EGA President and CEO
As you may recall, the 2024 Fall Retreat at Skamania, WA, EGA launched the Executive Grantmaker Fellowship (EGF) to support foundation leaders in bridging the gap between helm and heart in operations and impact.
The EGF culminated on Earth Day 2026 in The Hague, Netherlands. There, the cohort made practical plans to leverage legal mechanisms and strategic litigation as effective tools in the long arc work of climate action and grantmaking.
Over 18 months, fellows were resourced to enhance their vision of impactful philanthropy in real-time training, learning and programs that mirrored the shifting terrain and compounding challenges that foundations are facing.
The philanthropic sector is being called to stand in solidarity with its principles and practices to test alignment with the vulnerable and underserved. Foundations are one part of the landscape of giving and one function of a larger network of stewardship and care. From the Fearless Fund ruling, precedent to the attacks that followed, we have navigated generationally reckless attempts to dismantle democracy, to regress advancements in innovation that come directly from racial equity, and are weathering unwise attempts to roll back climate survival.
We are today’s stewards of an important function of civil society. For environmental giving, the Executive Grantmakers Fellowship has evolved the practice of togetherness to togetherness in purpose. We will offer several look-backs from the fellows themselves that share their reaffirmation and resolve to stand firm and uphold a healthy democracy for the planet. We are proud to show up in our role to boost philanthropy’s efforts for present and future challenges.
I invite you to read this reflection from fellow member, executive grantmaker and President of the Island Foundation, Denise Porschè. She reflects on how session 6 of The EGF equipped her and her peers to resist in the face of federal pressures and boosted their skills to lead with courage at a time of great need.
Executive Grantmakers In their own Words
Leadership Under Fire: A Lesson from the Witness Chair
by Denise Porché, Executive Director, Island Foundation
When Boston Mayor Michelle Wu brilliantly testified before a congressional hearing in 2025, she not only brought her policy expertise- she also unapologetically brought her whole self, her baby included. Despite an intense grilling, Mayor Wu remained grounded in her values. As a philanthropic leader, I have looked to this as an example of how to lead in the face of pressure.
I had the chance to practice this skill during the EGA Executive Grantmaker Fellowship, where my cohort and I were trained to navigate a congressional hearing as a pivotal part of our Fellowship instruction. The session was specially developed in partnership between EGA’s leader, trusted counsel, and partners to prepare grantmakers for the terrain as it changes.
During a day-long moot congressional hearing, we were guided by a rotating panel which included two attorneys who masterfully played both friendly and, at times, deeply hostile committee members. The pace of questioning was unrelenting and intense - and yes, as intimidating as it looks on television!
The program design enabled us to witness each other deftly testify about our missions, nonprofit partners, and the issue areas we support. One by one, we all had a chance to see what it was like to be in “the hot seat” as we answered the trainers’ harsh questions about our word choices or the purposes of our grantmaking decisions. Watching my peers rise to the occasion and stand their ground during this training was truly inspirational. While exhaustive, the training also provided the great gift of constructive feedback, and we walked away equipped with an abiding confidence that, in the end, we could do hard things and lead through the challenging landscapes before us.
What if the antidote to fear was not courage, but rather imagination? This is one theme we have explored in the Executive Grantmaker Fellowship. We must have imagination to navigate pressure to collapse or to truncate the dynamic connections between people and the planet. Through this moot congressional trial experience, we were able to put that creative imagination to work and exercise bold leadership by practicing how we stay firm in our values of equity and inclusion in real time.
Mayor Wu had twelve practice sessions before her testimony. However, I can tell you that our cohort’s one session was a priceless opportunity that taught us a vital lesson: you can do hard things when you stay true to yourself - and to your Foundation’s mission and values. These are the anchors you should run toward, not from, when navigating uncertainty.
Learn more about the Executive Grantmakers Fellowship.
