Janella Ferguson serves as Chief Development Officer responsible for overseeing all aspects of private-sector fundraising for the Institute. She brings over twenty years of experience advancing the mission of domestic and international organizations through developing partnerships and raising funds.

Janella most recently was director of strategic partnerships at IREX, where she expanded private-sector revenue diversification through strategic positioning, program design and development and relationship building.  Previously, she led partnership development and fundraising for Grantmakers for Education, the Council for Opportunity in Education, International Baccalaureate, and Communities in Schools.

Her educational background includes a nonprofit management executive certificate from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in community planning from University of Cincinnati, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Xavier University. Janella serves on the board of CIS of the Nation's Capital and is a member of USAID's Partnership Advisory Council.