David Sandak
Foundation Ops and Strategy
- Role
- Head of Operations at The Tepper Foundation
- Location
- New York, NY, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About David Sandak
Philanthropic Strategist | Operational Leader | Systems Builder.I\'m a versatile \"swiss army knife\" focused on optimizing impact within the non-profit and foundation space. I leverage a cross-functional skill set—from developing complex medical/scientific research strategies to leading public interest law initiatives—to tackle thorny problems. I am an Ops/Strategy guy who brings a Program lens to help build out Foundation work. I have a broad collection of experiences- Led strategic planning and operationalize a spend down of a closely held foundation- Launched a patient-engagement social enterprise to enable rare cancer research; and scaled multiple non-profits- Revitalized a congressionally chartered DC-based think tank, National Conference on Citizenship- Led a $25MM cancer research grant program and venture philanthropy fund for a decade. Lots of reps building out grant application and management systems; and - Developed a public interest law fellowship program- Worked with multiple family\'s to build out their philanthropic strategy and operations.My strength lies in building the machinery of impact: I have comprehensive experience leading all business functions of a foundation (Program, Development, Finance, Operations, etc.), uniting diverse teams, and stress-testing novel approaches to achieve systemic change.
Experience
Head of Operations
Jan 2026 — Present · New York, NY, US
Leads the build out of systems, processes, and operations to scale the Tepper Foundation\'s grantmaking in issue areas ranging from food insecurity to housing to climate to pro-democracy to anti-hate initiatives.
Education
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Hansard Scholar, Public Policy
2002 — 2002
Colby College
BA, Ecomomics and Government
1999 — 2003
Skills
- Entrepreneurship
- Social Media
- Nonprofits
- Executive Management
- Business Planning
- Project Management
- Strategy
- Start-Ups
- Strategic Planning
- Strategic Partnerships
- Business Development
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