About Kaberi
A Strategist and A Creative
Kaberi Banerjee Murthy is a trusted thought partner, strategist and change maker who holds an unwavering commitment to
racial justice and intersectionality, investing in community leadership and practices rooted in mutual accountability.
"We urgently need to bring to our communities the limitless capacity to love, serve and create for and with
each other."
—
Grace Lee Boggs
Kaberi entered the philanthropic sector in 2000 to advance social justice and systems-level change. For 25
years, she designed grantmaking and advocacy programs at the local, regional and national
levels in Chicago, New York, Portland, Boston and San Diego. She served as the inaugural Chief Impact Officer at
two $1B+ independent foundations, Vice President of Programs at a community foundation and Director
at a number of family trusts. As the principal at Kaberi, LLC, she advises foundations, facilitates peer
communities of practice, and coaches leaders — particularly women of color navigating philanthropy's most
senior roles.
Through decades of board service, she has provided fiduciary oversight, strategic guidance, equity-centered
leadership, values-aligned CEO searches and healthy organizational transition across more than a dozen
organizations. She is Chair of the Ms. Foundation for Women and Co-Chair of
Neighborhood Funders Group. She held Board positions with
Crossroads Fund, Grantmakers in Education, Philanthropy Northwest and Asian American Pacific Islanders in
Philanthropy, to name a select few. She served on the steering committees for the National Education Funders
Strategy Group, New York Youth Justice Initiative, the Girls and Young Women of Color Fund and the Asian
Women's Giving Circle.
Kaberi is a Senior Fellow in the American Leadership Forum and was in Leadership Greater Chicago and Coro
Leadership New York.
Kaberi is also an artist. She serves on the board of the Portland Art Museum and Caldera Arts. She is a
ceramicist working in porcelain, a storyteller working with a camera and a book artist working with paper —
although her creativity permeates more than just her art.
She graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College with a double major in History and Women's Studies and with
a Master's from Harvard University.
