Ellen Alberding, MBA

Director

Ellen Alberding was president and CEO of the Joyce Foundation from 2001 through 2024. In that role, she oversaw the growth of assets from $600 million to $1.3 billion and distributed $50 to $65 million in grants annually. Under her leadership, the Foundation gained national prominence with a grant portfolio rooted in the core belief that communities are stronger when they share benefits broadly. The Joyce Foundation funds the development and advancement of policy reforms to address equity and economic mobility for the next generation. It invests heavily in research to gather facts and data so that proposed policy solutions are based on solid evidence. As chief executive of Joyce, Ellen has been active in the regional and national policy arena. She served as a board member and chair of the National Park Foundation, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. She has provided leadership on education policy as an executive committee member of the Loyola University Board of Directors, a board member of the Chicago Public Education Fund Board, and a founding board member of Advance Illinois, which advocates for public education reform. She served as Vice Chair of City Colleges of Chicago during a period of transformation, 2010-2015. She was also a founding member of Skills for America’s Future, which works to meet the needs of business and improve employment opportunities for community college students. She has extensive financial management and investment experience. In addition to overseeing the Foundation endowment, she serves as an independent director of the $200 billion PGIM Mutual Fund complex.  

Ellen holds a bachelor’s degree in English with honors from Brown University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.