Celeste Richie, Director, leads Third Sector's Social Innovation Fund projects. Third Sector leads governments, nonprofits, and funders in building evidence-based initiatives that address society's persistent challenges. As experts in innovative public-private contracting strategies, Third Sector is an architect and builder of the nation's most promising Pay for Success projects. Celeste joined Third Sector from the federal government, working to build and improve the use of evidence in program and policy decision-making. She focused on employment and worker protection programs, including Pay for Success projects, as a Senior Evaluation Specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office. As a Presidential Management Fellow, Celeste provided policy, budget and performance analysis across several offices in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, she worked with the Fiscal Research Division on budget development for the North Carolina Senate Appropriations Committee. She served as the Assistant Director for Diversity and Communications for the College of Natural Resources at NC State University and as Board Chair for Traction, a nonprofit focused on getting young folks more civically engaged. Celeste graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. from Cornell University and earned her M.P.P from Duke University.