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Julie Sunderland

Director of Program Related Investments for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Julie Sunderland is Director of Program Related Investments for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she is responsible for managing the foundation's $1.5B program-related investment (PRI) pool which focuses on strategic investments in global health, global development, and US education. Sunderland founded the PRI program as a $400M pilot and has grown the portfolio to more than 30 investments comprising a range of investment structures (equity, loans, guaranties, funds), sectors (biotech, health commodities, health delivery, agriculture, digital payments, charter schools, education technology), and geographies (US, Europe, Africa, India, China). She chairs the foundation's investment committee that reviews all PRIs and innovative finance transactions undertaken by the foundation.


While many problems around the world require public sector intervention, the private sector and its unique advantages have been underutilized in the worldwide effort to reduce poverty, promote education, deliver healthcare, and serve the world’s poor. Julie Sunderland, the Director of Program Related Investments for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, explains how the Foundation works to include and incentivize the private sector in order to accomplish these ambitious goals.
5 min
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