Ada’s career has been driven by a single conviction: that those most affected by broken systems must hold the power to fix them.

For twenty years, she has translated crisis into structural change by building bridges between worlds that don't naturally connect. She started in humanitarian response—conducting field assessments in displacement camps while negotiating UN Security Council resolutions—because she understood early that immediate relief without policy change just perpetuates cycles of crisis. Ada has consistently moved toward deeper leverage points. From direct service to policy advocacy at OneAmerica. From grantmaking at Marguerite Casey Foundation to designing the strategic architecture at Pivotal Ventures. Each move was about getting closer to where resources and decision-making power intersect, because that's where transformation becomes possible at scale.

She speaks multiple languages—institutional and activist, humanitarian and philanthropic, grassroots and high-level. Ada has used that fluency not to choose sides but to build mechanisms that actually shift power. The Women of Color Design Council wasn't about getting better advice from affected communities; it was about changing who makes the decisions. That distinction matters. Ada is impatient with performative solutions. She maintains what she calls "dual citizenship"—credibility in movements and institutions—because neither alone has sufficient power to create the change we need. The through-line is this: Ada pursues leverage. She moves toward places where she can influence not just what gets funded or implemented, but who gets to decide. She believes the fastest path to justice is shifting who holds power, not just how existing power gets deployed more equitably.

Ada is the Founder and Philanthropy and Capital Advisor at Transformation Architects. She has spoken on dozens of stages globally, and has been published and featured on platforms ranging from Inside Philanthropy to the United Nations. Ada is also a certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor.