Research Advisory Network (RAN)

NCNE’s Research Advisory Network is a selective group of scholars and professional analysts with expertise in the economics and management of nonprofit organizations and other social enterprises, in the United States and worldwide. The Network serves as a talent pool and knowledge resource for NCNE’s programming on behalf of nonprofit organizations, which may include professional and research conferences, education and training programs, organizational consultations, information and referral services, and research projects.

Members of the Network are selected and appointed by the leadership of NCNE based on their special expertise on diverse topics related to effective resource-related decision making by nonprofit organizations. Members serve on a voluntary basis but may be reimbursed for costs and compensated for their work at modest levels for specific tasks they undertake on behalf of NCNE.

Members are listed on NCNE’s website, social media, publications, brochures and other documents. Members contribute to NCNE’s knowledge base by posting relevant publications on NCNE’s website. Members of the network are also asked to advise NCNE leadership on future programming and important issues related to NCNE’s mission.

Avner Ben-Ner
Professor, Carlson School of Management; Affiliated Professor, Law School; Affiliated Professor, Center for the Study of Political Psychology; Member, Graduate Faculty in Applied Economics
University of Minnesota
Research Interests: Behavioral and Experimental Economics; Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Organization Design, Behavior, and Performance

Eleanor Brown
James Irvine Professor of Economics
Pomona College
Research Interests: Household giving and volunteering; Competition between for-profit and non-profit organizations; The role of the nonprofit sector in supporting the family

Thad Calabrese
Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management; Director of Finance Specialization
New York University
Research Interests: Financial Management; Debt Management;,Financial Reporting

Cleopatra Charles
Associate Professor
Rutgers University
Research Interests: Nonprofit Financial Management; Program Evaluation; Performance Measurement.

Todd Ely
Associate Professor
Program Director, Master of Public Administration
Director, Center for Local Government
University of Colorado Denver
Research Interests: Nonprofit Financial Management; Private Foundations; Endowment; Nonprofit Debt

Rosemarie Emanuele
Professor of Economics
Ursuline College
Research Interests: Labor Economics; Health Economics; Law and Economics

Teresa Harrison
Academic Director of the Center of Nonprofit Governance; Professor of Economics
Drexel University
Research Interests: Health Economics; Economics of Nonprofits; Industrial Organization

Doug Ihrke
Executive Director, Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management and Chair, Department of Public and Nonprofit Administration
UW-Milwaukee
Research Interests: Nonprofit Governance; Local Government Governance; Volunteer Management; Human Resources Management

Roland Kushner
Professor
Muhlenberg College
Research Interests: Governance; Strategic Management; Organizational Effectiveness

Stuart Mendel
Affiliate Professor of Nonprofit Management and Project Director for Technology Partnership Initiative
Baldwin Wallace University
Research Interests: Nonprofit Collaboration; Nonprofit Governance Design and Practices; Public-Private Partnership; Funding and Institutional Advancement

George Mitchell
Professor; Director, Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management
Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
Baruch College, City University of New York
Research Interests: Strategic Management; Effectiveness; Organizational Theory; International NGOs

Salvatore Alaimo
Associate Professor
Grand Valley State University
Research Interests: Evaluation; Evaluation Capacity Building; Nonprofit Management; Philanthropy

Susan Schmidt
Content Specialist – Early Childhood Innovation Center
University of Missouri – Kansas City
Research Interests: Capacity Building; Nonprofit Organization; Public Administration

Margaret Sloan
Director and Professor of the School of Strategic Leadership Studies
James Madison University
Research Interests: Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy; Financial Management; Accountability

Jeremy Thornton
Dwight Moody Beeson Chair of Business and Associate Dean
Samford University
Research Interests: Earned Revenue; Social Economy; Resilience

Dennis Young
Emeritus Professor of Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; Emeritus Professor of Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Georgia State University
Case Western University
Research Interests: Nonprofit Resilience; Economics of Nonprofit Organizations; Nonprofit Management and Policy

Mark Hager
Emeritus Professor; Facilitator of Nonprofit Financial Commons
Arizona State University
Research Interests: Nonprofit Finance; Endowments; Revenue Diversification, Overhead Costs, and Financial Vulnerability that threatens organizational livelihoods

Honorary & Past Members

NCNE gratefully acknowledges the following former and honorary members of the Research Advisory Network for their valuable contributions and lasting impact on our work.

  • Brian McAllister
  • John R Whitman
  • John O’Kane
  • Erynn Beaton
  • Cassady Brewer
  • Cyril Chang
  • Grace Chikoto-Schultz
  • Rosemarie Emanuele
  • Charles (Mel) Gray
  • Femida Handy
  • Renee Irvin
  • Kevin Kearns
  • Laurie Mook
  • Bruce Seaman
  • Elizabeth Searing
  • Gregory Witkowski
  • Jeff Williams