Simone D'Souza Brody

Simone attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she received an MBA (Wharton), a Master of Education, and a BA in political science, philosophy and economics (PPE).

Simone is Executive Director of What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies organization, in New York City. Simone is leveraging her extensive experience in business and education to lead this new organization. Launched in April 2015, What Works Cities's mission is to elevate and accelerate cities' use of data and evidence to engage citizens, make government more effective, and improve people's lives 

​

Before her current role, Simone spent 3 years at the New York City Department of Education as the Senior Executive Director, Research, Accountability, and Data. 

​

During her venture capital career, Simone was a Senior Associate at Ascend Ventures for 6 years. Ascend focuses on applied technology and education companies. The firm invests primarily in early-stage and selective late-stage opportunities. Simone served as a board observer at Tabula Digita and at ClassLink. 

​

Simone joined Ascend in 2005 after completing her graduate studies. Prior to graduate school, Simone worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and capital raisings for financial institutions. Simone has also spent time working with a range of education service providers and public school districts.

As a member of Fellows Class 12, Simone served her fellowship at Ascend Venture Group with mentor Darryl Wash.