Christine Monska

Christine Monska is a nationally recognized nonprofit executive and global gender-justice strategist with more than 15 years of leadership across philanthropy, government, higher education, and international advocacy. She leads the Women’s Fund SouthCoast with a bold, equity-driven vision that has catalyzed transformational growth and positioned the Fund as a force for regional and statewide change.

Since becoming Executive Director, Christine has tripled the organization’s budget, expanded the team from one to four, and built a pipeline of emerging leaders by mentoring interns and fellows. She launched the Young Women’s Initiative, a youth-led leadership, advocacy, and grantmaking program; established a regional data justice partnership with UMass Boston; and launched the Bettina Borders Leadership Circle—positioning the Fund as an intergenerational foundation advancing gender, racial, and economic justice locally, regionally, and nationally.

Christine’s commitment to empowering women and girls is both professional and deeply personal. A first-generation college graduate, she began her advocacy journey in middle school by organizing a girls’ advocacy group, later serving on the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women and joining nonprofit boards in her early twenties. These early experiences ground her belief that when young people—especially girls and gender-expansive youth—have the tools to lead, entire communities are transformed.

Across her career, Christine has built inclusive leadership pathways for women and gender-expansive people. She designed and led the Young Women’s Initiative in Springfield, part of a national model developed by the Obama Administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls; served as District Director to former Senator Ben Downing; and held leadership roles with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, The Clubhouse Network (in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab), Bean Group Global, and Bard College—one of the nation’s first free colleges for low-income mothers who’s education was disrupted by poverty and parenting.

Appointed in 2020 to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW) by the Caucus of Women Legislators, Christine now serves as Vice Chair and chairs the statewide Girls Empowerment & Leadership Initiative. She is a 2025 LEADS Fellow and a member of New Bedford’s Economic Development Council Regeneration Committee, helping shape inclusive and sustainable regional growth. Internationally, she has advanced gender equity and political participation through her work in the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bolivia and Geneva, and has presented at TEDx and global conferences.

Christine holds a B.A. in Government and International Relations from Smith College and an M.S. in Global Affairs (International Law & Human Rights) from New York University. She earned certificates in Financial Accounting, Economics for Managers, and Business Statistics from Harvard Business School; a Paralegal Certificate from Boston University; and a Certificate in Transformative Leadership in Disruptive Times from George Washington University, where she sat on the Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council.