Kirsten Sansom

Kirsten Sansom has over 20 years of non-profit experience in Asia and the U.S., advocating for quality education for children in developing countries. For nearly two decades, she lived and traveled throughout Asia, witnessing the barriers to education firsthand. In Shanghai, she led fundraising efforts for Operation Smile, Habitat for Humanity, The Jane Goodall Institute, and the Li Ming Migrant School. In Singapore, she was the Executive Team Leader for Room to Read’s gala, raising millions for literacy and girls' education. Subsequently, she served as a consultant for Room to Read’s events in Hong Kong and New York. 

Previously, Kirsten was an Advanced Systems Engineer at Electronic Data Systems, applying creative IT solutions to solve business problems in the manufacturing, telecommunications, and retail sectors in the U.S. and Europe. 

Now, as Senior VP of Storytelling, she shares compelling scholar stories to inspire donor support, enabling more young women to achieve a university education. 

Kirsten holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also Vice President of the Black Butte Conservancy, a conservation non-profit she co-founded in Central Oregon. When not crafting inspiring stories, she’s keeping a watchful eye on the plight of western bluebirds in her cherished Ponderosa pine forest.