Jun 26, 2026

A Seat at the Table: How Tuck’s Nonprofit Board Fellows Program Supports the Upper Valley

By Alexandra Lilly T’26

Pictured above: Alexandra Lilly T’26, Nonprofit Board Fellow for the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. The Board Fellows program at Tuck has connected MBA students with local nonprofits for over two decades | Photo by Laura DeCapua.

The Tuck Nonprofit Board Fellows Program, led by the Center for Business, Government & Society, connects Tuck MBA students with local nonprofits to apply their business knowledge and gain firsthand exposure to nonprofit governance. Below, Alexandra Lilly T’26 and Upper Valley Trails Alliance (UVTA) Executive Director Russell Hirschler reflect on her work helping UVTA craft a new strategic plan and mission, the impact on the organization, and what the experience taught her about leadership.

What drew you to the Nonprofit Board Fellows Program? And working with the Upper Valley Trails Alliance specifically?

I came to Tuck knowing I wanted the MBA experience to be more than just coursework and recruiting—I wanted to actually put roots down in the Upper Valley while I’m here. The Nonprofit Board Fellows Program felt like a real and impactful way to do that. I’ve been curious about board governance and whether serving on a board is something I want to pursue long-term and this program felt like the right opportunity to find out, while bringing some of what I’ve learned at Tuck to the table.

Tuck was a deliberate escape from city life for me, and being here has genuinely deepened my relationship with the outdoors. When I did the Tuck Community Consulting program with the Hanover Conservancy, it felt like a natural fit. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance (UVTA) felt like a continuation of that—staying connected to the conservation and trails space but now engaging at the governance level rather than just the user and project level.

You led a strategic review and facilitated a board retreat—what was the core challenge you were trying to address?

The core challenge was helping the board clarify priorities at a moment when, honestly, things were going well. UVTA has strong community trust and solid programs, but the organization has grown beyond its existing strategic plan. My role was less about leading and more about designing a process that helped the board surface those questions themselves. This meant determining where they had alignment, where there were real tradeoffs, and what decisions would matter most going forward. The key shift that came out of it was moving from “how do we grow?” to “where can we be most focused and most useful?”

What was your approach to designing and leading the retreat, and did any moment stand out as a turning point?

My approach was to structure the retreat around open-ended but focused discussions that encouraged the board to reflect on both UVTA’s strengths and future direction. I designed the session to balance big-picture strategic questions (like organizational identity and regional growth) with the realities of the current state of the organization (like volunteer engagement and staffing capacity.)

What struck me most is that UVTA wasn’t in crisis—it was actually entering this process from a position of strength. That made the work harder in some ways, because there was no obvious problem forcing action. The only real leverage I had was the quality of the process itself: how well I’d prepared, how clearly I framed the questions, and whether people felt genuinely heard.

Toward the end of the retreat, the conversation shifted—people started opening up more candidly and rallying around a shared vision. I don’t think I caused that directly, but I think the structure made it possible. That taught me something real about the difference between guiding a conversation and directing an outcome, and gave me a lot of confidence working in rooms where I didn’t have formal standing.

What did this experience teach you about leading in a real-world setting, especially without formal authority?

This experience taught me that leading without formal authority is mostly about creating the conditions for honest conversations. Working with experienced board members who had strong views and competing priorities, my job wasn’t to steer toward a particular outcome but to make sure every perspective was genuinely heard. What I found is that when people feel that way, the quality of the strategy changes and consensus tends to emerge more naturally than if you try to force it. That process also pushed me to get comfortable managing upward, engaging confidently with senior leaders and earning credibility through preparation and listening rather than position.

As you think about this project, what are you most proud of? And how has this experience shaped the way you think about leadership going forward?

What I’m most proud of is how deeply I got embedded in the organization. I was not just a facilitator but a genuine participant, serving as head of the strategic planning subcommittee and engaging at the full board level. That immersion gave me real credibility, which made the harder parts of the work possible. At the end of the day, I was not just an outsider working to craft a strategy but a team member working toward a shared goal. Through this experience, my idea of what leadership is going forward has become more refined: I see myself as a facilitative, consensus-oriented leader where influence is earned through trust.

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Russell Hirschler, Executive Director at The Upper Valley Trails Alliance 

Can you briefly describe the mission of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance and your organization’s role in the community?

Alexandra just helped the Upper Valley Trails Alliance revise its mission, vision, and long range strategic plan. So here is the new mission for the first time. 

The Upper Valley Trails Alliance connects people, places, and communities through trails. By building and maintaining trails in the region, we create an Upper Valley where everyone has access to the outdoors and the lasting benefits trails bring.

Through our work, we:

• Design, build, and maintain a world-class, interconnected trail network that is accessible  and built to last.
• Champion the transformative value of trails—for individual health, community vitality, and regional economic strength—with towns, policymakers, and the public.
• Cultivate deep, lasting connections between people and the outdoors through inclusive programs, partnerships, and outreach.
• Provide targeted programs to connect Upper Valley youth to the outdoors.
• Strengthen the Alliance of trail organizations, advocates, and community leaders who share our vision for trail-rich communities.

What motivated UVTA to participate in the Nonprofit Board Fellows Program, and what keeps you coming back?

UVTA first participated in the Nonprofit Board Fellows Program in 2011. Tuck has been exemplary in engaging with the local community, and specifically supporting the nonprofits in the Upper Valley. Being able to draw on Tuck’s wealth of knowledge and work directly with one or two students to support our community work was exactly what we were looking for. Over the years, we have engaged with Tuck Board Fellows on a variety of organization needs. The students at Tuck are the next generation of business leaders, and hands-on exposure to a functioning Board is invaluable as they move into their professional lives and take on Board roles of their own. 

What challenges was your organization facing before this project, and how did the Tuck student fellows help to address them?

Many nonprofit organizations like UVTA have very slim margins, with most of the expenses focused on the implementation of our community programs. Very little is raised and set aside for strategy development and capacity building, although it can be argued that those expenses are equally or more important than the programs themselves. That is where UVTA’s relationship with the Board Fellows program is rooted. In this particular case, our strategic plan from 2017 was in need of review and revision, originally facilitated by former Board Fellows. Finding the time and resources to do that revision was a challenge. 

Alexandra Lilly, our Tuck Fellow, did a great job of facilitating the revision process. She interviewed Board members, facilitated exercises in Board meetings, chaired a strategic planning subcommittee of the Board, solicited feedback and ultimately presented the Board and Staff of UVTA with an updated and revised strategic plan. Furthermore, UVTA engaged with Tuck Community Consulting (TCC) to conduct community surveys and interviews as part of the data gathering for the plan. Alexandra was the liaison between UVTA and TCC, helping to ensure the data gathering was well-integrated into the final plan.

What stood out to you about the student fellows’ (like Alexandra) approach and contributions?

Alexandra was phenomenal. From the day we met, her energy and passion for the work she was engaging in was contagious. The Strategic Planning process was already a priority for UVTA and this was also a skill that Alexandra wanted to hone, so it was a perfect match. Over the years, UVTA has learned that specific and discreet project goals and timelines are essential to a successful Board Fellow experience. Alexandra did that all and then some. She developed a detailed timeline with deliverables that she stuck to. She engaged with Board members directly, solicited feedback from the sub-committee, and coordinated meetings. The only unfortunate thing is that Alexandra set the bar extremely high for future Board Fellows.

How has this experience impacted your organization, and what would you say to other nonprofits considering the program?

Our experience with the Nonprofit Board Fellows program has been extremely positive. The program allowed UVTA to focus on planning and capacity building with limited costs by tapping into the wealth of knowledge and support of the program and the excellence of the students that participate. I would strongly recommend that any other nonprofits who have the opportunity to participate in the program, do so without hesitation!