DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION - Key Persons


Abdullah Antepli

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Council
  • Chief Representative of Muslim Affairs / Duke University

Adrienne Fisher

Job Titles:
  • Director of Grants Management and Evaluation

Afsaneh Beschloss

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of PBS Foundation
  • Economist
  • Founder and CEO of RockCreek
Afsaneh Beschloss is an economist and leader in the private, public and multilateral sectors who has focused her career on harnessing the power of sustainable finance to solve some of the world's biggest challenges. A pioneer in climate policy and investments, she has found new ways to implement sustainability and inclusion into global finance for three decades. Beschloss is the founder and CEO of RockCreek, one of the world's largest diverse-owned investment firms. Previously, she was managing director and partner at the Carlyle Group. She was treasurer and chief investment officer of the World Bank and worked at J.P. Morgan. Beschloss has also worked closely with central banks and has advised governments, central banks and regulatory agencies on global public policy and financial policy, as well as renewable energy. She pioneered and led the World Bank's energy investments and policy work on areas including sustainable investing, renewable energy, power and infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions.    In addition to serving on the board of the Doris Duke Foundation, Beschloss is chair of PBS Foundation and a trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study. She also sits on the boards of the World Resources Institute; the Council on Foreign Relations; the Rockefeller Foundation, where she chairs the finance committee; and the Bretton Woods Committee, where she co-chairs the Future of Finance Working Group. She was recognized by Carnegie Corporation in its "Great Immigrants, Great Americans 2020" list and received Institutional Investor magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award. Beschloss was also listed among the "Most Powerful Women in Banking" by American Banker and in Forbes' "50 Over 50."  Beschloss earned a Master of Philosophy with honors in economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development. She is a co-author of "The Economics of Natural Gas" and author of numerous journal articles on innovations in finance for international financial institutions and energy economics, as well as renewable energy and impact investing. 

Aleena Raza

Job Titles:
  • Legal and Governance Paralegal
Aleena Raza is the legal and governance paralegal for the Doris Duke Foundation. In this capacity, she assists the general counsel and corporate secretary in administering legal affairs of the foundation, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and supporting board governance matters. Before joining the foundation, Raza worked as a senior paralegal at a transactional risk insurance company. Prior to that role, she worked as an executive receptionist and conflicts specialist for Haug Partners, LLP. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Pace University with a major in political science and a minor in peace and justice studies.

Andrew Cortese

Job Titles:
  • Accounting Manager

Angela Diaz

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Director / Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Anisa Mehdi

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Council

Anthony S. Fauci

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair
  • Vice Chair of the Doris Duke Foundation 's Board of Trustees
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022, where he oversaw an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious and immune-mediated diseases. As the longtime chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Dr. Fauci has made many seminal contributions in basic and clinical research and is one of the world's most-cited biomedical scientists. Dr. Fauci advised seven presidents and their administrations on HIV/AIDS and many other domestic and global health issues, including COVID-19. He was one of the principal architects of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has already been responsible for saving millions of lives throughout the developing world. In addition to serving as the vice chair of the Doris Duke Foundation's board of trustees, Dr. Fauci is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society as well as many other professional societies. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for his scientific and global health accomplishments, including the National Medal of Science, the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among many others. He has been awarded 58 honorary doctoral degrees and is the author, co-author or editor of more than 1,400 scientific publications, including several major textbooks.

Arthur R. Virgin

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Music

Ashley Ferro-Murray

Job Titles:
  • Program Director for the Arts
Ashley Ferro-Murray is the program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation, where she drives and oversees grantmaking and other efforts to advance the foundation's support for performing artists. Prior to joining the Doris Duke Foundation, Ferro-Murray was the senior curator of theater and dance at The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she commissioned and produced new works by artists including Laurie Anderson, Maria Hassabi, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Andrew Schneider and Sage Ni'Ja Whitson. She was a founding board member for Bienal de las Artes de Cuerpo, Imagen y Movimiento de Madrid and has served on the Simons Foundation Triangle Program Advisory Committee and as an advisor for the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance. She is also a frequent public speaker whose research has been published most recently in The Drama Review and in collections published by Bloomsbury Press and Duke University Press (forthcoming). Ferro-Murray currently serves on the New York State DanceForce, International Presenting Commons and TURBA (An International Journal of Live Arts Curation) advisory board. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in performance studies with a designated emphasis on new media.

Assal Habibi

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Research Professor of Psychology / USC Brain and Creativity Institute

Ben Weitz

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director, Shangri La
Ben Weitz' career has been built on connecting people to purpose and passion across the public and private sectors. As executive director at Shangri La, he brings deep experience in driving strategic transformation, partnerships and organizational leadership to inspire positive and impactful change. Prior to joining the Doris Duke Foundation, Weitz was UCLA's inaugural chief brand officer. His expansive background includes serving as senior vice president and general manager for Loot Crate, an e-commerce startup he led to profitability, a decade-long career at Disney spanning global roles across the enterprise marketing Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm properties and leading consumer product strategy for Disney Store and Theme Parks worldwide as well as hospitality marketing roles. He started his career at Universal Music where he established the college and lifestyle marketing function in Hawaiʻi. Weitz earned a Master of Arts at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he worked to produce Ka Leo O Nā Keiki, the Hawaiʻi Student Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use Study statewide report commissioned by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health to understand student trends and outline treatment and prevention needs across the islands. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA.

Beth Woltering

Job Titles:
  • Office Operations Manager

Brandi Glover

Job Titles:
  • Senior Program Officer for the Arts
Brandi Glover is the senior program officer for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation and works with staff to plan, implement, review and evaluate the program's goals and strategies. Prior to joining the foundation in 2018, Glover was a member and chief of staff of the arts team at Bloomberg Philanthropies. There, she oversaw the Public Art Challenge initiative, which aims to bring together mayors, artists and cultural organizations to create public art projects that address critical civic issues. She also helped to manage the arts and culture portfolio at the Nathan Cummings Foundation and reported on small business news and trends as a journalist for Fortune Small Business Magazine. Glover graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and African & African American studies. Born and raised in New York City, Glover's interest in the arts is rooted in her background in ballet and modern dance. After training at the School of American Ballet, the Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem, she performed with the New York City-based modern company Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company. In 2022, Glover was honored to co-chair the planning committee for Grantmakers in the Arts' annual conference, the leading national convening for public and private arts and culture funders in the United States. She currently sits on the board of Dance/NYC and of Durham Colored Library, Inc., a 100-year literary nonprofit started by her great-great-grandfather Dr. Aaron Moore and focused on elevating the stories and achievements of the African American community.

Brooke Jones

Job Titles:
  • As Bryn Mawr College's Chief Investment Officer, Brooke Jones Is Responsible for the Investment Management and Oversight of the College 's Endowment
  • Board Member of MITIMCo and As an Investment Committee
Prior to joining Bryn Mawr, Jones worked at Carnegie Corporation of New York as a managing director. There she co-led the foundation's marketable asset classes, including global public equity, hedge funds and fixed income. In addition, she led Carnegie's emerging markets private equity and venture portfolio. Before her tenure at Carnegie, Jones worked at the Stanford Management Company, Stanford University's endowment, on the global equities team, where she led Stanford's emerging markets public equity effort. Previously, Jones worked at Development Alternatives, an economic development consulting firm, where she focused on financial services consulting in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. In addition to serving on the board of the Doris Duke Foundation, Jones serves as a board member of MITIMCo and as an investment committee member for CBI, a family office. Jones also serves on The Baupost Group's advisory board. Finally, Jones is a CIO mentor for Accel-CIO, a program that helps ready and support senior-level diverse asset management talent to pursue CIO positions in nonprofit organizations. Previously, she served as a board member of The Wandering Scholar, a nonprofit focused on providing access to travel fellowships to exceptional high schoolers from low-income backgrounds. She was also a founding CIO mentor in PIMCO's Powering Diverse Perspectives program. Jones earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania: a Bachelor of Science in economics from Wharton and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from the College of Arts & Sciences. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Peru. Jones lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two highly spirited children. As Bryn Mawr College's chief investment officer, Brooke Jones is responsible for the investment management and oversight of the college's endowment.

Catie Marron

She is the author of three books published by HarperCollins, "Becoming a Gardener: What Reading and Digging Taught Me About Living (2022)," "City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World (2016)" and "City Parks: Public Places, Private Thoughts (2013)." While writing her first two books, Marron founded and launched Good Companies, a curated online guide to "more-than-profit" brands in which mission-driven companies strive to do good while also making a profit. This venture was shaped in part by the success of Treasure & Bond, a pop-up store that she co-founded with Nordstrom and Anna Wintour where all profits went to charities benefiting children in New York City. Prior to her career in journalism, and after graduating from Wellesley College, Marron worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, where she was vice president of corporate finance, and at Morgan Stanley. In addition to being a board member of the Doris Duke Foundation, Marron is chair emeritus and trustee of The New York Public Library and a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and of Friends of the High Line, where she served as board chair for five years.

Christopher Anthony

Job Titles:
  • Accounting Manager

Cristal Chanelle Truscott

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Northwestern University / Artistic Director / Playwright, Progress Theater

Cynthia Haidar

Job Titles:
  • Director for Investments
Cynthia Haidar is the director for investments at the Doris Duke Foundation. In this capacity, she is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities across multiple asset classes, including liquid alternative strategies, private equity, real estate and private credit investments. Prior to joining the foundation in 2021, Haidar spent over a decade at Gapstow Capital Partners, a credit-focused multi-manager and advisory firm. At Gapstow, Haidar was involved in various research and operational aspects of the business. She was responsible for portfolio and fund analysis for Gapstow's discretionary accounts and those of advisory clients. She also led the development and management of some of Gapstow's alternative credit indices and the in-depth analysis of their constituents. When Gapstow managed discretionary assets, she was a member of the firm's investment committee and valuation committee. Haidar earned a Master of Science in financial engineering from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Engineering in computer engineering from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon.

Danielle Levoit

Job Titles:
  • Senior Program Officer for the Environment
Danielle Levoit is the senior program officer for the environment at the Doris Duke Foundation. In this role, she supports grantmaking and other efforts that demonstrate how effective conservation can protect and restore nature, help address climate change and promote a more equitable society. Prior to joining the foundation in 2015, Levoit spent seven years at the Robertson Foundation working with grantees in the foundation's environmental and education portfolios. She was also a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa. Levoit holds a Master of Public Administration degree in public and nonprofit management and policy from New York University's Wagner School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from NYU's Stern School of Business. She currently serves on the board of the Biodiversity Funders Group.

David S. Wilcove

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board
  • Professor
David S. Wilcove is a professor of ecology, evolutionary biology and public affairs at Princeton University. His work focuses on the impacts of farming, logging, hunting, climate change and other human activities on biodiversity. He and his graduate students and postdoctorates have studied these issues around the world, from New Zealand to the Amazon Basin and from Siberia to Borneo.

Deeksha Jawa

Job Titles:
  • Director / People and Culture
  • Director of People
Deeksha Jawa is the director of people and culture at the Doris Duke Foundation. In this capacity, she designs, executes and oversees initiatives for employee leadership development, as well as onboarding, engagement, performance management and human relations, operations among other responsibilities. Jawa's professional journey is marked by a commitment to enhancing organizational performance and fostering positive workplace cultures. Prior to joining the foundation, she was a leader in the organizational effectiveness practice at Slalom, a leading consulting firm. In this role, she provided consulting and advisory services in change management, learning and development, team effectiveness and leadership effectiveness for organizations in the life sciences industry. Before her tenure at Slalom, she served as the director of organization development and effectiveness at the Montefiore Health System in New York. Jawa holds a master's degree in psychology and change leadership from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Panjab University. With her academic background and extensive professional experience, Jawa brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role in shaping the people and culture landscape at the Doris Duke Foundation.

Eileen Oberlander - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Controller
  • Director of Finance
  • Finance
Eileen Oberlander is the controller and director of finance for the Doris Duke Foundation and its operating foundations. Her oversight includes directing financial management, reporting and regulatory compliance across the Doris Duke organizations. Oberlander is responsible for the areas of tax, audit, investment accounting, budget and payroll administration. She evaluates and monitors the foundation's financial and operational controls for risk and compliance. Prior to joining the foundation in 2004, Oberlander was vice president, institutional segment controllers, at Prudential Financial in Newark, N.J. and vice president, corporate controllers at Deutsche Bank in New York. Oberlander has also worked in internal audit and corporate accounting for The Coca-Cola Company as well as in public accounting. Oberlander is a certified public accountant (CPA) with a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Rider University.

Eric Brettschneider

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • First Deputy Commissioner

Erica Dziedzic - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary

Job Titles:
  • Corporate Secretary
  • General Counsel

Erik Stegman

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board

Erika Rabines

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager, Investments

Felton Earls

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Emeritus Professor / Harvard Medical School

Fernanda Jiménez

Job Titles:
  • Communications Associate

Hannah Andrade-Samala

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate for Medical Research / Finance

Hind Makki

Job Titles:
  • Founder, Side Entrance Blog / Co - Founder, Muslim ARC

Hussein Rashid

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion

Jay Yoon

Job Titles:
  • Investment Associate

Jennifer Katz

Job Titles:
  • Director, Investments

John Haworth

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board
  • Senior Executive Emeritus / Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

John Orecchio

Job Titles:
  • Controller
  • Finance

John Talty

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board
John Talty has had an esteemed career in investment management and now in retirement uses these talents to serve nonprofit organizations. He was a founding partner of Seix Investment Advisors in 1992, a $20 billion institutional fixed income boutique focusing on high-yield, leveraged loans, investment grade assets and structured products. The firm was sold in 2004, and four years later he retired as president and chief investment officer. Before helping found Seix Investment Advisors, Talty worked in the institutional fixed income divisions of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley before assuming the title of chief fixed income strategist at J.P. Morgan. Talty graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to serving as a board member of the Doris Duke Foundation, Talty has been involved as a trustee or board member in other New York-based nonprofit organizations. He currently serves as a warden of Trinity Church Wall Street, where he helps oversee its $6 billion endowment. He also served 11 years on the board of Episcopal Charities of New York, including five as its president.

Jon Wagar

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Duke Farms Management Team
  • Deputy Executive Director, Duke Farms

JooYeun Chang

Job Titles:
  • Program Director for Child Well - Being

JT Batson - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Secretary General
  • Founding Partner of LUMA Capital Partners
JT Batson, CEO and secretary general of the U.S. Soccer Federation, is a seasoned media and technology executive, with substantial civic and business leadership. Previously, as a member of the U.S. Soccer Finance Committee, he led the creation of the U.S. Soccer Development Fund, raising money to support U.S. Soccer's development of world-class players, coaches and referees. Prior to leading the U.S. Soccer Federation, Batson was the CEO of Hudson MX, an advertising software company based in New York and Atlanta, which he cofounded in 2016 after serving as entrepreneur in residence for two of Silicon Valley's top-tier capital firms, Greylock Partners and Accel Partners. Batson also served as chief revenue officer of Cumulus Media, which was then the second-largest owner and operator of radio stations in the United States. He was also president of digital for Donovan Data Systems, spearheading the company's merger with Mediabank to create the advertising technology company Mediaocean. Earlier in his career, Batson was executive vice president of revenue and global development at the now publicly traded Rubicon Project (RUBI). Batson is a founding partner of LUMA Capital Partners and is co-chair of the Undergraduate Social Life Task Force at Stanford University, where he holds a bachelor's degree in political science and was awarded the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award. In addition to his role as a board member of the Doris Duke Foundation, Batson sits on the boards for StartOut, a nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, and the New York City Ballet.

Kamaria Buchanan

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate for the Arts

Karen Jacobsen

Job Titles:
  • Board Liaison

Kayla Reardon - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Assistant to the President
  • CEO
  • Finance

Kealoha Fox

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board

Keri Rice

Job Titles:
  • Senior Finance Associate / Finance

Kevin Sia

Job Titles:
  • Program Officer for Medical Research

Kimber Bogard

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Advisory Board Chair / Senior Vice President of Strategy and Programs

Lauren Belsky

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate for the Environment

Lauren van Schilfgaarde

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board
  • Director / Tribal Legal Development Clinic / UCLA School of Law
  • Tribal Law Specialist / Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Leena Bhutta - Chief Investment Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Investment Officer

Linda Artola

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate for the Building Bridges Program / Environment

Linda Diamond

Job Titles:
  • Grants Manager

Linda Schupack

Job Titles:
  • Chief Influence and Marketing Officer

Lisa Yeh

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager, Investments

Liz Wyner

Job Titles:
  • Program Officer for Child Well - Being

Lynn Pipitone

Job Titles:
  • Accounting Manager

Léa Major

Job Titles:
  • Deputy Director, Shangri La

Margaret Waldock

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Duke Farms Management Team
  • Executive Director, Duke Farms

Marie Lynn Miranda

Marie Lynn Miranda is an accomplished and recognized data science scholar and communicator with more than 145 peer-reviewed publications focused on the nexus of health, education, equity and the environment. Dr. Miranda specializes in spatial analytic approaches, especially targeted at understanding how the environment and resource allocation shapes health and well-being among children. She is a professor of applied and computational mathematics and statistics at the University of Notre Dame and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at Duke University and Indiana University. Prior to these roles, Miranda served as provost at the University of Notre Dame and Rice University, leading both institutions through significant strategic evolutions and diversity initiatives, and she was dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Dr. Miranda founded and continues to lead the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI), a research, education and outreach program committed to fostering environments where all people can prosper. CEHI maximizes the use of research, stakeholder engagement and advocacy to effect environmental policy change, and in 2008, the organization received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Achievement Award for these efforts. Dr. Miranda is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Duke University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and economics and was named a Truman Scholar. She has a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts from Harvard University, where she held a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of Sigma Xi. In addition to serving on the board of the Doris Duke Foundation, Dr. Miranda sits on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Marissa Sarden

Job Titles:
  • Finance Associate

Mary Schmidt Campbell - President

Job Titles:
  • President
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., is president emerita of Spelman College, a leading women's college dedicated to the education and global leadership of Black women. Before coming to Spelman, she served for over two decades as dean of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. An art historian and former curator, Campbell began her career in New York as executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the country's first accredited Black fine arts museum and a linchpin in Harlem's redevelopment. She served as commissioner of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs under two mayors, and in 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her vice chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and currently sits on the boards of Unity Technologies and the American Museum of Natural History as well as serving as a trustee of the Doris Duke Foundation. In 2017, Campbell was appointed to the Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments and Markers in the city of New York. She completed a biography of Romare Bearden for Oxford University Press in 2018 and contributed an essay to "Are the Arts Essential?" published by New York University Press in 2022. Campbell received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Swarthmore College, a master's degree in art history from Syracuse University and a doctorate in humanities from Syracuse. She and her husband, Dr. George Campbell Jr., president emeritus of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, are the parents of three sons and have eight grandchildren.

Maurine Knighton

Job Titles:
  • Chief Program Officer / Environment

Maxine Hayes

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Clinical Professor / University of Washington School

Nannerl O. Keohane

Job Titles:
  • Administrator
Nannerl O. Keohane is a political philosopher and university administrator who has taught at Swarthmore College, Stanford University, Wellesley College, Duke University and Princeton University. She is currently a faculty affiliate of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford University. Dr. Keohane also served as president of Duke University from 1993 to 2004 and of Wellesley College from 1981 to 1993, and she has been a school visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.

Nicole Cruz

Job Titles:
  • People and Culture Manager

Nikki Pitre

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board
  • Executive Director / Center for Native American Youth

Nora Schnure

Job Titles:
  • Deputy Executive Director of Personnel and Programs, Duke Farms

Phenisher Harris

Job Titles:
  • Grants Systems and Information Manager

Puni Jackson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board
  • Program Director

Rosemary Chalk

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board

Rosie Vasen

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate for Child Well - Being

Sacha Spector

Job Titles:
  • Program Director for the Environment

Samsher (Sam) Singh Gill - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • President
Samsher (Sam) Singh Gill is the third president and CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF), a New York-headquartered, national philanthropic organization that operates five national grantmaking programs-in the performing arts, the environment, medical research, child and family well-being, and mutual understanding between communities-as well as Duke Farms and Shangri La, two centers that serve the public directly. Prior to joining DDF in April 2021, Gill was senior vice president and chief program officer at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he oversaw more than $100 million in annual grantmaking across the foundation's programs, in addition to managing Knight's research and assessment portfolio and its grants administration function. Previously, he also served as vice president of Freedman Consulting, LLC. Gill also served on the board of the Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami and on the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, a project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He attended the University of Chicago and the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. A native of Minnesota, Gill lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his wife, Maira Reimão, and their two children.

Shavaughna Underwood

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board

Sindy Escobar Alvarez

Job Titles:
  • Program Director for Medical Research

Stephanie Carnright

Job Titles:
  • Event Manager

Stephanie Fryberg

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indigenous Peoples Portfolio Advisory Board
  • Professor of Psychology

Vishakha N. Desai - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Senior Advisor for Global Affairs
Vishakha N. Desai is senior advisor for global affairs to the president of Columbia University, where she is also chair of the Committee on Global Thought and senior research scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs. Prior to joining Columbia University, Dr. Desai served as the president and CEO of the Asia Society from 2004 to 2012, where she expanded the organization's programs such as the Asia 21 Young Leaders initiative. In this role, she also established centers and new offices in India and Korea as well as a new Center on U.S.-China Relations, and inaugurated two new architecturally distinguished facilities in Hong Kong and Houston, Texas. Before becoming the leader of Asia Society, Dr. Desai served as the senior vice president and director of its museum and launched a robust program of contemporary Asian and Asian American arts though major exhibitions, performances and publications. Dr. Desai is a noted scholar of South Asian art and history, and she is well known for her leadership in presenting contemporary Asian art to American audiences, as well as for her focus on exploring the intersection of culture and politics. In 2012, in recognition of Dr. Desai's leadership in the museum field, President Barack Obama appointed her to the National Museum and Library Services Board. An author of major exhibition catalogs and scholarly publications, Dr. Desai recently published a memoir, "World as Family: A Journey of Multi-Rooted Belongings" (Columbia University Press, 2021), which articulates the need for a capacious sense of global belonging. In addition to serving on the board of the Doris Duke Foundation, Dr. Desai sits on the board of directors of Krea University, considered one of India's top private liberal arts universities, and on the corporate board of Mahindra & Mahindra, one of India's largest corporations. She is the past chair of AFS International and has served on the boards of the Brookings Institution, the College Art Association and the Association of Art Museum Directors. Dr. Desai is a recipient of five honorary degrees from U.S. universities, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Bombay University, as well as a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in Asian art history from the University of Michigan.

William H. Wright II - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board
  • Chairman of the Board of Trustees
  • Expert
William H. Wright is an expert in investment banking, finance and corporate governance. Most recently, he was a managing director at Morgan Stanley. Wright retired in 2010 after 28 years with the firm. During his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, he was head of corporate finance execution, where he was responsible for leading and coordinating teams in the implementation of complex equity offerings for multinational corporations. He also served for two years as worldwide director of the firm's Financial Analyst Program and was a trustee of the Morgan Stanley Foundation. Wright has been consulted on securities regulation reform by the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services. He has also served on the faculties of the Ray Garrett Institute of the Northwestern University School of Law and the Practising Law Institute. In addition to being chair of the board of trustees at the Doris Duke Foundation, Wright sits on the board of Mount Sinai Health System Inc. and its seven member institutions, and he is a member of the board of directors of the New York City Ballet, where he serves as co-chairman of the New Combinations Fund and is chair of the Diversity, Equity and Belonging Committee. Wright has also served as senior warden of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and is currently a vestryman of Trinity Church Wall Street. In 2012, the Bishop of New York appointed him as a trustee of the diocese where he served as the first chairman of the finance committee. He is also treasurer and a member of the board of trustees of Historic Hudson, as well as of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, where he became board chairman in October 2010. In 2000, Wright was elected a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Wright received a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale University, where he continues to be involved and served on the board of directors of the Yale Alumni Fund until 2001. He was also awarded the Yale Medal, which is the highest honor afforded to alumni for distinguished service to the university. Wright also received a master's degree in business administration from the Darden School of the University of Virginia, where he was named the Thomas I. Storrs Fellow, received the C. Stewart Sheppard Award for public service and was elected to the Raven Society.

William Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Director of Production and Events / Operations

Yusuf Ali

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Network Coordinator, Vital Village Network / Boston Medical Center

Zeyba Rahman

Job Titles:
  • Director for the Building Bridges Program