Diana Ayton-Shenker is the new Chief Executive Officer of the Leonardo/ISAST and ASU partnership. This partnership provides leadership for the advancement of the university’s work in the area of art-science research and creative activity and amplifies ASU's international profile in the field. The partnership launches Leonardo and its constituent programs to a new level of growth and market presence and provides long-term continuity for the organization.
Diana is also founding CEO of Global Momenta, a philanthropic strategy and impact innovation firm, and the Global Catalyst Senior Fellow at The New School. She is the author of four books, including “A New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices, & Pathways of the International Community;” her work has been featured in the World Economic Forum Agenda, Huffington Post, NPR. Before joining The New School, Ayton-Shenker founded the Fast Forward Fund, was honored by President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU), and was selected as a Social Venture Network Social Innovation Award finalist. She served as the inaugural Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence at the Wharton School of Business, was named one of "25 Leading Women Changing the World" by Good Business New York, and was featured among “31 Inspiring Women in Nonprofit Management” by the University of North Carolina.
Her United Nations briefing paper “The Challenge of Universal Human Rights and Cultural Diversity” has been translated into all six official languages of the U.N. and cited in more than 100 books, articles, papers, and policies worldwide. She holds an L.L.M. in International Human Rights Law (University of Essex) and an Honors B.A. in International Relations (University of Pennsylvania). She has offered guest lectures at Columbia University, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, University of Chicago, Lewis & Clark Law School, and taught courses at The New School, Bard College, the American University of Paris, and at Hunter College where she directed the first undergraduate human rights program in the country. She has served as a Mentor with CGIU, Unreasonable Institute, Social Good Startups, Global Engagement Summit, and PresenTense; and has served on advisory boards of the Hydration Foundation, Earth Economics, Inspired Capital, and Human & Kind (formerly affiliated with Jane Goodall Institute).
