Joanne Ke Edelman

Joanne is a firm believer that every person should have an equal opportunity to build a better future for themselves and their families. This passion motivates Joanne’s work as Senior Manager at GDI Americas, where she helps design, build, and launch social impact startups.

At GDI, Joanne serves as the COO of Refugee Investment Network, served as the former COO of Emerging Public Leaders, and has worked extensively with the Global Digital Health Index, President’s Young Professionals Program of Liberia, Precision Development, and Co-Impact. She is also the co-author of “Paradigm Shift: How investments can unlock the potential of refugees,” “State of Digital Health 2019,” and “More than the sum of its parts: Making multi-stakeholder initiatives work.”

Joanne joined GDI from the World Bank / IFC, where she specialized in private sector development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Joanne earned an MA in Applied Economics from Georgetown University and a BA/MA in Economics and Management from Oxford University. She is GDI’s resident foodie and a traditionally-trained kintsugi artist.