Sarah Haacke Byrd

Sarah Haacke Byrd is a philanthropy and social impact leader with a career focused on advancing gender equality, human rights, and systems-level change. For more than two decades, she has built, guided, and led nonprofit organizations in Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York dedicated to expanding civil rights, promoting civic education, reforming the criminal justice system, and ending sexual violence.

Haacke Byrd holds a Master of Arts in Positive Organizational Development and Change from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, providing her with expertise in organizational effectiveness and positive transformation.

Before her philanthropic leadership roles, Haacke Byrd served as managing director of the Joyful Heart Foundation, where she oversaw the foundation's national campaign to eliminate the backlog of rape kits across the United States. This experience highlighted the persistent funding gaps in women's rights work and influenced the direction of her career.

Haacke Byrd has served as CEO of Women Moving Millions, where the organization has mobilized nearly $300 million in new funding for women and girls globally. Women Moving Millions is a community focused on catalyzing resources to support the movement for gender equality, and its membership has collectively committed over $1 billion to improve the lives of women and girls. Despite billions of dollars donated to charitable causes annually, less than 2 percent is dedicated to organizations focused on women and girls—a dynamic Women Moving Millions seeks to change.

An advisor to various philanthropic initiatives, Haacke Byrd works to mobilize both public and private sectors to invest in large-scale social change, including advancing gender equity, strengthening democracy, and expanding human rights. She serves on the boards of GoFundMe.org and Future Forward Women, is a founding board member of the Hive Gender Climate Justice Fund, and is a Civil Society Fellow with the Aspen Institute. Haacke Byrd also serves as co-chair of the Impact Finance Center's National Women's Impact Investing Landscape Scan Steering Committee and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Haacke Byrd has been recognized for her influence in the philanthropic sector. She was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential Philanthropists for her impact on gender equity and efforts to build a strategic funding ecosystem for the women's rights movement. Inside Philanthropy named her one of the 50 most powerful women in U.S. philanthropy for her leadership. Haacke Byrd is a prominent voice on feminist philanthropy and gender equity, advocating for the transformative potential of women's giving.