2026 Yale Philanthropy Conference Panelists

REFLECTION: Today’s Landscape

Innovating in the Funding Gap: Adaptation in Times of Change

Taj Tabassoom

Partner, SeaChange Capital

Michael Bochnovic
Chief of Staff, Independent Sector

Tom Schumacher
Director of Investments, Open Road Impact

Kathleen McCarthy | Moderator
Director, CUNY Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society

Philanthropy and Proximity: Capital, Community, and Accountability

Kenneth (Ken) Jones
Chief Financial Officer, MacArthur Foundation

Carlos Rojas Alvarez

Director of Executive Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, Decolonizing Wealth Project

Katherina Rosqueta | Moderator
Founding Executive Director, Center for High Impact Philanthropy

Julia Parker
Managing Director, Ujima Fund

Mission and Meaning: Messaging for Impact in Complex Times

Amanda Pinto Regan | Interactive Session Lead
Founder, Iron String Communications

EVOLUTION: Compelling Approaches to Philanthropy

Optimizing Beyond the Check: Redefining What It Means to Invest in Impact

Rich Leimsider

Director, AI for Nonprofits Sprint, Fund for the City of New York

Shawn Dove

Managing Partner, New Profit

Laura Clancy | Moderator
Senior Program Manager, Harvard School for Moral Ambition and Gambrell Foundation

Spencer Kympton
Managing Director, Nationwide Solutions Portfolio Lead, Blue Meridian

Giving circles: the power of collective action and community engagement

Emily Rasmussen
Chief Executive Officer, Grapevine

Melissa Walker

Principal Strategist, Giving Circles - States Project

Melanie Kahl | Moderator
Partner of Design, Strategy & Facilitation for Flourishing Organizations, Meld Strategy

Stephanie Alvarado
Vice President of Advancement, Liberty Hill Foundation

Endowment Strategy: perpetuity vs. urgency

Elizabeth Dale

Acting Director and Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy

Caroline Suozzi
Deputy Director, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Erin Bellissimo | Moderator
Executive Director, Swensen Asset Management Institute

OPPORTUNITY: Insights for the Future

Emerging philanthropists: the next generation of giving

Andine Sutarjadi
Senior Director, 21/64

Sid Efromovich

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Regeneration Group

Emily Thai
Deputy Director, Donor Organizer Hub
Board Member, Resource Generation

Bridging ideological divides for impactful outcomes

Tom Dillon
Senior Vice President, Pew Charitable Trusts

Amber Hacker

Vice President of External Affairs, Interfaith America

The Future of Philanthropic advising

Elizabeth Bouchard
Director of Philanthropic Strategies, Fidelity Charitable

Jordana Pleat
Managing Director of Impact-First Investments, CapShift

Kate Lewis-LaMonica
Principal, Bridgespan

Mitch Stein
Head of Strategy, Chariot