Paula Doherty Johnson, Director, Center for Global Philanthropy

Background: Ms. Johnson has worked most recently as a research fellow at Harvard University’s Global Equity Initiative and as a fellow at the Philanthropic Initiative, in Boston, which advises donors and has created the Center for Global Philanthropy. She began her career at the Academy for Educational Development, a nonprofit group in Washington that seeks to improve education and fight poverty overseas, and has held numerous other grant-making, program, and research positions.

Education: Ms. Johnson received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and Latin American studies from Brown University and a master’s in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Why she was hired: To lead the new Center for Global Philanthropy in its efforts to gather knowledge about global giving and strengthen its effectiveness. Projects include an effort to collect and analyze data on overseas philanthropy, and a program to help community foundations serve donors who want to give globally. Ms. Johnson was chosen for her research expertise and her “sensitivity, where she knows it’s not about the U.S. bringing our model elsewhere but about learning in a collaborative way,” says Ellen Remmer, chief executive of the Philanthropic Initiative.

Salary: Ms. Johnson declined to reveal her compensation.

Favorite books on international development: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time, by Jeffrey Sachs; The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, by William Easterly; and The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, by Paul Collier.