New chief executive will continue to grow RPA’s impact and build on founding leader Melissa Berman’s long track record of accelerating philanthropy in pursuit of a just world

(NEW YORK – October 12, 2023) Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) today announced Latanya Mapp will be its next President and CEO, succeeding Melissa Berman in the role she founded.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our excitement and delight in welcoming Latanya to RPA. Latanya’s 20-year career brokering alliances and community-centered solutions to thorny global challenges, coupled with her passion for equity, make her the ideal person to lead RPA’s next chapter. We salute Melissa’s legacy and look forward to supporting Latanya in our ongoing work of accelerating philanthropy in pursuit of a just world,” said RPA Board Chairperson Valerie Rockefeller.

Melissa Berman, the outgoing CEO, said, “It has been a privilege to guide RPA on a 20+ year journey filled with meaningful impact and transformative moments.  I’m honored to be passing the baton to Latanya, an extraordinary leader with a powerful global vision. Her unwavering dedication to women and girls is an indicator of the commitment she will bring to RPA’s mission. I look forward to witnessing RPA’s evolution under Latanya’s leadership.”

The RPA Board of Directors selected Ms. Mapp after undertaking an extensive global search. She will begin her post in January 2024.

“I am honored to join RPA at a critical time for philanthropy worldwide. RPA’s worldwide platform is well positioned to help funders embrace and value the path to real, lasting change while opening ways for those most marginalized to ensure social change on their own terms,” said Ms. Mapp.

Ms. Mapp currently serves as President and CEO of Global Fund for Women, a public foundation that supports courageous activists who are fighting for justice and equality in their communities. Previously, she was Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Global, the international arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, with regional and country offices in Africa and Latin America.

Before joining Planned Parenthood Global, Ms. Mapp worked for eight years as a human rights officer for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and ten years with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

An attorney by training, Ms. Mapp began her career at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in Washington, DC. She has received many honors and awards, including two Esteemed Meritorious Honor Awards from the U.S. government and the highest honor in civil service, the Superior Honor Award, from the U.S. State Department.  She was among 30 Foreign Service Officers honored with the Colin Powell Fellowship by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Additionally, Ms. Mapp is the author of The Everyday Feminist: The Key to Sustainable Social-Impact Driving Movements We Need Now More Than Ever. She serves on the Boards of Oxfam International, Oxfam America, Management Sciences for Health, and the Luminate Foundation.  She is an Adjunct Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. In addition, Ms. Mapp is an ICAP and Woodrow Wilson Fellow as well as a member of the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in government and politics, a master’s in public policy, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland.

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