Kathryn Ann Agard Grand Valley State University, USA

Kathryn Ann Agard, Ed.D., is Executive Director of the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University. Prior to joining the Johnson Center, Dr. Agard served for a decade as founding Executive Director of Learning to Give, an initiative of the Council of Michigan Foundations. In this role, she had management responsibility for a unique new venture to develop, test, refine, and infuse the teaching of philanthropy into the el-hi curriculum. Dr. Agard has over 30 years of nonprofit management and executive experience in health care, higher education, and foundation philanthropy. This includes creation, implementation and management of the Michigan Community Foundations’ Youth Project, a $100 million program to cover the State of Michigan with community foundation service, to grow community foundations to scale, and to engage youth in grant making. Dr. Agard holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University with a double major in public administration and human resource development. Her dissertation identified the common characteristics of community foundations to be anticipated at differing ages and asset sizes. Dr. Agard has since written and published numerous books and monographs related to organizational development and the nonprofit sector. She is Vice-President of the Board of Hackley Hospital, chairs the Investigational Review Committee, serves on the Executive and Personnel Committees, and continues as a Board member of Learning to Give. She is Lay Leader of her church and sings in the choir. Finally, Kathy is married to a retired sixth grade science teacher and has two grown children and three perfect grand-children.