Faculty Directory | Tensie Whelan

Tensie Whelan (NYU ‘80), Distinguished Professor of Practice Emerita, was the Founding Director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. She now serves as Senior Advisor to CSB, where she is bringing her 35 years of experience working on local, national and international sustainability issues to engage businesses and investors in proactive and innovative mainstreaming of sustainability.

As President of the Rainforest Alliance, she built the organization from a $4.5 million to $50 million budget, transforming the engagement of business with sustainability, recruiting 5,000 companies in more than 60 countries to work with Rainforest Alliance. Her previous work included serving as Executive Director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Vice President of the National Audubon Society, Managing Editor of Ambio, a journal of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and a journalist in Latin America.

Tensie has served on numerous nonprofit boards and currently serves on the advisory boards of Domtar, Edelman, Giant Ventures, and Nespresso and is an Advisor to MIT Sloan Management Review. Tensie holds a B.A. from New York University, an M.A. from American University, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Owner President Management (OPM) Program. She was awarded the Stern Faculty Excellence Award in 2020 and made Distinguished Professor of Practice in 2023 in recognition of her contributions to Stern.