Elijah Goldberg

I am a freelancer interested in projects related to democracy, mental health and anti-poverty, as well as the philanthropy that makes them happen. You can reach me at elijah@elijahgoldberg.com.

Philosophy

I am a humanitarian- I don’t mean that as a description of how I show up day to day, but as a label for the core belief that drives me: Every human has rights — and to that end, we should try our best to take up our work again tomorrow, if we can, until the day each right is realized for each soul.

My high school graduation speech sums up the implications for us: youtube.com/watch?v=iBqhjuq_x-o 

Background

In 2024, I set out to found a research think tank with a mission of reducing poverty in East Africa by boosting economic growth through faster regional economic integration. The initiative was driven by 105 East African researchers. I ultimately ended the project because of the regional government's non-response to the brutal, deadly and fraudulent government crackdown during the November 2025 Tanzanian presidential election.

I am bipolar. My mental health experiences motivate a strong interest in good and plentiful mental health care for all.

I was chief of staff for the chief economist of USAID, supporting him as he led a new Independent Office within USAID that had a mandate to increase the use of cost-effectiveness evidence in activity design and establish a macroeconomic policy program for the Agency. 

Before USAID, I co-founded ImpactMatters (with the very same chief economist): a rating agency that produced impact estimates of nonprofit programs. After we were acquired by Charity Navigator, our work became Charity Navigator’s Impact & Results Rating.

After joining Charity Navigator I joined a fintech startup, Spiral, as head of giving. I supported giving experiences in the consumer product and product managed the first version of a new banking product for nonprofits.

In high school, I collaborated with a group of Ugandan and American doctors to found Walimu, an Ugandan NGO that creates and scales science that saves lives. I led it in college as the founding executive director. I then served as board president and later a board member. Since stepping down as ED, Walimu’s staff has been 100% Ugandan nationals, a reflection of the community’s commitment to the human right to self-determination. They run implementation research studies funded by groups like NIH and Gates Foundation to discover solutions to health challenges such as tuberculosis, sepsis and child survival. They also run national programs, such as the Uganda Clubfoot Program. They have special expertise in Ebola outbreak response and infection prevention and control. 

I am bipolar. My mental health experiences motivate a strong interest in good and plentiful mental health care for all.

Some writing / press / etc.:

• Most Nonprofits Are Highly Effective. Check the Data. [Chronicle of Philanthropy]

• Charity raters join forces to measure impact at scale [Devex]

• New Rating System for Charities Aims to Measure Impact of Gifts [NYT]

• These are the charities where your money will do the most good [Vox]

• A complex intervention to improve implementation of World Health Organization guidelines for diagnosis of severe illness in low-income settings: a quasi-experimental study from Uganda [BMC Implementation Science]

• The sixth vital sign: HIV status assessment and severe illness triage in Uganda [International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease]

• High school graduation speech