Ali Webb

Ali Webb’s first job out of college was as a reporter for a small newspaper in Texas. Her second job, however, was press secretary to the Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, for seven years. Ali was the first female and youngest person to ever hold the position of press secretary in Los Angeles.

She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to head Communications at the United States Department of Agriculture. She was also Communications Director for The Nature Conservancy and political director for the League of Conservation Voters.

She worked at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for 19 years, one of the largest U.S. charitable foundations, where her last role was Director of Michigan Programming, leading a team of 21 people and an annual grantmaking budget of $75 million. She now leads Ali Webb Strategies, a consulting firm that advises leaders and advances strategies that help organizations bridge the gap between expectations and outcomes using a racial equity lens. 

Dr. Webb received her B.A. in Journalism from Stanford University and her M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 2005, she earned her Ph.D. in Mass Media from Michigan State University. She is published in the Encyclopedia of Public Relations. Ali’s most recent article, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Philanthropy” appeared in NonProfit Quarterly. She has also written on team building in philanthropy for The Foundation Review. She is also a peer reviewer for the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

Her love of politics developed from her work in numerous national, state, and local campaigns, including her most recent work on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy in Mississippi. She was also elected to two terms on her local school board, spending two years as board chair.

​Dr. Webb is also a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a globally recognized assessment tool that helps build the skills of individuals, teams, and organizations to navigate cultural diversity.