Meet Social Impact Leader Alice Lin Fabiano
Updated: Apr 21, 2023
Written by: Elana Cohen, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Alice Lin Fabiano is an accomplished business leader and social impact, advocate. Currently serving as the Vice President of Community Impact for Corporate Sustainability at American Express, she oversees the company's global community impact initiatives, grantmaking, and colleague engagement programs that aim to drive positive business, societal, and environmental impact.
Alice’s career spans philanthropy, financial services, and corporate sectors. This professional diversity has provided her with extensive experience in social innovation, stakeholder engagement, and impact investing. Before joining American Express, Alice worked at Johnson & Johnson, where she led the establishment of J&J Impact Ventures, a $50 million health impact investment fund investing in healthcare startups working on the front lines of care. Alice played an integral role in shaping J&J's philanthropic portfolio, bolstering health equity, HIV/AIDS, and technology initiatives to improve maternal health.
Alice began her career in Morgan Stanley's investment banking division, where she also worked as a microfinance loan officer in Africa and served in the 9/11 disaster recovery efforts. She is a founding member of nFormation, the women of color community, and a former board member of Funders Concerned about AIDS. She has also served as a board observer for several startups, including Jacaranda Health, mClinica, and CrossBorder Ventures.
Today, Alice is a Harvard Business School Fellow at The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the largest private foundation focused on children. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.
Alice has long been recognized in the industry for her accomplishments across prestigious lists of role models and as a champion for women in business. Her passion for social impact and driving change made her a leader in the industry. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the field, including being named to the 2021 HERoes Women Role Model Executives list and the 2020 Financial Times HERoes Champions of Women in Business list. Her dedication to driving change aligns perfectly with American Express, where she can continue championing efforts to invest in a thriving nonprofit sector that creates innovative, lasting societal change.
During her time, Alice has worked tirelessly to grow the American Express Leadership Academy which helps social-purpose leaders realize their full potential. The program is conducted in partnership with Common Purpose and is supported by community partners, including the TED Foundation and Taproot Foundation. Today, the Academy’s reimagined curriculum focuses on personal resilience and developing the skills necessary to become influential social leaders.
The theme for this year's program, "Resilient Changemakers," underscores the importance of grit, perseverance, and a growth mindset for nonprofit leaders. The class of 77 leaders comes from diverse organizations across North and Latin America, working on issues such as education, health, and equity. The Academy provides a unique opportunity for these leaders to learn from each other's experiences and gain insights from key leaders in the social, public, and private sectors.
"We have long believed in the power of purpose-driven leaders in addressing society’s most pressing issues and driving positive impact,” said Lin Fabiano, Vice President of Community Impact, at American Express. "Since its launch 16 years ago, the American Express Leadership Academy has helped more than 165,000 social purpose leaders around the world reach their potential, and we are excited to continue with our refreshed curriculum that will focus on personal resilience and building their profiles as influential social leaders."
Elana Cohen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Elana Cohen is a freelance writer based in Chicago. She covers cannabis topics from product reviews, thought leaders in the industry, brands, features on cannabis players in the market and her own experience with cannabis and mental health. Elana is on a mission to end the negative stigmas on cannabis, mental health & tattoos. All topics considered to be fighting the taboos and negative stigmas they have. Elana also covers entertainment, specifically electronic dance music concerts and festivals. I also cover FOOD and the hospitality industry. Send restaurant news and upcoming launches this way!
