Jorge Casimiro, Vice President and Chief Public Policy & Social Impact Officer at NIKE Inc. and President of the NIKE Foundation, and Natasha Poonawalla, Executive Director of Serum Institute of India and Chairperson of Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, have been appointed to the Board of Girl Effect.
Jorge Casimiro joins the board after Hilary Krane, formerly the Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel at NIKE Inc., stepped down from the Girl Effect board at the end of her tenure. Jorge is currently the Vice President and Chief Public Policy & Social Impact Officer at NIKE Inc. and President of the NIKE Foundation. In these roles, Jorge leads an experienced and diverse team driving NIKE’s global government relations, public affairs and social impact strategies to accelerate business growth and create shared value for society. A committed champion for inclusion, Jorge also serves as the Executive Sponsor of NIKE’s Latino & Friends Employee Resource Group.
Before joining NIKE, Jorge held prominent roles across government affairs, communications, social responsibility and general management at The Coca-Cola Company. Jorge currently serves on the boards of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, Girl Effect and the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation, as well as on the Executive Forum of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.
Natasha Poonawalla is the Executive Director of Serum Institute of India, and also serves as Chairperson of Serum Life Sciences, a newly-established business focused on developing, producing and supplying pandemic vaccines. She is also Chairperson of the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, her family’s foundation, which was launched in 2012 to improve lives through a focus on increasing education, healthcare, safe water and environmental sanitation.
Additionally, Natasha is Chair of the British Asian Children’s Protection Fund for India, and is a member of the British Asian Trust’s India Advisory Council.
Commenting on his appointment, Jorge Casimiro said:
“I have long admired Girl Effect from a distance and so it is an honor to be invited to join their Board. I am looking forward to supporting Jessica and the Girl Effect team in delivering their ambitious plans to help millions more girls make sustainable and positive changes in their lives.”
Natasha Poonawalla said:
“I am passionate about helping to secure a brighter future for girls and young women — not just in India but across the world, so I am delighted to join the board of Girl Effect and support the fantastic work they do in ensuring that every girl is in control of her health, education, learning and livelihood.”
Jessica Posner Odede, CEO of Girl Effect, said:
“I’m delighted to welcome Jorge and Natasha to the Board of Girl Effect. Jorge has been a long-standing supporter to the organization, and brings more than twenty years of experience in driving social impact strategies, as well as being a passionate advocate for equity and inclusion.
“Natasha has a long history of supporting and empowering women and girls and brings a unique perspective from her professional and personal life to our work and strategy. Natasha is already adding significant value and we’re so excited to get to work with her more. Having Jorge and Natasha as board members will be invaluable to us in helping Girl Effect carry out its mission and ambitious growth plans.”
Notes: Girl Effect Inc is a 501c3 organisation with EIN number 84-3629323. Girl Effect UK is a registered charity 1141155 and company 07516619.