Donnell Butler *09 SOC
Analytical, Future-focused, Research-driven
Founder and President, Prelude
Donnell Butler is the founder and president of Prelude, a nonprofit organization that accelerates economic mobility through career-connected education and work-based learning opportunities for youth from under-resourced communities. Butler is a proud first-generation and maximum-Pell-grant college student from the South Bronx who earned his B.A. in business administration and sociology from Franklin & Marshall College and his Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University. With more than 20 years of research and practice experience, he has worked to implement and promote evidence-based practices that improve college and career outcomes for students from under-resourced and marginalized communities. From 2012 to 2019, he returned to Franklin & Marshall College as a dean, where he co-led the Next Generation Initiative, resulting in 3-4x increases in students of color and Pell grant recipients enrolled and graduated. His past clients and employers include the U.S. Department of Education, Educational Testing Service and Princeton University. He serves on the board of Relay Graduate School of Education and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.