Erin Ganju
Erin joined Echidna Giving from Room to Read, the widely known and internationally lauded NGO she co-founded to advance literacy and gender equality. During her tenures as COO and CEO, Room to Read helped over 12 million children in 15 countries pursue a quality education. Erin was instrumental in the design and implementation of the organization’s scalable, replicable model. She oversaw global operations including a technical assistance unit called Room to Read Accelerator, fundraising teams in North America, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific region, and a worldwide staff of more than 1,500 employees.
Erin captured her experiences and insights as co-author of Scaling Global Change: A Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Surviving the Start-up Phase and Driving Impact. The book is a how-to guide for social entrepreneurs who have a vision to change the world and need a strong organizational foundation to do it, utilizing Room to Read as an organizational case study.
Under her leadership, Room to Read was recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including the US Library of Congress Literacy Award (David M. Rubenstein Prize), the UNESCO 2011 Confucius Prize for Literacy, and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In addition, Erin was selected as the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur (2014); recognized as a Global Impact Featured Member for 2017 by the Young Presidents’ Organization; and awarded the Women’s Bond Club Isabel Benham Award (2014). Erin was also named one of Fast Company’s Extraordinary Women (2012) and was a contributor to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Insider Network.
Before co-founding Room to Read, Erin worked at Goldman Sachs & Co, Unilever, and several technology startups. Erin holds a combined BA and MA in international relations and economics from The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.