The Leadership Fellows program offers nonprofit and public sector organizations the opportunity to leverage the experience, energy, and analytical skills of MBAs for one year.

In addition to the salary provided by the organization, HBS provides Fellows with an upfront award as well as professional development throughout the year. Fellows apply their expertise to roles for which they produce immediate results and build long-term capacity within the organization.

Launched in 2001, the Leadership Fellows program has placed 208 Fellows with 83 organizations, and has delivered on two important levels:

  • Providing social sector organizations with access to analytic and strategic talent to deliver high-impact results
  • Encouraging emerging leaders to appreciate and understand the complexities of leading in the social sector 

For hiring organizations, it's a short-term investment with far-reaching benefits for the crucial work being done by your organization and the sector at large.

 

Examples of Impact

Organizations and students who participate in the HBS Leadership Fellows program gain real-world experience and have a lasting impact on creating social value around the world.

Monica Chi

(2002-03 Fellow)
Position: Special Assistant to the Director, FBI
 
In the wake of 9/11, Monica worked with FBI Director Robert Mueller and members of his executive team on strategic leadership and organizational transformation objectives.

Katherine Cunningham

(2003-04 Fellow)
Position: Director of Special Projects, Teach For America
 
In her Fellowship year, Katie focused on cross-departmental projects for the COO, and then moved into a managerial position on TFA’s development team, overseeing seven people working on corporate partnerships, federal grants, and gift processing.

Alice Lin Fabiano

(2009-10 Fellow)
Position: Special Advisor, The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
 
At CIFF, Alice was part of the Investment and Strategy & Performance teams. In this role, she researched and developed proposals in cookstoves and clean water, and developed a framework for measuring the foundation's impact.

Jessica Freireich

(2006-07 Fellow)
Position: Special Assistant to the COO, Save the Children
 
Jessica worked with senior management and 180 of Save the Children's staff from around the world to develop one-year operational plans and five–year strategic plans across the $400 million organization.

Lindsay Steinmetz Haldeman

(2010-11 Fellow)
Position: Senior Project Manager, Ford Foundation
 
In her role at the Ford Foundation Lindsay completed a strategic review of two key programs which led to the creation and implementation of a framework applied across the organization to capture key programmatic elements and corresponding data.

Gena Haugen

(2013-14 Fellow)
Position: Special Advisor to the Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
 
In her role as a Leadership Fellow, Gena worked closely with the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to support the CFPB Director's agenda, focusing on mission critical policy and institution-building priorities.

Pablo Jenkins

(2006-07 Fellow)
Position: Director, International Expansion, Endeavor Global
 
In his Fellowship year, Pablo opened Endeavor’s first office in India, successfully recruiting the board, business community mentors, and initial team to launch the organization's model of supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in developing countries.

John Kim

(2008-09 Fellow)
Position: Deputy Country Director of Ethiopia, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
 
At CHAI’s Ethiopia country office, John managed the daily operations of the 120-employee office, providing guidance and support to each of their six programs, and managing external relationships with the Ministry of Health and other partners.

Daniel Koh

(2011-12 Fellow)
Position: Advisor to the Mayor, City of Boston
 
Following his Fellowship year, Daniel worked in multiple roles at The Huffington Post including Chief of Staff to Arianna Huffington, Chair, President, and Editor-in-Chief. In 2014, Daniel returned to the City of Boston to serve as the Chief of Staff where he advises the Mayor on key issues and helps him execute his vision for the city.

Andrew Murphy

(2007-08 Fellow)
Position: Director of Enterprise Planning, World Wildlife Fund
 
Andy worked with World Wildlife Fund’s COO and Global Markets Unit to engage the private sector in WWF’s conservation mission through sustainable supply chain interventions.

Lauren Scopaz

(2007-08 Fellow)
Position: Special Advisor to the COO, Harlem Children's Zone
 
At Harlem Children’s Zone, a community-based organization that serves thousands of at-risk children and their families, Lauren focused on goal measurement and the collection and management of data, in addition to advising on management issues across the organization.

Misha Simmonds

(2004-05 Fellow)
Position: Associate Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund
 
At NewSchools, a venture philanthropy firm that supports education entrepreneurs, Misha shaped the organization’s $45 million Charter Accelerator Fund to support charter schools as well as district management practices and system capacity development.

Rob Zeaske

(2002-03 Fellow)
Position: Senior Program Manager, Mercy Corps
 
Rob’s position focused on building a performance management system for Mercy Corps' thirty–six country programs. He then expanded the system to determine the organization's core competencies and evaluate how to build new strengths and take on additional risk.
 

Donor Support

Harvard Business School is grateful for the generosity of donors who have been vital to the HBS Leadership Fellows Program:  James A. Atwood, Jr. (MBA 1984) Fellowship Fund, Richard and Helen Bibbero Fund, David J. Dunn Fund, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation/Richard L. Menschel Endowment, Richard Lumpkin Dean’s Discretionary Fund, Margaret T. Morris Foundation Endowment, Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Fellowship, Michael E. Porter Leadership Fellowship, and John C. Whitehead Fund for Not-for-Profit Management.