Christine Letts

Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership
Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education
Executive Education
Office Address
Belfer-112
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 77
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-1451
Fax: 617-496-6241
Email: christine_letts@Harvard.Edu
Assistant
Susan Tuers (617-495-1319)
Christine Letts

Profile

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' research interests include high engagement philanthropy and the value exchange between nonprofits and funders.

Courses

Fall

  • MLD-101-D Strategy, Structure, and Leadership in Public Service Organizations

Media Expertise

Christine Letts welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.