Ken Himmelman

Ken Himmelman headshotKen Himmelman is the executive director of the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School . CPL develops principled, effective public leaders and is a global hub for leadership learning focused on making positive change in the world. Ken formerly served as the Chief Program Officer at Health Leads, which focuses on addressing the social causes for poor health. He was also the chief program officer at Partners in Health, a pioneering global health organization that provides high quality health care to the world’s poorest people. He has over 15 years of non-profit management experience, working in areas of community development, youth development, higher education administration, and global health. Ken served as the dean of admissions and financial aid at Bennington College, where he also helped to start the college’s innovative Center for the Advancement of Public Action. In 2004 he was a co-founder and vice president of a national network of U.S.-based non-profit organizations called Community IMPACT! USA, which trains young people to address educational and economic issues affecting their neighborhood. Ken has played various board and advisory roles with a wide range of non-profit organizations. Ken holds a BA from Dartmouth College, as well as a PhD in comparative literature and an MA in French literature from Vanderbilt University.