Tigress Talks: Conversations with Princeton Women - Philanthropy with Bridgespan Group Partners Alison Powell ‘99 and Betsy Doyle ‘00 (Zoom)
For Feb’s Tigress Talks: Conversations with Princeton Women, we’re thrilled to welcome two extraordinary Princeton women who sit at the heart of modern philanthropy: Alison Powell ‘99 and Betsy Doyle ‘00, Partners at The Bridgespan Group, the leading global nonprofit advisory firm helping philanthropists and social-impact organizations turn bold visions into meaningful change.
From climate and racial equity to education and global health, Alison and Betsy have helped move billions of dollars toward causes that matter, shaping how philanthropy is done in a world facing urgent, complex challenges.
In this one-hour virtual session, PWNNC Board Member Catarina Schwab ‘96 will lead a conversation with Alison and Betsy about their journeys from Princeton to leadership roles in one of the most influential organizations in philanthropy and how women can use their wealth and power to make a difference. We hope you can join us!
Meet Alison Powell ‘99
Alison Powell is a Bridgespan partner and leads our work with collaborative philanthropy out of the San Francisco office.
Alison's work supports Bridgespan’s goal of unlocking significant philanthropic resources toward equity and justice. Alison joined Bridgespan in 2006 and has supported a range of clients, from philanthropic collaboratives focused on climate, education, and racial equity to institutional philanthropies including the Gates Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and Valhalla Foundation, and a range of individuals and families.
Alison leads our research on philanthropic collaboration; publications include The Power of Collaboration at a Time of Volatility in Global Health and Development, How Philanthropic Collaboratives Measure, Evaluate, and Learn, Releasing the Potential of Philanthropic Collaborations, Four Pathways to Greater Giving, and Making Big Bets for Social Change.
Before joining Bridgespan, Alison worked for Mattel to ideate, develop, and launch toy product lines. She started her career at The Parthenon Group, a management consultancy where she worked on a host of strategic engagements, from motorcycle manufacturing to publishing.
Alison graduated cum laude with an AB degree in politics from Princeton University and received her MBA from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Meet Betsy Doyle ‘00
Betsy Doyle is a partner in The Bridgespan Group's San Francisco office and leads the organization’s philanthropy practice. Since joining Bridgespan in 2001, her work has focused on supporting nonprofit, public, and philanthropic leaders to increase the flow of philanthropic funds toward transformative social change. In particular, she has deep expertise in strategic planning, sourcing and due diligence, philanthropic collaboratives, and management priorities such as scaling impact and building leadership capacity.
In recent years, she has advised individual donor families and philanthropic platforms on outcome-driven grantmaking. Since 2018, she has led Bridgespan’s partnership with TED Audacious, a platform that has unlocked more than $4B of philanthropic capital to support a global portfolio of social-change organizations. She is also coauthor of “Philanthropic Sourcing, Diligence, and Decision Making: An Equity-Oriented Approach.”
Betsy was previously the head of Bridgespan’s education practice, supporting numerous efforts to improve educational outcomes, scale effective school models, and support diverse, high-quality teacher and school leader pipelines. She has coauthored several pieces, including "Transforming Schools" (Bain.com January 2016), "Starting Over After Starting Up," (SSIR.org, September 2015), "Local Philanthropists Work Together to Transform Public Education" (Bridgespan.org, September 2014), and "Rethinking High School Turnarounds" (Bridgespan.org, January 2013). She is also co-author of one of Bridgespan’s most popular management publications, "Business Planning for Nonprofits" (Bridgespan.org, February 2006).
Betsy is a graduate of Princeton University, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She received both her MBA and MEd from Stanford University. She currently serves on the board of the International Refugee Assistance Program.