Founder and President
Dan Fernelius is the President of Friends of Ngong Road. He brings with him nearly fifteen years of experience building nonprofit organizations that are thoughtful in structure, clear in purpose, and ambitious in reach—ensuring that strategy and story all reinforce the impact they aim to achieve. His work sits at the intersection of fundraising, organizational development, and mission-grounded storytelling to drive results and deepen impact.
Before becoming President, Dan served on the Friends of Ngong Road board and chaired the Development Committee, contributing to the organization’s long-range planning and its evolving vision for shared leadership between the U.S. and our partners in Kenya at the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation.
Prior to Friends of Ngong Road, Dan spent six years at the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), the nonprofit behind Let’s Encrypt—raising more than $35 million to support work serving billions of people around the world. Before ISRG, Dan worked in the vibrant Twin Cities arts community, most recently at Mixed Blood Theatre in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Dan is pragmatic and people-centered. He’s as energized by the less glamorous, often invisible work of nonprofit growth—refining systems, strengthening teams, bolstering databases—as he is by a cup of coffee with a supporter.