Alumni Spotlight: Greg Oertel

Greg Oertel (M.A./MBA ’15) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

At the intersection of strategy, creativity, and generosity, Greg Oertel helps transform ideas into impact. A graduate of SMU’s dual Master of Arts and Master of Business Administration (M.A./MBA) program, Oertel now serves as Director of Philanthropic Services at Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), where he guides families, foundations, and corporations in creating meaningful, strategic giving initiatives that shape communities for the better.

“My time at Meadows helped me bridge my love for the arts with a desire to make a meaningful impact,” he says. “The program gave me the vocabulary, tools, and confidence to think strategically about how arts and culture intersect with philanthropy, community development and equity.”

At CFT, Oertel describes his role as that of a “meaningful giving guide.” He leads a team of philanthropic professionals who help donors design thoughtful grantmaking programs and long-term giving plans, transforming generosity and great ideas into real impact.

Oertel volunteering at Harmony CDC, a Dallas-area nonprofit organization strengthening local communities.

Oertel developed a unique skillset in the M.A./MBA program that continues to serve him daily in these tasks, combining the creativity of the arts with the analytical rigor of business. With the ability to take an interdisciplinary path in his education, Oertel did not have to choose between the two areas of study.

“The ability to hold both the artistic and business sides of a problem at once has been a superpower in my work,” he explains. “Whether it’s creating a new grantmaking process, advising a donor, or designing a program from scratch, I rely on what I learned at Meadows to turn creative concepts into real, operational systems that get things done.”

Oertel also credits Meadows with shaping his professional trajectory, noting that every job he’s landed since graduating in 2015 was secured through his Meadows network. Many of his job opportunities came from the people he met through his program and the ability to keep an open mind when it came to career paths.

That strong sense of community continues to inform how Oertel leads his team at CFT, with creativity, curiosity and, above all, empathy.