Educational background: Brown University, Government and English; Columbia University Teachers College, MAT, Secondary Education
Past position: New York City Department of Education, Special Assistant to the Chancellor
I came to MIT Sloan because I wanted to gain a different set of analytical skills and exposure to new ideas for leading transformational change in the public sector. After graduating from college, I joined Teach For America, a nonprofit organization that places and trains recent college graduates to teach students in under-resourced areas. Its goal is to help close the “achievement gap” between young, underprivileged students and their counterparts in affluent communities. I taught in the South Bronx, and saw first hand what it takes to significantly influence student academic achievement. After a few years, I moved to a management position within the organization, training new teachers, helping with recruiting and developing management policies. This led to an interesting opportunity to work directly with the chancellor of New York City's Department of Education, where I influenced policy impacting 1.1 million children. All of these experiences opened my eyes to the possibilities of making a difference — each at a different level. I decided to come to MIT Sloan to build my management and organizational skills so I can bridge the private and public sectors more fluidly and become effective at change management.
Now that I'm here, I wouldn't change a thing. In choosing MIT Sloan, I knew I'd be getting a very rigorous program and great quantitative and analytical training. That is something that has absolutely come true and is exactly what I was hoping for. What I didn't anticipate was how dynamic the coursework would be. My courses in Economic Analysis for Decisions and Data, Models, and Decisions were great. Their applicability was evident, and the professors were really strong. My Marketing Management course, which is considered a “must take” with this professor, was one of the best academic experiences I've ever had.
It's all-consuming being here, and the intellectual and academic brainpower is impressive. I wish I could get involved in everything and do it all, but unfortunately, you do have to prioritize when you're at MIT Sloan.
One of the things that drew me to MIT Sloan was how down to earth the people here are. I spoke with professors and alumni before applying and found everyone to be genuine and without pretense. Having worked in a politically charged environment previously, I found this refreshing and a priority for my business school experience. Additionally, the network of women in the class is incredibly inspiring and I look forward to fostering these relationships as time progresses. It impressed me that MIT Sloan seems to be a community of learning with a strong emphasis on making things better. That is exactly what I was looking for, which makes it a great fit for me.
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