Kate Coleman has 30 years of experience as a senior executive in the private and social sectors where she has successfully participated in multiple significant organizational transformations. As a Harvard ALI fellow, she applied that experience to research that focuses on obstacles to nonprofit efficiency and effectiveness.

Kate spent the first half of her career in the private sector. She transitioned to the social sector after she and three colleagues spearheaded the sale of the fintech company they led. In her subsequent role as executive vice president, chief strategy, and advancement officer at YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), Kate led many of the Y’s most substantial change initiatives.

In 2017, Kate spent a year as an advanced leadership fellow at Harvard University. There she began an examination of the factors that affect nonprofit adoption of practices that would improve their performance and enhance their efficiency. At Harvard, she engaged with leading experts at the business school and the Kennedy School on issues ranging from change management to leadership to shape her research agenda. 

She has taught classes in a variety of settings, most recently at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice at Tufts. From her service on the board of the University of Chicago’s Graham School for Continuing Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, she recognizes the need for students both to understand theory and prepare for emerging career opportunities.