We need a revolution. Women’s representation is a critical value-add and is vital to our progress in solving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research shows that when women engage in shaping policies and institutions, communities have greater access to health, education, and sustainable water services. Yet, despite this success and the critical role women play in designing and executing successful systemic change solutions, they remain largely undermined, underfunded, and underrepresented in key roles and negotiations.
Capitalism will not evolve and become a force for good if our mindset and approach does not change. And that starts with seeing more diverse women in leadership and the boardroom—driving decisions on the future of philanthropy, capital markets, and our society, and determining how billions in capital will be used to tangibly move the needle against some of the greatest issues of our time such as inequality, and the global water and climate crisis.
This session was curated in partnership with WaterEquity.
Ms. Sylvana Q. Sinha, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Praava Health, is a Bangladeshi-American lawyer and entrepreneur. Ms. Sinha built Praava Health from scratch after experiencing the challenges facing the Bangladeshi health system first-hand. Praava’s “brick-and-click” healthcare platform integrates digital health and in-clinic experiences convenient to where everyone lives, works, and clicks. Tripling growth every year since launching in 2018, Praava’s tech-forward model is designed to be efficient, accessible, and scalable across emerging markets, where 85 percent of the world live. In 2020, Praava was recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea. Praava Health is a patient-driven company disrupting the standard for healthcare for Bangladesh’s 170 million citizens. Ms. Sinha is Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a graduate of Columbia Law School, Harvard's Kennedy School, and Wellesley College.
Mandira Reddy is the Director for Investment Analytics at Capricorn. She joined Capricorn in 2013. Prior to Capricorn, Mandira served in various portfolio management and corporate finance roles at Intel Capital and Intel. Mandira received her M.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and an M.B.A. from T.A. Pai Management Institute in India. Mandira is also a CFA charter holder.
Kristen Venick is the Director of Corporate Giving for Niagara Bottling, LLC. Niagara Cares, the corporate giving arm of Niagara Bottling, supports organizations that are using innovative ways to address the global problem of clean water and sanitation for all. They also partner with organizations that provide educational opportunities for vulnerable children in the communities where Niagara team members live and work. Ms. Venick is also a pediatric nurse practitioner and continues to work in nursing in the elementary education setting,.
Author of Fair Play and Founder, Philanthropy Advisory Group
Eve Rodsky is working to change society one partnership at a time by coming up with a new 21st century solution to an age-old problem: women shouldering the brunt of childrearing and domestic life responsibilities regardless of whether they work outside the home.
In her New York Times bestselling book FAIR PLAY, she uses her Harvard Law School training and years of organizational management experience to create a life-management system to help couples both rebalance all of the work it takes to run a home and reimagine their relationship, time and purpose.
Eve Rodsky received her B.A. in economics and anthropology from the University of Michigan, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. After working in foundation management at J.P. Morgan, she founded the Philanthropy Advisory Group to advise high-net worth families and charitable foundations on best practices for harmonious operations, governance and disposition of funds. In her work with hundreds of families over a decade, she realized that her expertise in family mediation, strategy, and organizational management could be applied to a problem closer to home – a system for couples seeking balance, efficiency, and peace in their home. Rodsky was born and raised by a single mom in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children.
Alix Lebec is an entrepreneur and strategic adviser to the business, non-profit, philanthropic, and impact investing community. With more than 16 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the US, Alix’s recently launched Lebec Consulting to challenge status quo philanthropy. This innovative firm helps corporations, foundations, social entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals achieve their greatest social impact through strategic philanthropy and impact investments. With sustainability, innovation, and systems change at the center of its strategy, Lebec Consulting thinks outside the box and aims to normalize a new kind of philanthropy: one that is catalytic, venture, and cooperative.
Alix started her entrepreneurial journey at The World Bank in Paris and Southeast Asia, followed by the Clinton Global Initiative where she built and led innovative public-private partnerships, communication strategies, and social impact programs focused on women and low-income communities. In 2010, Alix joined Water.org, a non-profit dedicated to ending the global water crisis, co-founded by entrepreneur Gary White and actor Matt Damon. In 2016, she helped launch WaterEquity, an impact investment manager, to accelerate Water.org’s impact and harness the power of global capital markets. As WaterEquity’s Chief Investor Relations Officer, Alix raised $200M+ in philanthropic and impact investment capital. She holds a Master of Science in Social Policy and Economics from the London School of Economics, and received her Bachelor of Arts in International Business from the American University of Paris.
Shivani Garg Patel is Chief Strategy Officer at the Skoll Foundation and focuses on developing and amplifying the Foundation's work to enable lasting social change. She has been a social entrepreneur, investor and advisor and brings a multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary view to her work.
Before joining the Skoll Foundation, Shivani co-founded and led Samahope, a non-profit that invested in local medical providers who provide critical medical care to women and children in low-income communities around the world. Her technology-driven social innovation work has spanned the Grameen Foundation, World Bank and World Health Organization. Earlier in her career, Shivani was a strategy consultant and product manager in the private sector.
Shivani is a proud and under-caffeinated mom of two. She has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a B.A. in Cognitive Science from U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
