Pilar Frank O’Leary is Executive Director of Aspen Conexion, a program of the Aspen Institute which explores connections between U.S. Latino communities and their economic ties to Latin America and Spain. Previously, Pilar was President of PFO Advisory Group, a consulting practice which advises leading foundations and companies in the U.S., Latin America and other global markets on their social impact and public-private development strategies. She has over 20 years of experience working on global initiatives at Fortune 100 companies and leading nonprofit institutions. In 2018, Pilar was awarded the Order of San Felipe Arcángel by the Colombian government for helping further the U.S.-Colombia partnership and in 2023 she was knighted as a Dame by the Parte Guelfa order in Florence, Italy for her commitment to social impact and sustainability.
Most recently, Pilar has served as a senior consultant for leading nonprofit and business organizations such as Facebook/Meta, the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF Development Bank, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos (the Barefoot Foundation), the National Geographic Society, Chavon (Parsons School of Design Latin American affiliate), the International Women’s Media Foundation, Blackboard, Enterprise Holdings, EDENS, The Coca-Cola Company, Dentons DGA, the US Chamber of Commerce and many other institutions. .
Prior to establishing PFO Advisory Group, Pilar worked in the U.S., Europe and Latin America as an analyst, corporate lawyer, business executive and nonprofit director at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Fannie Mae and other institutions. She is a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S.) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.) and earned a certificate in Sustainability Strategies from Stanford University Business School.
Pilar is a member of the Meridian International Center’s Global Leadership Council and the Bretton Woods Committee and is a Senior Adviser at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Orchestra of the Americas Group, is a member of Georgetown University’s Ignatian Circle Advisory Board and serves on the Strategic Advisory Committee for El Museo del Barrio in New York. Additionally, Pilar is the co-founder of Isabella & Ferdinand Academia de Español, a nonprofit Spanish language and cultural learning program for children which has been accredited by the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid. She is fluent in English, Spanish, French and has basic proficiency in Italian and Portuguese.
Pilar is married with 3 children resides in the Washington, DC area.