American Philanthropy in the Past, Present, and Future
Join the leaders of Columbia University’s renowned Masters in Nonprofit Management Program, Cindy M. Lott, Esq. and Dr. Gregory Witkowski as they provide us with a historical look at philanthropy and its current tends as well as nonprofit career options.
6:00 | Registration (Wine and sparkling water served during registration.)
6:30 | Presentation with Q+A
This event is co-hosted by the Columbia University Club of New York and the Penn Club of New York. Special thanks to Columbia University Club Program Committee member, Beverly Johnson ’86TC.
Biography
Cindy M. Lott, Esq., serves as Academic Director and Senior Lecturer in Discipline for the Master of Science in Nonprofit Management program at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and teaches in that program, as well. Prior to her current position, she served as Executive Director and Senior Counsel to the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School, and within that Program was the developer and lead counsel to the Charities Regulation and Oversight Project from 2006-2015. Currently, Lott is also a Senior Fellow at the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, working in conjunction with the Institute’s Tax Policy and Charities project. She develops and moderates a series of national convenings on state and federal regulation of the charitable sector and is engaged in research regarding regulatory capacity and enforcement at the state level. At Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, Lott teaches several courses addressing governance, ethics and the relationship of the nonprofit sector and government.
Lott is a frequent speaker at national conferences in the areas of philanthropic and nonprofit state regulation, compliance, management and governance.
Lott is a 1993 graduate of the Yale Law School and clerked for the United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Indiana and Massachusetts.
Dr. Gregory Witkowski is a senior lecturer in the Nonprofit Management Program at Columbia University. Born in Jersey City, Greg is happy to return home after a previous position as Associate Professor at Indiana University, where he helped create the world’s first school focused on the best practice and meaning of philanthropy in society.
Witkowski’s current research analyzes New York nonprofit efforts in relief and recovery following the 9/11 attack. Trained as a historian, he uses historical methods to analyze and explain developments in the nonprofit sector. His publications include two books: The Campaign State, which examines state power and transformation in a dictatorship, arguing that incessant campaigning ultimately undermined the legitimacy of the government; and German Philanthropy in Transatlantic Perspective, which analyzes the development of German traditions of philanthropy in a triangular relationship with U.S. practices of giving and perceptions of global need. He is also working on a history of philanthropy for Oxford University Press.