Executive Education
- MBA
- Executive MBA
- Doctoral
- Master of Science
- Executive Education
- Undergraduate Concentration
Date | |
To Be Announced |
Program Held in Four Modules:
January 7–11, February 11–15
March 18–22, April 29–May 3
Application Deadline: September 27, 2018
Download the Schedule of key dates.
Tuition assistance may be available.
Preview Application before applying.
"The Senior Leaders Program exposed me to a number of new leadership techniques and encouraged me to examine our agency's best practices."
– Program Participant Vidhya R. Kelly, Associate Executive Director at Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City
It’s often said that it’s lonely at the top.
Senior-level leaders in the nonprofit sector can sometimes feel isolated, unsure exactly how to create an effective peer network, and, perhaps most importantly, how to receive honest feedback on their vision and leadership.
The Senior Leaders Program provides an answer.
A unique and transformative experience, the Senior Leaders Program is designed to help nonprofit leaders successfully develop their organization’s direction, policies, and programs – all while building an invaluable network of other nonprofit leaders.
This highly interactive 20-day program equips senior nonprofit professionals with strategic management and leadership skills.
In short, this program is an opportunity for leaders who have mission-wide responsibility – people who are influencing the conversation about the organization’s future – to step back, see the big picture, and develop an actionable plan. They are afforded time to think strategically about how to deliver on their organization’s mission, both now and in the future.
Combining the expertise of Columbia Business School faculty, the core elements of an MBA program, and access to other nonprofit leaders, the program creates a rich learning experience like no other.
Through intensive exercises, faculty interaction, and collaboration with diverse peers, participants learn to integrate theory and practice, giving them tools that are immediately applicable at their organizations.
The modular format – four one-week modules over four months – allows for real-time testing of ideas: roll them out over time, track progress, redefine the challenge, and discover the best solution. Two hours of executive coaching related to a 360-degree feedback tool provide an even more customized experience.
The Senior Leaders Program is part of the Programs in Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School Executive Education.
For a complete program schedule download the agenda.
Listen to the faculty and program directors speak about the experience.
Please contact Matthew Harty at 212-854-1617 for a personal conversation to learn more.
Partners
We are grateful for the support of our foundation partners:
The Booth Ferris Foundation
The Centerbridge Foundation
The Clark Foundation
The Tiger Foundation
The Robin Hood Foundation
The Pinkerton Foundation
New York Nonprofit Excellence Awards
Real Time Grantmaking Award
Presenting the highlights of an MBA curriculum, Columbia Business School faculty members encourage participants to interpret and translate research and business practices for use within the nonprofit sector. This access to high-level thought leadership allows nonprofit executives to develop the skills needed to solve challenges they’re faced with every day.
The Senior Leaders Program focuses on giving participants the time and tools to determine their approach to leadership and further maximize individual, team and organizational performance. The program’s design ensures significant short- and long-term benefits for participants and their organizations in a variety of ways:
360-Degree Feedback
One source of learning during the program is the multi-rater assessment also known as 360-degree feedback. During the program, participants as well as their peers, direct reports, and managers will assess the participant's leadership style. This process enables participants to develop a rich picture of how they are seen, and provides them with the opportunity to enhance their managerial effectiveness. Participants will be coached twice during the program to develop a plan that is responsive to the feedback. Read a sample 360-degree assessment.
Learn more about this and other program features and get answers to commonly asked questions in this information session:
For a complete program schedule download the agenda.
Participants who complete the Senior Leaders Program receive these select Columbia Business School alumni benefits:
The Senior Leaders Program is designed for upper- and senior-level nonprofit professionals who are responsible for directing their organizations' mission, direction, and policies. Typically, participants include executive directors, deputy and regional directors, and other senior administrators.
Hear from past participant Riel Peerblooms, executive director at Trail Blazer Camps, about his program experience at the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals.
"The program was one of the best opportunities—from both an educational and professional perspective—of my life."
Challenges
My tenure at New York Cares and other social service agencies beforehand gave me great real-world experience in nonprofit management, but without formal management training I often found myself basing too many strategic decisions on intuition rather than core knowledge of theories and best practices.
Impact
The Senior Leaders Program changed this. The curriculum was fantastic, and the professors were among Columbia Business School's most renowned. The takeaways, especially those related to strategic management, negotiation, and financial analysis, were immediately applicable. Because of the Program, I make smarter decisions with greater efficacy for New York Cares and our stakeholders.
Hear from past participant Pamela Inbasekaran, chief operating officer at Relay Graduate School of Education, about her program experience at the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals.
"The program welcomed me as a leader with all of my flaws, rough edges, current abilities and hopeful potential."
Challenges
Being new to the world of charter schools, I faced a number of challenges, including working with a Board of Trustees, understanding budget priorities and developing long-term strategy. I also needed to learn the difference between leading and managing in my new role: in particular, how to motivate various stakeholders.
Impact
The four-week Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals allowed me to step back and view these challenges from a new angle. That distance and time, coupled with the creative and immense brain power of both my colleagues and our instructors, gave me the perspective I needed to craft the next steps for our organization. I often hear myself thinking, 'What would the people in my program cohort do?' The program welcomed me as a leader with all of my flaws, rough edges, current abilities and hopeful potential.
Hear from past participant Jacquel Clemons, chief operating officer at Kings Against Violence Initiative, about her program experience at the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals.
"The class that I was a part of was the largest yet, with a diverse group of professionals from both small and large organizations, coming from our own community in New York and from as far away as India and Peru. We all shared a vision to help those who are in need and I felt fortunate to be among such a strong set of leaders, from whom I was able to learn so much."
Challenges
I enrolled in the program to continue to build on my leadership skills as my role at Big Brothers Big Sisters has expanded from being a social worker in 1997 to Associate Executive Director today.
Impact
The program exposed me to a number of new leadership techniques and encouraged me to examine our agency's best practices. The course was especially beneficial in the areas of development and strategic planning. The high caliber of my classmates provided an enriching atmosphere, fostering thought provoking discussion ultimately generating new ideas that I have been able to apply within my organization.
Hear from past participant Stephen Grimaldi, executive director of New York Common Pantry, about his program experience at the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals.
Participating Organizations Have Included:
Achievement First
Bottom Line
Brooklyn Navy Yard
City Harvest
City Year
Easter Seals
The Fortune Society
Grameen Bank
Graham Windham
Harlem Children's Zone
Harlem RBI
Henry Street Settlement
I Have a Dream Foundation
KIPP
Leake and Watts
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
New Visions for Public School
New York Cares
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Per Scholas
Uncommon Schools
Year Up
YWCA
Raymond Horton, Faculty Director
Frank R. Lautenberg Professor of Ethics and Corporate Governance
Bernstein Faculty Leader of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics
Faculty Director of the Programs in Social Enterprise
A lawyer and political scientist, Raymond Horton served as executive director of the Temporary Commission on City Finances during the New York City fiscal crisis for two years while on leave from Columbia Business School. He later served as director of research and president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a public advocate of responsible governance and financial management in New York City and New York State, for 15 years. Horton has also served on a number of private and nonprofit boards, including most recently the Municipal Advantage Fund, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and Community Resource Exchange.
The founder and long-time director of Columbia Business School’s Social Enterprise Program, Horton serves as faculty director of Programs in Social Enterprise in Executive Education. In addition to nonprofit management, he also teaches in the field of modern political economy. His writings include numerous books, articles, and reports about state and local finance and politics.
Along with Professor Horton, additional Columbia Business School faculty contribute to and teach in the program.
As a part of our commitment to the nonprofit sector, Columbia Business School Executive Education Programs in Social Enterprise offers three types of tuition assistance. Though tuition assistance is not guaranteed, we do our best to provide financial support whenever possible. Applicants can only receive one form of tuition assistance; they cannot be combined. Upon acceptance to the program, applicants will be notified of the amount of tuition assistance they are being awarded.
In addition to the full criteria listed on the PSE tuition assistance guidelines download, please note the following:
Please review the complete PSE tuition assistance guidelines before requesting tuition assistance.