Shaady Salehi

Shaady Salehi is a strategist who helps organizations and movements harness the power of narrative and culture change to advance social impact. As the founding director of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, she helped transform trust-based philanthropy from a little-known concept into a global movement that has reshaped modern philanthropy.

Throughout her career, Shaady has worked at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and systems change. As Executive Director of Active Voice, she led national engagement campaigns that used documentary film to catalyze dialogue and action on issues including immigration, criminal justice, and food security. As Managing Director of Distribution & Impact at ITVS, she expanded the reach and impact of independent documentaries across public media and community spaces nationwide. And as Senior Brand Strategist at Mission Minded, she helped nonprofits clarify their purpose, strengthen their brands, and communicate with greater clarity and resonance.

Shaady is a frequent speaker, writer, and advisor on trust-based philanthropy, narrative strategy, and collective action. Her writing has appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and she has been featured on podcasts including Fund the People and Do One Better. She is also the founder of Skyview Strategies, through which she has advised mission-driven organizations on audience engagement, communications, and narrative strategy. Shaady currently serves on the Steering Committee of Human Rights Funders Network and on the Board of Color Congress, a grantmaking organization dedicated to strengthening the ecosystem of nonfiction storytelling by and for people of color.

Shaady is the daughter of Iranian immigrants and was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. She currently lives with her husband in San Francisco (the ancestral land of the Ohlone people). In her downtime she likes to go on urban hikes, practice yoga, and binge-watch competitive cooking shows.