WHO WE ARE: GLOBAL MOMENTA NETWORK

To carry out its work, Global Momenta calls on a select international network of consultants and strategic partnerships. Our collective expertise is drawn from diverse fields including law, business, philanthropy, finance, social entrepreneurship, public policy, international relations, organizational management, media and the arts. Global Momenta offices are in NYC and Rhinebeck, NY; our team is based in major cities worldwide.

DIANA AYTON-SHENKER, Founder & CEO

Diana Ayton-ShenkerDiana brings decades of social impact work. Named one of “25 Leading Women Changing the World” by Good Business New York, CEO Diana Ayton-Shenker loves connecting, networking, and collaborating with private philanthropists, families, family offices, wealth managers, foundations and corporations to advance positive social impact. Diana serves as CEO and President of Leonardo/ISAST, and as Executive Director of the ASU-Leonardo Initiative. As founder of The Fast Forward Fund, she was honored by President Bill Clinton, the Social Venture Network, and inspired thousands of emerging social change leaders. She was privileged to serve as the inaugural Global Catalyst Senior Fellow at the New School (Jan. 2017 – Dec. 2020) and the inaugural Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence at Wharton, (2014-15)

Diana is Professor of Practice at ASU, jointly appointed at the School of Innovation in Society (College of Global Studies) and the School of Arts, Media, & Engineering (Herberger Institute for Design and Arts). She is creator of  the acclaimed Values in Action VIA curriculum & leadership development program, and has taught at The New School, Bard College, The American University of Paris, and Hunter College, where she directed the first undergraduate human rights program in the country. She is the author of four books, including A New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices, & Pathways of the International Community (2018), A Global Agenda: contemporary issues facing the UN, as well as the influential monograph The Challenge of Cultural Diversity and Universal Human Rights, and Tumbalalaika, an original collection of poems. Diana served as a Senior Fellow in Venture Philanthropy at Bard Globalization & International Affairs program, held senior positions with Mercy Corps, PEN, Human Rights Watch, and was on advisory boards of Inspiring Capital, Hydration Foundation, Earth Economics, and others. Ms. Ayton-Shenker received her L.L.M. in International Law from the University of Essex Law School Human Rights Centre, and her B.A. with Honors in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. After living and working in France, England, Spain, and Israel, Diana has home bases in NY and AZ.

RODOLFO TSAPRALIS – former Project Dev. Specialist

Rodey TsapralisSpecializing in client relations, communications and project management, Rodey Tsapralis joined Global Momenta as Project Development Specialist in 2019.
He brings with him experience in project design in both nonprofit and private settings. In earning an MA in International Affairs from The New School, Rodey’s research focused on economic development, social policy, education and poverty. He is the founder of Quetzal Quality Editing Services with expertise in working with international students and is an active freelance music journalist.

ROGER FRANK, featured Innovation Consultant

Roger Frank works at the intersection of capital markets and social enterprise and is one of the pioneers in using capital markets funding for positive social change. He has spent his career in emerging & international markets and has worked extensively in agriculture, microfinance and technology. He won an inaugural, 2009 Fast Company Award for his innovative financial models and is an industry expert, consultant and frequent lecturer
in sustainable investing. Publications include the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, Fast Company and Chronicle of Philanthropy.

He founded Innovare Advisors, a boutique advisory firm with a focus on climate-smart agriculture in Africa and former partner at Developing World Markets (DWM) where he was part of the team that structured and placed the first, cross-border, commercial capital raise for microfinance. He is Chairman of the Board of FarmDrive, a Kenyan-based social enterprise that uses credit algorithms to provide funding for smallholder farmers and Director of Dharma, an integrated data management platform for humanitarian applications in conflict zones. Prior to Innovare and DWM, he worked on Wall Street at Lazard, Salomon, Smith Barney/Citigroup, Schroders, Deutsche Bank and HSBC. His focus was international and emerging markets where he introduced many global investors to emerging markets, raised over $1 billion in primary and secondary transactions and traveled to and worked in over 90 countries worldwide. He has an MBA in International Finance from NYU Stern School of Business (1983) and a BFA, cum laude, from the University of Delaware (1978).

THANKS to the New Global Agenda team!

Competitively selected from applicants invited with support of the Ivy Leadership Council, Global Momenta was proud to work with its team of New Global Agenda Fellows, providing research assistance, fact-checking, proofreading, editing, & thought partnership to shape the global agenda: Rehab Abdelwahab (Yale), Caroline Azem (Cornell), Nina Bechman (Columbia), Dina Chotrani (Princeton), Miguelangel De Armas (University of Pennsylvania), Cem Gultekin (Columbia), Sarah Jacobs (University of Pennsylvania), Jazz Munitz (Cornell), Lindsey Powell (University of Pennsylvania), Namrata Ramakrishna (Dartmouth), Andrea Sedlacek (Dartmouth), Chris Yoon (Brown).

Peter Dietrich, former New Global Agenda project coordinator, is a graduate of The New School’s Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program with experience in compliance, helping companies comply with state, federal and international laws. In addition to experience in regulatory and industry compliance in the entertainment industry, Pete brought strong research, editing and analytical skills to support and supervise 2017-18 New Global Agenda Fellows team.

OPPORTUNITIES: Got talent? We want you! Open positions & Leadership Fellows:

  • VIA Business Development Coordinator
  • Leadership Fellows in one or more of the following areas:
    • Innovative Finance for SDGs & Regeneration
    • Global Public Health Innovation Portfolio
    • Human Rights & Social Justice Art Portfolio

Contact info@ globalmomenta.com indicating how you envision working together!