Bio

Ilana Gelb (she/they) is a Community Associate at Founders Pledge, bringing over a decade of experience advancing health equity, social justice, and systems change across local, national, and international contexts. Her background spans global health policy, humanitarian response, and grassroots organizing, including work with IRC, IFRC, Save the Children, JFREJ, and Seed the Vote. She has led advocacy coalitions, engaged governments and UN agencies, mobilized communities, and supported mutual aid initiatives. She holds a Master's degree from the London School of Economics and speaks conversational Spanish, Hindi, French, and Urdu. Outside of work, she enjoys making lino prints, doing adult beginner tap dance, and bringing people together over food.

Q&A with Ilana

Q: If you could choose anyone famous (real or fictional) to have dinner with who would they be and why?

Lauren Olamina from Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower." I'd love to talk with her about resilience, community-building, and imagining new ways of living in the face of systems that are failing people. Her ability to envision something different, bring people together, and turn empathy into collective action feels especially relevant. I'd have a million questions for her about Earthseed, hope, and what it really takes to build a better world.

Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A novelist.

Q: If a movie was made of your life what genre would it be, who would play you?

A dramedy and I'd be played by Ilana Glazer.