Michael Gilligan
Chief Common Ground Officer and Advisor and Co-Founder
Michael’s thirty+ years in the social impact sector has involved launching several organizations—from a community-level tutoring program to one of the largest and most influential NGOs in the USA. He has unparalleled depth of knowledge in funding efforts, having been a grant maker (practicing participatory philanthropy years before it became a term of art) and raising $100M+ throughout his career. He has held leadership positions at Achieve, the Hunt Institute, New York City Public Schools, the Anne & Kirk Douglas Foundation, and Teach For America. His contribution to Seek Common Ground as Chief Common Ground Officer and Advisor was to develop and manage programs to foster innovation and collaboration for community-facing groups to address systemic inequities, provide services during the pandemic, and play a decision-making role in allocating COVID-relief funding. In addition to his professional experience, Michael is a stroke survivor, and an ambassador for mental health services and disability inclusion.