Devi Leiper O’Malley
Devi uses her love of artistic expression and feminist strategies to help funders and activists design their initiatives in a creative way. Focused on resource justice with a feminist lens, Devi spent the past decade working with global and regional women’s funds. Half-Cambodian, half-American, Devi is currently based in Morocco.
Most recently, Devi was the Co-Executive Director of FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund, the world’s largest participatory fund exclusively for young feminist organisers. She co-led the growth of the fund from ‘start-up to scale’, including overseeing the growth in budget of 250,000 USD to over 4 million USD from diverse income sources, legal registration and compliance, development of brand and visual identity. She gained unique experiences and skills in co-leadership, managing a virtual office that spanned the globe, and coordinating participatory decision-making processes with activists in multiple languages & contexts.
Previously, Devi worked with Global Fund for Women, implementing the grant making program for the Asia Pacific region. She was a key member of the Breakthrough Project in Asia and the Pacific, evaluated here. Currently, she serves on the Executive Committee of the Urgent Action Fund for Women Human Rights Defenders in Asia and the Pacific.
Devi’s work with women’s funds is underpinned by her work with smaller identity-based communities. She co-founded the Devata Giving Circle, the first Cambodian-American giving circle and accompanied the formation of Uganda’s first sex-worker led collective, WONETHA.
During her tenure at FRIDA, she strengthened her reputation for artistic flair and managing visual design processes for websites, reports, and infographics. She collaborates with teams around the world, facilitating conversations and understandings between the staff members of social change institutions and creatives of different mediums. She is honing her skills in graphic and web design, and exploring new documentation and participatory action research methods that focus on lived experiences.
Devi continues to work with women’s funds as a consultant, including Women’s Fund Asia, Equality Fund, and Prospera. Other clients include Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Numun Fund, and mebl Furnitures. She is an Advisor for Root. Rise. Pollinate! Learn more about her on her website:
✦ www.devileiperomalley.com
