Academics

Lecture Series

One night a week, students attend evening lectures that supplement the course curriculum. These lectures will include discussions groups, panel discussions, and presentations featuring prominent figures in the nonprofit sector such as foundation presidents, noted scholars and executives of leading nonprofit organizations.

John Bridgeland, former Director of the White House's USA Freedom Corps speaks with students after an evening lecture

Past Panel Topics Include:

• International Relief
• Civic Engagement Among Today's Youth
• Grantwriting
• Human Trafficking
• Program Evaluation and Nonprofit Accountability
• Nonprofit Career Development
• A Donor & His Philanthropy
• Corporate Giving
• Government & Philanthropy
• Volunteerism in the Post 9/11 Environment
• Disaster Response
• Fundraising
• The Rise of Big Givers: What the Guffett (Buffet/Gates) Foundation means for Philanthropy

Past Participants:

• Bill Richardson, President, Kellogg Foundation
• Clay Robbins, President, Lilly Endowment

• Robert Egger, founder of DC Central Kitchen poses with a student

• Karen Borchert, Director, The Campus Kitchens Project
• Linda Smith, Founder, Shared Hope International
• Kate Palmer, Director of Business Development, The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Robert Payton, Founder, Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
• Amy Kass, Author, The Perfect Gift
• John Bridgeland, Former Director, USA Freedom Corps
• Jane Eisner, Author, Take Back the Vote
• Adam Meyerson, Executive Director, Philanthropy Roundtable
• Donn Weinberg, Trustee, Weinberg Family Foundation
• Matt Quinn, President, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• Bill Schambra, Director, Bradley Center for Philanthropic & Civic Renewal
• Bob Woodson, Founder & President, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise
• Diana Aviv, President & CEO, Independent Sector
• Steve Jordan, Executive Director, Council on Corporate Citizenship
• Beth Lovain, Founder, In to Safe Arms of Northern Virginia
• Diane Charles, Executive Director, Stop Child Abuse Now
• Robert Egger, Founder, DC Central Kitchen
• John Whitehead, former Deputy Secretary of State and Chairman, The Whitehead Foundation
• Jane Morgan, American Red Cross
• Russell Klein, International Relief & Development
• Jim Laychak, Pentagon Memorial Fund

“The guest lectures have made me think more about what I want to do in the future and also how I can use what I’ve learned in my home country of Estonia.”
Karin Künnapas
Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
Intern, Discovery Creek Children’s Museum