Aurora Impact Foundation Founder Shannon Smadella Named Founding Member of the Impact Leaders Alliance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rome & Maranello, Italy — May 2026 Aurora Impact Foundation is proud to announce that Founder and CEO Shannon Smadella, MBA, has been named a Founding Member of the Impact Leaders Alliance (ILA) — an exclusive, invite-only international network of senior leaders dedicated to driving meaningful, sustainable change across sectors. For a Foundation whose work is rooted in serving women, this appointment represents something deeply intentional: a commitment to building the kind of global leadership network that can amplify Aurora's mission, deepen its partnerships, and expand its reach to the women and communities who need it most.
The ILA's inaugural retreat, held May 10–11, 2026, in Maranello, Italy — in association with the European Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (EIIS) — followed the European Innovation for Sustainability Summit in Rome (May 8–9) and brought together more than twenty hand-picked senior leaders from across continents and industries. The retreat was held at Ferrari Headquarters, and offered an immersive experience rooted in long-horizon thinking, mutual trust, and cross-sector collaboration — centred on a single question that Aurora asks every day: how do we build something that truly lasts?
One of the retreat's most powerful moments came not at Ferrari, but at Acetaia Malpighi — home to one of Italy's most storied traditional balsamic vinegar producers. Traditional balsamic vinegar takes 25 years to make. Only after that time does it go before a consortium to be tested, evaluated, and — if it passes — certified and bottled as the real thing. The story, the time, the tradition, and the test are inseparable from what ends up in the bottle. It is a metaphor that speaks directly to the work of Aurora Impact Foundation. The women Aurora serves are not a short-term project. They are a long-term commitment — one that demands the same patience, standards, and unwavering belief that what is being built matters.
"The leaders I sat with in Italy are asking the same questions we ask every day at Aurora," said Smadella. "How do we create impact that compounds? How do we build something worthy of the people we serve? After 27 years of leading organizations — building things, rebuilding things, and showing up even when it was hard — I am more clear than ever. We are not building for today. We are building for what lasts."
As a Founding Member of the ILA, Smadella helps shape the Alliance's culture and strategic direction, expanding Aurora Impact Foundation's engagement with the global sustainability and social impact community — and bringing that network directly to bear on the Foundation's programs and partnerships.
About Aurora Impact Foundation
Aurora Impact Foundation is a women-led initiative dedicated to advancing women's leadership, rights, and access to justice through education, advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration. Our mission is to strengthen women's leadership and accelerate equity by supporting pathways to justice, opportunity, and systemic change — locally and globally. We exist to help close the gap between the values we speak about publicly and the systems we build in practice — ensuring that women and girls are not only included, but meaningfully represented in leadership, governance, and decision-making spaces. Aurora is guided by human rights principles and aligned with global efforts to advance gender equality, including those reflected in UN initiatives and international policy conversations. Founded by Shannon Smadella, MBA, and established in 2025. Learn more at aurora-leadership.org.
About the Impact Leaders Alliance
The Impact Leaders Alliance is an exclusive international network of senior leaders committed to purposeful leadership, sustainability, and global impact, convened in association with the European Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (EIIS). @ILANetwork | #ImpactLeadersAlliance
Media Contact: admin@shannonsmadella.com