As the History Co:Lab’s Co-Lead & Chief Strategist, Fernande Raine applies her expertise as a social entrepreneur, systems thinker, and historian to ensure that our strategy aligns with our mission, identify opportunities for growth, and weave relationships and partnerships that support systemic change in learning.

Fernande founded the History Co:Lab in 2019. She has dedicated her career to accelerating innovation in the fields of history and the humanities, with a focus on strengthening democracy by providing young people with inspiring learning experiences in history. Having completed high school in Germany, where she learned in depth about the fragility and promise of democracy, she became an avid advocate for youth engagement in democracy, both in Germany and across Eastern Europe.  She earned her Ph.D. in diplomatic History from Yale University and began her career as a consultant with McKinsey and later with Innosight. She left the consulting world to run the Human Rights Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School, where she launched and led the “Measurement in Human Rights” project. During her 15 years as an entrepreneur with Ashoka, she launched five programs, including those in Western Europe, and co-led research into systems change leadership.