Who We Are

Joan Sherman has developed a wide range of sector expertise including girls’ education, micro-finance, public health, economic development, and women's empowerment. Joan served on the Board of Directors for Women’s Global Education Project from 2006 to 2018, including two terms as Board President, working to improve girls’ access and success in school in Kenya and Senegal. Joan served on the Advisory Board for Children’s Place International as they expanded a domestic program to address children's health issues globally. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Grand’Anse Health and Development Association (GAHDA), a grassroots organization in northwest Haiti addressing women’s access to healthcare.

Joan worked for CARE International, in Haiti building rural clean water systems and improving mother and child healthcare systems, and later in India as director of the microcredit program. Upon returning to the U.S., she worked for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Global Security and Sustainability program. For 12 years, Joan taught in the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Northwestern University. She served as a program officer for the Libra Foundation, responsible for multiple grant portfolios funding social justice movements. Joan co-founded NextGroup, LLC, a company that simultaneously helps women re-enter the workplace and pivot careers, and companies access this unique talent pool. 

Joan is a graduate of George Washington University (MA, International Affairs)  and the University of Minnesota (BA, Political Science and International Studies).