Danielle Goonan has spent over fifteen expanding pathways to opportunity for workers and their families, improving systems that serve them, and directing resources where they are most needed to drive lasting change. As Vice President of The Rockefeller Foundation’s U.S. Program and Policy team, she oversees a portfolio that has invested over $150 million to advance economic policy, green industrial policy, and small business ownership for American workers. Previously, she managed a philanthropic grant portfolio at the Walmart Foundation focused on employment technology, place-based systems change, and employer practices. She also served in the Obama Administration, leading strategic partnerships for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, collaborating with corporate, labor, and philanthropic stakeholders. Earlier in her career, she directed domestic education and workforce development initiatives at the Clinton Global Initiative, working on youth employment, skills development, and workforce commitments.
Danielle earned her MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and graduated summa cum laude in American Studies from Dickinson College as a Posse Foundation Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa member. A Fulbright Scholar to Italy, she is deeply engaged in civic leadership, serving on the boards of Humanity in Action, the Forum for Youth Investment, and the American Planning Board. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she is an avid salsa dancer, scuba diver, and enjoys exploring new countries and their surrounding seas alike.
Authored Content
May 17 2023 Perspective A Wave of Child Tax Credits Is Building in the States In the midst of the current economic challenges Americans face, The Rockefeller Foundation (Foundation) has had the privilege to see glimmers of hope through our support for organizations working to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). This movement took a big step forward in 2021 with the passage of […]
Dec 17 2021 Perspective U.S. Tax Policy and Race: A Conversation with Professor Dorothy Brown How do you know tax policies are not discriminatory if the IRS doesn’t collect data on race? This question triggered curiosity in Dr. Dorothy Brown, professor of law and author of The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans and How We Can Fix It. Dr. Brown recently sat down with Danielle […]