About Ingrid

Ingrid Benedict has demonstrated commitment to leadership development, capacity building and movement building for effective and lasting social change. Ingrid brings her experience to working with social change leaders, community-based organizations and philanthropic entities.

As a first generation immigrant from Nicaragua, Ingrid’s family moved to California in the early 1980’s and she began her work in social justice as a regional organizer against anti-affirmative action ballot initiative – California’s Proposition 209. Ingrid currently works as an independent consultant as well as the Director of the Daphne Foundation in New York City. She is the co-founder and chair of New York Blacks in Philanthropy.

As the former Program Officer for the Fulfilling the Dream Fund and Communities for Public Education Reform (CPER), Ingrid oversaw the programmatic and grant-making activities of these multi-million dollar funder collaboratives focused on expanding philanthropic support and commitment for race and gender consciousness and public education. Previously, Ingrid was the fund director for the California Fund for Youth Organizing (a fund of the Tides Foundation), which fostered collaboration between practitioners and funders to promote youth organizing as an effective strategy for developing a new generation of social-change leaders.

Ingrid also has worked as co-director of the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL), overseeing its administrative and programmatic activities, as well as a school-site organizer with Youth Together and an Alliance Building trainer with the Institute for Multiracial Justice.

Ingrid currently works as an independent consultant working with community based organizations and grantmakers as well as the Director of the Daphne Foundation in New York City. She is the co-founder of New York Blacks in Philanthropy.