Investment Management FAQ for DAF Advisors

Naila joined the Foundation in 2024 and currently serves as Vice President and Director of the Campaign for a Greater Boston. In this role she leads a new effort to inspire greater philanthropy to bring about meaningful improvements in the lives of Bostonians.  

Previously Naila served as the President & CEO at Jumpstart, an early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. During her tenure, Jumpstart significantly expanded its scale and impact, increasing the number of children served annually by close to 70%, revising its curriculum to improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for children, and developing new programming and policies to increase the number of high-quality early educators and promote equitable early education opportunities.

Before Jumpstart, Naila was Executive Director of Ploughshares Fund, the largest grant-making foundation in the United States dedicated exclusively to security and peace funding. Here Naila led a successful $25 million endowment campaign, tripled the foundation’s budget and staff, and helped lead an effort to win Senate ratification of the New START treaty in December 2010. She pioneered a model of “impact philanthropy” that leveraged the foundation’s convening power, grant-making and operational capacity. Prior to Ploughshares Fund, she served as Co-Director of 20/20 Vision, a national grassroots lobby. She helped found and served as Political Director of the Women Legislators’ Lobby, a national network of women state legislators.

Naila is a 21/64 Certified Advisor, and is a mentor to first-generation college students through Transitioning Together, co-chairs a local refugee sponsorship group as part of WelcomeCorps, and volunteers for several local agencies.  Naila graduated from Tufts University with a degree in International Relations.