Giving Circle Philadelphia - Women's Connection

Home Control Panel Custom PagesPHL GC Panelists 10-23

Meet our panelists . . . . each making an impact in their own way.

Katherina ‘Kat’ M. Rosqueta

Katherina is the founding executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, faculty co-director of High Impact Philanthropy Academy, and adjunct faculty in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2). Founded as a collaboration between SP2 and alumni of the Wharton School, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy is the premier source of knowledge and education on how philanthropy can do more good.

Before accepting her appointment to launch the Center, Kat was a consultant with McKinsey & Company; a consultant to the founding team of New Schools Venture Fund; founding director of Board Match Plus, a San Francisco program dedicated to strengthening nonprofit boards; and program manager of Wells Fargo’s Corporate Community Development Group.

She has held numerous civic leadership positions including board president of La Casa de las Madres (San Francisco’s oldest and largest shelter for battered women and their children), chair of the United Way’s Bay Area Week of Caring, co-founder and executive committee member of the Women’s MBA Network, board secretary and governance committee chair of Guidestar and chair of the board of Candid (merger of Foundation Center and Guidestar), the world’s largest source of information on nonprofits and foundations. In addition, she serves on the national board of Greenlight Fund, a venture philanthropy fund dedicated to addressing urgent social needs cities around the United States, and co-chairs Greenlight Fund Philadelphia.

Her work and comments have been cited in numerous publications including the New York Times, Slate, Money Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She speaks frequently on social impact management and philanthropy and has lectured at the Wharton Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of California Haas School of Business, and the University of San Francisco’s Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management.

Kat received her a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was the 2012 recipient of the Wharton Women in Business Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award, a 2011 recipient of the Brava! Women Business Achievement Award, and the 2020 recipient of the Margaret Bailey Speer Award.

To learn more about the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, click here.

Carol Austin

Carol is the Executive Director of First Up, where she leads the organization in fulfilling its mission to empower and equip early childhood professionals, families, and other adults influential in young children’s lives, with the knowledge, capabilities and resources they need to positively impact the educational and developmental outcomes for young children. Prior to joining First Up, Carol served as a senior executive at Philadelphia non-profit organization where she worked for more than fifteen years on high school education reform and youth post-secondary success. In that capacity, Carol worked with schools, non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and other stakeholders, to design collaborations that result in expanded opportunities and positive outcomes for young people. She holds a Master’s in Education from Temple University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Rosemont College. To learn more about First Up, click here.

Laura Kind McKenna

Laura served as the Managing Trustee of the Patricia Kind Family Foundation from the fall of 1998 until 2016. She continues to serve as a Trustee Emeritus. Laura is committed to the importance of Mission Related Investing for Foundations and through her leadership the Foundation became an early adopter of this approach. Currently almost 100% of the Foundation’s endowment is aligned with mission. Laura is a family nurse practitioner. She received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. Laura continues to volunteer weekly as a nurse practitioner and self proclaimed “head shower nurse” at the House of Grace Catholic Worker Free Health Clinic in Kensington where she has served for over twenty-five years. Laura was employed as nurse practitioner and Director of Student Health Services at La Salle University from 1986 to 1998. Married for forty-five years to Marc McKenna, MD, they have four grown children and nine grandchildren. To learn more about the Patricia Family Foundation, click here.

Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum

Malkie is a native of Glen Burnie, Maryland and graduate of Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She moved to Philadelphia in the late nineties, where she found her passion for Early Childhood Education while working with women and children experiencing homelessness. This passion led her to pursue her Master Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Pennsylvania. One of the most important relationships in Malkia’s life was one of her first caretakers, her baby sitter, Irene Green. Malkia recalls Irene being her first friend and feeling safe and loved whenever she was in her presence.

This early experience informs Malkia’s interaction with all she comes in contact with, especially children. Her favorite quote is “To whom much is given, much is required.” Malkia is grateful for the experiences she has had in her life and considers it a privilege to work for ParentChild+ and positively impact families in Pennsylvania.

To learn more about ParentChild+, click here.

Moderator

Carol Cunningham

Carol is the prior Chair of the TTN Philadelphia Giving Circle. Carol grew up in the Lake District in England and has studied in UK, France and the US. Carol is a Global Leadership Consultant in cross-cultural communications and President of the Cunningham Consulting, which focuses on supporting global growth through understanding the intricacies and impact of culture and cultural differences.

For 25 years Carol has provided consulting, training, and coaching services to global companies. Carol is also the President of the Women’s Initiative of the Gambia (WIG). WIG helps women in rural village communities learn skills to generate a sustainable income. In addition, she is the Co-founder, with her daughter Kathryn, of Power Up Gambia which provides solar energy to hospitals. Closer to home, she has also worked extensively with local non-profits including the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls.