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Karolina Walęcik

Senior leader of philanthropic impact and operations | ex BlackRock, Open Society Foundations

Karolina Walęcik is a senior social impact leader with a strong background in philanthropic impact and operations, spanning corporate and nonprofit sectors. She excels in grant making, strategic planning, research, communications, stakeholder engagement, operations, risk management, project management, policy analysis, and advocacy. Karolina has a talent for crafting executive materials and pitching concepts in executive and client-facing environments.

As a performance-driven generalist and creative systems thinker, Karolina demonstrates the ability to explore new territories to identify opportunities and strategies for desired outcomes. Her global expertise covers economic opportunity, financial inclusion, community economic development, environmental justice, climate change, public health, human rights, criminal justice, and sustainable development. She possesses in-depth knowledge of regulatory, compliance, and governance in charitable asset vehicles like donor-advised funds and private foundations.

Karolina Walęcik's most recent role was at BlackRock Social Impact as the Head of Global Grants and Operations, where she was a founding member of the firm's philanthropy group. During her 6.5-year tenure, she led the design and implementation of grants due diligence, impact tracking and reporting, as well as operational practices, risk management processes, and policies. She was instrumental in launching and overseeing The BlackRock Foundation under the CFO's guidance, including governance, compliance, and risk management procedures. Karolina managed Social Impact's global grant portfolio, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and co-led the strategy for BlackRock's $50M pledge for Covid-19 Relief and Recovery.

Karolina Walęcik has a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in Development Practice from Columbia | SIPA, a background in Sociology and Applied Social Sciences from the University of Warsaw, and a Master of Arts (MA) in English Language and Literature from Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Her professional experience includes roles at Columbia University, Accountability Lab, UNAIDS, Open Society Foundations, Stanislaw Brzozowski Association, Krytyka Polityczna, and MediaCom.

With her diverse background, Karolina Walęcik brings a wealth of experience in social impact, philanthropy, operations, and strategic leadership to any organization.

Karolina Walęcik
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Location

Boca Raton, Florida, United States