Tracy Palandjian

Last updated
Tracy Palandjian
Tracy P.jpg
Born
Hong Kong
Education Harvard College (BA)
Harvard Business School (MBA)
OccupationsCo-founder and CEO of Social Finance

Tracy Pun Palandjian is an American business person who is co-founder and chief executive officer of Social Finance, a national nonprofit organization and registered investment advisor. [1]

Contents

Palandjian is a member of the Harvard Corporation, Harvard University’s governing board. [2] She has served on the Barr Foundation [3] Surdna Foundation [4] , and The Boston Foundation. [5] She is also co-founder and vice chair of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. [6]

Early life and education

Palandjian was born and raised in Hong Kong. She studied at the Diocesan Girls School in Hong Kong, before coming to the United States at age 14 to attend Milton Academy. [7]

She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a B.A. in Economics, and later earned an M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. [8]

Career

Early career

Palandjian held early professional roles at McKinsey & Company and Wellington Management. She later joined the Parthenon Group where she became a managing director. [9] [1] She founded and led the Nonprofit Practice. Her work focused on advising foundations, NGOs, and other social sector institutions on strategy, social innovation, and organizational effectiveness. [10]

Social Finance

In 2011, Palandjian co-founded Social Finance with Sir Ronald Cohen and David Blood. The organization is a nonprofit and registered investment adviser that develops financing approaches intended to expand economic opportunity. Palandjian has served as its chief executive officer since its founding. [11]

Social Finance was initially known for helping develop the field of Social Impact Bonds and other pay for success models in the United States. These arrangements mobilize private capital to support social programs, with government repayment contingent on measurable improvements in outcomes. The organization subsequently expanded its work to include workforce development funds, outcomes based financing programs, and impact-first investment strategies. [12]

In 2022, Social Finance launched the $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund in partnership with Google Alphabet. [13] The program’s  stated goal is to help more than 20,000 learners achieve $1 billion in aggregate wage gains during its first decade, by providing job-training and living expense support through no-interest outcomes-based financing.  In 2026, Social Finance partnered with Anthropic and CodePath to launch Claude Corps, a national fellowship designed to expand the use of artificial intelligence in nonprofit and public-interest organizations. [14]

In 2024, Social Finance established the Social Finance Institute, which conducts applied research and publishes work on outcomes-based finance and impact investing. Its publications include Workforce Realigned, a collaboration with four Federal Reserve Banks, which examines outcomes-based workforce strategies. [15]

As of 2025, Social Finance reported having mobilized over $500 million in investments aimed at achieving measurable outcomes in workforce development, health, and housing, and working with partners in all 50 states. [8]

Views and opinions

Palandjian has written and spoken about outcomes-based financing, impact investing, and approaches that align capital with measurable social results. She argues that traditional program funding often pays for activities rather than results. [2] She has emphasized that outcomes-based finance can help government and philanthropy become “more accountable, data-driven, and prevention-oriented”. [16]

Palandjian has advocated for “impact-first investing,” an approach that prioritizes measurable social or environmental impact while seeking a financial return. She has presented it as a complement to both traditional grantmaking and market-rate investing, particularly for investment approaches that can generate returns but cannot attract commercial capital. She has argued that, because investment proceeds can be returned and redeployed, impact-first investing may allow philanthropic assets to support multiple cycles of social impact. Her public commentary has also focused on redesigning education and workforce systems in response to technological change, evolving labor-market needs, and concern about student debt. She has argued that effective workforce programs should combine training with financing and support for living expenses such as transportation, child care, and housing, particularly for people from lower-income backgrounds. [17]

Governance and boards

Palandjian  was elected in 2022 to the Harvard Corporation. [2] She previously was on the Harvard Board of Overseers (2012–2018) [18] and on several Harvard visiting committees, including those for the Business School, the College, the Division of Continuing Education, and the Kennedy School. [2]

In the philanthropic and non profit sector, Palandjian has served as a trustee of the Barr Foundation [3] , the Surdna Foundation [4] and The Boston Foundation. [5] She is the co-founder and vice chair of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. [6] Other nonprofit boards Palandjian has served include Mass General Brigham, and Facing History and Ourselves where Palandjian chaired the board from 2011 to 2014. [2]

Honors and recognition

Personal life

Palandjian is married to Leon A. Palandjian, M.D., whom she met at Harvard during their undergraduate studies. [27] They live in Belmont, Massachusetts, and have three daughters. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Five things you should know about Tracy Palandjian". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parsons, Lian (2022-04-04). "Tracy Palandjian elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  3. 1 2 "Tracy Palandjian". Barr Foundation. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  4. 1 2 "Surdna Foundation Elects New Board Member and Investment Committee Chair". Surdna Foundation. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  5. 1 2 "Tracy Palandjian". www.tbf.org. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  6. 1 2 "Board & Staff". U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  7. ↑ Fall 2025. "Return on Impact | Milton Magazine" . Retrieved 2026-09-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 "A Woman with a Social Impact: Tracy P. Palandjian '93". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Looking far and wide pays off for this nonprofit". Boston Globe . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Candid. "People in the News (06/18/2023): appointments, promotions, obituaries". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  11. ↑ "Tracy Palandjian's push for social impact bonds". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Kelly, John (30 January 2018). "Social Impact Leader Tracy Palandjian on the State of Pay-For-Success". The Imprint.
  13. ↑ Schroeder, Ray. "Google Career Certificates: Heralding the Future". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  14. ↑ Gamboa | AP, Glenn (2026-06-11). "Anthropic announces 'Claude Corps' to teach nonprofits to use AI more effectively". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  15. ↑ "The Social Finance Institute". Social Finance. 2026-04-20. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  16. ↑ "Five things you should know about Tracy Palandjian - News - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  17. ↑ Patrick, Tracy Palandjian and Deval (2023-05-02). "How to overhaul job training". The Boston Globe. ISSN   0743-1791 . Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  18. ↑ "Abell, Palandjian to Lead Board of Overseers". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  19. ↑ McGrath, Maggie. "2026 50 Over 50: Investment". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2026-09-19. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  20. ↑ "Ellis Island Medal of Honor,". blacktiemagazine.com. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  21. ↑ "Impact Investment Leader Tracy Palandjian; and Banking ..." www.regiscollege.edu. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  22. ↑ "The American Philosophical Society Welcomes New Members for 2022". American Philosophical Society. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  23. ↑ "Tracy P. Palandjian". AMACAD. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  24. ↑ 2019 ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
  25. ↑ Writer, Staff. "Belmont woman receives RFK award for social justice initiative". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  26. ↑ gazettejohnbaglione (2017-05-05). "Harvard Board of Overseers names senior officers for 2017-18". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
  27. ↑ Benoit, Cara Lombardo and David (2024-01-07). "Bill Ackman's Friend Inside Harvard's Board". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
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