Excelerate Foundation

Board of Directors

J Alexander Sloan

President

Alex has served as Chairman and President of the Excelerate Foundation and its predecessor nonprofit organization since 1991. Beyond his work with Excelerate, Alex has spent his entire career investing in and successfully growing entrepreneurial for-profit and nonprofit organizations that seek to drive financial and/or social impact.

Alex recently served in several corporate social impact leadership roles at leading identity security software companies Okta, Auth0, and Lookout. Alex was the founding director of Auth0’s social impact arm, Auth0.org, developed its strategy, over $5 million in grants, thousands of employee volunteer hours, and thousands of discounted licenses of critical security software to nonprofit organizations globally.

Prior to those corporate social impact roles, Alex served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Communications at Tides, a global grantmaking and fiscal sponsorship provider focused on shared prosperity and social justice. Alex was previously Director of Innovation Investments and Portfolio Director at the Skoll Foundation leading its signature Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship program.

Alex spent 18 years as a venture capitalist, investing in high growth companies from seed stage through IPO/acquisition in a variety of sectors, including Clean Technology, eBusiness services, enterprise software and communications services at leading venture firms Expansion Capital Partners, JPMorgan Partners and Hambrecht & Quist’s venture unit. Alex worked on one of the first venture funds in Vietnam, The Vietnam Fund Management Company, based in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City. Alex began his career as a Presidential appointee serving as Aide to the Administrator at the US Agency for International Development.

Alex has served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees including EYElliance, Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation, Horizons Foundation, and the National Peace Foundation.

Alex often lectures and speaks on industry panels on social impact financing, social entrepreneurship, venture capital, and sustainable technologies. Alex earned a B.A. degree in International Relations and Asian Studies from Tulane University, studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and holds an MBA from Cornell University.

Farah Pandith

Secretary

FARAH PANDITH is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism, she is a frequent media commentator and public speaker. Her book is How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat.

Farah served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and most recently she was the first- ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, serving both Secretaries Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.

She has served on the National Security Council, at the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in various senior roles. She has also served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, chairing its task force on countering violent extremism.

She is a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In fall 2020, the Muhammad Ali Center named Pandith the first-ever Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate for her proven track record of and commitment to promoting diversity, cohesion and respect.

farahpandith.com

Edward Dadakis

Treasurer

The Honorable Edward Dadakis has served as a member of the Board of Excelerate since its founding. He was also a founding director and officer of its predecessor nonprofit organization.

Ed is an Executive Vice President with Aon Risk Services in Stamford and New York City where he structures and develops comprehensive insurance and risk management programs for large corporate clients.

A Justice of the Peace and 40 year town legislator in Greenwich, Connecticut, Ed was first elected to the Greenwich Representative Meeting as one of its youngest members.

Ed earned a BA in economics from the University of Connecticut.

Ernest Lewis

Ernie has been a member of the Board and the Excelerate Foundation since its inception, serves as its Secretary and served for many years on the board of its predecessor nonprofit organization.

Ernie is an ordained priest and serves as an Associate Priest at St. Martin“s Episcopal Church in CA. Ernie serves on the boards of several philanthropic and cultural nonprofit organizations in the Sacramento/Davis area.

Ernie was a member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at Emory University for many years and later, until his retirement in 2001, of the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. The author of publications in medical education, Clinical urology and basic research, Ernie is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Urology and Emeritus Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.

Ernie received the A.B. degree from California State University in Fresno and the M.D. degree from Washington University in Saint Louis. He completed his post- graduate training at Emory University in Atlanta and is certified by the American Board of Adult and Pediatric Urology, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.