Friends of the Children – National Staff Guest Lecture at Stanford

This past May, some students at Stanford Graduate School of Business had two new guest lecturers: Terri Sorensen, CEO of Friends of the Children – National, and Tasha Mousseau, Chief Officer of Advancement and Tribal Relations. The lectures were part of an MBA class called Strategic Leadership of Social Ventures and Nonprofit Organizations, taught by Kim Starkey, CEO of King Philanthropies.

Terri and Tasha spoke with a room of thoughtful, engaged students who read a case study Stanford published four years ago about Friends of the Children and the organization’s national expansion. The students asked questions about the elements of the strategy for scaling Friend of the Children, and how the long-term professional mentoring model has factored into national expansion.

“It was a joy to come to Stanford again and visit Kim Starkey’s class,” said Terri Sorensen. “It means a great deal that such a critical supporter of Friends of the Children is eager for us to share our story with her class.”

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to speak to a new generation of leaders,” said Tasha Mousseau. “To see how they approach our work and to address their nuanced questions, renewed my faith in our work and the progress these students will make.”

Visiting the class taught by Kim Starkey of King Philanthropies is a full-circle moment for Friends of the Children. King Philanthropies has been instrumental in the growth of our organization. Bob and Dottie King’s 2013 gift of $5 million to Friends of the Children was a needed catalyst for us to launch our national office, and create and implement strategy to grow and serve more youth across the country.