Join Generous Life New York on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 6:30 pm for a thought-provoking and empowering panel with key leaders discussing recent global funding shifts.
Recent shifts in global funding—particularly the reduction of programs historically supported by the United States Agency for International Development—have created significant gaps in healthcare, education, and economic empowerment initiatives across parts of Africa. Many organizations that have faithfully served their communities for decades are now navigating a new landscape where needs remain high while traditional sources of support continue to contract.
Yet within this moment of disruption lies a meaningful opportunity. Faith-driven organizations, philanthropic leaders, and private generosity are uniquely positioned to support locally led initiatives that continue advancing human flourishing across the continent.
This gathering will offer an honest, human-centered look at the current moment in Africa, sharing stories from the field while highlighting resilient local leaders, trusted organizations, and proven models of care and development. Rather than focusing on crisis, the evening will illuminate the dignity, innovation, and impact already present in communities across the continent.
Through thoughtful conversation and storytelling, guests will gain deeper insight into the challenges facing frontline organizations, learn about effective solutions already underway, and explore how faith, partnership, and generosity can help sustain and expand this work for the long term.
The evening will include a moderated conversation featuring firsthand perspectives from Mark Gerson, Co-Founder, and Scott Marcello, President, of Africa Mission Healthcare, Cassandra Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Justice Rising, and Many Hopes working in healthcare, education, and economic development across Africa, reflections on the role of faith-driven generosity in supporting locally led solutions, and an opportunity for meaningful connection and conversation among guests following the program.
Please RSVP below and join us on Tuesday, April 28. Should you any questions, please email [email protected].
DETAILS//
Format | Live Event
Attire | Business casual dress is required, this includes: tailored pants, dresses, skirt ensembles, collared shirts, blouses, and dress shoes.
Please note, no jeans, sneakers, shorts or hats.
Yet within this moment of disruption lies a meaningful opportunity. Faith-driven organizations, philanthropic leaders, and private generosity are uniquely positioned to support locally led initiatives that continue advancing human flourishing across the continent.
This gathering will offer an honest, human-centered look at the current moment in Africa, sharing stories from the field while highlighting resilient local leaders, trusted organizations, and proven models of care and development. Rather than focusing on crisis, the evening will illuminate the dignity, innovation, and impact already present in communities across the continent.
Through thoughtful conversation and storytelling, guests will gain deeper insight into the challenges facing frontline organizations, learn about effective solutions already underway, and explore how faith, partnership, and generosity can help sustain and expand this work for the long term.
The evening will include a moderated conversation featuring firsthand perspectives from Mark Gerson, Co-Founder, and Scott Marcello, President, of Africa Mission Healthcare, Cassandra Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Justice Rising, and Many Hopes working in healthcare, education, and economic development across Africa, reflections on the role of faith-driven generosity in supporting locally led solutions, and an opportunity for meaningful connection and conversation among guests following the program.
Please RSVP below and join us on Tuesday, April 28. Should you any questions, please email [email protected].
DETAILS//
Format | Live Event
Attire | Business casual dress is required, this includes: tailored pants, dresses, skirt ensembles, collared shirts, blouses, and dress shoes.
Please note, no jeans, sneakers, shorts or hats.
venue
New York Athletic Club
180 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
180 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
Date & Time
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Speakers
MARK GERSON
co-founder
Africa Mission healthcare
Africa Mission healthcare
Mark Gerson, a New York–based entrepreneur and philanthropist, is the cofounder of Gerson Lehrman Group, 3I Members, United Hatzalah of Israel, and African Mission Healthcare—where he and his wife, Rabbi Erica Gerson, made the largest gift ever to Christian medical missionaries. A graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School, Mark is the author of two national bestsellers The Telling: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life and God Was Right: How Modern Social Science Proves the Torah Is True. Mark’s articles and essays on subjects ranging from Frank Sinatra to the biblical Jonah to the Torah and science of clothing have been published in The New Republic, USA Today, Commentary, and Christian Broadcast Network. Mark lives with his wife and their four children.
CASSANDRA LEE
co-founder & executive Director
justice rising
justice rising
Cassandra Lee is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Justice Rising. She has over 15 years of international development experience, living and working in conflict areas around the world, including South Sudan during the Darfur crisis, Northern Uganda, the Middle East, where she worked with Syrian refugees, and in North Korea. For the past 10 years, she has worked primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country defined by war and conflict for over 20 years. Cassandra is deeply committed to rethinking education systems in war-affected regions and confronting challenges in areas that others tend to avoid.
Cassandra studied Human Rights and Education at Columbia University, and currently resides in New York, NY with her husband, Edison Lee, and their two toddlers, Margot and Hugo.
Cassandra studied Human Rights and Education at Columbia University, and currently resides in New York, NY with her husband, Edison Lee, and their two toddlers, Margot and Hugo.
SCOTT MARCELLO
president
Africa Mission healthcare
Africa Mission healthcare
Scott Marcello serves as President of African Mission Healthcare. He first met Dr. Jon Fielder, AMH Chief Executive and Co-founder, and Jonathan Mwiindi, AMH Executive Vice President, in 2007 during a visit to Kijabe Hospital in Kenya. That experience began a long-term partnership, leading to Scott joining the AMH Board in 2011 and, ultimately, the organization’s leadership team. He is deeply motivated by AMH’s commitment to building strong hospital institutions that deliver lasting impact for both health systems and the patients they serve.
Prior to joining AMH, Scott was a partner at KPMG, where he held several senior leadership roles, including serving on the firm’s Management Committee and Board of Directors.
Scott earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Stetson University in 1984 and a Master of Accountancy from Stetson in 1985.
His early experiences volunteering at hospitals in Kenya, along with his continued engagement with AMH, shaped his understanding of the vital role mission hospitals play across Sub-Saharan Africa. He saw firsthand how these institutions deliver high-quality, compassionate care while also serving as enduring sources of hope within their communities.
Scott and his wife, Dené, have four grown children.
Prior to joining AMH, Scott was a partner at KPMG, where he held several senior leadership roles, including serving on the firm’s Management Committee and Board of Directors.
Scott earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Stetson University in 1984 and a Master of Accountancy from Stetson in 1985.
His early experiences volunteering at hospitals in Kenya, along with his continued engagement with AMH, shaped his understanding of the vital role mission hospitals play across Sub-Saharan Africa. He saw firsthand how these institutions deliver high-quality, compassionate care while also serving as enduring sources of hope within their communities.
Scott and his wife, Dené, have four grown children.
Many Hopes is dedicated to rescuing children from injustice—including trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse, and abandonment—and equipping them to become adults who can rescue others. At the heart of this mission is a belief that impact should not be temporary, but generational—creating a ripple effect where those who were once vulnerable become leaders of lasting change.
The organization envisions a future where, in every community it serves, outside charity is no longer necessary. Instead, local survivors and their peers rise as advocates, professionals, and change-makers—leading the fight for justice from within their own communities.
Many Hopes works primarily in Africa and Latin America, partnering with high-impact, locally led organizations to identify and support children who have experienced profound injustice. Through long-term care, education, and holistic support, these children are equipped with both the capacity and the character to transform not only their own lives, but the systems around them.
Central to this work is a powerful conviction: children who have survived injustice are uniquely positioned to defeat it. By investing in their futures, Many Hopes is helping build a world where justice is sustained not by external aid, but by empowered local leaders who ensure that the cycle of injustice is broken for good.
The organization envisions a future where, in every community it serves, outside charity is no longer necessary. Instead, local survivors and their peers rise as advocates, professionals, and change-makers—leading the fight for justice from within their own communities.
Many Hopes works primarily in Africa and Latin America, partnering with high-impact, locally led organizations to identify and support children who have experienced profound injustice. Through long-term care, education, and holistic support, these children are equipped with both the capacity and the character to transform not only their own lives, but the systems around them.
Central to this work is a powerful conviction: children who have survived injustice are uniquely positioned to defeat it. By investing in their futures, Many Hopes is helping build a world where justice is sustained not by external aid, but by empowered local leaders who ensure that the cycle of injustice is broken for good.
Join us on Tuesday, April 28!