
LEADERSHIP
V A L L Y K O V A R Y
Vally Kovary, Founder/Retired, is a management consultant specializing in strategic management and organizational development. Vally earned a master's degree in business (MBA) and a master's in international studies (MA) concurrently as a member of the pioneer class of The Wharton School's Lauder Institute for International Management, at the University of Pennsylvania. She brings to the practice more than 40 years of service to the private and non-profit sectors in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and former Soviet Union.
Vally has extensive experience in building new organizations and strengthening established ones. While at Cornell University, as part of a $1.5 billion campaign, she led one of its top six priorities, a $60 million campaign for the 19 libraries, the largest research library campaign in the nation by a factor of two. As executive director of Cornell's 3,500-member Jewish community, she helped transform Jewish life on campus. She currently consults with institutions in higher education and with national, international, and community-based organizations.
Interested in the interaction of business, community development, and education, Vally served as a consultant with Interact, a consulting practice specializing in long-range strategic planning for Fortune 100 companies.
While at Wharton, she was a teaching assistant for graduate classes in organizational behavior, and she served as a consultant to an independent think tank specializing in long-range planning for the economic development of Peru. She also represented her class consulting with a joint-venture company abroad seeking to penetrate U.S. computer education markets.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Cornell University and subsequently worked with the American Cancer Society and with Cornell University's annual fund, which she helped to double in size. Listed in International Who's Who of Professional & Business Women, she frequently speaks on Managing in Turbulent Times: A Systemic Approach, and Market-Driven Growth Strategies for Non-profit Organizations.
Vally's commitment to the non-profit sector has included serving on numerous boards of directors, including those of Planned Parenthood, and Project Kesher, an international women's organization operating in the former Soviet Union. She speaks Hebrew and has also studied Spanish and German. She is especially passionate about helping non-profits build their capacity, and about education, collaborative community development, and human rights. She participated in the Cayuga Role Players, an interactive theater troupe, and scuba dives around the world.