Georgetown Global Social Enterprise Initiative Appoints Leslie Crutchfield Executive Director

Leslie Crutchfield has become executive director of the Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) (new window) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

“Leslie takes the helm at an important time of growth,” said Bill Novelli, professor and founder of GSEI. “We are adding partners and programs, developing new ventures in rural development, supporting triple bottom-line initiatives, and building on her work in social movements. Leslie’s leadership will advance social enterprise thinking and practice.”

Crutchfield is an author, social entrepreneur, and leading authority on social innovation, nonprofit leadership, and high-impact philanthropy. She served as a GSEI senior research fellow while writing a new book, How Changes Happen (forthcoming Wiley 2018), about modern movements and the drivers of social change in the 21st century. She also is co-author of Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (Wiley 2007; Updated and Revised Edition 2012) and Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World (Wiley 2011).

“I am excited to join the Georgetown community and build out GSEI’s efforts to advance social enterprise thinking and practice globally,” said Crutchfield. “Given the remarkable political changes and social movements stirring in the United States and worldwide, I believe this is the most crucial moment in modern history to understand and demonstrate how business can act as a force for good, and how markets can be harnessed to advance social, environmental, and economic bottom lines.”

Crutchfield remains a senior advisor at FSG, a global social impact strategy firm, and independently advises philanthropic, nonprofit, and corporate clients on achieving greater social impact.  

Previously, she was a managing director at Ashoka, a global venture organization for social entrepreneurs, where she led operations in the United States and Canada, as well as the Global Academy programs. Prior to Ashoka, Crutchfield was co-founder and president of a nonprofit social enterprise that published a national magazine for social entrepreneurs and emerging nonprofit leaders.

Crutchfield is an accomplished speaker and an active media contributor. She frequently lectures at U.S. and international events and conducts workshops and trainings for cross-sector leaders. 

Crutchfield has served on the board of SEED Foundation, among other nonprofits, and she volunteered with Crossroads Africa in The Gambia. She earned a B.A. in government at Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.