About CE
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OUR MISSION
Our mission is to enable more effective charities to exist in the world. We strive to achieve this goal through our extensive research process and Incubation Program.
We believe that starting a high-impact charity can prevent immense amounts of suffering by:
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Redirecting millions of dollars towards a more impactful direction
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Providing governments with data to run national- or state-level programs
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Attracting donors from a broader spectrum of areas and interests
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Shaping entire cause areas by raising the bar for effective charities
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Creating opportunities for talented individuals to get involved in the field
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Providing valuable learning opportunities that can enhance the whole movement
Nonprofit entrepreneurship is also a highly neglected career opportunity that, fueled by a more analytical, effective-altruist mindset, can lead to cost-effective, evidence-based outcomes that are approximately equivalent to donating ~$200,000 to effective charities per year. It provides a chance to build a portfolio of useful skills and great career capital, and to have high job satisfaction while retaining substantial individual impact.
OUR VALUES
Ambitious altruism: We strive to maximize impact and aim high in our pursuit of making the world a better place.
Consequentialism: We are results oriented, with a high level of integrity and commitment to these results.
Startup culture: We are agile, lean, and flexible in our approach, iteratively improving through quick experiments and fast feedback loops.
Science: We believe that empirical and systematic evidence is the most important for coming to key conclusions.
Caring community: We value having a warm and connected community that is highly collaborative
TEAM BEHIND THIS PROGRAM
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TRUSTEE BOARD
Thomas Billington
Co-Founder,
Fish Welfare Initiative
Joey Savoie
Co-Founder, Ambitious Impact; Co-Founder, Elevate Philanthropy
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Karolina Sarek
Co-Founder, Ambitious Impact; Chair, EA Animal Welfare Fund
Patrick Stadler
Co-Founder, New Incentives; Co-Founder and Managing Director, Pour Demain
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Akhil Bansal
Doctor; Head of AMR Funding Circle at Schmidt Futures; Research Advisor to The Life You Can Save
Andres Jimenez Zorrilla
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Shrimp Welfare Project
SAMANTHA KAGEL
CEO
Samantha took over as CEO of Ambitious Impact in December 2025. Prior to this, she owned the management and execution of our flagship Charity Entrepreneurship program as Chief Program Officer, driving forward our efforts to refine the model and scale its impact.
Before joining AIM, she was a non-profit consultant specializing in agile project management, learning & development, team design, and business strategy. Prior to switching into the nonprofit sector, Samantha worked at Google and Disney, and holds business and management degrees from the University of Texas and University College Dublin.
AIDAN ALEXANDER
Chief Operating Officer
Aidan’s mandate is to scale our flagship Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program — launching more high-impact charities each year, with an increasing proportion becoming field leaders.
He previously ran the program at AIM, where he also helped launch the Impactful Grantmaking program and co-authored How to Launch a High-Impact Foundation. He then entered the program and co-founded FarmKind (a donation platform that makes it easy for everyone to play a role in ending factory farming) before rejoining the AIM team. Aidan began his career in management consulting at BCG and in strategy and ops at Uber.
When he’s not working, he’s busy being a techno gremlin and staring at people’s pets for so long that it starts to get a bit weird.
JACINTHA BAAS
Chief Growth Officer
As Chief Growth Officer, she’ll be responsible for AIM’s broader scaling and growth strategy. She’s always keen to hear from people in the community for their best pitches on what AIM could do to be even more impactful than it is right now.
She is an entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in founding & scaling organisations. In her role as co-founder of a sustainable tech scale-up, she grew the company to 30+ staff. Her achievements were awarded with various prizes and recognitions, such as the Next Women To Watch, the Inspiring Fifty: Women in Tech, and the Forbes 30 under 30. She holds a degree in Sociology from the London School of Economics.
Outside of work, Jacintha is always up for going bouldering, loves sharing feed-a-whole crowd vegan recipes, and is also great for evidence-based takes on pregnancy, birthing, and parenting.
JUDITH RENSING
Chief of Staff
Judith currently co-runs the AIM Grantmaking Program, runs our staff hiring, and serves the team as Chief of Staff. Since becoming a part of the AIM ecosystem in 2020, she has worked in different roles across management, talent identification, marketing, and research; and co-authored "How to Launch a High-Impact Foundation".
Before joining AIM, Judith graduated the CE Incubation Program and launched the nonprofit High Impact Athletes, built a social start-up, and conducted research in two international bioethics groups.
MORGAN FAIRLESS
Research Director
Morgan is our Director of Research. He holds an MSc in Public Policy & Administration and BSc in Politics & Philosophy, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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Before joining AIM, he worked in international development consulting, student union leadership, and freelance writing and editing in social science.
BEN WILLIAMSON
Special Projects
Prior to joining AIM, Ben co-founded the Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) through the 2022 Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program. MHI tested a scalable model of postpartum contraceptive counselling in northern Ghana to reduce maternal mortality and increase reproductive autonomy.
He is also the founder of Effective Self-Help, a mental health research organisation, and co-Director of Holyrood Parkrun, a free running race with around 400 participants each week in Edinburgh. Ben holds an MA (Hons) in Geography from the University of Edinburgh.
VICKY COX
Senior Research Manager (Animal Welfare)
Vicky is part of the research team, investigating and evaluating animal advocacy interventions. She is also the Program Manager of AIM Research Program and advisor to the animal program participants.
Before joining the AIM team, Vicky went through the CE Incubation Program. Prior to this, she was a research intern for AIM, primarily completing the priority country research for our recommended animal charities. She did this internship alongside her Maths with Actuarial Science degree at the University of Southampton, where she helped to found an effective altruism society. Vicky went vegan and became interested in effective altruism in 2016, after reading works by Peter Singer.
STEVE THOMPSON
Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program Manager
Steve co-leads our flagship Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program. He develops content and approaches, coaches our startup founders, consults on new programs and outreach, and contributes to overall team dynamics, cohesion, and direction, as well as finding great founders and great co-founder pairings.
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Steve previously co-founded the Entrepreneurs Academy in Ireland where he was the Head of Learning and Creative Director. He has worked across the corporate sector as a Senior Leadership Development Consultant for over 10 years where he focused on creativity, EQ, and teamwork. He has extensive experience in both the design and facilitation of large scale training and development programs.
Steve has also published a book to raise money for GiveWell, designed a full-scale magic and illusion show, built his own house from scratch, and is a co-founder of Training for Good, the new EA meta charity.
SAMUEL HARVEY
Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program Manager
Sam co-leads the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program, shaping program strategy and the end-to-end founder experience to maximize the impact of the charities we launch.
He helps design and improve the systems, curriculum, and post-program support structures that enable founders to build ambitious, evidence-based organizations with long-term potential. He mentors founders through idea selection, co-founder pairing, and the transition from research to implementation-ready organizations. Beyond the program, he builds and supports the AIM alumni community, coaching founders, piloting solutions to common challenges, and connecting charities with high-quality mentors, advisors, and partners to accelerate their impact.
Sam is a medical doctor by training and went through the Charity Entrepreneurship program in 2024 where he launched Notify Health - an organization that works to increase vaccination coverage in Nigeria.
EZRA HAUSDORFF
Charity Growth Manager
Ezra works on the Programs team, with a focus on supporting AIM alumni charities on their path to scale. Ezra is also the founder and Director of Heron AI Security Initiative, which works to ensure that advanced AI systems have sufficient levels of security as they're integrated into society.
Previously, he managed a nonprofit that provided-impact focused career guidance, founded a research program to increase evidence-based donations, served in the public sector developing national tech policy, and worked as an economist for a private consulting firm.
Ezra holds a BA in Economics and Liberal Arts (with Honors) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
BRECHTJE VAN DEN BOSCH
Operations Director
As Senior Operations Manager, Brechtje focuses on enhancing efficiency within Ambitious Impact. She also provides operational support to nonprofits arising from the Charity Entrepreneurship program as well as advise on risk and security management topics to charities operating in medium/high-risk areas.
Prior to joining AIM, Brechtje ran operations for a specialist risk management consulting firm in West Africa. Whilst living in Nigeria, she managed more than 80 consultants working with clients throughout the whole region. She also worked as a consultant in Amsterdam and supported clients on compliance, security and crisis management topics. She holds a bachelors in Safety and Security Management and has a background in the Dutch police force.
DILAN FERNANDO
Senior Operations Manager
Dilan is passionate about building and nurturing the impact ecosystem. As Senior Operations Manager, he works to amplify AIM's effectiveness through productivity improvements, HR, and administrative support for incubated charities.
Previously, he served as People Operations Lead at Animal Think Tank, where he developed the organisation's core processes and led its adoption of Holacracy. He also helped launch Animal Rising as its Media Coordinator, leading a 30-person volunteer team to put plant-based food systems on the UK press agenda.
Dilan's journey to impact began in 2015, after an unlikely friendship with a dog in Cambodia changed his worldview. He went on to co-found the Monash University Vegan Society and Young Voices for Animals, and in 2019 left a marketing role at National Australia Bank to pursue purpose full-time. Outside of work, Dilan is a Vipassana meditator, an aspiring singer, and a die-hard Sri Lanka cricket fan.
ISABELLA (IZZY) MENCATTELLI
Operations Manager
Izzy is one of our Operations Managers, helping our organization and incubated charities to run smoothly and efficiently. She focuses on program support, as well as managing our office space and events.
Izzy’s previous experience includes fundraising and event planning. Before joining AIM, she led an academic summer program for teenagers, to help them navigate their future career options. Izzy is a Board Advisor for an international development charity that empowers communities in Kenya and Tanzania through quality education.
FILIP MURÁR
Senior Research Manager (Health & Development)
Filip is our Senior Research Manager working on systematically evaluating ideas for new charities to be incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship Program.
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Before joining the AIM team, Filip was a Senior Research Advisor at The Behavioural Insights Team. He oversaw the design, delivery, and evaluation of quantitative behavioural science studies, with methodologies including online lab experiments, randomized controlled field trials, and machine learning predictive analytics. During his studies at the University of Cambridge and University College London, he led the Trinity Effective Altruism student group and co-founded Effective Altruism UCL.
JUAN BENZO
Research Manager (Health & Wellbeing)
Juan is a Research Manager working on systematically evaluating ideas for new charities to be incubated by the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program, focused on global health and wellbeing.
Before joining AIM, Juan led a team at the Centre for Effective Altruism. Earlier, he worked as a research contractor in global health and co-managed Larimer County's 30-person COVID-19 response team in Colorado, serving a population of 400,000. He completed a Doctorate in Physical Therapy at the University of Colorado and holds a BA in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Outside work, Juan is drawn to play, awe, and joy — things that remind him of the interconnectedness of all beings and the vastness of the world, whether that's standing on top of an Alpine peak or learning how to vogue dance.
TRISH KENNELLY
Founding to Give Program Manager
Trish is the Program Manager for the Founding to Give program. She has spent her career connecting people and possibilities, and she's excited to continue doing just that at AIM.
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Previously, Trish was COO at On Deck, where she helped to grow the company from pre-funding through Series B and launch the On Deck accelerator for founders at the earliest stages. Prior to that, Trish ran programs for impact founders at Unreasonable Group, was the first employee at Remote Year where she helped to scale the company through Series A and acquisition, and worked in a boutique consulting firm focused on real estate and development.
In her spare time, Trish loves to surf, hike, travel, and do anything that feels like a "concentrated dose of life".
EMMA STOKS
Recruitment Director
Emma leads recruitment at AIM, with a focus on identifying founders for the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program.
Prior to joining AIM, she worked as a learning and development consultant, supporting individuals and organizations to learn and perform effectively in complex environments. She holds a BSc in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy from Minerva University. Emma also brings first-hand experience of AIM’s programs to her role, as an alumna of the Effective Giving Incubation Program.
CRYSTAL LAM
Recruitment Manager
Crystal is focused on finding talent for our programs. She holds a BA in Philosophy & Politics from Durham University, where her thesis on the value of equality earned highest honors, and a BPhil in Philosophy from the University of Oxford, with her postgraduate thesis on the philosophy of love similarly recognized.
Before joining us, Crystal worked in business development, operations and project management at an Oxford-based machine learning startup specialising in Bayesian optimisation and strategy consulting at PwC.
Outside of work, Crystal enjoys bouldering, goes to church, and bakes sourdough with her three-year-old starter, Ryelie. She loves creating delicious, cost-effective, and time-efficient recipes for friends and family. In the office, you’ll often spot her with Eva, a rescued German Shepherd who’s also an honorary member of the recruitment team.
AMRUTHA ADUSUMILLI
Recruitment Manager
Amrutha identifies and recruits high-impact founders for AIM's incubator program and is based out of Winnipeg, Canada.
She holds a Master's in Business & HR. Prior to AIM, she worked as a founding team member at several global hyper-growth startups and built & led talent acquisition functions and teams. Her background also includes working as a Talent Partner and a Senior Venture Developer with founder-intrinsic incubators, accelerators, and venture development firms across North America.
ISLA GIBSON
Recruitment Manager
Isla began her career doing applied research for social impact, supporting geographical scoping at Fish Welfare Initiative, an AIM-incubated charity. Since then, she has built diverse experiences across community-building and research consulting, including leading large-scale customer panels, growing a China-facing impactful careers network, and completing AIM’s own Research Training Program.
JACK HOUNSELL
Recruitment Manager
Jack manages outreach and channel strategy at AIM, with a focus on identifying founders for the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program.
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Jack built his career across brand communications and founding, including as Senior Brand Comms Manager at Frontiers, a large international scientific publisher. He holds a First Class BA in Contemporary Media Practice from the University of Westminster, where he won multiple short documentary awards. A 3x founder himself, Jack brings direct experience of the founder journey to his role, having scaled The Offline Club Copenhagen from zero to 10,000 followers, creating meaningful connections in the community. Outside of work, you'll find him supporting Southampton FC and playing padel.
AHMED SHAH
Finance & Grants Manager
Ahmed joined AIM in May 2026 as Finance and Grants Manager, bringing experience across operations, finance, and process improvement from aviation, education, and manufacturing.
Prior to joining AIM, he worked at TUI Airways, aligning in-flight supply chain operations across multiple European markets. His earlier experience spans roles at ReWiser Education and Spark Career Mentors in India, leading financial due diligence and operational transitions during a period of significant change at the former and implementing an ERP system and automation projects that significantly reduced manual workload at the latter.
He holds an MSc in Management from Cranfield University and a BTech in Mechanical Engineering, a combination that shapes his approach to both the numbers and the systems behind them. Ahmed is genuinely drawn to AIM's evidence-based, cost-per-impact philosophy, a mission he shares both professionally and personally. Outside of work, you'll find him planning his next trip somewhere new, going deep on AI developments, or enthusiastically losing at board games.
TRANSPARENCY
Since late 2021 Charity Entrepreneurship (CE) is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1195850).
Charity Entrepreneurship was a project of Charity Science Foundation of Canada, a registered charity in Canada. Please click here to see Charity Science Foundation of Canada's annual information returns for the Canada Revenue Agency, including detailed financial information.
Charity Science Foundation of Canada: 2020-03-31, 2019-03-31, 2018-03-31, 2017-03-31, 2016-03-31
Charity Entrepreneurship supports its incubated charities through a fiscal sponsorship arrangement in the United States with Players Philanthropy Fund (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178), a Maryland charitable trust with federal tax-exempt status as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please click here to see Players Philanthropy Fund's audited financial statements and other important compliance-related information.'
Players Philanthropy Fund: 2019 Audited Financial Statement, 2019 990, 2018 Audited Financial Statement, 2018 990