Megan Kashner is a Lecturer in Kellogg's Social Impact Program. In her leadership of Kellogg's Social Impact offerings, Kashner focuses on the areas of impact investing, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, nonprofit management, policy, global development, public-private partnerships, values and ethics. Kashner and the Social Impact team support Kellogg faculty, students and alumni as they lead the way in blending economic, social and environmental factors into management organizations and markets to deliver lasting benefits for society. Kashner leads up the global Impact & Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium, the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge, the Moskowitz Prize, and more collaborative work at the intersection of markets and impact.

Kashner came to Kellogg from an extensive career in the impact sector, most recently as the Founder of Benevolent, a philanthropic platform that invites donors to step in and fill gaps in the safety net for low-income families. Kashner is a self-proclaimed "ticked-off social worker" with more than 20 years of strategic management, community partnership building and organizational planning experience across nonprofits, philanthropy, volunteerism and corporate social engagement.

Prior to founding Benevolent, Kashner served as an Executive Director at the Taproot Foundation and in executive and innovation roles in nonprofits and companies across the impact sector. Kashner has been featured at the White House, at national conferences on philanthropy and entrepreneurship, on CNN Headline News, FastCompany, Mashable, Working Mother, MSNBC, The New Yorker, Financial Times, Newsweek, The New York Times and more.

Kashner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Illinois and holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Brown University, an MSW from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Kellogg.

• M.B.A., 2003, Marketing and Strategy & Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• A.M., 1995, Social Service Administration, Clinical MSW, University of Chicago
• B.A., 1992, Public Policy and American Institutions, Brown University

• Clinical Assistant Professor & Director of Social Impact, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, 2016-present

• Founder & CEO, Benevolent, 2011-present
• Executive Director, Taproot Foundation, 2008-2011
• Executive Director, Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, 2005-2008
• Chief Development Officer, Deborah's Place, 2003-2005
• Program Director, Howard Area Community Center, 1999-2001
• Program Director, Methodist Youth Services, 1996-1999
• Mental Health Intake Coordinator, Heartland Health Outreach, 1993-2005
• Outreach Worker, Thresholds, 1992-1993

• Editorial Board, Journal of Impact & ESG Investing, 2020

The Business of Social Change (SSIMX-957-0)


The Business of Social Change (KPPIX-957-0)


Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) (INTLX-473-0)
Energy, Development and Climate Change: "Electricity is a critical element of industrialized life—perhaps the most critical. Without it, nothing else works. Water, sanitation, food, healthcare, education, entertainment: without power these activities grind to a halt. There are roughly 1.5 billion global citizens who have no electricity at all. There are another couple of billion whose access is inadequate. There is a strong relationship between energy usage and economic well-being. Reliable, cost-effective electricity is widely seen as a necessary precursor to economic development. In the OECD—the coalition of 36, mainly Western, developed economies—per capita electricity consumption is around 8,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. By contrast, in North Africa, this figure is closer to 1,600 kWh per year. And in sub-Saharan Africa, the average is a mere 500 kWh/year. These stark differences are mirrored by similar gaps in per capita GDP and income. By 2050, the world is expected to need about twice the total energy we now consume. Almost all this growth is expected to take place in developing economies, and for this development to occur, electricity supply will need to be vastly expanded. In the past couple of decades, the economy of China has roared ahead. Chinese GDP and income per capita have grown, along with a vast expansion of energy supply, much of it in the form of electric power. Many developing nations aspire to follow the Chinese path. A different drama is playing out in the developed world, but one that has implications for developing economies. Electricity markets in the developed world are in the midst of a transformation that began in the late 1970s. At that time, nations and states began to change the ways in which electricity markets are structured and regulated, with the goal of increasing competition and reducing monopoly. Technology has evolved, and the development and deployment of new supply-side technologies (including renewables) is also a main driver of transformation. Innovations on the demand-side, such as energy efficiency, demand management, energy storage, and “smart” technologies, are also key agents of change. Finally, environmental regulations have altered the landscape, and efforts to reduce man-made greenhouse gas emissions have moved to center stage in the global political theater. The most aggressive deployment of renewable energy has occurred in the developed world, best exemplified by Germany and several US states, including California and Texas. In the same vein, the most aggressive policies aimed at reducing emissions linked to climate change have also emanated from the developed West. There is often an explicit link assumed between these initiatives. Renewable energy is assumed to equal climate mitigation. There is also an assumption that international economic development must occur in a way that does not adversely affect global climate. In fact, there are advocates would argue that energy options for developing nations should be restricted to wind, solar and storage. There is tension between the behavior and policy objectives of the wealthy west and the poorer, developing world; one of the key objectives of this course will be to better understand the dimensions of this tension. We will visit two African countries to better understand the electricity-development-climate nexus. Morocco, the westernmost country in North Africa is mainly reliant on fossil-fuel for electricity production,

The Business of Social Change (SSIM-957-5)
This course is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge to influence and lead social impact in business and impact contexts. By the conclusion of this course, each student should have a strong foundation in social impact and social change, including approaches to funding impact, scaling programs and interventions, public- private partnerships, corporate engagement, impact investment decision-making, blended capital, and approaches to intentional impact. The course will pivot around on a singular social issue through which to learn and test social impact frameworks and concepts. The issue of teens and young adults who are neither working nor in school provides a nice foil for our learning. Once students have gained a mastery of perspectives and methodologies necessary to consider and address a social issue from the ground up, they will next learn to identify and utilize effective measures of outputs and progress, and explore the core levers and potentials to change outcomes for people, communities and market systems. This class utilizes a digital, gamified exercise crafted specifically for this course. The case, $50 Million for Change, requires students to step into the role of a player in the impact funding mix in a fictional city and state.

Field Study (SSIM-498-0)


Social Innovation: Designing for Change (SSIM-452-0)
This experiential lab course combines classroom learning with hands-on consultative projects for social impact organizations, allowing students to apply management learnings and analytical expertise to the real challenges that leadership teams face as they operate and scale social impact endeavors within markets. Students interested in consulting, social innovation and leadership, and social finance will benefit from this class. Student teams will work on a real-life project with a company, nonprofit, or public entity. For the fall of 2022, projects will include a range of engagements focused on market analysis, financial innovation and products, go-to-market strategy, and product development. Deliverables will be robust, analytical, and professional-grade. Students will have the opportunity to express preferences among all potential projects..

Global Lab (INTL-615-0)
Global Lab: Social Impact in the Americas (Puerto Rico). This spring quarter experiential learning course provides a hands-on opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge to a real-world project for social impact. In the Global Lab course, teams of students will complete consulting projects for startups and nonprofits in Puerto Rico. The client (nonprofit or company) and student team work to scope and define the project, then the students engage in the research and analysis necessary to deliver on that project for the client and community. Students who enroll in this class will be required to attend at least one pre-term class and engage in a client kick-off meeting and project scoping during the winter quarter. We hope to travel over Memorial Day weekend for on-site presentations of final client project deliverables and outcomes. Kellogg will cover airfare and select days of lodging expenses for the on-site visit if we are able to travel. Students must have completed all core courses with the exception of OPNS430 which can be taken concurrently in the Spring quarter. Evening/weekend and EMBA program students who have fulfilled their core requirements are also eligible to apply to take the course.

Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) (INTL-473-0)
All FT GIM classes will hold a final, mandatory class session. Please refer to each class's syllabi for the date and time.

Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) is an international experiential learning course designed to provide students with an introduction to the unique business opportunities, management practices and market dynamics of a specific region or global industry. The course combines in-class lectures, reading discussions and case studies during the winter quarter with ten days of international field research over spring break. Immersed in the culture and language of their host countries, students will have the opportunity to meet with local business and government leaders, conduct interviews and collect data for their group research projects, and experience some of the unique social and cultural facets of the region. Final presentations and written research reports are due in spring quarter after completion of the overseas portion of the class. Each class section is taught by a faculty member with deep knowledge of the region or industry and supported by an advisor from the Kellogg staff who assists students in planning the field experience. Students are financially responsible for their travel costs, and financial aid is available to those who qualify.