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.

Diana Barrett was on the Faculty of Harvard University from 1975 until2004. She was a member of the Social Enterprise core group where she taught Business Leadership in the Social Sector as well as in Executive Programs. She received both her Masters in Business
Administration and her Doctorate in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. Dr. Barrett has assisted the Ministries of Health in countries like Colombia, India, and Mexico in initiating programs for physicians and other healthcare providers.

In 2005 she founded  The Fledgling Fund, a private
foundation that works at the intersection of film and social change, providing grants to filmmakers who believe that their documentary films can ignite or sustain social change

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kim Mughal is Vice President at Hodes Weill & Associates, a global capital advisory firm focused on real estate, infrastructure, and other real assets. She is responsible for communicating with institutional investors and consultants in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern region of the US, focused on understanding their investment needs and helping them forge meaningful connections in the market. Kim’s appetite for connecting people extends outside the office, always seeking ways to elevate others and find points of common connection. She is passionate about education, storytelling, and authentic networking to build bridges between people, cultures, and organizations. Kim enjoys running marathons with a goal of completing all six world majors (three stars so far!), exploring restaurants with her fiancé (especially Italian cuisine), and spending time with their pup, Leo, a 14-year-old cocker spaniel pit bull mix.

Nikhil Taneja is a multi-award winning writer, producer, storyteller, entrepreneur, teacher and youth mental health advocate. He’s the co-founder and Chief of Yuvaa, India’s first Gen Z-driven youth media, research and impact organization. He is also the creator and host of Be A Man, Yaar!, a one-of-a-kind chat show about positive masculinity.

Nikhil has previously led creative teams across Yash Raj Films, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and MTV India, and found most joy in being a professor of journalism at Jai Hind College, Mumbai. Most of Nikhil's work has been creating content, web & TV shows as well as movies on and around urgent issues like mental health, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights, including creative producing the 6 Pack Band, India's first transgender pop group, which won the Cannes Grand Prix Glass Lion Award. Nikhil was also the first South Asian to have served on the Global Advisory Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations’ emerging leaders community, Goalkeepers.

Victoria Gonin is a strategic and highly collaborative leader with extensive experience in corporate, higher education administration, and women’s leadership programming. Victoria began her career in advertising with Young and Rubicam and BBDO before transitioning to the publishing field with IDG publications, and as a managing director of RGP, a global consulting firm. In 2013, Victoria pivoted to higher education, taking on roles such as Deputy Director of Alumni Relations at Dartmouth College and Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Volunteer Services at MIT. As a certified leadership coach, Victoria is dedicated to fostering leadership development and growth for women leaders. She co-founded Womenade Boston, an early women's giving circle, and serves on the board of Inspiring Girls USA. Victoria also mentors young female leaders through She-Can, helping to build the leadership skills needed to change their nations and the world. An avid traveler, Victoria enjoys hiking, yoga, cross-country skiing, and e-biking in her free time.