Laurene Sperling

Laurene Sperling oversees the investment management of a family office enterprise, which, in addition to growing financial capital, also includes Barah Collective LLC, an impact investing entity and the Sperling Family Charitable Foundation. 

Laurene is an experienced foundation trustee with a successful history building organizations with long lasting success and impact. A perennial change agent for nonprofit organizations, she seeks to create substantive improvement in several areas of the social sector including education, early childhood, workforce development, healthcare and poverty alleviation. As a believer in pay equity, and diversity and inclusion, Laurene has driven several initiatives on these fronts and is a champion of using corporate/government/nonprofit partnerships and creative financial instruments to drive evidence based social sector change and innovative solutions to complex societal problems.

Since 2010, Laurene has been an integral part of Duke University’s Board of Directors and became Chair in 2021. She also serves on the boards of DUHS and DUMAC. She has led the Institutional Advancement Committee, the Undergraduate Education Committee, the Committee on Trusteeship and co-chaired the ad-hoc task force on governance.

Laurene joined the Board of Directors at BELLXcel, a national leader in after-school and summer programs for children at risk, in 2006. As Board Chair from 2009-2019, and earlier on the Development, Program and Governance Committees, she marshaled the organization’s growth and led strategic discussions clarifying and reframing its mission.  BELLXcel’s Sperling Center for Research and Innovation was established in honor of her leadership.

Laurene is also a board member at Social Finance US where she chairs the Partnership and Resource Development Committee, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies where she chaired the Commission on Strategic Priorities and currently serves as Vice Chair of the board. In addition, she serves on Harvard Business School Dean’s Board of Advisors, Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative Advisory Board, the Corporation of Partners Healthcare and on the Brigham Health Steering Committees for Women’s Medicine and Community Care. Laurene also is a national board member of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB).    Formerly, Laurene was Vice President, Corporate Finance/Investment Banking at Cowen and Company and in Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, and Venture Capital at Paine Webber in Boston. She earned her BA at Duke University in Management Science and Accounting and her MBA from the Harvard Business School. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Women on Corporate Boards program.