Pam Foster

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Chief Operating Officer, Co-Impact & Former Board Chair, Safe Passage Project

Pam serves as Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary of Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative that brings together local changemakers and funders to make health, education, and economic systems stronger and more inclusive and advance gender equality and women's leadership.

Prior to joining Co-Impact in 2017, Pam served in various roles over 20 years for The Rockefeller Foundation, including serving as Managing Director, Program Operations, and Associate General Counsel. In between two stints at the Foundation, Pam was an associate with the Wall Street law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton, where she specialized in ERISA, employment and executive compensation.

With a personal mission to improve the practice of philanthropy, she is proud to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, which provides data, feedback, programs, and insights to help individual and institutional donors improve their effectiveness. Before joining the Board, she served on CEP's advisory board. She was active in the development of NGOsource, the centralized equivalency determination repository run by TechSoup Global, and serves on its advisory council. She previously served as Vice Chair of the board of Philanthropy New York, which enhances and increases the ability of organizational and individual philanthropists located in the New York region to serve the public good, and continues to serve on its Governance and Nominating Committee.

From 2015 to 2025, Pam served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Safe Passage Project, a NYC-based 501(c)(3) organization that addresses unmet needs of indigent immigrant youth living in New York by providing legal representation for unaccompanied minors in immigration court. Pam received a bachelor's degree with honors from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a JD, summa cum laude, from New York Law School, where she currently serves as on the Board of Trustees and formerly served as President of the Alumni Association. She is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey. Pam lives in New Jersey with her husband and has two grown daughters.

Akin

EXCELLENCE IN PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, providing innovative legal services and business solutions to a broad client base. Akin's global pro bono practice leverages the experience, knowledge and passion of the firm's lawyers, advisors and business services personnel to maximize access to justice, community development and the rule of law. Akin's long-standing partnerships with legal services organizations worldwide are an essential component of the pro bono practice. Worldwide, Akin represents refugees seeking asylum, tenants fighting eviction, veterans seeking health benefits, domestic violence survivors, nonprofit organizations and other clients in need.

Cowboy Bear Ninja

COMMUNITY TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Cowboy Bear Ninja is a leader at the intersection of branded entertainment and zeitgeisty content on screens of all sizes. They've worked for brands like Dove and Lego, as well as non-profit organizations like Greenpeace and the Women's Refugee Commission. Across film and television their credits include the culture smashing documentary THE PROBLEM WITH APU, Emmy-winning series BLACK WOMEN OWN THE CONVERSATION, and the Independent Spirit Award nominated feature HUMMINGBIRDS.