Sylia Obagi, CPA, MBA

Sylia Obagi is a transformative leader, innovator, and coalition builder in philanthropy. With a rare combination of financial acumen, strategic insight, and a passion for impact, Sylia Obagi is redefining what it means to lead with purpose in philanthropy. As the Founder of The Generative Group, she partners with donors, family foundations, and social-purpose organizations to align their core values with bold and meaningful philanthropy. Sylia is a recognized expert in family philanthropy, governance, strategy, next-gen succession, finance, and organization development, having designed mission-driven strategies for private foundations with assets ranging from $100 million to $2 billion.

Most recently, Sylia was the founding Executive Director of the Winston Family Foundation, where, in partnership with the board, she envisioned, designed, and launched Project One Health, a $21M, multi-year initiative combating the epidemic of youth mental health linked to excessive screen time and an indoor lifestyle. She designed a nationally replicable model that serves over 1,000 youth annually and utilizes grants, PRIs, public service campaigns, convenings, cross-sector partnerships, and capacity-building to maximize Winston’s impact and reach.

Before Winston, she served as Vice President of Operations & Finance of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, supporting a multi-generational family foundation and the philanthropy of the Blank Family of Businesses: the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, PGA Tour Superstores, and Montana Ranches. She was pivotal in supporting Arthur Blank’s most significant legacy grant investments of hundreds of millions of dollars, scaling the organization to deliver on Arthur’s 10-year, $1.5B giving pledge and fulfilling a complex portfolio of grants, PRIs, in-kind grants, direct charitable activities, and employee giving.