The Donaldson Fellows Program for Yale SOM Alumni recognizes graduates whose personal and professional accomplishments embody the school's mission to educate leaders for business and society. Donaldson Fellows come from all sectors and across the globe, sharing a dedication to solving complex problems and pursuing positive change in the world. The program is named to honor SOM's founding dean, William H. Donaldson, who also founded an investment bank, served as an undersecretary of state, and led a major insurance corporation, the New York Stock Exchange, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Criteria
Every two years, nominations for Donaldson Fellows are submitted by the Yale SOM community. The Donaldson Fellows selection committee which includes Yale SOM alumni, including a former Donaldson Fellow, a Yale SOM student and members of the School’s leadership team review and choose the final honorees. In selecting the Donaldson Fellows, the committee seeks a wide range of experience, and a variety of industries, sectors, and time since graduation. The objective is to select those who live the Yale School of Management’s mission of educating leaders for business and society, meaning they:
- Pursue their work with integrity;
- Demonstrate reputation, leadership, and achievement in one’s chosen field; and
- Pursue positive change in an increasingly global world
Past Fellows
(affiliations at time of Fellowship)
Class of 2021-2022
- Lori Hotz ’94, Cofounder and Co-CEO, Lobus
- Jane Mendillo ’84, Former President and CEO, Harvard Management Company
- Amanda Skinner ’08, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
- Catherine Smith ’83, Board Member, Global Atlantic Financial Group
- Josh Wright ’98, Executive Director, ideas42
Class of 2018-2019
Michael Apkon ’02, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children
Curtis Chin ’90, Asia Fellow, Milken Institute
Louise Dube ’88, Executive Director, iCivics
Katherine Gross ’83, Director, The Charlotte Foundation
James Robertson ’99, Independent Consultant and Former Chief Executive Executive, India HIV/AIDS Alliance
Class of 2016-2017
Danguole Altman ’85, President and CEO, Vapogenix, Inc.
Joaquin Avila ’82, Co-founder and Managing Director, EMX Capital
Colonel Rich Morales ’99, Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Systems Engineering, U.S. Military Academy at West Point
Dr. Ann Olivarius ’86, Chair, McAllister Olivarius
Sandra Urie ’85, Chairman Emeritus, Former CEO and COO, Cambridge Associates
Class of 2014
Jaime Gonzalez Aguade '96: President, Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission
Beth Axelrod '89: Senior Vice President, Human Resources, eBay Inc.
Kathie Julian '84: Country Director for Georgia, Asian Development Bank
Chuck Slaughter '90: Founder and CEO, Living Goods
Class of 2012
Christine Bader '00, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University & Human Rights Advisor, BSR (Business for Social Responsibility)
Don Gips '89, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa
Nadim Matta '89, President, Rapid Results Institute & Senior Partner, Schaffer Consulting
Liang (Leon) Meng '97, Co-founder, Ascendent Capital Partners Limited
Class of 2010
Brad Abelow '89, Chief Operating Officer MF Global Inc
Jennie Niles '98, Founder and Head of School, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
Ken Ofori-Atta '88, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder Databank Financial Services, Ltd., Ghana
Hilary Pennington '83, Director of Education, Postsecondary Success, and Special Initiatives, U. S. Programs, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation