As a senior engagement lead on the Climate, Agriculture and Food Systems team at Kinaura Partners, Challiss brings deep expertise in policy, advocacy, and strategic communications. She specializes in translating complex scientific and technical issues into clear, compelling narratives that inform decision‑making and drive aligned action. With more than 25 years of experience, she offers strong capabilities in strategy development, research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and people and project management across humanitarian, development, and food systems contexts.
Challiss supports the advocacy teams for agricultural development and nutrition at the Gates Foundation, including having served in an interim role as a senior program officer overseeing the Global Policy and Multilaterals portfolio for agriculture. Her work with partners focuses on shaping policy positions, elevating evidence‑based advocacy, and aligning communications and engagement efforts across diverse stakeholders and institutions.
Before joining Kinaura, Challiss spent a decade with the World Food Programme, leading communications and advocacy teams in Afghanistan, East Africa, and North America. She has worked in more than 50 countries and lived in five, contributing expertise in crisis management, survey research, logistics and supply chains, food safety and quality control, conflict resolution, human rights, and governance and electoral systems. Earlier in her career, she served as a radio journalist and bureau chief based in Johannesburg and Cairo, covering major global events including the AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa, the early years of the Iraq War, and the 2006 conflict in southern Lebanon.
A proud product of public schools, Challiss holds a BA in English literature from Virginia Commonwealth University and pursued graduate studies in journalism at the University of North Carolina. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, Jake, who owns a thriving shop specializing in film cameras and typewriters, and their dog, Fiona.
Outside of work, she enjoys running, hiking, kayaking, knitting, and ceramics.
