Sooni Gillett is a is a serial social entrepreneur with 15+ years’ experience in the education, environment, and health impact sectors. She helped co-found and leads Stanford’s Emergence Accelerator Program at the School of Medicine to drive systemic change in societal health through preventative and inclusive innovations.
Her work spans across the Bay Area, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, where she has designed and scaled innovative programs and organizations to support locally led solutions and move capital towards meaningful impact. Her passion lies in providing individuals and organizations with the tools and resources they need to align their values with impact and champion solutions to social, environmental, and economic challenges.
As the Director of Programs at Emergence, Sooni supports next generation impact innovators and cultivates relationships with capital networks to scale high impact initiatives to improve societal health. Previously, she founded ConnectED, a social impact organization that partners with indigenous leaders in Central America to tackle education challenges. Her earlier work involved innovation in food systems in the Bay Area and at the Postharvest Technology Research Center, where she supported farming communities in Asia and Africa.
Sooni holds a Master’s in International Development and Ecology from UC Davis and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from San Jose State, along with certificates in Nonprofit Management, Tropical Agricultural Food Systems, and Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA, with her husband and two sons, enjoying nature and creative projects in her free time.