Ana Marie is president of HIP. She is a second-term Candid trustee, having started with Foundation Center’s board in 2015.

Before HIP, Ana Marie joined the Ford Foundation in 2014 as a senior advisor for the Equitable Development Team. She focused on urban development, strategies to reduce poverty, expand economic opportunity, and advance sustainability worldwide. She served five years as deputy chief of staff and deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), creating the Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation (IPI). The IPI model of sourcing innovation and leveraging partnerships from broad global networks is being successfully replicated at other federal agencies and in cities nationwide. She spent eight years as a senior program officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, spearheading work in rural areas, indigenous communities, and the US-Mexico border region.

Ana Marie was an adjunct professor of international urban planning at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. She has worked successfully within the public and nonprofit sectors in a range of capacities – from educational programs manager at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, to director of the New Workplace for women project at the National Council of La Raza, to deputy director of Ayuda, a community based legal clinic serving immigrants in Washington DC. She is an entrepreneurial thinker, bridging diverse agendas and achieving results.

Ana Marie received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University and her master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Esther Benjamin has been a global leader in business, government, and non-profit organizations for more than 25 years working in over 100 countries. She is currently CEO and Executive Director of World Education Services. She is a Visiting Fellow with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She joined Candid’s board in 2022. 

Previously, Esther worked with Laureate Education as CEO for Africa Operations and then as SVP for Global Public Affairs. Esther served in President Obama’s Administration as Peace Corps Associate Director for Global Operations. 

Earlier in her career, Esther was CFO and then VP for Business Development at the International Youth Foundation. She was Executive Director for Resource Development at the International Partnership for Microbicides. She worked on the Brookings Institution’s publication The World Bank: Its First Half Century. She worked in management consulting with Grant Thornton. 

In 1999, President Clinton appointed Esther a White House Fellow. Esther was also a United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Somalia. 

Dickinson College awarded Esther an honorary doctorate in International Education. She holds master’s degrees in International Affairs and Applied Economics from American University, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from North Central College where she is a Trustee. 

Esther serves on the Board of Directors of Echoing Green and B Lab Global. She received the 2021 Fulbright Award for Global Leadership from One to World. New York Times best-selling author Wes Moore profiled Esther as “The Globalist” in his book The Work: Searching for a Life that Matters. 

Melissa is the founding president and former CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc., an innovative nonprofit philanthropy service launched by the Rockefeller family in 2002. She is a second-term Candid trustee, having joined Foundation Center’s board in 2015.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors helps donors create effective philanthropy. It is one of the world’s leading philanthropic advisory, grantmaking, research, and project management services. It annually manages or facilitates over $400 million in giving to more than 25 countries.

Melissa has been a guest lecturer at universities across the world, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, IMD, Sciences Po, Oxford, Sun-Yat Sen, and Beijing Normal universities. A widely recognized expert in philanthropy, she has been profiled in the New York Times and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Her views are featured in the Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has been interviewed on the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, NPR, BBC Radio, CNBC-TV, and Bloomberg TV.

An adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Business School, Melissa is also a director/trustee of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Marshall Center for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics and the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School.

Melissa holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Kami Dar is an impact-focused leader and expert on systems, automation, data analytics, and talent management in the global development and impact sector. He is currently co-founder and chief executive of Uniti Networks, a startup seeking to accelerate digital service adoption among the bottom billion with a focus on equitable access and impact. Kami joined Candid’s board in 2021.

Previously, Kami served as co-founder and innovator-in-chief at the media platform for global development, Devex, where he spent nearly two decades leading a team of analysts, researchers, engineers, and designers to deliver the world-class technologies that made Devex the definitive hub for more than a million development professionals.

He has worked closely with external development partners, including Oxfam and the World Bank, and tackled complex integrations and strategic alignment with a diverse group of technology partners and platforms ranging from ERP and analytics to agile management and algorithmically-driven solutions for mapping of development activities.

Earlier, Kami worked on systems consulting and product deployment with the U.S. Government at a large technology consulting firm. He subsequently worked on the design and development of a monitoring & evaluation (M&E) platform for a $54 million USAID program.

Kami advises organizations engaged in large-scale system change in pursuit of the Global Goals. He still serves on the Devex Board of Directors as well as the European Board of WorldReader -- a leader in digital reading in under-served communities worldwide -- and the board of AfricaWorks, a non-profit supporting expertise and talent on the African continent.

Naila is CEO for the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF), a membership-based association of foundations and philanthropic entities across the Arab region. She joined Candid’s board in 2020.

Naila became CEO at AFF in 2014, at a time of upheaval for the organization and the Arab region. She successfully revitalized the network by increasing its geographic footprint, growing membership, increasing funding, and creating global visibility for the network. Naila also chairs the board of the WINGS Network (Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support), a global membership association of 130 members in 45 countries. She serves on the boards of ArteEast (New York), the Resource Alliance (global), and The Family Hub (Egypt). 

With over 20 years of experience in philanthropy management, project management, media production, and strategic communication, Naila is a Peabody Award-winning executive whose career spans several continents.

Prior to AFF, Naila managed Sesame Workshop’s multi-media Sesame Street co-productions in 17 countries. She has also worked on a wide range of projects as a Media and Communications consultant.

Naila consulted for the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo. She is widely published, including co-authoring a chapter for the book “Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and other Nonprofit Boards: Lessons from Around the World,” published by Wiley.

Naila grew up mostly in Cairo, Egypt, and has lived in Kenya, New York, Washington DC, Jordan, Switzerland, and South Africa. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the American University in Cairo.

Rosa has been director of the Spanish Association of Foundations since 2001.  The association represents 1,000 members and advocates for foundations in Spain. She joined Candid’s board in 2020.

Rosa is responsible for the association’s international activities and regional groups. She is also involved in data-gathering initiatives of the foundation sector in Spain, where the Spanish Association of Foundations is the leading organization in the field. She helped create the Global Philanthropy Data Charter launched by WINGS (Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support). Like Candid trustee Naila Farouky, Rosa serves on the WINGS board. Rosa is an expert in foundation accounting standards and participates in groups related to this.

From 2009 to 2017, Rosa served as chairperson of DAFNE (Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe) which gathers 24 associations of foundations and funders from across Europe, representing more than 6,000 foundations.

Rosa’s professional experience started at AFS (American Field Service), an international association in the field of education, leading a project to promote intercultural education in the Spanish educational system. Between 1999 and 2001, she held the position of Secretary General of the International Young Naturefriends (INYF) in Brussels, an international nonprofit youth organization with members in more than 19 European countries. The IYNF’s mission is to connect and inspire Young Naturefriends for living values of respect, solidarity, equality, sustainability, and love and care for nature.

Rosa studied business administration at Universidad Complutense in Madrid, with a semester of International Business Studies at the Hanzehogeschool in Groningen, The Netherlands.

Matthew Gee is the Director of the U.S. Program's Data strategy at the Gates Foundation. He and brings a wealth of experience in deploying the tools of data science and AI to tackle societal challenges. His work has consistently bridged the gap between innovative technological solutions and real-world impact.

Matt is also co-founder and CEO at BrightHive, a public benefit corporation that designs, develops, and manages data collaboratives. BrightHive works with public and private-sector collaboratives to put in place a legal, technical, and governance framework called a data trust, empowering collectives of organizations to responsibly share, integrate, and use their respective data sources for a combined purpose. He joined Candid’s board in 2020.

Matt is a Data and Society Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Knowledge Lab and the co-founder of the Data Science for Social Good fellowship, funded by Schmidt Futures. Matt has led dozens of major research and open innovation initiatives in interoperability, data governance, machine learning, and AI.

Prior to BrightHive, Matt worked at the US Treasury, University of Chicago’s Center for Data Science and Public Policy, and founded several companies using data to improve society. He's served as an advisor to Code for America, DataKind, and the World Bank, and currently serves on the board of Candid.

Matt is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the University of Chicago.

Stephen is the chair of the board of directors at 60 Decibels, a social impact measurement enterprise. He is the retired president and CEO of J.D. Power and Associates, a leading market research firm specializing in customer satisfaction and buyer behavior. He is a first-term Candid trustee, having joined the board with GuideStar in 2019.

Steve started his career at J.D. Power in 1978 and opened the company’s first satellite office in Detroit, Michigan, in 1988. He was named president in 1996 and served as president and CEO until 2008. During this time, he led J.D. Power’s global expansion and diversification into industries beyond automotive. He oversaw the sale of the company to The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. in 2005. Currently, Steve is an investor and board member in Outsell Inc., a research and advisory firm specializing in publishing, information, and technology, as well as several other early-stage private companies. Steve also serves as the founder and president of a small education-focused charitable foundation.

He received a B.S. in business administration, marketing, and a B.A. in psychology from California State University, Chico. He also has an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

An accomplished team builder, convener, and leader, Romanita draws on over two decades of experience in the nonprofit, for-profit, board service, and philanthropic sectors to inform and animate her leadership of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and stewardship of the private nonprofit foundation’s mission. She joined Candid’s board in 2023.

Romanita gained a deep understanding of nonprofit service, management, and leadership as she held a variety of roles at World Vision, serving millions of beneficiaries and nonprofits across the United States, including as vice president of US programs for a decade.

In 2016 she joined the Murdock Trust as a program director working with nonprofits and leaders across various sectors. Romanita collaborated with staff and constituents to develop enrichment programs and convenings designed to serve the diverse needs of the region and served on national convenings and working groups.

Romanita joined Microsoft in 2018 where she led a global effort focused on understanding how to improve employability in higher education through technical skilling and workforce partnerships. She also lead the technical content portfolio management team responsible for skilling Microsoft global audience as well as her department’s DEI efforts focusing on building community and greater cultural competence.

Romanita graduated from the University of Washington and earned an MBA in global development and nonprofit management from Eastern University in Philadelphia. She founded MORE320, a nonprofit consulting company supporting organizations as they seek to effect social change. An active volunteer, Romanita has served on numerous boards leading up to her role with the Trust.  

Neal is the vice president of Programs at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan. With offices and staff in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, the Mott Foundation provides approximately $140 million in grants annually to promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. Neal joined Mott in January 2000 and held a series of portfolios and positions within the Programs department and was appointed vice president of Programs in 2011. Neal works closely with staff, trustees and senior management to design, implement and oversee grantmaking strategies in the Mott Foundation’s four program areas which include Flint, Education, Civil Society and Environment. He is a second-term Candid trustee, having started with Foundation Center in 2014.

Before joining the Mott Foundation, he worked for several nonprofit and community-based agencies, including the Capital Area Literacy Coalition in Lansing, Michigan, where he witnessed the power of volunteerism and community service while managing a dedicated volunteer group of AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in service to America).

Neal currently is a member of the Michigan State University Political Science Advisory Board and the Michigan Office of Foundation Liaison Advisory Committee. He previously served as the chair of the Council of Michigan Foundations.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree from Michigan State University.

In 2022, Deborah was appointed CEO of Entrepreneurship Education Consortium, the Northeast Ohio hub for university-based entrepreneurship, innovation programming and ecosystem development.  Previously, Deborah served as president and CEO of Burton D. Morgan Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship.  She is a three-term Candid trustee as of 2014.  

Deborah was instrumental in Morgan Foundation’s Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program, a Kauffman Campuses℠ Initiative, spreading entrepreneurship across campuses; and in developing NEOLaunchNET, a five-campus programs network supporting student venture creation.  She spearheaded the decision to establish the Entrepreneurship Education Experiment, a research institute that advances entrepreneurship education through leading-edge research and programs. Deborah received the Northeast Ohio EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014.

From 2013 to 2015, Deborah chaired the Fund for Our Economic Future, a philanthropic collaborative advancing Northeast Ohio’s economic competitiveness. She serves on the boards of the Bounce Innovation Hub, Team NEO, and the Norman Rockwell Museum. She is co-chair of the international Deshpande Symposium focused on entrepreneurship and higher education.  

Deborah earned her B. A. from Williams College, master’s in art history from the University of Chicago, and master’s in cultural history from Kent State University, a J.D. degree at George Washington University and is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, and Ohio. She completed Harvard Business School’s "Governing for Non-Profit Excellence Executive Education Program" and “Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations.” She holds an honorary doctorate from Baldwin Wallace University.

Kenneth Jones is the senior vice president and chief operating officer of the MacArthur Foundation. He is responsible for all aspects of the finance, accounting, tax, audit, information technology, grants management, administrative services, core services and facilities functions for the Foundation. He also serves as the Chief Equity Officer for the Foundation. Ken joined Candid’s board in 2021.

Prior to joining the MacArthur Foundation, Ken was the vice president and chief financial officer for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. He traveled extensively in Africa and Southeast Asia as CFO for Danya International, a public health and education organization and Jhpiego, a nonprofit international health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. Ken previously held corporate finance positions at Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Corporation and Prudential.

Ken received his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a master’s degree in economics from the University at Buffalo and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

Ken serves on the boards of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, the Mission Investors Exchange, the Joint Center, the Thurgood Marshall Academy, the Southern Education Foundation, the Center for Urban Families, and Corus. He is a Who’s Who Black Baltimore recipient, Arthur Vining Davis Fellow for the Aspen Ideas Festival, Presidential Scholar at Concordia College – New York, Smart CEO Magazine Executive Management Award recipient as well as a DCA Live Star CFO awardee. Ken was in the 2nd Cohort of the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways Program, 2021 ABFE James Joseph Lecturer and a 2022 Daniel Burnham Fellow (Chicago Leadership).

Mosun Layode is a development professional with two decades of experience in international development and nonprofit leadership. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the African Philanthropy Forum (APF) where she works extensively across Africa with established and emerging philanthropists who are committed to the sustainable and inclusive development of Africa. She joined Candid’s board in 2020. 

Mosun was instrumental to the establishment of APF as an independent entity in Africa, increasing its reach and impact in the philanthropic community, as well as growing its brand and membership base. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director of WIMBIZ and LEAP Africa, leading nonprofits in Nigeria. Passionate about the interplay of social issues and business, Mosun founded Social Runway, a nonprofit organization that supports social innovators. She has also served as an independent development consultant for nonprofit organizations.

Mosun currently sits on nonprofit boards, is an alumna of the United States International Visitors Leadership Program and was identified by Forbes as one of the black women to watch in philanthropy.

Mosun studied Urban and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, and obtained an MSc. in Environmental Resources Management from Lagos State University. She has an MBA from Lagos Business School and benefited from Executive Programs offered by the IESE Business School, Barcelona, and Harvard Business School.

Rhett became a member of Candid’s board in 2020. He joined The Duke Endowment in 1992 as associate director of the Health Care program area. In 1998, he was named Director of Child Care. During his tenure as Director of the Child Care, Rhett played a key role in redefining the Endowment’s approach to children’s services. The foundation expanded its Child Care beneficiary list beyond residential group care to include prevention and early intervention providers such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, child advocacy centers, child abuse prevention agencies and, under certain circumstances, the public child welfare system. 

Rhett also helped lay the groundwork for a multi-million-dollar public-private effort to extend the Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting program’s services to thousands of first-time mothers across South Carolina. It marked the nation’s first Pay for Success project aimed at improving health outcomes for mothers and children in poverty.

Rhett was named vice president of the Endowment in 2009 and became president in July 2016. As president, he has begun carrying out the Board of Trustees’ vision for an organization-wide strategic focus on early childhood. He has also collaborated with program staff to refine grantmaking strategies and seek new ways to produce measurable impact and social change.

Rhett has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Master of Health Administration from Duke University. He has served on the North Carolina Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council and is a past board chair of the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

Donna Murray-Brown is the former VP of Strategy and Development of the National Council of Nonprofits. Donna leads the growth core resources through practical and impactful strategic initiatives that integrate the knowledge, policy, and advocacy competencies and support the network in advancing those strategic initiatives.

Donna was introduced to the nonprofit sector while serving on the United Way for Southeastern Michigan's advisory board. After transitioning from a 20+ year banking career, she initially led the work of the Metro Detroit Partnership Office for Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA), a statewide membership organization providing nonprofits with advocacy, training, technology services, and civic engagement initiatives.

In 2013, Donna became president and CEO of the MNA. and is credited for being a bold and inclusive leader who created space for groundbreaking initiatives, including a Census 2020 Michigan complete count initiative, COVID-19 mitigation programs and strategies supporting nonprofit leaders of color.

Twice honored as a NonProfit Times Power and Influence Top 50 leader in the nonprofit sector, Donna was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business in 2021 as one of the Most Influential Women in Michigan. She serves on the Board for Candid and Detroit Public TV, and on the Leadership Council for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University.

She is a first-generation college graduate earning a master's degree in Community Development from the University of Detroit Mercy and a BS in Business Administration from Central State University. She holds professional certifications from Boston College and Harvard Business School.

Brian is a Partner in the New York office of Bridges Fund Management, a leading global impact investment firm with more than $1B in assets under management. Brian has more than 15 years of impact investing experience, having served until 2012 as chief investment officer of Acumen, a global fund that invested in companies delivering health, water, energy, and agriculture services in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a first-term Candid trustee, having joined with GuideStar in 2016. 

Brian was also a co-founding board member of Impact Capital Managers, a network of market-rate impact investors in North America; the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE); and, a principal architect of the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS). Before Acumen Fund, Brian worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, was a lead environmental staff person at the Corporation for National Service and was involved in a range of nonprofit and for-profit start-ups. 

 Brian has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and an M.A. in city and regional planning from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Kauffman Fellows of the Center for Venture Education and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He teaches social entrepreneurship to M.A. students at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School.

Angela F. Williams is President and CEO of United Way Worldwide.   

With over 30 years of leadership in the nonprofit and corporate sectors, Williams brings a long history of purpose-driven work to her role at United Way Worldwide. Angela joined Candid’s board in 2022. 

She was named to Forbes’ 2021 List of Women 50 Over 50 Creating Social Change at Scale and presented with a 2021 CEO Today Healthcare Award.    

Angela was raised in a military family and served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) for over six years following her graduation from the University of Texas School of Law.  

She was executive vice president, general counsel, and chief administration officer at YMCA of the USA. 

She also served on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate Judiciary Committee staff as special counsel on criminal law, prosecutor on the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s National Church Arson Task Force, and an Assistant U.S. Attorney. 

Angela was vice president and deputy general counsel for Sears Holdings Corp, chief compliance and ethics officer after working at Bryan Cave law firm, and interfaith liaison for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. 

A native of Anderson, South Carolina, Angela earned a BA in American government from the University of Virginia, a JD from the University of Texas School of Law and a MDiv cum laude from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University. 

Angela resides in Chicago with her husband, the Reverend Roderick Williams. She is a volunteer pastor at Chicago Apostolic Center.