Being of Service: Inside the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program

Through an innovative program, student Nooshin Bowman ’25 MBA has lent vital assistance to a nonprofit’s board.
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Two people sit together on the stone sign for Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, smiling at the camera. The glass-fronted Global Hub building and greenery are visible in the background.
“I’m grateful for the pairing of hard and soft skills I’ve gained at Kellogg,” says Nooshin Bowman ’25 MBA, pictured at the Global Hub with husband Simeon Bowman.

By Michael Blanding

Growing up in Kansas City as the child of Iranian immigrants, Nooshin Bowman ’25 MBA saw firsthand the impact that philanthropy and community investments can have. “I grew up in a lower-middle-income area, but we had access to a lot of resources,” she says. “Computers were donated to our school, and there were different engineering programs offered for free.”

Those benefits helped Bowman pursue a career in engineering and consulting, which eventually led her to the One-Year MBA Program at Kellogg. Arriving in Evanston, she found a way to give back with the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program, which trains top Kellogg MBA students in board governance through a combination of education and experiential learning. Through the program’s matching process, Bowman became an ex-officio board member for Devices 4 the Disabled (D4D), which provides free medical equipment to those in need. At the same time, she completed two courses on board governance. 

Since 2003, nearly 1,000 Full-Time MBA students have gone through the program at Kellogg, working with 235 nonprofits. Sponsored by direct lender and credit asset manager Golub Capital, the program not only helps organizations improve services but also better prepares students to serve on boards in the future. A generous additional investment last year has enabled Kellogg to expand the program to students in other degree programs.

Three people stand in front of a purple banner that reads “Golub Capital Board Fellows.” They are smiling at the camera inside a professional setting.
Bowman with D4D executive director Jessica Corbus and co-founder Bob Shea.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 2019, Bowman worked as a senior consultant at Deloitte in the medical device space. While there, she was excited to join a skills-based volunteer group, working locally and growing to become the overall board co-chair of Deloitte’s National program StepUp, which enables 6,000 employees to engage in skills-based volunteering. “I wanted to do that for the rest of my life — helping nonprofits scale and have a bigger impact,” she says. A Deloitte colleague, Mary Buckingham, also in the program and who was a year ahead of her at Kellogg, told her about the Golub Capital Board Fellows program, encouraging her to apply.

When she saw D4D on the list of nonprofits, Bowman knew it would be the perfect fit for her background. “It was my exact niche. I thought I could bring a lot of value,” she says. Launched by a pair of founders who had experienced life-changing diagnoses, the organization collects wheelchairs and other devices from hospitals and patients and donates them to patients in need. 

An older man in a white polo shirt kneels beside a young girl with glasses who is seated in a purple wheelchair, both smiling warmly at the camera.
D4D co-founder Bob Shea with a client as she receives her first wheelchair.

D4D founders assembled their board from friends and contacts who were passionate about the mission and welcomed Bowan’s focus on governance. For her fellowship project, Bowman interviewed board members to understand their unique skills. She standardized board training with a focus on enhancing engagement, fundraising and legal obligations for current and incoming directors. 

Her accounting and finance class at Kellogg was critical as she read through financial statements. “It’s like a doctor taking vital signs. You can see where their money is and where their priorities are,” she says. At the same time, she drew upon her strategic communications class to tailor her interview style for each board member to set them at ease, and as a first step to change management. “I’m grateful for the pairing of hard and soft skills I’ve gained at Kellogg,” she says. “Companies are made of people, and learning how to navigate different cultures, backgrounds and issues that come up is invaluable.” 

A woman wearing glasses and a black outfit stands smiling next to her presentation poster titled “Stronger Boards, Bigger Impact” for the Golub Capital Board Fellows program at Northwestern Kellogg. The poster includes sections on project purpose, methodology, results, and key learnings.
Bowman with her presentation for the Golub Capital Board Fellows program.

The experience gave Bowman a new appreciation for the importance of boards in setting strategy and culture for organizations. And working closely with D4D clients increased her passion for working in the healthcare industry long term. 

She recalls being at the company’s warehouse when D4D gave a specialized wheelchair to a girl living with a neurodegenerative disease. “Not only was the daughter really happy, but the mom was in tears. She was finally able to get a job so they could live in a better place,” Bowman says. “If my career can help cause that kind of impact, that is incredibly motivating.”

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