Sloan Leo Cowan
Senior Advisor, Philanthropic Strategy
As Senior Advisor, Philanthropic Strategy at Movement Voter Project, Sloan Leo partners with philanthropists to co-design and connect organizing and political strategy to clear, long-term investment pathways, supporting sustained commitments to grassroots, community-led organizing in key states and regions.
A community builder and facilitator at heart, they bring more than 15 years of experience in philanthropic advising and organizational strategy. They have served in senior leadership roles, including Chief Relationship Officer at Dream Corps, Chief of Staff at The Trust for Public Land, and Director of Global Board Relations at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Previously, they founded FLOX Studio, a strategy and facilitation practice that worked with foundations, donor networks, and nonprofit leaders to navigate transitions. Sloan Leo is known for building trust, holding strategic complexity, and aligning resources with what's needed to accelerate change. Clients included philanthropic organizations such as The New York Women's Foundation, The Ms. Foundation, The Chanel Foundation, The Global Fund for Women, and the Groundswell Fund, as well as social justice organizations including The Opportunity Agenda, The New York Immigration Coalition, and Swipe Out Hunger.
A frequent writer, Sloan Leo's contributions have appeared in Forbes, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Huffington Post, the European Business Review, The Journal of Government Finance and Public Policy, and the Times Union. They have contributed essays to The Black Experience in Design and the Bloomsbury Contemporary Service Design Handbook.
They have taught at New York University, the School of Visual Arts, and The New School, where they delivered the School of Design Strategies commencement address in 2022. They have also served as Designer in Residence at the School of Visual Arts Design for Social Innovation Graduate Program and the Maryland Institute College of Art Social Design Graduate Program, and spent four years as Community Designer in Residence at The New Museum's New INC Artist Accelerator Program.
Sloan Leo is a fellow alum of IGNITE, the Center for Leaders in Government at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs, the New Leaders Council, and the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
They split their time between Philadelphia and Brooklyn.