Rebecca Tolson is the deputy director of the International Harm Reduction Development Program in the Open Society Public Health Program. In this role, Tolson oversees grantmaking in Ukraine, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, with a particular focus on work relating to women drug users in the region.
Previously, Tolson spent seven years as executive director of the Baltic-American Partnership Fund, an initiative jointly funded by Open Society Foundations and USAID to support civil society and philanthropy development in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. She also served as a regional director at the Foundations for four years, assisting the Soros foundations in Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltics, Poland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia with program development, strategic planning, budget review, and organizational development and governance issues. Tolson holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.