Our Leadership.

Driving change

Leadership & Staff

Sudha Nandagopal, Chief Executive Officer

Sudha (she/her) is a highly regarded organizer, facilitator, strategist, and movement builder focused on democratizing systems of power and shifting power outward to those most affected by injustice and oppression. Her career includes leadership roles in strategic communications, international organizing, program design, policy creation, and political campaigns. Through this work and her leadership in social, environmental, and racial justice organizations Sudha has developed expertise in multi-sector stakeholder engagement, networks, collaborative problem solving, and building power with communities of color, immigrants, and refugees.

As Chief Executive Officer of Social Venture Partners International, Sudha cultivates and expands a philanthropic network to catalyze more resources to communities around the globe, demonstrate new ways for philanthropy to share power and wealth, and build stronger relationships between philanthropists and communities.

Prior to joining SVP International in February 2019, Sudha co-created and led the first-in-the-nation City of Seattle’s Equity & Environment Initiative, where she worked to ensure that frontline communities were at the center of environmental decision-making. This work is nationally recognized as a model for building power for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and youth in large systems.

Sudha consults for City governments, organizations, and foundations to identify ways to shift power dynamics, and develop frameworks for collaborative governance. She’s a self-described “network nerd” and believes that network-theory based approaches are the way forward for systems change, innovation, and global collaboration. Grist Magazine recognized Sudha as one of 50 “innovators, organizers, and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future.” Sudha writes and speaks about promising innovations that are challenging the historic dynamic between philanthropy and the social change sector, creating systems change, learning through networks, power-sharing, and the importance of centering frontline expertise in all of our efforts for justice and to create communities of belonging. Puget Sound Business Journal recently recognized Sudha as one of the region’s 40 under 40 for her leadership in philanthropy and the social change sector.

Sudha graduated from Cornell University. She is the third daughter of immigrant parents from India and grew up in Spokane, WA.

Naheed Jadavji, Development & Philanthropic Partnerships Manager

Naheed Jadavji (she/her/hers) is experienced in uplifting and empowering communities to survive and thrive through barriers. As a relationship builder and fundraiser, Naheed believes in the power of people and communities to create lasting social change.

Naheed has had years of experience in the non-profit sector managing stakeholders, partners, and individual donors in particular. Through building communities of change-makers, she inspires philanthropists to create meaningful change and to become a part of the wider social movement. Her career has focused on facilitating the movement of capital and power to those most impacted by injustices, providing platforms and programs to propel communities forward.

Previous to joining SVPI, Naheed was responsible for supporting and managing a large network of donors and partners committed to empowering LGBT2Q+ artists and youth across the province of British Columbia.

As a leader in the field of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, Naheed has extensive experience in shifting internal and external operating systems to centre sustainability and justice as well as creating innovative ways of collaborating across difference.

Naheed has been living in Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for almost a decade. She is an Indian first generation immigrant from Tanzania, with an international experience she believes will be invaluable to this work.

Aspen Baker, Interim Deputy Director

Aspen is a nonprofit consultant, focusing on social impact. She provides organizations with senior-level capacity during times of transition and growth, as well as a range of consulting services on operations, fundraising, strategy, and governance to leaders and organizations. Previously, Aspen was the founding Executive Director of Exhale, which she led for 17-years. An award-winning leader, author and TED Speaker, Aspen has a long history of public service as a city-appointed official, volunteer and advocate on issues of democracy, justice and culture change. She lives in Oakland, California.

Aisha Satterwhite Chavers, Advisor, Organizational Transformation and Governance

Aisha Chavers is an executive-level leader and strategist in the areas of organizational transformation, team management, and advocacy and engagement. As the founder of Straight Line Consultants, she has spent over 10 years actively advising C-suite leaders around the best ways to strengthen and support their organizations and teams, activate external audiences, and produce big results in service of national and global social and political change.

For 25 years, Aisha has worked for mission-driven organizations, foundations, creative agencies, startups, tech companies, multinational brands, labor organizations, membership associations, and political campaigns, running successful multimillion dollar brand, advocacy, paid media, and fundraising campaigns both in-house and as a consultant. That work includes engaging with more than 200 organizations, tech companies, and brands in the US, UK, and Africa. She served as Managing Director at Coworker.org; Advisor at Coworker Solidarity Fund; Managing Director at Blue State; and has led programs at The Africa Fund, One Economy Corporation, Service Employees International Union, National Education Association, and Human Rights Campaign.

Sol Design, Communications and Community Engagement

Sol Design (Sol) is a brand and digital agency that marries strategy, design and interactive to create powerful brands and innovative digital experiences. With a strategic focus on philanthropy, non profits and social good, Sol works with SVPI building its online community and delivering powerful communications through storytelling. 

CANOE, Operations

CANOE is a collective of operations professionals who fiercely believe that nonprofits must be strong from the inside out in order to make a significant impact on the world.

We partner with nonprofits on building the equitable and inclusive processes, infrastructure, and systems necessary to grow and thrive.

Board of Directors

Adriana Loson-Ceballos

Adriana Loson-Ceballos’ career as a fundraiser began during the U.S. Great Recession over a decade ago and has grown through her participation and study of the social movements that have emerged over the same period. She has developed transnational fundraising and growth positioning strategies and plans for nonprofits seeking to diversify, grow, or adapt their revenue streams to the opportunities before them.

Ciara Garcia

Ciara joined SVP as the CEO Of SVP Tucson in January 2016. She has more than thirteen years of experience in nonprofit leadership, with a focus on building effective teams and collaborative partnerships. Her sweet spot is growing and expanding organizations – both programs and revenue.

Guff Van Vooren

Guff has been an SVP Minnesota partner since 2010. She is grateful and honored to serve SVP and the Twin Cities community as a member of the board of directors and programs committee, SVP network liaison (projects, forums, session presenter), equity team lead, and as a team member of various Investee capacity building projects.

Kenji Hosokawa

Kenji has been a partner of SVP Tokyo since 2015, working closely with three investees in particular: Pirika Inc., which provides technology-based services to combat litter; SEELS, which helps Filippino migrants in greater Tokyo by retraining them as English instructors; and NGO PLAS, which provides assistance to AIDS orphans in Africa.

Madge Vasquez

Madge Vásquez is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Mission Capital. Originally from South Texas, Madge has over 25 years of private and public sector experience in community development, healthcare, philanthropy, business consulting and community engagement.

Mark Jankelson, Chair

Mark is a Partner and current Board Chair of SVP Melbourne, building up the affiliate and being part of the investment committee. Mark has almost 40 years of global experience in the people management business – 14 of these at CEO level in the management consulting industry, the balance with large multinational corporations in a variety of senior human resources roles.

Paul Shoemaker

Paul Shoemaker is the Founding President of SVPI and was SVP Seattle’s Executive Director for 17 years. With insights from this unique vantage point, he is a leading expert on activating social change agents and a global thought leader on how individuals can be the most effective philanthropists.

Sandra Hughes

Sandy joined SVP Cincinnati in 2011 and served as Board Chair from 2014-2016, leading the affiliate through a very successful growth strategy and implementation: 39 to 62 partners in one year. Sandy has also filled roles as Co-Lead Partner, Investee Relations Committee Leader and SVPI Network Liaison, as well as contributed to SVPI Strategic Planning, Membership and Education, and Innovation Committees.

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