In the summer of 2018, Andrew was three years into a career path change. He held a leadership role with an international relief and development organization that partners with and advances the work of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in South and Southeast Asia. That summer, the chair of his employer’s Board of Directors met Mary Dailey Brown, founder and President of SowHope, at an event in Pennsylvania. The two organizations were thus connected, and Andrew met Mary in person several months later while in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a conference. Their conversations underscored how much their organizations had in common – both aimed to partner with local leaders solving local problems using local solutions, and they had partners in some of the same countries.
Over the next few years, this relationship developed and enabled SowHope to begin partnering with several of the same local leaders in Asia that Andrew had known for years. Meanwhile, Andrew went to grad school at the University of Notre Dame, earning a Master of Global Affairs (MGA) degree with a concentration in Sustainable Development. Following his graduation in 2022, another stint with his old employer, and a semester-long working sabbatical of sorts, Andrew discerned to seek a new role in the international relief and development sector. Early in this process, he reached out to Mary to inquire about opportunities at SowHope, as he had been a firm believer in SowHope’s mission and approach for over five years. This led to him being hired as SowHope’s Director of Philanthropy.
In this role, Andrew will play a key role in helping SowHope expand its mission, revenues, and brand. With his coworkers, he will develop and implement a fundraising strategy with existing and potential new donors, both to increase financial support and engage stakeholders in the local, national and global community. His role includes building a strong understanding of SowHope’s history, acquiring in-depth knowledge of its partners and programs, and developing expertise in its internal workings, so as to assist with virtually any facet of SowHope’s mission.
These responsibilities cohere closely with his background, which includes more than eight and a half years of experience in international development and nonprofits. His responsibilities have included managing a large and diverse portfolio of projects and programs, traveling extensively both internationally and domestically to form and strengthen partnerships, playing a key role in growing his previous organization’s annual revenue from $115,000 in 2014 to over $1,000,000 in 2023, and overseeing organizational operations, finances, hiring and training of new staff, and strategic planning. Prior to becoming a nonprofit manager, Andrew lived in rural India for one year on a Fulbright grant, studying HIV stigma and discrimination, and worked as a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. He was accepted to several medical schools as well, but determined that being a physician was not the optimal way to utilize his interests and abilities in service of others. He is enormously grateful for the opportunity to accompany talented leaders in the Global South as they work to transform their communities.
Andrew studied molecular biology and business at Grove City College, graduating summa cum laude. As an undergraduate, he spent a summer gaining exposure to international development work in South Asia and led three student volunteer service trips to Providence, Rhode Island, where he engaged with the complexities of urban poverty in the US. These experiences helped shape his professional and academic interests, which include poverty alleviation, humanitarian aid, nonprofit management, economics, fragile states, and sustainability. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys long-distance running, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family. Welcome to the team, Andrew. We are thankful to have you on board!