Sushma Raman, who was recently appointed president and CEO of the Heising-Simons Foundation, is so new to the job that she’s still living on the other side of the country. She will soon be moving to California, where the foundation is based, leaving behind her life at Harvard, where she headed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School from 2015 to 2023.
Deanna Gomby, who led the foundation for a decade, retired last year, and Heising-Simons announced Raman’s appointment in January after a national search. She started at the foundation at the end of February, and has spent her first few weeks “listening and learning” — in itself a considerable task. The family foundation, created by Mark Heising and Liz Simons in 2007, has deep pockets and an ambitious, wide-ranging agenda. Its programs include Climate and Clean Energy, Community and Opportunity, Education, Human Rights, and Science. It has given $947.7 million in grants since it was founded, and $155.1 million in 2022 alone.
Raman is more than qualified for the task. Born and raised in India, she has a long resume. She studied economics at Smith, African Studies at UCLA, earned a mid-career MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School, and taught graduate students at the public policy schools at UCLA, USC, Tufts and Harvard. The philanthropy world isn’t new territory for Raman either: She worked at Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, where she managed a $100 million global program, and headed the Southern California Grantmakers Association. She is a member of the board of RFK Human Rights, which was established by Robert Kennedy’s family. Raman has co-authored two books, hosted Justice Matters, the Carr Center podcast, and is a contributor to Foreign Policy magazine.
We caught up with Raman recently and asked her what it’s like to leave academia for philanthropy, what she’s most excited about in her new role, and how she spends her time when she’s not working.
Could you talk about what led to your decision to leave Harvard for Heising- Simons?
Well, you know, I loved my experience at Harvard. I felt like I was immersed in such a wonderful learning environment. And I worked with wonderful people on really important topics. I think in every sphere, you look for where there are windows to make change happen, and I definitely felt that I was able to do that at Harvard. Even though I was in a big institution, I was leading a relatively small human rights center.
But the opportunity to work with the [Heising-Simons] family was really powerful. It’s a committed and smart board, and the work the foundation is doing is incredibly impactful. And I do think that philanthropy has a unique role to play, particularly in these times, in terms of addressing root causes of societal issues and convening leaders in the field supporting emerging ideas. And I felt ready to get back into the philanthropic sector, from which I had been away for about a decade.
One thing I was particularly struck by was the foundation’s values. The values, which are listed on the website, really resonated with me and my own personal values. They start with humility, and I think that is so important in philanthropy, you know, to recognize we don’t have all the answers. And courage to take on tough issues, and justice: We believe all people should be treated fairly. Opportunity, sustainability, innovation, relationships, integrity. All of these resonated with me and reassured me that my values are aligned with the foundation’s.
So it was the constellation of the right people, the right ideas, the right institution in terms of where it was in its organizational evolution, and the opportunity to make a difference. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I think, to be able to be part of such a transformational institution.
You’ve done a lot of work in the area of human rights. Is Heising-Simons’ focus on that as a program area one of the factors that made you want to take the job?
I’m actually very intrigued with all of the work, and the chance to come in and learn about areas I’ve not been as involved in to date — like early childhood education — that are very, very important for the future of the country. That is very exciting to me. So it isn’t necessarily to home in purely on human rights, but really to think about the role the foundation plays in a variety of areas. Early childhood education; also the work on science and climate are really important at a time when trust in science is being eroded and when climate change and its impacts are affecting communities around the country and the world. So this is an opportunity for me to learn about the new areas of work that the foundation is doing, and also to use my prior expertise in philanthropy and grantmaking and knowledge of the sector to help think about the foundation’s role into the future.
In the areas I’m not as familiar with, like early childhood, I know I can rely on the expertise of people at the foundation. I mentioned earlier that the board is truly thoughtful and committed, but what’s also amazing is that they’re very well respected nationally. Liz Simons, who’s the chair of the board, is also the chair of The Marshall Project’s board. Mark Heising is the chair of the Environmental Defense Fund. And Caitlin Heising is on the board of Human Rights Watch. So each of them brings great knowledge and expertise. And I have access to an amazingly talented staff, as well as a very substantive and experienced network of leaders and grantee organizations.
How are you approaching your first few months at the foundation? Do you have a specific plan?
My plan is to listen and learn. What are the opportunities and the challenges? What is it about this pivot point that’s particularly important? That will help me understand as we look to the future. I’ve also begun meeting with other funders, as well as grantee organizations, to better understand the work up front. So my next few months are really about listening and learning and thinking about my role in this space.
Since I started, I’ve been sitting down and talking directly to every single staff person in the organization to get their input on what they think is working and what areas I should be focusing on. I don’t have a major agenda; I just ask people what’s on their mind, I ask them how things are going and what advice they have for me. I also sent out an anonymous survey with three questions. Some people are very comfortable sharing things in a group setting, others are more comfortable one on one, and then others want to do it anonymously. So there’s different ways to draw information from people. I think that helps shape the organization of the future in a much more inclusive and relevant way.
Are there specific Heising-Simons initiatives that you are particularly excited about?
It’s a little dangerous because I’m still learning about the foundation, but I will flag a couple of things that I think are really exciting. The first is the American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which supports emerging journalists and local journalists through a very competitive process. I was particularly excited by the two award winners selected this year (Cerise Castle and Carvell Wallace), and the fact that we’re able to amplify underrepresented groups.
The second is similar: The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is a program that encourages the participation of groups that are underrepresented voices in the sciences. The fellowship provides scientists who are postdocs with the opportunity to conduct research in planetary astronomy. I met three of the fellows a couple of months ago. It is a great way to enable access for more people and to shape the field for the future.
Are there current trends in philanthropy that make you optimistic?
I think that we do have an opportunity right now — at a time when a lot of new wealth is being generated, and at the same time there is great inequality, there’s climate change, there’s political polarization. So I think that people who’ve been in the philanthropic sector for a while — whether you’re in the family foundation space or at a large, private, independent foundation, like Ford — have an opportunity to engage with the next generation of donors. To say, these are the areas we’ve been looking at; these are the areas of progress and these are the areas we need to keep our eye on for the future. This includes things like trust-based philanthropy, and how we engage the communities that are most impacted. How do we think of impact? How do we think about issues of racial justice and equity within the framework of philanthropy? There are also other issues that foundations grapple with that are pertinent to their own missions, areas like impact investing or the whole issue of perpetuity versus having a more defined lifespan. I think it’s a great opportunity to continue the conversation, both with people who’ve been in the space a while, but also engaging new donors who are trying to tackle these issues for the first time.
Are there areas where you would say that philanthropy is falling short?
That’s a tough question. We need to always think: What is the value add that philanthropy can provide? What’s the unique voice or lens that we can bring to a conversation? It could be, for example, elevating new ideas that, once adopted or mainstreamed, can be taken to scale by other sectors. It could be ensuring that there’s space for an independent and vibrant civil society and a free press that can operate without restrictions or limitations so other sectors can flourish and can do their work more effectively.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
Well, I love traveling. I love both domestic and international travel. I enjoy being in nature, going to national parks. I did a walk in Spain last summer, El Camino de Santiago, and it was transformational. It was an amazing experience. I love cooking. I enjoy reading. I am always contemplating what I want to work on next in terms of a book or maybe a series of articles, so I’m thinking about my next writing project. So lots of things, no shortage of activities.
Finally, do you have a book recommendation?
It’s funny that you ask; I’m reading this amazing book. It’s not new. It’s “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson. I’ve actually just read the first couple chapters, but then I went back to the beginning to reread it, because it’s so lyrical and beautifully written. It’s the story of three people in the Great Migration, and what she does so eloquently is this world-building project where she constructs the life, the society, the environment of these three people. I’m really inspired by it.
Credit:Source link
