With more than 13 years of experience in many aspects of nonprofit administration including strategic planning and management, meeting facilitation, and board development, Millesen's research focuses on making a strong link between theory and practice. She has produced practitioner-related reports on the strategic decision making behavior of community foundation boards, nonprofit capacity-building in the Pittsburgh region, the evaluation practices of nonprofits in New York and Ohio, and board motivation in Maine. Her published research has appeared in such journals as Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Quarterly, Public Integrity, and Voluntas. She has also provided consulting services to a number of public and nonprofit organizations.