Golub Capital Board Fellows Program

Audience members engaged in a discussion

The Golub Capital Board Fellows Program matches Chicago Booth students with local nonprofit organizations, bringing valuable pro bono business skills to nonprofits while giving students hands-on experience with nonprofit management and governance. The program is one of the school’s most popular hands-on social impact programs and is run as a partnership between the Rustandy Center and the Net Impact student group.

Chicago Booth is proud to be one of 20 business schools participating in the Golub Capital Board Fellows Network, launched November 2024. Learn more about this effort.

Board fellows are matched in teams of two or three with the boards of partner organizations based on mission fit and project scope.

With training and mentoring from the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, they serve as nonvoting board members for a seven-month term (October through April) and complete a strategic consulting project of the nonprofit organization’s choosing.

Ready to join the 200+ Chicago grassroots nonprofits and legacy institutions that have already benefited?

Apply here

Questions about the program? Email Mateo Villanueva.

By the Numbers

700+

Number of Booth students who participated in the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program

200+

Number of nonprofits that have collaborated with the program since 2015

Participate as a Booth Student

The program is designed to encourage Booth students to pursue nonprofit board service and involvement throughout their lives. As a Golub Capital Board Fellow, you’ll receive coaching from Booth alumni, support from the Rustandy Center and Net Impact, and training and workshops on topics such as board governance and project scoping.

The program is open to:

Rising second-year Full-Time MBA students
First-year Full-Time MBA students who have experience (preferred) in the nonprofit sector
Evening and Weekend MBA students who have completed at least eight courses and do not graduate before June 2027
Full-Time MBA and Part-Time MBA students must be members of Net Impact or Booth Social Impact, respectively
Specialized Masters Program students (i.e. Masters in Management and Masters in Finance students); please note: This program is only open to Masters in Finance students in their first year

Questions about participating? Email Mateo Villanueva.

Student applications for the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program have closed and will reopen in fall 2026.

Participate as a Nonprofit

To host a fellow, nonprofits must be located in the Chicago region and be in good standing with the State of Illinois. They must also have a formal, established governing board and capacity to provide students with the support and mentorship necessary to assimilate to the board and complete the strategic project.

When you apply to the program, you’ll outline a project for your fellows to complete during the program timeframe. A project should be significant and specific enough to achieve in four months with approximately five to 10 hours of work per month. Projects can focus on anything from cost/benefit analysis and marketing plan development to strategic planning and evaluation of funding opportunities and revenue sources.

Questions about nonprofit involvement? Email Mateo Villanueva.

Nonprofit applications for the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program are now open.

Apply here

“It gives you time to feel like you’re embedded in the organization and to gain the exposure that you need to nonprofit organizations that are doing good for their communities.”
–Michael Kovach, ’20, who served on the board of GCE Lab School

Meet Our Executives in Residence

Learn from industry experts in the Rustandy Center’s network, who work closely with students as mentors and advisors and share insights from their experience in the social sector. Learn more about opportunities to engage with Dorri McWhorter and Todd Connor.

Todd Connor, MBA ’07, The William, ’88, and Alison Fitzgerald EIR for Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Board Service

Todd Connor, MBA ’07, is a cofounder of Veterans for all Voters, an organization that fights political polarization and advocates for more political competition and choice for voters. He previously founded Bunker Labs, a national entrepreneurship organization that supports the military community, as well The Collective Academy, a leadership development organization. Todd also serves as the lead facilitator for the President George W. Bush Veteran Leadership Program in Dallas, Texas.

Dorri McWhorter, Nonprofit Engagement

Dorri McWhorter is president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Most recently, McWhorter was CEO of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, leading the 140-year-old social service agency's expansion of digital services and helped develop an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for women’s empowerment. A winner of innovation awards and a 20-year veteran in large-scale change management consulting, McWhorter was a partner at Crowe Horwath LLP and a senior leader at Snap-on Incorporated and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Board Fellows Stories:

Mary Kircher, MBA ’24, and Ben Kurschner, MBA ’24

Golub Capital Board Fellows from Booth helped a century-old institution rethink its event-space rental business.

Read the Story

Richard Day, MBA ’20

Find out how Richard Day, MBA ’20 used his MBA to make a meaningful impact as a board fellow for a Chicago-based housing nonprofit.