Kirsten Sansom

Kirsten Sansom has over 20 years of non-profit experience in Asia and the US, supporting children in developing countries to gain access to a quality education. For almost two decades, she lived and traveled throughout Asia, witnessing firsthand the barriers children face to reach their potential. 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 signature gala event, raising millions of dollars to support Room to Read’s literacy and girls’ education programs. In addition, she was an executive consultant to Room to Read’s gala events in Hong Kong and New York.

Prior to her philanthropic work, Kirsten was an Advanced Systems Engineer for Electronic Data Systems, applying creative information technology solutions to solve business problems in the manufacturing, telecommunications, and point-of-sale industry sectors in the US and Europe.

Now, as the Senior VP of Storytelling, she is eager to share the compelling stories of the U-Go scholars so that more young women can achieve the next vital step in their educational and personal development.

Kirsten earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She serves on the Natural Resources Committee at Black Butte Ranch, Oregon. Currently, she is based in New York City but is often found back in Oregon, monitoring western bluebirds and hiking in her beloved Ponderosa pine forest.