Since its founding, the Center has been engaged in seminal research that considers a broad range of policy and leadership issues relevant to nonprofit practitioners. Through a series of collaborative research initiatives with a range of organizations, our faculty and students continue to develop a base of knowledge on effective policies and practices leading to vibrant and healthy organizations and communities.

Below you will find information on our Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy, our Scholars and Practitioners, and information about our research and publications.

Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy

In 2000, the Center and GPPI received a $3.5 million challenge grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to establish the Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy. The Chair honors Waldemar A. Nielsen, a former Rhodes scholar and foreign affairs writer for The New Yorker and Harper’s. Nielsen was involved in the design and implementation of the Marshall Plan, served on the staff of the Ford Foundation, and later led the African American Institute. He is perhaps most well known for his pioneering study of philanthropy, which provided a critical assessment of foundations and called the field of philanthropy to a higher level of accountability.

The Nielsen Chair supports an annual visiting practitioner or scholar at the Center who contributes to the Georgetown community as a professor, researcher and thought-leader on the critical issues facing the field of philanthropy. Current and past chairs are:

• Steven Rathgeb Smith, 2009-2011
• Teresa Odendahl, 2004-2005
• James Allen Smith, 2003-2004, 2005-2008

Scholars and Practitioners 

The Center hosts Visiting Scholars and Practitioners who demonstrate scholarship and leadership in the nonprofit sectors of the U.S. and abroad. Our scholars have come from Brazil, China, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2003, the Center sponsored its first Visiting Practitioners; an executive director of one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the U.K., and a social entrepreneur working with an innovative community development corporation to create affordable housing for low-income residents in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia community.  In the 2004-2005 academic year, the Center hosted Fulbright Scholar, Carole Moore, from Ireland.  During the 2005-2006 academic year, the Center welcomed Maria Saenz as a Visiting Practitioner at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership and a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Leadership Program Fellow. She is also an associate consultant to Universalia Management Group, and serves on the board of OneWorld-US.

2010-2011 Visiting Practitioners

Anne Bergeron, principal of Anne Bergeron & Co. Consulting, and Beth Tuttle, managing director of METStrategies, LLC, will join CPNL as Visiting Pracitioners to examine the factors that distinguish the highest performing museums from their peers. Their research focuses on what they call "Magnetic Museums," those institutions that have substanitally and qualitatively impacted their audiences and communitites, while maintaining a superior level of performance over a sustained period of time. "Magnetic Museums" have the power to draw talented staff, develop exceptionally committed volunteer boards, and inspire powerful loyalty and engagement among their visitors and stakeholders. Working in cooperation with the American Association of Museums, their study will combine quantitative data with qualitative assessment to define benchmarks for superior museum performance. A series of in-depth case studies will seek to uncover the practices and approaches common to these "Magnetic Museums." As a result of their time with CPNL, Anne and Beth intend to publish a white paper or book that will serve as a guide for the museum field. 

                   
Anne Bergeron                        Beth Tuttle 


2009-2010 Visiting Practitioner 

Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of DCVOTE, was with CPNL for the 2009-2010 academic year. During his time as practitioner at CPNL, he wrote a book on the how-to's of successful advocacy and coalition-building.

Publications

To access our publications, including our Policy in Action Case Study Series, please click here.