Professor Jen Shang is Co-Founder and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, and the world’s only philanthropic psychologist. She was the first person to earn a PhD in Philanthropy, and her research on donor identity and meaning has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, and Chronicle of Philanthropy. In 2025, she received AFP’s prestigious Skystone Prize for Meaningful Philanthropy, co-authored with Dr. Adrian Sargeant—a book exploring how giving shapes the lives of high-net-worth donors. We spoke with her live at AFP ICON, the association’s international conference in Seattle.
