Valued at more than $140,000, the Nonprofit EMBA Scholarship is awarded annually to one executive of any qualified 501(c)3 organization who has demonstrated commitment to serving in the nonprofit sector and covers the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program costs and tuition (does not apply to the Global Executive MBA-Americas).
All scholarship candidates must meet the same rigorous standards set for the Executive MBA program and complete their application before the March 31st scholarship deadline each year. Once admitted, students will be considered by a selection committee. The Nonprofit EMBA Scholarship recipient is responsible only for paying fees for the program – approximately $12,500 over the course of the two-year program – to cover the direct program costs of books, a residency each year, meals, and Executive Lounge amenities.
Annual Scholarship Winners
Shelby Doyle
Doyle serves as Senior Vice President of Policy and National Partnerships at the National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF), where she leads national initiatives to expand awareness of K-12 education options. With over a decade of experience in education policy and a personal background shaped by diverse schooling models, Doyle sees the EMBA program as an opportunity to strengthen her strategic and operational expertise to further NSCAF’s mission.
Diana Pelham
Pelham, VP of Leadership Giving at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC), demonstrates a steadfast commitment to a career rooted in community service. She began her tenure with the organization as Director of Corporate Relations and Philanthropic Gifts before progressing to Senior Director of Leadership Giving and then VP of Leadership Giving helping to strategically advance TPAC’s goals of fostering a shared understanding among people of different life experiences through the arts.
Emma Horn
Horn has demonstrated a commitment to the community throughout her decades long career in the nonprofit sector. As Executive Director of the KFC Foundation, Horn leads an organization that invests in the future of KFC restaurant employees through education, hardship assistance, community giving programs, and more.
Misty Leitsch
Leitsch moved into a full-time position with TSPN as Zero Suicide Director in 2015, earning a promotion to Executive Director in late 2020. Right out of college, she was first introduced to the TSPN while working with another nonprofit. Her work with TSPN is particularly relevant during this time when the pandemic has increased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression for so many.
Claudia Caballero
Caballero assumed the role of President and CEO of Centro Hispano de East Tennessee (Centro Hispano) in 2016. She shapes Centro Hispano’s strategic vision. Among her major accomplishments, she has spearheaded a strategic rebrand that more than tripled revenue, diversified board leadership, and ensured financial sustainability by reengineering the funding model.
Jessica Holmes
Holmes assumed the role of Principal Strategist – Alignment, Innovation, and Growth at the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN) in 2016. Holmes’ role at IHN is to design and grow innovative care delivery approaches that integrate the mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing of patients alongside their physical health. Her focus on serving underrepresented at-risk communities is well-aligned with the purpose of the full tuition nonprofit scholarship.
Tara Tenorio
Tenorio assumed the role of Chief Development and Communications Officer of Hands On Nashville in 2017. Tenorio leads internal strategy and external relations for Hands On Nashville, a local nonprofit that builds capacity for individuals and agencies to meet needs through service.
Bettie Kirkland
Kirkland assumed the role of Executive Director of Project Return in 2011 and continued through 2023. She led agency initiatives and social enterprises, overseeing staff, fundraising, and promoting the organization’s missions and vision, all while growing awareness of the issues stemming from mass incarceration.
Nathan Madigan
Madigan assumed his role of Chief Operating Officer of LEAD Public Schools in early 2016. The Atlanta native has an extensive background in education; he spent seven years working at KIPP New Jersey, rising from analyst to Managing Director of School Operations, and began his career as a Teach for America Corps Member in Newark, New Jersey.
Layla George
At the time Layla George was awarded the scholarship, she was the head of development for Louisville Public Media. George was named director of development for Louisville Public Media in 2014, where she directed fundraising and capital campaigns for the public radio station.
Meagan Flippin
At the time Meagan Flippin was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the president and CEO of United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties, which focuses on key local issues within education, financial stability and health. After working there as a marketing director, Flippin earned the opportunity to serve the organization in a key leadership role.
Abby Shue
At the time Abby Shue was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the vice president of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, an arts organization that hosts more than 1,000 events per year. Shue’s goal in applying for the scholarship was to aid the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in showcasing artistic experts, while also inspiring Kentucky’s future creative artists. Shue was the first non-Middle Tennessee award recipient in the scholarship’s history.
Stephanie Barger
At the time Stephanie Barger was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the vice president of strategy and operations at Monroe Harding, a 120-year-old Nashville institution that provides care and support for children in state custody. Barger is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Monroe Harding.
Karin Weaver
At the time Karin Weaver was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the national director of Bright Spaces, a Bright Horizons Foundation for Children program that creates playroom spaces in homeless shelters.
Julie Granillo
At the time Julie Chupp was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the director of site development for Dispensary of Hope, a Nashville-based nonprofit that provides medications to those in need. Granillo is currently the owner and CEO of Werth PR.
Anderson Williams
At the time Anderson Williams was awarded the EMBA scholarship, he was the director of consulting for the Oasis Center. During the EMBA program, Williams developed and launched Zeumo—an education technology platform that helps students connect and communicate better with their school and community.
Beth Torres
At the time Beth Torres was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the vice president of events and funding development for Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee. Torres said, "This is an unbelievable gift and I am looking forward to paying this back to my community." After graduating from the program, she took the role of president & CEO of Make a Wish of Middle Tennessee.
Mark McCaw
At the time Mark McCaw was awarded the EMBA scholarship, he was program Administrator of Siloam Family Health Center. McCaw later moved to the Director of Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care, Infectious Diseases, and Travel Clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Michael McSurdy
At the time Michael McSurdy was awarded the EMBA scholarship, he was the Vice President of Programs at the Oasis Center, which has been providing counseling and child well-being services across the state of Tennessee since 1943.
Robyn Minton
At the time Robyn Minton was awarded the EMBA scholarship, she was the director of the YWCA's Domestic Violence Services program. After the program, she moved on to become the vice president of Operations at the Center for Workforce Innovations. Minton was the first scholarship award recipient.