Ponneh is the leader of Spencer Stuart’s work with the higher education sector and the consultant lead for the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. She began her career as an attorney, and brings conscientious attention and intellectual rigor to every project, but it’s her ability to build deep and trusting relationships with candidates and clients that has created the devoted network she draws upon when placing talent. She works with higher education and adjacent organizations to advise boards around hiring, ensuring alignment around those hires and building support for incoming presidents, deans, provosts and other top leaders in her arena — which includes academic medicine and foundation work in addition to some of the most esteemed educational institutions in the country.
Expertise
- Higher education
- Social impact
- Presidents
- Provosts and deans
- Leadership assessment
- Organizational development
- Board advisory
Recent work
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Partnership to support premier educational institutes and other organizations with their leadership search, including Yale University, Bowdoin College, Smith College, Princeton University, Duke University and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation
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Search advisory for college and university presidents, provosts and deans, with an additional focus on chief financial and administrative officers, and a broad range of other functional leaders
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Office management in the role of community building, leadership and internal talent development
Previous experience
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Led the Washington, D.C., office of a national executive search firm as a member of the company’s executive committee, an inaugural co-chair of the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiative, a member of the equity task force and a member of the promotions committee
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Early career associate at law firms focused on intellectual property law
Education
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Master’s degree in higher education administration from Harvard University
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J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law
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B.A. from the University of Virginia