Penn CLO graduate unites passions for teaching and advocacy
Dr. Lilian Ajayi Ore
As a veteran digital marketer, data scientist, and nonprofit executive, Lilian Ajayi Ore understands how to inform and empower brands and individuals. Her experience at Penn GSE helped her translate that expertise into academic and thought leadership.
Ore earned her master’s and doctorate in 2020 through Penn GSE’s Penn Chief Learning Officer (Penn CLO) program, an executive doctoral program for business, nonprofit, learning, and talent development leaders. She shared that the program unified her passions for data, marketing, philanthropy, and education.
“I felt that mastering and truly understanding the practitioner–scholar approach to teaching was something I needed to embrace and learn,” said Ore, a self-described lifelong learner.
The Penn CLO program is organized around key areas: leadership, technology, business, learning, evidence-based research, and organizational effectiveness. For Ore, this framework aligned with her consulting, education, and nonprofit work.
A native of Nigeria, Ore grew up advocating for underserved communities. After graduating from Harvard University, she joined the United Nations Nigeria as a socioeconomic policy advisor. She negotiated critical global partnerships and diplomatic efforts, addressing issues from deforestation to women’s and indigenous rights and debt cancellation.
The work inspired her to dig deeper into decision-making and businesses’ impact on consumers and society. While Ore built a successful career working with Fortune 100 and 500 companies in data science and digital marketing, she wanted to revive her advocacy work. This led her to establish the Global Connections for Women Foundation, an award-winning international nonprofit dedicated to gender equity, entrepreneurship, and empowering youth and women. She has also partnered with UN Women, the Clinton Foundation, and other organizations.
Ore’s passion and dedication to knowledge-sharing propelled her into frequent speaking engagements at conferences and industry gatherings. Her expertise and advocacy work have earned her several distinctions, including the U.S. President’s Gold Service Volunteer Award, a DEI trailblazer award, and recognition as a top 50 leadership and development executive.
Ore’s aspirations evolved while teaching in graduate programs. She committed to deepening her expertise — mainly through the practitioner–scholar perspective — to infuse her teaching with academic rigor and practical insight.
The Penn CLO program provided that opportunity. While balancing school with full-time work, Ore traveled regularly to Philadelphia, where she built deep connections with her cohort and fully immersed herself in the program’s rich content. She gained invaluable insights from faculty, industry executives, and field practitioner–scholars.
As a data scientist and business strategist, Ore was particularly inspired by the research block taught by one of her favorite faculty, Professor Sharon Ravitch. The emphasis on evidence-based writing and research allowed her to refine her ability to craft persuasive statements, develop research inquiries and protocols, and substantiate her ideas with data-driven insights and rigorous research — critical skills in both academic and business contexts.
Ore said the program’s “practitioner–scholar approach” is significant. “You could immediately apply what you learned in the classroom to both teaching and business,” she said.
Ore completed her degree in three years, focusing her dissertation on teaching prowess and pedagogical effectiveness. Her research explored how adjunct faculty can teach and communicate ideas more effectively, emphasizing “teaching prowess,” classroom management, storytelling, and experiential learning.
This concept is central to Ore’s upcoming book, The Power of Learning (Wiley), scheduled for release in November 2025. In the book, she provides tips, assessments, and reflective exercises designed to help leaders and educators become more effective in their personal and professional lives.
The Penn CLO program continues to influence Ore’s teaching and advocacy today. She is a lecturer and research scholar at Columbia University School of Professional Studies, where she teaches digital communication strategy and digital media and analytics. Ore was the first Penn CLO alum to be appointed associate academic director of the learning block of her doctorate program. She also serves on the alumni advisory board and appeared on an episode of The Practitioner–Scholar: The PennCLO Podcast.
“The program is designed for executives who want to create an impact on the world,” she said. “I strive to be transformative in my work with clients, organizations, and my students.”
