Nate Wong

Nate Wong is a partner in Bridgespan’s DC Hub, where he co-leads the Technology and Innovation practice areas. He focuses on equity-based, power-shifting efforts that ensure communities have the agency to influence the decisions that affect them. He explores new ownership and collaboration models that amplify community power and accountability, constructs to reimagine capitalism, and advocates for the responsible use of technology to promote public interests over sheer profits. As a former technologist, he seeks to enable nonprofits to responsibly use data, digital tools, and AI to further societal impact in an intentional and deliberate manner.

Prior to Bridgespan, Nate helped launch, direct and scale three social impact units: one at Deloitte Consulting/ Monitor Deloitte as founding member of their Social Impact Practice; another at Boston Consulting Group’s non-profit, the Centre for Public Impact in the US where he led city innovation efforts as the Deputy Director of North America; and thirdly at Georgetown University's Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation in scaling emergent innovations inside institutions as its first Managing Director and later interim Executive Director. He has worked with government leaders, impact-driven corporations, funders, and organizations to maximize their positive social impact, working in over 10 different countries. Early in his career, Nate coded the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s first user-facing Traveler’s Redress System that helps travelers who are mistakenly flagged by security systems due to having similar names to individuals on watchlists. He employed early agile software development processes to other public good organizations as part of Deloitte’s technology consulting practice.

Nate has worked on issues around economic mobility, racial equity, and inclusive entrepreneurship including stints at Obama Foundation helping to stand-up its My Brother’s Keeper Alliance initiative focused on empowering boys and young men of color, at Acumen in up-leveling its global portfolio investing efforts, at Endeavor to support its high-impact entrepreneurs, and at TechnoServe to support smallholder farmers and retain their crop value through the supply chain.

He has written for Fortune, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Business Insider, and other publications and has spoken on the latest trends in power shifting. He recently co-authored, "Nonprofit Leadership Transitions: Four Ways Funders can Support Leaders of Color" (Bridgespan.org, 2024), "From Capital to Connections: Aligning Donor Strengths With Nonprofit Needs” (Bridgespan.org, 2024), and “Building a Trust-Based Philanthropy To Shift Power Back to Communities,” (Stanford Social Innovation Review).

Nate serves on the boards of several non-profits championing efforts that shift power including the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition that fights for universal access to HIV treatment and life-saving medicines and CharityVest that is democratizing philanthropy for everyday givers. A natural bridge builder, Nate a fellow of the Civil Society Fellowship, a part of the Aspen Institute and a member 2 of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Nate is also an adjunct professor and lecturer at Georgetown University, where he pioneered an open-sourced course called “Building a Social Impact Consciousness.”

Nate holds a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering with high honors from the University of Virginia. He also has a certificate in Executive Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University and is an Associate Certified Coach and member of the International Coaching Federation.