Alana Francis de Govia is an action-orientated leader with two successful decades of experience in the global nonprofit sector, developing strategy, social impact and cultural programs, and partnerships. At Common Impact, she manages and expands the firm’s programs, including consulting with Fortune 500 companies and critical social change organizations and their field-building efforts targeting areas where skilled-based volunteering can play a stronger role in incubating new ideas, models and initiatives for change. She reports directly to Leila Saad, CEO of Common Impact.
Alana joins Common Impact from the Africa Center in Harlem, where she serves as Chief Program & Experience Officer and has played an instrumental role in the organization’s turnaround and growth.
She began her nonprofit career teaching French in Guinea and then moved to London to secure a Master’s in Reproductive and Sexual Health Research. For several years, Alana worked in public health on global AIDS relief at a Columbia University program in Lesotho, women’s health at Pathfinder International, and HIV policy at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Alana then broadened her career beyond public health and served as senior program advisor at Keep a Child Alive, Alicia Keys’ foundation. That was before her move to the Africa Center, where she started around 200+ programs, created new exhibitions, and expanded impact to reach more than 200,000 people.