Elisabeth Mason

Elisabeth Mason's picture
Senior Advisor; Founding Director of the Stanford Poverty and Technology Lab; Co-Founder, Single Stop
Stanford University
Elisabeth Mason is the Founding Director of the Stanford Poverty and Technology Lab (formerly Stanford Technology, Opportunity and Poverty Lab or STOP) and a Senior Advisor at the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. Previously, Elisabeth was the Co-Founder and CEO of Single Stop, a national anti-poverty initiative. A native of East Harlem where she developed her passion for social justice, Elisabeth was named "New Yorker of the Year" in 2015 by NY1 for her groundbreaking work fighting poverty, which reached nearly 20 percent of low-income New Yorkers. Elisabeth is an expert on venture philanthropy, children’s rights, start-up organizations, and poverty-fighting programs. Under her leadership, Single Stop grew rapidly to serve over 1.5 million families, drawing down nearly $4 billion in impact in its first 8 years, and won numerous awards, including 2 White House Social Innovation Fund grants and Top Ten in Global Social Impact from Fast Company. At Atlantic Philanthropies, she helped develop a $1 billion, 10-year spend-down plan to help disadvantaged children. She was also a Managing Director for six years at the Robin Hood Foundation, a Senior Advisor at Innovative Philanthropy, and practiced law on Wall Street at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. In her early career, Elisabeth was the Founder and Executive Director of Fundación Kukula, an agency serving street and working youth and their families. During her tenure with Fundación Kukula, she was one of the Founding Members of the Central American branch of the Latin American Children's Movement. Elisabeth has also served as an advisor to the United Nations and to local and international agencies on various human and children’s rights, legislative reform, juvenile justice, and community and youth development programs. Additionally, she has participated in projects in India and Africa and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, where she lived for six years. Elisabeth holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Harvard and a Law Degree from Columbia.