Milano Harden

Milano Harden is Principal and President of The Genius Group, Inc. (TGG), which provides: organization strategy and grant making design support to private foundations; technical assistance and capacity building support to the grantees of foundation-funded initiatives; and solutions in strategic planning, program evaluation, board development, financial management, diversity and inclusion. Harden has extensive experience and training in: philanthropic strategy; leadership and organizational development; nonprofit management; equity and inclusion; and community health improvement. TGG works with leaders of all kinds with an emphasis on philanthropic/nonprofit leaders working on social change and community building themes.

Harden has deep interests in ethnic philanthropy, the effectiveness of next generation leaders, and the human development of young men and boys of color. Most recently, Harden was the Program Director of The Healthcare Georgia Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. Harden has also served as: Manager of Education Initiatives for the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Development Manager of Executive Education at the Health Research & Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association; Program Evaluator for the Department of Community Services at Northwestern Memorial Hospital; and the District Health Coordinator for the Illinois Primary Health Care Association. In 1996, Harden co-founded Imago Dei, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to improving the social condition, educational attainment, and psychological well-being of young men and boys of color.

Harden holds a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University and a graduate degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Harden was in the 2009-2010 class of Connecting Leadership Fellows of the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE). In 2003, Harden was selected by the Southeastern Council of Foundation as a Hull Leadership Fellow for emerging leaders in philanthropy and in 1998 by the Harvard University as an Administrative Fellow for high potential administrators of color on staff at Harvard.

Harden serves on several boards and committees including: Board of Directors of the Business Resource & Incubation Center (THE BRIC); Board of Directors of Project on the Money; the steering committee of the Southeastern Network of African Americans in Philanthropy (SNAAP!); the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Program; The YMCA of the USA’s Activate America!; and the National Expert Panel on Communities of Color.

Harden is the happy husband to Joan Harden, M.D. and proud father of two boys – Zachery Alexander and Seth Emmanuel.