createquity, a think tank and online publication investigating the most important issues in the arts. He holds BA and MBA degrees from Yale University.