Leadership

Ragina Arrington is returning to the Clinton Foundation as the CEO, CGI University. She comes to CGI U from Leadership for Educational Equity where she served as the Senior Director, Regional Impact over the New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and National Capital Regions where she was responsible for managing and supporting Directors in setting vision, identifying goals, work scopes, and strategy in addition to coaching and supporting their professional development. Prior to that, she worked with Teach For America, New York where she was the Director of Community Partnerships. With Teach For America, Ragina worked to cultivate and maintain relationships with a variety of community, city, and state stakeholders, all with the goal of elevating the teaching profession and creating access points for native New Yorkers, first-generation, Black, AAPI, and Latinx students. She also curated and executed engagement strategies to increase the number of highly diverse, talented, and committed applicants to Teach For America, New York. When not supporting her region, she lent DEI expertise to the national organization as a DEI Facilitator for incoming first-year educators, building a scaffolded learning opportunity where teachers centered their personal identity development as the vehicle for understanding racism as a function of systemic oppression. In her passion work, she is the Director of Partnerships and Co+Investment Strategies with Unboxed Philanthropy Advisors, where she supports individuals, foundations, and nonprofits in realizing their personal philanthropic dreams with a strong focus on social justice. This includes building out and reinforcing strategic growth plans, conducting market and landscape analysis, and curating critical relationships. In her previous tenure with the Foundation,  Ragina operated as the Senior Outreach Manager, CGI U and was heavily focused on improving and sustaining its diversity outreach and student selection. She also created and grew the Clinton Global Initiative’s University Network which provided skilled mentorship and fiscal support of over 3 million dollars to student projects from around the globe.

Dennis Cheng is the executive vice president of the Clinton Foundation and the chief executive officer of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Leadership Project at the Clinton Foundation. He brings to the role more than two decades of management experience in the nonprofit, government, political, and business sectors.

As a long-standing advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton, Dennis has served as executive director of Onward Together and national finance director of her 2016 presidential campaign. In 2020, he was senior advisor for external outreach on Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. From 2011 to 2015, Dennis was chief development officer of the Clinton Foundation. During the Obama Administration, he had the privilege of serving as deputy chief of protocol of the United States at the State Department. Dennis has also served as a senior advisor to numerous nonprofit organizations, including The Asian American Foundation, Asia Society, Girls Who Code, and Elton John AIDS Foundation. In the private sector, he was head of investor relations for an early-stage venture capital fund and chief of staff to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Dennis is a founding board member of the American LGBTQ+ Museum and was recently appointed to the U.S. congressional commission to study the creation of a national museum of Asian Pacific American history and culture. He is an Emmy-nominated producer of Recipe for Change: Stop Asian Hate. He received his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and his master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Omar is the chief technology officer at the Clinton Foundation. As CTO, Omar is responsible for the overall technology and cybersecurity strategy of the Foundation and aims to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of IT operations globally.

Omar brings 15 years of experience in the technology industry, including having served the Foundation in several IT roles and having worked at the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Cheryl B. Gittens, EdD is the Clinton Foundation’s Senior Director of Learning Programs and Partnerships at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Gittens oversees the creation and execution of the Clinton Center’s educational and cultural programmatic agenda. She focuses on developing inclusive and equitable programs that are responsive to the needs of the Clinton Center’s community, partners, and visitors, and strategically integrate principals from President Clinton’s lifetime of public service and the ongoing work of the Clinton Foundation. She also directs data-driven processes to maximize program efficiency and impact.

Most recently, Gittens served as the Associate Vice Provost of Faculty and Staff Affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she led the strategic direction and implementation of administrative development initiatives for university faculty and staff. During her tenure at UW, she also served as the Assistant Vice Provost for Student Diversity and Scholarship Programs and then Interim Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer.

Before joining UW-Madison, Gittens led strategic K-18 educational initiatives as the Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Before the Boys and Girls Club, Gittens had a track record of advancing student success at several higher education institutions, including the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Northern Virginia Community College.

She earned a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration at George Washington University and Social Work degrees from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

Francesca Ernst Khan is a brand strategist and communications specialist who is responsible for defining and driving integrated brand, digital, and marketing programs that increase understanding of and connection to the work of the Clinton Foundation. In this role, she oversees an interdisciplinary team of digital, social, event, and multimedia storytellers charged with developing clear, compelling, and data-driven content across Clinton Foundation properties and platforms.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2014, Francesca worked for Widmeyer Communications (a Finn Partners company), EMILYs List, and the American Federation of Teachers. Francesca received her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2008 and her M.A in Strategic Communications from American University in 2012. She resides in New York City with her family and still believes in a place called Hope.

Lance King is the chief development officer at the Clinton Foundation, bringing to the role more than 30 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management. In this capacity, Lance leads efforts to facilitate philanthropic gifts and grants to advance the mission of the Foundation and its programs and initiatives. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, Lance completed an executive residency in association management with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and has since held executive fundraising positions with the ASHP Research and Education Foundation, leading public research universities including UT Austin, the University of Colorado, and Stony Brook University as well as with the San Francisco Symphony, Gill Foundation, and Denver Zoo. As executive vice president at the Chicago-based Grenzebach Glier and Associates, Lance led a team of philanthropic management consultants and analysts in elevating the fundraising success of leading nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and abroad. A passionate advocate for the role that donors and funders can play in creating opportunity and improving lives, Lance lives in New York City with his husband, Dr. Eric Hanauer, and their dog Molly.

Bari Lurie joined the Clinton Foundation in August 2011 as chief of staff to Chelsea Clinton. In this capacity she helps shape and implement the strategic direction of the office, including Chelsea’s engagement across the Foundation. Prior to the Foundation, Bari was chief of staff at Tribeca Enterprises, working on growth strategies and managing the company’s signature partnership with Qatar. Before moving to New York, Bari worked on Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign as well as her 2006 Senate race and for her political action committee, HILLPAC. Bari holds a bachelor’s in political communications from George Washington University.

Laura Marcus is the Managing Director of Project 42 where she overseas highlighting the record of the Clinton administration and strategic engagement of alumni from the administration and presidential campaigns. Laura came to the Foundation with over 20 years of business management and strategy experience in global financial and governmental institutions. She was the Chief Operating Officer of a managed futures fund of funds trading strategy developed at BNP Paribas and launched at Scandinaviska Enskilda Banken. Prior to joining BNP, Laura worked for six years at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President and Business Manager in the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division. Laura is a proud alumna serving on the Little Rock presidential campaign, and first day to last day in the Clinton administration White House and Pentagon working on national security matters. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Patti Miller is the chief executive officer of Too Small to Fail at the Clinton Foundation and oversees the initiative. Prior to joining the Foundation, Patti served as Vice President of Public Policy at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit producer of “Sesame Street.” She promoted the Workshop’s mission in Washington, D.C. at the White House, Capitol Hill and executive agencies, on topics including the role of media in early childhood education and childhood obesity prevention, and parental engagement in children’s learning. Patti also previously served as Vice President of the Children and the Media Program at Children Now, a national child advocacy organization. In that role, she led a broad coalition in advocacy and policy efforts to improve the media environment for children. She has testified before the Senate Commerce Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Commerce Committee of the United States Congress, as well as the Federal Communications Commission on the role of media in public health and education. Patti holds a master’s in education from Stanford University and a bachelor’s in mass communications from the University of California at Berkeley.

Gregory Milne is the chief executive officer of the Clinton Global Initiative at the Clinton Foundation. Prior to this role, Greg served as chief impact and foreign policy officer at the Clinton Foundation where we oversaw the Foundation’s efforts on programmatic impact and evaluation, metrics, and information sharing; he also helps guide international strategy and plays a central role in shaping and executing President Clinton’s foreign policy vision for the Foundation. Previously, he served as the deputy chief of staff and director of policy to President Clinton and chief executive office of the Clinton Foundation’s Haiti program. Prior to that he worked as the private sector advisor at the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, President Clinton’s UN office, assisting with economic development and reconstruction programs in Haiti. Before joining the Clinton Foundation, he was a senior associate at Shearman & Sterling, LLP in the New York Office where he specialized in international property transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Greg received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law where he was a Crowley Scholar and a bachelor’s from the University of Michigan. He is also an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School.

As chief content, communications, and marketing officer, Craig Minassian brings a unique background in strategic communications, content development, and brand marketing to helping advance the work of the Clinton Foundation through overseeing its communications, digital, and marketing efforts. Craig served as assistant press secretary and director of television news in the White House for President Clinton and on numerous presidential campaigns including Clinton/Gore ‘96 and Secretary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, as well as a senior advisor to the Democratic National Convention Committees in 2008 and 2012. Since 2005 he has worked with the Clinton Foundation, including as director of communications for the Clinton Global Initiative. Previously, Craig spent a significant portion of his career with HBO working on cause-related and topical programming including “Comic Relief” and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, and as a consultant and producer for networks including Comedy Central, MTV, and ABC. In 2006, he launched Minassian Media, which helps some of the most impactful global organizations in health, climate, media, technology, and social entrepreneurship tell their story. He also worked on World Cup USA‘94 and serves on the President’s Council and School of Communication advisory board for the University of Miami, where he graduated in 1992.

Katrina Owoh is the chief financial officer of the Clinton Foundation. In this role, she provides leadership for the global financial operations of the Clinton Foundation, oversees the team that manages the day-to-day financial operations of the Foundation, and monitors the financial health of the organization. With over twenty years of extensive experience in financial operations in various industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, and higher education, Katrina brings to this role knowledge of Nonprofit, Government, and business financial management and compliance.

Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as the Assistant Dean for Administration in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), and the Associate Director of Internal Audit for the University of Arkansas System. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Katrina received her bachelor of science in accounting from UA Little Rock and a master’s in business administration from Harding University. She also serves on numerous community boards such as the Arkansas Department of Heritage Mosaic Templars of America Center for African American Culture and Business Advisory Board, Pulaski County Youth Services Advisory Board, and The Ivy Foundation of Little Rock; former member of the UA Little Rock Alumni Association Board of Directors and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®. She and her husband, Dr. Jeremy S. Owoh, have one teenage son, Jaxon.

Bill Rustrick is the chief executive officer of the Clinton Development Initiative (CDI), based in Malawi. He joined CDI as country director in Malawi and managing director of Tukula Farming Company in November 2015. Prior to CDI he was the operations director on a multi-estate tea production facility in Western Kenya, involving a large out-grower supply chain. He has also helped establish, develop, and manage both smallholder and commercial cropping operations in Mozambique, Brazil, Zambia, the Gambia, Papua New Guinea, and Malaysia.

Amy Sandgrund-Fisher is the general counsel and chief human resources officer for the Clinton Foundation. Previously, she served as people counsel at AppNexus, where she was responsible for providing legal advice on employment matters and nonprofit partnerships, among other responsibilities. Prior to this role, Amy served in senior legal roles at several for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, and Tough Mudder. Amy also worked at Proskauer LLP for a number of years focused on litigation and at the Citizens Union of the City of New York as its advocacy director. In addition to her legal practice, Amy has also served on a number of New York City Bar Association committees focused on women in the law and issues related to New York City government. Amy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from New York University Law School.

Luke Schiel is the managing director of the CGI Action Networks, where he oversees the Clinton Foundation’s work and partnerships with organizations committed to promoting climate resilience, fostering inclusive economic growth, and supporting community-based organizations in the United States and the Caribbean. In this role, he devises strategies to drive attention, resources and partnerships to those at the forefront of progressive social and environmental change. Prior, Luke served in various program, partnership, fundraising, and leadership capacities at the Clinton Global Initiative. He first joined the Clinton Foundation in 2013 and previously worked in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Luke has a bachelor’s degree in political science and English literature from Washington University in St. Louis.

Stephanie S. Streett is executive director of the Clinton Foundation. She has served in this role since 2001 and oversees the strategy and management of the Clinton Presidential Center. The Clinton Center presents a unique perspective of the work – past, present, and future – of the 42nd President of the United States William J. Clinton and provides extensive educational and cultural opportunities for visitors of all ages. She also serves as Corporate Secretary for the Clinton Foundation Board of Directors.

Streett oversees the Presidential Leadership Scholars program on behalf of the Clinton Foundation. This first of its kind leadership development program produces bold and principled leaders committed to solving our world’s most pressing challenges through a unique collaboration between the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

In addition to her extensive career in the nonprofit sector, Streett also has considerable government experience. Prior to joining the Clinton Foundation, she served in the Clinton Administration for eight years on the White House staff, first as Special Assistant to the President, then Deputy Assistant to the President, and finally as Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling. Previously, Streett worked on Capitol Hill as a staff member for the United States Senate Committee on the Budget.

Currently, Streett is Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for City Year Little Rock, a member of the International Women’s Forum Arkansas and the Rotary Club of Little Rock, where she was named a Paul Harris Fellow. She previously served as President of the University of Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors. Streett received the 2015 Sandra Wilson Cherry Award, the 2018 City Year Little Rock Lifetime of Service Award, and the 2019 University of Arkansas Alumni Association Community Service Award.

Streett earned her B.S. in Political Science from the University of Arkansas. She and her husband Don Erbach are the proud parents of three teenage daughters.

Christian serves as chief executive officer of the Overdose Response Network within the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) at the Clinton Foundation. In this capacity, Chris oversees all of the Foundation’s efforts helping to address the substance use disorders. Two of the cornerstone initiatives of this work at the foundation is working with communities and our foundation partners to ensure that naloxone (the lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug) is widely available, accessible, and affordable. Another cornerstone initiative is CHMI’s Empowering Faith Leaders program. Our nations’ faith leaders are an integral part of stigma reduction regarding substance use disorders and as such CHMI is deeply engaged in the training of our current and future faith leaders throughout the United States.

Before joining the Clinton Foundation, Chris served as the senior vice president of behavioral health at Sharecare, a comprehensive health and wellness engagement platform. Prior to Sharecare, Chris served in several leadership roles over 14 years in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2003, Chris founded and became director of the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health (CESH). In addition, Chris was a member of the faculty at MSM within the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine.

Chris earned a bachelor’s in communications and psychology from the State University College of Fredonia in New York and a master’s in human sexuality, marriage and family relations from New York University. Chris is a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor with the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare as well as a certified Sexuality Counselor and Sexuality Educator by The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Since December 17, 1989, Chris has been living in long-term recovery a day at a time.

Kevin Thurm is the chief executive officer of the Clinton Foundation. He previously served as a senior counselor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he worked with Secretary Sylvia Burwell and HHS senior leadership on a number of cross-cutting strategic initiatives, including continuing implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to that role, Kevin held various leadership positions at Citigroup, including chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel. Before joining Citigroup, Thurm served as the deputy secretary and chief of staff for the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Donna E. Shalala. He received a bachelor’s from Tufts University in 1983; a bachelor’s/master’s from Oxford University in 1986, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989.

Kathy Higgins is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. She is a national expert on health care and philanthropy, having previously served as the president and CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. At Healthier Generation, Kathy leads a team of nearly 100 professional staff across the nation taking action to improve child and adolescent health, with a particular focus on addressing critical child and adolescent health issues including nutrition, physical activity, social-emotional health, and sleep. Prior to taking on the role of Healthier Generation CEO in January 2019, Higgins spent more than 30 years at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where her roles span leading public health engagement, corporate communications, community relations, and corporate affairs. Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree in education from West Virginia Wesleyan College and completed her master’s work in community health education at Virginia Tech.

Trained as a physician and development economist, Dr. Neil Buddy Shah is an award-winning social entrepreneur, CEO, and global health funder who is passionate about making global health efforts as impactful as possible.

Dr. Shah is currently the Managing Director of GiveWell, a research and funding organization that directs hundreds of millions of dollars per year to programs in global health and development. GiveWell seeks to identify and fund the most cost-effective ways to save lives, and has recently emerged as one of the world’s largest private funders in global health.

Dr. Shah was previously co-founder, CEO and now Board Chair of IDinsight, a global development data analytics and advisory firm with offices across Africa, Asia, and the US. At IDinsight, he helped pioneer the practical application of cutting-edge data and impact measurement tools such as randomized controlled trials, machine learning and results-based financing mechanisms to improve the impact of life-saving and antipoverty programs across Africa and Asia. Buddy worked previously at the World Bank and MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Buddy holds an AB in economics from Harvard, an MD with special distinction in global health policy from Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and an MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School.

Dr. Shah serves on the Boards of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Private Foundations Board Constituency); the Institute to End Mass Incarceration at Harvard Law School; Educate Girls; Giving Green; and IDinsight. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as guest faculty at Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and is a former Echoing Green Fellow and Forbes’ 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur. He has lived and worked in India, Cambodia, Uganda and the United States.