Insight-Driven. Strategy-Focused. Built for Community.
About Wheeler Social Impact
We exist to help organizations design and execute strategies that improve conditions for communities.
Our Mission
Strategy that improves real conditions for real people.
Wheeler Social Impact LLC partners with public, philanthropic, and mission-driven organizations to build practical, data-informed strategies and the execution systems that make those strategies work in the real world.
Our work is grounded in equity. We recognize that the communities most in need of systemic change have historically been left out of the decisions that shape their lives. We center community voice, lived experience, and evidence throughout our process because the best strategies are built with people, not just for them.
Our Positioning
Wheeler Social Impact operates at the intersection of research, strategy, and execution. We help organizations discover root causes, design aligned strategies, and deploy execution systems that produce measurable, community-felt results.
Our Story
Founded to bridge the gap between strategy and impact.
Wheeler Social Impact LLC was founded by Roderick D.S. Wheeler following nearly two decades of direct work in grantmaking, nonprofit leadership, workforce development, and public-sector strategy. Having worked at institutions including The Indianapolis Foundation, Central Indiana Community Foundation, USA Funds, Strada Education Network, Indiana University Health, Grassroots Grantmakers, and LeadersUp, Roderick saw firsthand the divide that too often exists between philanthropic investment and meaningful community impact.
He launched Wheeler Social Impact in 2021 to bridge that divide offering organizations the analytical rigor, strategic clarity, and execution support they need to fulfill their missions. Since then, WSI has partnered with foundations, nonprofits, civic intermediaries, and government agencies across the country.
Our Core Values
The principles that guide everything we do.
Measurable Impact
We pursue outcomes, not activities. We work until real change is visible and verifiable.
Equity & Community Voice
We elevate stakeholder and community perspectives so those closest to the challenge shape the solutions.
Evidence-Driven Strategy
Every recommendation is grounded in data and rigorous analysis not assumptions or convenience.
Relentless Execution
We stay until the work sticks, building the systems and habits that turn plans into results.
Radical Transparency
We tell the truth with clarity and care, honoring the resources and trust given to us.
Partnership Over Transactions
We invest in relationships, over-produce on value, and empower clients long after the engagement ends.
Future-Focused Leadership
We prepare organizations for tomorrow helping leaders anticipate change, navigate uncertainty, and make decisions with foresight.
Our Leadership
Roderick D.S. Wheeler, MPA, MBA
President & Chief Strategy Officer
A strategic, visionary, and equity-driven leader, Roderick Wheeler brings more than 20 years of experience designing inclusive grantmaking strategies, high-impact partnerships, and talent development programs across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.
Roderick has directed multimillion-dollar community investment portfolios at the Central Indiana Community Foundation and Strada Education Network, led a national membership organization of place-based philanthropic institutions, and served as National Director of Impact at LeadersUp, where he produced landmark research on racial and economic equity. He is a published author whose work has shaped policy, informed investment strategy, and trained leaders at institutions across the country.
A native of Indianapolis and a U.S. Army veteran of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Roderick holds advanced degrees from Indiana University (MPA, BA) and Franklin University (MBA). He has also completed multiple executive education programs through Harvard University, including Strategy Execution, Disruptive Strategy, Sustainable Business Strategy, and the Credential of Readiness (CORe) - Harvard Business School Online's rigorous business fundamentals program integrating financial accounting, business analytics, and managerial economics to strengthen data-driven decision-making and strategic leadership.
Roderick founded Wheeler Social Impact around a simple conviction: the greatest gap in the social sector is not the quality of plans — it is the discipline of executing them.
Education & Professional Development
Credentials & Academic Affiliations
Academic Degrees
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Franklin University / U.S. Army — Human Resource Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Master of Public Affairs (MPA)
Indiana University, Bloomington — Nonprofit Management & Urban Studies
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Indiana University, Bloomington — Sociology & African American Studies, Minor: Public Policy
Executive Education — Harvard University
Credential of Readiness (CORe)
Certificate of Specialization in Strategy
Sustainable Business Strategy
Disruptive Strategy
Strategy Execution
Nonprofit Financial Stewardship — Harvard Kennedy School
Education Grantmakers Institute (2011, 2014) — Harvard Graduate School of Education
Academic Affiliations
Let's Build Something That Lasts
Ready to move from insight to impact?
We partner with a select number of organizations at a time. Start with a free 30-minute strategy conversation.