Who We Are
Photo Credit: Alexandre Bonneau-Afroto/ALIMA
Our Team
Leigh Fraiser
Leigh leads Weiss Asset Management Foundation as Managing Director. Prior to joining the Foundation, she spent more than a decade at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including leading Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) and working with the Office of the Chief Economist, where she was on the team that helped found the office.
Her work focused on advancing cost-effectiveness and evidence in major funding decisions, including efforts that reoriented hundreds of millions of dollars toward more effective programs, in close collaboration with agency leadership and Congress. At DIV, she led a strategic repositioning, including a full redesign of its funding approach. She has also been closely involved in advancing unconditional cash transfers as a leading tool for international development and served on the initial decision panel for DIV’s Open Philanthropy–supported scaling awards.
Amelia Knudson
Amelia is Program Director at Weiss Asset Management Foundation, where she manages the Foundation’s Request for Proposals. Prior to joining, Amelia worked at Northwestern University’s Global Poverty Research Lab, where she advised bilateral international aid donors on improving the cost-effectiveness of their grant portfolios. Amelia also spent five years at Evidence for Policy Design, where she led capacity-building initiatives to strengthen evidence use and applied research in the public sector in low- and middle-income countries.
Amelia holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a bachelor’s from Harvard University.
Becky Scurlock
Becky Scurlock is Impact Officer at Weiss Asset Management Foundation, where she leads the Foundation’s work on impact assessment and supports evidence review and decision-making across the grantmaking portfolio. Before joining the Foundation, she conducted predoctoral research at the Harvard Center for International Development and at the University of Chicago Development Innovation Lab.
Becky studied economics, statistics, and international development at the University of Chicago, where she graduated in 2022.
Nina McGowan
Nina is Program Associate at Weiss Asset Management Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked in Investor Relations at Weiss Asset Management, where she supported operations and relationships for the firm’s investor base, including endowments and foundations. Earlier in her career, she worked at J.P. Morgan.
Nina graduated from Williams College in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts. She is currently pursuing coursework through the MITx MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy.
Harlan Downs-Tepper
Harlan is Program Director at Weiss Asset Management Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Harlan was Chief of Staff at IDinsight, based in India and Zambia, where he advised foundations, governments, NGOs, and social businesses on the social impact of their engagements. He has authored several articles on global health and development. Harlan received his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.