Presence can shape the energy of a room, and even through a Zoom screen, Sophia Shaw ’99 MBA emanates a sense of equanimity — an essential characteristic in effective leadership. The soft lighting in her office creates a cozy, inviting glow. The unhurried, calm rhythm of Shaw’s voice matches her grounded demeanor. “I was a much louder leader when I was younger,” admits Shaw. “I'm a little quieter now and there’s less ego, and that’s one of the great blessings of getting older, we can change.”

An alumna from the school’s Evening & Weekend MBA Program, Shaw has been in a leadership role at some of Chicago’s most iconic cultural and environmental institutions from the Field Museum to the Chicago Botanic Garden. During her tenure at the Garden, Shaw’s leadership helped achieve a remarkable rise in attendance, fundraising and community engagement, including formalizing a joint graduate program in conservation biology with Northwestern. From 2006 to 2016, serving as vice president and then president and CEO, the Garden’s attendance increased by 52 percent — to more than one million annual visitors — and fundraising efforts reached nearly $240 million.

So, what does it take to achieve such a feat? It’s not always about what you do but how you do it — strategy is everything. “The pivotal decision at the Garden was creating a strategic plan centered on those we served — intentionally,” explains Shaw. “Most organizations put themselves first; we tried to make every decision through the customer’s lens instead.”

That approach reshaped how the Garden connected with the community, from staying open on Christmas to welcome members of the Jewish community and surrounding neighbors — becoming a 365-day-year destination — to showing up in the Pride Parade with a float. By widening their definition of customer, they naturally welcomed more visitors. 

Intuitive leadership: Integrating the head and the heart

Throughout her career, Shaw hasn’t only relied on intellect to make business decisions, but she has also led with heart, compassion and empathy. Her leadership is grounded in the quiet strength of clarity, calm and purpose. Shaw has focused on building and creating teams who put the mission of the organization front and center — a mission-driven team leadership approach.

“So many of the leaders who inspired me ultimately fell short because they didn’t align with those values,” she says. “Early in my career, after feeling disillusioned, as a young 20-something who held the organization’s vision and mission front and center, I knew that wasn’t how I’d position myself if I ever made it to the top.”

Shaw has learned to lead with a softer power, and she reflects on the changing times with women in the workplace. “The women in the generation before mine had to be the loudest voices in the room just to stand alongside men,” she says. “The gift women 15 or 20 years before me gave to me and to those who came after, was creating enough space that we don’t have to lead that way anymore.” For Shaw, it’s proof that leadership — like culture — can soften without losing strength.

Where relationships go beyond transactions

Now based in both Chicago and Southwest Florida, Shaw is at the helm of a personal venture that brings together her 30-plus years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She cofounded PlanPerfect, software for nonprofit strategic and risk planning, with Adam Wolford ’21 MBA, another Kellogg alum who graduated from the Two-Year MBA Program. She met Wolford while she served as adjunct professor and the director of the nationally recognized Kellogg Board Fellows Program (now called Golub Capital Board Fellows Program) from 2016 to 2021.

“Teaching is a very different skill from leading, and I found it to be one of the most enriching experiences of my life,” she says. “I worked with remarkable MBA students and other Kellogg professors and staff — the full gamut of incredibly talented people to learn from and work alongside.” Wolford was one of those remarkable students who stood out.

Before they became business partners, Shaw recalls how she had been developing a strategic plan for the Catalina Island Conservancy in California. They needed help on a tech project, and while she didn't have that capability, she knew who did. She reached out to Wolford; timing was right for him and the rest is history. This summer, Rachel Qian, an MMM Program student from the Class of 2026, will join them as their first full-time employee. The Kellogg network cycle continues.

“One piece of advice I’d give any graduating student is to stay in touch,” says Shaw. “Make a list, build a personal board, keep up with people after graduation because those relationships can lead to truly fabulous outcomes.” Along the way, Shaw has also leaned on Kellogg Venture Lab, working closely with MBA students who have played an instrumental role in shaping PlanPerfect’s early development.

Sophia (far right) and Adam (back row, second from left) alongside the Venture Lab Internship Team, spring 2025.

Turning experience into a supportive ecosystem 

Together, Shaw and Wolford have created an accessible software ecosystem drawing on AI trained by Shaw’s expertise that supports leaders experienced in the nonprofit world and those just starting out. “A person can come to work at a nonprofit but not necessarily have the understanding of all of the nuts and bolts of nonprofit governance or how to make a strategic plan,” says Shaw. “PlanPerfect can help you. And that freedom of a strong, well-informed foundation can allow them to fulfil their vision and mission.” 

Throughout her career — whether partnering with Kellogg Board Fellows, consulting or volunteering — one thing has been a through line for Shaw: the power of nonprofits to help provide vital services to all members of our communities. “Every human being on this planet has the right to engage in this world, whether through cultural organizations, education, housing, health or access to clean water,” says Shaw. “The social sector and nonprofits are leading the way, and the more we empower them, the healthier our world will be. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day.”

A full circle moment: Sophia and her son Nathan at the 2025 Northwestern undergraduate graduation.