Mahsa Pelosky

New York, NY

Born in Tehran, Iran, Mahsa moved to the United States in 1987, attended Fordham University and was a fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani’s ’93 Mayoral race and George Pataki’s ’94 race for Governor. She joined the Giuliani Administration at the Department of Housing Preservation & Development and then at the Commission for the United Nations & Consular Corps. Mahsa went on to the Estee Lauder Companies (Corp. Div. marketing) in 1997 until 2003.

Since 2003 Mahsa has led her family’s philanthropic endeavors. Among other causes, she and her husband sponsored a 5-year speaker series at The George Washington University to bring high profile speakers to GW. They also endowed the Jay and Mahsa Pelosky International Student Internship Fund at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Mahsa is a past Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for the City & Country School, a leading progressive elementary school in Manhattan.

Currently she serves on the Board of Directors and is the Co-Chair of the IMPACT Fund for the White House Project, which works to advance women’s leadership across all sectors, up to the US Presidency. She serves on the Associates Council of Prep for Prep, a leadership development and education program for gifted students of color in New York City. Mahsa is a member of the Board of Directors of the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, a public policy research and advocacy organization working on behalf of children living in poverty in NYC. She is a Board Member of the New York Women’s Foundation, an alliance of women catalyzing partnerships and leveraging human and financial capital to achieve sustained economic security and justice for women and girls. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Fund for Public Advocacy, a fund established to support the Public Advocate’s Office in making government more responsive, accountable and transparent. Mahsa is an active member of the Women Donors Network, a national network of women philanthropists committed to building the progressive movement through the power of philanthropy, women’s leadership, and collective and individual action.

Mahsa lives in Manhattan with her husband Jay Pelosky, a private investor, and their two children.