Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
LANGUAGES
Publications
Timeline
Generic

Bess Rothenberg

Brooklyn

Summary

Philanthropic and nonprofit leader and manager with over 20 years of deep expertise in strategy development, evaluation, organizational development, and social justice issues in the US and throughout the Global South.

Overview

30
30
years of professional experience

Work History

Deputy Vice President, Strategy and Impact

Ford Foundation
01.2025 - Current
  • Oversee three central cross-programmatic functions of the organization: Strategy and Learning, BUILD, Ford Global Fellows
  • Guide strategic shifts of programs through presidential transition.
  • Engage executive leadership, particularly program vice presidents, and Trustees as they seek to amplify Ford's impact in a moment of organizational transition and shifts in the external environment.
  • Manage three directors and a total of 21 staff as they fulfill mission critical positions

Senior Director, Strategy and Learning

Ford Foundation
01.2018 - Current
  • Founding director of Ford’s dedicated unit committed to strategy development, monitoring, evaluation, cross-programmatic learning, grantmaking effectiveness, and data governance and analysis.
  • Personally lead strategy processes that affect the strategic direction of a $650 million annual grantmaking budget across 20+ countries for dozens of programs.
  • Manage a diverse team of 8, plus consultants, with principle and equity; most recent staff survey had the team’s satisfaction at the highest levels for the organization.
  • Facilitate empirically informed, organization-wide learning on social change, which has included the development of Ford’s first foundation-wide theory of change and a series of case studies and practical supports for supporting grantees around DEI.
  • Develop a grantmaking effectiveness program that has streamlined systems and prioritized grantee interests, leading to unprecedented improvements on the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s Grantee Perception Survey.
  • Director, Strategy and Learning 2/16-1/18

Deputy Director, Research and Evaluation

Wellspring Advisors
06.2016 - 02.2016
  • Led strategic planning for international and US-based human rights programs, identifying concrete cross-programmatic and program-specific priorities that integrate evaluation into the work.
  • Primary responsibility for organizational learning for the staff, identifying learning priorities and appropriate methodologies for engaging staff.
  • Supported leadership to ensure their organizational goals are realized and work closely across the organization advising and mentoring staff at all levels.
  • Developed the Organizational Mapping Tool, which assesses NGO organizational capacity, a related database to analyze findings. In 2016 it was adopted by the Ford Foundation’s BUILD program to be used with hundreds of organizations in dozens of countries.

Consultant, Evaluation

Global Greengrants
06.2011 - 09.2011
  • Created an evaluation framework into the grantmaker’s work that will help to assess larger social change efforts, grantee outcomes, and organizational effectiveness.
  • Aligned strategic planning with evaluation outcomes; refining the Theory of Change; and ensuring forms and systems capture key information and record institutional memory.
  • Incorporated diverse stakeholder perspectives to ensure framework reflects grassroots and global nature of work as well as Global Greengrants’ value system.

Senior Program Officer for Africa

International Women’s Health Coalition
12.2010 - 04.2011
  • Oversaw grantmaking and programmatic strategy for Africa work on sexual and reproductive health and rights with 16 core grantees and a grants budget of $400,000.
  • Liaised with NGOs, government, and UN agencies on strategies, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, to combat the rising epidemic of HIV infections in women.
  • Supervised two staff members responsible for Africa grants portfolio and implementation of strategic plan.

Associate Director of Grants

American Jewish World Service
03.2008 - 12.2010
  • Support Director in managing over 30 staff and consultants, identifying departmental priorities, and ensuring grantmaking remained consistent with the organizational values.
  • Designed and oversaw a monitoring and evaluation system to track over 500 diverse grants annually; streamlined systems for data tracking; introduced online proposal and reporting system, trained program officers on new systems and data collection through site visits.
  • Directly supervised five staff members responsible for grants management, donor-advised fund, and collegial partnership program. Worked closely with other programmatic areas of organization and AJWS board members.
  • Oversaw $20 million core budget for department plus a $16 million donor-advised fund.

Associate Director

Center for The Study Of Human Rights, Columbia University
07.2005 - 03.2008
  • Established a strategic plan to strengthen CSHR’s work and productivity; turned a $130,000 deficit into a $70,000 surplus while increasing staff and programming.
  • Collaborated with human rights defenders on the development of their organizations as well as on issue-based advocacy; taught an annual intensive course on building sustainable organizations.
  • Managed a full-time staff of four, plus 12 student workers and oversaw CSHR activities.
  • Supported capacity building programs and collaborated with international and domestic rights activists to implement projects and programs.
  • Worked closely with University administration, CSHR board members, and Columbia faculty to promote CSHR programs and lobby for additional resources.
  • Cultivated individual donors, maintaining regular contact and engagement.

Independent Evaluator on Business and Human Rights

Shell-Nigeria
01.2007 - 08.2007
  • Conducted a critical program evaluation of Shell-Nigeria’s human rights training program for employees; interviewed program participants, observed trainings, and reviewed related program materials.
  • Made concrete recommendations as to how Shell-Nigeria should more thoroughly integrate human rights safeguards into the corporation’s work.

Assistant Professor of Applied Sociology and African Studies

Clemson University
01.2002 - 06.2005
  • Substantive research and teaching on globalization, race and ethnicity, gender, and social justice.
  • Published peer-reviewed articles in academic journals on gender-based violence.
  • Presented research to academic and general audiences; interviewed by the media on implications of U.S. domestic violence policies.
  • Wrote reports and conducted evaluations on the integration of Muslims into German society and German-American relations.
  • Conducted focus groups, intensive interviews, content analysis, and survey research in German and English.
  • Awarded national- and university-level competitive research grants.
  • Coordinated university-wide programs and conferences; supervised graduate and undergraduate students; collaborated with colleagues on research and teaching projects.

Grassroots Voter Registration Coordinator

08.2004 - 11.2004
  • Independently designed a targeted effort to reach disenfranchised rural, minority voters; doubled number of African-American registered voters in one county.
  • Initiated, enlisted, and coordinated support from the NAACP, League of Women Voters, university students, and diverse religious groups.

Fellow

American Council on Germany
06.2004 - 08.2004
  • Researched the German government’s policies toward Muslim minorities and reviewed obstacles to Muslim civic engagement.
  • Assessed efforts of local, state, and national government officials and community leaders toward economic, social, and cultural integration of Muslims.

Lecturer, Teaching Assistant

University Of Virginia
09.1995 - 08.2000
  • Taught courses with 15-200 students on Law and Society, Sociology of the Family, Sociology of Organizations.
  • Oversaw graduate students teaching assistants; developed curriculum; advised undergraduates on coursework and careers.

Education

Ph.D. - Sociology

University Of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
01.2002

Fulbright Doctoral Fellow - undefined

Humboldt University
01.2001

B.A. - Sociology

Boston University
Boston, MA
01.1994

Skills

    Strategic planning

    Management and coaching

    Leading through transition

    Relationship building

LANGUAGES

German: fluent
French: basic

Publications

  • “Learning from Grantee Feedback: Policy, Process and Cultural Changes that Makes a Difference.” With Luc Athayde-Rizzaro. Center for Effective Philanthropy January 2024.
  • Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Tools and Resources for Grantmakers. Ford Foundation.
  • “Grantmaking in the #MeToo Era.” Stanford Social Innovation Review December 6, 2019.
  • “How Grantmakers Can Better See What’s Coming.” Chronical of Philanthropy July 9, 2019.
  • “Ambivalence, Pride and Shame: Conceptualizations of German Nationhood.” With Cynthia Miller-Idriss. Nations and Nationalism: 2012 Vol. 18(1): 132-135.
  • “A German Law Rectifies Racism, Legitimates Sexism.” Huffington Post: December 10, 2010.
  • “Why the Past Is Not the Past in Zimbabwe.” Huffington Post: March 4, 2010.
  • “We Don’t Have Time for Social Change”: Cultural Compromise and the Battered Woman Syndrome.” Gender and Society: 2003 Vol. 17(5): 771-787.
  • “The Success of the Battered Woman Syndrome: An Analysis of How Cultural Arguments Succeed.” Sociological Forum. March 2002 Vol. 17(1) pp. 81-103.

Timeline

Deputy Vice President, Strategy and Impact

Ford Foundation
01.2025 - Current

Senior Director, Strategy and Learning

Ford Foundation
01.2018 - Current

Deputy Director, Research and Evaluation

Wellspring Advisors
06.2016 - 02.2016

Consultant, Evaluation

Global Greengrants
06.2011 - 09.2011

Senior Program Officer for Africa

International Women’s Health Coalition
12.2010 - 04.2011

Associate Director of Grants

American Jewish World Service
03.2008 - 12.2010

Independent Evaluator on Business and Human Rights

Shell-Nigeria
01.2007 - 08.2007

Associate Director

Center for The Study Of Human Rights, Columbia University
07.2005 - 03.2008

Grassroots Voter Registration Coordinator

08.2004 - 11.2004

Fellow

American Council on Germany
06.2004 - 08.2004

Assistant Professor of Applied Sociology and African Studies

Clemson University
01.2002 - 06.2005

Lecturer, Teaching Assistant

University Of Virginia
09.1995 - 08.2000

Fulbright Doctoral Fellow - undefined

Humboldt University

B.A. - Sociology

Boston University

Ph.D. - Sociology

University Of Virginia

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