Stephanie Fuerstner Gillis joined the Raikes Foundation in early 2017 to lead the Impact-Driven Philanthropy Initiative. She came from Arabella Advisors, where she was a Managing Director focused on supporting family and individual donors.

Prior to Arabella, she was with Blueprint Research + Design, Inc., as the COO and a senior consultant, working with philanthropy clients on strategy and evaluation. Prior to consulting, Stephanie worked for over 10 years in the nonprofit sector, including positions with the Youth Leadership Institute (a Bay Area youth development organization), the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, and the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies. She has served on the boards of a number of organizations, including College Kids and Food Runners, and has held various school leadership positions.

Stephanie has an MA in public policy with a focus on youth development policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BA in political science and international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara.