Grant Gordon

Grant Gordon is the Founder and CEO of Essential, a non-profit that leverages advances in basic science to create the next generation of cost-effective lifesaving products to tackle malnutrition. Prior to launching Essential, Grant was the Senior Director of Innovation Strategy at the International Rescue Committee, where he supported the organization’s 50+ R&D team to design, test, and scale new breakthrough products and services for humanitarian response. Grant has worked in leadership positions at the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and has helped a number of UN agencies and NGOs establish new research and innovation units. He has worked and lived in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, West Africa, Somalia, and Haiti. Grant holds a Ph.D. in political science with a specialization in applied statistics from Columbia University and has a BA in public policy from the University of Chicago.