Allison Henry is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Kellogg School of Management's Social Impact Program and Director of the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program at Northwestern University.  In addition, Alli is an Adjunct Professor for a graduate program in the School of Communications at Northwestern University and teaches occasionally in executive education programs led by Kellogg's Center for Nonprofit Management. She is a recipient of the Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award.

Alli’s career has spanned the private, public and social sectors. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of The People’s Music School. She led strategy, finance, operations, human resources, evaluation, and fundraising of the rapidly growing social impact organization. During her tenure, the school experienced 3x growth, became nationally recognized by industry leaders such as Carnegie Hall, and performed with and for luminaries such as Yo-Yo Ma and President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The foundation of her experience was formed at Bain & Company, a global consultancy where she advised Fortune 500 companies across retail, consumer, health care and private equity industries in issues related to strategy, market entry, pricing, and M&A. While at Bain, Alli was selected to extern with the Civic Consulting Alliance, led undergraduate recruiting efforts, launched the local pro-bono Inspire initiative, and managed one of the firm’s treasured assets – the Bain Band.

Since Bain, Alli has specialized in building entrepreneurial organizations with a commitment to social impact. She was the sixth employee at Mission Measurement, a for-profit social enterprise that supports nonprofits, foundations and corporations to measure the impact of their work. She was the first full-time hire at the venture philanthropy fund A Better Chicago, where she led sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management, and launched an early-stage funding competition.

Alli earned her MBA in one year from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her BA in three years with a double major in Mathematics and Economics from Grinnell College. 

• MBA, 2010, Kellogg School of Management
• BA, 2004, Mathematics, Economics, Grinnell College

• Adjunct Professor, Masters in Leading Creative Enterprises (MSLCE), School of Communications, Northwestern University, 2018-present
• Director, Golub Capital Board Fellows Program, SSIM, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, 2020-present

• Executive Director, The People's Music School, 2015-2020
• Managing Director + Head of Programs, A Better Chicago, 2011-2015
• Manager, Nonprofit and Foundation Practice Team, Mission Measurement, 2007-2011
• Senior Associate Consultant, Bain & Company, 2004-2007

• Sidney J. Levy Award for Excellence in Teaching

Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector (SSIM-950-0)
Nonprofit and Non-Governmental organizations strive to meet the most complex challenges of our time. Today, the sector is being profoundly impacted by the challenges of COVID 19, a global economic recession, as well as growing calls for diversity, equity and inclusion in the US and beyond. Leaders must use all of the management and leadership tools available to them to create strong vision and strategy, partner with volunteer directors, oversee diverse financial streams, and focus on growth and innovation to effectively create social impact in the short term and into the future. Kellogg graduates will find themselves engaged in the social impact sector in a variety of ways -- senior professional staff members, board members, volunteers and donors. This course will help students better understand the skills and talents that are necessary to effectively lead nonprofits or NGOs regardless of their role. This course will engage students in case discussion and group dialogue, along with conversations with alumni and seasoned practitioners in the social impact space. Students will be exposed to theory along with practical examples of leadership and strategy all designed to illustrate successful business practices contributing to increased social impact and steps towards solutions of global issues. Designed for students with some level of experience in the nonprofit sector, this experiential course will enable future founders, CEOs/C-suite leaders and board members to better understand and practice the leadership skills necessary to make an impact in the nonprofit/NGO world.

Field Study (SSIM-498-5)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.

Field Study (SSIM-498-0)


Advanced Board Governance (SSIM-471-5)

Students will earn .5 credits in Fall, .5 credits in Spring and receive a grade at the end of Spring Quarter.

The Board Fellows program is designed to prepare students for nonprofit board service and civic leadership through a combination of academic coursework, nonprofit board service, and fellowship. The depth of this experiential learning opportunity is unique among business schools. Its purpose is to arm you with foundational knowledge that will further your understanding of how nonprofits are governed, accelerate the impact of your board service, and ultimately prepare you to become a more effective, socially conscious, and civically engaged leader after graduation. Students must apply in the Fall of their first year to become a Board Fellow. Once selected, they will be automatically enrolled in the two required courses: SSIM 453-5 in the first year, SSIM 471 in the second year. In SSIM 471, students dive deeper into topics introduced the previous year, learning from guest speakers and from each other as they offer their own experiences of board service. Topics include diversity, equity, and inclusion, finding your voice in the boardroom, dashboards and performance measurement, differences between nonprofit and corporate board service, and boards after business school. This course meets for a total of ten weeks, split evenly between the Fall quarter and the Spring quarter. This course is a complement to your ex officio board service. You will add value to class discussions by bringing in examples from your board experience, and you will add value to your board by contributing examples from your classroom experience. Key deliverables include a project or projects of substance for your nonprofit partner, a final paper, attendance at board meetings, and three 1:1 check-ins with the Professor.

Board Governance of Non-Profit Organizations (SSIM-455-5)
This five week course is designed to provide students with an understanding of how nonprofit and social impact organizations are governed. It will appeal to students who are likely to engage in board service or to lead a nonprofit or social impact organization. The goal is to help students understand the workings of nonprofit organizations; the roles and responsibilities of boards; and how boards operate. It will focus on the unique aspects of nonprofit/social impact board governance and what comprises an effective board. The course also addresses how organizations and boards move through various stages of growth and development and how nonprofit boards differ from corporate/public boards and where similarities exist in structure, operations and responsibilities. The course will be developed through readings, lectures, cases, discussions and guest speakers. The course will include an individual assignment and two case analyses that can be done individually or as a group. There is no in-class final.

Board Governance of Nonprofit Organizations (Board Fellows) (SSIM-453-5)
The Board Fellows program is designed to prepare students for nonprofit board service and civic leadership through a combination of academic coursework, nonprofit board service, and fellowship. The depth of this experiential learning opportunity is unique among business schools. Its purpose is to arm you with foundational knowledge that will further your understanding of how nonprofits are governed, accelerate the impact of your board service, and ultimately prepare you to become a more effective, socially conscious, and civically engaged leader after graduation. Students must apply in the Fall of their first year to become a Board Fellow. Once selected, they will be automatically enrolled in the two required courses: SSIM 453-5 in the first year, SSIM 471 in the second year. In SSIM 453-5, students become fluent with the terminology, procedures, and basic operations of nonprofits and board governance. They study the role of a nonprofit board, the responsibilities of a board member, the critical elements of a high-functioning nonprofit, and how to contribute effectively in nonprofit board meetings. During these five weeks, each fellow is matched with a nonprofit partner. The fellow will serve on the board of their nonprofit for the following 15 months. Along the way, each fellow receives 1:1 coaching from the Professor.