From Our Founder To Chair Emeritus

“What began as a small, scrappy, volunteer-run experiment has evolved into a professionally managed, multi-program, multi-city organization with extraordinary staff, volunteer leaders, and supporters. Watching that evolution has been one of the great privileges of my life.”

Sixteen years ago, Jackie Einstein Astrof founded PennPAC with a simple but ambitious idea: to harness the talents of Penn alumni to help nonprofits thrive. PennPAC launched its first project team one year later and is now celebrating fifteen years of service. The organization has grown into a flourishing and distinctive community that has supported more than 400 nonprofit organizations and engaged over 1,300 alumni volunteers.

Throughout the journey, Jackie has worn countless hats – Executive Director, Advisory Board Chair, Board Chair, fundraiser, recruiter, mentor, strategist, and, at times, institutional memory. As Jackie takes off her Board Chair hat and transitions to the role of Chair Emeritus, she reflects on PennPAC’s journey, the lessons learned along the way, and her hopes for the organization’s future.

When you founded PennPAC 16 years ago, what problem were you trying to solve?

I had experienced firsthand the power of pro bono consulting and knew there were countless nonprofits that could benefit from strategic advice but couldn’t afford it. I also knew that Penn alumni represented an extraordinary pool of talent and expertise, and I believed they would embrace the opportunity to put those skills to work in service of others.

PennPAC was born from a simple idea: that by bringing those two things together, we could create something uniquely valuable for nonprofits while giving alumni a meaningful way to contribute.

Looking back, what are you most proud of building?

Not any single project or milestone, but a community and an institution. More than 1,300 alumni have volunteered with PennPAC, and together we’ve helped more than 400 organizations. So what makes me proudest is that PennPAC has become an enduring community rooted in service, excellence, and Penn pride.

You didn’t inherit this organization – you built it from scratch. What did the earliest days look like?

There was no roadmap. No staff. No funding. Just an idea and a belief that Penn alumni would embrace it. There were lots of very late nights fueled by deep commitment to the mission and genuine love for what we were trying to build.

What’s happening at PennPAC right now that excites you the most?

What excites me most is that the organization isn’t standing still. Through a recent sustainability exercise, the Board didn’t choose to consolidate or maintain the status quo. Instead, they doubled down on growth. Board members committed to playing a larger role in fundraising, endorsed hiring a Director of Development, and embraced more strategic partnerships than ever before.

Perhaps most exciting of all, I believe PennPAC’s potential remains far greater than its current reach. Despite sixteen years of success, many Penn alumni still have never heard of PennPAC. There is no shortage of nonprofits that could benefit from our work or alumni who would find meaning and purpose in participating. Our biggest constraints have never been ideas or demand – they’ve been resources and awareness. That gives me tremendous optimism about what lies ahead.

What surprised you most about how PennPAC evolved?

I expected PennPAC to help nonprofits. What I didn’t fully appreciate at the outset was the sense of community that would emerge among our volunteers, supporters, and leaders. Over the years, I’ve watched alumni form friendships, discover new passions, and reconnect with Penn and with one another through shared service. In many ways, PennPAC became much more than a consulting organization. It became a community united by a common purpose, and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of.

What accomplishment do you think people may not fully appreciate?

Our ability to continually develop and renew leadership. Building programs is important, but building leaders and systems is what has allowed our organization to endure.

Over the years, PennPAC has successfully navigated numerous leadership transitions – from chapter leaders and key volunteers to staff and board members. We’ve repeatedly watched dedicated volunteer leaders pass the baton to the next generation. What’s especially remarkable is that so much of this leadership is entirely volunteer-driven. Time and again, talented alumni have devoted extraordinary amounts of time, expertise, and heart because they believe deeply in the mission.

That culture of volunteer leadership and succession has become part of PennPAC’s DNA, and I think it’s one of the reasons the organization has remained resilient and continues to thrive after sixteen years.

Beyond helping nonprofits, what impact has PennPAC had on its volunteers?

One of the surprises over the years has been how much PennPAC has given back to the volunteers themselves. I’ve watched alumni develop skills they immediately applied in their careers – whether project management, fundraising, strategic planning, or board governance. Some have gone on to join the boards of organizations they first encountered through a PennPAC engagement, while others have discovered entirely new passions or career paths.

I’ve also seen PennPAC provide a meaningful bridge during life’s transitions. Whether someone was newly graduated, re-entering the workforce, taking time away for caregiving, or moving into retirement, PennPAC offered a way to stay connected, continue learning, and contribute in a purposeful way.

And perhaps most importantly, I’ve seen how deeply satisfying it can be for people to use the education and opportunities they’ve been given to help others. Many volunteers have told me that giving back through PennPAC allowed them to express their gratitude for what Penn and their careers had made possible.

Helping nonprofits was always the mission, but one of the great joys of these sixteen years has been seeing how profoundly the experience has enriched the lives of our volunteers as well.

PennPAC is still the only organization of its kind, tapping alumni across all professional backgrounds to work together. Why do you think the model has endured?

Because people are hungry for meaningful ways to give back. PennPAC provides a rare opportunity to put intellect, experience, and creativity to work on behalf of organizations that truly need them. I think volunteers are often pleasantly surprised by how intellectually engaging and personally fulfilling that experience can be, and nonprofits benefit enormously as a result.

Sixteen years later, I still believe that idea is as relevant as ever. In fact, I wish more universities and communities would experiment with similar models. There are far more opportunities for impact, and the world would benefit from more communities built around service and shared purpose.

Is this the right time for you to step down?

Absolutely. In many ways, this feels like the perfect moment.

In the early years, PennPAC depended heavily on a small group of dedicated leaders, and I was deeply involved in nearly every aspect of the organization. That’s simply the reality of building something from scratch. But over time, we invested in staff, systems, and leadership development so that the organization could continue to grow and evolve.

Today, PennPAC is financially healthy, has exceptional staff and volunteer leaders, and is pursuing exciting new partnerships and growth opportunities. We are successfully transitioning leadership in key areas and investing in our future.

Knowing that PennPAC is entering its next chapter with tremendous momentum gives me enormous optimism and peace of mind.

If you could leave / share PennPAC with one message, what would it be?

I hope PennPAC always retains the entrepreneurial spirit that made it possible in the first place. One of the things I’ve admired most over the years is the organization’s willingness to evolve, embrace new ideas, and continually ask how we can serve our communities even better.

We are confident the model works. I hope the next sixteen years are marked by the same sense of curiosity, ambition, and openness to change that have brought us this far.

I’ve shared some of those aspirations in a separate Vision for the Future document, not as a blueprint, but as an invitation for future leaders to dream boldly and build even further.

RAPID FIRE

One word that describes these sixteen years?

Gratifying.

Most unexpected lesson?

Small acts of service can have surprisingly long shadows.

Hardest part of being a founder?

Knowing when to stop doing and start trusting others to lead.

Most joyful moment?

Hands down: seeing the impact our work has had on the nonprofits we serve in real time. There is nothing more gratifying than watching an organization take an idea that emerged from a PennPAC project and turn it into real change.

Over the years, we’ve seen clients expand to new locations, strengthen fundraising, adopt new organizational structures, refine their pricing models, secure major grants, and even rebrand themselves using language that originated from a PennPAC engagement. Those moments – when you can actually see ideas taking hold – are the most joyful part of the work.

What will you miss most?

The people – of course.

But also the moments that come long after a project ends, when nonprofit leaders reach back out to say a PennPAC engagement still shapes how they think and operate. Those are the moments that stay with me: not just that we helped in the moment, but that the work continued to matter long after the engagement ended. How our recommendations still guide their thinking, how our decks are used to onboard new staff, or how our work became part of their institutional DNA.

What’s next for you?

Over the last few years, as I’ve gradually stepped back from leading PennPAC, I’ve also been laying the groundwork for my next chapter and building a new philanthropic endeavor from the ground up. I’m already applying many of the lessons learned from building PennPAC to this new effort, and it’s been gratifying to see it get off to a strong start.

While the mission is different, the work itself feels remarkably familiar: strengthening nonprofits so they can expand their capacity and deepen their impact in the communities they serve. This next chapter is more explicitly philanthropic in nature, but it is rooted in the same desire to help communities thrive. Beyond this new endeavor, I look forward to remaining active in a variety of other social impact efforts that strengthen our local communities.

And while I may be stepping back from leading PennPAC, I’m certainly not stepping away from the organization. I’ll continue to support PennPAC as Chair Emeritus, and as a Board and Advisory Board member, while cheering on the next generation of leaders from a little farther down the field.