Heather Carpenter

Dr. Carpenter is a highly networked nonprofit professor, researcher, consultant, and trainer passionate about nonprofit capacity building and talent development. She has served as a nonprofit professor and academic program director for over ten years and a nonprofit leader for over 20 years. She serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research at LSU Shreveport. INAR’s mission is to conduct research and disseminate knowledge about nonprofit organizations. It has three programmatic areas: academics, professional development, and research.

She has published numerous academic journal articles and books. She previously served as co-editor and chief of the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership and was on the board of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council, the national accrediting body for nonprofit academic degree programs from 2017-2023. In 2022, the Nonprofit Times selected Dr. Carpenter as a Top 50 Power and Influence Nonprofit Leader.

Dr. Carpenter is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, active in the Downtown Shreveport Rotary Club, and serves on the advisory committee for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. She was recently named to the Volunteer Louisiana Commission by the Governor. This state service commission has a mission to "Strengthen Louisiana communities through volunteerism and national service."

She earned her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies with an emphasis on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership from the University of San Diego and a Master of Management in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois. Her husband is a Navy Veteran and Captain at Spirit Airlines, and they have a 13-year-old daughter.