Summary
Collaborative advocate for strengthening global health. Adaptable and flexible leader with a change management mindset, and international experience in East Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Curious learner driven by social impact with $12M+ raised in public and private funding. Expertise in research, coalition building, team management, and data collection/analysis. Identifies, refines, and implements strategies for potential grants funders across diverse pipelines. Fully transparent, patient, and excels at creating trusting partnerships with all stakeholders with respect for cultural diversity. Builds teams and strengthens organizational culture by actively listening and focusing on inclusivity. Outreach, research, and experience spans the education, nonprofit, human services, international, and healthcare access and affordability sectors.
Languages: Working proficiency in Arabic, French, and Spanish
Technology: Salesforce, Little Green Light, Tableau, Canva, Monday, Asana, Squarespace, Wix, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign
Select Achievements
● Grew annual budget five-fold, from $500K to $2.5M increasing staff from five to 30 members.
● Expanded organization from 60 to 1K+ volunteer chapters and launched enterprise programs in 15 countries in five years.
● Co-led team that raised $1M, a ten-fold increase in funding. Increase in funding included placing among the top five finishers for two globally competitive crowdfunding competitions.
● Served as member of the Executive Committee of the National Consortium for Torture Treatment Programs (NCTTP), which secured increased federal funding for direct services to refugees at a time when many immigration programs were cut.
● Awarded Fulbright Scholarship (primary research). Conducted 70 interviews with Members of Parliament, international and Jordanian NGO staff, and members of women’s economic cooperatives. Paper title: International Development, Politics, and the Women in Between: Insights from Jordan.
Highlights
Operations: Translates big-picture strategies into detailed plans; builds consensus; thinks critically about complex situations and provides creative solutions; manages projects within budget; plans successful events; performs human resources functions including facilitating difficult conversations, training, and mentoring; handles supply chain logistics; executes and presents market analysis; establishes and continuously assesses policies, procedures, processes, and work plans with an eye for compliance; works closely with Board of Directors to maintain appropriate fiscal and programmatic stewardship and address governance matters.
Fundraising: Writes successful government and foundation grants; creates crowd-funding campaign strategies; cultivates individual donors via effective communications, including Annual Reports; retains and upgrades donors and leverages networks to expand donor reach; supports the development and execution of a strategic roadmap, focusing on the key strategic initiatives and identifying approaches for enhancing performance.
Organizational Development: Established Business Associate Agreement with Alameda Health System to coordinate medical and mental health care; procured new office space, tripling square footage while halving cost/square foot; launched four new platforms for managing monitoring and evaluation, and for growing client engagement; initiated an award-winning enterprise program in Uganda, resulting in replication in two other countries.
Advocacy: Raised public awareness of mission by representing organization at conferences and as recurring guest lecturer at UC Berkeley School of Public Health; launched new programs providing direct services for survivors of torture and outreach for African diaspora communities; published articles in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Conscious Company (ghost writer), and other publications.
Work History
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, Berkeley, CA
Executive Director, 2018-2023
Associate Director, 2017-2018
Days for Girls International, Seattle, WA
Chief Operating Officer, 2015-2017
Development Officer, 2012-2015
PACE NGO Solutions, Amman, Jordan
Consultant, 2011-2012
International Relief & Development, Washington, DC
Program Assistant, 2010
Centro Colombo Americano, Cartagena, Colombia
English Teacher, 2009
Select Publications
Spelman, Leah. “Prop 20 Would be a Major Setback for Re-envisioning our Criminal Justice System.” The Orange County Register. October 30, 2020.
Spelman, Leah and Tara Cookson. “The Impact of Periods: Promoting Menstrual Health is Critical to Women’s Economic Empowerment Around the World.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Fall 2017.
Select Speaking Engagements
Spelman, Leah. “Immigration Panel.” Northern California Grantmakers Conference. San Francisco, CA. May 2, 2023.
Spelman, Leah. "Global Mental Health and Why It Matters in the Bay Area." PH 116: Social, Political, and Ethical Issues in Public Health. UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Fall 2021, Spring 2022, and Fall 2022.
Spelman, Leah. “Migration, Trauma, and Resilience Panel.” Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative Conference. Berkeley, CA. March 31, 2022.
Spelman, Leah. “International Women’s Day Panel.” United Nations Association – East Bay Chapter. Berkeley, CA. March 8, 2019.
Spelman, Leah. “Immigration and Mental Health Panel.” National Union of Healthcare Workers Conference. Burlingame, CA. September 23, 2018.
Spelman, Leah. “U.S. Foreign Aid and Middle East Civil Society Development: Challenges Facing Women’s Organizations in Egypt and Jordan,” Globalization and Associational Activity Panel. Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Conference. San Diego, CA. November 2010.
Education
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Master of Public Health, Global Health
Thesis (primary research): Insights from Native American Veterans on Developing a Patient-Centered, Integrative Model for Mental Health Services
Scholarship: Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) for Arabic
George Washington University, Washington, DC
Bachelor of Arts, International Affairs
Magna Cum Laude
Study Abroad: American University in Cairo, Egypt