Nadia Roumani

Philanthropy consultant and Senior Designer, Designing for Social Systems Program, Stanford University's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)

Nadia is a co-creator, social entrepreneur, educator, coach and consultant. She is passionate about developing a more equitable, creative, strategic, collaborative, and impactful social sector. She is the Senior Designer with Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design’s (the d.school) Designing for Social Systems Program. At Stanford, Nadia focuses on helping philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, and public servants become more strategic, creative and effective. She has co-designed curriculum that integrates design thinking, systems thinking, and strategic planning to help organizations better scope the challenges they want to address, engage end-users, increase intra-organizational creativity, and incorporate radical collaboration.

Nadia works with several philanthropy and donor serving organizations, such as The Philanthropy Workshop, Schwab Charitable, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to help donors increase their philanthropic focus and impact. Between 2015-19, Nadia co-Founded and Directed Stanford University’s Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI), which aims to help high net worth individuals increase their philanthropic impact.  Prior to launching EPLI, Nadia was an inaugural d.school fellow in 2012, and in 2014 was named the Walter and Esther Hewlett Design Fellow with Stanford PACS where she focused on the intersection of philanthropy and design. 

Over the past two decades she has launched several organizations and initiatives including the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) with Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz at Columbia University; the Women Leaders Intercultural Program with Ireland’s former President Mary Robinson; Global Policy Innovations Program at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs (CCEIA); the Building Bridges Program at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI) at the University of Southern California.

Nadia received her BA in economics and international relations from Stanford University and her MA in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She is a Board Member of the El Hibri Foundation and KQED.

 

 

Contributions

2023 Family Philanthropy Leadership Retreat

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Susan Stamerjohn, Michelle Tremillo, Alejandro Foung, Dr. Jason Franklin, Jonathan Brack, Sandra Fluke, Tonya Allen, Diego Zegarra, Sue Banerjee, Catherine Maddox Walton

Save the Date 2023 Family Philanthropy Leadership Retreat
Thank you so much for your interest in the Leadership Retreat. The event is sold out, and we are no longer accepting names for the waitlist, due to the unlikelihood of accommodating everyone on it already. We are delighted by the response, and we regret that we have to turn anyone away. Please keep an eye on our Programs and… Read More
Voices from the Field

Philanthropy as Democracy Enhancement: Big Philanthropy’s Role as Discovery for Social Problem-Solving

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Mohit Mookim, Rob Reich, Nadia Roumani, Ayushi Vig

Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels The United States is facing unprecedented levels of inequality. Nuanced critiques of donor-driven endowments permeate the media coverage of philanthropy, tinging it with skepticism and mistrust. As a donor, you want to do good—you want to have a positive impact by playing your part in advancing our society. Yet you may feel confused about… Read More
Voices from the Field

Democratizing Family Philanthropy: Shifting Practice to Share Power

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Mohit Mookim, Rob Reich, Nadia Roumani, Ayushi Vig

“Nothing about us without us,” is commonly used by community activists when speaking about the changes they want to see in their communities. The idea is simple: those most affected by social problems—the intended beneficiaries of any program—should fully and meaningfully participate in decisions about programs, policies, and strategies that may directly impact their communities. Philanthropy is not something done… Read More