Student Involvement

Both students and organizations benefit from the Board Fellows program: MBA candidates develop valuable leadership skills, experience working with challenges specific to the nonprofit sector, and direct access to the organizations leadership team. Organizations receive critical analysis and recommendations on a strategic project, access to future business leaders, and affiliation with the Harvard Business School community. Students and organizations are supported throughout the process by training programs and other resources. Boards and participating Fellows should expect a time commitment of 2-3 hours per week (including board and committee meetings).

In addition to the time spent with the organization, students also have opportunities to receive specialized training in topics ranging from board governance to non-profit strategy development. Training sessions include case-method discussions led by HBS faculty as well as small group strategy development with local consultants. Outside of training, Board Fellows interact at social events and receive the Board Fellows Newsletter, with news about students and organizations as well as relevant articles written by Harvard faculty.

Testimonials
"The Board Fellows experience has given me great exposure to nonprofit management in a well-run organization. The training is great and the structure of the program allows you to think and learn about the nonprofit business model from real experts in the field." Zulema Quintans, 06-07 Board Fellow	"Coming from the private sector, I joined the Board Fellows program with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the nonprofit world. But through my strategic planning as a Board Fellow, I could not have possibly imagined the exposure that I have been able to have to the unique strategic challenges and issues that face nonprofits today. The program has given me a new perspective and has been an extremely rewarding experience." Scott Reid, 07-08 Board Fellow	"Board Fellows has given me valuable insight into the strengths and challenges of a nonprofit organization. The opportunity to contribute directly to the decisions faced by a nonprofit Board has been remarkable." Nithya Vaduganathan, 07-08 Board Fellow