Our Team & Advisory Board
Kristin Peterson, Therese von Blixen, and Winthrop Carty, all passionate about collaborative action, met in 2020 at the launch of Catalyst 2030 - a global network for social entrepreneurs. Seeing a need to connect social entrepreneurs worldwide to enhance joint problem-solving, they joined up to design a solution. Using co-design methodologies, they collaborated with experts and funders to create Catalyst Co-Labs which launched later that year. In it’s core, it accelerate problem-solving through giving social entrepreneurs across the world more open access to high level networks - joining forces to find solutions, faster.
Kristin Peterson
Kristin Peterson is a Nairobi-based advisor and an accomplished social entrepreneur, having co-founded two organizations focused on transforming lives and opportunities for people through better access to technology and the internet. Her early career focused on new product/market development for global communications services. She then used her skills, start-up mentality, and passion for social justice to adapt these technologies for the underserved. She is a Schwab Social Entrepreneur (WEF) and a founding member of Catalyst 2030.
Therese von Blixen
Therese von Blixen is a Swedish foundation leader with a background in tech and social entrepreneurship. Most recently she served as the Managing Director for H.M. Queen Silvia’s Foundation Care About the Children (CATCH). Prior to this, she worked s as a strategic consultant for value-driven companies and NGOs, amongst others as Country Director for the Non-Violence Project Scandinavia and with the IFRC in Geneva. In 2010 she founded Sime Social Impact, the philanthropic arm of Sime, Northern Europe’s biggest tech conference at the time. She is based in Stockholm, Sweden and is a founding member of Catalyst 2030.
Winthrop Carty
Winthrop Carty has over two decades of experience with leading fellowship, philanthropy, and social entrepreneur networks including as CEO of the Melton Foundation, first director of the Harvard Ash Center’s Global Innovators’ Network, founding member of MIT-D-Lab’s Practical Impact Alliance, co-founder of Innovations journal (MIT Press), and advisor to many institutions throughout the world. Currently, in addition to Catalyst Co-Labs, Winthrop hosts the "Collaboration Beyond the Buzzword" video series and co-leads Women Changemakers for Education. He is based in Cambridge, USA, and is a founding member of Catalyst 2030.
Sofía Hurtado del Orbe
Sofia Hurtado is deeply committed to sustainability and positive change. At Catalyst Co-Labs she is focusing on social media, communication strategies, and research to support social entrepreneurs in reaching their sustainable development goals. With a background in sustainable development, Sofia played a key role in initiating the transition to greener public transport in Buenos Aires. While at the OECD, she worked on addressing climate change challenges and redesigning systems for net-zero. She is currently working on empowering smallholders (agriculture & livestock) on their climate, biodiversity, and inclusive finance transition.
Our Advisory Board
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Ina Breuer
Advisor
Ina Breuer, Executive Director of NEID Global, is a mission-driven professional with over 25 years of experience managing dynamic international non-profit organizations. She excels in fostering cross-cultural collaborations and driving impactful initiatives. Her creative and responsive approach has significantly advanced global development efforts.
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Harlem Desir
Advisor
Harlem Desir is a long time human rights advocate, having held key roles in French and European politics, including France’s Secretary of State for European Affairs, recent Board Member of the IRC, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and as a co-founder of SOS Racisme.
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Rose Dodd
Advisor
Rose A. Dodd is a leader in innovation and systems improvement, currently spearheading transformative initiatives at The Education Collaborative, Ashesi University, Ghana. With deep expertise in strategy and development, she designs impactful models for education and institutional growth. Passionate about social impact and systemic change, she is committed to driving social innovation in African educational systems.
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Manoj Panjwani
Advisor
Manoj Panjwani is a social impact catalyst and advocate, passionate about impact investing, mental health, and youth empowerment. With 25+ years at HSBC, he brings global expertise in finance, strategy, and governance. He serves on multiple boards and leads initiatives at Catalyst 2030, mobilizing capital for social impact solutions worldwide.
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Dr. Mohammad Issa
Advisor
Dr. Issa is a social innovator with 20+ years in community development, youth empowerment, and social impact. He leads Creativity Lab Palestine, co-founded Yes Theatre, and serves on multiple global initiatives. He is a Tadamon Learning Ambassador, a Talk To Loop board member, and advocates for innovation, entrepreneurship, and psychosocial well-being.
Our Story
Kristin Peterson, Therese von Blixen, and Winthrop Carty first met in February, 2020 at the founding of the Catalyst 2030 network at Althorp House in England.
Therese, a Swedish foundation leader with a background in tech and social entrepreneurship, expressed her concern that the vast majority of the world’s amazing problem-solvers did not have access to such global gatherings, and there and then had the idea to connect this untapped talent to the Catalyst 2030 network to solve problems and move forward faster, together.
Inspired by this challenge, Kristin, an engineer and serial social entrepreneur based in Nairobi and Winthrop, an expert in social innovation, co-design, and leadership training, joined forces with Therese.
The three of them began by applying co-design methodologies to the concept and inviting experts in design-thinking, as well as funders and fellow Catalyst members to create a Co-Lab design that would really work. Having gone through a full human-centered design process and several prototypes, the team launched Catalyst Co-Labs in the middle of 2020.
The rest is history!
