Susan M. Davis

Susan M. Davis is a philanthropic advisor, social impact strategist, and advocate for effective and equitable development. She shares funny stories and serious lessons from three decades of leadership experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Her work spans 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. She has advised hundreds of donors on supporting sustainable, locally-led solutions.

Susan is multi-passionate, meaning she’s held a variety of roles throughout her career and pursued numerous side quests. She’s a board member for MAMA HOPE and an individual member of the Movement for Community Led Development. She created the Director of Equitable Giving role at the Segal Family Foundation, where she championed African social impact leaders. She’s been an intrapreneur as the Chief of Party for the USAID Global Waters program; Global Coordinator for Agenda for Change; Chief Partnership Officer of Water For People; and Director of Development for what’s now water.org. She tried her hand at social entrepreneurism as well by founding Improve International, a mission-driven consultancy dedicated to learning from failure in international development. 

Susan is known for her ability to blend humor, honesty, and evidence to spark necessary conversations about the challenges of global development. She has spoken about accelerating learning from what works – and more importantly, what doesn’t – to improve impact at several international conferences, webinars, and podcasts. She especially loves to talk to students about what she wished she’d known earlier in her career. She also shares her strong opinions as a judge for social impact competitions and a co-teacher of a course at Georgia Tech’s Institute of Leadership and Social Impact. Her upcoming book, Bullshit without Borders: Let’s Change the Way We Change the World, offers a candid critique of international development and philanthropy, combining sharp insights with humor to challenge outdated approaches and inspire meaningful change.

Photo credit: JP Lor [/col] [/row]