Ourania Dionysiou is a strategist, architect, and former diplomat with close to two decades of experience at the intersection of capital, policy, and institutional transformation. She has mobilized over $5 billion in philanthropic and blended capital, led high-performing global teams across 45+ countries, and brokered landmark alliances spanning finance, technology, healthcare, climate, and humanitarian affairs. A published theorist whose work is archived in the US Library of Congress, she has been recognized internationally by the World Bank, the German Marshall Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and the European Commission.
Her career began in diplomacy. As Director of Press and Public Affairs for the Embassy of Cyprus in Washington D.C., and later as a senior advisor to the Presidential Palace during Cyprus's first Presidency of the Council of the European Union, she built her instinct for influence, negotiation, and trust-building across sectors, cultures, and stakeholder groups.
At UNICEF, she led public and private-sector engagement across the Gulf, growing revenue sixfold and securing the organization's largest-ever private-sector education grant: a $200 million commitment that remains a landmark in Gulf philanthropy. She established UNICEF's first ultra-high-net-worth engagement strategy in the region, driving a 636% increase in major donations in Year 1.
At the International Rescue Committee, she held dual Vice President mandates: leading the global fundraising and partnership strategy — tripling revenue in Year 1 — while simultaneously building IRC's first-ever Global Partnerships and Philanthropic Services function. She launched partnerships across AI, climate, gaming, ESG philanthropy, Islamic finance, blockchain philanthropy, cryptocurrency, and global health, integrating 18 expert functions across a 150-person, five-continent operation.
Between those two roles, she served as a UN Global Strategic Growth Advisor across Geneva, Copenhagen, and New York, advising the C-suites and governance boards of UNHCR, WHO, the IRC, and leading global investors on capital strategy, philanthropic governance, and institutional transformation.
Today, she leads OD Advisory, a global practice partnering with executive teams, boards, and principals across corporations, foundations, family offices, and international institutions. She also serves as Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), teaching IFI strategy within the Capstone program.
Outside her professional work, she is a certified sommelier and barista, and a former national basketball player.
