Meet Rafia, Global Fund for Children's new Trustee
Global Fund for Children is pleased to welcome Rafia Qureshi to its UK Trust Board of Trustees
Our Global Board of Directors and UK Trust Board of Trustees bring diverse expertise, experience, and perspectives to GFC, helping to shape our work and strengthen our commitment to community-led change. Their guidance supports our efforts to invest in community-based organizations advancing the rights and opportunities of children and youth around the world.
“We are so pleased to welcome Rafia Qureshi to GFC’s UK Trust Board of Trustees,” said Hayley Roffey, GFC’s Co-CEO. “Rafia brings a wealth of experience across philanthropy, investment, and finance, as well as a deep belief in the importance of getting resources to those closest to the challenges they are addressing. Her experience and perspective will be a real asset to our Board, particularly as we continue to think about how we can strengthen our support for community-led organizations. I’m really looking forward to working with Rafia and learning from her as we continue to build a more equitable and locally led approach to philanthropy.”
Meet Rafia Qureshi
Rafia Qureshi works at the intersection of capital, strategy, and systems change, helping philanthropic actors, investors, and mission-driven organizations unlock the full potential of their impact.
As Managing Director and a founding team member at LEBEC, she works with funders, investors, and mission-driven organizations to rethink how capital can be mobilized to address complex global challenges. Her expertise spans the full investment lifecycle, from capital mobilization and structuring catalytic capital strategies to managing multi-million-dollar social impact portfolios.
Previously, Rafia served as CEO of The Womanity Foundation, where she led the organization’s strategic repositioning and advanced its shift towards hybrid philanthropic-investment models. Earlier in her career at JPMorgan Chase, she led the Foundation’s emerging markets portfolio across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), growing it into one of the firm’s most successful regional portfolios and designing multi-million-dollar strategic partnerships with organizations including USAID and the Rockefeller Foundation. Her earlier experience in venture capital at DN Capital further strengthened her expertise in investment analysis, capital mobilization, and investor relations.
Rafia brings a global perspective shaped by work across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Fluent in multiple languages and educated at the London School of Economics and Boston University, she is passionate about aligning capital, partnerships, and purpose to unlock greater impact.
I'm excited to join the Board because GFC combines two things I care deeply about: investing in the potential of children and young people, and trusting local leaders to create lasting change. Throughout my career, I have worked at the intersection of philanthropy, impact investing, and innovative finance, and I have seen how often organizations closest to the challenges struggle to access the flexible support they need. GFC's commitment to backing community-led organizations over the long term is deeply aligned with my values, and I believe this trust-based approach is essential to creating lasting impact.
Rafia Qureshi
Rafia added, “One thing more people should know about GFC is its belief that the best solutions come from people who live the realities they are trying to change. GFC doesn’t just fund organizations; it backs leaders who understand the needs of their communities. It has spent decades identifying, trusting, and investing in those local leaders, and I believe that’s a model the wider philanthropy sector has a great deal to learn from.”
