Diana Ayton-Shenker Mentor 2010

Describe yourself briefly.

The birth of the Fast Forward Fund, whose mission is to transform young people in their 20s into social investors for life, is closely related to the experience of its founder, Diana Ayton-Shenker. She grew up during the movements for Soviet Jewry and Anti-Apartheid and wound up self-financing a trip to the Soviet Union in 1984, where she became inspired to pursue the promotion of human rights through international law. After obtaining her LLM from the University of Essex Law School, she lived all over the world, falling into the intersection of private sector resources and social sector causes for the next 20 years. She taught at the American University of Paris, at Hunter College, and at Bard College where she holds a Sr. Fellowship with Bard Globalization and Int’l Affairs program. She served as a consultant for various branches of the United Nations and held senior positions with Mercy Corps, PEN, and Human Rights Watch. Diana grew up in Portland, Oregon, is the mother of three children, and now lives with her husband in upstate New York. She is the author and editor of two books on the United Nations, as well as a collection of original poetry.