Omar Woodard

Omar is Principal at Venture Philanthropy Partners, a philanthropic investment firm in Washington, DC. He is responsible for selecting and monitoring investments in high-performing organizations in the National Capital Region.

Prior, Omar was a Healthcare Consultant at the Advisory Board Company, where he was responsible for advising corporations, hospitals, and universities on cost saving initiatives and best practice implementation. He closed $1.5M in new business, marketing business intelligence tools across the U.S.

Omar also worked as a registered federal lobbyist for The Whitaker Group, where he was responsible for implementing strategies for African heads of state and Fortune 100 CEOs to build and strengthen key relationships in Congress, the White House and federal agencies. He worked closely with Members of Congress, African heads of state and foreign government ministers to secure increased trade and investment opportunities through coalition building and the appropriations process. He also worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), and as a consultant at The George Washington University.

In 2008, Omar was a Deputy Regional Field Director in Pennsylvania for the Obama for America presidential campaign. He played an integral role in Chester County voting Democratic for the first time since 1964.

Omar serves on several nonprofit boards, including The Board of Trustees of The George Washington University (GWU); the Board of Governors of the Girard College Alumni Association; and the Board of Directors of the Black Philanthropic Alliance. He is a former Chair of the DC Chapter of the NAACP International Affairs Committee. He was a Toyota Presidential Fellow for the Center of the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and was selected as a Pennsylvania Political Leaders Fellow for the inaugural class of the Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL).

Omar is a two-time graduate of The George Washington University, and as a Presidential Administrative Fellow from 2005-2007 he earned his M.P.A. specializing in nonprofit management from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. He also received a BA in International Economics and Public Policy from the Elliott School of International Affairs. He is a native of North Philadelphia, PA and is a graduate of Girard College, a Grade 1-12 boarding school for low income, single parent children.