Megan Kashner

Megan Kashner is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Kellogg's Public-Private Interface and Director of Social Impact. In her leadership of Kellogg's Social Impact offerings, Kashner focuses on the areas of impact investing, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, nonprofit management, policy, global development, public-private partnerships, values and ethics. Kashner and the Social Impact team within KPPI support Kellogg faculty, students and alumni as they lead the way in blending economic, social and environmental factors into management organizations and markets to deliver lasting benefits for society. Kashner leads up the global Impact & Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium, the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge, the Moskowitz Prize, and more collaborative work at the intersection of markets and impact.

Kashner came to Kellogg from an extensive career in the impact sector, most recently as the Founder of Benevolent, a philanthropic platform that invites donors to step in and fill gaps in the safety net for low-income families. Kashner is a self-proclaimed "ticked-off social worker" with more than 20 years of strategic management, community partnership building and organizational planning experience across nonprofits, philanthropy, volunteerism and corporate social engagement.

Prior to founding Benevolent, Kashner served as an Executive Director at the Taproot Foundation and in executive and innovation roles in nonprofits and companies across the impact sector. Kashner has been featured at the White House, at national conferences on philanthropy and entrepreneurship, on CNN Headline News, FastCompany, Mashable, Working Mother, MSNBC, The New Yorker, Financial Times, Newsweek, The New York Times and more.

Kashner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Illinois and holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Brown University, an MSW from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Kellogg.

Education

• M.B.A., 2003, Marketing and Strategy & Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• A.M., 1995, Social Service Administration, Clinical MSW, University of Chicago
• B.A., 1992, Public Policy and American Institutions, Brown University

Academic Positions

• Clinical Assistant Professor & Director of Social Impact, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, 2016-present

Professional Experience

• Founder & CEO, Benevolent, 2011-present
• Executive Director, Taproot Foundation, 2008-2011
• Executive Director, Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, 2005-2008
• Chief Development Officer, Deborah's Place, 2003-2005
• Program Director, Howard Area Community Center, 1999-2001
• Program Director, Methodist Youth Services, 1996-1999
• Mental Health Intake Coordinator, Heartland Health Outreach, 1993-2005
• Outreach Worker, Thresholds, 1992-1993

Editorial Positions

Editorial Board, Journal of Impact & ESG Investing, 2020