Meet Our Board

Meg Porfido was Chair of Global Education Fund for ~10 years which joined forces with Girl Rising to launch GR-GEF, a four-year venture philanthropy fund. She currently serves on the board of Kaiser, a large nonprofit health plan and health care delivery system, after careers in law (in private practice in DC and Denver), government (on the Hill in DC and as COS and general counsel to Governor Romer in CO) and telecom (as part of a startup that built the initial fiber network for the Internet). She believes in the power of education and girls to change the world.

Dana is a partner in the Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) practice at EY and leader of the Americas FAAS practice. In her role as Americas FAAS lead, she guides teams to build relationships with current and future finance and sustainability leaders to serve as trusted business advisors. Dana is a passionate advocate for women and involves herself in organizations dedicated to providing exposure and leadership opportunities to women in business at all levels. She led EY’s Financial Services Professional Women’s Network, served on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bond Club, a New York professional organization for women in financial services, and is a member of C200, an organization of professional women driven by the mission to inspire, support, and advance future generations of women business leaders around the world.

Holly Gordon co-founded and co-executive produced Girl Rising, inspired by the belief that storytelling can be a transformational catalyst for long-term social change. She currently serves as the Chief Impact Officer at Participant, overseeing all development of social impact campaigns around the company’s films. Holly lives in Los Angeles with her family and a dog named Maisy.

Shabnam is an entertainment executive, producer, author, and speaker. She is co-founder and past CEO of SoulPancake, an inspiring entertainment studio that amassed 1B+ video views online and produced dozens of award-winning television, documentary, and branded series. SoulPancake was acquired by film studio Participant, where Shabnam served as an EVP. Shabnam is currently a consultant for media and entertainment startups and is independently producing a number of documentary and narrative film projects. In her early career, Shabnam was an award-winning journalist and is also a New York Times bestselling author. She is a frequent keynote speaker on the importance of joy, positive psychology, and the power of hope.

Jorge is an Investment Director at the Liechtenstein Group, an adjunct professor of Strategy at IE Business School and a board member and advisor. Before that, he served as a Senior Vice President at McKinsey & Company, as a senior executive in the banking and energy sectors, and a development banker in Africa. Jorge is passionate about other cultures - and has lived in 6 countries and traveled to more than 100. He is a voracious reader and is a big believer in the transformational power of education.

Nabila Aguele is a lawyer and public policy advisor, with an interest in sustainable development work at the intersection of human capital development and public financial management. She currently serves as a Special Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, and supports on international development cooperation; and performance monitoring and evaluation for data-driven policy formulation and implementation. A strong advocate for women’s rights and gender equality, Nabila is supporting the Ministry and its Agencies on interventions to make public financial management systems more gender responsive.

Jesus Chavez is the Managing Partner at Black//Brown, a strategic advisory focused on turning diversity into a growth engine, co-host of The Diversity Remix a podcast at the intersection of business, politics and culture and co-founder of Sandlot, a mixed-reality play brand aimed at helping kids turn any space into their own sandlot. He is a successful entrepreneur with a deep understanding of digital operations, content marketing, social platforms, business strategy and has led several organizations to scale in a digital multi-platform world.

Divya is passionate about equity, education, and storytelling. She is a Partner at Transcend, a US nonprofit that supports communities to reimagine school so all young people can thrive in and transform the world, where she leads development and communications. Before that, Divya worked in human-centered strategy, marketing, capability-building, innovation, and talent development at Monitor Deloitte, Procter and Gamble, and Liberty Mutual. She lives in Boston and loves to read, bake, sing, and explore with her husband and two children.

Kim Anstatt Morton worked as a Biotech Research Analyst on Wall Street, went back to school for a graduate degree in painting and remains a perpetual student. She is passionate about creating social justice, environmental sustainability and spiritual fulfillment through her work in gender equality, the arts and education. Kim has been fortunate to travel to over 50 countries to seek new experiences and perspectives and she loves living in San Francisco with her husband Ian, their son Baker and their lab Zavi.

Eliza is an applied anthropologist and Founder of Global Education Fund, which joined forces in 2018 with Girl Rising to launch GR GEF, a four-year venture philanthropy fund to invest in education entrepreneurs promoting gender equality.  Eliza is the Co-founder of the global human-rights award, Women Have Wings, and a delegate at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.