We are ChangeX
We believe that...
We’re partnering with changemakers, social innovators and funders to advance and accelerate their impact on the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges with the goal of impacting one billion people by 2030.
We're a remote-first organisation, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with teams across Europe, the U.S., Latin America, and Africa.
Meet our global team.
While investing in social entrepreneurs across Europe at Ashoka, Paul grew frustrated at how slowly proven ideas were spreading. He realized technology held the key to scaling what works and founded ChangeX in 2015. A business graduate, Paul previously marketed chocolate and ice-cream at Unilever and Cadbury. He loves to spend his weekends starting ChangeX ideas with his family, as part of his neighborhood group.
Niamh works with our social innovators to spread their ideas, with our corporate partners to grow their impact, and on measuring the impact of our work in local communities. Previously, Niamh worked with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and as a consultant with PwC having studied law at NUI Galway and International Management at TCD. Outside work, you'll find Niamh at a gig, practising yoga or sea swimming.
Katie runs the day to day operations of the ChangeX machine, as well as supporting starters get the platform ideas up and running in their community. Previously Katie worked with the Mary Robinson Foundation on securing justice for people impacted by climate change. She holds a Masters in Sustainable Development. Outside work, you’ll find Katie shouting either on a hockey pitch or at a climate change rally.
Based in San Francisco, Leah plays a key role in our expansion across the US and Latin America. She works on partnership management and supporting our community of changemakers. Leah joined us from Niantic, the developers of Pokémon GO, having seen the value of ChangeX as a customer. Outside work, you'll find Leah hiking and camping with her dog and partner in the wilderness of California.
Claire works with the Product Team to innovate and scale the ChangeX platform to improve communities globally. Previously, she worked at Devex, the media platform for international development, in research at the UN University Institute, and in public relations. Claire studied international relations, multimedia, and loves online courses for building new skills. Outside work you’ll find her in the sea and enjoying Barcelona life.
Osny is a multidisciplinary, detail-oriented front end/UI engineer. He loves working with innovative and purposeful companies to create clean and user‑friendly experiences, focusing on business impact and growth. Previously, Osny worked for many start-ups (mainly SaaS) around the world, which helped him to develop a broad skill set. When Osny is not working, he enjoys sports in general.
Susie is the Senior Manager of Marketing & Communications. She has 9+ years experience in B2B marketing, specializing in content strategy, product marketing and PR and social media. Most recently, she led the strategic marketing efforts for a global tech company after it completed two major acquisitions. When she’s not working, you’ll find Susie singing and playing guitar, watching tennis or wrangling a preschooler.
Rachel looks after all things social innovation: sourcing ideas from across the globe, packaging these ideas for scale, and curating portfolios for local implementation. She also oversees our implementation into Africa. Her background includes project management/strategy. Outside of work, you'll find Rachel swimming in the sea, at an art class or rallying people around her own local community projects.
Killian is based in Brazil and works as a Community Success Manager, making sure all starters and social innovators have a positive experience with ChangeX. Killian has been working in tech for over 10 years now. When he's not at work, Killian can be found trying to maintain his pollinator garden at home (which is constantly under attack from his 4 dogs and 3 cats!)
Sean is CEO of Ticketsolve and co-founder of Exoftware and Ticketsolve Ltd. He is an industry-leading expert in maximising Agile processes for profit with over a decade of senior management experience in software companies. He leads the product team at Ticketsolve as well as managing key client relationships. With his direction, Ticketsolve is continuously breaking new ground in ticketing.
Michael is focused on building a solid financial footing for ChangeX so we can scale and reach our ambitious impact goals. He’s an experienced CFO who has worked exclusively with high growth tech businesses over the last 20 years, leading on capital raising and financial systems development. Before joining ChangeX Michael was CFO at Clavis Insight and is also currently a non-executive at Danske Bank UK.
Karen is responsible for finding the best community ideas from around the world to scale. She is founder of The Cottage Market and joined us from GIY (Grow it Yourself), where she helped scale a brilliant social enterprise. Karen was co-producer and presenter of RTE's Grow Cook Eat television show. Outside work, you'll find Karen with her children Dylan and Saoirse and partner Paul on the beaches of East Cork with their three dogs and flasks of coffee at the ready.
Robson is passionate about building products that have a positive impact on people's lives and developing software that solves real problems. He is co-founder of social impact start-up Surdo para Surdo, which empowers deaf people in Brazil with sign language education. He also co-founded Inboarding, a company that aims to make employee experience more inclusive. Robson has also worked for Accenture, Mastercard and ContaAzul. When he’s not working, you’ll usually find him running or doing outdoor activities with his family.
Emma brings inspiring stories from our community to a wider audience. She joined us from the Bank of England, and previously spent over a decade working as a journalist and editor at Ireland’s leading business newspaper, The Sunday Business Post. Emma enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring new places, playing tag rugby, getting lost in a book, and trying out new recipes.
Paula oversees the implementation of impact initiatives and partnership development and management in LatAm. In the past, Paula worked in the Impact Hub Network as an entrepreneur and consultant for social innovation projects in Colombia, as well as a regional support coordinator for LatAm and Africa. She holds a Bachelor in Business Administration and has been recognised as an Acumen and Skoll Fellow. Paula enjoys hiking with her two dogs, road trips and meaningful conversations with friends while enjoying a hot cup of coffee.
Nada plays a key role in capturing social innovations' impact on local communities. Previously, she worked in similar roles with organisations such as UNICEF and the Danish Refugee Council, and taught Politics and Sociology at the University of Bristol and the American University of Beirut. She holds a PhD in Politics. Outside work, you will find Nada travelling, making ceramics, tending to her flowers, watching theatre plays and films, and going for long walks with Billy, her rescue dog.
Prateek is responsible for ChangeX’s digital marketing activities, including driving high-quality traffic to our platform and promoting our social innovations through various online channels. He has helped scale start-ups in the past and brings that experience with him to ChangeX. Prateek has a Masters in International Management. In his free time you will find him trawling through Wikipedia pages or binge watching history documentaries.
Gabriel is a software engineer, based in Brazil. He creates new features for the ChangeX website, and ensures that existing features work as they should. His experience studying Information Systems at CEFET/RJ university in Brazil and developing features in his previous role informs his work at ChangeX. Outside work, you'll find Gabriel reading sci-fi or fantasy books, or gaming.
Sola collaborates closely with the Product and Impact teams to review workflows and procedures and implement ongoing improvements aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. She has a degree in Computer Science with a Bias in Human Factors Engineering along with two Master's degrees in Human-Computer Interaction and Disruptive Innovation. Sola is passionate about addressing social issues and enjoys reading and writing in her spare time.
Simon has lead engineering and product teams for almost two decades. With a background in design and software, he gets most excited working with brilliant people to build things that solve real immediate problems, while keeping one eye on what's ahead. Outside of work he spends as much time as he can with his young family while squeezing in as much sport, DIY and playing music as possible.
Irene runs partnership operations at ChangeX and is a grant management expert. She brings expertise in scaling and optimizing innovation portfolios, with a focus on social innovation, climate change, and education. She is versed in the restructuring of resource mobilization. Previously Irene worked with UNESCO, FAO, FIA and EIT Climate-KIC. Outside of work you can find Irene at the sea in Barcelona.
Kim manages relationships with partners throughout Europe, collaborating across teams to deliver meaningful impact. Kim’s background is varied, spanning leadership, communications, community, partnerships & business development. Over the last 5 years she was critical in building two US-based start-ups. She holds a Masters in Advertising. Fascinated by people and storytelling-obsessed, outside work you’ll find Kim studying about the mind or making documentaries.
Åsa is an Impact Associate for Sweden. She supports our Swedish starters get their projects off the ground and helps foster community engagement. In general, Åsa is passionate about improving communication and brand awareness across Sweden e.g. through copywriting and translations. South Africa is her second home, where she grows organic veggies, fruits - and a baby.
Ashley is responsible for financial budgeting, consolidation, reporting and compliance at ChangeX. Prior to joining ChangeX, she worked for Deloitte in their Advisory and Assurance teams globally, before moving into the VC space in South Africa. Ashley is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Outside work, you'll find her attempting new yoga poses, scouting for coffee spots and catching up with friends.
Sebastian accompanies starters in the Spanish speaking areas where ChangeX leads projects. He supports starters to successfully complete their projects with a meaningful impact, and monitors the different funds in these regions. He previously worked with the Montreuil Townhall supporting international cooperation projects, and holds a Masters in International Development. Outside of work you’ll find Sebastian playing music, at a concert or reading a book.
Tayna is a passionate software engineer who helps develop impactful features for ChangeX. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in nature with her family, reading, and playing tennis - her new favorite hobby. Tayna is actively involved in community initiatives like Rails Girls workshops, where she organizes events to empower and support women in tech.
Rebekka is part of our Customer Success team, supporting starters during and after the application process to ensure everyone eligible receives the funding they need to start their community project. Previously Rebekka worked for the Emergency Assistant Foundation, helping people in financially unstable times. Outside of work she enjoys doing pottery and spending time outdoors.
Linda is based in Namibia and works as an Impact Associate for both Danish and English-speaking starters, and supports the Danish starters through the entire process. She enjoys facilitating a positive experience for starters, despite challenges. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with young people from the local community, her family, friends and various pets.
Sorcha is a Partner at McKinsey and leader of the McKinsey Dublin office. She joined in 2003 and her work focuses on organizational change in health care. Sorcha led work on an approach to improve access to primary care in the UK that led to significant improvements in patient access and satisfaction and underpins the national approach to addressing GP access. In addition to publishing and presenting on these topics, Sorcha also convenes a global group of leading practitioners to share perspectives on successes and the future of integrated care. Before joining McKinsey, Sorcha obtained a degree in microbiology and a PhD in molecular microbiology from Trinity College Dublin.
Caroline Casey is an award-winning social entrepreneur, Ashoka Fellow and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. A former strategy consultant with Accenture, Caroline is founder of Binc, a business inclusion company which launched #valuable – a worldwide ‘call to action’ for businesses to recognise the value and potential of the 1 billion people living with a disability and position disability equally on the global business agenda. Casey also founded the Ability Awards, to recognize Irish businesses for their inclusion of people with disabilities, and Kanchi, where she developed a set of best practices for businesses, to help them see "disabled" workers as an asset.
Brian Caulfield is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He was a Managing Partner at Draper Esprit for 7 years, and continues as a Venture Partner with the firm. Prior to joining Draper Esprit, Brian was a partner at Trinity Venture Capital. Previously, Brian co-founded both Exceptis Technologies and Similarity Systems. He sits on the boards of Clavis Technology and the Irish Times, Ireland’s leading daily newspaper. He is a private investor/advisor to a number of early stage technology companies and is VC-in-residence at co-working hub Talent Garden.
Faye is passionate for social change through entrepreneurship and applying business practice to socially driven organizations. She spent over five years as Executive Director of the education-based Freedom Writers Foundation, where she spearheaded the organization’s growth through major film and book releases. Previous to this she worked as a corporate paralegal focused on Fortune 500 corporate mergers and acquisitions and litigation for Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Faye co-founded The Giving Circle in Amsterdam and Dublin to educate and inspire a new generation of philanthropists and support innovative social purpose organizations.
Jill launched Playworks in 1996 in California. Currently the organization brings play and physical activities to children across the United States, serving over 800,000 students a year through direct and training services, reaching more than 1800 schools and youth-serving organizations. Prior to Playworks, Vialet founded the Museum of Children’s Art (mocha) in Oakland, California and expanded its programs to reach 20,000 young people each year. In 2009, Vialet and Playworks were selected as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and in 2011 Jill was named by Forbes magazine as one of the top 30 leading social entrepreneurs.
Mike Lee · Brian Caulfield · Albert Wenger · Vic Parker · Jeff Lieberman · Garry Moroney · Cavendish Capital Limited · Colm Lyon · Ray Nolan · John O'Farrell · Jerry Greenfield · Val and Ed Spencer · Soran Foundation · Conor Stanley · Shay Garvey · Mark Little · Yallingup Enterprises · Lochlann Quinn · Denis Tinsley · Minneapolis Foundation · Bill McKiernan · Knight Foundation · Ian McDonald · LEGO Foundation · Patrick Kennedy · Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
ChangeX International is a registered charity. Company registration number: 555232 | Registered charity number: 20153618 | Charitable tax exemption number: 21264.
ChangeX United States is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation. EIN: 83-4060943.
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