Danielle LeBlanc (she/her) is the Program Officer of Inclusive Economies at the Surdna Foundation.

Danielle manages a $10 million grantmaking portfolio that advances the Foundation’s social justice mission with a focus on the creation of an inclusive and equitable economy for all. She joined Surdna in September 2023.  

With a commitment to financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and community development, Danielle guides Surdna’s grantmaking to build wealth for communities of color nationwide, expand access to good jobs, and promote full participation in the economy for all. She will also focus on collaboration across grantmaking programs, Surdna’s impact investing program, and partners and peers. 

Before joining Surdna, Danielle served as Coop Development Director at Green Worker Cooperatives, where she advised and trained worker-owned cooperative businesses through the start-up process. Danielle also managed fundraising and projects for the microfinance nonprofit Grameen America, piloting a youth financial education program and conducting a feasibility assessment for starting a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) credit union. Earlier in her career, Danielle worked as a program officer with LISC, providing capital loans to nonprofit organizations, and as an associate program officer with Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.      

Danielle has a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University and a bachelor’s from Brown University. She is a 2010 Leadership Newark Fellow and serves on the board of We Run Mount Vernon. Danielle was deployed as a Red Cross volunteer to Gulfport, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina and continued to volunteer as a disaster responder for seven years. In her spare time, Danielle is a visual artist bringing stories from her family, community, and observations about the world to light. 

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