Aileen Webb

Dr. Ali Webb is a lecturer in public policy at the Ford School and the founder and principal of Ali Webb Strategies. From Dr. Webb’s first post-college job as a reporter for a small college-town newspaper to supervising the 21-person team responsible for nearly a quarter of the grantmaking at one of the world’s largest foundations, she has proven to be a leader of versatility and vision. She has served as a mayoral press secretary and as Director of Communications for an internationally-known conservation organization and a U.S. cabinet department (with a staff of 150). 

Today, her focus is on consulting and advising CEOs and other officials on leadership, policy and strategic communications, and team building, with a particular focus on racial equity. She is certified as a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, which helps individuals and teams develop their multi-cultural competencies.  

At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, she develop strategic communications and policy for U.S. food systems and rural development. She spent eight years as the director of Michigan programs, developing the place-based grant making portfolio and building a high performing, diverse team.

She was a research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she received her master’s degree, and has her PhD in mass media from Michigan State University. Her deep communications skill-set includes having supervised an award-winning magazine, web sites, video and television programming units, and public relations in a variety of settings.  

As a professor—domestically and internationally—she has taught graduate level courses in political communications and leadership, social movements and social media. At various institutions ranging from Oxford to Columbia University to Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, and the University of Michigan she has taught and developed courses on strategic philanthropy, social movements, strategic communications, and public policy.