Throughout her career as a nonprofit executive, award-winning executive producer and producer/director, broadcast programmer, curator, teacher, and writer, Cara has championed the leadership role of artists in society, and worked to harness the power of cultural...
Mia Deschamps, Operations & Impact Lead
With long roots in international development and research, Mia has spent a career starting up innovative initiatives around the world. From a background in literature, public policy and data visualization has emerged her passion to leverage data storytelling for social good.
Mia was introduced to the independent media scene in 2009, when she served as startup Research Manager for an office within the most popular television station in Afghanistan, Tolo Television/Moby Media. She plugged back in to global independent media in 2020, helping Cara Mertes begin the Moving Image Exploration within the Ford Foundation, with specific focus on impact and “stories as evidence.”
She gained a well-rounded view of international development during 7 years focused on Afghanistan, including work on human rights research (with the Afghanistan Research & Evaluation Unit), democracy and governance (with the National Democratic Institute), media and public opinion (with Moby Media), and accountability (with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction).
She came to philanthropy via a new Ford Foundation office in Bogotá, Colombia in 2016, where she served as founding Program Associate. For a time after that, she started up an in-house research shop within financial-wellness-focused Inclusiv credit unions in the US. To each, she brought a passion for transformational data storytelling and visual analysis tools.