
Judith Millesen worked for ten years as a professional fundraiser, first in a community-based social service agency and then at a state university. She left professional practice to earn a PhD in public administration and has spent the past 20 years as a faculty member as well as working as a consultant to nonprofit organizations across the country. Millesen’s research, teaching, and community work make a strong link between theory and practice, building both using the gifts each have to offer. Specifically, she focuses on nonprofit administration and capacity building with special interests in board governance, community philanthropy, and group facilitation and dialog. Millesen is widely published having produced research reports on the strategic decision making behavior of community foundation boards, nonprofit capacity-building in the Pittsburgh region, the evaluation practices of nonprofits in New York and Ohio, board motivation in Maine, and work on philanthropy and community economic development in central Wisconsin. She has served as a consultant to social service organizations, arts and cultural institutions, community foundations, and government agencies. Millesen received her MPA from the University of Hartford and her Ph.D. in public administration from the University at Albany (SUNY).