Yale School of Management - Alumni Leaders

"I came to Yale SOM because of its mission to educate leaders who would work across sectors on the big challenges facing our world. The perspectives, skills and friendships I gained there have been invaluable to me in my work and life ever since – regardless of my vantage point (private sector, public sector, or nonprofit start-up)."

Nonprofit executive, Hilary C. Pennington, a member of the Yale SOM Class of 1983 and Yale College Class of 1977, has been named director of Special Initiatives for U.S. Programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In her new role, Hilary Pennington will lead the new effort focused on one-time opportunities for the foundation to respond to unique challenges and unanticipated events in the United States (including a recent $24.1 million allocation to Gulf-regional relief efforts).

According to the Wall Street Journal (Jan. 20, 2007) "the move catapults Ms. Pennington…a onetime advisor to both President Clinton and the first Bush Administration (on workforce and education policies), into position as one of the most influential grant makers in the nation." Historically, more than one-quarter of the foundation’s total grant dollars have been spent in the U.S., with plans to include a quarter of the money received annually from the $30 billion pledge from investor Warren Buffet.

Hilary Pennington has extensive experience in partnering with states, non-profits, national foundations, and corporations. She most recently served as a Senior Fellow at the progressive think tank, the Center for American Progress and vice-chair of Jobs for the Future (JFF), a Boston-based research and policy development organization she co-founded. In her twenty-two years as President and CEO of Jobs for the Future, Hilary Pennington helped the organization become one of the most influential in the country on issues of education, youth transitions, workforce development, and future work requirements. Hilary Pennington was part of the team that developed the 1994 School to Work Opportunities Act, a major piece of federal legislation which provided over $1 billion to help states and communities build better systems for supporting youth transitions from high school to postsecondary education and rewarding careers.

Hilary Pennington has returned to Yale to speak to students and alumni on numerous occasions, including the Yale SOM - AYA Reunion Weekend – "Yale, Business Leadership, and the Public Interest" Conference in 2005, as well as the "Third Economic Development Conference" at Yale SOM and the "School/Business Connections" conference in 2000 which was co-sponsored by the Education Club at SOM and the Yale University Forum on Education.

In addition to graduating from the Yale School of Management and Yale College, Hilary Pennington holds a graduate degree in Social Anthropology from Oxford University, and was a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2000.