Reed Shafer-Ray
Founder & CEO, Mountaintop International; nonprofit leader
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Joined November 2025
Network
12.8K connectionsMHMKCM
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Summary
Founder and nonprofit builder focused on reversing 'brain drain' by investing in locally rooted leaders. Reed founded Mountaintop to place exceptional early‑career leaders into paid fellowships with locally led organizations in lower‑income countries, combining placements with mentorship, grants, and an intensive leadership institute. mountaintop+1
Early career organizer and operator who co‑founded and helped scale Lead For America. At Harvard and subsequently with LFA, Reed focused on creating fellowship pipelines that enable talented young people to pursue civic careers in their home communities rather than migrating to large cities or the private sector. stanford+1
Public‑service advocate, writer, and campus leader. As an undergraduate Reed wrote opinion columns for The Harvard Crimson and organized public‑service mobilization (e.g., Lobby Day); his college activism included policy advocacy on gun‑safety measures following a personal tragedy. thecrimson+1
Selected as a Knight‑Hennessy Scholar and pursuing an MBA at Stanford, signaling a focus on building organizational capacity and scaling impact through business and leadership training. stanford+1
Work
Education
Projects
Writing
The Gates of Integrity: The Ethics of Exclusion at Harvard and Beyond (series)
July 1, 2018A longer-form Medium series exploring ethics and exclusion, derived from undergraduate research and thesis interests.
“Even Science Has Blind Spots”
January 1, 2018Opinion piece discussing limits and biases in the way math and science are used in social contexts.
“The Tragedy of Selling Out”
November 1, 2017Opinion column about why Harvard students often abandon public‑service goals for higher‑paying private‑sector roles, and how institutional incentives shape career choices.
Hobbies
Public speaking and mentoring (engages in panels, mentorship series, podcasts) aspireleaders+1
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