As a new academic year gets underway at Harvard, the Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) is welcoming 55 senior leaders from around the world who bring decades of experience to the challenge of creating meaningful social change. During the yearlong fellowship, members of the 2027 cohort will draw on their experience across sectors and engage with the Harvard community to develop new approaches to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
The 2027 cohort brings deep leadership experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Cohort members have held senior roles in fields including consumer products, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, real estate, law, journalism, entertainment, nonprofit leadership, and the military. Their varied experiences will contribute to ALI’s emphasis on developing cross-sector approaches to social impact.
The cohort also brings a broad range of international and domestic perspectives to the Harvard community. Twenty-two members were born outside the United States, with countries of origin including Austria, Canada, China, England, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad, and Turkey. U.S.-born cohort members come from communities spanning all four continental U.S. time zones.
As they begin their fellowship year, cohort members are exploring social impact pathways across a wide range of issues, including youth opportunity and civic leadership, economic development, healthcare access and reform, strengthening democracy, online safety, and healthy longevity. Other areas of interest include impact investing, advocacy for women and communities of color, and stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors.
The incoming cohort joins a broader community of experienced leaders at Harvard, including eight members of the 2026 cohort who are returning as ALI Senior Fellows. Throughout the academic year, participants will engage with faculty, students, and one another as they refine strategies for translating their professional experience into meaningful social impact.
Founded in 2009, the Advanced Leadership Initiative provides experienced leaders with a yearlong program of social impact leadership, learning, and practice. Participants engage in a rigorous curriculum, collaborate with faculty and students across Harvard’s schools, and develop social impact projects and pathways informed by their professional experience and time at the University. After their year, they become part of the ALI Coalition, a global alumni community of nearly 800 leaders working on a wide range of social impact issues.
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