About Alison McGrath Peirce
Professional Profile
I have worked in graduate education for over twenty five years. Early in my career, I served at the University of Rochester Graduate School of Management (now the Simon School), then moved to the Kellogg School of Management and subsequently to the Wharton School, heading the Career Development and Placement function at each of these institutions. In these roles, I acquired a reputation for problem solving, creating value-added services and generating support for continuous improvement and quality. I contributed to each of the institutions through my skills in innovation, program development, and implementation. While at Kellogg, I was fortunate to have acquired an Executive MBA in 1985.
From Career Development, I moved in 1987 to Executive Education at Wharton. I served in Executive Education at Wharton for thirteen years, in a variety of senior management roles, where I acquired skills in managing the bottom line, designing and delivering profitable programs and creating professional networks around specific topics. In conjunction with lead faculty members, I launched Wharton's Advanced Management Program in 1988, the Electronic Commerce Forum in 1994 and WhartonDirect in 1998, Wharton's initiative in distributed learning. Eight years ago, I launched an independent consulting practice, focused on traditional and technology-enabled management development program; one of my current clients is a hybrid program at Penn, the Executive Master's in Technology Management Program, which is housed in the School of Engineering and co-sponsored by the Wharton School.
I have served on several boards and am very cognizant of the requirements for a member of the Board of Commissioners to combine candor, tact, dependability and forward thinking. I am a committed collaborator. I have successfully worked virtually for the past eight years as an independent consultant and subcontractor. I am self-motivated, and an ethical person who approaches life with equal parts of humor, integrity, and optimism.
Personal Profile
I have lived in the Township since 1988. My two daughters attended Erdenheim Elementary and Springfield Middle Schools. I am an avid walker and I enjoy crosswords, movies, travel, and reading.