Program This Week:
Dr. Whitney Strauss
“Dallas-Dallas County Food Plan”
Dr. Whitney Strauss is a trusted advisor, strategist, and speaker dedicated to helping organizations align people, purpose, and performance for lasting, systemic change. Her work centers on embedding human-centered leadership into strategy, culture, and community impact.
She is the Founder of Strauss Marcus Group, a consultancy partnering with socially responsible organizations – particularly in education, philanthropy, and community systems – to strengthen leadership, organizational culture, and execution. Through this work, she helps organizations navigate complexity, scale impact, and translate values into how work actually gets done.
Dr. Strauss currently serves as Executive Director of the AdvoCare Foundation, where she built an equity-centered grantmaking model focused on improving health and well-being outcomes for children and families. She also serves as Project Lead for the Dallas-Dallas County Food Plan Collaborative, guiding the development of a comprehensive, long-term strategy to strengthen the local food system. In addition, she is Senior Counsel at Sunwest Communications, advising on philanthropic strategy, and frequently lectures at Southern Methodist University (SMU).
Her professional background includes senior leadership roles at March of Dimes, Greenhill School, Lockheed Martin, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and the U.S. Department of Education, spanning philanthropy, education, public policy, and civic engagement.
Dr. Strauss holds a Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies (Behavioral Science and Human Rights) from SMU, with research focused on community-driven food systems and food insecurity. She holds EQ-i 2.0 certification and is an advisor with the International Association for Sustainable Economy.
She currently serves on several nonprofit and civic boards, including the Turtle Creek Chorale, TACA, the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, and the Global Advisory Board of Asante Africa Foundation.
Dr. Strauss is also a published, award-winning children's book author and lives in Dallas with her husband and her two sons.
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