SANDRA J. LANEY, PhD
Dr. Laney is a molecular biologist turned philanthropy professional with vision, leadership, and scientific acumen. Sandra is currently the President and Principal Advisor at SJL Advising providing independent consulting and advising services at the intersection of science and philanthropy. Sandra helps HNW and UHNW individuals, private foundations, and family offices understand their WHY, clarify their strategic goals, and develop their WHAT and HOW in order to have a fulfilling philanthropic journey while delivering social impact informed by the needs of the sector, system, field, society, or community they are aiming to serve. Her areas of expertise span disease research, global health, science innovation, women’s leadership, and STEM education, among others.
Previously, Sandra built and led inclusive and impactful grantmaking programs at 3 philanthropic organizations: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walder Foundation, and Paul G. Allen Ebola Program at Vulcan, Inc. with direct responsibility for annual budgets of $10M - $100M. As a Senior Advisor at the Gates Foundation, Sandra played a pivotal role in developing and overseeing a diverse portfolio of grants and contracts worth over $80 million, focusing on areas such as discovery science, malaria vaccines, neglected tropical diseases, and contraceptive technology innovation. At Vulcan Inc., Sandra led a team in addressing the West African Ebola epidemic through strategic grantmaking with responsibilty for a $100M grant portfolio.
Most recently, Sandra built the Walder Foundation’s Science Innovation Program ($10M/year) developing inclusive strategies that aligned with the interests of the founders and met the needs of the Chicago Science and Innovation Ecosystem. She led multiple collaborative initiatives, convenings, and RFPs; built trusted relationships with scientists and stakeholders; and partnered with other funders to leverage cooperative systems-change grant opportunities. Dr. Laney has regional, national, and global cross-sector experience from field research in 13 countries, to laboratory science developing molecular tools, to strategic philanthropy in discovery and translational sciences, to international policy and programs at the U.S. Department of State, working with governments, academia, non-profit, and private sector institutions. She is a strategic thinker, understands the value of inclusive collaboration and partnerships, and the need to incorporate equity into the discussion.
Sandra believes great ideas can come from anywhere and is excited by creating inclusive spaces for curiosity and creativity to collide and multiply, so that new discoveries can accelerate solutions to our toughest challenges.