Heather Grady

Heather Grady is a Vice President in the San Francisco office of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and leads the organization’s strategy and program development in global philanthropy, including collaboratives, global programs, research, and publications. She drives thought leadership through efforts like the SDG Philanthropy Platform, a collaboration to encourage philanthropy to engage more meaningfully in the Sustainable Development Goals/Agenda 2030, and the Scalable Solutions initiative, which supports funders to place longer-term, responsive and adaptive resources to accelerate scalable solutions that target systemic changes focused on pressing global issues.

Heather also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the China Global Philanthropy Institute. Heather’s philanthropic advising has been shaped in part by two decades living in countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, managing development and humanitarian programs focused on a range of themes including education, livelihoods, health, agriculture and microfinance. Heather was previously a Vice President for Foundation Initiatives at The Rockefeller Foundation where she oversaw an annual grantmaking budget averaging $65 million.

Prior to that, she served as the Managing Director of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, a decade-long partnership between Columbia University, The Aspen Institute, and the International Council on Human Rights Policy founded by former Irish President Mary Robinson. During this period she also served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Heather has degrees from Harvard University and Smith College and is conversant in Chinese and Vietnamese. She serves on a number of Boards and Advisory Groups including The B Team, the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, and the Wildlife Justice Commission, and is a member of the WEF Global Future Council on International Governance, Public-Private Cooperation and Sustainable Development.