Shawn Landres is a cross-sector strategist and scholar whose work examines how communities build shared identity, trust, and accountability across difference. As co-founder of Jumpstart Labs (2008–2025), he helped map what became known as the Jewish Innovation Ecosystem and influenced millions of dollars in philanthropic investment. He founded and led a volunteer network across 25 countries that evacuated thousands from Ukrainian conflict zones.

A Board officer of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and former Board Chair of Jewish Mosaic, he is a Nahum Goldmann Fellow and was named to The Forward’s list of America’s 50 most influential Jews. He serves as Chair Emeritus of the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission and is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He has co-edited books on ethnography, religion, and intergroup dynamics. His Connected to Give series with Indiana University has been widely cited in philanthropy research. He holds a PhD in religious studies from UC Santa Barbara and an MSt in social anthropology from Oxford.