Suggestions
Mona Mourshed
Founding Global CEO of Generation
Dr. Mona Mourshed is the founding Global CEO of Generation, a global nonprofit organization focused on employment and workforce development.12 She has decades of experience as a leader in the education and workforce space, starting in the Middle East and expanding globally.1
Mourshed founded Generation in 2014, which has since become one of the largest global programs by annual volume that trains and places learners of all ages into careers previously beyond their reach.4 As of January 2025, Generation has over 120,000 graduates across 17 countries and 40 professions, who have earned over $1.5 billion in wages.3
Prior to founding Generation, Mourshed established and led McKinsey & Company's global education practice.14 She has authored widely cited reports and articles on education, workforce, and social sector impact.34
Mourshed holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from MIT.14 She has dual Egyptian and American citizenship.1 Her achievements and recognitions include:
- Named one of the 2024 Advocates in Aging by Next Avenue and the American Society on Aging15
- Selected as one of Fortune Magazine's '40 under 40'14
- Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur14
- Member of the Council on Foreign Relations14
She currently serves on the boards of New America, Teach for All, and Last Mile Health.13
Highlights
Aging happens to all of us. And yet we rarely spend time talking about how to support the age 50+ to thrive in the workplace. Thank you Carrie Varoquiers for convening us at #JFFHorizons to shine a light on this critical issue. It was terrific to exchange views with you, Claire Casey and our session members on the problem and solutions!
For those of us tackling big social issues, we want to create change that lasts. We want durability. And my latest piece in Stanford Social Innovation Review proposes a common approach. I still believe the recipe for real impact is to progress against three dimensions simultaneously – breadth depth, and durability. But the time has come for non-profit leaders and donors to launch deep and sustained efforts to tackle durability: the least discussed, least measured, but arguably most important of these three. What does this mean? ✅ Collecting data about individual beneficiary outcomes, long after specific interventions have ended ✅ Agreeing on durability gold standards, like improved long term health outcomes or living wage attainment ✅ Developing common datasets for these standards so we can benchmark our progress ✅ Prioritizing durable outcomes – and the resources needed to track them – in funding decisions The only sure way to know whether our impact matches our aspirations is to roll up our sleeves and, with humility and patience, commit to following this durability path wherever it may lead. #socialimpact
