People
Advisors
Emma Belcher
President, Ploughshares Fund
Emma is the President of Ploughshares Fund. Prior to that, Emma spent nearly a decade leading the MacArthur Foundation’s Nuclear Challenges grantmaking program. There, she developed foundation’s Nuclear Challenge Big Bet team—from ideation to management of a nearly million budget. She also served as an advisor in Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on national security and international affairs.
Lewis Bollard
Program Director, Farm Animal Welfare, Open Philanthropy
Lewis leads Open Philanthropy’s strategy for Farm Animal Welfare. Prior to joining Open Philanthropy, he worked as Policy Advisor & International Liaison to the CEO at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), was a litigation fellow at HSUS, and an associate consultant at Bain & Company. He has a B.A. from Harvard University in Social Studies and a JD from Yale Law School.
Yordanos Eyoel
Founder and CEO, Keseb
Yordanos is an Ethiopian-American democracy entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Keseb. Keseb is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization building an ecosystem for cross-country innovation to turn the tide against authoritarianism and advance inclusive and resilient democracies. She was previously a Managing Partner at New Profit, where she launched the Civic lab, a venture philanthropy initiative to invest in innovative solutions building civic trust and a strong civic culture in America.
Nancy Hey
Executive Director, What Works Centre for Wellbeing
Nancy is the Executive Director of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, the UK’s national body for wellbeing evidence and practice aiming to understand what governments, business, communities and people can do to improve wellbeing. Prior to setting up the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, Nancy held a range of civil service positions in the UK.
John Lavis
Director, McMaster Health Forum
John is a Professor at McMaster University and directs the McMaster Health Forum, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy. He works with policymakers globally to harness research evidence and stakeholder insights to strengthen health and social systems. He is Co-Lead of the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges and the COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making.
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos
Senior Research Fellow and former Director, Southern Voice
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos is a senior research fellow and former director of Southern Voice, a network of over sixty think tanks from across the Global South. She oversees and contributes to the production of evidence-based research authored by Global South experts.
Dave Orr
Director of Engineering for AI Safety and Alignment, Google DeepMind
Dave Orr is a board member and past chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. He has worked at Google for more than a decade and leads AI an alignment team at Google DeepMind.
Nitin Pai
Co-Founder and Director, Takshashila Institution
Nitin Pai is the co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution, a think tank and school of public policy in Bangalore. He is an expert on the intersection of technology and geopolitics and spent over a decade as a technology sector policymaker with the Singapore government. Nitin is on the boards of Jal Seva Foundation (WaterAid India) and the Government of Karnataka’s Vision Group on Higher Education.
Dan Perez
Director, North America, SRI Executive
Dan is the Director for North America at SRI Executive. He has over 15 years of experience in executive search and strategy consulting, primarily serving international NGOs, governments, and multilateral organizations. Prior to SRI Executive, he held roles at Egon Zehnder, Booz Allen Hamilton, and was the Executive Director for America’s Impact. Dan is on the Board of Directors for Atlas Corps and holds a MPA from Columbia University.
Jaan Tallinn
Founding Engineer, Skype
Jaan is a founding engineer of Skype and Kazaa. He co-founded the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and the the Future of Life Institute and philanthropically supports other existential risk research organizations. Jaan is a partner at Ambient Sound Investments, an active angel investor, and has served on the Estonian President’s Academic Advisory Board.
Alex Toma
Executive Director, Peace and Security Funders Group
Alex is the Executive Director of the Peace and Security Funders Group, a global network of foundations and philanthropists advancing peace and security efforts. Previously, Alex was Executive Director of the Connect U.S. Fund and Director of the Peace and Security Initiative at the Ploughshares Fund, where she launched the Fissile Materials Working Group, a coalition of 80 U.S. and international organizations advancing nuclear security.
Jenny Xiao
Partner, Leonis Capital
Jenny is a Partner at Leonis Capital, a research-driven venture capital fund backing early-stage AI companies. Jenny is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI) and previously worked as a researcher at OpenAI and the Future of Humanity Institute. Her PhD work at Columbia University drew on the fields of AI, economics, and policy and focused on the global AI landscape and national AI capabilities.
Team
Ian David Moss
CEO
Ian David Moss is CEO and founder of the Effective Institutions Project. Over the course of more than two decades, he has partnered with dozens of grantmaking foundations and philanthropic families to design impactful programs, allocate resources effectively, and collaborate productively toward a thriving future. All told, his work has guided the distribution of more than $250 million in grants and spending to improve people’s lives worldwide.
Ella McIntosh
Chief of Staff
Ella is the Chief of Staff at EIP. She supports Ian and the team on strategic initiatives and ensures that the organization’s systems run effectively. She was one of EIP’s first employees and holds a MSc in International Social and Public Policy from the London School of Economics.
Conrad Helminger
Research & Operations Associate
Conrad is a Research & Operations Associate at EIP. While wearing multiple hats, his primary focus is on research, monitoring, and prioritization across institutions and issues. He brings experience in finance, tech, and policy contexts at small and large organizations, and holds a MA in International Political Economy alongside quantitative degrees.
Kartik Sharma
Fellow
Kartik is a Fellow with EIP helping to maintain and update the organization’s learning systems. He has a background in global health policy and economics research. Kartik has a MSc from the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Youth Council for Canada’s Chief Science Advisor.
Michele Giunti
Intern
Michele is an intern with EIP contributing to the organization’s learning system. He graduated from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University with a Master’s in Public Policy, and has a professional background in humanitarian congressional engagement. He concurrently works for InterAction, a coalition of non-profit humanitarian aid organizations, as a policy learning and data intern.
Faye Crawford
Intern
Faye is an intern with EIP focusing on expanding AI governance learning. She is an undergraduate Economics student at Minerva University interested in global development, with experience in journalism and research.
J.M. Johnson
Senior Strategist
J. M. is a Senior Strategist with EIP helping to drive the organization’s AI philanthropic coordination efforts. J. M. advises individuals and institutions on a holistic approach to deploying capital to achieve social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. Over 15 years as an operator and consultant, J. M. has helped launch and scale scores of nonprofits and companies aimed at transforming societal wellbeing.
Theodora Skeadas
Senior Strategist
Theo is a Senior Strategist with EIP helping to drive the organization’s AI philanthropic coordination efforts. Theo has 11 years of experience at the intersection of technology, society, and safety and worked on Twitter’s global public policy team. She currently runs a technology policy consultancy, where her clients include Humane Intelligence and National Democratic Institute.
Red Bermejo
People & Culture Consultant
Red is a consultant on EIP, providing ops and people-oriented support to the team. He runs Anti Entropy, an operations consulting group for high impact projects, and was a former community organizer for EA Philippines. In his past career, he’s built and managed a full-fledged software consulting firm offering end-to-end IT services.
Collaborators and Affiliates:
Jacob Arbeid, Shahar Avin, Amanda El-Dakhakhni, David Manheim, Abi Olvera
Board of Directors
Ian David Moss
CEO, Effective Institutions Project
Ian David Moss is CEO and founder of the Effective Institutions Project. Over the course of more than two decades, he has partnered with dozens of grantmaking foundations and philanthropic families to design impactful programs, allocate resources effectively, and collaborate productively toward a thriving future. All told, his work has guided the distribution of more than $250 million in grants and spending to improve people’s lives worldwide.
John Abodeely
CEO, Houston Arts Alliance
John Abodeely is CEO of the Houston Arts Alliance where he oversees an $15M annual grantmaking portfolio, $5M in public art and design projects, and the nation’s only local disaster resilience and recovery program for the cultural sector. He previously worked for the US federal government as Acting Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. For two years, John served on the board of the nonprofit that operated EIP during its incubation phase.
Gaia Dempsey
CEO, Metaculus
Gaia Dempsey is CEO of Metaculus, an online forecasting platform and aggregation engine working to improve human reasoning and coordination on topics of global importance. She is also a Schmidt Futures Innovation Fellow.
Nadia Gomes
Social impact strategist,
Nadia Gomes is a social impact strategist with two decades of experience in global philanthropy. For nearly eight years Nadia led, mentored, and supported the Strategic Planning team at Open Society Foundations, serving the entire $1b+ organization working across a global network in 100+ countries. She currently serves as a strategy advisor and has most recently been supporting executives at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos
Senior Research Fellow and former Director, Southern Voice
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos is a senior research fellow and former director of Southern Voice, a network of over sixty think tanks from across the Global South. She oversees and contributes to the production of evidence-based research authored by Global South experts.
Dave Orr
Director of Engineering for AI Safety and Alignment, Google DeepMind
Dave Orr is a board member and past chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. He has worked at Google for more than a decade and leads AI an alignment team at Google DeepMind.