Our Team

Alexander leads Open Philanthropy’s work, which ranges across global catastrophic risks, scientific research, policy advocacy, and global health and development. As a cofounder of Open Philanthropy, he led our initial process for selecting focus areas and hiring and training program officers within them. Previously, Alexander worked as a researcher at GiveWell, conducting evidence reviews and cost-effectiveness analyses for potential top charities. He has a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. in education policy from Stanford University. You can hear him discuss our work on this episode of the 80,000 Hours podcast, or read more in this interview in The Browser.

Cari co-founded Good Ventures with her husband Dustin Moskovitz (co-founder of Facebook and Asana) in 2011 and is the foundation’s Chair. She helps set the strategy and oversee the work of Open Philanthropy, which is the primary basis for Good Ventures’ grant decisions. Previously, Cari was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered a range of topics, including corporate management, the California economy, and enterprise technology. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

Emily oversees Open Philanthropy’s Global Catastrophic Risks portfolio, as well as our Scientific Research and Global Health R&D programs. She joined Open Philanthropy in April 2021 and most recently led our Global Health and Wellbeing work. In that role, she oversaw the allocation of more than $900m in funding focused on scientific research, policy advocacy, global development, and phasing out the worst factory farm practices and helped launch the Lead Exposure Action Fund, OP’s first collaborative fund. She previously worked at DeepMind, Uber, and TGG Group. She has a BSFS in International Political Economy from Georgetown University and a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University. 

Otis leads Open Philanthropy’s Global Health and Wellbeing work, which includes programs focused on policy advocacy, global development, and phasing out the worst factory farm practices. In the 2020 and 2024 election cycles, Otis was a political donor advisor and he previously worked at BlueLabs, a campaign analytics firm. He also previously worked at Open Philanthropy leading the cause prioritization research team and helping to launch our programs on global aid policy and South Asian air quality. Otis has a PhD in economics from MIT focusing on political economy and development and a BA in economics and public policy from Stanford University.

Derek is Open Philanthropy’s Managing Director of Operations. Previously, he was the Director of Grants Management and oversaw our grantmaking logistics, including finance and legal operations. He’s been with Open Philanthropy since July 2017. Prior to his time at Open Philanthropy, he spent six years in a variety of roles at Reasoning Mind, an education nonprofit that developed digital math programs based on international pedagogy and best practices. Derek graduated from Indiana University. In his free time, he enjoys reading, traveling, playing tennis, and spending time with his wife, friends, and family members.

Naina leads Open Philanthropy’s Communications team. She joined in July 2024 after a decade in journalism, most recently as Executive Editor at TIME. There, Naina guided reporters and editors around the world on coverage of global affairs, climate and technology, led newsroom-wide training initiatives and wrote occasional magazine features. Naina holds a BA in English Literature and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford.

Liz leads Open Philanthropy’s Partnership work. She joined in December 2024 after two decades building social impact fundraising teams and working closely with philanthropists, most recently as Chief Development Officer at Tipping Point Community. Liz started her career in investment banking and holds a BS from Washington and Lee University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.