Alexandra Russell has 25 years of experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. For the past decade, Alex has consulted with donors and foundations to develop their democracy and civic engagement grantmaking portfolio. She’s also advised national affinity groups like Way to Win and the Women Donors Network to combine due diligence and election research to support an impactful and thoughtful giving plan for donors. 

Alex was also the founding director and for five years ran a national Working Group for funders on Money in Politics at the Funders Committee for Civic Participation. She also directed the Massachusetts Donor Alliance where she worked to debunk the blue-state myth and to expand the permanent progressive infrastructure in the state, by funding movement-led women and people of color organizations.

Before starting her consulting practice, Alex ran the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, funding initiatives to advance women’s political equity and leadership. She served as program director for a national media reform organization also directed a state wide democracy organization in MA. She began her career in Seattle as a Fellow with the Public Interest Research Groups.

Alex serves on the Advisory Council for Emerge Massachusetts and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and is also a trustee of the Beveridge Family Foundation. 

She graduated from Dickinson College with majors in Religion and Spanish and her Masters degree is from Boston University’s School of Theology where she studied theology with a focus on feminist and ecological ethics.

She lives in western Massachusetts with her spouse, a public school teacher, and their two middle-school-age daughters. Raising two young girls in the current political context is part of what keeps her busy (and up at night!).