Tracy Palandjian

Tracy Palandjian is CEO and Co-Founder of Social Finance, a national nonprofit and registered investment adviser that puts capital to work in new ways to expand economic opportunity.  

Founded in 2011 to help establish the Pay for Success field in the United States, Social Finance has since helped reshape how government, philanthropy, and private capital finance solutions to social challenges and manage for results. The organization has mobilized more than $500 million across initiatives to improve outcomes in education, workforce development, health, and housing, impacting people in all 50 states. It also launched the Social Finance Institute to advance the field through actionable research and educational outreach. 

Prior to Social Finance, Tracy was a Managing Director for eleven years at The Parthenon Group, where she established and led the Nonprofit Practice to support foundations and NGOs to accomplish their missions in the U.S. and globally. Tracy also worked at Wellington Management Company and McKinsey & Company. 

Tracy is a member of the Harvard Corporation and serves on the boards of The Barr Foundation and The Boston Foundation. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Tracy also co-founded the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, where she serves as Vice Chair. Previously, Tracy served as Board Chair of Facing History and Ourselves. She also served on the boards of The Surdna Foundation, RFK Human Rights, Milton Academy, and Mass General Brigham. She is a 2019 recipient of the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award and a 2026 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. 

A native of Hong Kong, Tracy is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. She graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. magna cum laude in Economics and holds an M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.