Lori Bae is the Fundraising Strategy Director for Compassion International. She recently completed two HKS Executive Education programs, Leading Successful Programs: Using Evidence to Assess Effectiveness and Women & Power , and plans to attend a third, Public Narrative: Leadership, Storytelling, and Action, this summer. While she was on campus this May, Lori shared with us about what motivated her to apply and how she plans to rise as a transformative nonprofit leader driving global impact.
HKS Exec Ed: What challenges were you looking to overcome by attending a Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program?
Lori: After 25 years as a consumer products senior executive, I made the switch towards global humanitarian development. As a seasoned executive, I had the technical expertise – I knew what levers to pull to initiate sustainable change, but I didn’t see the change – I knew I was missing something. I began my journey with Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education to translate and sharpen my technical skills as well as learn new skills all together to navigate this new industry.
How are you hoping to implement lessons from your program in your organization?
My HKS Executive Education program didn’t change me but enhanced all my experiences with thoughtfully researched frameworks to catapult my thinking and leadership. My hope is to take everything I’ve learned, coupled with my experience to drive greater impact for our constituents by building more efficient & effective systems and providing transformative leadership. Over the course of the year, I have been able to reframe and challenge my experiences and assumptions to create effective programs (Leading Successful Programs Jan 2022), leverage my experience and identity as a woman of color to provide transformational leadership (Women & Power May 2022) and hope to ignite a movement (Public Narrative Aug 2022). Every session has been filled with rich teaching, challenging discussions and relevant content. I know I will be going back over the materials over and over again. There is not one lesson or experience that I will not implement in my organization.
How would you describe Executive Education to someone considering it?
If you want to be the best, you have to be with the best. I spent a lot of time researching and evaluating different programs, including both executive and degree programs. For me, it was not just about what we will be learning, it was all about the how and who. I intentionally searched for a program to offer state of the art research and content, with an experience that was rigorously tested and refined by world class faculty, and I wanted to learn with other intentional and thoughtful global leaders. Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education was the choice because the programs delivered all those elements within the boundaries of my intense work, travel, and family schedule.
What do you hope to accomplish in your future career and how has your executive program helped?
In the future, I hope to rise as a transformative nonprofit leader, driving global impact. I am thankful for the HKS Executive Education program, it is a great resource and convener of leaders that want to make a impactful societal change in this ever changing environment. I will continue to lean on the alumni network and program offerings to enhance and sharpen my professional development.
