Scholars

Allison Coady is a Senior Development Officer at Partners In Health Canada. Allison served as the Interim Director of Major Gifts at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières-USA (MSF-USA). She joined MSF-USA as the Development Officer for Foundations, responsible for managing strategic relationships with US-based foundation donors. She has extensive international experience working on the ground in 13 African countries in the field of human rights. Prior to working at Doctors Without Borders, Allison was based in South Africa representing Canada’s International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) and served as Programs Manager for the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) in Pretoria. During her time with Rights & Democracy, Allison implemented projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations in their efforts to document human rights violations and protect the rights of Zimbabwean asylum seekers. At DHPI, Allison coordinated conflict management, good governance, and constitution-making training programs for local leaders in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Allison is a member of the associate board of ALIMA (the Alliance for International Medical Action). She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Pretoria and a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Emily Brandt is a doctoral student at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she studies non-profit and citizen participation in poverty alleviation policy implementation. She previously earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of North Texas, where her capstone project researched the Yugoslav Wars’ domestic policy implications. With eleven years of experience in non-profits working in domestic violence prevention, economic development, women’s financial independence, and arts education, Emily is passionate about sustainable non-profit growth, financial transparency, and community support for development initiatives. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Emily credits her time working with the YWCA of Armenia with igniting a passion for grassroots development, women-led initiatives, and non-profits’ role in improving lives.

Gabriella Rask has seven years of experience working for a non-governmental organization focused on supporting children without parental care and families at risk. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics at Södertörn University in Sweden followed by a Master’s degree in International Relations at Webster University in Austria. Gabriella is currently working as a Project Coordinator at SOS Children’s Villages International where her focus areas include youth participation, capacity building of child and youth care professionals, and improving outcomes for care leavers. She has worked on several EU co-funded projects, including “Training Professionals Working with Children in Care”, “Prepare for Leaving Care” and “Leaving Care”. The Prepare for Leaving Care project won the European Social Services Award in the category innovation because of the strong participation of young people as co-trainers. Working in these dynamic project teams that demanded strong organizational skills and teamwork inspired Gabriella to continuously improve and strengthen participatory approaches in the projects she works in. She is especially passionate about empowering young people with care experience to take a leading role in designing, implementing and evaluating projects and programs. Together with two of her colleagues, she is also facilitating SOS Children’s Villages International Youth Coalition, which brings together young people from around the world, to identify and advise on topics that affect their care, ensuring that their perspectives are considered in the development of programs, services and policies targeting young people.

Monica has four years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Bachelor’s degree (with honors) in International Business from Universidad Americana in Nicaragua. As a Business Development Manager at Thriive Nicaragua, Monica provides training to help micro businesses grow while having a positive impact in their communities by creating new jobs. Monica has also fostered the implementation of socially responsible practices in each of these businesses, which has resulted in more than 2,000 people being benefited through donations or capacity building. She has served as a business consultant and mentor for micro and small businesses in partnership with organizations like Teach a Man to Fish and MicroMentor, as well as universities like Cornell and Ohio University. Motivated by driving social change, Monica founded Net Impact Nicaragua, an organization of young business professionals who are committed to putting their careers to work for social impact. As part of the leadership team, she plans and leads development projects in the fields of education, women empowerment, business development, and environmental impact. Her experience has caused her to develop strong competencies in social entrepreneurship, project management, and monitoring and evaluation. Monica has a keen interest in youth development, economic empowerment, and education.

Nerissa Taylor has nearly a decade of experience leading nonprofits to achieve their mission through strategic partnership building. She currently serves as Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving at Fountain House, a nonprofit based in NYC, focused on improving health, increasing opportunity, and reducing social & economic isolation for people living with serious mental illness. Previous to joining Fountain House, Nerissa was the lead philanthropy officer at the American Red Cross in New York. Nerissa spent several years working in Washington, DC. Nerissa joined the foundation arm of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as Corporate Relations Officer. Nerissa spent nearly four years building a corporate engagement program from the ground up. Previous to this she spent three years at the National League of Cities, an organization focused on improving the lives of constituents by bringing together local elected officials. While on the Strategic Partnerships team she led strategic partnership building and multi-year partnerships between NLC, the private sector industry, and local government. Nerissa’s passion for public-private partnership building stems from her first role at the Clinton Global Initiative where she learned first-hand of the impact of bringing together the private and public sectors to create impactful social change. She is incredibly excited to be part of the Fountain House team during this critical time where the impacts of COVID-19, racial and social injustice, and social isolation have spurred national and global conversation around destigmatizing mental health. Nerissa is a graduate of Wellesley College.

Prajwal Khadka has been working as the Associate Director of Development and Partnership at Teach For Nepal (TFN) for the past eight years. He was previously selected as one of the top applicants and signed up to teach as a TFN Fellow in a rural village of Nepal for two years, where he realized that the low academic outcome of his students wasn’t merely because of classroom investment, but also of systemic issues. This grassroots experience gave him a deeper understanding of the community, social issues, and how culture, history, and politics create injustices that could be reflected in the communities. It also enhanced his leadership, interpersonal skills, and the ability to work in a cross-cultural setting. Having understood that larger community involvement was critical for change in educational outcomes, he then joined TFN’s core team where he now leads Fundraising and Public/Private Partnerships. His portfolio involves working with government officials, particularly at the Ministry of Education, private corporations of Nepal, and other agencies to enhance and support funding and collaboration necessary for TFN. Besides TFN, he has experience working on issues like LGBTI rights, leprosy patient welfare, public education improvement, and youth advocacy. He is also serving as a visiting faculty for undergraduate students.

Rachit Sharma has 10 years of diverse experiences in live events and campaigns for the nonprofit sector. Rachit is a Hotel Management graduate and holds a Master’s degree in Business Management with a specialty in Marketing. He is currently a Campaign Manager with Save the Children and has delivered successful campaigns with a focus on gender and children’s rights that have mobilized over four million people online and offline. He has led, overseen, and delivered the prestigious Centenary campaign for Save the Children with a focus on early childhood care and development. In 2015, as the National Consultant for Action/2015, a global platform of 4,000 organizations from 170 countries, Rachit delivered on the organizational ambition of spreading grassroots level awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals within India and globally. His introduction to the nonprofit sector was as a consultant with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Doctors Without Borders, where he guided their strategy and delivered their communication and fundraising-focused campaign activities in India. His professional experience started while working on delivering international sports events like the Commonwealth Games, Arab Games, and Hockey India League. Through his diverse experience in managing projects ranging from large-scale sporting festivals to cause-based marketing campaigns, he has developed a keen ability to analyze a situation from all angles, foresee challenges, and build appropriate solutions. Rachit is a storyteller who enjoys strategizing on communication and mobilization initiatives and loves to cook in his free time.

Urvashi Suraj hails from Mumbai and is currently serving as a Banyan Impact Fellow in Dewas, India. A Chartered Accountant by profession, her career has been a unique blend of corporate and social sector experiences. Prior to the fellowship, she worked on the partnerships team at a social impact startup, where she built strategic alliances with ecosystem players. She has also previously worked in the statutory audit function at KPMG, reviewing financial statements and testing internal controls of public and private limited companies. Urvashi is passionate about community-driven development and the power of collaboration to achieve impact at scale.