I practice Values In Action as a philanthropic adviser, social entrepreneur, Professor, executive coach, and innovative thought leader. I am passionate about vibrant living, loving and meaningful work for Values in Action. You can read more about my VIA work below, clustered around: Leadership & Honors; Teaching, Mentoring & Advising; Speaking, Thinking, Writing; Living, Traveling, Exploring.
LEADERSHIP & HONORS: Diana Ayton-Shenker, named one of “25 Leading Women Changing the World” by Good Business New York, is President & CEO of Global Momenta, a social impact strategy firm. Her work advances strategic philanthropy, leadership, private-nonprofit partnerships and organizational development; she has been featured in The Huffington Post, online talk show on leadership for International Women’s Day, and profiled in Family Office Review. As founder of the Fast Forward Fund, Diana Ayton-Shenker was honored by President Bill Clinton and selected as a Social Venture Network Social Innovation Award Finalist.
TEACHING, MENTORING, ADVISING: Diana is the Global Catalyst Senior Fellow at The New School, where she also advises the Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative. She has taught Social Entrepreneurship at The New School, the Bard MBA in Sustainability, The American University of Paris, Bard College, and Hunter College where she directed the first undergraduate Human Rights Program in the U.S. She has served as Sr. Fellow in Venture Philanthropy at Bard Globalization and International Affairs, and as Mentor with the Clinton Global Initiative University, Global Engagement Summit, Social Good Start-Ups, The Unreasonable Institute, and PresenTense. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Inspiring Capital, Earth Economics, and as Capstone Adviser for the Bard MBA. She served as the inaugural Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence at the Wharton school of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
SPEAKING, THINKING, WRITING: Author of four books, including A New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices & Pathways of the International Community; A Global Agenda: Current Issues before the U.N., and Tumbalalaika: a Collection of Poems, as well as the influential essay The Challenge of Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, Diana is an inspirational public speaker, facilitator, and guest lecturer appearing at numerous gatherings (SoCap, CGIU, Ashoka, Unreasonable Institute), universities (Wharton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia), and other venues (The United Nations, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Public Library, Goldman Sachs). She has held senior positions with: Mercy Corps, P.E.N., Human Rights Watch, holds a Masters of International Law (L.L.M.) from the University of Essex Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with Honors in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
LIVING, TRAVELING, EXPLORING: Originally from Portland, Oregon, Diana has lived and worked in Israel, Spain, England, and France. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe & North America, as well as Guatemala, Nepal, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Soviet Russia. She loves to explore new places, and revisit close-to-the-heart old ones: the Pacific Northwest, North Yorkshire, Paris, Tel Aviv, Brooklyn. A certified yoga teacher, Reiki Master, mother of three, she now splits her time between NYC and Rhinebeck, NY.
