Denise Raquel Dunning *01

Denise Raquel Dunning is the founder and executive director of Rise Up, which advances health, education and equity globally. Rise Up’s global network of 500+ leaders has improved the lives of 7 million girls, youth and women, and advocated for over 100 laws and policies impacting 115 million people. Dunning is a Fulbright Scholar whose recent awards include selection by the Gates Institute’s 120 Under Forty Global Leaders and the 2017 Powerful Women of the Bay Area Award. She is a Stanford University Social Entrepreneur in Residence Fellow and teaches at UC Berkeley. Dunning previously worked for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank. She is a board member of the Public Health Institute and EngenderHealth. Dunning has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California Berkeley, a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Duke University.