MyLife Studio Information Session

Seth Green is the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago.

Before joining Graham, Green served as Founding Director of the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility at Loyola University Chicago. During his tenure, the Center launched a top-ranked specialty MBA program, a globally significant award for social innovation in business, and an array of educational programs that annually engage more than 4,000 learners. Green also served as an Executive Lecturer in Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business, teaching classes on social entrepreneurship and receiving recognition as the Mission-Driven Faculty Member of the Year in 2021.

Prior to Loyola, Green led Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.), a nonprofit organization that prepares low-income youth for post-secondary and life success. At Y.O.U., Green oversaw the fourfold expansion of programs and a $16.4 million fundraising campaign to build a state-of-the-art youth center. He also spearheaded two strategic planning processes, resulting in an enhanced program model and deepened impact. Alongside Y.O.U., Green taught courses on nonprofit management as an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University.

Earlier in his career, Green worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, guiding private sector clients through strategy development and change management. A recipient of McKinsey’s Community Fellowship, he spent one year of his time at the firm supporting nonprofit clients, including the Gates Foundation and United Way.

Green speaks and writes on social innovation. His commentaries and research have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Fortune Magazine, the Journal of Business Research, and the Social Innovations Journal, and he previously served on the Editorial Review Board of the Business and Society Review. Green has been a featured guest on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, MSNBC, and CNN, and his efforts have been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2008, Utne Reader named him one of 50 “Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.”

Green is civically engaged in Chicago, having served on the Campaign Cabinet of the United Way of Metro Chicago, the Impact Investing Advisory Council of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, the Advisory Board of Concordia Place, the Membership and Engagement Committees of the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Advisory Board of the Executives’ Club of Chicago.

A Marshall Scholar, Green holds a J.D. from Yale University, master’s degrees from Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.

Harry L. Davis studies leadership, strategy, creativity and innovation. His scholarly research has appeared in a number of top-tier academic journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing. Among his publications are “The Promising Start-up Within: A Guide to Internal Corporate Venturing,” written with Russ Rosenzweig and published in The Virtual Strategist in October 2001, and “Purchasing Behavior in Embedded Markets,” written with fellow Chicago Booth faculty member Jonathan Frenzen and published in the June 1990 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Davis, who joined the faculty in 1963, has introduced many innovative executive education programs in the United States and abroad. These programs include the first core leadership program of any top-rated MBA program in the country and the Management Lab. Davis also helped Chicago Booth pioneer its first international campus in 1983 where he served as deputy dean for MBA programs until 1993. He was also professor of behavioral science for the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management in Brussels.

Davis served as a trustee for the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, was on the boards of Golden Rule Insurance, Harnischfeger Industries, and was chairman of the board of the Graham School of General Studies. The Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership was founded in 2010. It is an incubator, a proving ground, for generating new insights about leadership that impact education, practice, and discovery for future generations of students. The Center provides courses and programs that encourage experimentation, reflection and lifelong learning.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1959 and an MBA in marketing in 1960 from Dartmouth College. He earned a master’s degree in sociology in 1969 and a PhD in marketing in 1970 from Northwestern University.

Outside of academia, Davis enjoys classical guitar and passenger trains.

Dr. Nancy Tennant is a practitioner, professor, and best-selling author in innovation and leadership. She is one of the world’s leading pioneers in transforming businesses to achieve innovation from everyone and everywhere.

Businessweek named Nancy one of the 25 Innovation Champions in the world. She is an Adjunct Professor of Leadership at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, co-founding the highly rated MBA class, The Leadership Studio. Nancy is a co-founder and instructor at the Innovation Academy within the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame. She has coached, mentored, and trained thousands of executives and innovators across industries, NGOs, and government organizations. She is a frequent public speaker to “C” level audiences worldwide.

Nancy was the VP of Innovation for Whirlpool Corporation. In this capacity, she reported to two Chairmen/CEOs for over 17 years, transforming Whirlpool into an innovation powerhouse resulting in acclaim from publications such as Fast Company and Fortune while creating billions in new revenue from innovation. Nancy was also responsible for Leadership Development at Whirlpool. In addition, she founded Whirlpool University, with an enrollment of over 10,000 leaders per year from over 170 countries. While at Whirlpool, Nancy founded the affinity group The Creatives, unleashing underappreciated creatives to find their voice through community.

Nancy co-authored numerous articles, including “The 5 Requirements of a Truly Innovative Company” (HBR, Hamel & Tennant). In addition, she co-authored or authored five best-selling books: Mastering Virtual Teams, Unleashing Innovation (listed as one of the “5 Must-Read Books” that are required reading at Harvard Business School), Strategic Innovation, and Transform Your Company for the Innovation Universe, which she also illustrated. Her latest, Giorgio & Maria: Speak Their Names, is a loving biography of her immigrant grandparents. She is presently working on My Life Studio, a book with a practical approach to changing how we show up in interactions that matter.

She holds a doctorate from The George Washington University. She is the President Emerita of The First Tee of Benton Harbor, a not-for-profit organization that offers life skills to at-risk youth. Nancy is a good, but not great, artist, writer, poet, and lap-swimmer. No matter, she enjoys life to the fullest.

CHARLES NEWELL served as Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre for 30 years. In 2024, Charlie received the Joseph Jefferson Special Award, honoring his enduring impact on Chicago theatre. In 2022, he and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre accepted the Regional Theatre Tony Award on behalf of Court Theatre. Additional credits include Alan Schneider Director Award, Zelda Fichandler Award, League of Chicago Artistic Leadership Award, Graham School Excellence in Teaching Award, Phi Betta Kappa Distinguished Service Award, and eight Jeff Awards as Director.  Having directed 60+ productions at Court, recent productions include Berlin (2025 Jeff Awards for Production, New Work, Ensemble, and Director), An Iliad (Jeff Award, Director), and The Gospel at Colonus, co-directed with Mark J.P. Hood.  Charlie also directed at Goodman, Guthrie, Arena, Lyric Opera, and more. He is co-founder of the Civic Actor Studio and regularly teaches leadership at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.