Madeleine Cashin is an associate director of Environmental and Social Innovation Philanthropy at Milken Institute Philanthropy. Cashin is a part of the team designing and operating the Institute’s innovation competitions, including the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program, a series of multi-million-dollar innovation competitions and programs focused on advancing technological progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. The inaugural two competitions, the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech and the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, award $4 million in prizes to global entrepreneurs following rigorous field testing and capacity building programs. Cashin also leads the Institute’s gun violence prevention initiative. As the lead associate director on the project, she is a part of the team conducting the landscape research, expert engagement and event management of related forums and workshops, including the inaugural Milken Institute Innovation Forum on Preventing Gun Violence.

Prior to this role, Cashin worked closely with the African tech and startup ecosystem at insiderPR, where she drove investment and media engagement toward innovative companies. Born in Nairobi and based in DC, Cashin holds a BA in sociology with a concentration in social justice analysis from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in international relations from King’s College, London. Before her graduate studies, Cashin served as a Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco.