Who We Are: Mari Kurashi

President, Global Giving Foundation
and co-Founder, Global Giving  

Mari joined the World Bank in 1992 where she managed and created some of the Bank’s most innovative projects. Along with GlobalGiving co-founder Dennis Whittle and their teams, Mari organized the first series of strategic forums with the World Bank’s president and senior management, and the first ever Innovation and Development Marketplaces. She also designed a range of investment projects in the Russia reform program, including a large-scale residential energy efficiency project, structural adjustment loans, and the World Bank’s first legal reform project. In addition to her native Japanese, Mari also speaks Russian, German, Italian, and French. She has an undergraduate degree in history from Harvard University and did graduate work in Russian and Japanese history and politics at Harvard and Georgetown Universities. Mari also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.