Madelyn Wisne
Madelyn Wisne is a nonprofit executive and philanthropic leader serving as Program Director and Vice President of the Toni A. Wisne Foundation, a private family foundation created by her late aunt, a hospitality industry leader who passed away in 2013. After approximately two years of legal and organizational setup, Madelyn formally joined the foundation in 2018 as a Program Officer and advanced to the Board of Directors in 2020, where she now serves as Vice President of a five-member board. In this role, she helps guide the foundation’s mission and strategic direction, focusing its giving across four core areas: health, education, Detroit veterans, and animal welfare.
Her career path blends corporate communications, events, and philanthropy. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Miami University in 2012, she worked in events, public relations, and media, including roles with a Detroit-based magazine and General Motors. These experiences strengthened her expertise in relationship-building, networking, and organizational coordination skills that later proved essential when she transitioned into philanthropic leadership. She did not initially plan to enter the nonprofit sector, but the opportunity to join the family foundation ultimately shaped her long-term professional direction.
Beyond her foundation work, Madelyn is active in civic leadership across Southeast Michigan. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Detroit Institute of Arts through the Founders Junior Council, supporting fundraising and engagement initiatives that connect young professionals to the arts. She also previously served on the board of the Michigan Opera Theatre for nearly nine years, stepping down last year, and continues to serve on additional volunteer boards focused on community impact. Her work regularly involves collaborating with nonprofit partners, attending site visits and fundraising events throughout the region, and building strong relationships with organizations to ensure meaningful, hands-on philanthropic investment rather than transactional giving.
• Miami University - BA, Speech Interpersonal Communication and Rhetoric
• Three State Rings for Lacrosse at Sacred Heart
• Detroit Institute of Arts Board
• Michigan Opera Theatre Board (served approximately 9 years until 2025)
• Detroit Institute of Arts
• Michigan Opera Theatre (approximately 9 years)
• Private Family Foundation focused on Health
• Michigan Humane
• Corewell Health
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a commitment to continuous learning and approaching new experiences with a beginner’s mindset, especially in the philanthropic field. This work cannot be fully learned in a classroom it requires hands-on experience, adaptability, and a willingness to grow. Early on, I focused on being a sponge, and over time I came to value the deeply collaborative nature of this sector, where success is built on partnership rather than competition. I’ve also been fortunate to learn from mentors like Steve Davis and Steve Lebowski, who taught me the importance of listening, understanding board dynamics, and leading with intention. Ultimately, my success comes from recognizing that this work is about meaningful relationships, shared purpose, and a genuine commitment to the communities and organizations we serve.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received came from Steve Lebowski, one of my mentors on our board. He told me that sometimes it's okay just to listen - to feel your surroundings out and go from there. As a woman, sometimes you don't want to be muted or silenced, and of course if I have questions, I have questions. But at that age in that field, I think we all were figuring it out at the same time. We were able to take a breath and take a seat to really recognize what these organizations are all about, and not just think about it in the financial way, but really think about it in the passionate way. Being a sponge and really listening, especially in the boardroom when you're surrounded by people you haven't worked with yet, was so important. I'd also like to add that I'm doing this for my late Aunt Tony.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is adapting to the unique needs of each organization we support. Even within our four focus areas health, education, Detroit veterans, and animal welfare every 501(c)(3) operates differently, which makes it important to tailor our support carefully. It can also be difficult to have conversations about saying no or adjusting funding expectations, especially when prior commitments cannot be met. The pandemic added another layer of complexity, as we shifted to emergency grants and later worked to better understand evolving needs, often focusing more on program-specific rather than operational support. Despite these challenges, strong relationships and ongoing communication with our partner organizations make the work both meaningful and impactful.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say valuing the partnerships and the people that you meet, and the people that you shake hands with. Valuing everyone's side of the story is so important to me. Absolutely treating everyone with that respect and care, and ensuring that within our field - I've been trying to really break through a lot of the old-school Private Family Foundation work, because sometimes it is just writing a check. I think that it's really very beneficial for not only our team, but truly for the other organization to know that we are here for them, not just because of money, and because we have to give that away. It's because we actually care about what they're doing, and what their passion is, and what the organization is all about.