
McKenna was president of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1985 to 2007. She served as under-secretary at the U.S. Department of Education and as a civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. From 2007 to 2011, McKenna was president of the Walmart Foundation. Most recently, she has been serving as a visiting professor and acting director of the Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
McKenna is a graduate of Emmanuel College in Boston, where she majored in sociology. She holds a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.


