Christine Letts
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- Title/Organization
- Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- About Me
Christine Letts is the Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education (www.ksg.harvard.edu/execed) and the Rita E. Hauser Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). She has extensive experience in private, nonprofit, and public management. Letts joined the faculty of HKS in 1992 and teaches courses in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy to both Degree students and Executive Education participants. After graduating from Connecticut College with a degree in history, she started her career working in New York City government. After receiving her MBA from Harvard Business School in 1976, she joined Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Indiana, and spent 12 years in labor relations and manufacturing management roles, the last of which was Vice President-Columbus Plant Operations. In 1988, Letts became the first Secretary of the Indiana Department of Transportation, and later led the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, a new agency formed from the three existing departments of Social Services, Welfare, and Mental Health. At HKS, Letts participated in the founding of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations in 1995. She co-authored "Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from Venture Capitalists" (Harvard Business Review, 1997), "High Performance Nonprofit Organizations" (John Wiley and Sons 1999), and "Social Entrepreneurship and Societal Transformation" (The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, September 2004). Letts also teaches nonprofit management in several Executive Education programs, including Strategic Management for Leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations and Women and Power. She is the faculty co-chair of Performance Measurement for Nonprofit Organizations. In addition, Letts is faculty chair for a newly created online course for nonprofit and NGO leaders from the developing world called Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit Organizations. Letts's research interests include high engagement philanthropy and the value exchange between nonprofits and funders.
History
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- 2 years 13 weeks
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