Jessamyn Shams-Lau
Board Advisor
Jessamyn is an advocate for redistribution of power in philanthropy, non-profit workforce wellbeing, and feminine leadership. She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Capital Collaborative by Camelback Ventures, and as co-Chair of the Funders + Wellbeing Project for The Wellbeing Project.
After realising she’s far from alone in her frustration with the status quo of power hoarding in philanthropy, Jessamyn co-wrote and illustrated the book, ‘Unicorns Unite: How Non-profits & Foundations Can Build EPIC Partnerships’, with Jane Leu and Vu Le. During her decade-long tenure leading the Peery Foundation, Jessamyn co-created and stewarded the Peery Foundation’s Grantee-Centric approach to philanthropy as Executive Director/Co-CEO.
Jessamyn has created a university curriculum social innovation that is taught at both undergraduate and graduate levels. She has served as an advisor to Intrinsic Labs, The Wellbeing Project, GrantAdvisor, and Ashoka U, as well as an Executive Committee member of Big Bang Philanthropy Group. Drawing upon her broad experience within the non-profit sector, Jessamyn advises the Supported Giving team in all areas of business activity.
Jessamyn is a high school dropout and community college graduate. She has a BA in Fine Arts and an MBA. She lives in Copenhagen, Denmark with her ridiculously funny husband, insatiably curious toddler daughter, and two headstrong house rabbits.