Desiree Pipkins is the chief impact officer for FHI 360, where she leads strategy to influence the policy of global bilateral and multilateral institutions and ensures FHI 360 has a strategic and aligned communications approach across key stakeholders. She also oversees aspects of the organization’s global strategy implementation.
Prior to joining FHI 360, Pipkins was the chief of staff to the CEO and interim deputy chief operating officer at Mercy Corps, where she led organization-wide change initiatives focused on strategic planning and employee engagement and culture.
Earlier in her career, she was a business development lead for U.S. government accounts at Palantir Technologies Inc. She held several positions in government, including researcher in the Office of White House Counsel, chief of staff to the assistant secretary of international affairs, and international advisor to the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Pipkins began her career in governance work as the research director at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and an election observer in two long-term missions with the National Democratic Institute in Egypt and Nigeria.
Pipkins holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Oberlin College.