Staff
Katya Fels Smyth, Founder and CEO
Laura Stravino, Chief Capacity Officer
Meet Our Staff
Katya Smyth, Founder and CEO
Katya Smyth brings over two decades of experience in program development, evaluation, system change, community networking, and creating social will to address seemingly intractable social problems to FFI. Katya is advancing the Initiative’s priorities as its CEO and as a Research Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Prior to launching FFI in 2007, Katya founded and led On The Rise, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts -based organization providing innovative and effective support and community to the area’s most disenfranchised women. In her 11 years at On The Rise, the organization helped over 1,000 women achieve new levels of safety and personal agency. Significantly, she also helped change community dialogue about who “can” be helped and systemic responses to women with trauma histories not seeking traditional trauma services. A recipient of several social entrepreneurship awards and fellowships, Katya speaks, publishes and provides consultation nationally on the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs that work at the intersection of entrenched poverty, violence and trauma. She has also participated in international training efforts for domestic violence advocates. She is a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence, and co-chairs its Systems Change and Integration Committee.
Katya holds an AB with honors in Biology from Harvard and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School.
Laura Stravino, Chief Capacity Officer
Laura is responsible for the ongoing development of FFI’s systems, procedures, infrastructure, technology, knowledge management and communication capacities. Prior to coming to FFI, Laura worked for 11 years at the Organic Trade Association (OTA), with her last position as OTA’s Director of Development and Strategic Initiatives. During her tenure at OTA, Laura was responsible for membership marketing and member services, the Annual Fund, special events, and support to the Board of Directors and its committees. She spearheaded special projects at various stages of the association’s growth, including the establishment of OTA in Canada, the redesign of the organization’s governance structure, and the launch of OTA’s Political Action Committee. Laura worked for nearly a decade in the the social service field, for organizations providing services to immigrants and homeless families with children in New York and Seattle, and as Assistant Director of the Washington Low Income Housing Network, an advocacy organization based in Seattle.
Laura holds a B.A. in Comparative Area Studies from Duke University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Community and Organizational Service from the University of Washington.
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