Our Leadership
Global Fund for Women is made up of a remote, global, and diverse team of dedicated individuals. Our staff, board members, and advisors are based around the world.
Board of Directors
PeiYao Chen
President & CEO
Caroline Barlerin
Board Co-chair
Dayna Ash
Board Co-chair
Theresa Preston-Werner
Secretary and Chair of Development Committee
Lulú Barrera
Chair of Program Committee
Kate Onyejekwe
Chair of Finance Committee
Mekala Krishnan
Chair of the Audit Committee
Anu Menon
Chair of the Governance Committee
Executive Team
PeiYao Chen
President & CEO
Craig Sarsony
Senior VP, Global Operations
Abby Smardon
VP, Development and Co-lead, Global Partnerships
Regina Tamés
VP, Programs & Co-lead, Global Partnerships
Jillian Becerra
VP of People & Culture
Jennifer Mulch
VP, Finance & Accounting
Our Leadership Legacy
PeiYao Chen became President and CEO of Global Fund for Women in January 2024.
Latanya Mapp Frett served as Global Fund for Women as President and CEO from July 2019 until 2023. Under Latanya’s leadership, the organization underwent a bold strategic shift to support gender justice movements. During her tenure, Latanya oversaw our largest grantmaking year ever; and authored the book “The Everyday Feminist: The Key to Sustainable Social Impact-Driving Movements We Need Now More than Ever.”
Musimbi Kanyoro joined the organization in 2011, serving as President and CEO until 2019. Under her leadership, Global Fund for Women celebrated a major milestone – surpassing $140 million in total grantmaking. Musimbi focused the organization’s program areas and added more comprehensive learning, monitoring, and evaluation.
Kavita Ramdas became CEO in 1996, serving until 2010. Under Kavita’s leadership, Global Fund for Women experienced unprecedented growth, with assets increasing from $6 million to $21 million. Her powerful advocacy and thought leadership won hearts and minds, and mobilized resources and attention for women's rights.
In March 2014, Global Fund for Women and the International Museum of Women (IMOW) merged. The merger brought together Global Fund for Women's powerful grantmaking and advocacy expertise with IMOW's skills in awareness raising, online campaigns, and digital storytelling. IMOW was founded in 1997, led by Founding President Elizabeth Colton, and evolved into an innovative online museum inspiring creativity, awareness, and action on vital global issues for women. Elizabeth joins the lineage of founders of the merged organization.
Founding member Anne Firth Murray served as our Founding President from 1986 to 1996. Anne established Global Fund for Women as a leader in women’s rights funding and expertise.
Global Fund for Women Spokespeople
Our expert spokespeople are available to speak on topics including funding grassroots feminist organizations, the latest issues in global gender justice, feminist philanthropy, and how shifting resources to grassroots movements helps advance political, cultural, and economic systems change. Please reach out if you are interested in having a Global Fund for Women speaker at an upcoming event.
Our Commitment to Integrity and Ethics
We commit to work ethically and collaboratively, listen to one another and our stakeholders, and hold ourselves accountable not only for what we do but also for how we do it. Global Fund for Women observes the highest standards of ethics in the conduct of our work, practices honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities, and complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are bound to our Code of Conduct and encouraged to speak up when something is not right.