2023
Nonprofit & Public Management
Margaux Alfare, ’23CLA, served as a climate policy fellow with the 5BORO Institute, a startup nonprofit think tank advancing innovative policy ideas for New York City. As a fellow, Margaux played a significant role in developing and shaping the climate program during its early stages. Margaux supported the development of reports, briefs, and other policy proposals related to climate issues, including green workforce development, building decarbonization, and sustainable transportation. This fellowship provided Margaux with hands-on experience in advancing climate policy at the municipal level.
Lauren Stockmon Brown, ’27GSAS, continued her research and teaching for the New Community Project. Together, they created transformational learning environments that erased the barriers between classrooms, cost, and zip codes.
Reed Cantrell, ’25BC, interned with the Remedy Project, a nonprofit that unites formerly incarcerated advocate mentors and university students to write administrative remedies, the only official recourse available to people incarcerated in the US federal prison system. Reed integrated the organization's case management system with new software in order to optimize communication and create a faster response system to help more people. Additionally, they wrote and filed remedies on behalf of people facing issues including medical neglect, officer abuse, and religious discrimination.
Bruce Grant ’24 interned with Change All Souls Housing Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the cause of affordable housing within the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. Bruce assumed a leadership role in the due diligence activities to establish a property development agreement in collaboration with the tenant's association. The organization had already provided the capital for the acquisition deposit of the property, and Bruce spearheaded efforts to renegotiate the purchase price with the seller. Additionally, Bruce provided valuable assistance in conducting financial analyses and engaging in negotiations concerning permanent loans.
Priyanka Kohli, ’24PH, interned with Blue Ridge Labs @Robin Hood Foundation to support their flagship program, the Fellowship, a unique program that develops tech-based, community-driven solutions to address real-world problems of people experiencing poverty. Priyanka’s primary role was to support idea-stage ventures for social impact, focused on health for children experiencing poverty in New York City. She enabled early-stage startup teams by co-developing user research plans and collaborating on product and business model development. Priyanka also proposed program changes for the fellowship to improve outcomes and sustain its unique focus on community-centered design.
Fukunda Mbaru, ’24BUS ’24GSAPP, interned at the Brooklyn Museum, an organization that aims to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act. As a summer strategy associate, one of Fukunda’s key roles was to create a cross divisional capital project financing management strategy and model to evaluate and support future capital projects at the Brooklyn Museum. He also worked on developing robust internal financial reporting dashboards for the museum’s leadership.
Antonio Monaco d'Arianello ’24 supported POLIMI GSOM Graduate School of Business in the organization of the fourth edition of "POLIMI GSOM Business Game," an event made by students for students. Born from the experience of a group of students who participated in similar events across Europe, "POLIMI GSOM Business Game" is one of the flagship events organized by the business school that aims at bridging talented students with the corporate world. As a project leader, Antonio supported the international business competition with the ultimate goal of creating an unparalleled occasion for international students to network and approach the corporate world.
Katherine Mora, ’25CC, interned with the Brave House, a nonprofit that fosters community for young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth and provides support through legal, holistic, and wellness services. She worked in the growth department, aiming to expand the organization’s presence in social and financial areas. She advanced growth through researching and applying for a goal of 10 grants and organized the grant internal systems. She also developed existing partnerships with other organizations with aligned missions and focused on growing their newsletter following and increasing its accessibility. Katherine’s work strengthened the resources needed to support the immigrant community.
Chrisa Ramoundos ’24 interned at Grapevine, an organization that promotes and scales the giving circle movement to democratize and diversify philanthropy. Grapevine achieves this by supporting community-led giving circles across the country and by launching and building local capacity to manage new circles in communities and around causes where they don't yet exist. As a growth, data, and strategy MBA intern, Chrisa was responsible for analyzing Grapevine's current growth and developing plans for expansion through research and strategic assessment.
Yael Rein ’24 interned at the Brooklyn Museum as a summer associate for the office of the president. The museum is developing a new operating model for what it means to be a museum today, and Yael worked on various projects that focused on creating a detailed strategy and roadmap. She embraced cross-functional perspectives in analysis and worked on strategic projects such as conducting an ROI analysis for current programs and proposed a strategy for updated pricing.
Gavin Scott, ’25CC, meticulously worked with the History Co:Lab with their project UnTextbooked, bringing history's full power to young people with intergenerational conversations and real historical perspectives, helping them find answers to their big questions in a way that most textbooks fail to do. Gavin was responsible for conducting interviews with renowned historians and changemakers, while also establishing and cultivating relationships with other experts in the field. Additionally, he oversaw the development of engaging content and programming for the podcast, using his expertise in history to ensure informative and thought-provoking discussions.
Daniel Shailer, ’23JRN, interned at the Tucson Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit digital newsroom delivering local watchdog journalism to the people of Southern Arizona. Daniel grew his skills as a news reporter, while also building on his investigative and data training to uncover how climate change is affecting migrant communities in borderland “Colonias.”
Julie Souza, ’23CC, interned with Climate Mental Health Network, a nonprofit that urgently addresses the mental health impacts of the climate crisis through education, community engagement, and by harnessing the power of media and technology. Her work included project managing various events such as "Climate Over Dinner, Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories Film Screenings," and the launch of the Heartbeat of Home Sound Meditation podcast. She also oversaw the entire project lifecycle of her own zine collaboration with the Green Zine on Courage for Climate Change.
Imogen McNamara ’23JRN, interned with THE CITY, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital news platform that aims to serve the people of New York. Imogen grew her passion for neighborhood reporting and local news. A central part of Imogen’s work was developing the relationships between THE CITY and members of communities across the five boroughs. Imogen helped to grow THE CITY’S audience touch points and partnerships with external organizations. Imogen contributed to the development of THE CITY’s listening program and drew out stories from community listening sessions.
Social Entrepreneurship
Paolo Bitanga ’23 interned with Opal, a safety wearables startup with a mission to make people feel safe and beautiful at the same time. Paolo led content strategy by creating a media asset library and managing a social media calendar. He also set up meetings with press to promote the founders and product, assisted with customer research, and drafted business materials for investors.
Alana Blaylock ’24 interned at Level, an impact investing startup and Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member aimed at funding Black female entrepreneurs. As a business development intern, Alana focused on building out Level’s strategic partnerships and B2B vertical. The organization’s mission seeks to close the racial wealth gap for a group that has historically faced systemic barriers in the business world. As a Black woman herself, she felt very fulfilled and proud operating within Level's investment thesis. Knowing that her efforts were instrumental in making strides towards creating opportunities for an underrepresented minority was a source of great satisfaction and motivation.
Guillermo Campos ’24 interned at PollyLabs, a startup and venture studio building purpose-driven companies addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges. Guillermo worked at both the portfolio-level, to help develop the due diligence and methodology approach for ventures, and at the venture-level, exploring projects in the area of financial inclusion. Based on the foundations Guillermo laid, the PollyLabs team will be able to incubate, seed, finance, and spin out 15 to 20 startups that will tackle major societal problems using cutting-edge technology provided by leading startup companies in the next five years.
Martin Clark ’24 interned with PollyLabs, a startup and venture studio building purpose-driven companies addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges. It aims to build impact startups using existing, world-class technology to address the unmet needs of underserved individuals and organizations, while delivering outstanding financial and societal returns. Martin’s project supported the organization by establishing an ecosystem and partnership strategy, identifying key stakeholders within the impact tech ecosystem, spearheading fundraising efforts, and leading venture incubation (opportunity exploration, validation, and prototyping) within the care economy.
Isabella Eisenhart, ’24PH, interned with the Emotional PPE Project, a nonprofit focused on advocating for health care workers and reducing stigma related to mental health care. By providing free and confidential mental health services and publishing research related to current barriers within the industry, the Emotional PPE Project is championing the mental health of health care workers across the United States following COVID-19. Isabella led project management, digital content development, and policy research initiatives to increase engagement and improve strategies for engaging with volunteers, donors, and policymakers.
As a business development and customer discovery intern at MOBY, Sydney Ellis, ’24SPS, was excited to apply her passion for entrepreneurship and sustainable solutions to driving growth for the organization. Her strong communication skills enabled her to effectively collaborate with cross-functional partners and present findings and recommendations to the MOBY team. Additionally, as a SUMA student, she learned from MOBY's human-centered design approach and gained valuable skills in scaling sustainable businesses through both marketing and product development. She also delivered comprehensive reports that outlined insights and future strategies to drive growth and acquire new customers.
Carolin Gottweis ’24 interned with the impact venture capital firm Ananda in Munich, Germany. Ananda backs European impact startups with a focus on health care, sustainability, equality, and education. Carolin was responsible for identifying attractive early-stage investment targets, assisting in the commercial and financial due diligence of potential investments, performing impact evaluations of existing and potential portfolio companies, and composing industry dossiers on major market trends.
Danielle Greirson ’23 interned at Level, an impact investing startup and Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member aimed at funding Black female entrepreneurs. Danielle's project objectives as a sales/recruiting and operations intern included identifying high-potential targets and executing strategies to recruit new members to Level. She also helped streamline operational processes and develop a fall 2023 recruiting strategy with KPIs and experiments. Through her internship, Danielle hopes to further her personal and professional goals while contributing to Level's mission of addressing racial equity in entrepreneurship.
Hudson Hoyle, ’23BUS ’24SIPA, served as president of Columbia Business School's student-led impact investing fund, Microlumbia, for the 2022-2023 academic year. As a fellow, Hudson continued advancing several strategic initiatives for the fund. He was tasked with producing a holistic assessment of the fund's operations, finalizing a climate investment thesis to expand the fund's investment mandate, and executing operational improvements to position Microlumbia for future growth.
Nicholas John, ’24PH, interned at KRIASH as a research coordinator. The goal of KRIASH is to develop a continuous vital monitoring device to promote and improve kangaroo mother care (KMC), or skin to skin contact care. Nicholas wrote a literature review and policy memo regarding KMC implementation in hospitals, highlighting the barriers KMC currently faces within NICU, and how health care outcomes of mothers and babies will benefit from improvements in implementation of KMC. He also developed a study design of a pilot program for the medical device.
Dana Lerner ’23 interned with Infinite Goods, a sustainable fashion startup founded by Aileen Lee ’23, that aims to revolutionize the fashion industry by committing to sustainable practices, better labor conditions, and a more circular future. Dana headed the marketing team to establish their marketing strategy to increase their presence both online and offline to expand their reach and grow their consumer base.
Hannah Lindstrom ’24 interned with Acumen, a nonprofit impact investment fund focused on investing in social enterprises that help the world’s most impoverished communities out of poverty. Hannah's responsibilities included creating an internal overview of Acumen’s pioneer investments and conducting an in-depth analysis into market access for smallholder farmers.
Anissa Lozano, ’24PH, interned with Okayso, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member whose mission is to provides teens with barrier-removing access to trained health experts they couldn’t reach any other way using innovative technology, pairing young adults with trained experts through a secure and confidential free app accessible on all smartphones, and connecting teens with partner agencies who can provide additional support where they live. Anissa developed a social media strategy to reach young people with sexual health information, including content creation, creating a curriculum for youth workers, conducting a literature review, and data analysis.
Maggie Monahan ’24 interned with GoodLight Capital, a venture capital firm investing in high-growth technology companies that confront the most critical challenges of our time. The firm aims to be a model of regenerative investing and to invest in companies with underrepresented founders. As an executive fellow, Maggie provided chief of staff-style support to the founder and managing partner on capital raising, investor relations, and portfolio company management. She also conducted due diligence processes for potential portfolio companies working on the energy transition in hard infrastructure.
Melissa Moran, ’25GS, worked with Puberry.org, an edtech puberty curriculum that revolutionizes how youth learn about their health. She developed a marketing mix to help drive the discovery of Puberry on social media platforms; ensured the site included important information necessary for site visitors to take action; and ensured the site flow was user-friendly, welcoming, and educational. She also guided engineers on code implementation for inside tracking and led the team in developing strategy around where to post and what type of content to post.
Thu Tra Pham, ’23SPS, was a data analyst intern at Endear. Endear is developing an AI-based voice-recognition chatbot designed explicitly for people who need mental health support. Thu trained and supervised learning models and helped Endear prove the concept of automating a few human-machine conversational interactions following standard practices in the mental health industry.
Chankrit Sethi ’23 worked on the launch of Startup Works, a new pilot six-workshop series for the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. This series is aimed at fostering justice-impacted and diverse team formation to develop new startups. This complements the center's existing ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP) and leveraged Justice Through Code, Columbia University’s and reentry partners’ networks aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals.
Shatakshi Singhania '23 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Thimble, a healthcare startup founded to alleviate needle pain and foster a more compassionate health care environment. Her project involved creating a comprehensive go-to-market strategy, including detailed pricing and quantity analysis. Furthermore, she leveraged the skills acquired in her MBA to refine the financial model and pitch deck. Shatakshi also spearheaded the analysis of data derived from the product's soft launch over the summer.
Jason Jiasheng Wang, ’24SIPA, interned with Regeneration Enterprise, a startup focused on remining and restoration public benefit corporation designed to remediate the environmental impacts of historic and present mining activities at legacy and abandoned mine sites. Jason led a large-scale strategic market analysis project, including a report to senior management and a presentation on key findings to Regeneration's team. He also supported the development of aspects of Regeneration's business plan and data room, as well as various business administration and operational activities.
Mike Witous ’23 interned with the School's student-led impact investing fund, Microlumbia, where he built educational resources for investment operations. He also collaborated with student leaders and board members to further investments in promising startups worldwide that promote financial inclusion.
Anna Yamazaki ’24 interned with the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change to support the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures (TFSV). Anna contributed to building the social venture advisory network, facilitating the matching of venture leaders and advisors, and creating a comprehensive and searchable list of resources in support of the pipeline.
Yunxi Yang, ’24PH, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Thimble, a healthcare startup founded to alleviate needle pain and foster a more compassionate health care environment. Her project involved leveraging her expertise in biostatistics and data analytics to design impactful solutions for both business and public health. Yunxi spearheaded the design and implementation of survey and surveillance tools to gather customer feedback on Recover Patch and extracted actionable insights from complex data through comprehensive analyses. She also worked under the supervision of the CEO to identify non-dilutive funding opportunities and assess the public health impact of the product.
Shirley Ye ’23 interned with Opal, a safety wearables startup with a mission to make people feel safe and beautiful at the same time. Shirley led product management/strategy and digital marketing to grow user adoption ahead of product launches. Shirley mapped out user profiles and journeys, built out data visualization dashboards, secured partnerships with nonprofits and brand ambassadors, created and published both written and visual content, identified PR contacts, prepared press releases, organized pop-ups, and created and executed an SEO strategy.
International Development
Asher Dayanim, ’24GS, worked at the NGO Tajrupt, an organization that seeks to upend Tajikistan’s development trajectory through educational programs, AI youth hubs, and social impact projects. After taking intermediate Persian and economics courses, Asher conducted seminar style courses in economics and entrepreneurship and helped develop strategies to monetize the curriculum.
Adham Elkady, ’24CSSW, worked in Mexico City with INTRARE, a social venture that facilitates socio economic inclusion, focusing on social integration and job placement for refugees, LGBTQI+, women, people with disabilities, elderly, and indigenous communities. In his role as user success project manager, Adham established strategies to empower the population served. He developed customized training modules specific to each group, andprovided training to staff on using transparent communication and building trust. In addition, Adham provided consultation and feedback on the organization’s training platform to ensure population empowerment using trauma informed and strength-based approaches.
Paolo Farfaletti Casali ’24 and Giacomo Hopf ’24 interned with Italia Nostra Arcipelago Toscano (AT), an Italian nonprofit whose mission is to protect and valorize the Italian environment and its cultural heritage. There is increasing urgency to protect and revitalize specific Italian areas, which is crucial for the Italian and Mediterranean environment, like the AT. Increasing threats have emerged, driven by increasing globalization, unsustainable consumption, and the global energy crisis. Their project aimed at analyzing the AT’s current situation and threats, and identifying solutions for the creation of a more sustainable future.
Giacomo Ferrari ’24 interned with Il Lago di Pane, a nonprofit in Parma, Italy that aims to foster the inclusion of under-privileged children and marginalized families through family residential experiences, as well as collective daily laboratories. Over the years, the nonprofit has helped more than 100 children, but external factors, such as inflation, pose threats to their business model. Giacomo helped them define their future evolution by identifying a new effective business model and developing a business plan.
Kristen Folkerts, ’24CSSW ’24SIPA, interned with the Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Center (CPDC), a nonprofit that advocates for the reunification of the island of Cyprus via a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal state based on the political equality of all individuals regardless of ethnic, racial, or linguistic background. Kristen conducted a research project to supplement CPDC advocacy efforts, interviewing citizens, UN peacekeeping forces, civil society organizations, government staff, and private sector individuals on the perceived successes and failures of previous peacebuilding efforts. Ultimately, the goal of this effort is to supplement peace strategies in the future as well as to help stakeholders avoid the blame game, which serves as a distraction to constructive dialogue.
Ying-Jou (Tiara) Huang, ’24SIPA, supported the systems-change training program of the Ayni Local Innovators Program, an initiative co-led by Ashoka, the Local Innovation Network (Argentina), the Social Innovation CoLab (Chile), and Via Educacion (Mexico). As a summer intern, Tiara researched systems-change strategies and tools in order to refine the Ayni collaborative systems-change methodology. She worked closely with teams of social entrepreneurs and local government leaders to develop best practice cases, including researching subject areas, interviewing entrepreneurs, and writing and editing projects.
Robin Kim, ’24PH, worked with Praava Health, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member located in Dhaka, Bangladesh that aims to provide comprehensive and affordable care to the growing middle class in Dhaka. As a public health intern, Robin assisted with the development of Praano, the company's planned mobile health application.
Mark Kovacs ’23 was an investment fellow at Beyond Capital Ventures (BCV), an emerging market impact VC that focuses on early-stage investments in East Africa and India. He supported the Nairobi-based team with the due diligence of new investment targets, as well as the support of current portfolio companies in East Africa. Mark introduced several new companies, as well as co-investors to the fund, which helped BCV reach its capital deployment targets for the year.
Geetika Malhotra, ’24SIPA, worked with Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a pioneer in the impact investing movement and a global leader in sustainability. Its mission is to create one billion sustainable livelihoods by 2030 and to transform the financial system so that women, the environment, and underserved communities are given value and a voice in the global market. Geetika worked on various projects for the Women’s Livelihood Bond series, the first gender-lens impact investing security listed on a stock exchange and IIX’s new Orange Bond Initiative, the first asset class built by and for the Global South and the 99 percent, as a solution to financing gender equality.
Elisa Martinez, ’25BUS ’25SIPA, worked with Acumen Latin America. Acumen is a global nonprofit that invests in social enterprises and supports solutions to poverty in various regions around the world. Elisa worked on investments in Colombia and Peru benefiting communities that have suffered political, economic and social exclusion, such as small farmers, women heads of families, and afro-descendant and indigenous communities. She sourced and evaluated new investment opportunities, conducted due diligence on high potential opportunities, and prepared business analyses to present to the investment committee.
Andrea Palasciano ’23 interned with Eurasianet, an independent news organization based at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute. Eurasianet provides on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on the most important developments in Eurasia. Andrea assisted with editorial operations and wrote social and economic analysis pieces.
Miyu Tarumi ’24 interned at Accion International, a nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world. As an investment associate, Miyu worked with the global investment team to provide analytical support to investment officers on assessments of new investment opportunities, conducted market research on financial inclusion sector developments, and engaged in portfolio management support to investee companies.
Juliet Tochterman, ’22CC ’23CS, worked for the women-led nonprofit Filha do So on building community and ecological resilience in the Delta do Parnaiba of northeast Brazil. Juliet leveraged her scientific background in climate change, gained via her BA in environmental science at Columbia College, along with her understanding of policy, advocacy, and communication gained in her MA in climate and society, to work at the nexus of these disciplines and support the nonprofit in its mission of regenerating nature and restoring climate justice across the tropics.
Sustainability & CSR
Shashank Agrawal ’23 collaborated with Highland Electric Fleets, an industry leader in electrifying student transportation. With 330+ electric school buses and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) programs, they aim to make clean transportation accessible. Shashank's project involved data gathering and processing to develop strategic positioning for key products and features. He also provided essential support in process and project management for new product launches and expansion into different verticals. Additionally, Shashank collaborated with technical teams, contributing to the product roadmap, internal training, and successful product launches.
Daniel Bowman ’24 supported the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change with Professor Bruce Usher to build awareness and digital assets for climate-related course materials within the School and other business schools in the United States in order to accelerate the spread of teaching and courses on business and climate change.
José Campos Costa ’24 was a summer intern at ThirdWay Partners (TWP), an established impact investment and advisory firm focused on sustainability. José supported the Maputo-based corporate finance advisory business, which provides consulting services to impact-oriented firms and development agencies. José worked on multiple mandates, including a detailed review of portfolio assets held by an infrastructure development agency with projects in sub-Saharan Africa, taking into account current market conditions, setting up an exit road map for assets selected for exit, and identifying potential strategic buyers.
Max de Boer ’23 interned with the Climate Knowledge Initiative (CKI) within the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. CKI is an innovative online platform that maps the full landscape of emissions sources, abatement technologies, economic sectors, and policy scenarios, and then arms business leaders with the tools and research-backed insights to invest in implementing solutions whose long-term benefits outweigh their short-term costs. Max helped gather and filter up-to-date knowledge on climate for different sectors and made them presentable in such a way that they are easy to interpret.
Karl Greenfield, ’23CLA, interned with Fair Carbon, a nonprofit focused on norm-setting and standardization in blue carbon projects, as well as the voluntary marketplace for blue carbon credits. The potential benefits of blue carbon projects as equitable development mechanisms are undermined by the lack of regulation and presence of exploitative middlemen used for project verification and monitoring. During his internship, Karl developed a Mangrove biodiversity map, conducted a country-by-country analysis of policy conditions enabling blue carbon development, and studied wetland keystone species to provide guidance to states and international development organizations.
Hannah Gropper ’24 interned with Highland Electric Fleets, a climate tech startup with the mission of making electric fleets accessible and affordable for all. Highland works directly with school districts and municipalities to plan and implement electric school bus systems, directly reducing emissions and improving air quality and health. As a product marketing intern, Hannah focused on evaluating new products and verticals, as well as supporting product marketing by conducting competitive analyses, mapping customer journeys, and running focus group testing.
Mimi Khawsam-ang ’23 interned with the Climate Knowledge (CKI) Initiative within the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. CKI is an innovative online platform that maps the full landscape of emissions sources, abatement technologies, economic sectors, and policy scenarios, and then arms business leaders with the tools and research-backed insights to invest in implementing solutions whose long-term benefits outweigh their short-term costs. To assist with the CKI launch, Mimi synthesized research on key decarbonization technologies by sectors and conceptualized workshops for future implementation.
Caroline Kopf ’24 volunteered with the Ames Foundation, a nonprofit focused on biodiversity and nature conservation in South Africa that leverages technology and innovative approaches for its mission to conserve wildlife, protect biodiversity, and make Africa a safer place for wild animals. Caroline’s work was focused on analyzing how biodiversity can be measured and how Ames Foundation could leverage biodiversity credits for its goals. Caroline also worked to develop a strategic approach to this topic and to establish new ways that volunteers can support the foundation in the future.
Rebecca Liang ’24 joined SolarKal, an organization dedicated to making solar energy accessible, as a summer intern on the corporate development team. Rebecca worked closely with David Wei '19, the director of corporate development, and contributed to various projects, including corporate strategy, financial modeling, and product development. Her primary responsibility was to help design and develop the vision for SolarKal's services suite, with a focus on the next version of the SolarKalculator. By the end of the summer, Rebecca delivered a fully-fleshed out vision for the project, which will have a lasting impact on the organization.
Ella McAlister ’24 worked with White Oak Pastures, a pioneer in regenerative agriculture located in Bluffton, GA. Ella's internship involved working directly with managers on the farm practicing regenerative agriculture to carry out animal and farm duties that regenerate the landscape, support the local community, and stimulate the economy of the surrounding area.
MA Miller ’24 worked with EQX Biome, a mission-driven financial firm focused on protecting the world’s remaining biodiversity. They do this by leveraging financial markets and investors into planetary-scale conservation efforts, which are monetized through carbon and biodiversity credits. Profits are used to further protection efforts. MA's internship focused on supporting EQX Biome on investments by conducting financial analysis, due diligence, as well as preparing financial reports and investment proposals. She was also responsible for staying updated on finance, capital markets, and environmental market developments related to nature-based investments.
Mandy Mueller ’24 worked with the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change's climate curriculum project. She worked to catalog and categorize information on the climate curricula of schools in the Climate Consortium, develop a web presence for the Consortium, and develop and plan a “Climate Transition Accelerator” bootcamp.
Burak Ovali ’24 interned with Newlab, a company that addresses significant societal needs by scaling and commercializing emerging technologies and startups. Burak joined Waste-to-X Innovation Studio, an initiative centered on transforming waste streams into sustainable products in Puerto Rico. Burak explored strategies for environmental preservation by mitigating the negative impacts of waste, and fostering economic growth through the creation of new local markets and enhancement of tourism activities. He worked on detailing use cases, modeling financial feasibility, conducting stakeholder interviews, and assessing potential startups.
Yaneli Rubio ’23 worked with Infinite Goods, a sustainable fashion startup that aims to build the future of sustainable fashion, founded by Aileen Lee ’23. As lead of partnerships, Yaneli was responsible for launching a new fashion circularity program pilot, built a clothing repairs program with existing partners in the sustainable fashion space, and identified and secured new partnerships for growth.
Nicklaus Smith, ’23CC, worked for Cella Mineral Storage, Inc. as the policy and public engagement Intern. Cella is a carbon dioxide removal startup company focusing on geologic sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is vital to reduce atmospheric concentrations of CO2 in order to meet our climate goals. Nicklaus worked on developing the US pilot project's policy and community engagement strategy for future project deployment. He integrated his knowledge of climate science and environmental policy and built out the strategic roadmap for a CDR project to be permitted in the United States.
Sebastian Steiner, ’23SEAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plentify, a sustainable energy startup in Cape Town that aims to enable South Africans to switch to reliable and sustainable energy sources while minimizing utility bills by harnessing the power of AI and advanced grid technology. As a data science intern, Sebastian worked on data-driven projects to predict the impact of water heater load management on energy costs, detect anomalies in water heater performance, and make design decisions on prototypes of new products.
Peijin (Peter) Yang ’24 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plentify, a sustainable energy startup in Cape Town that aims to enable South Africans to switch to reliable and sustainable energy sources while minimizing utility bills by harnessing the power of AI and advanced grid technology. Peter mapped out potential market expansion, conducted segment analysis, and communicated with key stakeholders.
2022
Nonprofit & Public Management
Reed Cantrell, ’25BC; Godsy Philip, ’24BC; and Hannah Lin, ’23CC, interned with The Remedy Project, a nonprofit that unites formerly incarcerated advocate mentors and university students to write administrative remedies, the only official recourse available to people incarcerated in the US federal prison system. Reed wrote complex appeals to the Bureau of Prisons, communicated with incarcerated clients to address their cases, and revamped the organization’s case and mail management systems. Reed also participated in administrative strategy meetings and helped the organization grow sustainably. Godsy helped restructure the case management system to create a more robust case intake process. Hannah worked with the core administrative and case management team to develop improved strategies for case tracking and volunteer coordination. She also managed the client communication team, in contact with almost 400 clients daily, and improved the workflow between student volunteers and mentors. Hannah also wrote remedies regularly on behalf of clients nationwide.
Wilburt Carpenter ’23 interned with The Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit focused on creating a safer tech environment by reframing the insidious effects of digital technology, educating users on its underlying systems, and increasing the ability of global leaders to take action. Wilburt led project management, digital content development and distribution and policy research initiatives to increase engagement with the organization’s resources for technologists, educators, parents, and policymakers.
Leila Collins, ’22BUS ’22GSAPP, worked with the City of Oakland in the Mayor’s Office for the director of housing policy. Leila's project was to identify homeownership strategies for the City of Oakland by applying the skills she developed with both of her business and urban planning degrees. Leila researched home ownership solutions and housing preservation solutions for Oakland, which fits with the city’s larger mission of reducing displacement and increasing racial equity.
Rachel Curwin ’23 and Sophie Kimbal, ’22BUS ’22PH, interned with the Columbia University Irving Medical Center Neurological Surgery division. Rachel's primary role was to create a new venture philanthropy financial model to launch an orphan drug mega-fund via a private equity partner. The model, along with the Neuro Translational Research Hive that launched in May 2022, will be used to raise capital through both donations and private investments to fund research of novel drugs and devices. Rachel worked with internal and external teams to develop a strategy that will optimize the use of invested capital to hopefully reduce overall drug and device costs for patients in the future. Sophie worked with the director of programmatic advancement to launch a venture philanthropy fund dedicated to therapeutics for neurological and spine injuries and illnesses.
Shantel Destra, ’22JRN, interned with THE CITY, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital news platform dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York. As a proud New Yorker with a passion for reporting, Shantel made the city her oyster throughout the summer. She excelled in her passion for local reporting by connecting with communities, examining the impact of policy, and mining through data, and worked on a myriad of stories on various topics related to the Monkeypox outbreak and New York City's response.
Hudson Hoyle, ’23BUS ’24SIPA, supported the growth and development of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change’s Nonprofit Board Leadership Program (NBLP). As a summer fellow, Hudson oversaw the development of tools, templates, and processes to scale the program and refine its programming. He also worked with faculty to source and develop relationships with nonprofits across the city to serve as partners for student-led projects.
Nickolas Jimenez, ’25CC, interned at FLIP National, a nonprofit concerned with advocating for first-generation, low-income college students. As a finance fellow, Nick's contributions have brought in much-needed revenue into the organization by means of proposing grants, researching funding opportunities, and planning for the expansion of their operational budget.
Amrita Parekh ’23 worked at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit that partners with individuals, families, and institutions to help make philanthropy more thoughtful and effective. Amrita provided support towards developing thought leadership and guidance for donors new to certain issues and programmatic areas, as well as developing a strategic plan for learning communities that address areas of knowledge gaps for philanthropists.
Ignacio Ramirez ’23 was a summer associate at Godofredo Garabito y Gregorio Foundation, an institution that promotes Spanish culture and sponsors young talent. Ignacio drafted an executive pitch, launched a fundraising roadshow across Spain, and gained new sponsorships and donors to continue to finance the cause of the foundation. During his fellowship, Ignacio also suggested to the board of trustees innovative ideas for effective resource mobilization and long-term sustainability of the foundation.
Sakshi Shah, ’23SW, interned with Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL) International, a nonprofit based in New York and India that aims to expand its projects and influence towards positive youth-led change on a global platform. Sakshi supported TYCL International in research around social work in emerging technology and ethical considerations in the Indian context, evaluating and supporting the implementation of the Mobile Mental Health Clinic program and writing project proposals to raise funds. She also worked on preparing policy briefs and moderating and attending events at the United Nations to raise awareness around youth mental health.
Kristen Saldarini, ’23SIPA, supported the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change by reviewing and assisting with the Tamer Fund for Social Venture (TFSV) pipeline development process, raising the profile of five recently selected TFSV portfolio ventures, and benchmarking for the annual fund impact report. Kristen also produced editorial content consistent with the comprehensive social media strategy she developed previously for the center.
Jessie Swanseen ’23 interned with Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. Robin Hood supports low-income families by building and fueling the most impactful nonprofits across the city that are elevating people from poverty. During her internship, Jessie partnered with a number of senior Robin Hood staffers with primary emphasis on Robin Hood’s Grant Readiness and Insights and Training (GRIT) initiative. She prepared this year's program, vetted the most promising cohort. She also made longer-term improvements to course materials, built civic fabric across the nonprofit sector, and explored options to scale these efforts.
Social Entrepreneurship
Abby Friedel, ’23SW, and Gabriella Morace, ’23SW, interned with New Neighbors Partnership, a nonprofit that aids refugees, asylees, and asylum-seeking families in creating community connections with local New York City families who have slightly older kids and can pass on hand-me-down clothing donations as they resettle. During their internship, Abby developed a blueprint for outbound communications, created content and education campaigns, and developed strategies to improve the yearly impact report. Gabriella focused on making strategic partnerships with outside organizations, creating educational content, and ensuring culturally-competent communication with partner families.
Yiwei Hou, ’22SEAS, interned with Changing Room, a sustainable fashion startup that works towards helping fashion consumers to make eco-friendly decisions by providing transparency into the environmental and social impacts of their shopping choices and offering sustainable alternatives in a gamified marketplace. Yiwei worked under the supervision of the CTO to improve scalable web scrapers, conduct data transformation and standardization tasks, facilitate entity mapping procedures to support core scoring and recommendation algorithms, construct reliable schema and acquisition methodology for large-scale data, and deploy replicable images on cloud services to support Changing Room’s assets and rapid growth.
Olivier Izmery, ’22SEAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Folia Materials to develop and manufacture low-cost water filters and anti-viral face masks for consumers in both South Asia and the United States. Olivier conducted laboratory tests, analyzed data, and documented results on the relevant chemistry. He also assisted the R&D team with logistics, solution preparation, and data management on manufacturing trials.
Bryan Palma, ’23SEAS, was a chemical engineer summer intern at Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Folia Materials, a company dedicated to making a safer, cleaner, and healthier world with a patent-pending silver coating for paper that adds anti-viral, anti-microbial, and other advanced functionality to products for pennies. Bryan pursued his goal of gaining industry experience by performing bench-scale chemistry, which included conducting laboratory tests accurately and efficiently and communications within the team. He also assisted the R&D team on the production trials of their premier product.
Yiqun Yang, ’23SW, interned with Emma’s Torch to empower refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking through education and employment support in the culinary industry. This included work on bilingual assessments for refugees and immigrants from a trauma-informed lens, outreach to resources that are beneficial for individual development and growth, support for well-being through engagement, and classes on coping skills. Yiqun also developed a supportive anti-gender-based violence network for immigrant communities around New York.
International Development
Maurizio Caputo ’23 interned with Yezers, an Italian nonprofit startup, and advised on the development of the Zoagli municipality (Italy). As a project leader, he supported the local government in the design and implementation of initiatives for the reduction of plastic material within the municipality. During his project, he worked directly with local officials, developing standards to scale up the initiatives to other municipalities, and shared his professional experience to up-skill municipal employees in order to improve the sustainability of the initiative.
Tim Hauser, ’22BUS ’23PH, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Ilara Health, a Nairobi-based health company bringing accurate and affordable diagnostics to rural Africans through miniature, AI-powered diagnostic devices that are integrated via a proprietary technology platform and distributed directly to primary care doctors. Tim helped build out the commercial model to scale up Ilaria’s clinic-in-a-box model, a comprehensive bundle of diagnostic devices, medical equipment, drugs, software, and skilled labor for medical clinics in Kenya. This initiative is the basis of Ilara’s Series B campaign and of key strategic importance to its mission of disrupting Africa’s primary healthcare ecosystem.
Mark Kovacs ’23 was a summer associate at ThirdWay Partners (TWP), an established impact investment and advisory firm focused on sustainability. Mark supported the Maputo-based advisory business, which provides consulting and corporate finance services to impact-oriented corporate and development agencies. Besides working on several mandates across Sub Saharan Africa, Mark produced a thought leadership piece and provided training for the analyst pool of TWP.
Samah Malik, ’25DM, interned at Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Praava Health, a company focused on revolutionizing Bangladesh's outdated system of healthcare by providing quality healthcare that is focused on the patient experience. Under the guidance of its founder and CEO, Sylvana Sinha ’04LAW, Samah conducted research by monitoring and evaluating processes designed around patient-centricity and efficient healthcare delivery within the Praava network.
Archana Prabhakar, ’23SIPA, was a research intern at Leadership for Equity (LFE), a nonprofit systems-change organization based in India. LFE works in partnership with state education departments to co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve learning outcomes. Archana worked on the World Bank funded project 'Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation' with the primary responsibility of overseeing the design and implementation of a research study that focused on understanding teacher time-use during school hours. Additionally, she created new measurement and evaluation processes to provide actionable insights by performing varied quantitative data analysis for program planning and management.
Sree Venkatesh Ramireddi, ’22SEAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plentify, a smart energy company that makes affordable, reliable, and clean electricity a reality for everyone. Sree pursued his goal of transitioning from technology to product manager by working to launch Plentify in the B2C market via a D2C (direct to consumer) campaign and also furthering their mission in the B2B space. He also worked on four different projects to help Plentify reach their goal of providing clean, safe, and reliable energy by increasing their number of users.
Daniela Tagle, ’23SIPA, worked with iThink VC, a Latin American venture capital firm based in Paraguay. The company launched its first fund, Ignite, to invest in Spanish-speaking Latin American startups addressing the region’s structural challenges. Furthermore, the fund has a special focus on younger ecosystems: Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Peru, and aims to invest in technology to transform Latin America. Daniela had two main responsibilities: support the fundraising process with a focus on multilateral organizations and investment funds, and optimize the measurement of impact indicators of portfolio companies.
Sustainability and CSR
Christelle Azar ’22 interned with Pivot Bio as a business development intern. Christelle supported the team in its efforts to expand operations beyond the United States, including developing a research report on markets of interest, supporting the development of a pitch deck, developing a partnership roadmap, and developing three case studies. Christelle helped push forward the mission of Pivot Bio, the agtech company trying to solve the fertilizer component of climate change.
Sebastian Carter, ’22GSAS, interned at Aeternum, a company that develops low-cost air quality sensors. Aeternum's mission is to bring more transparency and understanding to the global problem of air pollution, and make air quality sensing affordable, scalable, and effective in addressing air pollution. Aeternum aims to support stakeholders — including civilians, businesses, and municipalities — in making informed decisions about their environment. Sebastian worked as a data scientist, which involved extracting actionable insights from the air quality data and using machine learning to make air quality data more reliable and accurate.
Penmai Chongtoua, ’22CL, was a project lead at Ben-Alon Speculative Studio, where she explored the technological possibilities of earthen material as a fabric as a direct response to the textile industry's excessive waste, pollution, and CO2 emissions. Penmai also created an education curriculum that will engage participants to inspect their relationship to material through the lens of clay fabric.
Christopher Dedo, ’22CL, worked with Climate Voice, a nonprofit focused on mobilizing the voice of the workforce to urge companies to go "all in" on climate, both in business practices and policy advocacy. Chris helped to develop a climate policy guide for businesses, with an emphasis on supporting state policies, while also supporting efforts related to employee engagement and advocacy.
Anish Mahesh Kalro, ’22SEAS, interned with Burnham RNG, a platform company seeking to build, acquire, own, and operate assets that eliminate methane emissions by producing renewable natural gas (RNG) and other low-carbon commodities from waste. Anish worked on creating drafts, reviewing, and redlining engineering documents, and conducted engineering calculations. He also supported risk analysis activities, led research for new processes, and supported current business activities of the firm.
Mariam Kamerji, ’24BC, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member CERO Cooperative, a composting company that keeps food waste out of landfills, saves money for their clients, and provides good, green jobs for Boston's hard-working communities. During her fellowship, Mariam focused on marketing, finance, and data management. This included developing a vision for marketing and sales growth, honing predictive financial models, and working with data management tools and models. Mariam pursued her goal of circularity and sustainability as she was able to dive deeper into composting and get hands-on experience in the field. With an interest in sustainable waste management, Mariam can now use this knowledge in her startup.
Alisa Petrosova, ’22CL, interned with Good Energy Project, a nonprofit story consultancy for the age of climate change that provides the entertainment industry with tools and support to portray the climate crisis in scripted television and film. During her internship, she assisted with the ongoing distribution of Good Energy Playbook, created new case studies, and researched additional case studies for the Playbook. In addition, she assisted in writing a new curriculum to train new story consultants, created the infrastructure, and processes for the story consulting program, and supported the workshop development.
Yi-Chen Tsai, ’23SIPA, was a social policy advocate intern with Altruisa, an altruism organizing and connections platform. She researched and developed strategies to engage with state/national partners through several initiatives, such as creating partnerships on elevating site exposures, understanding the intersection of work with CSR and ESG related measurements, and deploying technologies to advance business operations in interacting and bringing social impact. Yi-Chen assisted the executive director in identifying the best practices to engage partners on exploring the metrics of ESG ratings, and developed a set of growth strategies for Altruisa and its partners to use.
Tanya Wiedeking, ’22CL, worked with More in Common, an international research organization committed to building more united, inclusive, and resilient societies in which people believe that what they have in common is stronger than what divides them. She joined their Berlin office and worked on a climate communications research project, Germany Talks Climate, a partnership with Climate Outreach. Tanya researched how the climate discourse in Germany differs from that of the United States, who the influential actors are in the climate debate, and what motivates people to take climate action.
2021
Nonprofit & Public Management
Christopher Alvarez, ’20JRN, was an editorial summer fellow at THE CITY, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital news platform dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York. Christopher pursued his goal of becoming a well-rounded journalist by getting his feet wet in different types of journalism through collaborations with colleagues. He also strived to use lessons learned to positively impact the communities the organization serves.
Lucila Arias ’22 interned with Gender IDEAL, a nonprofit that works to create workplaces that are inclusive, diverse, and equal in access and leadership (IDEAL) for all races and genders. During her internship, Lucila helped to launch the startup. This included work on the strategic plan, ways to raise funds, strategies for scaling and partnership, as well as communications (website design, content development, managing social media, etc.). She also worked on conducting analysis, designing data visualizations, and creating benchmark reports, which drew from her prior experience in consulting, as well as her passion to push towards diversity and inclusion.
Shan Bannirchelvam ’22, Nandita Pandit ’21, and Jed Rooney ’22 worked with the alumni board of directors of Microlumbia, the student-run impact investing fund at Columbia Business School, to develop a strategy and design a growth business plan for the fund. This included fundraising targets for overall assets under management (AUM), the annual budget, the average deal size, the annual number of deals/due diligence opportunities, feasible student team size, and other relevant dimensions. In addition, they drafted a strategic fundraising deck.
Daniel Bi, ’22SIPA, and Kate Highstrete, ’22SIPA, interned with Social Ventures Foundation, a nonprofit developing an incubator competition to facilitate investment in social ventures through a microfranchising model to address Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 — no poverty — in low-income communities. In stage one of the incubator project, Daniel developed a governance structure, financial models, and budget for the End Poverty Innovation Challenge. In stage two, Daniel worked with the Costa Rica team coach to pilot the EPIC model in Costa Rica. Daniel also provided input to develop the End Poverty Fund and provided fundraising support over the summer. Kate worked directly with the executive director to expand the number of participating universities; identify potential corporate, foundation, and private sponsor support; and increase awareness of the competition.
Elizabeth Bielen ’22 worked as a summer associate with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. Robin Hood provides financial, real estate, and management support to more than 200 nonprofits and uses a system of metrics, cost-benefit ratios, and counterfactuals to rigorously evaluate poverty interventions and select its investments. She researched initiatives and produced research-backed recommendations and concepts for programs and community engagement plans. Elizabeth assisted Robin Hood’s senior leaders in assessing opportunities and recommending directions on a set of key initiatives.
Ken Burchfiel ’22 interned with Seton Education Partners, a nonprofit that operates charter schools in the Bronx and other regions, to support the organization’s data management and analytics efforts. During his fellowship, Ken helped Seton implement a new student information system, which entailed assisting with data migration and system setup/configuration. He also worked on the implementation of a new business intelligence and data warehouse solution and helped set up a data sync tool.
James Harvey Elliott II, ’23GS, interned with FLIP National, a nonprofit that promotes equal opportunity for first-generation and low-income students in institutions of higher learning. James worked with the chapter establishment and development team, focusing on cultivating community, raising awareness, and establishing campus-based resources to assist students. James also worked with the finance team to assist with grant writing to acquire future FLIP National Programs funding.
Kartika Fitrianingsih, ’22CSSW, interned with Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL), a nonprofit based in New York focusing on providing safe and participatory spaces for youth, children, and indigenous communities to eliminate suicide, abuse, and anti-environmentalism. Kartika supported TYCL on various projects, including organizing and moderating virtual forums as part of the United Nations’ programs to raise awareness on youth mental health and indigenous issues amid COVID-19, providing assistance in research on decolonizing social work practice, developing STEM education curriculum for indigenous children in India, and writing a grant proposal for possible funding.
Kyleigh Leddy, ’22CSSW, interned with Lumiere Health International Inc. to develop impactful social entrepreneurship projects that address human rights violations and health care inequities both internationally and within the United States. Kyleigh worked on psychosocial evaluations for asylum seekers, leading to many favorable court outcomes. She also designed a prescription program for forced migrants and immigrants in the United States who experience medication insecurity while awaiting asylum or refugee status.
Jean Lee, ’21JRN, interned at The 19th News, a newsroom dedicated to hard-hitting news stories centered on a woman's experience and on the many intersections of gender. Jean reported, gathered news, wrote, and participated in news production to help bring in-depth stories, breaking news, and other information to the public.
Stephanie Lin ’21 worked with CP Unlimited, an organization that advocates for and supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the New York metro area. Stephanie created a template for analysis of palliative care impact in order to reduce hospitalization rates and lengths of stay, as well as other factors to achieve an overall improvement in medical care.
Ilica Mahajan, ’21JRN ’21SEAS, was a data fellow with The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer-prize winning nonprofit news organization focused on criminal justice reporting. She worked on processing and analyzing data, and reporting on various long-term Marshall Project initiatives. She also contributed to large-scale parsing and analysis of court records, helped build visuals for stories, and pitched and produced smaller pieces as well.
Aedan Macdonald, ’21GS, worked with the ReEntry Acceleration Program and Justice Through Code initiatives of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change and Columbia’s Center for Justice, which are focused on providing educational and career-track opportunities to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Brian Roxas ’22 and Becky Shin ’21 interned with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit that partners with individuals, families, and institutions to help make philanthropy more thoughtful and effective. Brian worked directly with the chief operating officer on the firm's five-year strategic outlook, and provided insights and recommendations based on an analysis of the firm's financial documents. Becky provided support towards the development of case studies on approaches to impact and connected them with other thought leadership on how donors catalyze change.
Kristen Saldarini, ’23SIPA, worked with the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School. The center trains the next generation of business leaders to address social and environmental challenges. Kristen developed a comprehensive social media strategy for raising brand awareness, increasing the center’s online presence, and supporting digital marketing efforts. The strategy reflected comprehensive research on effective digital marketing tactics and a six-month content calendar proposal for priority social media channels, such as Instagram.
Shefali Sharma, ’22SIPA, interned with the Health Finance Institute, a nonprofit that aims to eliminate suffering caused by non-communicable diseases, and to increase human potential by building public-private finance partnerships. Shefali worked as a business development intern, where she supported the creation of potential client lists and funding targets, drafted several materials for economic modelling and blended finance training offerings, identified and tracked grant/proposal deadlines, and supported other business development and partnership meeting agendas.
Ziheng Song, ’20GS, interned with RisingStarEdu, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to closing the education gap in under-resourced regions through a variety of initiatives in China. During the fellowship, Ziheng worked with the outreach manager, IT analysts, and other volunteers to support and enhance the efficiency of outreach activities through technical and business analysis.
Khadija Ann Tarver, ’23GSAPP, worked as an architectural design intern at Breaker Gallery, a nonprofit exhibition and convening platform focused on audiences of color and the creators and innovators who engage them. Khadija worked with the directors to create a proposal to transform a vacant building into the Breaker Gallery headquarters.
Social Entrepreneurship
Ellen Chiu ’22 interned with Shift Capital, a Philadelphia-based impact investing firm that uses real estate to tackle intergenerational poverty by investing holistically and at-scale in and around a neighborhood catalytic project. Ellen worked with Shift to underwrite real estate transactions and source capital for new development opportunities and strategic initiatives.
Kim Loan Chu, ’22BUS ’21SIPA, worked with NaTakallam, a social enterprise connecting refugees to employment opportunities using the power of technology. Utilizing their native skills, displaced people offer language lessons, cultural immersion, and translation services to clients all over the world through NaTakallam. Kim Loan was a product manager and drove the launch of the new front-end and back-end platform for all of NaTakallam’s B2C language learning offerings, enabling the organization to scale and better serve its clients. Furthermore, Kim Loan developed a data-driven content marketing strategy and advised the senior management team.
Charlotte Keys ’22 interned with Veris Wealth Partners, a certified B Corp and an independent impact wealth management firm recognized as both a pioneer and leader in the field of responsible and sustainable investing. Veris provides solutions for clients seeking to create change through their wealth across key investment themes of climate solutions, sustainable agriculture, racial and gender equity, and community wealth building. As an impact investing research intern, Charlotte was responsible for conducting investment manager and fund due diligence, preparing analysis, making recommendations to the research team/investment committee, and preparing thematic research and impact metric monitoring and reporting.
Margaret Knowles ’21 served as the impact investment summer fellow at SmartJob, LLC, the first global company singularly dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap by catalyzing employment through impact investment. She focused on tracking SmartJob's dealflow and pipeline, performed diligence on potential investments, and developed SmartJob's impact metrics.
Nicolas Lama, ’24CC, interned with BallotReady, an organization that provides non-partisan voter guides in all fifty states to ensure that all voters are informed. By linking back to original sources, the BallotReady guide provides voters with the ability to verify any piece of policy before their decision to vote. Nicolas played a key role in providing research for upcoming elections in 2021, as well as helped BallotReady develop a product that will enable their voters to keep their elected officials accountable year-round between elections, and to make it easier for people to engage in civic participation and advocacy.
Alexandra Lobel ’21 interned with Neale Godfrey, executive-in-residence at Columbia Business School, and an inspiring thought leader and best selling author in the field of financial wellness and multi- generational financial literacy. Neale is the creator of the topic of “kids and money” and a trailblazer of financial literacy in the United States and globally. Alexandra worked with Neale to promote her latest (and 28th) book, Be Money Smart in Tough Times: For Parents and Grandparents, and developed a marketing strategy to raise awareness about Neale's expertise on this important topic.
Amali Nassereddine ’22 worked with YY Ventures, an organization that incubates and invests in social entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Her project was centered around the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the global social business movement. The primary purpose of her role was to conduct research on investment and impact thesis and develop the seed fund foundation structure.
Claire Nishioka ’22 interned with Phare Bio, an early-stage biotech organization that is using artificial intelligence and deep learning approaches to develop new classes of antibiotics. Phare Bio launched in collaboration with the Collins Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and its mission aims to address the growing global health crisis surrounding antimicrobial resistance. Claire worked directly with the CEO to develop Phare Bio’s corporate strategy and business plan. She also helped create the company website and various promotional materials.
Christiana Rosales ’21 supported the new venture studios team within Newlab. Christiana’s primary role was to research new company opportunities by performing deep dives and delivering reports. She led customer discovery and partnership development for the ventures. The first project was the formation of a company for long-term Alzheimer’s prevention technology/services in collaboration with Enigma Biomedical Group and Cerveau Technologies. Christiana also leveraged her prior venture experience to help shape the studio’s processes and frameworks for all future studio ventures.
Christopher Wilkinson ’21 and Leilani Tiara, ’22MPH, interned at the Catalytic Impact Foundation, a nonprofit VC foundation that invests in companies working on early-stage health care therapies and technologies, especially those that would otherwise likely go unfunded because they target rare diseases. Christopher worked on diligence for potential investments, formalizing the foundation's investment memo process, producing impact reports for the portfolio, and on donor communications. Leilani worked on different areas of focus, including participating in due diligence, writing investment memos, updating the progress of portfolio companies, assisting digital marketing and communication efforts to strengthen CIF's online presence and visibility, and managing fundraising and donor outreach.
Mona Ziaei, ’21SEAS, interned with Flextrapower, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio venture that uses graphene technology and remote monitoring to improve health and well-being, most notably in their application of graphene sensors in insoles for early detection of ulcers. Mona conducted research in an interdisciplinary team to optimize the wearable sensor system with a focus on muscle activities and the diabetic insole. Additionally, Mona contributed to drafting patent applications and reviewing provisional patents and claim language.
International Development
Nadine Bibawi, ’22SIPA; Hannah Clifford, ’22SIPA; Jessica Peck, ’22SIPA; Julia Tauscher, ’22SIPA; and Kevin Vu, ’22SIPA, interned with IMAGO Global Grassroots, a nonprofit that collaborates with entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid and supports scaling their social enterprises. Nadine assisted the creation of IMAGO’s first online social enterprise scaling course, and worked on developing a strategy to support dissemination of its knowledge products and services by leveraging technology. Hannah worked with the Washington, DC office on research, the creation of knowledge products, and supported active projects focused on gender and human rights. Jessica collaborated with the southern cone office in Latin America to scope potential partners in the region, and also developed a model for scaling RUDI — a social enterprise of the Self-Employed Women Association (SEWA) — leveraging a government program called the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). Julia worked closely with the Poverty Stoplight to design manuals to help organizations across the world to implement a tool to assess and address multidimensional poverty at the household level. Kevin worked with IMAGO’s various clients to improve health care systems that provide affordable health care to high-need, high-cost vulnerable populations in Houston, and consulted in scaling up the SEWA project design.
Kobe Familara, ’22MPH, interned with Two Oceans in Health, a global research organization. Two Oceans in Health focuses on developing and analyzing health data to empower communities in the Dominican Republic, especially vulnerable and underserved groups. The organization also uses the data to design and implement health programs throughout the country. Kobe assisted Two Oceans in Health in their mission by analyzing public HIV data to ultimately provide evidence for HIV funding, testing, and treatment for people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic.
Yasuaki Inada ’22 interned at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is an intergovernmental economic organization with 38 member countries, aimed at sharing and improving policy insights. Yasuaki worked for the financial markets division covering infrastructure investment and fintech-related issues. Utilizing his MBA skills and knowledge, Yasuaki conducted preliminary research and managed logistics for an international conference on sustainable finance in September, as well as for another event on digital finance. He also participated in formulating an official report on digital finance activities in Asia.
Tim Lee, ’23BUS ’23SIPA, interned with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the United States government's development bank. DFC partners with the private sector to finance solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing the developing world. Tim worked within DFC's social enterprise finance team, which provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs to create jobs in emerging markets. He helped execute impact investments to advance DFC priorities like the 2X Women's Initiative and the Portfolio for Impact and Innovation. In doing so, Tim contributed financial modeling, operational support, research, and project management.
Rebecca Manning ’22 interned with TechnoServe, a nonprofit focused on relieving poverty by working with people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Rebecca worked remotely for the organization’s Catalisa Program in Mozambique. Under the Catalisa Program director, Rebecca conducted a P&L analysis for both poultry and horticulture products, supported the Catalisa team in understanding the viability of horticulture and poultry products at demonstration sites, and documented lessons learned and findings for each site.
Catherine Martini, ’24DM; Rachel Utomo, ’24DM; and Ishani Guha, ’22MPH, interned with Praava Health, a Dhaka-based patient experience-driven company whose ethos is centered around bringing quality health care to Bangladesh. Catherine developed clinical protocols for the most common dental disease presentation, in an effort to improve the standard of Bangladesh's oral health care. Additionally, she executed an evaluation of the journey of a Praava patient, focusing on the patient's experience traversing through online and offline activities. Rachel worked on developing the dental suite’s management strategies and improving patient experiences at Praava Health. Ishani helped design a patient experience platform and developed data-driven tools to help guide Praava's journey's into the AI space, while also conducting market research to assist Praava as they look to partner with other organizations in the field.
Rola Saleh ’21 was an investment research intern at Calvert Impact Capital (CIC), a nonprofit investment firm that works with investors to move capital into communities around the world. Rola created an agricultural technology investment strategy focusing on access to finance for smallholders and environment sustainability, specifically for CIC’s investment notes track. Rola also assisted investment officers throughout the investment cycle, as needed.
Michael Simpson ’22 interned with Clinton Health Access Initiative, a nonprofit that aims to save lives and reduce the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries around the world. He supported the global vaccines delivery team leading strategy development on vaccine network extension, identifying methods to reach zero dose children and underserved areas. Additionally, Michael assisted the vaccine markets team monitoring supply chains during the COVID-19 vaccine roll out.
CSR and Sustainability
Malachi Coleman, ’22CC; Juliet Brooks ’22; Olivia Feld ’21; and Ananya Misra, ’22BUS ’22SIPA, interned with Professors Bruce Usher and Geoffrey Heal to quantitatively analyze pledges by US companies to transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The project aims to categorize carbon neutral plans made by US companies based on their effectiveness and overall impact on net greenhouse gas emissions at large, and discern the overlaps and gaps in company records of emissions. This work will also help identify how markets respond to company announcements related to emissions and what the potential implications are for shareholders.
Sally Ho, ’23CC, interned at Dandelion Energy, a Google X incubated company providing geothermal heating and cooling systems to New York and Connecticut. Dandelion aims to facilitate the adoption of geothermal energy, which is significantly safer, longer lasting, and more environmentally friendly compared to traditional fuel-powered heating and cooling. Sally worked at the intersection of government incentives and business strategy, analyzing customer data across projects and preparing rebate applications. Additionally, she helped lay the foundation for expansion through researching potential markets and analyzing relevant loans, rebates, and other incentives in the renewable energy space.
Jennah Jones, ’23GSAPP, interned with the Center for Zero Waste Design, an organization that develops and implements design strategies within the built environment to help cities achieve zero waste. Jennah worked alongside architects and engineers to design zero waste systems for Oceanix, a pioneering prototype for floating cities. She researched ways to integrate circular economy frameworks into the existing waste streams of affordable housing units, and developed diagrams to support residential composting pilot studies. Additionally, Jennah assisted the center in crafting a proposition to incorporate food waste reduction and diversion into NYC's Local Law 97 carbon trading program.
Dean Meisel ’22; Aaron Schifrin ’21; Igor Rios ’21; and Bengusu Ozcan, ’21GSAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plentify, a sustainable energy startup in Cape Town that aims to enable South Africans to switch to reliable and sustainable energy sources while minimizing utility bills by harnessing the power of AI and advanced grid technology. Dean developed an initial B2B marketing strategy, and developed key criteria to help Plentify select its ideal offshore jurisdictions. Aaron helped set technical and business requirements for new product and feature development as a product management intern. Igor was responsible for evaluating opportunities in new channels and products, defining product and business requirements to be successful in these channels, and identifying the ideal off-shore jurisdiction to achieve Plentify's growth objective. As a product management intern, Bengusu worked on a new feature that provides detailed monitoring of Plentify clients' smart home devices, conducting user research and bridging the data availability in the product. She also conducted global industry research for a newly established sensory feature in order to better represent the value of this feature to the existing clients.
Garrett Modeste, ’23GS, worked with SetPoint, a climate intelligence company, to help reduce commercial energy consumption and implement artificial technology into climate and air quality systems. He worked directly with clients of Setpoint to help implement their technology and achieve the goal of using energy more efficiently and minimize waste.
Romke Rozendaal ’22 interned with McKinsey.org, a nonprofit scaling up waste management and recycling in developing countries through an approach that focuses on the entire value chain from source segregation to stable offtake. Romke worked directly with organizational leadership to drive scaling the operations in Argentina through the codification of best practices and internal knowledge and identifying the optimal way (e.g., digital, in-person learning, hybrid models) to distribute this information to relevant stakeholders.
Kush Sompura, ’21SEAS, was a chemical engineering intern at Folia Materials, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member. The mission of Folia is to provide high quality antiviral and antibacterial water filters, masks, and food packaging at low cost. Folia's slogan is "Paper for pennies, water for billions." Kush performed bench scale chemistry and assisted the R&D team on the production trials of Folia's premier products.
Yuxiao Zhou, ’21SEAS, interned at the Changing Room, a startup that aims to bring environmental transparency to the fashion industry by empowering consumers to make more sustainable purchases by providing a solution where consumers can find the environmental ratings of their favorite brand’s fashion products and receive more eco-responsible product suggestions. Yuxiao's responsibilities included improving the current scoring algorithm, collecting data, creating a clustering algorithm for similar garments, and building a deep learning neural net to extract features from garment images to give consumers the tools to make better shopping decisions.
2020
Nonprofit & Public Management
Thomas Angiulo ’20 interned with Blue Engine, a nonprofit that empowers schools to create or support multi-adult classrooms to accelerate learning for all students impacted by educational inequity. Thomas worked on multiple projects during his internship, including developing a COVID-19 reopening strategy for organization leadership, building financial models for multiple budget scenarios, and analyzing potential funding models to support the organization’s growth strategy.
Elina Arbo, ’22CC, interned with Blank Forms, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting new, underrepresented artists working in a range of art practices, specifically experimental music and other forms of performance-based art. Blank Forms uplifts artists through curatorial support, residencies, commissions, and publications to document, spread knowledge of their work, and advance their practices. Elina worked directly with leaders of the organization to oversee day-to-day operations, fundraise, research, and contributed to the Blank Forms magazine.
Chip Brownlee, ’20JRN, interned with The Trace, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to reporting on gun violence in the United States. During the fellowship, Chip worked with reporters and editors to do long-form, investigative journalism to expand public knowledge about gun violence.
Justine Chausson ’20 worked with West Side Campaign Against Hunger senior staff to help capitalize on COVID-19 efforts as a springboard to building a stronger, more engaged organization. Specifically, she supported the executive director to transform board member engagement through board fundraising training, staff communication with the board, and building a framework for stronger recruitment and tracking board member activation. She also supported the development director and the finance/admin senior director in efforts to strengthen teamwork across the organization.
Eric Chen ’21MPH, worked with Autoimmune Registry, a Connecticut-based nonprofit founded in 2016 to create a hub for research, statistics, and patient data on all autoimmune diseases. Eric developed and executed a strategy to increase participation in the registry through social media and advertising, established collaborations with disease-specific nonprofits, coordinated patient recruitment activities with researchers, and developed and implemented fundraising strategies.
Megan Daley ’20 and Mac Stormont ’21 interned at Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), a nonprofit real estate developer and management company owned by the City of New York. BNYDC's mission is to fuel New York City's economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the city's modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. Megan worked with the BNY business support services program and drove initiatives for the Yard’s COVID-19 relief program, including developing plans to help create additional revenue streams for tenants, providing COVID-specific resources for the Yard community, and raising funds on behalf of BNYDC to ensure long-term impact for the corporation and the community. Mac interned with the development team, with responsibilities including market research, tenant strategy, and business development for a new 700,000 square foot industrial building. Mac also contributed to feasibility, underwriting, asset management, and development support.
William Dunn ’21 interned at the Health Finance Institute (HFI), a US-based nonprofit that aims to catalyze and scale pathways for increased investment in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with the ultimate goal of accelerating the expansion of fiscal space for NCDs globally. William's principal project centered around the development of the initial phase of a multi-staged blended finance project and partnership to address the burden of NCD's in Nigeria. This model is expected to gather the capital required to fund the integration of cardiovascular disease and diabetes prevention into existing primary care programs in Nigeria.
Elizabeta Ealy ’20, worked with Building for the Arts NY, a nonprofit dedicated to arts initiatives supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. As a strategy fellow on the music and brain team, Beta focused on determining how the program could grow through operational, budget, and planning issues. In this role, Beta conducted interviews, examined the use of metrics, analyzed organic as well as purchased audience growth, and explored new distribution and promotion partners. Beta worked on establishing a strategy and plan for attracting dedicated institutional and other revenue streams for the program.
Charles Gariepy ’20 worked with the Yale Prison Education Initiative (YPEI), an organization committed to providing credit-bearing educational opportunities to incarcerated people in Connecticut. He developed a strategic approach for YPEI to enter a new space of advocacy: prison reentry. Based on his work with the center’s REAP program, Charles researched, developed, and designed a programming strategy for YPEI to leverage its current resources, build new partnerships, and grow according to benchmarked best practices from peer institutions.
Chenlu He ’20 interned with Reel Works Teen Filmmaking in New York, a nonprofit that provides free, intensive in-school and after-school filmmaking workshops to youth and creates pathways for diverse youth in film and television to emerge as tomorrow's storytellers. Chenlu worked with the executive director and the development and communications associate on a social media strategy and long-term business strategic planning.
Di Jin ’20 interned with International Center of Photography (ICP), the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. The mission of ICP is to champion “concerned photography,” socially- and politically-minded images that can educate and change the world. Through exhibitions and education programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. As a summer fellow, Di was engaged in ICP’s two-year strategic planning project, leveraging his management consulting skills to work on modules, including data strategy, financing, and fundraising.
Ingrid Keppe ’20 interned with Mind Research institute, an independent nonprofit that uses the experiential learning approach to develop innovative, visually-based software games. Through data analysis and research, Ingrid delivered reports and recommendations for MIND’s current and future donor strategy. Additionally, Ingrid developed tools to allow the social impact team to easily evaluate data and update reports for future years, which will allow Mind to validate whether their initiatives have the desired outcome.
Carson Kessler, ’20JRN, interned with The City, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the people of New York City. The City strives to help fill the gap in local news by listening to the needs of New Yorkers and shedding light on powerful institutions. Carson worked on various assignments, pitched and produced her own stories, and reported on a long-term project that she decided on with her editors.
Beverly Leon ’20, was a summer research fellow at Children’s Aid, one of the oldest and largest children’s nonprofits in the United States. Children’s Aid helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive by providing comprehensive support to children, youth, and their families in targeted, high-needs New York City neighborhoods. Beverly examined New York City youth education data to generate a series of education policy recommendations for Children’s Aid and their COVID-19 response. Using Python and other programming tools, Beverly conducted a landscape analysis of community schools and created several data visualizations to help inform the organization’s strategy.
Stephanie Lin ’21 and Li Wang ’20 interned with CP Unlimited, an organization that advocates for and supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the New York metro area. Stephanie analyzed data collected over a 12-month period for a New York state, grant-funded telemedicine project. Li worked on a COVID-19 project, performing analyses of data collected for the services and preventive measures implemented by CP Unlimited to address the COVID-19 pandemic for individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in order to understand the infection rate and the effectiveness of infection control in order to recommend improvements.
Alexandra Lobel ’21 interned with the Financial Health Network (FHN), the leading authority on consumer financial health whose mission is to improve financial health for all in America. Through thought leadership, advisory services, research and measurement tools, and innovation support, FHN promotes awareness, understanding, and best practices in improving financial health for customers, employees, and the communities where they live. Within FHN, the Financial Solutions Lab supports and scales innovative fintech companies that seek to improve the financial lives of low- to moderate-income individuals and those underserved by traditional financial systems. Alexandra conducted a comprehensive behavioral economics literature review to identify potential ways employers can maximize employee engagement with workplace financial health programs. She led quantitative market-sizing analyses of financially underserved consumers’ participation in auto loan, auto lease, student loan, and savings account markets to be published in a 2020 study. She also spearheaded the collection of a variety of impact metrics for four fintech companies participating in the Financial Solutions Lab Accelerator Program.
Humera Lodhi, ’20JRN, was a data fellow with The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer-prize-winning nonprofit news organization focused on criminal justice reporting. She contributed data work and visuals for stories published at the Marshall Project, conducted data research and analytics for long-form investigations, and pitched and produced smaller data stories for the organization.
Kunal Malhotra ’20 interned with The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), a foundation that focuses on finding, funding, shaping, and accelerating solutions that help impacted veterans, service members, and their families thrive. In this role, Kunal designed an internal system to transform BWF’s quantitative and qualitative data collection into an insight engine that guides BWF’s understanding of the state of community services for veterans.
Deepti Mani, ’21SIPA, interned with Games and Learning, a nonprofit news and information service aimed at increasing the amount of information available for those interested in developing and funding new educational games for children and young adults. Deepti assisted with tracking and analyzing the response of school districts, policymakers, companies, edtech providers, nonprofits, and other institutions in the United States to COVID-19, as well the implementation of plans by these entities. Deepti also reviewed and curated product recommendations to be considered for the platform.
Carla Melaco, ’21BC, worked as a fundraising and development intern with Peace Rising, a team committed to breaking cycles of environmental destruction, food insecurity, and conflict, with a focus on supporting local communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Carla expanded the fundraising capacity of the organization by refining her grant research and prospecting skills and created digital outreach campaigns in order to meet fundraising goals.
Sam Mindlin ’21 interned with the Bronx Community Relief Effort, a philanthropic initiative to establish and fundraise for the Bronx's first-ever community foundation. Sam provided support towards designing a tool to measure the efficacy of social services provided to the Bronx community, worked on helping to implement a solution leveraging information to index and measure socio-economic levels of citizens in the Bronx, and assisted with the design of a technological apparatus to promote positive community engagement and small business development in the area.
Alex Moore ’21 worked as a development intern at The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates and reports on abuses carried out by powerful interests. Alex worked with the development team to implement new business-side initiatives, carried out research on the organization's overall business strategy, and presented solutions to improve researched items.
Wineeta Paul, ’21BUS SIPA, interned with Microlumbia, an early-stage impact investing fund led and run by Columbia Business School students that makes debt investments across the world in social enterprises focused on deepening financial inclusion. Wineeta assisted Microlumbia’s board with building a long-term fund strategy, continuity planning, and ensuring legal and compliance requirements for 2020 are met.
Santiago Sarquis ’21 interned with Qualitas of Life, a nonprofit that provides financial education to Hispanic individuals and their families to foster their financial security and improve their standard of living. Santiago designed and implemented tools to measure the impact of what the organization does in the community and assisted in the development of content for a new course on micro-entrepreneurship.
Anya Schultz, ’20JRN, interned with The Counter, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom investigating the forces shaping how and what America eats. Anya was a part of the news team filing stories on the business, culture, and economics of food.
Madison Skinner ’21 interned with the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship across a game launch and impact measurement. On the game team, she developed the go-to-market strategy and partnerships on college campuses by conducting customer discovery with college esports students to understand their entrepreneurship pain points. This analysis will provide insight into how to position Venture Valley (a Singelton-funded, free, esports-style game that lets players create new startups to develop entrepreneurship skills), communicate messaging, and prioritize channels. She also worked with the million stories team to determine impact goals and identify partners that may help collect and aggregate feedback about million stories.
Destiny Spruill, ’20CC ’21SIPA, interned with B8 of Hope in Geneva, Switzerland, an NGO that functions as an incubator for grassroots organizations in Israel and the Palestinian Territories by spearheading fundraising for 14 organizations in the area and sponsoring and hosting peacebuilding events for participating organizations. Destiny created a survey testing the efficiency of B8 of Hope’s outreach, and was in charge of executing the survey and presenting results to the board.
Josephine Wei ’21 interned with Restore NYC, an organization that exists to end sex trafficking in New York and restore the well-being and independence of foreign-national survivors. Josephine worked with Restore's economic empowerment program to manage the launch of a new co-op social enterprise and to assist in restructuring the current social enterprise.
Leandro Willarte ’20 worked for the home office of Uncommon Schools in New York. Uncommon’s mission is to close the achievement gap and prepare low-income students in grades K-12 to graduate from college and achieve their dreams. Leandro's project focused on strategy and process development for external teams, growth assessment regarding the COVID crisis, and risk strategy and mitigation.
Social Entrepreneurship
Meredith Bilski ’21 interned with Bodily, a company dedicated to providing evidence-based research and design-led products around postpartum care. As a strategic development intern, Meredith played a critical role in supply chain, procurement and operations, growth marketing, business development and partnerships, product launch strategy, and site experience.
Naomi Buie ’21 interned with Unchained Stories, an organization that uses multimedia and film production, advocacy, and consulting work to create bridges between the unheard stories of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated young people and the public. Naomi supported the startup team in developing processes for budgeting and project management for the production company’s operations. In addition, she assisted with social media marketing and helped develop content to promote the brand and attract new clients and partners for their social impact production work.
Jen Chiang ’21 and Ankit Dhingra ’20 interned with Hatch, a digital marketplace launched in Australia that matches people to meaningful paid professional work comprised of 3-12-month projects. During COVID-19, Hatch implemented the Hatch Exchange to rapidly redeploy furloughed workers to roles where they are most needed. Jen assisted the team with assessing the feasibility of an American launch strategy, focusing on customer and value proposition testing and customer growth strategy. Ankit worked to develop their growth strategy for the US market. Ankit's main responsibilities included end-to-end market sizing, competitor analysis, financial modeling, and product design specifically for the US market.
Leila Collins ’21 and Amanda Martin ’21 interned with MSquared, a new real estate development and investment platform that delivers solutions by partnering with government, developers, and investors to build mixed-use, mixed-income projects that include housing for a wide range of incomes, non-residential uses that add to the neighborhood’s social infrastructure, and high-quality, sustainable design and materials, led by the former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. Leila assisted on development projects, performed due diligence on new real estate sites and analyzed new markets. Amanda worked on projects across all aspects of a development deal — from research on potential markets, understanding federal and local government programs and affordable housing, and financial modeling.
Satoshi Endo ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plan A Health, an organization working to bring accessible, affordable health care on wheels to Mississippi. Satoshi worked on a business plan and path for sustainability for the clinic, including research into different revenue streams and how to access them and options moving forward. Satoshi researched comparable organizations and plans, considered how Plan A can replicate successes and avoid failures, and crafted an overall strategy.
Caitlin Gallagher ’20 and Efi Turkson ’20 worked with Local Civics, an education technology platform transforming youth civics education and community participation. Caitlin focused on business development, securing contracts for curriculum and technology with school districts and nonprofits. She redesigned the curriculum with alignment to the New York State standards, and rebranded the 25+ modules of this evidence-based curriculum for middle and high school students exploring leadership and pursuing careers of interest. Lastly, Caitlin worked to host virtual workshops to engage 250+ students during the pandemic. Efi delivered instruction and programming focused on community entrepreneurship, college, and career resources for high school students.
Tiffany Yijia Gao ’20, and Aditi Garg, ’20SEAS, interned with Virimodo, a social enterprise with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cities by connecting city residents with renewable energy while providing actionable energy analytics including utility bill error checking. Aditi was involved in building an energy analytics graphical tool to measure carbon profiles, calculate comparative building pollution rankings, and predict potential monetary fines, and also created carbon intensity dashboards. Tiffany created the marketing strategy and data analysis for campaigns and customer research to promote the company and increase online influencers.
Aneesh Goel, ’20SEAS, and Anunay Sanganal, ’20SEAS, interned with Zootera, a patent-pending platform that offers a direct, transparent and fun way to help protect wildlife and natural habitats. Aneesh and Anunay both worked as product engineers, creating a prototype for a business intelligence sustainability offering by implementing various techniques for data gathering, such as web scraping, database setup, and natural language processing techniques.
Christine Heidelberg ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Eat Offbeat, a catering company that hires and trains refugees as chefs and delivers food from their native countries. Eat Offbeat is made up of food enthusiasts defined not by immigration status, but by a commitment to the shared flavors, stories, and values that make each of us New Yorkers. Christine produced financial projections for internal planning and fundraising and helped develop the go-to-market strategy for new care package products, including evaluating unit economics of current products, analyzing customer data, and recommending new product iterations.
Valerie Ho ’21 and Cynthia Mantassas ’21 interned with Neopenda, a healthtech company focused on bringing innovative and needs-based products to emerging markets. Neopenda is in the process of commercializing its wearable vital signs monitor for babies and, in response to the pandemic, is also working on adapting its products for adults. Valerie worked on Neopenda's pricing strategy recommendations and defined the data strategy. Cynthia led the development of a data management strategy for Neopenda to best leverage the invaluable data collected through its patient monitoring system.
Amanda Hosek, ’21SIPA, interned with Parlay Ideas, a K-12 education technology startup dedicated to supporting the next generation of critical thinkers and communicators through inclusive, student-driven discussions that foster each student's unique voice. As part of the research and innovation team, she worked directly with students and schools to understand more about their challenges in creating inclusive environments for every student. She translated these insights into actionable takeaways to support the company's mission to empower historically marginalized students to build confidence, grow, and ultimately thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.
Nikki Holzberg ’21 interned with Soteria International LLC, a social enterprise that was founded to address the lack of PPE in the United States and worldwide during the pandemic. Nikki worked with Soteria to source and supply millions of high-quality protective masks to critical workers, most specifically harvest workers and food processing plant workers.
Charlton Hook ’21 interned with Produce Pay, a social enterprise startup that sits at the intersection of fintech and agriculture by providing liquidity to farmers across Latin America. Charlton helped produce materials for potential Series C investors by aggregating product and financial information and interfacing with investment bankers — materials to garner debt and equity investments from impact investing firms alongside traditional VC investment firms. Additionally, Charlton automated internal finance reporting using tableau and SQL to reduce human error in delivering payments to farmers and distributors.
Xiaoxiao (Erin) Huang ’20 interned with Butterfly Networks, an organization whose mission is to democratize health care by making medical imaging universally accessible and affordable. Erin assisted the team with research on go-to-market plans in Singapore and supported education partners in the United States.
Seoyoung Jang ’21 interned with Mathison, a talent marketplace helping underrepresented professionals advance careers while helping employers recruit diverse leaders. Mathison is dedicated to advancing intersectional diversity and promoting diversity and inclusion. As a marketing associate, Seoyoung worked closely with the co-founders and helped Mathison’s business development team by supporting the scaling and operations for outreach and digital marketing.
Ariana Lee, ’20JRN, interned with Transmitter Media, a company that produces highly-edited and sound-rich podcasts that reach millions of listeners worldwide. Ariana assisted Transmitter's team with the production of a forthcoming podcast. She pulled together archival sounds, contacted interviewees, drafted questions, assisted with the actual interviewing, and conducted background research in court records and old publications. She also assisted in the outlining and writing of one of the episodes.
Par Pavadee Jitngamplang ’21 and Priya Sharma ’20 interned with Pure Mitti, a social enterprise focused on providing zero waste solutions and rural upliftment through selling personal and home care products made of 100 percent natural, organic, and non-toxic ingredients. Par worked closely with the founder to improve brand positioning and direct-to-consumer marketing strategies, and contributed to product development. Priya led market and financial analysis as well as the development of a B2B/B2C marketing strategy to help the company achieve future sales goals.
Shayna Johnson ’20 was a strategy intern at SAM, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultancy and content company founded by Business School alumnae. She worked alongside the CEO to develop short-term and long-term strategic plans, including an operational budget to inform fundraising strategies. She also canvased best practices across the consulting industry to provide recommendations for systems and processes to help SAM consistently deliver high-quality products and value to clients.
Ingrid Keppe ’20 and Hunter Lew ’20 interned with Applied XL, a data science startup building artificial intelligence tools to help track the health of people and places, with the mission of providing ground truth for leaders charting a new path to a resilient and sustainable future post-COVID-19. Ingrid served as the data partnerships intern, helping to expand Applied XL’s footprint in sustainability and economic resilience projects by developing and executing the strategy for new customer acquisition across sectors. Hunter managed product development and strategy for the firm as it shifted its focus to develop AI-driven solutions addressing the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.
Jenna Kirschner ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Dollaride, a mobility company for communities underserved by public transit. Dollaride’s innovative technology platform facilitates the connection of passengers, drivers, and operators across New York City’s informal transit network of dollar vans. Jenna focused on developing Dollaride’s new product: a delivery service network that aims to leverage the existing 500+ driver network to provide a transparent, flexible, and affordable delivery service. Tasked with building the delivery service from the ground up, Jenna was responsible for market analysis, strategy development, pricing, and lead generation.
Adam Klestadt ’20 interned with Sonen Capital, a dedicated impact investment management firm, to help launch their Latin American impact fund. Adam's duties included surveying the current business landscape across Sonen's eight core investment areas to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the ecosystem and to create and update marketing materials to be shared with potential investors. Adam also helped survey Sonen's existing pipeline by contacting funds throughout Latin America.
Tobias Kreiman, ’23CC, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Supportiv, an organization that provides stigma-free, anonymous, and affordable hyper-targeted peer support, resource recommendations, and service referrals that address clients’ needs. Tobias helped Supportiv provide accessible support groups for people online and improved the effectiveness of the platform using machine learning.
Meshal Alduraywish ’20, Joseph Anello ’20, Jeremy Holder ’20, Corey Leung ’21, Sarah Ling ’21, and Becky Shin ’21 interned with Merton Capital Partners, a venture firm that pools large philanthropic capital to invest in nonprofits focused on high impact needs in the United States. Corey and Becky engaged US philanthropists and conducted due diligence and financial modelling to identify the best PE funds with which to partner for the Water Philanthropy Fund. Jeremy and Joseph assisted in all aspects of developing the Housing Philanthropy Fund, identifying, targeting, and reaching out to the largest housing developer families and philanthropists and researching large philanthropic deployments of other large venture philanthropy organizations globally. Sarah and Meshal worked on developing the strategic marketing plan for the firm.
Kim Loan, ’21SIPA, interned with NaTakallam (we speak in Arabic) to build out new product offerings and develop their corporate growth strategy. Founded in 2015, NaTakallam connects refugees with employment opportunities using technology to offer language lessons, cultural immersion, and translation services to clients all over the world. Kim supported NaTakallam in building new offerings for organizational clients — including a Spanish curriculum — and developed a B2B/B2C strategy, enabling the organization to grow and expand its impact.
Yaoxin (Xin) Liu ’20 interned with Brett Lauren, an organization that employs local underserved women in Connecticut to craft and sell jewelry. Xin assisted the owner with developing a business plan for potential investors, building out marketing capabilities, improving operational efficiency, and expanding partnerships with local organizations.
Jacob Mazzarella, ’21GS, interned with BallotReady, an organization that provides non-partisan voter guides in all fifty states using content from candidates’ websites, social media, press, and endorsers to ensure that all voters are informed. By linking back to original sources, the BallotReady guide provides voters with the ability to verify any piece of policy before their decision to vote. Jacob helped BallotReady with research for its voter guide and contributed to business development on the client-oriented side of the organization.
Mike McCarter ’20 interned with Shift Capital, a Philadelphia-based impact investing firm that uses real estate to tackle intergenerational poverty by investing holistically and at scale in and around a neighborhood catalytic project. Mike worked with Shift as a finance and research analyst as they raised their second fund, the Shift Multi-neighborhood Fund, focusing on sourcing deals and capital.
Jon Rave ’21 interned with Social Impact Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in social impact ventures at the seed stage. Jon focused on investment due diligence support and analysis, as well as improving internal systems and processes.
Anıl Rızaoğlu ’21 interned with Voiceitt, whose purpose is to interpret distorted speech of people with speech disabilities via artificial intelligence-based solutions. At Voiceitt, Anıl developed a B2B go-to-market strategy by identifying the essential needs of people with speech disabilities. As a result, he developed an end-to-end roadmap to launch an AI-based product for the US and UK markets, along with a prioritization of key customer segments.
Rola Saleh ’21 was a marketing and partnerships intern with Birmingham Enterprise Community, an award-winning social enterprise with the goal of building a collaborative and supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem based in the UK. Rola designed and implemented a marketing campaign to strategically attract international entrepreneurs to the startup sprint project and accelerator project. She also worked on the Gulf-area strategy, onboarding relationships with accelerators in the region.
Zuheir Sharif ’20 interned with HXE Partners, a firm that helps clients achieve their ESG goals by supporting the development, management, and integration of sustainability best practices within organizations. Zuheir aided the CEO and managing partners in expanding HXE’s corporate structure by developing a corporate strategy, business plan, and financial models. He also assisted with client engagements.
Alexis Kirton ’21 and John Sullivan ’20 interned with Noir Labs, whose mission is to deliver a world in which Blackness is centered and celebrated through beautiful and intuitive live and digital experiences by building virtual and traveling film experiences featuring aspirational Black films, futuristic VR art, curated retail experiences, food, and music from across the African Diaspora. As interim chief financial officer, John was responsible for advancing Noir’s financial vision and strategy; assessing financial risks and opportunities; overseeing financial management activities; and setting and tracking financial goals, objectives, and compensation/benefits. Alexis joined the Noir Labs as interim chief marketing officer and assisted in the execution of the virtual Noir Fest experience and the development of the digital platform, which allows for easier tracking of film, art, and product preferences. She also designed the digital content strategy, set marketing metrics, secured press partnerships, and conducted market research with current and future clients.
Maya Zamir ’20 worked on the business development team at ClimaCell.co, focused on emerging markets to build out its initiative for ClimaCell.org. The team’s mission is to transform billions of lives by improving access to weather data globally. Maya was responsible for building out partnerships and executing projects with organizations in the agriculture and food space in Africa. In addition, she assisted with Project Locust with the World Bank and the World Meteorological Organization white paper, fundraising efforts, and defining a strategy for private public partnerships with local governments in Africa.
International Development
Gonzalo Alvarez de Toledo ’21 interned with the Anesvad Foundation, a nonprofit fighting neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation has an endowment that is invested following ESG criteria, including a policy of investing a minimum of 20 percent in impact investing funds. Gonzalo worked with different existing methodologies to measure the social impact of impact investments, analyzed the current impact investing funds within Anesvad’s portfolio, and helped the foundation in their reporting of the actual impact of its investments.
Nabila Amarsy ’21 was a product manager intern at Sokowatch, a Nairobi-based logistics and supply chain tech startup serving retailers in Africa’s informal markets. Working closely with the data and engineering teams, Nabila analyzed user behavior trends and used analytical tools and techniques to make data-driven product decisions.
Shayla Campbell, ’20BUS SIPA, interned with Oradian, a Croatian fintech company that provides core-banking software to microfinance institutions in Africa and Southeast Asia. Oradian’s SaaS platform adapts to the needs of microfinance institutions, enabling credit managers to access information more efficiently, since increased access to information promotes the institutions’ ability to serve their borrowers and results in more people gaining access to financial services and economic opportunities. Shayla worked alongside the team on their communications strategy and assisted the customer acquisition team with lead generation for microfinance institutions in Oradian's target markets.
Gregorio Cioppa ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Ilara Health, a Nairobi-based health company bringing accurate and affordable diagnostics to rural Africans through miniature, AI-powered diagnostic devices that are integrated via a proprietary technology platform and distributed directly to primary care doctors. Gregorio researched the SME asset lending opportunities in Kenya through microfinance institutions and worked with those organizations to enable funding for Ilara Health clinic partners for asset financing.
Dicarlos Davis ’21 interned with Tugende Limited in their mission to build a long-term ecosystem for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises to grow economically and create opportunities for Ugandan entrepreneurs to improve their economic trajectory through ownership and financial independence. Dicarlos helped Tugende ensure that it achieves its 2020 goals despite COVID-19 by formalizing their international expansion strategy and building processes to improve handovers and alignment between their R&D and operations departments and helped senior leadership create a more systematic impact reporting structure.
Laura Dreese ’20 interned with Envest Microfinance, a for-profit microfinance wholesale lender that is committed to increasing financial inclusion by bridging the gap between microfinance and capital markets. Laura’s primary project was to conduct a systems audit of internal processes, which looked at Envest’s internal systems through the lenses of cybersecurity, efficiency, and quality. Subprojects that emerged from the audit included conducting a data inventory of Envest’s data, gathering data related to efficiency and quality from employees, and a technology review and recommendations across three areas of the business.
Daniela Figueroa, ’21SPS, interned with WeGrou, a company with a social impact in Colombia that works on the international trade of organic coffee, produced by peasant women with a fair-trade label. It connects the producer with the final consumer, eliminating intermediaries and increasing the income of rural families by 35 percent. Daniela worked directly in the Coffee Farming Project 2.0, led by WeGrou and financed by Mercy Corps and the United Nations Multi-Donor Fund for the Maintenance of Peace in Colombia, which has the objective of improving farmers' conditions to prevent their return to illicit crops. Daniela worked to create sustainable operations and in business development, specifically defining target markets, prioritizing channels according to margins and purchase volume, and defining the value proposition associated with each market.
Ka Lun Lee ’20 interned with Phoenix Foundation, a crowdfunding fintech social venture based in Hong Kong with the goal of leveraging impact investing to end poverty. Ka Lun provided support to the organization in their efforts to operationalize their fellowship program, including selecting, convening, and supporting outstanding candidates to help improve their impact.
David Abi Diwan ’20, Brook Kidane ’20, Arusha Kelkar, ’20SEAS, Danielle Kohn ’21, Tae Lee ’20, and Swarna Mantena, ’20SEAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Plentify, a sustainable energy startup in Cape Town that aims to enable South Africans to switch to reliable and sustainable energy sources while minimizing utility bills by harnessing the power of AI and advanced grid technology. Focusing on strategy and business development, Tae, Brook, and David evaluated growth opportunities in new markets and developed market entry strategies by prioritizing markets given fit with Plentify’s core product, formulated a detailed go-to-market by channel, and supported securing partnerships required for a successful market entry. Arusha and Swarna were data science interns, predicting electricity demand using information from various device usages, working with data from water heater IOT controllers and building machine-learning models for enhancing efficiency of electricity usage. Danielle was a product manager intern selecting and migrating the company's database to a new server, redesigning and leading engineering/data science through a new agile development process, and creating key data metrics to identify and debug technical performance issues.
Vishal Luniya ’20 interned with TBL Tourism, a coalition of corporate and nonprofit entities aligning NGO-public-private partnerships to create an innovative, impact-driven model of hotel development. Vishal researched the creation of a funding model that involves providing meaningful ownership to philanthropic and charitable organizations in developed properties, which will help form the organization’s views on future opportunities in the industry and will be used in marketing materials during fundraising. Vishal also worked directly with the founder and external experts to advise socially responsible developmental projects on their ESG scorecards and fundraising needs.
Li (Mary) Ma ’20 interned with Kwara, a Nairobi and Berlin-based startup offering cooperative financial institutions a digital platform so they can deliver modern online and mobile banking experiences to their members. Li, a business developer intern, assisted Kwara with market research and analysis and provided original reporting for their Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market entry strategy as well as implementation support, which will help Kwara’s business grow and facilitate financial inclusiveness in emerging countries.
Alisha Mehndiratta ’20 interned with Cowrywise, a fintech platform in Nigeria that empowers people to save and invest their money in a simple and flexible way. She focused on strategizing, optimizing, and executing digital marketing campaigns to more effectively connect with potential and existing users.
Lizzie Merrill ’21 worked as a ventures analyst Intern with Mercy Corps Ventures, the impact investing arm of Mercy Corps, a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization. Mercy Corps Ventures aims to find and support the world's most promising social entrepreneurs and social enterprises. They invest in and build solutions to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges in emerging markets. Lizzie worked with the entire ventures team to source new ventures, analyze business and financial models, prepare market and investment research, and support portfolio companies in their growth and expansion efforts.
Kush Mody ’21 interned with the Harvard Global Orthopedic Collaborative, an organization that works on increasing access to orthopedic care in low- and middle-income countries, including Colombia, Malawi, India, Haiti, and Uganda. Kush conducted a financial burden analysis of orthopedic trauma in Malawi and worked on developing a strategic development plan for orthopedic trauma care for the Ministry of Health in Malawi.
Sai Sathvik Nuthalapati ’20 and Azul Modak ’20 interned with the Center for Global Health and Development, a global health nonprofit that brings together diverse public and private sector stakeholders through their publications, projects, and roundtable forums. Sathvik and Azul worked to develop a sustainable and scalable insurance platform for disadvantaged and marginalized communities in emerging economies, customizable by region. Responsibilities included conducting extensive primary research to understand the ecosystem of potential partner countries, identifying partners and forging relationships with potential stakeholders in the health care sector, targeting potential investors/donors for seed capital, and creating a pitch deck to help raise funds.
Silvia Perez, ’21SIPA, interned with Ashoka, a nonprofit that identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs worldwide and mobilizes the global community towards a world of changemakers. Silvia researched and analyzed social innovations in Latin America and contributed to the development of knowledge products in the field of social entrepreneurship.
Priya Purewal ’20 interned with Mensa on a variety of social impact projects sourced by the United Nations, with the objective of helping grassroots organizations across the world to solve small business challenges. Priya assisted organizations in Western Africa by creating fundraising strategies and deal flow boards of impact investors and advised on pitch decks and communications with impact investors. She also worked with clients to develop sponsorship programs for children’s education needs, designed education programs for children, and created educational materials on climate change and biodiversity conservation.
Eduardo Santa Rosa e Silva ’20 interned with Amigos do Bem, which aims to improve the lives of people in the dry part of the Northeast of Brazil, mainly by providing education and housing. They fund their overhead costs through the production and sale of cashew nuts and other products, and Eduardo helped assess the KPIs and reports used to measure performance in all areas of the organization, both business-related and impact-related.
Josephine Wei ’21 and Minna Schilling ’21 interned with Endeavor Global, a mission-driven organization that seeks to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high impact entrepreneurs in 34 countries worldwide. Josephine collaborated with the head of worldwide operations on talent management projects related to learning and development, performance management, career paths, compensation strategy, and manager onboarding. Minna served as a business development summer intern, collaborating with the head of global partnerships to develop and implement several revenue-generating initiatives, including Endeavor’s Open Innovation, Global Ambassador and Gender Diversity programs. Minna researched, engaged, and cultivated relationships with prospective corporate and institutional partners, tracked ongoing partnerships, and drafted fundraising materials to both support and foster new business development opportunities for Endeavor.
CSR and Sustainability
Inigo Arana ’20 interned with Sympheny, an early-stage Swiss startup that has created software to optimize urban energy supply planning and ultimately maximize sustainability while minimizing infrastructure investments and energy costs. Inigo assisted Sympheny in the refinement of a pitch deck to be used to raise funds, the development of a pricing model, and the design of a payment workflow that avoids liquidity problems.
Angelica Crispino ’20 interned with Entouch Controls, which provides hardware and software applications to deliver energy management as a service. The company offers a solution to integrate a customer’s existing building appliances with machine learning algorithms to maximize energy savings. Angelica worked on three deliverables: a five-year financial model, an energy management systems competitive study, and a private equity firm marketing campaign.
Rafael Ferreira ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Déchets a l’Or, a waste management company in West Africa that originally started with a focus on providing solid waste management service to fast growing cities, but is shifting focus to be a tech startup for waste management and services companies operating in West Africa. Rafael worked to build tools for fundraising and marketing and was responsible for analyzing and recommending potential business models for the company.
Sean Fleming ’21 worked with Professor Bruce Usher at Columbia Business School on how capital markets can be used to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Sean’s focus was on the specific methods that investors can use to express their views on climate change, such as divestment, shareholder activism, project finance, and the specific investment opportunities that could best address these important challenges, including renewable energy, reforestation, and infrastructure development.
Heetika Vipul Gada, ’20SEAS, interned with Conservation X Labs, whose mission is to end human-induced extinction. She utilized artificial intelligence to build their product Sentinel, which is used to run object and animal detection. Using computer vision algorithms for a wide range of animal species and characteristics, she worked on algorithms for detection of wildlife diseases to prevent extinction. Her project included improving the speed and accuracy of machine learning algorithms for animal detection.
Umang Goel ’20 interned with Takachar Limited, a spin-out from MIT focused on dramatically increasing the amount of waste biomass economically transformed into marketable products around the world. Takachar is simplifying reactor design to enable small-scale, portable, and decentralized biomass conversion that cuts transportation costs by about 30 percent. A successful adoption would cut greenhouse gas emission by preventing biomass from being burned. Interning in the business development division, Umang conducted market research to identify pain points and bottlenecks in the transportation of biomass and in adoption of the technology. He also mapped out a business plan.
Ignacio González-Blanch ’20 and Caroline Thompson ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Zero Emissions Livestock Project (ZELP), a London-based startup dedicated to mitigating the impact of the livestock industry on the environment. Ignacio worked as strategy and operations manager and assisted the team in developing a go-to-market strategy, as well as identifying and ensuring that organizational priorities are being successfully delivered across the company to support launch. Caroline assisted the team with the launch of their product into the market by producing long-range strategic plans, pricing models, and materials for fundraising.
Matt Guevara ’20 interned with myAgro, a social enterprise with the goal of moving smallholder farmers in West Africa out of poverty through the use of innovative mobile layaway systems for the purchase of seed and fertilizer. Matt partnered with the CFO to map and standardize field finance practices in order to more effectively scale their operations and achieve their North Star of reaching one million farmers by 2025.
Tasnia Chowdhury, ’20SEAS, and Vatsal Jaipuria, ’20SEAS, interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Folia Materials. Folia's vision is to ensure and enrich the quality of life of working-class consumers that earn $1 to 2 per day with high-quality and affordable germ-free water by manufacturing antimicrobial paper water purifiers. Vatsal worked as a materials engineering intern and was responsible for bench-scale testing for chemical treatment of filter materials, materials characterization, and performing filtration experiments. Tasnia assisted in programming and building physical systems used in Folia Water's lab for quality control.
Aditi Khandelwal, ’20SEAS, interned with Wavelength, a firm that helps existing buildings reduce energy wastage to comply with New York City’s most ambitious energy requirement policies and reduce their carbon footprint and meet sustainability clauses, since only two percent of New York City’s structures are responsible for 48 percent of the city’s energy use. Aditi conducted data analysis using open source data and derived insights for Wavelength on their target buildings to assist them with reducing their carbon footprint.
Dominique Keefe ’20 interned with Closed Loop Partners, working on their private equity team, which focuses on acquiring companies in the recycling and resource efficiency space. As a firm, Closed Loop invests in the circular economy through several funds: venture capital, growth equity, infrastructure and corporate debt, and private equity. Dominique worked on the evaluation of new investment opportunities in the areas of recycling, organics, and circular construction, supported capital-raising activities, and helped a portfolio company of Closed Loop's venture fund complete its financial model for its subsequent fundraise. She also worked on a research study on where paper fiber commodity prices are expected to go, in light of factors such as China's National Sword policy and COVID-19, to inform the firm's investment strategies.
Leesa Ko, ’21GS, interned with The Years Project, a nonprofit climate change-focused media company based in New York City, formed out of the Emmy-winning climate change series Years of Living Dangerously with the mission “to inform, empower, and unite the world in the face of climate change.” As an environmental research and journalism intern, Leesa contributed in various capacities, including climate research, reporting, script writing, and monitoring its social media platforms.
Brian Kraus ’20 interned with Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member MicroTerra, a biotech social enterprise that recycles and commercializes agricultural wastewater. Brian's work focused on creating a business case for commercializing the technology with fish farmers in Mexico.
Charlotte Yu, ’21GSAPP, interned at One Architecture & Urbanism, a New York-based planning consultancy at the forefront of climate-adaptive urban design, planning, and infrastructure in the United States and Southeast Asia. Charlotte supported the international development aid sector work in Indonesia for the World Bank and in the Philippines with Global Resilience Partnership, by helping cities implement natural-based and green solutions for a climate resilient future. She also assisted in the final implementation of two projects for the local Lower East Side community: Two Bridges and East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR), which together protect nearly 100,000 individuals from flood risk.
2019
Nonprofit & Public Management
Champe Barton, ’19JRN, was an intern at The Trace, an organization that reports on gun-related public health issues to fill an absence of coverage in the United States around guns and the influence of institutions that promote them. Champe assisted The Trace’s team with research and data analysis and provided original reporting for spot news coverage and long term investigations.
Cecilia Chu, ’19CSSW, interned with Pathways to Leadership (P2L) which works to pave a bold path to bright futures by working with school systems to develop programs and provide mental health services to meet the intellectual, behavioral, and socioemotional needs of each and every marginalized youth served. Cecilia worked with Stephanie Stolzenbach, the director of clinical services at P2L, to create a development plan and run fundraising events in preparation for a larger scale annual event. Cecilia was a part of the strategic planning process for the organization and her development projects created a framework for P2L’s development and partnerships team.
Chiara Eisner, ’19JRN, and Weihua Li, ’19JRN, spent their summer with The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer-prize-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the United States’ criminal justice system. As their investigative fellow, Chiara reported on issues of local and national interest, around themes of criminal injustice. Weihua was their data journalism fellow and used her graphics, analytical, and computational skills to assist reporters on their investigation about criminal justice issues in the United States. She also pitched and produced smaller data-driven stories.
Matt Elmore ’20 and Ian Sukienik ’20 interned with Columbia Law School's Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL), an interdisciplinary graduate program that consults for public- and social-sector organizations undertaking and supporting transformational change in K–12 education. Matt collaborated with the State Department of Education to guide districts on the development and implementation of school integration pilot programs for the 2019–2020 school year. He assisted in the content creation and facilitation of training sessions and check-in calls for a professional learning community of 20 state school districts. Matt and Ian also both worked with a Midwestern nonprofit place-based fund (NDA-signed) to assess the impact of its grant portfolio and overarching school support strategy. Building on key interviews with leading stakeholders at regional and national levels, he helped develop a suite of tools to enhance the fund’s matching and progress tracking processes of the partnerships between school improvement organizations and the fund’s portfolio of schools. Ian also wrote a case study capturing the progress and achievements of a personalized learning nonprofit organization that received a grant from a New York foundation led by a Columbia Business School alum. The case study illustrated program successes and areas for future improvement and provided guidance on how the grantor can deepen their impact with future partners. He conducted interviews with the CEO and other top-level leaders.
Madeleine Foley, ’19JRN, joined the Transmitter Media team for 10 weeks as a production fellow. She assisted in the creation of a six-part podcast series exploring the life and philosophies of Fred Rogers and how his efforts contributed to improving society as a whole. Transmitter Media is a creative podcast company specializing in highly edited and beautifully sound-designed work. Proudly woman-owned and operated since 2017, Transmitter aims to do creative work that is made by and for a diversity of voices and perspectives.
Caitlin Gallagher ’20 and Benjamin Seeto ’20 worked with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit that partners with individuals, families, and institutions to help make philanthropy more thoughtful and effective. As a summer fellow on the donor services team, Caitlin worked on over five research assignments and client-facing projects with philanthropists, nonprofits, and individual families. She experienced the inner workings of a social enterprise and gained a deep understanding of the philanthropic sector by providing advisory, management, and implementation services. Benjamin worked directly with the CFO, helping plan and build actionable strategies for the organization to manage, access, and develop operating reserves, among other things.
Lindy Gould ’19 served as an education pioneers summer fellow with Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit charter school network that manages urban schools for low-income students. In this role, Lindy examined NYC student recruitment and enrollment data trends to design new strategies that would allow Uncommon to meet the education needs of students, families, and communities in New York City and across the country. Through a combination of data visualization, statistics, and project management, Lindy created recommendations for Uncommon Schools that would serve as a blueprint for the organization’s 2019–2020 strategic student recruitment plan.
Savannah Jacobson, ’19JRN, interned at The City, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the people of New York City. The City strives to help fill the gap in local news by listening to the needs of New Yorkers and shedding light on powerful institutions. Savannah worked on various assignments, pitched, and produced her own stories, and reported on a long-term project that she decided upon with her editors.
Prachi Jindal ’20 was matched by Inspiring Capital—a social impact consulting firm that pairs MBA students with high-potential, purpose-driven organizations ranging from large nonprofits to social enterprise startups—with LEAP NYC, an education nonprofit that provides quality educational arts programs to promote access and equity for New York City students and has served over two million children in grades K–12 in over 500 schools throughout the greater New York metropolitan area underserved in the arts. Prachi worked with the management team to transition the organization into an in-house finance function to streamline the operations of this $10 million establishment as well as perform due diligence and build a financial model for a merger deal.
Shayna Johnson ’20 worked as a strategy associate with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. Robin Hood provides financial, real estate, and management support to more than 200 nonprofits and uses a system of metrics, cost-benefit ratios, and counterfactuals to rigorously evaluate poverty interventions and select its investments. Shayna completed customer segmentation and competitive analysis and created a go-to-market strategy for one of Robin Hood’s income security grantees. She also researched adult literacy and produced research-backed recommendations and concepts for programs and community engagement plans. Her work assisted senior leaders in assessing opportunities to support initiatives focused on literacy activities.
Christopher Kang, ’22SEAS, interned at the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. Chris worked specifically with the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures, which provides seed grants of up to $25,000 to nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid early-stage social and environmental ventures. He utilized the F6S platform, which is the world's largest platform for startup founders, to compare the relative success of past applications to the fund. By investigating previous ventures based on industry, size, and funding, he analyzed the success of the fund’s portfolio ventures to the success of ventures who did not receive funding, developing a framework with which to evaluate the efficacy of the fund selection process.
Jamie Landsman, ’20BUS MPH, interned with OneCity Health, New York City’s largest Performing Provider System (PPS). Established by NYC Health and Hospitals, and the NY State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program, OneCity Health works to ensure care for all NYC residents, working with hundreds of community-based health care providers to engage patients and close care gaps. Jamie assisted in the development and prototyping of new care models and community partnerships. Later in the summer, Jamie also interned with Quantified Ventures, an impact investing advisory firm that focuses on financing innovative and evidence-based environmental, health, and educational outcomes. Jamie worked with the health and human services department to structure social impact investments for health systems, health plans, and service providers.
Cathlyn Lee, ’20BC, was a communications intern at Libby Creative Arts, a life-coaching service aimed at helping young adults with psychological disability feel socially connected and lead fulfilling, independent lives. Katie’s summer project dealt with increasing the organization’s clientele by three to four members through communications and marketing work. Her responsibilities included managing social media platforms, conducting marketing campaigns, and revamping LCA’s website.
Tara Matalka, ’20SEAS, was a summer intern with Endeavor Global on their business and data analytics team in their New York office. Endeavor is a nonprofit following the concept of entrepreneurship as a development tool for emerging markets. The team closely follows the growth of the entrepreneurs in Endeavor’s network, analyzing them in relation to similar companies and other companies in the network, creating data-informed reports and suggestions for the local entrepreneurs. As their dataset grows, encompassing almost 700 Endeavor companies around the world, Tara’s team was tasked to make sense of this data and extract useful insights for entrepreneurs as well as potential investors, taking into consideration the entrepreneurs’ data security concerns.
Julian Richardson, ’21BUS SIPA, worked as an intern with the Treasury Office of International Monetary Affairs. Julian worked with office economists to prepare senior officials for meetings on international economic and financial policy issues (e.g., G-7 and G-20 summits) and draft official communications. He also reviewed member country requests for International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs. Over the summer Julian contributed substantially to the formation of US international financial and economic policy.
Ericka Song, ’20GSAPP, interned at One Architecture & Urbanism (ONE), a design firm of Dutch origin at the forefront of climate-adaptive urban design, planning, and infrastructure in the United States and Southeast Asia. At ONE, Ericka worked on the firm’s resilience projects in New York, including the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project, which, once implemented, would protect nearly 100,000 individuals from flood risk. Ericka also worked on the Harlem Greenway project in East Harlem, part of the city’s larger initiative to renew Upper Manhattan’s access to its coastal edge while building in new protective measures for vulnerable adjacent communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
May Wang ’20 interned for the investment team at Accion Venture Lab, an impact investing fund that focuses on innovative technology and business models that help underserved individuals and small businesses benefit from the formal economy, by providing capital and post-investment support to seed-stage fintech companies. May’s main responsibilities included working with social entrepreneurs to conduct due diligence, making investment recommendations that maximize social impact and financial sustainability, researching the trend in financial inclusion sectors, and helping the fund with fundraising activities.
Miriam Wishnick ’21 was matched by Inspiring Capital—a social impact consulting firm that pairs MBA students with high-potential, purpose-driven organizations—with Goodwill of NY/NJ, which empowers individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment to gain independence through the power of work. She worked with Goodwill to optimize their sorting and grading activities for goods that cannot be sold in Goodwill’s retail stores. Her main deliverable is a process design and financial analysis that will increase the value Goodwill is able to realize from each donation and reduce the amount of material sent to landfill. This will be especially important when Goodwill’s new warehouse facility opens in the next couple of years.
Hannah Woit ’20 spent her summer working for the City of Detroit, MI’s General Services Department, which manages services shared by other city departments. Its programs include fleet maintenance, forestry, maintaining vacant lots, city-owned buildings, parks and recreation, and general design, upgrades, and programs. The Services Department’s mission is to make the city “a clean, safe, and vibrant place” while guaranteeing every person has “accessible opportunities for recreation within walking distance of their home,” regardless of their socioeconomic status or background. Hannah developed a cost allocation model so that the department could track use of its shared services by the various city departments.
Maya Zamir ’20 worked on the Rockefeller Foundation’s innovative finance team.Through both grants and program-related investments (PRIs), the team pursues innovative finance solutions such as the use of financing mechanisms to mobilize private sector capital in new and more efficient and scalable ways to solve social, economic, and environmental problems globally. Maya was responsible for portfolio management that included analysis and reporting, impact M&E and communication with partners. In addition, she assisted with deal sourcing, conducted due diligence for potential deals, and worked together with investees and partners of the team.
Social Entrepreneurship
Jean Yunqin Cai, ’20LAW, was a summer legal intern with KoeKoeTech, a social venture that creates information systems for hospitals, labs, and government, as well as mobile health apps for the general population. She participated in the development of applications in Rahkine state, digitizing court management and the legal access system, and Facebook’s “coordinated propaganda” project. Jean was responsible for assisting in researching conflict drivers in Myanmar, employment law for Rahkine and Rohingya people, international law, writing reports for the United Nations Development Program, and articulating procedures for Facebook in identifying propaganda campaigns or inflammatory speech in Myanmar.
Ziyu Fan, ’19SEAS, and Celeste McFarlane, ’21SEAS, worked as technical interns with Kinnos Inc., a New York-based Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member dedicated to raising the standard of infectious disease decontamination to protect health care workers, patients, and the general public. Ziyu served as a technical intern to design and conduct experiments. Her work at Kinnos accelerated product development and advanced new technology into applications to further improve the efficiency of disinfectants and save lives. Celeste was responsible for designing her own experiments, performing literature reviews, and generating data to expand the functionality of Highlight.
Brian Fitzgerald, ’20BUS SIPA, interned with Think.iT, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member and Tunisian engineering collective on a mission to unlock human potential with technology by developing and deploying high-caliber software engineers with innovative partner teams around the world. Think.iT builds a holistic collective approach to distributed talent development and deployment to help companies rethink how to build high-performing technical teams. Brian worked with Think.iT’s CEO to launch the company’s new open learning community, which brings together learners—both at the beginner and intermediate level—from North Africa’s ecosystem of talented engineers and provides them access to a selection of learning modules through a blended learning approach.
Gabriela Elena Giraldo, ’20BC, and Mary Liu, ’20GS, interned at ALTRD Clothing, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member that creates at-home employment opportunities for female immigrants and refugees (SewExperts), who are the backbone of the company. Gabriela managed ALTRD’s social media content and marketing material to share SewExperts’ stories to various communities via social media, spreading ALTRD’s influence to one day make it a national company. Mary worked as a website developer and operations intern building a mobile-optimized website in addition to several other technology initiatives that would built a stronger online presence. Mary developed a browser plugin that improved customer user experience and bolstered ALTRD’s brand awareness throughout New York City. Additionally, she helped create a marketing campaign that capitalized on SEO strategy and constructed five-year financial projections of ALTRD’s bottom line.
Christian Guillermo ’19 interned at Critical Ideas, Inc., doing business as Chipper Cash, a venture-backed early-stage financial technology company that aims to make Africans more financially included, and offer a more affordable, reliable, and secure money transfer platform for Africans. As a product and business Intern, he led the initiative on the rollout and adoption of Chipper Cash’s new product, Chipper Checkout, a merchant-focused consumer-to-business payments product. He also performed data analysis techniques on both quantitative and qualitative feedback of Chipper Checkout’s product performance. With insights from the data analysis, Christian provided Chipper Cash’s founding team with recommendations on how to improve and further optimize the product.
Dominique Keefe ’20 interned with Angaza Design, a social enterprise startup based in San Francisco. Angaza’s platform solved challenges associated with last-mile distribution, costly customer acquisition, and lack of access to credit for many businesses and end-use customers in emerging markets. The company developed a software platform that allows distributors of products such as solar home electrification kits and clean cookstoves to offer these items to customers on a pay-as-you-go basis. Dominique helped establish a debt fund to finance working capital for Angaza’s distributor partners, enabling them to scale their business more quickly, and conducted a research project on SAAS key performance indicators from the perspective of venture capital investors.
Gabriel Metzger ’19 interned as an operations summer intern at Red Rabbit, a food service and delivery organization that partners with local schools and provides them with made-from-scratch, customized, healthy meal programs for thousands of students every day. Gabriel worked closely with the VP of operations and the broader senior management team to help document, improve, and standardize operating processes throughout the organization, such as the onboarding and training process, as well as other company best practices. Gabriel interviewed and collaborated with numerous stakeholders to understand the intricacies of various functions, specifically surrounding packaging and customer service analysis.
Kaleigh Post, ’20MPH, interned at TrekMedics, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member and one of the first startups to emerge from Columbia’s Startup Lab. As an international 501(c)(3), TrekMedics’ mission is to improve emergency response systems in communities around the world, currently operating in six countries outside of the United States. Kaleigh worked to improve the design and user-experience of TrekMedics’ digital emergency dispatch system, Beacon. She also beta tested the new interface through field-based user-research. By improving Beacon’s user experience and interface design, TrekMedics can onboard and retain more users, which enables the venture to respond to more emergencies.
Priya Purewal ’20 was an intern for SWAT Equity Partners, an early-stage venture that focuses on supporting entrepreneurs aiming to create social impact through well-being and consumer-focused brands. By helping the company invest in entrepreneurs, Priya was able to help brands that support wellness, such as companies focused on producing sustainable materials made from plants, to reduce plastics in the environment and increase renewable alternatives. Lastly, Priya worked on investing in communities that are underrepresented, such as minority founders, and founders in the renewable consumption space working on making a measurable environmental impact.
Jing Qian, ’19SEAS, and Ethan T. Schmidt ’19 interned at the Earned Asset Resource Network, Inc (EARN), which works at the intersection of financial technology and economic inclusion to empower low-income Americans to take charge of their financial lives. As part of their partnership with the Columbia Business School Fintech Initiative, EARN aims to help consumers build financial resilience as well as devise nudges to increase personal saving rates through the use of data analytics. Jing worked with the researchers to generate new insights through various forms of data analytics techniques, including machine learning and statistical/data analysis. Ethan worked on developing data models that analyzed and predicted consumer spending and saving habits and behavioral triggers based on traditional financial histories. These students were supported with new SESF funding earmarked for financial inclusion.
International Development
Oyku Ahipasaoglu ’20 was a summer associate at Pact Ventures within Pact, a nonprofit international development organization founded in 1971 to improve the lives of those who are challenged by poverty and marginalization. Pact Ventures is the impact investing team, which explores how private capital and market-based mechanisms can be incentivized to solve complex social problems in collaboration with Pact’s core development projects. Oyku worked alongside the team on core work from market research and analysis to structuring investments and financial modeling.
Amna Akhtar, ’20SIPA, and Dorothy Lutz, ’20SIPA, interned at Jusoor, an organization that operates schools and educational programs for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. Jusoor serves over 1,200 students annually in three centers across Beirut and Bek’ka Valley. Amna, a Fullbright Scholar, contributed to the strategic design, data analysis, and impact assessment outcomes using participatory action research methodologies. She also supported Jusoor in streamlining its communication and organizational strategies objectives, leading various communication and fundraising initiatives. Dorothy helped Jusoor to implement a new monitoring and evaluation program, focused on collecting high-quality data on student educational attainment in an education in emergencies (EIE) context. Additionally, she supported data collection and analysis, and helped Jusoor to produce reports on program outputs and outcomes for partner organizations and donors.
Vaishnavi Bala, ’20SIPA, was a summer fellow at IMAGO, working with IMAGO’s client Fundacion Paraguaya. IMAGO serves as a catalyst for global grassroots organizations to scale up to their unique potential, serving as “the missing middle” that is essential to development. IMAGO has been working with Fundacion Paraguaya on the Poverty Stoplight (PS) since 2016 and is helping the PS build its expansion strategy. As the PS enters new regions, maintaining quality and measuring impact remain crucial in order for this innovative social tool to build its place globally. Vaishnavi was tasked to work on these objectives and helped the PS build a framework to measure impact and analyze its quality assurance process.
Katie Barnum, ’20SIPA, and Sean Hansen, ’20SIPA, interned with Together We Build It (TWBI), a multigenerational, community-driven, nonprofit. TWBI seeks to support a peaceful democratic transition in Libya through the empowerment of local communities. Their grassroots efforts promote the integration and engagement of women and youth in the political and public sphere. Katie was responsible for research advocacy, project coordination, policy recommendations, monitoring, and evaluation plans, and drafting of human rights reports for the United Nations. Sean assisted the team by contributing research and writing of a report on the status of human rights in Libya for the United Nations, as well as creating a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure the impact of several TWBI advocacy projects aiming to redefine social norms for women in Libyan society.
Natasha Bhuta, ’20SIPA; Fabian Crudele ’20; and Sabaa Notta, ’20SIPA, and worked with Lidya, a financial services platform improving access to credit and finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across frontier and emerging markets starting with Nigeria. Lidya has an online platform that makes it easier for SMEs to grow—creating wealth and employment, and supporting diversification of the economy. Lidya’s platform has allowed SMEs to apply online, get credit in 24 hours, and build a credit history. Natasha assisted with market expansion efforts that involved assessing market viability for Lidya's products and services in target markets and business development with enterprise partners, regulators, and other private sector players. She also helped develop and implement Lidya’s annual business plans for expansion markets in Eastern Europe. Sabaa’s role was to assist with the country's expansion in the new region—from building new partnerships to acquiring and managing new customers. Sabaa’s role also included research around expansion opportunities, as well as working on the business plan and budgeting. Fabian helped Lidya—which is based in Lagos, Nigeria, to expand to other frontier markets in Eastern Europe—by creating an expansion strategy and forming the right partnerships in new countries. These students were supported with new SESF funding earmarked for financial inclusion.
Emma Gamble, ’20CSSW, was a summer intern with Re:Coded in Istanbul, Turkey. Re:Coded works with conflict-affected and vulnerable youth to develop their professional technological skills to compete in the ever-expanding digital economy. This is achieved through coding boot camps, entrepreneurship academies and shorter workshops. This summer, Emma served as a Leadership Curriculum Advisor to Re:Coded’s education programs. Her responsibilities involved improving the current soft skills curriculum, adding new subject elements, and designing more effective ways of delivering programming and measuring its outcomes.
Sofia Ruiz de Teresa, ’20SIPA, interned with MeXCo Soluciones in Mexico City where she collaborated in the pilot project of Banco Santander that aimed to digitally onboard mom-and-pop shops so they can better manage their finances and create an agent banking ecosystem that can allow them to compete with large banks and retailers that offer financial services. MeXCo seeks to bridge the gap between new digital financial technologies available and their low adoption among low-income and unbanked populations. She helped scout unbanked locations, explore technology solutions, and prepare a report of findings with recommendations on improving efficiencies in this process. Lastly, Sofia conducted research to identify trends and opportunities of this new venture.
Katie Tsantes ’19 worked with Open Startup Tunisia (OST), an organization that runs a pre-incubation program and entrepreneurship competition aimed at fostering an entrepreneurial mindset across Tunisia. OST gives young Tunisians the resources and tools to create innovative businesses that solve social problems. Katie supported the team’s domestic and international expansion by creating a benchmarking system based on other international pre-incubator programs and supported further development of Columbia’s relationship with OST. Finally, Katie worked to create a recurring dashboard of OST-alumni feedback to identify and address future programming opportunities.
Michael Woods, ’20SIPA, worked with ReNew Power within their business excellence team. ReNew Power is a renewable energy developer and operator based near New Delhi, India, and has scaled from startup to the largest renewable energy power producer in India. ReNew’s mission is to be a leader in reducing India’s carbon footprint by changing the country’s energy sources. Michael supported this mission by focusing on generator performance, with an emphasis in developing tools and protocols related to asset monitoring, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.
CSR and Sustainability
Gurwin Singh Ahuja ’20 worked in business development and marketing at SolarKal, the first network of solar energy brokers in the United States representing businesses and commercial real estate owners who want to switch to solar to cut their energy costs. SolarKal helps businesses navigate the process of going solar by conducting feasibility assessments, financial analysis, and installer selection for their clients. Gurwin analyzed solar project economics, handled feasibility studies, researched federal, state, and local solar-related policy, and conducted technical analysis.
Da Hua Chen, ’19SEAS; Nithya Kocherlakota, ’19SEAS; and Yiwen Xiao, ’19SEAS, interned with Social Solar, an organization founded by Columbia University graduate students in 2017. Social Solar is a trusted online platform that matches individuals and businesses seeking clean energy alternatives with vetted solar energy suppliers. The company helps solar energy customers make informed decisions by analyzing their energy usage and assessing their energy needs. Da Hua worked on enhancing the company's AI utility bill reader and rating and decision algorithms, wrote and integrated an API for property technology platforms, and tested various channels and platforms for gaining traction. Nithya was responsible for energy analytics, using Social Solar’s machine learning utility bill plugin. She was also involved in developing a product roadmap for Social Solar to gain a competitive advantage and establishing partnerships with real estate portfolios looking to move to green energy alternatives. Yiwen worked on projects aimed at enhancing Social Solar’s energy platform. Her duties involved enhancing current decision-making clean energy algorithms, performing energy analytics using the AI machine learning utility bill plugin, and developing a product roadmap. Yiwen also engaged with solar customers and suppliers to better understand how energy software meets their needs.
Sam Cialek ’19 pursued his career goals with the property technology company Maalka. At Maalka, Sam helped to develop and commercialize the existing suite of SaaS products which allow cities and large companies to collect, validate, analyze, and visualize resource usage in their buildings. The data is then made available across Maalka’s clients to allow resource managers to discover and implement best practices. Maalka has helped dozens of cities and, more recently, a few Fortune 500 companies lower their carbon footprint in a way that’s verifiable with methods that are reproducible.
Matt Guevara ’20 spent his summer as a summer associate with Climate Finance Partners (CLIFI), a startup fund launching a publicly traded ETF to create a global price for carbon offsets allowances. The ETF will support the maturation of new markets to increase the liquidity and size of the carbon markets around the world, accelerating awareness and action to reduce greenhouse gases. Matt supported fundraising activities to prepare for the launch of the ETF, including investor research and outreach, research report creation, and CRM process buildout.
Aashish Jain ’19 interned as a private equity summer associate for 17 Asset Management (17AM), a global asset management company that specializes in blended finance and aligns investments with the 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), with the belief that achieving these global goals will contribute to a world that is economically prosperous, environmentally secure, and more inclusive, while also delivering superior long-term returns. Aashish sourced and screened potential investments for the SDG Jordan Growth Fund, and participated in due diligence, assessed financial strengths and risks, and developed an investment thesis and framework that aligns all investments with the UN SDGs.
Samuel Malin ’20 worked as a summer associate with CrossBoundary Energy, a renewable energy developer and independent power producer in Africa with the goal of removing the hurdle of high upfront investment costs and facilitating the expansion of the African renewable energy industry. In his role, Samuel supported the project development throughout Africa, streamlined company tools and processes based on his experience in the US solar development industry, and provided as-needed support to all business units based in the Nairobi office.
Jonathan Moallem, ’20SEAS, interned at Sustainable Westchester, an environmental nonprofit that aims to support community choice aggregation (CCA), to function as a group of local Westchester County governments procuring sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy supply to residents. His summer work was focused on low- and middle-income communities in White Plains, NY. Jonathan supported the organization’s goals by conducting field work within the communities to quantify a need for transition to sustainable energy while spreading awareness. The long term goal of the organization is to benefit Westchester County residents by transitioning to sustainable energy while reducing capital costs.
John Plaisted ’19 spent his summer working with the Madda Studio, a socially responsible business in Oaxaca, Mexico that manufactures and markets handmade textiles for the luxury home décor sector. It employs local artisans using ancient techniques and is committed to sustainable business practices. Madda Studio was exploring how to grow the business and have a bigger impact at scale, and John developed the company’s strategic plan, created financial projections, evaluated the current pricing strategy, and identified operational improvements for the business as it scaled.
Riyana Razalee, ’20SPS, was a summer research and strategy intern with Re-Nuble, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member based in NYC that is dedicated to increasing resource efficiency and sustainability in our cities. By developing and analyzing food waste recycling tools and strategies, Riyana equipped Re-Nuble with a sound long-term growth strategy that led to the company’s successful business commercialization, scaling up, market entry opportunities, as well as business process and operational improvements.
Shangyou Wu, ’19SEAS, was a data scientist intern at GrowSquares. He was a key player in the development of plant recommendation and support engines of GrowSquares’ digital products and services. Shangyou defined the data structures GrowSquares used to determine which plants work best and ensured they are performing when used by customers. He also improved the engine behind plant success and developed tests that isolate susceptibility to varying diseases/fungi and improve plant yield.
2018
Nonprofit & Public Management
Mónica Viñuales, ’19BUS, interned with the NYC Department of Education as an education pioneers fellow at the Office of School Wellness Programs (OSWP), part of the Office of School Health that guides schools in teaching 1.1 million students what they need to know to make healthy, informed choices throughout their lives. She analyzed innovative ways to report on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) school health profiles survey and youth risk behavioral survey results for NYC schools.
Alissa Ayden, ’19BUS, and Cindy Qin, ’19BUS, worked as strategy associates with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization, which provides financial, real estate, and management support to more than 200 of the best nonprofits. Robin Hood uses a system of metrics, cost-benefit ratios, and counterfactuals to rigorously evaluate poverty interventions and its investments. Alissa provided consulting services to some of Robin Hood’s grantees and assisted Robin Hood’s senior leaders in assessing opportunities and recommending directions on a set of key initiatives. Cindy provided the education team with recommendations that helped them influence for-profit education market players to advance poverty alleviation efforts. In addition, Cindy worked with Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), a Robin Hood community partner, to rebrand its communications with external and internal stakeholders.
Joshua Barrett, ’19BUS, interned at New York Presbyterian as the quality and patient safety coordinator for Weill Cornell Medicine, one of the top-ranked clinical and medical research centers in the country. Focusing on the opioid addiction epidemic, Joshua led the initiative to develop an engagement tool for outlier prescribers to help providers achieve the health system’s goals around de-escalation of opioid use. He met with multiple stakeholders to clearly articulate opioid prescribing problems, delivered an opioid engagement tool and prescribing tracking mechanism, and presented recommendations for how managed care contracts may encourage and sustain opioid de-escalation and tracking.
Mayana Bonapart, ’19CSSW, was a Sustainability Education Program (SEP) summer intern with Trash for Peace (TfP), a public service and sustainability nonprofit in Portland, Oregon that provides hands-on, creative experiences to encourage resilient communities. SEP’s central focus is to empower youth and community at various “home forward” properties through weekly after-school sustainability education. These properties are in areas that struggle with poverty and gentrification. Mayana supported the bilingual yoga program by teaching classes directly to low-income housing residents and actively seeking out new partnerships to support the sustainability and further development of the bilingual yoga programs.
Andrew Rodriguez Calderon, ’18JRN, and Mustafa Z. Mirza, ’18JRN, were fellows at The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer-prize-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the United States’ criminal justice system. Andrew was the data journalism fellow and used tools such as Python, Excel, Github, UNIX, SQL, and d3. He reported on long-term investigative stories and produced several smaller pieces over the course of the fellowship. He worked closely with the interactive reporter, designer, director of technology, and deputy managing editor on a marquee investigation, and he visualized data for stories in the pursuit of strong accountability reporting on the U.S. criminal justice system. Mustafa carried out research for ongoing investigative projects and pitched stories on issues that lie at the intersections of mental health and criminal justice.
Andrea Floersheimer, ’19CC, interned with the Armed Services Arts Partnership, an organization based in Alexandria, VA that focuses on reintegrating veterans into their communities through the arts. ASAP offers free, weekly classes in stand-up comedy, improv, storytelling, and creative writing to U.S. veterans. During her time with ASAP, Andrea directly supported the executive director in planning and executing Laugh Your ASAP Off, the organization’s annual stand-up comedy competition and fundraiser. She also supported the executive director and program manager in the development of ASAP’s internal site for ASAP’s staff, instructors, and board of directors.
Wook Hwang, ’19BUS, interned with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), one of the world’s largest philanthropic service organizations, which has overseen more than $3 billion in grant-making since its inception. RPA provides research and counsel on charitable giving; develops philanthropic programs; and offers complete program, administrative, and management services for foundations and trusts. Wook worked with the CFO to create financial models, pricing structures, and decision support tools for each service line that would inform ongoing business strategy.
Belle Lin, ’18JRN, was an investigative reporting fellow at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, an independent, nonprofit news organization in Madison that focuses on statewide public-interest journalism. The center collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, and is a founding member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, the first network of nonprofit journalism organizations conducting investigative reporting in the public interest. During her fellowship, Belle investigated labor trafficking in the Wisconsin restaurant industry, shedding light on an exploitative practice by finding public records, analyzing data, and conducting interviews. Belle also produced photography and other multimedia elements for various pieces on the center's website, WisconsinWatch.org.
Matt McConnell, ’19BUS, spent the summer as a business plan intern with the National Park Service (NPS). He worked at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO), where he created a comprehensive business model for short-term leasing of underutilized park resources and managed federal land encroachments. His goal was to ultimately support the mission of the NPS and to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of future generations.
Marsha McLeod, ’18JRN, was a reporting fellow with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering guns and gun violence at national and local levels across America. As a summer fellow, Marsha provided investigative support for ongoing projects, including filing Freedom of Information Act requests, acquiring and analyzing data, and researching people and companies. In a climate of increasingly polarized public conversation around guns and gun control, Marsha designed and reported an accurate, balanced, and in-depth investigative story about guns in the U.S.
Chris Moon, ’18BUS, interned for Voices Foundation for Vulnerable Children, a nonprofit organization based in Thailand that provides shelter and medical aid for orphans. The foundation facilitates volunteering programs at an orphanage and fundraises to purchase basic necessities and medical aid bundles for the orphans. Chris assisted the founder in developing an initial development and management plan for prospective resources and a daycare center in Bangkok. Chris also assisted in raising its fund so that it can be a direct investment vehicle in building more homeless shelters.
Caitlyn Passaretti, ’20CSSW SIPA, interned at Root and Rebound, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awardee dedicated to assisting people upon release from prison and helping them navigate the legal barriers of reentry. Root and Rebound strives to create a just system, educate communities, and strengthen reentry practices. As an intern, Caitlyn was responsible for working with the Native American tribes in Northern California, conducting needs-based assessments and addressing the lack of resources on the reservations. She advocated for supplying and providing resources to women of color as they reenter society, and researched and compiled a comprehensive list of social service partners.
Andres Palacios Schippert, ’18BUS, worked with School of International professor Michael Eckhart and Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Usher for the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change as a research assistant for their upcoming book on Climate Finance. The book will cover the ways in which the financial sector—and the private sector in general—can play a fundamental role in deploying capital efficiently into climate mitigation and adaptation solutions. Andres provided research support and edited the text, based on his academic experience in the sector. The goal of the project was to make the co-authors’ vast experience available to students and professionals interested in contributing to address climate change.
Katie Spradley, ’19BUS SIPA, worked at the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change, assisting Professors Bruce Usher and Todd Jick and the Chazen Institute to further institutionalize the immersion course “Bridging the American Divide.” The course will be taught for the second time in the fall of 2018, and strives to continue to foster understanding of the divides in America, how they might apply to the global community as a whole, and how MBA graduates might identify opportunities to solve such challenges. Katie also assisted in further strengthening the local relationships that the School is building with the Youngstown community.
Jill Scovanner, ’19BUS, worked at the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change, supporting Gwen Shufro, ’06BUS, director of the Nonprofit Board Leadership Program (NBLP). Jill worked to enhance the NBLP by creating a “theory of change” framework to help NBLP participants better understand how their partner organizations create value. In addition, she developed a nonprofit consulting resource guide that provides program participants with resources for the most common types of projects, including fundraising, metrics, board development, and finance and budgeting. She also conducted the center’s benchmarking analysis with quantitative and qualitative measures to improve programs. Finally, she researched innovative philanthropic models and thought leaders in New York City as part of an ongoing philanthropy series designed to explore how to scale different impact areas.
Elizabeth Weiland, ’19BUS, and Yuanan Zhang, ’19BUS, worked at the MTA New York City Transit Authority (NYCT), the largest transportation agency in North America. NYCT operates the New York City Subway, the Staten Island Railway, and the New York City bus system. Elizabeth developed operational scenarios related to the deployment of staff between the field and a new bus command center, which will be three times the size of the current center. She also worked with an internal change management team to survey internal stakeholders on issues and challenges regarding significant new technology, and devised adoption strategies for the new system. Yuanan worked on a project to improve the customer feedback handling processes to reduce staff time per submission, shorten response time, and increase the number of complaints acted upon. Her work also included developing new metrics as needed.
Onika Williams, ’18BUS, served as a strategic project manager under the direction of president and CEO Jon Rosenberg at Hebrew Public, an organization in the process of evolving its school design and model to continue improving outcomes for students. She managed various initiatives of this strategic planning work, which will ensure that Hebrew Public has a rigorous international plan for its next phase and will ultimately enable the organization to better support their teachers, students, staff, and the greater community.
Julia Zweig, ’19BUS, worked at the New York Road Runners, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. She worked on the strategy, planning, and organization operations team to support the CEO in strategy development, growth plan execution, and cross-functional team project implementation. She assisted on several key strategic initiatives and conducted research and analysis in order to develop recommendations for the senior leadership team. She also led content development for the annual summer strategy sessions, creating sessions aligned to the NY Road Runners five-year business plan.
Carli Roth, ’19BUS, was matched by Inspiring Capital—a social impact consulting firm that pairs MBA students with social enterprises—with the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, a community-based organization that provides after-school educational and developmental programs to youth (6–18 years old) throughout the Bronx. She created an impact assessment and measurement tool that the organization can use to track their impact across their various program offerings on a quarterly and annual basis.
Social Entrepreneurship
Rodrigo Inurreta Acero, ’19SIPA, and Jose Clautier, ’19BUS, worked with solar broker SolarKal in New York City. Rodrigo assisted the director of product by analyzing solar project economics; handling feasibility studies; researching federal, state, and local solar-related policy; and conducting technical analysis. Jose worked in business development, defining metrics and doing data analysis to provide management with tools to negotiate future rounds of funding. He also assisted the COO in evaluating SolarKal’s geographic expansion in the United States and supported the team in creating the overall strategy for the company. Lastly, he conducted research to identify trends and opportunities in cleantech for SolarKal.
Jiexin Cai, ’19BUS, interned with the FlexTraPower, Inc. (DBA Bonbouton), a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awardee that provides a technology platform for preventative diabetic health care. Bonbouton aims to eliminate the occurrence of amputation through their first product, a smart shoe insole that detects the early signs of foot ulcers, simplifies patient self-monitoring and reduces the frequency of doctor visits. Jiexin assisted the CEO and the COO with the development of due diligence material for investor pitching and sales activities for hospital outreach.
Jane Chongsuwat, ’19GSAPP, was a summer research intern with Studio Rede, a landscape and conservation research and design studio. The studio challenges the present paradigm of global conservation by exploring the territories of the fourth world—the hunter-gatherer, nomadic, pastoral, and subsistence farming peoples living beyond the modern industrial norm. A publication, complemented by a digital platform, seeks to shift the perception of fourth world people by discovering, documenting, and detailing the ancient indigenous innovations that they have used to sustainably adapt their ecosystems for millennia. This project is the recipient of the New York State Council of the Arts Architecture and Design Award and is fiscally sponsored by the Storefront for Art and Architecture. Jane was responsible for the creation, curation, and launch of the digital platform, publication, and several exhibitions around the project.
Julia Fiks Salem, ’19CSSW, interned with BE MORE, a social venture based in New York City with the mission of unleashing human capital and creating a measurably better world by eradicating bias. BE MORE provides science-based implicit bias trainings and consulting services to help health care and business professionals be aware of implicit bias and make workplaces and services more inclusive. As the communications and marketing Intern, Julia helped BE MORE attract new clients by creating a new social media strategy, revamping their website, and conducting market research to expand BE MORE’s impact to new markets.
Molly Hazlehurst, ’19SEAS (undergraduate), interned with Radiator Labs, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awardee committed to eliminating overheating in steam-heated buildings through a product design that enables radiator level controls and real-time data visualization. The technology eliminates wasted fuel and, at the same time, provides a comfortable environment where users have the ability to control the climate. Molly worked on optimizing the supply chain and operations management for timely and cost effective installation of the product for their upcoming project to install 4,000 radiator covers. She was also involved with optimization of insulation material.
Caitlin Jones, ’19CSSW, interned at JustFix.nyc, a New York City-based nonprofit that provides crucial new resources for tenants, community advocates, and legal service organizations. Their technology enables unrepresented tenants to take action on issues of apartment disrepair and landlord harassment and to connect with community-based organizing and advocacy efforts. Caitlin coordinated the day-to-day tasks of the “Housing Rights Program,” complementing the self-help website with an additional direct service component. She recruited and trained housing coaches to aid clients in need of support when faced with housing struggles.
Jiaxi Lu, ’18SEAS, and Fei Sun, ’18SEAS, were summer software engineer interns with Social Solar, a third-party online platform that matches families and businesses seeking community solar opportunities with vetted community solar developers. Social Solar believes that instead of utility companies telling customers what they owe, customers will tell utility companies what they will pay, helping customers to save money and encouraging clean energy usage. Jiaxi worked on an online ration system of energy companies and an online service that extracts information from utility bill pictures. He also worked to solve a decision-making algorithm for the customers to allocate their energy sources. Fei was responsible for enhancing the energy platform to include matching algorithms, an energy supplier rating system, a peer-to-peer ratings-comment system, and AI machine learning utility bill plug-in. She also engaged with solar customers and suppliers to better understand how energy software meets their needs.
Nissa Ostroff, ’18BUS, interned with Plentify, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awardee that aims to create sustainable, intelligent cities that are resilient to the impacts of climate change and rapid urbanization. Nissa worked on expanding the company’s solar water heating business, as well as other initiatives that aim to tackle the water crisis in Cape Town.
Josie Rosario, ’19CSSW, worked at Sweet Water Dance and Yoga (SWDY), a for-profit social impact startup that provides culturally relevant and affirming health and wellness services to adults and children in the South Bronx. Josie worked specifically with their signature program Roots and Rivers Kid’s Wellness Summer Program to provide technical and programmatic assistance. By providing data management and analysis, as well as conducting a comprehensive program evaluation, Josie expanded SWDY’s capacity to scale the program in future years, secure additional funding, and improve upon current processes to more effectively and efficiently increase its impact for the South Bronx community.
Josh Schanker, ’18BUS, interned with Valpro Health, a startup nonprofit that seeks to improve health care and primary care services by assisting providers to adopt a value-based care system, improving access to care services via telemedicine, and addressing the lack of quality care given to underprivileged communities. Valpro is currently developing a donation-based health care cryptocurrency called CareCoin. CareCoin enables individuals and institutions to donate their earnings, interest, and gains to charitable funds that subsidize medical costs for underprivileged and low-income families. Josh worked in business development, where he helped define the business model, go-to-market growth strategy, and competitive landscape.
Yuvprakash Singh, ’18SEAS, and Tarun Srinivasan, ’20CC, were technical interns at Kinnos Inc., a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awardee dedicated to protecting health care workers and patients. Their product, Highlight, has increased the effectiveness of disinfectants, reducing the possibility of disease outbreaks and saving lives by eliminating human error. Yuvprakash was responsible for designing his own experiments, conducting literature reviews, and generating publishable data. By generating new chemistry, Tarun’s project focused on developing future products that would catalyze the expansion of the company’s product portfolio.
Laura Barrera Vera, ’19SIPA, interned at MeshMinds, a startup impact investor in creative technology based in Singapore. MeshMinds incubates Asian artists to bring emerging technology to life in creative, engaging, and meaningful ways that build awareness around the most pressing issues in our society, including climate change. During her time at MeshMinds, Laura was responsible for assisting with the management of Singapore’s first technology accelerator for social good and developed a strategy for the long-term sustainability of the organization’s flagship program, which she aligned with the sustainable development goals.
JoAnne Williams, ’18BUS, interned with My Money, My Future, a social venture that provides financial wellness tools to millennials of color to facilitate the creation of wealth and address the racial wealth gap in the U.S. JoAnne helped the organization develop a go-to-market strategy for a white label financial wellness product for companies and universities with multicultural workforces and students. She created whitepapers on the business case for culturally relevant financial wellness tools, and she drafted external-facing sales materials for potential clients. Additionally, JoAnne helped scope and access potential future clients and community partners.
International Development
Daniel Aho, ’19SIPA, and Maud Schmitt, ’19SIPA, worked with Kiron Open Higher Education, the world's first university for refugees that provides online education for students in Jordan and Germany. Founded in 2014, Kiron uses an innovative combination of online and offline learning to provide accessible, sustainable, and cost-effective education. In Amman, Jordan, Daniel used his experience in audio-video production to improve Kiron’s monitoring and evaluation of a newly developed facilitator training program. Maud provided job-market analysis to identify the skills needed by local industries. She also developed courses to build the needed skills to maximize students’ integration into the highly competitive job market in Jordan.
Angela Concha, ’18BUS, and Arianna Espinosa, ’19BUS, interned at Endeavor. Endeavor is a global nonprofit that works to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs worldwide. Angela worked in the Colombian office helping Refinancia, an SME that provides alternative financing options for people who are not served by traditional banks or do not have a formal credit option in the country. Arianna focused on building an agri-bio pipeline in Peru by performing industry research identifying the key players and building a framework to visualize the industry’s ecosystem. Additionally, Arianna worked alongside one of Endeavor’s entrepreneurs, La Grama, a Peruvian social enterprise that empowers smallholder farmers and buys their produce to export overseas. Arianna supported La Grama in their transformational journey from paper-based to digital.
Tom Demaio, ’19SIPA, worked with the Social Innovation Academy (SINA) and Kyusa in Kampala, Uganda. Both organizations aim to stimulate entrepreneurship amongst marginalized youth to decrease unemployment. Tom's role involved improving their program designs by linking them to monitoring frameworks. For SINA, he streamlined the organization's conceptual framework to clarify how participants develop into entrepreneurs. At Kyusa, Tom developed feedback mechanisms to predict the viability of program operations in expansion sites outside of Kampala. In support of these tasks, Tom also led capacity building workshops on monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
Laura Dreese, ’19BUS, interned with Oradian, a Croatian fintech company that provides core-banking software to microfinance institutions in Africa and Southeast Asia. Oradian’s SaaS platform adapts to the needs of microfinance institutions, enabling credit managers to access information more efficiently. Increased access to information promotes the institutions’ ability to serve their borrowers, resulting in more people gaining access to financial services and economic opportunities. Laura served in a market entry strategy role focused on Oradian’s expansion into the Ghanian market. She was based in Croatia for seven weeks and Ghana for three.
Thomas Frischknecht, ’18BUS, interned with eduK, an online educational platform that offers courses and other tools necessary for people to learn, grow, and invest in their areas of interest. The company’s ultimate goal is to empower low and medium income families to become entrepreneurs. EduK relies on free live streaming as well as an exclusive catalog for subscribers, with over 1,700 courses in topics like gastronomy, crafts, photography, business, fashion, beauty and more. His responsibilities included providing support to the firm’s board through preparing and analyzing financial statements, as well as sound financial projections used in the series C round of funding.
Wesam Hasnain, ’18BUS, interned with Sukoon Water, a Pakistani nonprofit organization that establishes community-based water treatment plants to treat, market, and supply World Health Organization standard drinking water to communities at affordable prices. Wesam’s summer consisted of two phases: distribution/operational optimization and product and marketing alignment. In the first phase, Wesam developed a robust set of KPIs and improvement strategies for the company to better track and refine both its distribution and operational process. In the second, he developed effective marketing strategies to differentiate Sukoon from competitors while also educating consumers on the benefits of the consistently safe water that Sukoon provides.
Amir Khouzam, ’19SIPA, worked with the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD) in Beirut, Lebanon, where he monitored and evaluated the organization’s programs, as well as analyzed and synthesized reports on American stabilization programs in Syria. These activities supported CCSD's mission of increasing the capacity of Syrians, both at home and abroad, to build institutions of inclusive, responsive, and effective governance and civil society.
Indira Martinez, ’19CSSW, interned with She’s The First (STF), an international nonprofit whose innovative work fosters the next generation of female leadership by providing girls around the globe with scholarships for education. Indira worked to expand STF’s capacity to monitor and evaluate their grassroots education projects that increased the efficacy and impact of their global partner agencies. Indira also created, managed, and expanded STF’s innovate action network and global citizenship initiative. By developing advocacy tools and resources for young female scholars, she helped to extend the international STF network and promote global awareness of the need for sustained investments in girls’ education. Indira also worked with executive leadership to evaluate ongoing projects, expand the capacity of the mission, and ultimately, promote a brighter future for the female leaders of tomorrow.
Betsy Miles, ’19CSSW, interned with Friends of Kisoro, a community-based organization in Kisoro, Uganda committed to supporting the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda in its mission to provide care for people fleeing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Friends of Kisoro’s mission is to implement quality psychosocial care for survivors of trauma who arrive at the Nykabande UNHR transit camp. Betsy conducted psychosocial assessments, basic counseling, support groups, crisis support, referrals to other camp-based services, and provided support in transferring clients to resettlement camps.
Patience Olanitori, ’18BUS, interned at Praava Health, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member. Through medical centers, Praava provides quality health care for the middle class in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Patience worked with the medical services and innovations teams on home-based medical services, as well as the experimentation and rollout process of the home care service. She also helped the communications team to evaluate and make recommendations to improve Praava’s feedback mechanisms.
Achenyo Otigba, ’19BUS, researched the socioeconomic impacts of the growing contemporary art market in West Africa. Working with the Foundation for Contemporary and Modern Visual Arts in Nigeria, Achenyo evaluated the regional art market by focusing on how local gallery systems affect the production, distribution, and resale value of works in West Africa.
Laura Palantone, ’18BUS, interned with De La Gente, a nonprofit working with small-holder coffee farmers and cooperatives in Guatemala to create economic opportunities that improve the quality of life for their families and communities. The organization offers specific training, education, and access to markets and financing for coffee farmers and cooperatives to develop and sell products. Laura assisted with strategic planning and helped build the capacity of the development and program teams.
Laura Postarini, ’19GSAPP, worked with Public Works Studio, an organization based in Beirut, Lebanon that is dedicated to the structuring and implementation of community-centered design solutions at an architectural and urban level primarily for informal settlings in Lebanon and the region. Public Works was part of the Beirut Design Week 2018 in their Design and the City program. Laura helped design a process of participatory planning for refugee camps; the work involved research and fieldwork in Mar–Elias, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. The aim of the project was to implement the participatory practices and develop a future vision for the field.
Laura Rodgers, ’19BUS, worked with AfricInvest, a Pan-African investment firm that helps African businesses scale successfully by providing growth capital and expertise. AfricInvest emphasizes and maintains the highest environmental, social, and governance practices at their portfolio companies, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable business landscape. Laura focused on AfricInvest’s most recent fund, AfricInvest FIVE – Financial Inclusion Vehicle, an innovative, evergreen fund dedicated to financial inclusion. The fund aims to help the estimated 350 million unbanked Africans gain access to the financial system, which allows them to join a formalized banking system or subscribe to microfinance services, as well as access savings tools and funding necessary for their businesses.
Tarang Singhal, ’19SIPA, interned at Ashoka Social Financial Services (SFS), which works to identify and strengthen structural solutions for challenges faced by the world today. Ashoka is developing a framework called “economic architecture” to research and understand the market forces that drive the structural changes in developing a social innovation. Tarang studied a cohort of 30 Ashoka fellows across the world to understand and uncover the patterns on how they are disrupting markets. This will help Ashoka to identify and support new innovations in these markets in the future.
Jimena Vallejos, ’19SIPA, worked for IMAGO Global Grassroots to assess and strengthen the “theory of change” for Transforming Rural India (TRI), civil society initiative that seeks to transform economic and social lives in the poorest parts of rural India through empowering women (particularly through self-help groups), connecting villagers with both NGO and government social programs, and developing local economic entrepreneurship and links to value chains. Through qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, Jimena helped the organization evaluate its impact in communities and highlighted necessary adjustments to ensure that they are aligned with their mission and can ensure their long-term sustainability.
CSR and Sustainability
Sam Cialek, ’19BUS, worked on business development initiatives for Maalka, a three-year-old company that has developed a suite of products that allows cities and large private real estate owners to collect, validate, analyze, and visualize the resource consumption of their buildings. The data is then made available across Maalka’s clients to allow resource managers to discover and implement best practices. To date, it has helped many companies and cities lower their carbon footprint in a verifiable way with reproducible methods.
Yuanyuan Cui, ’18BUS, and John Christopher, ’19BUS, interned with Closed Loop Partners (CLP). CLP invests in sustainable consumer goods, advanced recycling technologies, and the development of the circular economy. Yuanyuan assisted in the investment process in social ventures, ranging from sourcing, screening, product assessments, management team assessments, valuation, and financial modeling, as well as social impact assessment. Using her experience and connections, she also acted as the China liaison, where she conducted research on capital and market opportunities, co-investors, and markets for company sales. John supported Closed Loop’s investment and impact professionals on pipeline evaluation, due diligence and portfolio evaluation. His work contributed to CLP at a critical point in their organizational journey and helped set the stage for the next phase of their growth.
Fernanda Isabel Avila Swinburn, ’19SPS, who is pursuing her master’s in sustainability, interned with Sustainable Westchester, an organization that works to promote sustainability in the county of Westchester, New York, by designing programs to facilitate access to renewables and clean transportation. Fernanda investigated the availability of funding for low- to moderate-income residents of the county through the Low-income Housing Tax Credit and Utility Allowance programs. She also analyzed the projected effect of the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) goals on rates—the economic aspects of cost shifting to the target population. This contribution addressed the impact of the changing energy world on low- and middle-income families.
Lihan Jin, ’20GSAPP, interned at One Architecture and Urbanism, an urban design studio at the forefront of sustainable, resilient urbanism and smart city technology. Lihan participated in a multidisciplinary team working on the project BIG U, where he focused on tectonic design for the floodwall finishing and digital modeling for Stuyvesant Cove Park. As an architecture student with a landscape background, Lihan also assisted in One’s urban research and mapping activities in support of resiliency planning, as well as One’s efforts to codify and document the unique process by which these projects are developed and implemented. In addition, Lihan participated in the design and production of illustrative materials to communicate complicated planning and engineering concepts for the public and community groups.
Yen Le, ’19BUS, interned at Navajo Power, a public benefit corporation that develops clean energy projects on native lands. The organization partners with native communities to find energy solutions that provide economic benefits to the region and are competitive to the power grid. Yen worked with the organization and partner communities to understand the economic costs and benefits of keeping Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, operating compared with alternatives, such as solar energy projects. She also supported fundraising efforts by refining pitch decks and related investor materials.
Javier Leon, ’19SIPA, interned with 10Power, which invests in renewable energy projects that can be paid back over time, providing clean power for businesses in developing countries. Javier implemented process efficiencies, created equipment databases, streamlined proposal processes, and refined the model for designing and estimating project costs to the customer, while having exposure to the operational, business, and the project management system.
Jeannette Paulino, ’19BUS, interned with Inspiring Capital—a social impact consulting firm that pairs MBA students with social ventures—and KNIC Properties LP—a group of investors redeveloping the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, NY to become the world’s largest indoor ice sports facility. She served as the liaison between KNIC Properties LP and the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group to build a financial model to secure $150 million in financing for the construction and renovation of the capital project. The Kingsbridge National Ice Center is expected to be a sustainable green building and will generate over 3,000 jobs, $1B in economic activity over the next 30 years in the Bronx borough, and recreational opportunities for at-risk youth.
Christopher Picerni, ’19BUS, interned with Ember Infrastructure Management, where he conducted research and diligence on a renewable energy investment opportunity. One aspect involved thematic research around a particular industry, such as solar. This research helped form the organization’s views on future opportunities in the industry and was used in marketing materials during the fundraising process. Chris also focused on providing an early-stage diligence report on a particular investment opportunity within the industry. He worked with other members of the investment team, as well as engineering consultants, to determine the viability of the investment and modeled future cash flows and valuation.
Lydia Quinn, ’19BUS, was a summer fellow with Gore Range Capital, a social venture capital firm that invests in companies that seek to cure incurable diseases which, as a result, dramatically reduce health care costs, provide access to health care for those in need, and improve health care delivery and quality of life for underserved populations. Companies must be paradigm-shifting in the health care ecosystem, especially for those with limited access or resources. Lydia partnered with portfolio companies to actively drive success and support their social missions.
2017
Nonprofit & Public Management
Nicolas Barral, ’17BUS, interned with Malaak, a Lebanese nonprofit organization that provides education for Syrian refugees displaced in Lebanon. At their Academic Center in Akkar, in the north of Lebanon, Malaak provides a wide range of classes and activities led by volunteers. Nicolas set in place the tools to monitor performance and assess the impact of the organization. He worked on improving the internal structure of the organization to make it more efficient in delivering services to refugees and also helped in fundraising activities.
Eugenio Beccar Varela, ’18BUS, and Federico Martino, ’18BUS, interned with the Strategic Initiatives group at the MTA New York City Transit, one of the largest local transportation systems in the world providing services to more than 8 million passengers every day. The Strategic Initiatives group serves as an internal consulting group for the city’s high-priority projects. Eugenio worked mainly on a procurement engagement aiming to provide more opportunities for women and minorities, where he analyzed vast amounts of data, developed a tool for the procurement department, and presented a set of recommendations. Eugenio also worked across a different set of engagements and studies such as improving the bus service time performance and analyzing the metro construction costs relative to other big cities. Federico worked on a project to enhance performance reporting for NYC Transit’s $475 million+ Paratransit service operation. The goal was to review and modify existing reporting to better meet senior management requirements in a “dashboard” format. As a corollary project, Federico also worked with Paratransit on assessing and improving its customer service performance in terms of meeting customer assistance needs and timeliness of service.
Sean Campbell, ’17JRN, was the investigative reporting fellow with The Trace, a news media startup dedicated to coverage of guns and gun violence in the U.S. Through his fellowship, he gathered and analyzed data, assisted with research and reports for ongoing projects, and conceived, reported and delivered an investigative piece that expands the coverage of guns in the U.S. Sean helped produce quality journalism that exposed wrongdoing, rooted out injustices, and illuminated firearm issues that are in the public interest.
Taylor Eldridge, ’17JRN and Manuel Villa, ’17JRN, were fellows at The Marshall Project, a Pulitzer-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. Taylor was responsible for pitching, reporting, and writing at least three of her own stories including a feature-length piece on the privatization of sending care packages to inmates and the fiscal burden it places on inmates and their families, and collected nationwide data to support an interactive graphic to accompany the story. She also assisted in gathering national statistics on the number of inmates who have their parental rights permanently terminated while incarcerated and gave an in-depth look at the practice of sending patients in a psychiatric crisis who are medically stable to the county jail to wait for a bed at a treatment facility. Taylor also attended various seminars and trainings over the course of the fellowship covering topics from digital security to public information requests. Manuel was the Data Journalism Fellow and utilized tools such as Python, Excel, GitHub, and SQL. Manuel focused on using data to search for stories on lingering repercussions of the war-on-crime policies from the 1980s and ‘90s. Manuel worked closely with the interactive reporter, designer, director of technology and deputy managing editor to visualize data for Stories and to do additional research for long-term projects.
Gabriel Gonzalez, ’18BUS, interned with Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that raises funds from charities to invest in companies, leaders, and ideas that are focused on alleviating poverty. Gabriel worked with the portfolio investment team based in New York and analyzed their portfolio companies to identify trends to better inform investment decisions and pinpoint best practices across industries, regions, and the size of companies.
Imani Gooden, ’18BUS, and Romain Prudhomme, ’18BUS, interned with Refoundry, an innovative nonprofit startup dedicated to improving the criminal justice system. By training formerly incarcerated people to repurpose discarded materials and incubating participants into their own independent businesses, Refoundry’s purpose is to ultimately reduce our nation’s 2.2 million prison population and 75% recidivism rate. Imani and Romain worked directly with Refoundry’s participants to help them establish their own enterprises, helping them build budgets, business and marketing plans, growth strategies, and operational processes. Additionally, they worked closely with the executive director to help expand organizational and financial capacity.
Elsbeth Grant, ’18BUS, interned with Columbia Law School’s Center for Public Research and Leadership, which provides consulting for organizations that are transforming K–12 education in either the public or social sector. Elsbeth worked with an organization to research the challenges of supporting military connected children in public schools and surface opportunities for collaboration among schools and other organizations. She conducted interviews with a variety of stakeholders, analyzed qualitative and quantitative data, and assisted in drafting the summative report of CPRL’s recommendations. CPRL is hoping that this project can be used as a model for future projects with similarly impacted groups of students.
Ian Krohn, ’17BUS, worked at Armadura Gym, a Mozambican nonprofit health and fitness company that works to rehabilitate and train former homeless youth. Armadura runs a vocational internship in partnership with a local center for homeless youth offering job training, scholarships, and profit sharing. Ian helped spearhead Armadura’s expansion plan including fundraising and developing the nonprofit’s strategic growth plan to expand the organization’s sustainable revenue sources and increase their vocational capacity amongst Maputo’s street population.
Jesse McCormick, ’18GSAPP, worked in the offices of One Architecture and Urbanism shadowing the multi-disciplinary team working on the BIG U: a rising sea level and storm surge contingency plan providing Manhattan with infrastructure to protect the island from climate danger while using natural and sustainable elements to make these spaces open public parks. These projects, along with other resiliency planning efforts One Architecture is engaged in for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, rely on a community driven design process, giving voice and agency to local actors.
Sophia Mysel, ’18CSSW, worked at Step By Step Support, which provides counseling services and transitional housing to people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. She assessed clients’ histories of both their drug and alcohol use and exposure to trauma. Much of her work when creating treatment plans revolved around managing trauma symptoms without the use of drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Sophia also conducted group therapy sessions. Finally, she created a resource guide about the social services in Pittsburgh to distribute at Step By Step’s transitional housing units to assist clients in meeting their biopsychosocial needs.
Katherine Proctor, ’17JRN, worked as the summer investigative fellow at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, a nonpartisan journalism nonprofit headquartered in Madison and devoted to dogged investigative reporting at the state level. The center is also a founding member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a group of nonprofit journalism organizations that conduct investigative reporting in the public interest. The center’s recent reporting includes stories on immigrants working in the state's dairy industry, the quality of the state's groundwater supply, and the state criminal justice system's changing methods of dealing with sex offenders. This summer, Katherine contributed to the center's investigation of DNA analysis of hair samples for federal criminal cases in Wisconsin.
Katie Pypes, ’18CSSW, was an intern with She’s The First (STF), an international nonprofit that fosters the next generation of female leadership by providing girls around the globe with scholarships for education. Katie worked to coordinate a partner conference for East and West Africa in addition to the development of an action network. By developing advocacy- and activism- focused tools, she extended the international STF network and promoted global awareness of the need for mentorship and support among young women. Her work to develop essential programming and supporting materials expanded the capacity of STF to help more girls become college graduates in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.
Katie Spradley, ’19BUS, spent the summer as a business plan consultant with the National Park Service. The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the U.S. for the enjoyment and education of all people. Katie worked at Badlands National Park and Minuteman Missile Site in South Dakota to identify resource efficiencies, assess pricing strategies, and facilitate synergies with park operations and those of local tribal reservations. These efforts supported the goals of continuing to increase public interest, visitation, and support for the National Parks.
Trace Welch, ’17BUS, worked as a thought leadership fellow at the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, a nonprofit that brings together asset owners, managers, and creators of top global companies to make capitalism more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive through practices that extend the opportunities and benefits of our economic system to everyone. Trace worked on the thought leadership team to develop content and supported the Embankment Project, a pilot program that develops a framework for companies and investors to measure and report the impact and value created for all stakeholders.
Lorna Woodham, ’18CSSW/UTS, interned at S.O.U.L. (Sisters Organizing for Understanding & Leadership) Sisters Leadership Collective (SSLC), a groundbreaking leadership development nonprofit mobilizing vulnerable young women (including trans and gender nonconforming youth) in NYC and Miami to interrupt the cycle of poverty and violence. SSLC empowers young women to become agents of personal and community transformation, utilizing a four pillars model: leadership, social justice, healing, and the arts. As the parent and community outreach coordinator for the Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Program, Lorna developed, piloted, and evaluated a weekly trauma-informed support group for caregivers, focusing on the best way to support the youth. She also coordinated “Leader Wednesday” luncheons for youth.
Zifan Yang, ’18BUS, interned with the Computer Science for All initiative within the NYC Department of Education. This initiative will allow all NYC public school students to receive a meaningful, high-quality Computer Science (CS) education at each school level: elementary, middle, and high school by 2025. Zifan sought to build systems for budgeting, purchasing, invoicing, and contracting, which streamlined processes to increase efficiency as well as assist with accurate tracking and program spending forecasting. The impact will be seen over the next eight years, as the DOE will train nearly 5,000 teachers who will bring CS education to the city's nearly 1.1 million public school students.
International Development
Angela Concha, ’18BUS, interned at InterAmerican Development Bank, the Latin American branch of the World Bank. She worked in the transportation division, which supports IDB member countries in the design of operations in transportation (roads, ports, airports, railways, etc.), in order to contribute to a more inclusive world and improve conditions for the mobility of people and cargo in rural and urban areas.
James Davis, ’18CC / ’19SIPA, interned with the Kuan-Lin Caring Association, a Taiwanese nonprofit that provides community-centered welfare assistance. The association operates schools in underserved areas, builds refrigeration and cooking infrastructure in underdeveloped villages, and tests innovative redistribution policies on behalf of city governments. Utilizing his background in economic research and community organizing, James led the NGO’s rollout of a universal basic income pilot program, hosted town halls to discuss the reform’s limitations and nuances, and helped prioritize the NGO’s anti-poverty initiatives.
Andrew Fixler, ’18SIPA, interned with Bancus, a digital marketplace that lets small business owners in emerging markets—critical growth and employment catalysts—easily access financing. Andrew drove growth in Bancus’ first target country, Ghana, by building partnerships with critical eco-system players in the delivery of financial services and engaging directly with entrepreneurs to drive adoption with Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Andrew was responsible for engaging with stakeholders across the MSME finance ecosystem via multiple channels to educate and relay critical information, helping ensure a large positive impact on financial inclusion for Accra-based MSMEs.
Thomas Frischknecht, ’18BUS, interned at Third Way Africa, a merchant bank firm that participates in the development of young African economies. Third Way Africa supports young economies being transformed into countries sustained by long-term economic growth, social responsibility, and natural conservation through the combination of advisory services and principal investments with a focus on development finance and impact investing opportunities. Thomas’ responsibilities included strategic advisory to clients and an assessment of principal investment opportunities with major economic impact in South Africa.
Cora Griffin, ’18SIPA; Zac Hoyer-Leitzel, ’18SIPA-MDP; and Michelle Joseph, ’18SIPA, worked with Kiron Open Higher Education, a social enterprise and the world's first university for refugees that provides online education for students in Jordan and Germany. Founded in 2014, Kiron uses an innovative combination of online and offline learning to provide accessible, sustainable, and cost-effective education. As the summer school fellow in Amman, Jordan, Cora supported Kiron in the development of their monitoring and evaluation system, led job skills trainings for students, and designed a recruiting framework to expand Kiron’s reach in Jordan. Zac planned and researched a multi-year international scale-up strategy for several countries in the MENA region. In addition to working with internal stakeholders to pitch a comprehensive strategy to executive-level decision makers, Zac remotely assisted Kiron Jordan’s academic partnership building and summer programming M&E implementation. As the international strategy and business development intern, Michelle worked with Kiron’s international team to define and develop a product localization strategy, support the strategy development of all offices, and develop a future expansion model.
Jade Luo, ’18SIPA/CSSW, interned with Megumi Project, a Japan-based social enterprise focused on generating income for women affected by the 2011 tsunami in Japan. The Megumi Project trains and equips local women with sewing and designs skills at a production site in Onagawa, Japan, and staff members use their skills to up-cycle kimonos into shawls, scarves, bags, journals, and accessories. Jade worked as a program officer for the partnership program. Her responsibilities included meeting with potential partners in the U.S. and developing a new wholesale partnership program.
Devansh Mehta, ’17SIPA, worked at CGNet Swara, an award-winning nonprofit community media outlet that hosts a toll-free telephone line that enables citizens in rural India to record and listen to stories of local interest. CGNet Swara has logged over one million phone calls and published about 10,000 reports, which have led to the resolution of more than 550 longstanding community problems. As executive assistant to the founder and president, Devansh helped draft external correspondence, prepared grant applications, and represented CGNet Swara at meetings with various stakeholders. He was also a part of their innovation team devoted to finding new revenue streams and making them organization financially self-sustainable.
Erin Mills, ’18CSSW, interned at Akany Avoko Faravohitra (AAF), a therapeutic group home for abused, neglected, and justice-involved girls that seeks to become a model for excellence in child welfare in Madagascar. In Antananarivo, Madagascar, AAF provides legal assistance, social work, and vocational services to girls and young women who reside at AAF, and family stabilization services in the community that help vulnerable children in Madagascar grow to their full potential. At AAF, Erin worked to establish financial sustainability for the organization by structuring a fundraising strategy and communications plans, beginning an organizational branding initiative, and identifying and developing partnerships with local and international donors.
Michele Panzeri, ’17BUS, and Tatiana Parilova, ’17BUS, were summer interns with Enko Education, a social venture that provides a high-quality and affordable secondary education in Africa. Michele worked directly with the CEO on business development, launching an international school in Mozambique and establishing relationships with investors to add several other schools to the network. He also supported Enko in developing school management services aimed at supporting other schools struggling to provide necessary quality at an accessible price point. Tatiana was based in Enko’s HQ in South Africa, Johannesburg, and was working together with the CEO to develop an optimal organizational model and incentive system, and selected processes.
Emma Ruskin, ’18BC, worked with La Esperanza Granada in Nicaragua. La Esperanza is a nonprofit organization that serves over 2,000 young children in Granada’s poorest neighborhood, by providing dental visits, classroom teaching assistance, and English instruction. Emma volunteered with La Esperanza two summers ago and was inspired to design a project based on her experience. She worked with the Danino Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory at Columbia University to develop a curriculum that helps children within La Esperanza to better understand the importance of personal hygiene. Emma implemented this initiative by working directly with children in La Esperanza’s enrichment center to create an interactive public art piece about the human body and the critical role of bacteria in our everyday lives.
Anta Touray, ’18BC, worked at the Bureau d’Accueil et d’Accompagnement des Migrants (BAAM), a nonprofit organization that aims to meet the diverse needs of refugees in Paris fleeing social conflict in East Africa and the Middle East. BAAM connects refugees to lawyers to attain legal refugee status, to education professionals to teach French language courses, and to employment opportunities. As a part of the employment research team, she helped launched the Bienvenue à Paris program, which sought to change the social perception of refugees’ potential contributions to French society by connecting refugees to small French businesses. Additionally, Anta designed French lessons for English speaking refugees, developed a fundraising plan to extend BAAM’s services and outreach, and monitored and evaluated the success of BAAM’s initiatives.
Megumi Uchino, ’18CSSW, interned in at Arc Finance in its India office, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting access to finance for clean energy and water to build the income and assets of poor people around the world. As a gender project associate, Megumi conducted gender assessments on Arc’s existing projects and sector-wide progress through field research and interviews. In addition, she provided technical assistance to microfinance partners in their commitment to financing female entrepreneurs in sustainable energy. Her contribution allowed Arc to maximize their impact by providing financial and energy literacy training in a culturally sensitive manner to their female clients.
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility
Raul Arguedas, ’18BUS, and Joshua Newell, ’17BUS, worked in business development and strategic partnerships at SolarKal, the leading marketplace and brokerage for commercial solar. Raul helped expand the company's go-to-market strategy, and developed a financial model to calculate and communicate cost saving opportunities to customers. This model is flexible enough to evaluate SolarKal’s value proposition under different tax scenarios, and will also be used to monitor the actual savings once the panels are installed. During the internship, Raul honed his business development skills, and increased his knowledge of the renewable energy and solar landscapes. Josh assisted SolarKal with financial analysis for clients, RFP management, and building out strategic partnerships.
Junbo Chen, ’17SEAS, interned with Radiator Labs, which works to design and build radiator covers that allow users to control temperature in each room while saving money and reducing the energy waste of steam heat in New York City. Junbo assisted the team by writing software, which enabled network gateways to communicate data to BMS via BACnet protocol. He also helped the team identify and document the optimal failsafe methods for each BMS the system integrated with and outlined testing routines.
Hashim Ibrahim, ’18BUS, worked for SunCulture, a startup that provides solar irrigation solutions for small farmers across Africa. SunCulture designs and sells solar photovoltaic powered drip irrigation systems and agricultural extension services to smallholder farmers across East Africa. Hashim was responsible for reviewing investor materials, assisting in the rebuild of the operating model, and constructing the data room. This work was essential for SunCulture’s second round of fundraising, which will enable the startup to cover more smallholder farmers in Africa.
Prateek Jain, ’18BUS, worked with Watt Fuel Cell, a developer and manufacturer of environmentally responsible energy solutions. Prateek worked in partnership with Professor Travis Bradford, using a lean launch pad method taught in entrepreneurship courses at Columbia University to bring their Imperium Fuel cells to market. Prateek developed partnerships, sales channels and processes necessary to take the technology to market and help accomplish Watt’s ambitious goals to dramatically cut-down emissions in portable applications in North America and the rest of the world.
Kaitlin Silkowitz, ’18CSSW, worked at Enhanced Mood, LLC, which helps users positively shift emotional states through their signature application, “Check In,” and uses technology to reach at-risk populations as well as anyone who needs help managing their emotions. Enhanced Mood seeks to augment mental health services by providing high-quality care, increasing overall access to services, and raising awareness about mental health and stigma. As an intern, Kaitlin assisted in marketing, branding, and advertising “Check In” to various facilities, organizations, schools, and other potential users. Kaitlin also helped create therapeutic content through various multimedia platforms such as music, videos, and specialized modality content related to DBT, CBT, and EMDR.
Reile Slattery, ’20PS, interned at Kinnos Inc., a startup biotech and chemical company based in Brooklyn that seeks to raise standards for infectious disease control in numerous environments. The company’s first product, Highlight, is a bleach additive that enables users to visualize the appropriate contact time and coverage of bleach as a disinfectant. Reile researched and performed wet lab experiments to expand the Highlight technology into bleach wipes and hand sanitizer for use in hospital settings.
Ben Swanson, ’18CC, interned at Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a social enterprise that leverages capital for social and environmental benefits through innovative financial mechanisms. Ben worked primarily with the impact assessment team, which analyzes the effects of potential impact investments, and with the business development team, which works to promote and grow the impact investment sector. Ben is studying economics and his interests include poverty alleviation and environmental conservation.
Grant van Wyngaarden, ’17BUS, interned with Advanced Energy Agency, a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) committed to developing and delivering advanced energy solutions to achieve a more affordable, cleaner, and reliable energy future. Advanced Energy Agency assists customers in their endeavors to assess, pursue, and implement advanced energy solutions that bring renewable energy and grid resiliency technologies to major cities. In addition to leading customer projects, Grant coordinated the New York stakeholder meeting. The event’s theme was smart buildings and grid modernization and contributors included the coordinator of the NYC Carbon Challenge at the NYC Mayor's Office and director of utility of the future at ConEdison.
Zeyu Ye, ’17SEAS, interned with Social Solar, a social enterprise that allows multiple businesses and individual participants to share in both the costs and benefits of a single larger solar energy system. The company provides a trusted third-party online platform that matches families and businesses seeking community solar opportunities with vetted community solar developers, positively impacting NYC environmentally and economically. Zeyu worked as a software engineer and was responsible for building the website, building an app for the platform, and developing an algorithm to utilize data for customer acquisition.
Social Entrepreneurship
Anika Bahra, ’18SIPA, worked for Azimuth Solar, a social enterprise dedicated to solving Sierra Leone’s access to energy crisis. As a credit analyst intern, Anika worked directly with Azimuth’s client communities to develop credit scoring mechanisms. She evaluated eligibility for low-income households to access pay-as-you-go renewable energy assets. Ultimately, Anika changed access to energy opportunities for thousands of poor Sierra Leoneans while simultaneously improving Azimuth’s business operations. Founded in 2016, Azimuth Solar is a Columbia University-born social enterprise co-founded by three SIPA graduates. The startup has won numerous awards as a socially inclusive sustainability initiative including the D-Prize (2015), Columbia University’s Dean’s Challenge (2016), and Hult Prize (2016).
Pedro Barata, ’18BUS, and Stepheny Xiang,’18BUS, interned with Eat Offbeat, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures enterprise that delivers authentic ethnic meals made by refugees in New York City. Eat Offbeat celebrates cuisines from their chefs’ home countries, providing authentic cuisine to New Yorkers and job opportunities for talented cooks. Pedro assisted the founders in uplifting and streamlining current operations, assessing feasibility, and developing a market strategy for retail expansion. Stepheny worked in a business development capacity analyzing sales and operations data to identify actionable insights into growing the business, made recommendations for product development, and assisted the founding team in preparing for a fundraising round.
Nicholas Drayson, ’18BUS, worked with Accion Venture Lab in Washington, D.C. Accion Venture Lab is a nonprofit investment fund that provides patient seed capital and operating support to financial inclusion startups in emerging markets, improving financial access for people living in poverty. Nicholas worked with Venture Lab’s investment team to help source and evaluate new investment opportunities in early-stage financial inclusion startups. Nicholas performed financial and business analysis, using qualitative and quantitative data to prepare documents such as market overviews, screening memos, and investment memos.
William Gangware, ’19BUS, worked as a business development consultant for Citizen, a smartphone application that increases safety and community awareness of local crime and emergency incidents. William worked with the CEO to strategize and develop a new commercial product that leverages the Citizen platform and helps residential, commercial, and institutional clients improve safety and enhance their emergency responsiveness on their properties.
Ioto Iotov, ’18BUS, interned at AfricInvest, a Pan-African investment firm that assists African businesses to scale successfully. AfricInvest emphasizes and maintains the highest environmental, social, and governance practices at their portfolio companies, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable business landscape. Ioto focused on the financial services practices that assist in the development of the financial services industry and capital markets institutions on the African continent. AfricInvests partners with DFI to provide capital and expertise to increase economic activity and reduce poverty.
Philip Young-Jin Kang, ’17BUS, worked for Folia Water, a recently founded social venture that provides affordable water filters containing silver that kills bacteria and viruses to Base of Pyramid (BOP) consumers in developing countries. Philip’s project focused on developing a go-to-market and operational strategy for this early-stage venture. Additionally, Philip supported Folia Water’s fundraising effort by revising their business plan.
Eunice Lee, ’18BUS, interned at Agora Partnerships in the investor relations and financial innovation department. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Mexico City, Mexico and Managua, Nicaragua, Agora is dedicated to providing entrepreneurs addressing social and environmental challenges in Latin America with the resources, knowledge, network, and access to capital they need to grow and scale. As an investment associate intern, Eunice helped prepare early-stage social enterprises become investment-ready and connected social entrepreneurs with impact investors. Eunice also assisted Agora in raising its own fund so that it can be a direct investment vehicle in social enterprises.
Anne McGrath, ’18BUS, interned with Inspiring Capital, a B Corp that pairs MBA students and talented business professionals with high potential, purpose-driven organizations. Anne worked with Perlman & Perlman, a law firm that serves as general counsel and provides legal services to individuals, nonprofits, and social enterprises in the field of tax exempt law. The project was to work with Perlman & Perlman on identifying areas of highest potential in the market and to build out a sustainable pricing structure.
Christopher Perkins, ’17BUS, worked for La Plataforma, a startup based in Santiago, Chile that provides mobile platforms for unbanked and underbanked migrants to transfer money cheaply across Latin America. His work focused on conducting an analysis of the Colombian remittance market, on providing a market entry strategy, and on updating the three to five year projections and ideal financing structure. This work informed La Plataforma’s expansion strategy to its second market allowing the company to expand its market and increase revenues. It also prepared La Plataforma to raise additional funding necessary to execute its expansion strategy.
Nick Pisacano, ’17BUS, worked for ServiceCorps, an applicant for the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. ServiceCorps builds a community of leaders by encouraging partner corporations to defer job offers to high potential college students for a year so the student can serve with a social sector partner. Nick worked with the CEO to develop a three-year strategy and business development plan to acquire new corporate partners and grow the base of fellows. He also coordinated with the Leadership Capital Institute and served as a speaker and breakout session facilitator.
Kathryn Ritter, ’18BUS, worked with the Acumen Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social venture fund that has raised over $90 million in funds to invest in social enterprises that offer goods and services targeting the 4 billion people living on less than $4 a day. Acumen is specifically focused on supporting companies that deliver critical products such as healthcare, water, housing, and energy. Her summer project included reviewing three business plans from prospects, drafting one investment, participating in one due diligence visit to an investee company, and supporting the portfolio manager in post-invest management of investee companies.
David Schreiber, ’18BUS, and Sarah Shenker, ’18BUS, interned at City Light Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to generating strong financial returns and measurable social impact. David’s work helped the firm identify and evaluate early-stage ventures with an impactful social mission. He assisted the firm to negotiate term sheets, structure cap tables, and manage relationships with limited partners. David performed detailed research to document and quantify the firm’s connectedness in the impact investing industry. Sarah’s work focused specifically on redefining the concept of place-based investing through the creation of an annual summit for impact entrepreneurs. This partnership will bring together city decision makers, local academic institutions, venture capital, and a set of startups offering innovative urban solutions in a new form of convening. Through this initiative, Sarah helped City Light Capital expand their reach and impact to cities traditionally underserved by the social entrepreneurial community.
Stephanie Shaw, ’17BUS, worked with Professors Bruce Usher and Ray Horton and the Chazen Institute to design a new immersion course titled Bridging the American Divide. The course will be taught in the fall of 2017, and aims to foster a better understanding of and response to the growing socio-economic and political divides in the U.S. She also worked with Professor Usher to research a book for the Earth Institute's Sustainability Primer Series about the shift away from fossil fuels to renewables.
Kruti Sheth, ’19SIPA, and Giovanni Zenteno, ’18SIPA, interned with Ashoka Social Financial Services (SFS) “Deep-Dive Masters” Program, which identifies leading social entrepreneurs with systems-changing new ideas that use the market to create social impact. The Ashoka SFS Team has embarked on a collaborative effort to understand and share with others the potential these innovations have to shape large-scale patterns of market activity to benefit everyone. As Deep Dive interns, Kruti and Gio both investigated cutting-edge structural innovations and social entrepreneurs and worked on identifying patterns to inform working hypothesis on trends and innovations driving social impacts. Additionally, Kruti used independent and team-oriented reflections to better understand broader implications of research for improving the quality and character of people’s lives by changing how markets work.
Hannah Siegelberg, ’18BUS, was a summer fellow at the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), which helps nonprofits run a business that drives positive change. NFF makes loans and other financing available to nonprofits to bring opportunities and hope to people in low-income communities and also consults social-sector leaders on how to make financial decisions that best serve their mission. Hannah was responsible for analyzing the feasibility of NFF entering a new sector—criminal justice—and determining whether the organization should invest in projects where payments are tied to outcomes.
Gabriella Stoudemire, ’18BUS, worked with IluMéxico, a social enterprise that provides affordable solar energy to off-grid rural communities. Gabriella was based in Mexico City and traveled significantly to rural communities in order to survey their needs, aspirations, and sources of income. Her goal with IluMéxico was to build a methodology for understanding the development of rural communities to help IluMéxico identify and catch growth waves as communities’ income and access to services, such as affordable energy, increase. This helped IluMéxico identify additional opportunities for scaling their business and better support rural communities in their long-term growth strategy.
Andrew Valerie, ’18BUS, interned at Social Sciences Innovations Corp., a company that creates unique educational programs and mental health screeners in the area of health/mental-skills and health/life-skills targeted to deaf and hard-of-hearing adults and students. Andrew was responsible for creating and presenting a full marketing plan for the company’s educational products designed to reach decision makers with regard to curriculum materials for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and for teachers and administrators of special education. Additionally, the marketing plan is designed to reach medical and social service providers who conduct or refer deaf individuals for mental health services.
2016
Nonprofit & Public Management
Anna Garriott, CSSW'17, was a summer research intern with Council to Secure Justice, a nonprofit legal aid organization in Delhi, India that serves survivors of sexual violence. By providing interdisciplinary pro bono services in legal council, social work, and investigative services, survivors are provided justice through the legal system. Anna was responsible for conducting an evaluation to assess how restorative justice practices can be an alternative to the criminal justice system for incestuous child sexual abuse cases.
Tushar Malik, SIPA'17, interned with the Men Against AIDS Youth Group (MAAYGO), which works to empower LGBTQ+ populations by initiating a stronger and healthier society through active participation in reproductive health, economic development, and human rights advocacy campaigns in Kenya's Kisumu county. Tushar assisted the board with strategic planning and helped build the technical capacity of staff and volunteers engaged with various advocacy services and outreach programs.
Eddye Golden, PH'17, worked at Crisis Text Line (CTL), the first nonprofit hotline in which communication between Crisis Counselors and individuals in crisis is through text messaging. Since CTL's start, it has amassed over 14 million text messages, making it one of the largest data sets on mental health and crisis in America. CTL has begun accepting applications for researchers to use and analyze texter data to help improve future mental health and crisis policy. As the enclave data intern, Eddye worked to ensure the privacy and security of texter data while growing the value that academic research is bringing to the texters.
Tricia Wendt, CSSW/SIPA'18, interned at the Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, an organization dedicated to healing the psychological and psychosocial impacts of human rights abuses among refugees, asylees and asylum seekers in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a PTR intern, Tricia directly impacted the lives of refugees in local communities by providing them with medical, legal, social service and resettlement support. Additionally, by establishing an interpretation team and securing grant opportunities, she helped prepare the organization for their fall clinical volunteers, allowing PTR to maximize their impact by expanding their client base and providing greater support to those in need.
Samantha Lalli '17 and Jillian Roland '16 interned with Columbia Law School's Center for Public Research and Leadership, which hires graduate students across disciplines to consult for public– and social–sector organizations undertaking and supporting transformational change in K–12 education. Samantha focused on building and disseminating a toolkit for education organizations to train their employees in the evolutionary learning approach to problem solving and ongoing improvement. She was also engaged in a consulting project for a large nonprofit dedicated to finding ways to bring effective practices and solutions to the education space. Jillian consulted for the State Department of Education to develop a new teacher policy plan. She researched and prepared policy recommendations and drafted external–facing documents, impacting both state–level policy and public roll–out. She also worked with a foundation seeking to measure the diffusion of personalized learning nationwide, interviewing the foundation's grantees to develop, and then test, an evaluation framework and tool. The tool enables grantees to holistically evaluate and constantly improve their effectiveness.
Cleber Pellizzon '16 interned with the United Nations Department of Field Support (DFS), whose mission is to assist the United Nation's peacekeeping and other field operations in their various needs such as personnel, technology, logistics, planning, budgeting, supply chain, facility and asset management. Cleber worked with senior managers to improve field missions' performances through analytics optimization. By developing metrics, data models and visualization dashboards, analyzing mission performance, and improving forecasting models, he contributed to the long term mandate of the DFS to build a more performance–focused and data–driven approach for UN peace operations.
Nate Whitman '16 interned with the Middle Grades Partnership (MGP), an initiative of the Baltimore Community Foundation in Baltimore. MGP increases opportunities for academically promising Baltimore City public middle school students through public and private school partnerships. MGP is looking for opportunities to expand their programming to serve a greater number of Baltimore City students. Nate worked with the executive director and board of directors to develop a sustainable programming model to support their growth initiative. He provided a fiscal evaluation of the organization, identified and examined comparable programs, and developed a comprehensive messaging campaign.
Alexis Goldstein '17 interned at The Jewish Board, a large health and human services agency in New York City. As part of the outcomes team, she coordinated a site–specific pilot project, which included identifying data to be collected, identifying processes by which to collect data, and assessing and streamlining outcomes for the team data organization structure. In addition, Alexis developed a business plan to expand the services of the Martha K. Selig Educational Institute, the training and education center of the Jewish Board. In constructing the business plan, she conducted market research on potential customers and competitors and evaluated current internal resources including, space, staffing and other available resources.
Stephanie Shaw '17 spent her summer at the Office of Health Insurance Programs (OHIP) within the Division of Operations and Systems at the New York State Department of Health. OHIP's mission is to optimize the health of Medicaid members by wisely using all available resources. They are responsible for administering New York's $58 billion Medicaid budget and implementing major initiatives including Medicaid redesign, the Affordable Care Act, and state administration of Medicaid. Stephanie was responsible for the development and management of initiatives to bring more accountability to the agency by designing an activity–based costing system for two statewide initiatives totaling $1 billion.
Alexander Pearlman '16 interned with the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES). The DOES Office of Youth Programs (OYP) develops and administers workforce development programs. Alex supported OYP leadership by redesigning the human capital structure of the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP), a locally funded initiative that provides District youth with constructive summer work experiences through subsidized placements in the private and government sectors. This redesign emphasized lean and efficient workforce management and institutionalizing better practices.
Kira Plastinina '16 worked with The Elisa Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting eating disorders through education, support and advocacy. She worked on the development of a formalized nationwide distribution plan for its awareness programs, design of the Wellness Longevity Survey for school–age youth grades 6–12, and development of a post–evaluation form to measure quantitative outcomes. She also worked on additional organizational accountability tools for board members and assisted with organization of ESTEEM – an annual fashion show celebrating positive body image and self–esteem.
Matthew Moll '16 interned at Oconomowoc Residential Programs, an employee–owned family of companies that provide services and professional care to over 1,500 children and adults with disabilities throughout Wisconsin and Indiana. Matthew worked with the Child and Family Services team to develop a consolidation plan for the marketing and operations of the service line.
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility
Devavrat Kadam, SEAS'16, worked for Kaya Energy Group, a company based in the Dominican Republic and New York that installs and finances solar power systems. KAYA offers strategic technical and financial guidance to individuals, governments, and companies in order to facilitate their transition to renewable energy. Devavrat spent the summer in the Dominican Republic researching markets where KAYA can potentially expand, working on project proposals and developing project timelines. In addition to this research, he worked on a social project in a rural school in Haiti and a few other social responsibility installations in the Dominican Republic, promoting these installations and projects to potential donors and stakeholders.
Molly Engel, CC'17, worked as a Summer Fellow at the Relationship Coffee Institute, a nonprofit public benefit corporation that fosters direct trade relationships, creates a closer connection between farmers and consumers, and increases social and economic opportunity for smallholder coffee farmers and their families. Molly conducted research for Sustainable Harvest's new “women in coffee” initiative, to help demonstrate why working with women coffee farmers is so important for both improving coffee quality and supporting farmer communities.
Emilene Sivagnanam, GSAS/EI'16, interned with A Growing Culture, a start–up connecting smallholder farmers with the resources needed to produce ecologically sound food systems through information exchange, outreach, and advocacy. Smallholder farmers depend on the predictable nature of rainfall and temperature patterns, making them one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change due to uncertainties in projected precipitation and temperature variability. Emilene supported farmers' documentation of agro–ecological innovations, suggested ways to integrate climate change information, and incorporated farmer input into academic climate change and risk assessment tools to acknowledge farmers' experiences.
Rohan Rane, SEAS'16, interned at Duro UAS, an eco–drone manufacturer and youth development company based in New York City, which builds unmanned autonomous systems to collect data in complex urban environments. Duro's mission is to ensure safety and sustainability of cities through engineering and education. Rohan worked on the Harbor AUV project, which assists with the restoration efforts in NY Harbor and helps collect information for environmental research. Duro UAS aims to manufacture this eco–drone by the end of October 2016, and Rohan worked closely with mechanical design and manufacturing engineers to assist them with the manufacturing of the AUV.
Karen Xia, CC'18, interned with the SocialCars Research Group, a German organization focused on significantly improving future road traffic and transportation infrastructure through cooperative approaches. SocialCars aims to help make optimal use of the transport infrastructure so that safety is increased and congestion and pollution are reduced. During her time interning with SocialCars, Karen helped develop machine learning algorithms aimed to improve parking availability estimations and parking search strategies in urban centers. She analyzed large datasets, which allowed her to apply both computer science and statistics skills to her work.
Anna Libey, BS'17, Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering at SEAS, and Fernanda Cabañas, SEAS'17, worked at Citizengage in Bengaluru, India, a waste–to–energy start–up that connects communities, informal waste collectors, energy producers, and recyclers through transparent transactions monitored in real time. 90 percent of India's waste sits in landfills, although over 85 percent of this waste is recyclable. Anna analyzed air and water quality data and environmental impacts associated with the lifecycle of a product in order to quantify and communicate a sustainability rating to businesses and residents. Fernanda developed waste–to–resource models to recommend prototype paths, investigated the economic and environmental impact of valorization of waste on the whole life cycle, and developed public policy recommendations on integrating informal recyclers and creating a more sustainable waste management system in India.
Joshua Newell '17 worked in business development at SolarKal, the first network of solar energy brokers in the United States representing businesses and commercial real estate owners who want to switch to solar and cut their energy costs. SolarKal helps businesses navigate the process of going solar by conducting feasibility assessments, financial analysis, and installer selection for their clients. Josh helped SolarKal build and execute the company's go–to–market strategy by identifying key target industries and designing marketing and financial plans for target markets.
International Development
Faridah Ibrahim, SIPA'17, interned in the Dar Es Salaam office of First Access, a social enterprise whose mission is to increase financial access for the poor, especially in informal markets. Using big data and mobile technology, First Access provides lenders with accurate measures of risk and creditworthiness. Faridah's research with the data science, sales and marketing teams helped develop a product that lenders will use to unlock finance for smallholder farmers in Africa. Her work aided First Access in their understanding of how best to serve this highly underserved market and the business case for such a product.
Sharon Kim, CSSW'17, interned for The Adventure Project, a nonprofit that adds capital to local businesses in developing countries with the purpose of job creation. Their mission is to recruit and train locals to become entrepreneurs in order to deepen their impact on their communities. Sharon worked on their fundraising plan of reaching a quarterly goal of $250,000 on behalf of their international partners. This plan included developing grant applications for appropriate funders, identifying and maintaining partnerships with donors, and distilling program data into donor reports.
Tyler Muntean, SIPA'17, was a business development consultant for the Bosh Bosh Project, an early stage social venture based in Liberia, West Africa, that produces, markets, and sells various Liberian–made bags and fashion apparel. Sales revenue is directed back to a girls' club that promotes and provides educational and training programs for women and girls. Tyler joined their operations and management team to develop strategies to scale their business model and assess the viability of exporting their products to the United States and other western markets.
Megha Khandelwal, SIPA'17, worked as a strategy and business development associate at Villgro Kenya, an early stage incubator that supports start–ups with a global health impact in the East African region. They work with entrepreneurs to help them become ready for commercial investment. Megha identified scientific and technological breakthroughs in the healthcare sector in Kenya and developed ideas that could be used by the team to evaluate opportunities and guide the discovery and incubation selection process.
Henok Begashaw, SIPA'17, worked with GreenPath Food, a social enterprise based in Ethiopia that has been active for two years. They partner with smallholder farmers to grow organic fruits and vegetables, which they purchase above fair trade prices and then sell in domestic, urban, and international markets. Henok assisted the team in Butajira by improving their English, computer, and data analysis skills. Additionally, he completed grant proposals on behalf of the venture and conducted data analysis on the productivity efficiency of the farmers as well as the crop selection, and social and environmental impact.
Vlada Gromova, SIPA'17, interned for Ampion, a social innovation nonprofit that empowers entrepreneurial minds to become successful change makers in their communities and boost private sector growth for economic and social development. The start–ups that AMPION helps to create through mentorship, funding, collaboration, and access to its network are focused on generating sustainable impact in the region. Vlada was based in Nairobi, Kenya and helped organize Ampion's Venture Bus 2016 program as well as the expansion of the model to other regions in Africa and the world. She also supported the business development of Ampion Ventures, which is currently in its early stage of development.
Mary Chun, MIA'17, interned at Mobile Surveys, Inc. (mSurvey), a mobile data start–up in Nairobi, Kenya that utilizes mobile technology to effectively survey a large amount of the Kenyan population. mSurvey's tools gather micro–level data in real time to help clients better understand Kenyan attitudes, motivations, and preferences. Mary's role focused on using mSurvey's data to create data stories and content that provided insights on Kenyan consumers and for communications material in order to promote mSurvey's mission.
Alicia Simba, BC'19, worked as a media intern at Ubongo, a social enterprise based in Tanzania that creates interactive “edutainment” for children in Africa. Its animated programs entertain 2.8 million households weekly in East Africa, urging children to love learning. Alicia designed a new social media plan, managed their blog, and organized digital releases of their CDs. For the duration of the summer, she also made creative contributions to the television programs by creating new segments and composing music.
Ian Krohn '17 worked with Impacto Capital, a Mozambican impact investing and advisory fund focusing on small and medium enterprises adding social value to Lusophone Africa. His work was focused on developing a pipeline of socially sustainable investments for the fund's portfolio as well as working with entrepreneurs in the fund's pilot investments to create sustainable growth plans and implement impact targets.
Ian also interned in Mozambique as a merchant banking services provider for ThirdWay Africa. He focused on sourcing and conducting due diligence on socially impactful investment opportunities. He provided operational and strategic analysis on potential partners and stakeholders as they built out their impact investing arm. He also established partnerships between potential investors, development institutions, and public officials to create a more cohesive business development strategy for the fund and broader impact investment community in Mozambique.
Rachel Han '17 interned for Praava Health, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio enterprise. She primarily assisted with strategic planning relating to a launch date for the first medical facility in Dhaka in 2016. Throughout the project, Rachel helped develop an initial quality management plan, eventually leading up to the creation of a revised financial model as well as the administrative and clinical process flow mapping.
Christopher Perkins '17 worked for SunCulture, a start–up based in Nairobi, Kenya that designs and sells solar–powered irrigation products and services that make it easier and more cost effective for farmers to grow food. He conducted a risk analysis and assessment of Kenyan farmers and designed the framework for an asset financing option for solar–powered irrigation systems. This work was the foundation of SunCulture's PAYG financing option for farmers.
Ron Bucca '17 worked with Off Grid Electric (OGE), a social enterprise seeking to power the world with clean, transformative energy in the next decade. OGE uses a distributed solar model, known locally as M–POWER, to provide an end–to–end solution that overcomes the typical barriers of solar adoption in frontier markets. For the same amount of money customers already spend on kerosene, OGE provides clean energy with 25 times more light and additional energy for appliances like TVs and radios. Ron worked with senior management to help restructure operations to achieve their goal of providing one million homes in Tanzania with electricity by the end of 2017.
Social Entrepreneurship
Peter Satre, SIPA'18, interned at New Women New Yorkers, a nonprofit organization that aims to empower women immigrants in New York through its LEAD professional development program. LEAD offers women a free, three–month program that combines skills training, teamwork, and leadership development workshops. Peter's primary role was to oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the LEAD program as well as assist with community outreach and donor research initiatives.
Zoe Yang '16 interned with Eat Offbeat, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures enterprise that provides authentic catering around New York City with recipes created and cooked by a team of refugee women. In this capacity, Eat Offbeat creates high–quality employment for refugee women, while celebrating their cuisines. Zoe helped the founders size the market in New York, identified new customers and potential nonprofit and for–profit partners, and explored strategies to obtain funding for further growth of the company.
Yuwei Zhang, SEAS'16, worked for BlocPower, an organization that works with community leaders and institutions to assemble multiple nonprofits, houses of worship, schools, small businesses or multi–family residences in financially underserved communities into a “Bloc” of potential retrofits. Yuwei's project focused on developing the engineering aspects and feasibility of these projects, creating energy efficient systems for the project to proceed. Additionally, she developed and designed energy efficiency retrofit projects to help New York City reduce its energy costs and GHG emissions and help communities with housing affordability.
Mehemed Bougsea, SIPA'17, and Frederik Franz, SEAS'16, interned at Kiron Open Higher Education, a social enterprise and the world's first university for refugees that provides online education for students in Jordan, Turkey and Germany. Founded in 2014, Kiron uses an innovative combination of online and offline learning to provide accessible, sustainable, and cost–effective education. As an intern in Istanbul, Mehemed supported Kiron in the development of their second study hub and expanded partnerships with local enterprises as well as the Turkish Ministry of Education. Frederik worked as an assistant to the managing director and applied his business and analytic skills to provide the board with strategic analysis and improve the outreach to industry partners, universities and politicians. This helped Kiron make their education model available to refugees across Europe and the Middle East.
Ghada Jerfel, BC'19, interned for CodeSchool, a program for refugees incubated within Kiron University. It aims to create a long–lasting impact on European society for refugees through professional training and easy access to the job market. Ghada supported the team in the academic and operational setup of their one–year learning program. Her tasks included developing corporate relationships with client companies and partner organizations. Ghada also developed strategies and recommendations to better foster communication between students and partner companies.
Matthew Lohry, GSAPP'17, worked with Urbanscale, a New York City– and London–based urban systems design practice. Matthew's research and design focused on alternative affordable housing proposals for the Peckham neighborhood in London. The project focuses on decentralized property development methods facilitated by peer¬–to–¬peer software technology. He explored equity crowdfunding and distributed governance features that enable community members to participate in ownership, decision making and profit sharing as the property develops over time.
Monica Lustgarten, CSSW'17, interned as a business developer for Latin America at Visit.org, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures enterprise that acts as an online marketplace for tours and activities that directly benefit nonprofits and communities throughout the world. Visit.org is interested in enhancing the mission of social organizations and increasing public awareness, channeling their proceeds directly to the hosting organization for investment in future projects. Monica was in charge of making new connections with different organizations throughout Latin America and fostering the relationships with existing ones and the visit.org team.
Nisha Prasad '17 interned at Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) in the Financial Services department. Headquartered in NYC, NFF is a leading CDFI dedicated to expanding access to capital and advisory services to nonprofits focused on community development in the United States. As a 2016 Janet Thompson Fellow, Nisha helped NFF expand their impact investing program through focused industry research and supported the identification of new capital sources to promote the organization's growth. She also worked to improve NFF's ability to invest in clients through systems and operational improvements, which streamlined their evaluation and compliance processes.
Nisha also interned at Veris Wealth Partners in the investment research department. Veris is a wealth management firm committed to aligning its clients' wealth with their values by offering sustainable investment strategies. Nisha helped expand Veris's understanding of the impact investing landscape by researching thematic investment products and impact reporting and drafting a whitepaper on long–term investment horizons and sustainability.
Sarah Zilinski '16 worked with Local Farms Fund (LFF), a high–impact, socially responsible farmland access venture established to provide secure land access to sustainable early stage farmers in the New York City Foodshed. Through lease–to–own arrangements, LFF has the goal of accelerating land ownership for the farmers that will be feeding future generations. Sarah worked with the fund manager to audit and make recommendations around LFF's use of social media, investor marketing, and investor management. Her project will enable LFF to be more efficient in raising money, and more productive in communicating with investors and the public.
Ian Clowes '17 and Margaret Thomas, SIPA'17, interned at Rabble, an online crowd investment platform that connects people with projects that produce financial return and social or environmental impact for communities. Rabble uses crowdfunding to raise capital for projects that make cities healthier, greener, and more diverse and, in return, provides investors with access to real asset products with low investment minimums. Ian conducted diligence on a range of projects including affordable housing and building refurbishment as well as market research on impact investing platforms targeted to retail investors. Margaret measured and communicated the impact generated by Rabble financing, assessed the social and environmental impact of investment opportunities, and conducted research into how to make Rabble capital complementary to existing sources of community development capital.
Josiah Bates, JRN'16, was an intern for the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on the American criminal justice system. Their goal is to create a sense of urgency about criminal justice in America. Josiah pitched and wrote stories for the organization while assisting the newsroom with daily functions.
Jack Dodson, JRN'16, interned at Retro Report, a nonprofit documentary journalism outlet based in New York City that specializes in deep reporting. Retro Report uses archival and documentary storytelling to peel back the layers of some of the most perplexing news stories, with the goal of encouraging the public to think more critically about current events. During his internship, Jack helped develop a database of archival material, helping the organization streamline reporting and develop story ideas from rare footage.
Brian Freskos, JRN'16, was a fellow at The Trace, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to expanding coverage of guns in the United States. The Trace publishes articles and commentary, bringing awareness to the belief that the country's epidemic rate of firearm–related violence is coupled with a shortage of information about the issue. Brian helped in research and reporting, and his tenure culminated with a hard–hitting investigative article about how guns stolen from lawful owners — including police — are fueling crime around the country.
Kim Gittleson '17, Jad Najjar '17, and Menatalla Shoukry '16 worked with Tamer Center co–director Bruce Usher to set up an impact investing structure that would bring Syrian refugees to study at the University by fall 2017. Their work focused on building the framework of the program, such as project cost and implementation; overcoming legal hurdles; and finding suitable on–the–ground partners in Lebanon and Jordan, all while striving to alleviate the waste of human capital that has resulted from the sectarian civil war in Syria and the subsequent refugee crisis.
Leora Herman, GS/JTS'17, interned with Shop Ethica, an e–commerce start–up that provides eco–friendly and socially conscious fashion products to its consumers. Shop Ethica ensures that it uses materials that are not harmful to the environment such as natural fibers, recycled materials, and cellulose fibers. Its use of socially conscious fashion products also ensures that the workers who create these materials are treated well and paid fairly. Leora wrote articles, styled photo shoots, and enhanced Shop Ethica's social media presence in her editorial position, all of which will educate consumers and promote the benefits of wearing ethical fashion.
Christina Hopkins '17 interned with BBMG, a brand consultancy aimed at helping organizations integrate humanity and sustainability into the heart of their brands to create shared value and drive culture change. Christina worked as a strategist, doing market research, trend analysis, brand positioning, messaging and activation. She will be playing a lead role in a partnership with an international foundation that trail–blazes innovative solutions to urgent social problems across sectors, with the ultimate goal of developing a brand strategy and messaging tactics that will amplify the foundation's mission of taking a bold approach to tackling social problems in new ways.
Lisa Lei, SEAS'17, interned at Radiator Labs a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures Enterprise, aiding in the creation of the COZY, the world's first thermally insulated smart radiator cover. The COZY allows buildings to save significant amounts of energy while providing temperature control to tenants. Lisa worked on developing and modeling analog circuitry for the simulation of the heat flow in a building to serve as a guiding tool for optimizing the design of the COZY.
Derek Pollak '17 interned at Impact Squared, a global consultancy startup that works with clients to empower communities to increase their social impact. As a data analyst consultant, Derek was responsible for designing surveys; facilitating focus groups; conducting networks, sentiment, and other quantitative analyses; and preparing presentations for clients to better understand their results. Derek supported the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in helping them to improve their immersive Israel experience, REALITY, as well as the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism in preparation for an upcoming summit conference on millennial and sustainability.
Trace Welch '17 worked at Inspiring Capital, a B–Corp that aims to pair talented business professionals with high–potential, purpose–driven organizations ranging from large nonprofit organizations to social enterprise startups. Trace consulted for GSMA, a nonprofit representing nearly 800 mobile operators. The project was to assess the innovation landscape in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and to outline GSMA's unique value proposition to members and stakeholders. GSMA aims to curate a Global Innovation Network with the goal of accelerating growth in the mobile marketplace and promoting a 100% connected society.
2015
Nonprofit & Public Management
Erin Beck PH’16 interned at Senior Planet Exploration Center, a nonprofit in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan that provides technology‐training courses to older adults. Senior Planet promotes access to technology as a powerful opportunity to empower older adults to thrive in an increasingly digital society. As an intern, Erin assisted in one-on‐one and group courses and organized events and presentations developed specifically for this population.
Catherine Chao BUS’16 worked at the Department of Transportation in the Land Use Review Unit. She assisted in the review of numerous projects related to land use, license agreements, and variances including: home rebuilding applications for the Build It Back program, inquiries from the Board of Standards and Appeals and other city agencies, street conveyance for redevelopment projects, and property disputes of all scales.
Rachel Dias BUS’16 interned as an Education Pioneers Fellow with District of Columbia Public Schools, whose mission is to ensure that every DCPS school provides a world-class education that prepares all students, regardless of background or circumstance, success in college, career, and life. She worked on the Career and Technical Education team and completed analysis of historical grant spend by program and school, quality of programming including certifications and course credits, participation and enrollment rates. She analyzed teacher spend requests for the ’15-16 school year and made recommendations for grant allocations. Additionally, Rachel documented key budgeting and financial procedures, providing a blueprint to enhance productivity.
Monica Foote SW’16 worked with New Women New Yorkers, a cross-community organization empowering young women immigrants from underserved communities in New York City. These programs provide young women immigrants with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to pursue better educational and professional opportunities, and to become agents of change in and for their communities. Monica facilitated workshops and conducted outreach to other key stakeholders in immigrant communities to increase the number of participants in the programs. She also researched best practices in other organizations and helped to develop new programs for NWNY.
Pauline Henriquez BUS’16 interned with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), one of the world’s largest philanthropic service organizations, which has overseen more than $3 billion in grant making since its inception. RPA provides research and counsel on charitable giving, develops philanthropic programs and offers complete program, administrative and management services for foundations and trusts. Pauline worked with senior leadership to create financial models, pricing structures, and decision support tools for each service line that would inform ongoing business strategy.
Adrienne Howell BUS’16 worked with NewYork-Presbyterian at the Allen Hospital, a community-based hospital that is one of eight NewYork-Presbyterian locations. Adrienne worked directly with the Director of Finance and Operations to develop and implement operational efficiencies in order to improve the patient experience as the Allen added a new comprehensive spinal center to its campus. Her work included multiple projects including implementing strategies to improve operations, financial impact, and community relations.
Leslie Koff BUS’16 worked with Girls Who Code. Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization launched in 2012 to help reduce the gender gap in technology and engineering by exposing young women to computer science education. They offer year-long club programs, summer immersion programs, and an alumni program nationwide. As a relatively new organization, Girls Who Code currently does not have any centralized IT infrastructure, which is a challenge for strategic planning, internal management, and external reporting. Leslie worked with the organization to understand business strategy and gather requirements in order to design a user-centric IT solution that supports their summer immersion program.
Alexis Mayer BUS/SW’17 worked as an Education Pioneer at Hebrew Charter School Center (HCSC), a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to build a movement of academically rigorous dual-language schools across America that teach children to become fluent and literate in Modern Hebrew, preparing them to be productive global citizens. As the Outcomes Framework Project Manager, she incorporated key stakeholders to operationalize the framework: goals and metrics that are appropriate for each outcome based on industry research, how they will be captured, and how HCSC will assess hitting its targets. The outcomes framework is part of a long-term strategic plan to ensure effective scaling that will achieve true educational success.
Columbus Morfaw BUS’16 worked for the United States Soccer Federation as a Research & Analytics Intern. He was responsible for collecting, formatting and manipulating confidential data to derive insights that drove the organizations' business and operational strategy forward. Some specific examples of research projects included the development of an index to measure the local soccer demand by market for the Copa America Centenario, combining all youth national team rosters into a consistent format and dataset, managing a market-research volunteer initiative to collect on site intercept surveys, and performing regression analysis to determine the key drivers of demand for tickets.
Dana Silberstein BUS’16 interned at New York Road Runners (NYRR). As a Summer MBA Fellow, Dana worked closely with the Strategy & Planning team to support the CEO in strategy formulation, growth plan execution, and project implementation. Working on time-sensitive, top-priority initiatives, Dana analyzed business performance and industry trends, evaluated existing operations and new business opportunities, made recommendations on alternative courses of action, and assessed relevant risk factors. In addition to this project, Dana provided input into the design and execution of NYRR's annual senior management strategy offsite.
Rafael de Simone Martines BUS’16 interned with the Secretary of Planning and Development, State of Goiás. The project was to design and implement a set of public policies that will improve the competitiveness and boost the development of the State of Goiás, taking into account the state's comparative advantages, budget constraints, and the type of regulations that a state may implement. The project had three different areas of focus: to improve the quality of life for the Goiás population; increase the state's competitiveness for firms; and to develop the public management capabilities of the state.
Michael McGregor BUS’16 worked for the Great Oaks Foundation, an organization dedicated to the launch and support of a network of high-performing charter schools. Great Oaks seeks to fulfill this mission by providing high-dosage tutoring to students, developing excellent teachers via its teacher training program, and investing in the communities that surround its schools. Michael developed a strategy for the implementation of Great Oaks' strategic plan. In particular, he facilitated the creation of a corporate entity (B Corp/L3C) to invest capital in the communities that Great Oaks serves.
Ruben Rahman SW/SIPA’17 interned at Bangladeshi American Community Development & Youth Services (BACDYS), providing them with administrative and leadership support. BACDYS provides various adult and youth services to the over 74,000 and rapidly growing Bangladeshi recent immigrant community in New York City. As a Development Associate, Ruben participated in all fundraising activities in an attempt to secure sponsorships and individual donations. He also utilized his educational training and his past experience as Interim Program Manager for the OURS program to serve as a consultant to improve and expand BACDYS’ existing programs.
Audrey Stewart BUS’16 worked with Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization that provides public awareness campaigns, educational programming and tools and resources to foster inclusive sports communities. Audrey worked in a strategic fundraising role within the development department. Throughout the summer, Audrey increased her understanding of nonprofit fundraising, as well as utilized various effective fundraising strategies that resulted in three new corporate donors. Audrey also implemented a new donor database that helped to increase and diversify Athlete Ally’s grants portfolio, streamlined the donor acknowledgement process, and established two new revenue streams for the fall Action Awards event.
Carl Stoffers JRN’15 worked for The Marshall Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization. The Marshall Project’s goal is to fill the need for high-quality journalism about the American criminal justice system through accuracy, fairness, independence, and impartiality, with an emphasis on stories that have been underreported or misunderstood. The Marshall Project believes that now is an opportune moment to amplify the national conversation about criminal justice, and that storytelling can be a powerful agent of social change, and their mission is to raise public awareness around issues of criminal justice and the possibility for reform.
Samantha Strauss BUS’16 interned with KIPP Austin Public Schools in the organization’s Finance team. KIPP Austin is a network of charter schools in Austin, Texas offering high quality, non-traditional K-12 education to approximately 5,000 students, 90% of whom are economically disadvantaged. As a 2015 Summer Fellow, Samantha improved many of KIPP Austin’s financial processes, with a deep focus on accounts payable. KIPP Austin has grown extremely rapidly, yet it has limited resources to quickly adapt its operational processes to keep up with student and employee growth. Samantha implemented numerous improvements to these processes over the course of the summer and recommended a 12-18-month action plan so the organization could continue to make progress after her departure.
Social Entrepreneurship
Amal Abid BC’17 interned at Ashoka. Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries putting their system-changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Ashoka has provided start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world. During her internship, Amal gained real-world exposure to how computer science can be integrated into the social enterprise field. She assessed infrastructure and current data collection, and made suggestions as well as prepared solutions on how to better collect data.
Julie Brickman BUS’15 worked with SJF Ventures, a venture capital partnership with an emphasis on investing in companies that make a positive social or environmental impact. SJF Ventures invests in companies in the resource efficiency, sustainability and technology-enhanced services sectors. Representative investment areas include efficiency and infrastructure, asset recover including reuse and recycling, sustainable agriculture and food safety, health and wellness technology, education technology and digital media and marketing services. Julie focused on the education technology market, analyzing potential investments, researching industry trends, identifying investment opportunities, constructing financial models, and assisting with SJF operations.
Rebecca Book GSAPP’17 with Project Rede, a digital conservation design studio seeking to provide sustained revenue to preservation efforts at heritage sites around the world by tapping into the funding available through international investors. By creating an informative, user-friendly e-guide, Project Rede seeks to offer spiritual pilgrims, tourists and potential visitors a way to explore the site, learn about conservation threats, and donate to these causes. Through research and entrepreneurship, the project seeks to connect affected communities with tourists to allow better management of heritage sites and inform local businesses how to capture increased revenue from tourism.
Victoria Ebert SIPA’16 worked as a Kiva Fellow with Kiva Zip in Nairobi, Kenya. Kiva Zip is a pilot launched in 2011 by Kiva, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco with a mission to alleviate poverty by connecting people through lending. Currently in the beta testing phase, Kiva Zip is a direct lending model that enables microfinance loans at an interest rate of 0% over a peer-to-peer Internet platform using innovative new technologies like M-Pesa. Victoria’s work included client management, streamlining how Kiva Zip interfaces with trustees, visiting Kiva Zip borrowers in the field, and continuing to expand Kiva Zip’s presence in Kenya.
Barr Even PH’15 and Julia Rosenblum BUS’16 worked with Inspiring Capital, a social enterprise that helps nonprofits and other socially conscious venture develop sustainable, mission-aligned business strategies while providing philanthropy and impact investing advice to individual and corporate donors. As a summer fellow at Inspiring Capital, Barr worked with an NYC-based social enterprise to help develop a new earned revenue stream that could be used to cross-subsidize its charitable program of operations. He worked directly with the social enterprise’s founding team to produce a go-to-market strategy that increased and diversified the organization’s revenue stream. Julia was paired with a partner social enterprise to complete a consulting project with the goal of facilitating business development.
Zsigmond Fajth BUS’15 and Priyam Shah BUS’15 interned at IMG DevLab, a purpose-driven applied solutions, data analytics, design and engineering devlab, focusing on lean solutions to complex technical problems as well as agile project management and execution capabilities for in-house, double bottom-line new ventures development. Zsigmond worked on multiple topics related to financial inclusion and literacy. He developed feasibility plans and implementation roadmaps for a products aimed bridging the information gaps that put some people at a disadvantage in today’s financial services market. Priyam’s project with Dev Labs concerned a market analysis of the current players, practices and policies in the digital health space via the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Nadine Fattaleh CC’17 is studying economics and sustainable development, leading her to work on Research and Programs at Shujog Impact Investment in Singapore. Nadine is interested in the role of social enterprises in developing countries and emerging markets, and as a native of Amman, Jordan, she hopes to use her work on impact investing and social enterprises when she returns to the region after college.
Juan Figueroa PH’16 interned at the Healthcare Innovation Technology Lab (HITLAB), which helps organizations ideate, create, and evaluate innovative technologies to improve healthcare around the world. For the summer, Juan worked as their in-house graphic designer, assisting with design needs related to programs, projects, and studies, primarily designing the HITLAB World Cup/Summit website and creating branding and print materials for the event, allowing him to utilize his technology skills to make an impact in the arena of healthcare.
Corey Freeman GS/JTS’17 interned for SHOPETHICA.com, an online fashion retailer that sells ethical brands, including those that are environmentally friendly, fair trade, and vegan. As a summer intern, Corey helped SHOPETHICA.com work towards its goal of connecting consumers with ethical designers by developing the company’s digital marketing and customer acquisition strategies. Corey identified new marketing and sales channels through which to connect with previously unexplored demographic bases, such as college students.
Erin Grand SEAS’16 worked with Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization that provides crisis support through text communication via volunteer counselors. The Crisis Text Line counselors are trained through a 34-hour program designed by Crisis Text Line with Common Ground, which consists of video programming, readings, role-plays, and feedback. As the Data Intern, she worked with the Data Science team to conduct an analysis on the training program in order to identify improvements to the training materials and increase counselor retention.
Jennifer Kanyamibwa SIPA’16 interned at the newly established social justice organization Sankofa.org. Sankofa.org enlists the support of today’s most celebrated artists and influential individuals in collaboration with grassroots partners to elevate the voices of the disenfranchised and promote justice, peace, and equality. Jennifer spearheaded Sankofa.org’s board relations and cultivation efforts, work on project and grant research initiatives, and continue to develop principle issues at the organization. Additionally, Jennifer connected the Sankofa.org celebrity artist board to affiliated grassroots organizations that carry out the organization’s mission on the ground, and she coordinated large-scale arts and culture events throughout NYC.
Paramjot Kaur CC’16 and Daniel Kriske SIPA’16 interned with Accion East this summer. Accion East is part of the global nonprofit microfinance organization Accion International,
and offers affordable loan solutions to small business owners across New York City. Since 1991, Accion East has lent $84 million. Paramjot worked to partner with local business owners to review loan applications, identify new market opportunities for Accion, and represent the organization at financial education seminars. Many of the clients Paramjot worked this summer with are minorities and women who are able to leverage the capital and financial education offered by Accion to create meaningful change for their careers, families, and communities. Daniel assisted clients through all stages of the loan process and helped them work toward their financial goals. He also analyzed client business plans and provided advice on financial sustainability.
Kassandra La Riva CC’15 worked for Upraised Learning, PBC, a public benefit corporation dedicated to improving educational outcomes—especially in disadvantaged communities—by engaging and empowering parents to more effectively help their children succeed in school, and in life. Kassandra assisted with the process of editing and translating content for the Upraised site. She also designed systems and protocols for organizing and managing content, and conducted product-related research. Using her varied academic training, along with past volunteer experience in education and business acumen, she assisted in the production of tutorial videos and participated in outreach efforts to help improve Upraised’s understanding of user experience.
Jennifer Meyer SW/PH’17 interned at El Arte Sano, a language and culture center based in Urubamba, Peru. El Arte Sano’s mission is to empower local citizens by providing language and cultural skills needed to benefit from the global community and tourism industry. El Arte Sano also provides a space for visitors to share their culture and learn Peruvian customs. During her time with El Arte Sano, Jennifer worked with curriculum developers and researchers to develop and implement a program to train young adults to develop entrepreneurship projects for social change.
Kethan Rao CC’17 interned with The Adventure Project, a nonprofit creating jobs in developing countries by pairing local businesses with large donors. The aim is to create jobs to lift the poor out of poverty. As the Social Media Intern, he worked to track and analyze social media growth base to build the brand – part of a key project to keep the social media development team organized and on track for campaign goals by ensuring the effectiveness of all social media posts.
Kenneth Ryu GSAS’15 interned with Mercado Global this summer. Mercado Global is a social enterprise that links rural indigenous artisans to international markets to break the cycle of poverty. He oversaw the research, development, and implementation of Mercado Global’s annual Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in all partner communities and artisan cooperatives, with duties including: managing the SIA implementation from inception to final report, managing the project calendar and budget, coordinating with Mercado Global's local staff and hiring surveyors, performing site visits, survey data cleaning and entry, performing statistical analysis of data collected, and presenting a final report and presentation to Mercado Global staff and board.
Ina Seok TC’16 worked at EdTech Summit South Africa, a teacher training development program that addresses education equity and social justice issues by working to implement creative and cutting edge technologies in schools and communities. The Global Team supports teachers and learners with innovative technology tools and training to aid in the acquisition of 21st century skills and instructional strategies. Ina assisted the production team in reaching these goals by implementing analysis of program impact, and making recommendations for scalability and program improvement. In addition, Ina created an interactive workshop in one aspect of educational technology to present in seven cities in South Africa.
Kathleen Sullivan GS’16 served as a summer analyst with the Wamda Research Lab. Wamda, a platform designed to facilitate the entrepreneurship process in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, takes a comprehensive approach to the idea of supporting entrepreneurship. The Research Lab is one component of this approach, producing content about various aspects of entrepreneurship in the MENA region. Kathleen provided research support on projects focusing on access to markets for MENA entrepreneurs and the potential impact that Arab Diaspora can have on entrepreneurs in MENA.
Tajreena Tabassoom SIPA’16 worked with Atikus Investments, a social enterprise dedicated to expanding access to capital for qualified yet underserved individuals around the world. Atikus partners with local lenders to increase their financial and operational efficiency, thereby expanding the amount of available capital to individuals in developing markets. Tajreena’s scope of work involved working closely with the company’s founder and directors on developing Atikus’ mobile insurance and outreach products, researching and recommending industry best practices and refining the evaluation strategy used to measure the level of impact on surrounding communities.
Sara Wilf SIPA’16 interned with Kiva in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kiva is a global microfinance platform that connects lenders with entrepreneurs to alleviate poverty and create opportunities. As a Kiva Fellow, Sara worked with Kiva Zip, a new initiative that offers 0 percent interest loans to entrepreneurs so that they have access to capital to grow their businesses. Kiva Zip is currently in beta in the United States and Kenya.
Qianhui (Jera) Zhang GSAS’15 is a graduate student in sociology, with a concentration on health and cultures. She worked with the Dr. Bird Project, a global health nonprofit social initiative founded in Toronto by Dr. Mitch Abrams. Named after Jamaica's indigenous national bird, the Dr. Bird, the project integrates naturopathic, holistic practices and eastern philosophy with western medicine, with the goal of developing a mindful medicine program resulting in more compassionate and empathetic health care workers and communities as a whole. Qianhui (Jera) studies health-seeking behavior across cultures, and supported the project by conducting research, developing a fundraising plan, and liaising with universities, governments, and other organizations.
Jeroen Vetter BUS’15 worked at anti-bullying start-up Bridg-it in New York. Bridg-it partners with schools, communities and organizations to address bullying and harassment with a comprehensive and compliant solution that cultivates safe, positive environments. Jeroen worked closely with the CEO to assess and develop new revenue streams and developed a go-to market strategy and pricing model for Bridg-it’s novel B2C product.
International Development
Robin Arnett SIPA/SW’16 worked for KadAfrica, a commercial passion fruit farm in Western Uganda which partners with out-of-school rural girls, training them to manage an agribusiness, and teaching entrepreneurship, financial management, and gender equality. In addition, KadAfrica also purchases the fruit grown by the girls, offering fair market prices that would not be available in the local marketplace. As an intern, Robin conducted monitoring and evaluation and developed curriculum.
Caleb Ballou BUS/SIPA ’16 worked on the Rockefeller Foundation's Program Related Investments (PRI) Fund team. PRIs are impact investments used by the Foundation to forward their program objectives across multiple initiatives including debt, equity and guarantees. Caleb worked towards closing several major investments (>$10 million deployed) in growing and impactful organizations domiciled in emerging markets from Africa to China.
Justine Calma JRN’15 was a global health fellow for the GroundTruth Project in Boston, Massachusetts. The GroundTruth Project seeks to build the capacity for freedom of expression in developing countries around the world by helping to train a new generation of correspondents who can work together across different media platforms and cultural backgrounds. Since 2011, in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, The GroundTruth Project has become a leader in global health coverage. Justine will contribute to an in‐depth, multimedia special report on infectious disease preparedness after the 2014 response to Ebola.
Kwadwo Frimpong SIPA’16 interned during the launch of a new impact investing fund (facilitated by Microequity Investments and other shareholders) that seeks to finance microfinance and solar energy businesses in underserved communities across Africa and Asia. By providing capital to these businesses, the company seeks to alleviate energy poverty in local communities. Kwadwo collaborated closely with the company’s cofounders to launch the fund by developing investment profiles of target companies, their business models, and macroeconomic environments. He also conducted research related to financial inclusion and clean energy access and built a set of social and environmental metrics to measure their community impact on the ground.
Lewit Gemeda CC’18 is a Columbia College first-year pursuing a degree in Political Science and Human Rights. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lewit developed an interest in global sustainable aid and development at an early age. Over the summer, Lewit interned at Global Citizen, a nonprofit which works to understand the political and socioeconomic context of today’s most pressing issues (hunger, health, human rights, sanitation), and works to alleviate these issues. Interning for Global Citizen this summer allowed Lewit to gain hands-on experience in understanding of the daily functions of a nonprofit in in order to apply these skills to a lifetime goal of starting a nonprofit.
Kirsty Gray SIPA’16 worked as an Acción Ambassador for Zoona, a for-profit mobile money payments company in Zambia. Zoona provides underserved communities with a means to send and receive money without relying on family networks. Simultaneously, Zoona creates impact by offering a profitable opportunity for emerging entrepreneurs to serve their communities as Zoona Agents. Kirsty’s role contributed to Zoona’s expansion strategy of tripling the number of agents in Zambia by 2016. She was tasked with helping Zoona understand the agent dropout rate through a combination of data analysis and agent interviews. She also helped develop a tool for monitoring performance and agent training tools, including an agent profitability guide.
Olivia Hanrahan-Soar BUS’16 worked with Acción Venture Lab in Washington D.C. and East Africa. Acción Venture Lab is a nonprofit investment fund that provides patient seed capital and operating support to financial inclusion start-ups in emerging markets, improving financial access for people living in poverty. Olivia worked with Venture Lab’s portfolio engagement team to support one of the organization's investee companies in East Africa, helping to maximize its chances of success and its social impact.
Clémence Michelsen SIPA’16 worked with One Acre Fund, a social enterprise that invests in smallholder farmers in East Africa to generate a permanent gain in farm income. One Acre Fund provides a complete service bundle of seeds and fertilizer, financing, training and market facilitation, and delivers these services within walking distance of the 200,000 rural farmers they serve. Clémence performed research and analysis to support the growth of One Acre Fund’s finance function - for example, research on how to leverage mobile technology for One Acre Fund’s outreach, and analyzed the company’s data to provide business intelligence.
Zong Peng BUS’15 worked with South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), a network of microfinance organizations that works in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands dedicated to eradicating poverty by empowering women in poor rural villages with the opportunity to start, grow, and maintain sustainable, income generating micro-enterprises. Zong worked with SPBD’s executive team and Fiji country manager to develop a business plan to launch an SPBD branded insurance company in Fiji, as well as a two-year strategic product roadmap. Short-term, the business plan will help SPBD Fiji secure a loan from Fiji Development Bank. Long-term, the product roadmap will help SPBD explore the viabilities of launching new insurance products.
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility
Jillian Bunting BUS’16, Meghana Reddy SIPA’17 and Alex Wang BUS’16 worked for the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing as part of the Sustainable Investing Fellowship summer associates.
Felipe Bustamante BUS’16 worked for Solar Mosaic, an online provider of residential loans, in their effort to pilot a project to finance off-grid customers in rural Africa. As part of Mosaic’s new Energy Access Lending Program team, Felipe analyzed the pay-as-you-go solar market and helped develop financing solutions to address the working capital challenges faced by off-grid solar providers. He also worked on assessing different models of credit assessment for base-of-the-pyramid customer and structuring deals with providers, supporting Mosaic’s effort to reach the one billion people that currently rely on Kerosene and other costly and unsafe forms of energy.
Abhishek Dash SEAS’15, Benjamin Milbank SEAS’15, Shruti V Sane SEAS’15, Sergio Scramin SEAS’15, Bonnie Tran SEAS’15, and Bruno Zappo BUS’16 interned at BlocPower, an organization that works with community leaders and institutions to assemble multiple nonprofits, houses of worship, schools, small businesses or multi-family residences in financially underserved communities into a “Bloc” of potential retrofits. As the Project Coordinator intern, Abhishek played a key role for BlocPower’s growing efficiency and clean energy development business and improvement of energy assessment processes. With a focus on liaising between colleagues and external clients, he ensured the provision of viable economic solutions. He managed feasibility studies for a specific project, assisting in the coordination of all partners throughout the entire project lifecycle. Benjamin’s project was the development of the engineering aspects and feasibility of these projects, developing energy efficient systems for the project to proceed. As a Project Engineer, Shruti played a key role in project development for BlocPower’s growing energy efficiency and clean energy development business and the development of their energy assessment process, while working closely with the entire BlocPower team to drive technical assistance and make preliminary technology deployment decisions. Sergio spent his summer on a project building an infrastructure to scale the business operation from project origination, project finance, and construction management in order to decrease the costs of traditional energy assessments and thus becoming able to offer high quality services while keeping the budget as low as possible. As a Project Engineer, Bonnie, performed building feasibility studies and used the results to determine the most cost-effective combination of energy efficient retrofit measures. Under the design phase she consulted technical sales personnel, analyzed technical specifications and selected equipment as she saw fit. Following this, Bonnie coordinated with her clients, colleagues,and trade professionals to secure price quotes for project financing.
Lindsay Delevingne BUS’16 interned at Eos Energy Storage in the company’s business development function. Located in NYC, Eos is an early-stage company developing a novel low-cost battery for the electric grid. Such battery storage technology has the potential to revolutionize how the grid operates, for example, by allowing much greater use of renewable wind and solar power. Lindsay helped Eos scale from the pilot to commercial stage by building strategy and partnerships with customers, manufacturers and other partners.
Tessa Flippin ’16 interned with Compadre in Lima, Peru. Compadre distributes solar powered coffee roasters to rural Peruvian coffee farmers aiming to promote economic growth and create sustainable roasting processes. Tessa managed strategic partnerships for Compadre in Lima. She was responsible for developing key relationships with distributors in the city. Tessa completed market analyses to identify prospective sales partners, structured operational and financial plans and delivered strategic recommendations for implementation. Tessa’s work with Compadre helped to improve the lives of rural coffee producers by defining sales channels for product distribution.
Manuel Hein BUS’16 interned with Coffee Circle, a B-Corp based out of Berlin, Germany, revolutionizing fair trade principles in the coffee market. Sourcing from organic farming in Ethiopia, the company donates 1 Euro per kilogram of coffee back to specific projects in the cooperatives of farmers. With the impact of the donations clearly visible, measurable and tangible, Coffee Circle improves living conditions of Ethiopian coffee farmers and their families sustainably. Over the course of his internship, Manuel developed Coffee Circle’s B2B Sales Playbook. This involved testing and implementing both an outbound and inbound sales process, and setting up a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Cynthia Herrera SPS’16 interned with White Roof Project (WRP), which coats urban black tar roofs with a white solar-reflective paint that immediately reduces temperatures inside the structure and out. WRP identifies and funds nonprofit and low-income rooftops, painting them with an all-volunteer labor force. They help for-profit buildings, communities and homeowners complete their own projects in NYC, cities across the U.S., and via partners in more than 10 countries. Cynthia worked closely with the Executive Director of WRP on data-driven branding. Her responsibilities included: developing a proposal for corporate social responsibility strategies, monitoring energy efficiency systems for black tar versus white solar-reflective painted roofs, and the research of building identification for weatherization. Using her theoretical knowledge on sustainability, she applied practices to quantify, measure, and benchmark WRP’s progress.
Dyanna Salcedo BUS/SIPA’15 worked at Five Acre Farms, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting a vibrant community of local farmers, suppliers, and distributors while also expanding access to locally and sustainably sourced food throughout the northeast region of the US. Dyanna worked alongside the executive leadership team on two strategic initiatives. The first was a landscape assessment for grocery store analytics platforms with the objective of recommending how Five Acre Farms might efficiently gather, analyze, and synthesize data related to its product performance across its network of distributors. The second was a comprehensive market research project that assessed the competitive landscape and growth opportunities for Five Acre Farms within some of its existing product lines.
Francesca Tarant BUS’16 interned with Context America in its New York office as a Summer Consultant Intern. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and London, Context is a consultancy firm specializing in corporate sustainability strategy and communications. As a 2015 Summer Consulting Intern, Francesca was responsible for benchmarking sustainability reports and strategies across a range of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues, conducting research on sustainability issues, engaging with clients on sustainability issues, and writing blog posts, case studies and other client CSR communications.
2014
Nonprofit & Public Management
Julia Arnhold ’15 interned with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the organization’s Strategy and Business Development group. Located in NYC, Lincoln Center is the premier producer and presenter of high-quality performing arts events and is also a leading arts educator. As a 2014 Summer Fellow, Julia explored new marketing initiatives, especially those involving new media and technology, built business plans for new sources of earned income, examined financing related to the redevelopment of their campus, developed a new fundraising strategy, and pursued creative means to attract new demographics to Lincoln Center. Additionally, Julia worked with her team to develop and facilitate external relationships with consultants, brand managers, financial services firms, and other professional services firms.
Catherine Chao ’15 worked at the Heketi Community Charter School in the South Bronx via an Education Pioneers Summer Fellowship placement. As the Facilities Project Manager, she helped transition the school to its new permanent space, developing a new Operations and Safety Handbook and acting as liaison to the Civic Builders Project Manager. She also supported the school in identifying community partners and recruiting community members.
Wanessa Ferreira ’15 interned as an Education Pioneer at Uncommon Schools, which starts and manages outstanding urban charter public schools that close the achievement gap and prepare low-income students to graduate from college. Her work focused on building a managerial dashboard with school data for their regional team, and starting a pilot of an operational playbook for major operational best practices in schools, which addresses compensation/benefits, teacher satisfaction, and retention benchmark analysis with other charter networks.
Nikhil Kumar ’15 worked with Teach for America (TFA), a nonprofit focused on lowering the achievement gap for low-income students in public education. TFA achieves this goal by recruiting, training, and placing top graduates from top universities as teachers in public schools throughout the country. Nikhil worked with the Managing Director of the Enterprise Data Services team to develop a business case for improving data quality across the organization. The long-term impact of this project would be to help different divisions of TFA (e.g., recruiting, training, alumni services, etc.), better use data to guide their strategy moving forward.
Kristin Lewis ’15 interned at the Partnership for a New American Economy, a political advocacy coalition of more than 500 Republican, Democratic, and Independent mayors and business leaders united in making the economic case for streamlining, modernizing, and rationalizing the US immigration system. Her work focused on developing and implementing a membership engagement strategy, as well as contributing to the development of an organizational strategy to expand the core mission of the Partnership. She also supported the Partnership in identifying unique marketing opportunities, potential funding sources, future research initiatives, and new community partners and advocates.
Elise Miller ’15 worked at the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that fights poverty in New York City by identifying, funding and partnering with over 200 of the most effective schools and programs in the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Robin Hood applies investment principles to philanthropy and philanthropic ideas to investment practices, attacking poverty at its root causes and rigorously evaluating programs to measure results. Elise interned with the Jobs and Economic Security Portfolio, where she analyzed the business models of direct service grantees engaged in start-up revenue-generating activities.
Jennifer Rhodes ’15 worked with NewYork-Presbyterian in the Weill Cornell Operations department. Her work focused on implementing strategies to improve the scheduling process and to optimize hours of operation in the Electrophysiology Labs. As part of the implementation, she gathered data from current users in other departments, documented workflow, made recommendations for the redesign, trained staff and managed the roll-out of the operating room manager scheduling system, including monitoring progress and task completion.
Teresa Ripamonti ’15 worked with Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing housing insecurity across the US, creating and advocating for affordable homes linked to jobs, good schools, health care services, and transportation. Enterprise lends funds, finances development, and manages and builds affordable housing. Teresa worked with the innovation team, researching and evaluating alternative impact investing vehicles and tools which can complement Enterprise’s current financing strategies, and attract a larger group of investors and resources towards affordable housing and community development.
Natalie Rubin ’14 interned with Community Wealth Partners, consulting with social organizations to improve their operations and increase their impact. Community Wealth Partners collaborates with nonprofits and foundations to help them develop strategic plans, identify long-term goals, assess and develop new opportunities, and track progress. Natalie worked with an engagement team and was responsible for producing a part of the deliverables for the client. CWP’s past clients have included the Anne E. Casey Foundation, Kaboom, and City Year.
Stephanie Sherline ’15 worked with Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a nonprofit performing arts venue whose mission is to be the home for adventurous artists, audiences and ideas. Stephanie worked in a strategic planning role within the Project Management Department. Throughout the summer, Stephanie assessed the financial performance of BAM’s new performance and event space, the BAM Fisher, and conducted research around the industry’s best practices to offer recommendations and innovative solutions on how to meet and exceed the space’s initial financial projections.
Tina Shyuan ’15 interned at Techbridge, a 25-person nonprofit organization that aims to expand the academic and career options for girls in science, technology, and engineering. Tina worked with Techbridge executives to use data analytics to measure the success of the organization against industry benchmarks. Tina also reviewed and finalized Techbridge’s Computer Science curriculum, integrating her own lesson plans. Prior to this internship and business school, Tina had been a volunteer and Role Model at Techbridge.
Sarah Sung ’15 worked with the National Park Service, an agency of the US Department of the Interior. The National Park Service preserves the natural and cultural resources and values of the United States for the enjoyment and education of its people. The Service also partners with nonprofits, Native American tribes, and state and local governments to promote local history and preserve historic landmarks. Sarah worked as a consultant for Antietam National Battlefield and developed a 3-5 year business plan to support the park’s operational and management decision-making in the future.
Matt Torell ’14 worked with the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) this summer on their Pre-K for All Expansion team within the Division of Early Childhood Education. Matt had two primary responsibilities during this time: managing the walkthrough process to ensure that all sites would be suitable for occupancy by children in September, and building a web-based database to help the department manage their data and workflow. The former project required ensuring that 20 case managers scheduled 100 DOE representatives to visit over 1,100 sites in three weeks.
Sheila Zeidman ’15 worked at Relay Graduate School for Education, a nonprofit graduate school with a mission to teach K-12 teachers to develop in all students the academic skills and strength of character needed to succeed in college and life. Sheila worked on the National Principals Academy Fellowship (NPAF) at both the New Orleans and New York City summer program sites. Sheila supported all daily operations of the New York site while collecting data and feedback to improve supporting systems. She also developed a playbook for future expansion of the program and built a multi-year financial model aimed at financial self-sustainability for the program.
International Development
Julia Barmeier ’14 worked with mSurvey, a technology and data analytics start-up based in Nairobi, Kenya, that has developed a survey platform operable via mobile feature phones. mSurvey’s technology enables individuals, businesses, and governments to collect and analyze data via SMS surveys that are specifically useful for gathering information from difficult-to-reach, rural populations. Julia worked with the CEO to develop a customer acquisition strategy and assess product pricing approaches.
Chris Cugliari ’14 interned with Strong Bodies Fight, a nonprofit seeking to drive reform within Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector in light of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse. Strong Bodies Fight helps drive more sustainable reform by working with factory standards that elevate human dignity while focusing on practicality. Chris interviewed relevant stakeholders within the industry to better understand reform challenges and drafted a revised set of standards for sourcing and factory inspection that was presented to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Additionally, Chris ran a feasibility assessment for launching a social enterprise that provides ethically sourced garments.
Jorge Dominguez ’15 worked at Potencia Patagonia, a program led by Technoserve. This business accelerator platform helps small business in the Chilean Patagonia with workshops and training programs for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, as well as giving them access to seed funding. During his internship, Jorge helped the second cohort of entrepreneurs to fine tune their business plans and prepare them for their final presentations. He also assisted the general manager with the third cohort, getting involved in the diffusion of the program throughout Patagonia while also advising in the selection of the candidates.
Adaobi Kanu ’14 worked with Faire Collection, a socially responsible retail company that reduces poverty in disadvantaged communities in South America through the creation and sales of jewelry. Faire Collection supports several social development programs with scholarships and small business assistance in the communities where they work. Adaobi worked closely with the company’s founder and president and the director of business development on E-commerce & digital marketing strategy, retail market analytics, and a strategic growth plan for the company’s intended expansion into European Markets.
Youngmo Koo ’15 worked at International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank. IFC is a global investor and advisor to governments and businesses and promotes investments in its developing member countries that are economically beneficial, financially sound, and environmentally and socially sustainable. Youngmo worked at the IFC’s Beijing Office, focusing on business development in Korea, building and maintaining relationships with potential and existing clients, conducting industry and company due diligence, and building financial models for potential investment opportunities.
Brian Lo ’14 and Scott Miramontes ’14 worked for Tugende, a for-profit social enterprise in Kampala, Uganda. Tugende assists reliable local taxi drivers who rent-to-own their motorcycles, allowing these drivers to begin a path to financial independence. Brian focused on structuring the internal operations of Tugende in preparation for the company’s anticipated scale increase. Building upon the impacts of prior Columbia MBA projects with Tugende, Brian also helped the CEO market Tugende to specific investors interested in social as well as financial returns. Scott helped with implementing technology to increase efficiencies and standardize operations. He also worked on developing their fundraising strategy by measuring impact, developing marketing communications, and identifying potential investors.
Debby Man ’14 and Lauren Ryan ’14 worked at salaUno, an eye clinic in Mexico City that contributes to the eradication of unnecessary blindness in Mexico by offering affordable and high quality eye care services focused on low and mid income populations. Debby worked on a pricing strategy project that included: analyzing the current pricing structure of salaUno and its competitors, researching best practices in pricing strategy for the industry and proposing and piloting the new pricing strategy in selected clinics. As a summer associate, Lauren helped develop a strategy for incorporating private insurance patients and designed a strategy for improving salaUno’s doctor and nurse recruiting efficiency.
Elena Mayer ’15 interned with USAID’s Global Health Bureau in the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact (CII). CII aims to accelerate the development, introduction and scale-up of priority health interventions by promoting and reinforcing innovative, business-minded approaches and solutions to some of the world’s most important health challenges. Elena’s main project was to assist with the go-to-market strategy for the “BD Odon Device” (in which USAID was a seed funder), for which she conducted bottleneck analyses on potential supply and demand hold-ups. She also worked to hone an introduction to scale guide to help private sector firms successfully launch and scale new health interventions in low-resource settings.
Jon Saunders ’14 worked for the PanAfrican Investment Co. (PIC), a patient capital fund based in New York City. PIC’s mission is to identify, invest in and provide solutions that affect growth and development in Sub-Saharan Africa, and that are solving some of the continent’s most complex problems. PIC’s current portfolio includes investments in the healthcare, education, transportation, and technology sectors. Jon’s projects included budget forecasting, country reporting and deal structuring.
Amritha Subramanian ’15 worked with a unique partnership program between the United Nations and the World Bank group. Better Work Indonesia is a coming together of the International Labor Organization and the IFC, and aims to improve compliance with labor standards and promote competitiveness in Indonesia’s apparel industry by assessing current workplace conditions and offering advisory and training services to factories. Amritha worked with the Chief Technical Advisor in the Jakarta office to lead the program’s social impact assessment projects. This involved field visits to factories, data analysis, project management, and the provision of advisory services to clients.
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility
Hisham Araji ’15 interned at Jonathan Rose Companies, a socially responsible real estate firm that works with cities, towns, and nonprofits to revitalize communities by planning, developing, and financing green urban solutions. He worked with the city of Norwalk, CT on a neighborhood revitalization program intended to develop cost-effective and replicable designs and construction solutions for homebuyers and lenders to use as a roadmap. This included conducting market research, inspecting target properties to rehabilitate and underwriting the renovation and mortgage for low-income buyers. He also led efforts to install solar panels on a low-income apartment building, which involved analyzing the financial implications of different capital structure arrangements for the investors in the project.
Patrick Crosby ’14 interned with BlocPower, a social venture founded by
Donnel Baird ‘13, which aims to provide clean energy technology to underserved communities by connecting institutional capital with micro-portfolios of “shovel-ready” projects. As a Project Finance Associate, he worked on building investor relationships by creating financial models for existing and new projects and developing project-level analyses of financial, environmental and social benefits for investors through web-based tools and crowdfunding platforms. He also worked on sales optimization processes, aggregated customer data tools and creating sales and marketing collateral.
Meri Crowther ’14 worked for Community Energy, a clean energy company that builds solar and wind energy projects by engaging customers through products and services that make these projects possible. Meri worked for the company’s new operating unit, Community Solar. There she conducted policy and market research and financial analysis to develop a business plan for the division.
Alex Ellis ’15 interned with CommonBond, a peer to peer lender geared towards disrupting the student loan industry by connecting alumni investors with student borrowers and offering low-cost loans. In addition, for every student loan funded on their platform, CommonBond fully covers the cost of a child-in-need’s education at the African School for Excellence for one year. Over the course of his internship, Alex developed a graduate refinancing tool to help educate borrowers about refinancing and assist them in making better-informed decisions. This involved the design and implementation of the tool, while working across teams to make the product fully operational.
Paula Klein ’15 interned with Clean Power Finance (CPF), an online business-to-business marketplace that connects the solar industry with capital markets and provides residential solar professionals with access to financing for distributed solar PV systems available to qualified employees through their CPF Tools software platform. CPF also helps solar professionals win more deals and grow their businesses faster and more profitably than ever. Using these strategies, Clean Power Finance allows for renewable energy technologies to compete alongside traditional sources of energy and electricity. Paula worked as a summer analyst with the corporate development group. Her responsibilities included creating financial models and identifying new channels and structuring partnerships within them to speed the deployment of residential solar.
James Nouss ’14 worked with One Degree Solar, a triple-bottom-line technology company that designs and manufactures solar products that provide light and power for base-of-the-pyramid consumers. Typically sold in emerging markets where modern infrastructure is unavailable, the company’s product line improves the lives of users while eliminating emissions associated with the burning of fossil fuels to light households. James worked in Kenya and China to analyze the company’s supply chain. He implemented standardized procedures in all aspects of the business, from manufacturing and inventory management to sales and end-user engagement.
Seema Balani ’15, Kash Patel ’15 and Jennie Goldstein ’15 worked for the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing as the inaugural Sustainable Investing Fellowship summer associates. This program was announced as a joint partnership with Columbia Business School by James Gorman ’87, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley on campus last fall. They worked on innovative financing and risk management transactions and initiatives that contribute towards sustainable solutions. This involved building financial models, performing strategic business analysis and industry research including emerging trends in various industries, and executing initiatives that support firmwide initiatives on sustainable investing.
Social Entrepreneurship
Two teams of four Columbia Business School students participated in MBAs Across America. Team one consisted of Jasmine Ainetchian ’14, Atif Qadir ’14, Guillaume Cazalaa ’14, and Elizabeth Pfeiffer ’14. Team two was made up of Renee Frantz ’14, Annie Koo ’14, Sam Wollner ’14, and Scott Miramontes ’14. MBAs Across America is a national movement of MBAs and entrepreneurs working to revitalize America. The teams each spent six weeks on the road, tackling pressing challenges with six different entrepreneurs in communities outside traditional hubs such as Cleveland and Detroit. In intensive weeklong engagements, the team collaborated with entrepreneurs and their communities to deliver lasting impact and help create from the ground-up an MBAs Across America network of ongoing support. They were especially excited to work with entrepreneurs and communities linked to their interest in social impact real estate, including neighborhood developers in former rust belt cities.
Caleb Ballou ’15 worked with Inspiring Capital, a social enterprise that helps nonprofits and other socially-conscious ventures develop sustainable, mission aligned business strategies and provide philanthropy and impact investing advice to individual and corporate donors. As a summer fellow at Inspiring Capital, he worked with Kin Hotels, a chain of social business hotels that builds net zero properties in eco-hotspots, connects customers to an extraordinary travel experience, and invests in local partners addressing each region’s most pressing social and environmental problems. He worked directly with the founder/CEO to develop a complete business plan to market during the company’s first round of seed stage funding.
Clara Colina ’15 worked at Inspiring Capital, a B-Corp that aims to revolutionize philanthropy by aligning incentives among donors and nonprofit organizations. Inspiring Capital works with donors and nonprofits to diversify nonprofits’ revenue streams so they are not solely dependent on charitable contributions. Having earned income, rather than relying on donations and grants, allows high potential nonprofits to improve and grow their work and achieve the vision they share with donors. Clara was paired with Girls Rising, a leading nonprofit focused on girls education in developing countries, advising as a consultant on their strategic plan and business development. Her project work included problem solving and analysis as well as project management.
Adrienne Frieden ’15 worked at Dakorum, a social enterprise focused on the home-décor market. Dakorum is a newly developed vertically integrated e-commerce brand that is seeking to fill a market gap while promoting and protecting traditional artisanal crafts. Dakorum’s mission is to seek out and bring exclusive and beautiful objects made by designers and artisans around the world to new markets at approachable prices. Adrienne managed Dakorum’s marketing and customer acquisition and helped develop their social impact measures.
2013
Nonprofit & Public Management
Amy Anenberg ’13, Jennifer McCaleb ’14 and Emily Rosenfield ’14 worked at Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that fights poverty in New York City by identifying, funding and partnering with over 240 of the most effective schools and programs in the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Robin Hood applies investment principles to philanthropy, attacking poverty at its root causes and rigorously evaluating programs to measure results. Amy interned with the Jobs and Economic Security portfolio, where she monitored, analyzed and reported on the performance of existing grantees within the context of Robin Hood’s metrics and developed detailed written recommendations for support or rejection. Jennifer interned with the Management Assistance team where she reviewed historical grants in order to confirm and improve quantitative and qualitative assessment tools. For her summer project, Emily assessed the workforce models of grantee organizations in the Jobs and Economic Security Portfolio.
Julia Barmeier ’14 interned at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority/NYC Transit in the Strategic Initiatives team. She worked on two projects, one involving the optimization of subway track maintenance between nighttime and daytime crews and the other improving the HR onboarding process for professional and hourly workers to enhance efficiency and support the organization’s operational and strategic needs.
Preeti Bhattacharji ’14 worked for the Department of Small Business Services and ImpactAssets. The Department of Small Business Services is dedicated to making it easier for businesses in New York City to form, do business, and grow by providing direct assistance to business owners, fostering neighborhood development in commercial districts, and linking employers to a skilled and qualified workforce. Preeti worked on the Corporate Alliance Program (CAP), which focuses on capacity-building initiatives for small businesses, supplier diversity, and Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs). ImpactAssets is a nonprofit financial services company created to help solve the world's toughest problems by catalyzing investment capital for maximum environmental, social and financial impact. Preeti focused on building the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50), the first open-source, publicly published database of experienced private debt and equity impact investment fund managers.
Courtney Catallo ’13, Stephanie Ng ’13 and Stephanie Weichsel ’14 worked with Columbia Business School’s Social Enterprise Program. Courtney worked on a variety of projects throughout the summer, including identifying resources for the Business School community interested in becoming involved on a nonprofit board. Additionally, Courtney worked on streamlining and improving current the Nonprofit Board Leadership Program (NBLP) processes by updating the NBLP handbook, researching similar programs at peer schools, and assessing the various impacts of the NBLP program. Stephanie Ng worked to assess the program’s social impact. This project involved compiling social impact metrics to highlight the work of SEP and how it has impacted students and alumni. Deliverables included a range of metrics that the SEP should consider on its impact on its various stakeholders, as well as a plan for gathering and assessing this data. Stephanie Weichsel finalized a downloadable resource guide for future NBLP student leaders and oversaw the development of marketing materials for new NBLP initiatives.
Jennifer Dyck-Sprout ’14, Elizabeth Elston ’14, and Matt Torell ’14 worked at the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) as Education Pioneers summer fellows. Jennifer worked as a Strategy Intern with the Teacher Leadership Project in the Department of Academics, Performance and Support to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of a new professional development program designed to empower thousands of public school teachers and thus improve student outcomes. She also enhanced the program’s operation and led its expansion for the 2013-2014 academic year. Elizabeth was placed in the Office of Achievement Resources where she served as project manager to support the expansion of the new teacher evaluation system growing to scale during the 2013-2014 school year, going from a pilot program in 30 schools to a full-scale project in 1700 schools. Elizabeth was responsible for analyzing data and identifying key insights to draw conclusions about teacher feedback and satisfaction with the new roll-out. Matt assisted the Research & Policy Support Group, which implements specialized assessments and analyzes yearly testing data. Matt’s primary deliverable was to develop an analysis plan for the Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI) assessment data and build an experimental research design to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The MSQI project is focused on improving literacy of NYCDOE middle school students.
Annie Koo ’14 worked with Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a nonprofit affordable housing lender based in New York. Undergoing extensive organizational change after the 2008 housing crisis, Annie worked closely with the corporate strategy team to develop CPC’s Five Year Plan. She also helped the financial planning and analysis team to develop content for an offering memorandum to investors, including evaluation of portfolio performance, new loans, and overall financial health.
Allie Levy ’14 and Samuel Wollner ’14 interned at New York-Presbyterian this summer. Allie was at the Allen Hospital, a community-based hospital that is one of five New York-Presbyterian locations. Allie worked closely with the operations team to develop and implement operational efficiencies, supporting the new healthcare reform environment. She gained experience in how to manage a community hospital, with projects ranging from supporting process and patient flow, to improving emergency management and generating financial and operational analyses reports. Sam interned with the Office of Strategy, a dynamic, eight-person, corporate level department whose members serve as internal strategic consultants, project managers and change leaders at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Sam worked on projects that include conducting internal and market research and analysis, meeting with senior medical and administrative personnel, developing strategic plans and helping to design programs to drive change at New York-Presbyterian.
Maria Noy ’14 interned at the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), a nonprofit that works with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to advance responsible development and improve quality of life in Jamaica and surrounding areas of Queens. Maria worked with the Real Estate Development team on various projects, financial analysis of offers and development pro-formas. Projects included a parking analysis, grant application assessment, and retail attraction. More broadly, through GJDC, Maria was involved in coordinating the efforts of a variety of organizations to help bring about positive changes to the community of Jamaica.
Prentice Onayemi ’14 worked with Exploring the Metropolis, a nonprofit that analyzes and addresses the real estate needs of performing artists in NYC. He analyzed the needs of artists living and/or working in Queens as well as their presenting facilities and audiences. He then shared his recommendations on policy, infrastructure, and strategy to the performing arts community, elected officials, and philanthropists.
Lauren Ryan ’14 worked at the Carnegie Corporation as an Education Pioneers summer fellow. She focused on the 100kin10 movement sponsored by Carnegie Corporation. 100kin10 is a movement focusing on creating, training, and supporting one hundred thousand new K-12 teachers of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects to ensure that future students are inspired to work in the STEM fields critical to the United States economy. Lauren worked with the variety of for-profit and nonprofit partners that have committed to the 100kin10 goal to ensure that the collective talents’ of partners are leverage effectively.
International Development
Filipa Castro ’14 and Rita Silva ’14 interned with salaUno, an eye clinic in Mexico City that contributes to the eradication of unnecessary blindness in Mexico by offering affordable and high quality eye care services, focused on low and mid-income customers. As summer associates, both Filipa and Rita reviewed business plans, helped prepare for salaUno´s initial round of external financing, devised a plan to improve efficiency and effectiveness of diagnosis centers and helped develop a microfinance project, for patients to finance their own operations through microloans.
Christina Chow ’13 worked at Embrace Innovations, a for-profit social enterprise that makes low-cost infant warmers for premature and low-weight babies in the developing world. Embrace is an American company that is based in Bangalore, India. As a Strategy and Marketing Fellow, Christina worked on new product development to build the product portfolio for Embrace. Her research will help the company expand their line of products beyond infant warmers, allowing them to offer more affordable healthcare solutions to patient populations in the developing world.
Meri Crowther ’14 and Sheila Lalani ’14 worked at LivelyHoods, a nonprofit sales network that creates jobs for youth in Kenyan slums through the distribution of socially-responsible products. Meri served as an advisor to the organization on operations, business development, monitoring, and evaluation. In this role, she addressed optimization and process efficiency issues by evaluating options and testing solutions. She also helped LivelyHoods further develop strategic relationships with funders, product suppliers, and NGOs while supporting the evaluation of key impact indicators in relation to Sales Agents and consumers. Sheila worked on a supply chain project, which helped LivelyHoods in its quest to open three more retail stores. In a region of the world where resources are scarce and infrastructure is unreliable, innovative inventory and procurement processes are vital. Sheila put a system in place that enabled LivelyHoods to order and track product efficiently, so that base of the pyramid consumers have access to affordable products.
Uzayr Jeenah ’14 worked at Schulze Global Investments, a double bottom line-focused emerging markets private equity fund that aims to achieve beneficial developmental impact in addition to strong financial returns. The firm has the first Ethiopia focused fund; having raised $100mn predominantly from European developmental agencies. As a strategy and operations advisor to the fund, Uzayr worked in Ethiopia to develop growth strategies for some of the portfolio companies and helped to improve their operations. Some of the portfolio companies included a coffee roasting company looking to export to the US, and a cement manufacturer trying to expand their operations.
Adaobi Kanu ’14 worked with the Andean Collection, a socially responsible retail company that reduces poverty in disadvantaged communities in South America through the creation and sales of jewelry. Andean Collection also supports several social development programs like scholarships and small business assistance in the communities where they work. Adaobi worked with the company’s founder and president and the director of business development on market analytics, inventory cost reduction strategies, and developing a strategic growth plan for the company’s intended expansion in to European Markets.
Shintaro Kohmoto ’14 worked with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which aims to create opportunities for people to escape poverty by mobilizing sources of finance and promoting private enterprise development. He worked to promote the use of green power, including solar and wind, at mobile network tower sites in remote rural areas around the world, and conducted competitive analysis on the market, value chain and industry players.
Vidula Menon ’14 worked at The Tony Elemulu Foundation (TTEF), a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Africa’s economic development by enhancing the competitiveness of the African private sector. As a summer intern, Vidula worked with one of TTEF’s portfolio organizations, Wakanow, to develop Nigeria’s first sports and entertainment center. Working directly with the Wakanow CEO, Vidula focused on conducting research, benchmark analyses and financial modeling, which helped her develop a business plan to present to potential investors and stakeholders.
Joe Maddens ’14 and Marc Nadeau ’13 worked at the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nonprofit institution that documents the Cambodian genocide and the Khmer Rouge era, offers mission-related programs, and runs a museum, school and research center. Joe helped the organization transition from a donor-driven, project-focused organization to a self-sustainable model, by creating a business plan for a new institute and developing investment options to raise capital. Marc also worked as a Business Associate to identify target markets and recommend marketing strategies for the Koh Keh temple site near Siem Reap in Cambodia. He conducted cost/revenue analysis for the Koh Keh area, and local market analysis in order to recommend revenue strategies, and provided input on a proposed work plan for strategic development in the area. Marc also worked for African Wildlife Fund (AWF) where he was responsible for developing documentation on existing enterprises, including the conservation rationale for establishing such enterprises, their financing structures, and their community benefits. In addition he assessed the financial results of these enterprises, including the return on AWF’s investment and the financial benefits received by communities.
Sarah McCoy ’13 worked at Bridge International Academies, a Kenya-based social enterprise whose mission is to provide every child with the chance to have a high-quality primary education, regardless of their family’s income. Bridge founds and runs primary schools targeted for the bottom-of-the-pyramid market, currently operating 134 academies throughout Kenya. Sarah worked cross-functionally with Bridge’s teams to streamline organizational processes to ensure that Bridge’s growth occurred in an efficient and high-quality manner.
Ryan Thompson ’14 worked at South Pacific Business Development (SPBD). SPBD is a group of microfinance networks in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands dedicated to eradicating poverty by empowering women in poor rural villages with the opportunity to grow and sustain income-generating micro-enterprise. Ryan managed the product launch of a new loan product geared towards successful existing SPBD clients looking to grow past the current offerings of its microfinance networks.
Ivan Titkov ’14 worked for Innovando la Tradicion, located in Oaxaca, Mexico. The company helps local artisans promote their ceramic and pottery products across the country and globally by helping with marketing, product design, inventory management, etc. Innovando also makes sure that production runs in an environmentally-friendly way (e.g., their glaze contains no lead) and that millenary traditions are preserved and transferred to the next generations of artisans.
Gerardo Trueba ’14 worked at Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP), a nonprofit, New York based organization that mobilizes and supports about 200 leading companies, banks and entrepreneurs in building profitable and inclusive businesses that incorporate millions of low-income people as suppliers, distributors and consumers of asset building products. Gerardo’s work included the identification of best practices to mitigate risks and increase assets of micro-entrepreneurs and the development of an agriculture finance performance-benchmarking framework to assess institutional readiness to enter or scale up activities in agriculture finance, and assess ongoing performance.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Lauren Behr ’14 worked with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a nonprofit business membership organization that develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. Lauren worked with clients in the Consumer Products industry to develop sustainable supply chain, manufacturing and ethical sourcing strategies by focusing primarily on engagement with and programming for female factory workers.
Mallika Kumar ’14 worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international environmental advocacy group. Mallika worked at NRDC’s Energy and Transportation Program, where she assisted a team of policy staff on projects for advancing industrial energy efficiency. In this role, she researched and analyzed various proposals for states and utilities to increase deployment of industrial energy efficiency technologies, drafted a plan for executing next steps on specific proposals with partners, such as Northeast Utilities, and liaised with utilities, industrial end-users, industry, and state and federal government experts, as well as other NRDC partners including the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.
Alex Melecki ’14 worked with CommonBond, which is changing the student loan market by helping students obtain low-cost education loans from alumni of their schools. For every student who completes his or her CommonBond-funded education in the U.S., the organization funds a year of schooling for a child at the African School of Excellence. During his internship, Alex designed and executed a project plan to enhance customer experience, helping the organization to expand from supporting just one school to servicing 20. For this project, he did market and regulatory research, identified and interviewed stakeholder groups, performed conjoint analyses to ascertain customer preferences, and proposed actions and implementation strategies directly to the co-founders.
Atif Qadir ’14 worked at Honest Buildings, a startup based in New York and London, which promotes sustainability in the built environment through a free, publicly-available online platform of buildings that showcases buildings’ key physical and energy metrics. As a B-Corporation, Honest Buildings maintains standards of social and environmental performance, while aiming to enhance awareness of and accelerate the demand for more sustainable building projects and transactions. Atif worked directly with the CEO on major operational initiatives: improving the identification scheme that drives the matching algorithm, monetizing the HB Match process, and implementing a robust customer relationship management system.
Dyanna Salcedo ’15 worked at a start-up nonprofit called The Concordia Summit, an organization that facilitates public-private partnerships (P3) by convening public and private sector leaders to address social ailments. She worked with the director of research and development to develop quantitative tools that identified factors of P3 success. She also worked closely with the rest of the management team to help grow the organization through marketing and strategic plans.
Samit Shah ’13 worked at Tau Investment Management, an investment firm that seeks to generate financial returns through the social and environmental transformation of its portfolio companies. Tau takes industry laggards along these metrics and transforms them into leaders. Samit’s work at Tau included research regarding potential social and environmental transformation levers in the consumer electronics and garment sectors and investment analysis for target companies.
Amanda Wood ’14 interned with SoFi (Social Finance, Inc.). SoFi is a start-up transforming the student loan industry by connecting student and graduate borrowers with alumni investors both economically and socially. SoFi was founded to fix the broken $1 trillion US student loan market. It offers an innovative approach to address this problem using the power of social communities to transform the industry. SoFi connects students and alumni through a dedicated lending pool and a social community approach where students, alumni and schools all benefit. Alumni earn a compelling bottom line return, students receive a lower loan rate than their private or federal options, and both sides benefit from the connections formed.
Social Entrepreneurship
Liz Ichniowski ’13 worked at EcoWatch, a website that aggregates news articles focusing on issues of sustainability. Liz worked as an associate tasked specifically to build out the business plan as EcoWatch sought ways to monetize its brand and website. Currently, EcoWatch intends to expand the brand and website by creating new verticals, including an eco-product, eco-lifestyle and, most ambitiously, a crowd-funding vertical for sustainable projects that lack proper finances to see an idea to fruition. Liz was tasked with understanding these opportunities, both in terms of market based research and financial feasibility.
Hahn Wook Kim ’13 interned with Ashoka—Innovators for the Public, a citizen organization which financially supports leading social entrepreneurs while building a global network of peers and professionals on which they can rely. Ashoka has 3,000 Fellows in over 70 countries. Hanook worked closely with the Global Venture/Fellowship (V/F) team leading two new projects: analyzing V/F’s financial sustainability and the V/F knowledge capture plan. Hanook discovered and diagnosed financial challenges for sustainability of over 30 Ashoka country offices while enabling organizational learning by synthesizing the insights and experiences collected from Ashoka’s network of social entrepreneurs.
Cambyse Parsi ’13 worked with CapitalWorks Impact Fund, which aims to provide growth and expansion financing to for- and nonprofit social enterprises. He developed financial analysis on social enterprises to be used as test cases for potential investees, and helped design debt and debt-related investment structures. He also worked on the fund’s business strategy, analyzing the landscape for debt products for social enterprises, and contributed to the fund’s social impact analysis.
Colleen Poynton ’14 worked at Core Innovation Capital and Endeavor Global. Core Innovation Capital is a venture fund that invests in highly scalable, innovative companies that deliver financial products and services to underbanked customers in the United States. As a Summer Associate supporting the Managing Partner, Colleen executed market and company research, investment analysis, and due diligence on prospective investments. She worked closely with leading entrepreneurs and financiers to help develop market-leading products and services for this large and fast-growing customer segment. Colleen also helped Core strengthen the ecosystem of innovation and investment in financial technologies through fund marketing, strategic outreach and mission support. Colleen also worked at Endeavor Global, where she was part of the Entrepreneur Search & Selection team. She worked directly with country portfolio heads to conduct due diligence and analyze the management teams, business models, target markets, and competitors of prospective Endeavor entrepreneurs. Her analysis culminated in the creation of key company profiles, which were used by Endeavor’s global network of mentors and investors during the 2013 International Selection Panel held in Palo Alto, CA.
Jon Saunders ’14 worked for Tugende, a for-profit social enterprise based in Kampala, Uganda. Tugende helps safe, reliable motorcycle taxi (boda-boda) drivers buy their own motorcycles, giving them the means to control their own tools of employment and kick start a path to financial independence. During his time with Tugende, Jon focused on financial modeling helping Tugende better understand their own operations and make the company more appealing to investors. Jon also developed a program to help Tugende gather and analyze the overall social impact these micro-loans were having on the driver’s lives. In addition, he worked closely with the CEO developing Tugende’s forward-looking strategy.
Jennifer Shea ’14 worked with DeansList, an education technology start-up that provides highly customizable, cloud-based software to help educators track student data in order to improve community culture and student behavior. Jen served as a marketing and business development intern where she utilized her marketing research skills to narrow down DeansList’s target customer segments, develop a marketing plan focused on addressing schools’ needs, and refine the organization’s sales strategy. She was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in pitches to angel investors looking to support for-profit organizations with an overriding social mission, engage in sales meetings, and meet with leaders in the social entrepreneurship space.
Marcos Sheeran ’13 worked at NYC Seed, a venture fund that helps to build a sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in New York City. Marcos analyzed market opportunities, evaluated companies seeking funding, performed due diligence on potential companies and assisted in negotiations that led to final investments. In addition, Marcos contributed to the development of the SeedStart program, an intensive 12-week program designed to help entrepreneurs focused on the next-generation of enterprise software to launch new ventures in New York City.
Yael Silverstein ’13 worked at Inspire Capital, a social enterprise dedicated to enhancing the field through its programs that support grassroots nonprofit organizations develop revenues streams. Inspire Capital works with forward-thinking social enterprises to optimize their core business and explore ways to monetize that business to support their social mission without requiring grants or donations. Inspire Capital also educates donors about helping nonprofits pursue sustainability as social enterprises. Yael worked with the founder on product development and online marketing. She developed the collateral for its nonprofit capacity building programs and matching process with private sector partners. She was also responsible for developing strategic recommendations and providing content for online channels.
2012
Nonprofit & Public Management
Elizabeth Adams ’12 worked with the Peaks Foundation, a nonprofit that organizes inspirational trekking and climbing expeditions for women to raises funds to support grassroots nonprofit organizations, that focus on empowering women, in the communities they are traversing. Elizabeth worked with the executive director to develop a business plan to determine future funding goals and develop a sustainable cost basis as the Peaks Foundation emerges from its start up phase.
Amy Anenberg ’13 worked at Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that fights poverty in New York City by identifying, funding and partnering with over 240 of the most effective schools and programs in the city's poorest neighborhoods. Robin Hood applies investment principles to philanthropy and philanthropic ideas to inventment practices, attacking poverty at its root causes and rigorously evaluating programs to measure results. Amy interned with the Management Assistance team, where she analyzed Robin Hood's investments in the development offices of its grantees to determine whether Robin Hood assistance had an impact on their efficacy, overall budget size and mix of revenues.
Courtney Catallo ’13 worked with Technical Development Corporation (TDC), a nonprofit management consulting and research group dedicated to providing the nonprofit sector with the business and management skills they need to carry out their missions effectively. Courtney worked on a variety of projects throughout the summer, including a strategic growth planning and competitive environment analysis project with an arts funder in Pittsburgh, as well as a financial analysis project with a park conservancy group in Boston. Project work included project management, financial analysis, conducting research, and writing and editing client deliverables.
Dana Edelstein ’13 interned at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) within the Strategy and Ventures team on two projects. She worked to analyze the economic viability of new, multiplatform distribution channels by conducting competitive analysis, evaluating user behavior, and creating financial models. She also worked to design a metrics dashboard that will enable PBS and its stakeholders to effectively assess performance across departments.
Elizabeth Farjardo Butler ’12 worked with the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC- U). ROC-U is a national restaurant workers' organization that seeks improved wages and working conditions for the nation's low-wage restaurant workforce. ROC engages in three areas of work: waging campaigns for justice against 'low-road' employers, promoting responsible employers taking the 'high road' to profitability, and conducting research and policy work to lift conditions industry- wide. Elizabeth's work focused on the research and policy aspect of the organization. She conducted industry wide market and competitive research and contributed to workplace improvement strategies.
Rocio Garcia Ruiz ’12 worked at the NYC Department of Education with both the Strategic Incentives and Recruitment Programs teams. She performed an evaluation of the teacher movement in the system over the past thress years and ans assessment of academic outcomes for Teaching Fellows who have participated in the Science and Math Immerwsion programs.
Rajib Guha ’13 and Beth Mitchell ’13 interned at Blue Ridge Foundation New York, a social innovation fund with a mission to help develop effective strategies for connecting people living in high poverty communities to the opportunities, resources, and support that they need to fulfill their full potential. The foundation incubates and launches innovative ventures that enhance economic and social mobility and facilitates connections among its network of grantees. As a summer associate, Rajib worked on a number of high-impact consulting projects that address critical capacity building challenges faced by the foundation's portfolio organizations, each of which are early stage nonprofits with strong growth potential. Beth completed several short-term consulting projects over the course of the summer with Blue Ridge's "portfolio" organizations, assisting in areas such as financial analysis, strategic planning, and organizational development. She also completed a project that helps to shape Blue Ridge's overall organizational direction.
Muhammed Mortezaee ’12 worked with The Financial Clinic, a nonprofit that works with lower income families across the U.S. to address their financial commitments and challenges and assist them in developing financial plans to achieve greater independence and mobility. The Clinic offers asset planning, debt planning, tax advice, financial education workshops, and legal assistance. Muhammed worked with the director of the Strategic Initiatives group and the director of Finance and Operations to develop a 12 month financial plan analyzing the minimum number of clients that need to be served each year in order for the department to breakeven. This framework will then be utilized as new products and services are developed and offered.
Alyssa Sankin ’13 worked at New Amsterdam Market, a public market that promotes economics development by supporting small businesses such as butchers, grocers, mongers, and other vendors who source, produce, distribute, and sell foods made with regional ingredients. As a summer business intern, she conducted research, collected and analyzed data and helped develop a business model that planed for the future growth of New Amsterdam Market. Additionally, she collected and analyzed data to demonstrate the regional economic impact of public markets as aggregations of small businesses that support regional agriculture.
Clara Sheets ’12 interned at the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC). She worked in Tunisia for a month to implement programs to further small business bank lending and to advance the availability of venture capital funding in Tunisia. Additionally, she helped to design future programs to take place in Tunisia to further the development of sound financial infrastructure as the country continues reforms. Following her time in Tunisia, she spent a month working at the New York headquarters recruiting expert volunteers for projects abroad, writing grant proposals for future projects and furthering FSVC's marketing initiatives.
Kristen Shields ’13 worked with The Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The organization's mission is to make it easier for businesses in New York City to form, do business, and grow by providing direct assistance to business owners, fostering neighborhood development in commercial districts, and linking employers to a skilled and qualified workforce. Kristen worked in the financial services and access to capital department. She focused on finishing the development of the restaurant financial projection model that is designed to assist restaurants with properly anticipating their financing needs.
Alia Smith ’13 worked at the New York City Department of Education via an Education Pioneers placement, together with the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). She was in the Office of Teacher Effectiveness, focusing on gaining support for a new teacher evaluation system that will be rolled out in the 2012-2013 academic year and will affect over 1,000 New York City teachers and tens of thousands of public school students.
International Development
Two students interned with Endeavor Global, a global nonprofit that aims to transform emerging countries' economies by supporting high impact entrepreneurship. Elizabeth Gulliver ’13 worked in Istanbul, Turkey, with Ciceksepeti, an online retailer. Ciceksepeti currently sells flowers and small gifts, though they recently received funding from Amazon and aim to expand to a similar platform. Elizabeth worked on marketing, business strategy and financial planning. Claudia Ojeda ’13 worked with the Endeavor Global Insight team based in NYC, and specifically focused on analyzing the growth of Endeavor's entrepreneurs relative to other groups of high-growth companies to understand why some entrepreneurs are higher-growth than others within Endeavor's portfolio. From this she developed recommendations on ways to help their entrepreneurs grow faster. She developed a marketing and communications strategy for sharing the findings of this project externally, including a report for public release, and helped to create internal systems and processes to implement these recommendations.
Ana Paula Gonzalez ’13, completed two impact investing internships in Mexico. IGNIA LLC, the first impact investing fund in Mexico, supports the founding and expansion of high growth social enterprises that serve the base of the socio-economic pyramid in Latin America, while creating attractive financial returns for its investors. Ana worked with one of IGNIA's portfolio companies that provides quality low cost housing to the poorest communities in Mexico. She also developed a strategy to sell houses through a new commercial channel using a franchise model. Her second internship was with Adobe Capital, a new fund supported by the platform of New Ventures Mexico at World Resources Institute (WRI). Adobe Capital is an impact investment fund focused on supporting the early growth of social and environmental small and growing businesses operating in base-of-the-pyramid communities. During her internship, Ana helped establish the Fund's processes regarding deal identification, analysis, filtering and selection. She also contributed to the establishment of clear guidelines to identify metrics to analyze and track social and environmental impact. Additionally, she acted as a liaison between Adobe Capital and the New Ventures Mexico business accelerator.
Elisa Kerr Joia ’13 and Mark Santangelo ’13 worked with I-Dev International, a management and strategy advisory firm to the development sector with offices in New York, Peru and Kenya. Elisa worked in their office in Peru, in the city of Cajamarca, to help develop and manage on-going projects throughout Latin America. Projects focused on economic development through the creation of viable and sustainable small and growing business at the base of the pyramid (BoP) providing BoP communities with the training, resources, and relationships needed to build financially-independent businesses. Mark's work focused primarily on I-DEV's expansion into the East African market, assisting with development business projects, the build out of I-DEV's network, and analysis of potential investment and project opportunities.
Muskan Chopra ’13 interned this summer as a Kiva Fellow for Kiva Microfunds. She focused her efforts on a start-up pilot in direct lending using M-PESA, a mobile payment system. She researched agencies and individuals to identify and endorse 0% interest loans funded by lenders directly to the mobile phones of borrowers. As a fellow in Nairobi, she helped the local MFI maximize the value that Kiva loans can have on their existing outreach and impact. In particular, she focused on expanding the MFI's Kiva network at the field level to include branches that distribute green loan products, like solar lanterns. She also conducted Borrower Verifications by communicating directly with microfinance borrowers in the field.
Sara Levin ’13 interned at salaUno, a start-up that delivers quality accessible and affordable healthcare services focused in conditions that affect large segments of the Mexican population. She worked on creating a business plan with a go-to-market strategy for labUno, which will distribute AuroLab products throughout Mexico, and helped to implement the organization's growth strategy.
Two students interned with E+Co, a nonprofit that makes clean energy investments in developing nations. E+Co's mission is to find outstanding entrepreneurs and work with them to establish clean energy businesses that mitigate climate change and reduce poverty while generating financial returns. Sean Kane ’12 worked in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with entrepreneurs in E+Co's East Africa solar portfolio. He performed market research, implemented operational improvements, and performed due diligence on a preferred equity investment in a local solar distributor in Tanzania. Borja Olaso ’12 worked in the New York office to help E+Co assess the feasibility of their first grid connected PV Solar Plant, a breakthrough that is a potential foundational step for the organization to develop a broader renewable energy focus in the region.
Adam Klappholz ’12 worked with Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit located in Accra, Ghana that focuses on training Ghanaians in software development in order to spur economic development, job creation, and serve as an example to the rest of the world about the potential for Africa's high tech sector. MEST sends high performing Ghanaian students through a fully sponsored two year program of software and entrepreneurial development that culminates with students pitching their business plans and potentially receiving seed funding. Adam conducted interviews in the U.S. and Ghana and analyzed Accra's market in order to determine best practices for MEST's expansion into establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghana.
Two students interned with TigerTrade, a B2B internet startup and social enterprise that connects Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the textile, apparel, footwear and furniture industry with buyers and distributors in developed economies, to increase trade and catalyze broad-based economic growth. TigerTrade is committed to fair trade, sustainability, and economic empowerment of local manufacturers. Max Tonconogy ’13 worked on business development, operations, and the company's expansion into Latin America. Dong Geun Shin ’13 worked to support the planning and implementation of new sales, product development, and marketing initiatives, while analyzing customer segments and competitors in addition to developing potential pricing models, revenue projections, and value-added service packages.
Emma Vaugh ’13 interned with Acumen Fund, an impact-investing firm that has invested more than $70 million over the past ten years to help eradicate poverty in some of the world's poorest regions. She helped to hone their media and partnership strategy, and to synchronize all media and investment data in a way that can maximize promotion for Acumen's mission. She also helped to strengthen the donor partnerships and explore new industries for potential partner relationships. Emma's work left Acumen in a stronger position for growth and continued global awareness.
Anjai Vyas ’12 worked with Healing Hands of Joy, which helps women who suffer from obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. She helped the executive director with a secondary loan program for women who work as safe motherhood ambassadors in the country, by developing criteria for loan distribution as well as reviewing their potential business ideas. She also analyzed many sources of data to demonstrate the severity of fistula and the need for action, researched maternal health issues in Africa, and helped to create strategies to address these issues.
Luis Alfredo Zambrano ’13 spent his summer interning for Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP), a firm founded in 2006 with a clear goal: to double the income and assets of over 50 million low-income people by end 2014. Luis' involvement in projects related to inclusive finance and mobile banking that drew on his experience in the industry, and gave him experience working on strategies based in value chain financing and agri-finance. These projects aim to improve the lives of millions of people in China and Latin America.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Rebby Bliss ’13 interned with Karbone, a full service firm specializing in Renewable Energy and Environmental Markets. Karbone helps renewable energy technologies compete alongside traditional sources of energy and electricity. The company focuses on enabling renewable energy developers to reach their financing objectives and offers comprehensive services in environmental markets to structure environmental credit transactions. Rebby worked as a summer analyst with the capital advisory and research groups. Her responsibilities include developing financial models for the financing and construction of renewable energy projects within the US and researching renewable energy market regulations.
Jaissy Lorenzo ’13 interned at the Altura Capital Group, a women- and Hispanic-owned investment advisory and research services firm in the emerging and diverse managers field. She reported to the Head of Research and CFO and worked within the Asset Management Division to research undiscovered and under-utilized investment managers through the proprietary database. This project involved researching the performance record of managers among various asset classes, including the typical excess returns of managers, "batting averages" across asset classes, and sizing the manager universe.
Liz Ichniowski ’13 worked at Confluence Philanthropy created by the Rockefeller Brother Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation as an associate/fellow for the Sustainable Food and Fisheries Initiative. Confluence has partnered with the Packard Foundation to help educate grantmakers about mission-related investing strategies and to build out MRI vehicles in this burgeoning space. Liz was the face of Confluence for all MRI related events and led the confluence team in the organization of the initiatives. Liz looked at program-related investments, private equity funds, and public funds to facilitate the creation of alternative financing streams for the food/fisheries initiative. Liz's final product, "Defining the Path Forward for Financing in Sustainable Fisheries," includes a report, a webinar briefing about MRI, and a set of recommendations about how to move the field forward.
Social Entrepreneurship
Two students interned with Jalia Ventures, an investment firm that provides growth capital to minority-owned businesses with a social mission, with a focus on healthcare, education, information technology and environmentally friendly innovations. As a summer associate, Renae Merle ’12 reviewed business plans, met with entrepreneurs and performed due diligence. She also studied Jalia's operational structure and made recommendations for improvement. Donnel Baird ’13 helped Jalia to evaluate new investment opportunities in addition to helping to launch a national business plan competition for graduates of HBCUs.
Emily Currin ’12 worked for mGood, a mobile crowdfunding platform that helps nonprofits fundraise. Emily's primary responsibility were to own and refine mGood's pitch deck and financial model, with the goal of convincing angel investors and/or venture capitalists, both from the traditional as well as social enterprise spaces, to invest in mGood.
Three students interned with CityHealthWorks! (CHW!) a nonprofit start-up venture which aims to empower individuals in low-income communities to embrace better, healthier lives. Equipped with agile technologies, CHW! trains peer coaches to motivate their neighbors to prevent and better manage chronic diseases. Jonathan Goldsmith ’12 served as Chief Operating Officer. The goal of his work was to build and manage relationships with partner organizations that will help provide input on the design and evaluation of the wellness promotion strategies, build a ROI calculator that is tailored to the target population and the unique nature of the program design, and ensure that the financial model responds to changes in the operating model. Mindy Lin ’12 revised the communication materials, developed content for the website and assisted with fundraising efforts. This has allowed CHW! to reach a broader audience and make a long-lasting impact on underserved communities in NYC. Stefani Torrieri ’12 helped CHW! to design and create its wellness and nutrition program, a critical piece to the organization's success. She was responsible for meeting with local "experts" from the East Harlem community and healthy businesses that sell services and products to low-income communities with the goal of making the program more responsible to feedback from members of the community. She also developed content for food demonstration workshops that conveyed knowledge about healthy cooking and relevant nutritional and health knowledge. Lastly, Stefanie helped determine an effective strategy to negotiate discounts on healthy food products and services to members in order to increase motivation to make healthier life choices.
Hahn Wook Kim ’13 worked at Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), supporting the Impact Partners Team to launch Impact Exchange. Impact Exchange will be Asia's first regulated social stock exchange which, once operational, will allow impact investors to easily access for-profit and nonprofit social enterprises and invest in their equity or bond issuances. He assessed the eligibility of social enterprises for listing, providing them the opportunity to raise capital through the exchange platform, as well as worked with the team to set up the Impact Guarantee Fund to leverage investors' investments thereby allowing organizations to scale their impact.
Two students interned at NYC Seed, a venture fund that helps to build a sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in New York City. Under the leadership of Owen Davis EMBA '08, NYC Seed provides funding, mentoring and support to create the next generation of companies in NYC. In addition to supporting existing portfolio companies, Jigar Patel ’13 analyzed business plans and performed due diligence to identify new ventures to add to the portfolio. He participated in all aspects of the VC process, including attending Investment Committee meetings and funding negotiations. As a new initiative this year, Jigar was also responsible for planning and execution of a NYC-based enterprise software accelerator. Steven Moore ’12 worked with the investment fund as well as the SeedStart Program. Steven analyzed market opportunities, evaluated companies seeking funding, performed due diligence on potential companies and assisted in negotiations that led to final investments. Another aspect of the internship was to continue development of the SeedStart program which aims to build a sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in New York City. By partnering with both public and private entities, Steven helped NYC Seed lead a program that involved around 20 local companies.
Aaron Mercurio ’13 worked at Core Innovation Capital as a Summer Associate supporting the general partner. The summer term involved quantitative and qualitative research, due diligence, impact auditing and analysis, and fund marketing and mission support. During his internship, Aaron worked with leading entrepreneurs and financiers in the financial services space helping to design and innovate market-leading products and services to support the U.S.'s large and growing unbanked and underserved population. The fund was launched by, and is strategic partners with, the Center for Financial Services Innovation, the leader in underbanked strategy across the financial services landscape.
Lindsay Norcott ’12 spent her summer at ImpactAssets, a nonprofit financial services company that catalyzes impact investing through innovative impact products and field building. Working under the Head of Strategic Initiatives, Lindsay was responsible for a wide variety of projects. She designed and implemented ImpactAssets' social media strategy, executed partnerships with the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS) for the launch of the 2012 ImpactAssets 50, and worked with Jed Emerson, co-author of Impact Investing with Antony Bugg-Levine, on the development of Issue Briefs to advance the field of impact investing.
Alia Rafeh ’12 joined Charity Connector, a social enterprise and online service that allows smaller nonprofits to connect and form partnerships with larger for-profit organizations. Alia worked as the business development and marketing intern where she cultivated partnerships and developed a marketing strategy to increase Charity Connector's brand awareness. Alia's responsibilities included researching the nonprofit technology space, and providing strategic and creative thinking on Charity Connector's marketing efforts.
Two students interned at Sustainable Health Enterprise (SHE), a New York City nonprofit and for- profit in Rwanda which focuses on market-based solutions to international development. SHE's main initiative is SHE28, which addresses girls' and women's lack of access to affordable menstrual pads in Africa, which can cause them to miss school and/or work. SHE is currently helping women roll out a franchise model in Rwanda, manufacturing and distributing affordable, eco-friendly menstrual pads by sourcing local, inexpensive raw materials, such as banana fibers. Christina Shim ’12 interned in the New York office, where she contributed towards a branding and market assessment analysis to see what opportunities might exist for SHE in the U.S. Elisabeth Chasia ’12 pursued business development initiatives that strengthened the organization's long term sustainability and increased its social impact. She research the product line extension opportunities that will enable SHE to develop and manufacture new low cost products that address overlooked public health needs in developing countries.
2011
Nonprofit & Public Management
Olivia Albrecht (MBA/MIA ’11) worked with CONNECT, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preventing interpersonal violence and promoting gender justice throughout society. By building partnerships with individuals (both male and female) and communities, CONNECT strives to help change the beliefs, behaviors, and institutions that perpetuate violence and disempowerment. Olivia's work focused primarily on CONNECT's real estate needs — namely, the need for affordable New York City office space and a training center as its current lease expires. CONNECT's affordable office space needs are common among NYC nonprofits due to tight operating budgets. Olivia worked on a tactical level to find new affordable nonprofit office space for CONNECT and developed a visionary solution to help more nonprofits share building space in order to minimize operating costs.
Five students worked with Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit that aims to train, connect, and inspire a new generation of education leaders dedicated to transforming the educational system through placements at premiere education organizations:
- Kirsten Anderson ’12 worked at Newark Public Schools as a part of the transition team developing strategic plans for improvement in the school system, which was recently placed under mayoral control. The project involved quantitative and qualitative research, benchmarking, and analysis to develop strategic recommendations. During her internship, Kirsten worked with professors and thought leaders at the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University to benefit from leading research and draw on experts in education and public sector change.
- Neeta Boddapati ’12 interned at the New York City Department of Education. She worked on a strategic communication initiative focused on gaining support for a new talent management system within key pilot schools. The project involved creating and implementing a branded communication campaign using various channels to motivate school leaders and teachers within pilot schools to adopt a new performance-based teacher evaluation system. It also included a proposal for improving the DOE's ability to communicate with teachers system-wide.
- Jessica Harrison ’11 worked at Uncommon Schools as an operations fellow. She worked on a project that focused on improving the data management and data analysis capabilities, systems and processes at the network level for twelve Uncommon New York City schools. She also helped drive the way Uncommon Schools uses and stores data at the school level and how the organization surfaces critical student achievement trends and insights across their schools.
- Luke Justice ’12 interned with Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS). INCS works to strengthen charter schools and the communities they serve in a number of important ways, including: public policy leadership, political and community advocacy, and school support services. During his internship Luke helped INCS develop its school support services for managing outside vendors. First, by building a more robust system for tracking and publishing vendor performance, schools are now able to make more informed purchasing decisions. Second, by leveraging INCS ability to reach many schools at once, the organization was able to create a marketing model for vendors while also generating revenue for INCS.
- Aaron Scheinberg ’11, a West Point graduate and Iraq War Veteran, worked with Wireless Generation, an innovative education technology company that provides products and services to more than 200,000 K–12 educational institutions and 3 million students. Wireless Generation is partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's "Intensive Partnership for Effective Teaching" program, which invests $290 million into four school districts. Aaron's team worked with these sites to build their data capacity and develop a new data "Dashboard" software program to easily display school data. These "dashboards" will help to implement bold reform plans over the next several years to better recruit, retain, and reward effective teachers and ensure that the highest need students are taught by the most effective teachers.
Two students interned at Services for the Underserved (SUS), a New York City nonprofit that provides housing and support services to economically disadvantaged New Yorkers, individuals with special needs due to a mental, developmental, or physical disabililty, HIV/AIDS, inadequate education, substance abuse, or a history of institutionalization:
- Elizabeth Farjardo Butler ’12 interned as the business development director. She researched and identified potential social ventures for SUS. Elizabeth also created financial models, business plans, and funding pitches for the selected ventures, which were presented with the CFO to the executive committee. In addition, Elizabeth indentified potential private stakeholders to back the long-term sustainability of the project for deeper analysis.
- Emily Richardson ’12 worked on developing a strategy for the accelerated expansion of SUS's real estate portfolio. SUS owns 600,000 square feet of residential real estate in New York City. An additional 700,000 square feet is leased. Using its entire real estate portfolio, SUS operates programs that support more than 4,000 individuals. Most of SUS's real estate portfolio is dedicated to supportive housing where the residential component is complemented with counseling, therapy, and life skills services. Emily conducted site visits, interviewed multiple internal and external stakeholders including areas of government and in the New York City real estate community, and researched best practices in the field.
Agustin Danza ’12 interned with the NYC Department of Education at the Strategic Incentives Office in the Teacher Recruitment and Quality Department. Agustin worked for Tania Shinkawa ’04, the director of this office. The project's objective was to understand why teachers move from one school to another. Agustin identified movement patterns to gain insights to help the office develop and improve incentives to allocate teachers to where they are most needed.
Katie Field ’11 interned at Dance/NYC, the largest branch office of the national dance service organization, Dance/USA. Dance/NYC's mission is to strengthen the professional dance field in New York City through advocacy, guidance, and developing infrastructure for local dance artists, audiences, and managers in this field. As part of an institutional grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Katie led a communications team to develop a long-term marketing plan focused on measuring and analyzing audience engagement and integrating social media outlets. This project was part of the grant's overarching vision to centralize dance communications with Dance/NYC to maximize the impact of a single, coherent voice in the field.
David Goldberg ’12 worked for the Guggenheim Foundation, a preeminent institution for the collection, preservation, and research of modern and contemporary art. The Guggenheim Foundation oversees the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and a global network of other distinguished cultural institutions in Venice, Bilbao, Berlin, and Abu Dhabi. David interned in the Executive Office, where he contributed to the Helsinki Project, a feasibility study that assessed the possible mission and structure, exhibitions and programs, economic impact, and other elements of a potential Guggenheim-affiliated museum in Helsinki, Finland.
Sarah Kafka ’12 spent her summer in northern Washington state working for the National Park Service in the Business Plan Internship Program. Stationed at North Cascades National Park, Sarah worked on a five-year strategic business plan for the Park. As the Park faces budget cuts, the business plan will help to refine its goals and desired outcomes, using financial planning tools. The resulting business plan will be used to track the Park's progress, create annual work plans for park divisions, and support requests for funding.
Two students interned at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH), one the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world, with leading specialists in every field of medicine:
- Manmeet Kaur ’11 worked with the Community Health Department to help launch the NYPH Patient Centered Medical Home Care Coordination Model. The Model is a new way to deliver better quality primary care in a more affordable and effective way, targeting people with chronic health conditions. The goal of her work was to help the hospital develop care management strategies to improve continuity of care as patients transition from the hospital to the home, assess the cost-effectiveness of the model, build community partnerships, and investigate factors that influence rehospitalizations of patients in the Washington Heights Community.
- Jennifer Doorly Magaziner ’12 spent her summer working on a Patient Access Initiative with the Patient-Centered Care Division of its Columbia campus in New York. The Patient Access Initiative is a joint project with the NYPH strategy team and Columbia Doctors aimed at using infrastructure, programs, tools, and best practices to improve the patient experience at Columbia Doctors practice sites. Jennifer helped launch a customer service improvement effort in collaboration with Columbia University Medical School's partners to improve patient satisfaction in the University's many medical practices. She also helped to set up the infrastructure to achieve this, including data reporting, staff mobilization, and project coordination.
International Development
Three students interned with Endeavor, a global nonprofit that aims to transform emerging countries' economies by supporting high-impact entrepreneurship:
- Krishna Bhat ’12 worked in San Francisco with Yola.com — a website builder and hosting service that helps small businesses stand out on the web — to create a business case that will help entrepreneurs raise funding for specific strategic initiatives, growth, and expansion. In particular, Krishna's duties included: financing strategies, honing a business plan, and company growth options.
- Shobhit Datta ’12 spent his summer working in Amman Jordan with Jeeran.com, a leading website in the Arab world. Jeeran.com had recently introduced Jeeran Places, a service to help users discover new businesses in their city. Shobhit helped analyze various monetization options available to Jeeran Places and how the company could utilize the current payments infrastructure in the region.
- Ana Luiza Reis ’12 interned in Monterey, Mexico, with Imagen Dental, a health clinic offering world-class dental, vision, and hearing care. Ana Luiza conducted an in-depth analysis of the dental and financial markets while completing a business plan for the future growth of the company, and she presented this to potential financing candidates.
Laura Goldman ’12 worked in Nairobi, Kenya this summer for Fanisi Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in East Africa. The fund targets high-growth businesses in a variety of sectors with the goal of supporting East African entrepreneurs to build competitive and sustainable businesses that have significant development impact in the region. Laura helped expand the fund's portfolio by conducting research on new markets as well as due diligence on potential portfolio companies. She also reviewed Fanisi's transaction processes to help identify opportunities to strengthen operations.
Stephanie Harvell ’12 interned this summer at ThinkImpact, a social enterprise that inspires innovation to end poverty through the Innovation Institute. The Innovation Institute is a curriculum-based immersion program in rural villages in Africa for the next generation of social entrepreneurs. ThinkImpact's approach to poverty alleviation utilizes an asset-based community development philosophy to fuel social innovation at the base of the pyramid by creating jobs, products, and services that change lives. Stephanie worked as an advisor to a team of six scholars in rural Kenya, where they worked with local community members to promote a mindset of innovation, self-sufficiency, and entrepreneurship rather than dependency and aid.
Marin Kaleya ’12 served as a communications associate at Acumen Fund, a nonprofit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Marin was responsible for creating the organization's 10-year report, a written and visual representation of what Acumen Fund has accomplished and learned in its 10-year history and what the future holds for this innovative organization as it works to create a new and pioneering model of philanthropy. Marin also worked closely with the Communications and Business Development teams in its broader efforts around the 10-year anniversary celebration, including content development, investor relations, and media outreach.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Nunzio Digiacomo ’11, Benjamin Kanner ’12, Aleksander Karlsen ’12, and Ron Stimmel ’12 worked with Professor Bruce Usher, former CEO of EcoSecurities Group, at Qualitative Alternatives, a renewable energy start up social venture with the mission of aggregating and analyzing operating data on renewable energy projects in the United States.
The actual cost of renewable energy electrical generation is unclear, as is the relative impact of different project types, technologies, locations, and developers. Supporters of renewables are making decisions based on theoretical guesses, rather than actual operating data. This social venture has a double bottom line objective of making a profit, while simultaneously supporting action on climate change by improving the information available to and thus the effectiveness of policy makers, developers, and investors focused on renewable energy.
All four summer interns worked on determining data sources for renewable energy generation; assisted in negotiating agreements to source data; collated, analyzed, and transferred data to the venture's database; evaluated potential data users; and explored potential business models.
Andrew Jacobi ’12 interned with Wild Idea Buffalo Company, which raises and sells 100 percent grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone-free, free-range buffalo. The company owns a ranch in Rapid City, South Dakota, and sells to restaurants, retailers and directly to consumers through Internet sales. Andy's primary responsibilities for the summer included developing a retail market for Wild Idea in New York City — the largest market for meat in the country — and analyzing the company's shipping costs to find a more cost-efficient way to ship products while still meeting the needs of customers.
Ted Maa ’12 interned at Hinge Networks, a Boston-based technology startup focused on developing software solutions for energy efficiency project management. Hinge's software platform will help customers reduce the administrative burden in managing an energy efficiency project, thereby freeing more capital to devote to the development of the project itself. Over the summer, Ted focused on building out the finance and accounting functions for the Hinge organization and assisted in raising capital to fund future growth.
Two students interned with BBMG, a marketing and branding organization focused on integrated sustainability, technology, and a social purpose to both for-profit and nonprofit client branding:
- Emily Sweeney ’12 divided her time between brand innovation assignments and business development. As such, she was an integral part of the BBMG strategy engagement team including on-boarding clients and discovery through strategy and implementation, and providing strategic and creative thinking on branding and marketing projects. Emily also played a key role in BBMG's business development planning and execution.
- Kate Szostak ’12 was part of the strategy team and worked with clients across a diverse range of industries, from retail to financial services. Kate's responsibilities included issuing research and developing client deliverables such as presentations and research briefs. Kate also assisted in business development efforts for prospective clients.
Andrew Yarbrough ’12 interned with Karbone, a firm specialized in renewable energy and environmental markets, offering project finance, environmental brokerage and Carbon research, and advisory services. Karbone helps renewable energy technologies compete alongside traditional sources of energy and electricity. The company focuses on enabling renewable energy developers to reach their financing objectives and offers comprehensive services in environmental markets to structure environmental credit transactions. Andrew was responsible for working within the research and project finance groups as a summer analyst. His role included analyzing projects by way of modeling their financials and analyzing the technology and the teams for all solar, wind, and biofuel projects. He also assisted the publication group to work on augmenting content and researched regulations within the United States that affect the renewable energy field.
Social Entrepreneurship
David Basile ’12 interned with B Lab, an organization whose mission is to create a new sector of the economy that harnesses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. The organization certifies B Corporations, creates standards for impact of business and for transforming corporate accountability, and promotes public policy and capital markets innovations that will accelerate the growth of beneficial business. David worked on B Lab's two key initiatives: the further development of the B Corporation community of business; and the launch of the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS).
Aaron Burakoff ’12 interned with Holiday Hill Enterprises, a children's entertainment company that creates books, movies, and other content based on Spookley the Square Pumpkin and all of characters that live on Holiday Hill Farm. Holiday Hill Enterprises' content is embraced by educators across North America because it helps convey important messages about issues such as tolerance, diversity, and self-respect. Holiday Hill Farm is also adored by farm owners who incorporate its characters into their on-site school field trips programs. As Project Director over the summer, Aaron worked closely with farmers and helped them leverage Holiday Hill Enterprises' content to educate and entertain their vistors. He also oversaw operations and logistics for distributing merchanise and content to the farms.
Two students interned with NYC Seed, a venture fund that helps to build a sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in New York City:
- Victoria Cheng ’12 and Matt Puzio ’12 divided their time between the Investment Fund and SeedStart.
For the Investment Fund, they evaluated companies seeking funding, built financial models, analyzed market opportunities, conducted due diligence, and participated in closing new investments.
For SeedStart, a start-up boot camp that provides funding and mentorship to early stage companies, Victoria and Matt completed business development projects to support the launch and growth of very early stage companies in order to stimulate economic growth and employment opportunities within New York.
Andrea Davila ’11 worked with the Blue Ridge Foundation, a social innovation fund that operates as a seed funder and incubator, identifying ideas with high-potential social impact and helping transform them into institutions that demonstrate practical, effective solutions to social problems. Andrea worked with the Foundation's portfolio organizations alongside the portfolio manager to help focus their missions and on implementation by engaging in short-term consulting projects on areas including: financial modeling, strategic planning, organizational development, and marketing.
Nicholas Java ’12 joined Glovico, a social enterprise and online service that offers real-time language courses with native-speaking teachers. Nicholas served as the US head of business development and developed a strategy to penetrate the US market. The strategy incorporated business-to-consumer activities and targeted public and private institutions for business-to-business contracts. He also assisted Glovico in recruiting Arabic teachers from Iraq, where he served with the US Army for nearly three years. Nicholas's contributions advanced Glovico's efforts to offer entrepreneurs from developing countries the opportunity to earn additional income through teaching their native languages.
Kristen Keating ’12 interned at Agora Partnerships, an organization that supports impact entrepreneurs by improving access to knowledge, capital, and networks, with a goal of facilitating economic progress in developing countries. Kristen worked closely with senior management on refining overall firm strategy and enhancing business development and cross-country communications. Kristen also helped with the execution and expansion of the Accelerator — a formal development program for Latin American entrepreneurs. This involved contributing to the design and launch of an online investing platform for the Accelerator, as well as consulting support to entrepreneurs.
Owen Lau ’11 interned at the Altura Capital Group, a women- and Hispanic-owned investment advisory and research services firm in the emerging and diverse managers field. He reported to the chief investment officer and worked within the Asset Management Division to select undiscovered and under-utilized investment managers through the proprietary database. This project involved researching the performance record of managers among various asset classes, including the typical excess returns of managers, "batting averages" across asset classes, and sizing the manager universe. Owen used statistical tools to create and automate procedures, and developed documentation for update processes.
Mindy Lin ’12 interned at Jalia Ventures, an investment firm that provides growth capital to minority-owned businesses across all industries with a focus on healthcare, education, information technology and environmentally friendly innovations. As a summer associate, she reviewed business plans, met with entrepreneurs, performed due diligence, and conducted financial analysis. She also worked with select portfolio companies to develop human capital strategies that were aligned with their business strategies. Mindy also helped develop the Jalia MBA Fellowship Program.
Lisa Williams ’11 interned with both Jalia Ventures and Imprint Capital, an impact investment management firm, working on their impact investing activities and portfolio investments.
Nikki Roco EMBA ’11 interned with Beyond Capital Fund, a nonprofit foundation that invests in high potential social entrepreneurs with innovation business models providing basic services to the poor. The investment pipeline focuses on addressing the pressing basic needs of the poor such as healthcare, water, housing, and energy in India and East Africa. In order to accelerate the fundraising, marketing, and due diligence capabilities of Beyond Capital Fund, Nikki engaged in communications with donors, created marketing materials, and researched potential donors in support of the fundraising strategy. Research focused on client motivations and goals, and ongoing developments in the social entrepreneurship sector.
Jeff Volinski (MBA/MIA ’13) worked at Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX Asia), an organization that works to provide social enterprises in Asia with greater access to capital by connecting them with impact investors. IIX Asia is working towards establishing a fully functional social stock exchange based in Singapore. Jeff worked for Shujog, IIX Asia's nonprofit subsidiary that provides pro bono business consulting services to social enterprises looking to list on the exchange. Jeff also worked with investors to structure deals using IIX Asia's Impact Partners platform, an exclusive network that matches investors to vetted social enterprises.
2010
Nonprofit & Public Management
Gabrielle Breslow ’11 interned at the Vera Institute of Justice. She worked with the Substance Use and Mental Health Program on the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project. This project is an initiative with the New York City Department of Correction to examine the jail reentry process for individuals released from Rikers Island. Gabrielle helped to augment the current transition model to provide people with greater, more targeted access to community service providers.
Mikki Columbus ’11 interned with Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), one of New York’s oldest not-for-profit local development corporations. Since its founding in 1967, GJDC has stressed economic development as it pursues its community-building mission. Its mission is to plan, promote, coordinate and advance responsible development to revitalize Jamaica, Queens, and strengthen the region. Mikki worked on GJDC’s real estate development, assisted with several housing and retail projects now in pre-development and worked on property acquisition opportunities for future projects.
Emily Criste ’11 worked in the NYC Business Solutions Financing team at New York City’s Department of Small Business Services, which helps small business owners and entrepreneurs to obtain financing from a range of different lending partners, including banks, credit unions, community development financial institutions and microlenders. Through conducting interviews with past and present financing customers, Emily developed pre- and post-loan educational and self-service resources to improve a customer’s chances of both successfully obtaining and managing a loan. In addition, Emily reviewed the spending patterns of the business solutions centers to determine best practices in allocating resources across the five boroughs.
Three students worked with Education Pioneers a national nonprofit, which aims to train, connect and inspire a new generation of education leaders dedicated to transforming the educational system through placements at premiere education organizations:
- Daniel Gennaoui ’11 interned at Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit organization that starts and manages outstanding urban charter public schools that close the achievement gap and prepare low-income students to graduate from college. Daniel worked in the Human Capital Division analyzing current performance related processes and researching best practices of relevant performance management systems. The work helped to support long term organizational efforts to drive tailored compensation, increased retention, succession planning and stronger recruitment.
- Diya Gullapalli ’11 worked at the New York City Department of Education conducting marketing research to improve an online teacher collaboration tool called ARISConnect. The project involved quantitative and qualitative research to understand how New York City teachers are utilizing ARIS Connect. The goal was to develop recommendations for DOE staff to improve ARIS utilization and implementation city-wide.
- Stacey Wang ’11 spent her summer working at the Oakland Unified School District in the Office of Charter Schools and Office of Portfolio Management, a progressive office seeking innovative solutions to improve equity in schools. Her project focused on providing education stakeholders with an understanding of how varying levels of autonomy could enhance a school’s ability to provide quality education to students. To achieve this, Stacey interviewed various Oakland education leaders to understand existing best practices and areas for improvement, researched successful pilot school models around the nation and developed a framework for how Oakland schools could evaluate and adapt the appropriate amount of autonomy to drive success.
David Goldberg ’11 worked for the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that fights poverty in New York City by identifying, funding and partnering with effective and innovative programs. Their unique approach to fighting poverty includes applying investment principles to philanthropy, attacking poverty at its root causes and rigorously evaluating programs to measure results. David interned for the Jobs and Economic Security Portfolio, where he assessed the effectiveness of prior grants to organizations other than community-based nonprofits, made grant recommendations and analyzed the utilization of job training programs to determine the number of duplicated users and the programs’ overall effectiveness.
Lisa Lindgren ’11 interned with the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), a nonprofit organization that acts as a forum for businesses and their social and philanthropic interests. Lisa divided her time between the Global Corporate Citizenship (GCC) and Business and Society programs that help address the private sector’s role in international development efforts and provide thought leadership on the role of business in society. The GCC asked Lisa to create a system for mapping social investments in Haiti’s recovery to be expanded and applied to the Millennium Development Goals. Lisa also developed a system enabling companies to provide donated technical services and expertise to social enterprises for difficult public-private sector development challenges.
Ray Liu ’10 worked with the Office of Tibet in New York, which is the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and the Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey. Alongside senior leaders from the Isdell Foundation, a private foundation focusing on human rights in the developing world, and Aristeia Capital, the hedge fund that endows the Isdell Foundation, Ray worked on establishing a Tibetan Community Center in Queens, NY. He focused on determining an optimal location for the building and studying the feasibility of different programming options, as well as researching additional financing streams for the organization.
Joellen Perry ’11 worked for the pilot Professional Program for Public Leadership (PPPL) at Columbia University, a new cross-disciplinary program that aims to train talented graduate students to lead in reforming K–12 education institutions. Joellen worked as the PPPL pilot’s project manager, overseeing start-up milestones, including securing pilot funding, creating a pilot budget, establishing the program as a university Institute, developing a pilot curriculum and creating a sustainable funding strategy.
Josh Porter ’11 spent his summer interning in the White House with the Council of Economic Advisers, an agency within the Executive Office of the President charged with offering the President objective economic advice on the formulation of both domestic and international economic policy. Josh worked under Christina Romer, Austan Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse running regression models, providing research and studying economic data to support President Obama in setting U.S. economic policy. Throughout the summer, Josh spent a majority of his time helping with financial regulation and the economic recovery act.
Ziad Zoueihed ’11 worked with Students Participating in Resolving International Tensions (SPIRIT), an initiative to create a global open source community working towards confliction resolution. In this role, Ziad worked closely with SPIRIT management, students and faculty members at Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs, as well as various partner organizations on the planning of the second annual SPIRIT conference, fundraising efforts and development of a business plan, marketing materials and platform blueprints.
International Development
Olivia Albrecht ’11 worked for Northern Gulf Partners (NGP), an economic development private equity firm investing in war-torn Iraq. Today, Iraq continues to need substantial infrastructure and economic development in order to achieve its potential. NGP provides such opportunities through world-class standards of investment professionalism, linking the global capital to the development opportunities in this remarkably promising economy. Through capital, proven financing experience and a deep knowledge of the region, NGP aims to develop the economy of Iraq helping to bring stability to a war-torn country. Olivia’s work consisted of conducting economic analyses of Iraq and the region on macro and micro-levels, and sourcing and screening investment opportunities.
Joaquin Alemany ’11 interned for Claire Enfance, an organization that works to improve health, education and work prospects for the youth within the old colonial city of Saint Louis, in Senegal. Joaquin’s primary goal was to evaluate the impact of the microcredit program that Claire Enfance deploys for the most advantaged students amongst the young workers whom it helps. In addition, he reviewed the processes and repayment capabilities of the microbusinesses created in areas including: textile, poultry and leather treatment. He also quantified the life conditions for the beneficiaries. After the visit to Senegal, Joaquin created a report on the microcredit impact that will be used as a tool to attract new investors for the microcredit fund.
Jason Ballet ’11 interned this summer for Acumen Fund, based in Hyderabad, India. Acumen Fund is a nonprofit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. It invests patient capital (long-term debt and equity investments) in early stage enterprises to provide low-income consumers with affordable access to healthcare, water, housing, alternative energy and agricultural inputs. Jason helped expand Acumen Fund’s agriculture portfolio in India by conducting due diligence on potential portfolio companies and structured investments. He also performed market research on opportunities within the agriculture sector.
Melissa Cheong ’10 interned at Women’s World Banking (WWB), an organization that provides support, training and access to information to a global network of 40 microfinance institutions and banks in 28 countries. These network members provide credit and other financial services directly to 20 million poor entrepreneurs, 74 percent of which are women. While at WWB, Melissa was responsible for conducting research on prospective new markets for the organization’s pilot owner/operator Microfinance Institution (MFI) strategy for underserved microfinance markets. Her research will be used to present potential points of market entry to the board, which has approved the creation of up to 70 new MFIs over the next 10 years.
Antoni Codinas ’11 interned at the Inter-American Development Bank, the leading multilateral development bank in the Latin-American and Caribbean region. As an intern at the Financial Markets Division, Toni focused on the development of capital and financial markets in the region by providing syndicated loans and guarantees to local financial institutions to help them develop new products and approaches and to mobilize other financial resources from international commercial banks. Toni also worked in supporting the development of international trade and regional integration through the implementation of a trade finance facilitation program aimed to support private sector companies in the Latin-American and Caribbean region.
Jane Del Ser EMBA ’10 worked for the summer at Jacaranda Health in Nairobi, Kenya. Jacaranda Health, named a 2010 Ashoka Changemakers finalist, is a startup social venture founded by former Acumen Fund staff members. Jacaranda Health aims to set a new standard for maternity care in East Africa by combining business and clinical innovations, providing fully self-sustaining and scalable chain of urban clinics, offering respectful care and mobile units and generating demand and awareness. Jane was responsible for developing and implementing mobile electronic health records and SMS-based patient-doctor communications in launching the pilot for first clinic and mobile unit near the Kibera slums.
Simon Heckscher ’11 worked with the TechnoServe Food Security Initiative in Kenya. TechnoServe helps entrepreneurs in poor areas of the developing world build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth. The Food Security Initiative aims to sustainably reduce chronic hunger, raise the incomes of the rural poor and reduce the number of children suffering from under-nutrition. Simon analyzed whether farmers in Kenya can expand their mixed farming activities (planting food crops and keeping small ruminants for household consumption) into poultry rearing to diversify household income and reduce food insecurity. His work included a poultry industry assessment, investment attractiveness analysis for farmers as well a preliminary poultry strategy development.
Pablo Lubbert ’11 interned with PEACE Mexico, a not-for-profit organization that focuses its efforts on the communities in Nayarit, Mexico. PEACE works to provide education and implement action programs that enable unprivileged people to improve their quality of life. Pablo supported the development of PEACE’s new microfinance program. He built financial models to project funding needs based on different growth scenarios, market conditions and portfolio of products. Additionally, he worked directly with loan officers and visited clients to obtain feedback and evaluate the program. Pablo’s recommendations helped to structure a sustainable growth strategy for his new social venture.
Matthew Magenheim ’11 interned with Insitor Fund, a social venture capital fund that provides capital to entrepreneurs proposing market solutions to critical development issues and promoting a responsible and sustainable economy. Focusing on the Mekong Region of Southeast Asia, Insitor targets investments in the housing, water, education and healthcare sectors. Based in Insitor’s Phnom Penh office, Matt worked closely with Cambodian entrepreneurs, nongovernmental organizations and microfinance institutions to develop a financing tool for small-scale, rural water supply enterprises. Over the course of the summer, Matt built a financial model for rural water supply enterprises and researched best-practice funding structures that blend commercial, social impact and philanthropic returns.
Jean Saint-Geours ’11 worked in Kampala, Uganda, with the United Nations World Food Program, the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Jean worked with local farmers to improve their business and the way they run their finances. He also wrote case studies on the efficiency of the warehouse receipt system and concept notes to help the WFP plan and review its interventions from a business perspective.
Aaron Scheinberg ’11, a West Point graduate and Iraq War Veteran, worked with Anza Technologies in Tanzania and Kenya. Anza is a technology-focused international development startup that sells low-cost, poverty-alleviating products made from recycled materials to villagers in rural Africa. By harnessing the most unusual of raw materials— trash—Anza makes breakthrough products at a price $1-a-day, which farmers can afford. Aaron helped to formulate the company’s market entry strategy and establish the company’s supply chain. The main focus of this position was to work in Tanzania and Kenya to spearhead Anza’s expansion into water transportation products.
Kate Szostak ’11 interned with Pro Mujer, an international women’s development and microfinance organization that alleviates poverty in Latin America by providing financial services, healthcare and training to poor women entrepreneurs. Pro Mujer currently operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Kate had the opportunity to work on several marketing and development projects with the goal of helping Pro Mujer raise its visibility, including formulating a board strategy and launching a government relations effort.
David Castillo Zapata ’11, worked with Endeavor, a global nonprofit that recruits MBA students from leading U.S. business schools to spend their internships working with emerging market entrepreneurs, helping them address, analyze and offer solutions to their critical business challenges. Those entrepreneurial companies have the potential to increase employment opportunities, bring innovative ideas to fruition and ultimately change emerging market economies for the better. David worked in Chile with the company Max Service—a vertically integrated manufacturer, importer, distributor and retailer of industrial safety goods—in developing a sustainable and scalable model that will prepare the entrepreneur for growth and geographic expansion.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Two students worked with RecycleBank, founded by Ron Gonen ’04, a company that offers a rewards and loyalty program that motivates more than one million households in the U.S. to recycle and engage in environmentally beneficial activities:
- Raphael Anstey ’11 worked on its energy markets initiative in New York City. Raphael developed a go-to-market strategy that leverages RecycleBank’s successful incentive platform to reduce electricity consumption, thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions and delivering valuable demand reduction to power generators. In addition, Raphael was responsbible for implementing this plan and negotiating partnerships with energy providers.
- Orit Meidan ’11 interned as a product analyst contributing in a strategic, organization-wide effort to improve reporting to support informed decision making across the company. Orit documented the different functions and roles across the organization, mapping information needs and existing gaps. Her findings and recommendations will be implemented in RecycleBank’s new Business Intelligence tool designed to increase performance and efficiency in key functions such as strategic development, sales, customer acquisition, financial planning and operations.
Mike Brown ’11 spent his summer in Northern Region Ghana with Community Water Solutions (CWS), a not-for-profit social enterprise that partners with rural communities in developing countries to establish sustainable water treatment businesses. Over the course of the summer, Mike helped launch the CWS Fellowship Program, a three-week water education and leadership training experience. The purpose of the fellowship was to teach individuals about the global water crisis and inspire them to become leaders in the field of international development. Mike developed and led the program’s curriculum and assessed its success. At close of the summer, Mike left CWS with a set program for future CWS Fellowships.
Nancy Brown ’11 spent her summer interning with Solais Lighting, a venture-backed startup that designs and sells energy efficient LED lighting products. Her projects included designing and executing a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant strategy plan, developing materials to be used for the Series B funding process, exploring pricing strategies and assisting in the product launch.
Stacey Epstein ’11 interned with HappyBaby, which was started by green entrepreneur Shazi Visram ’04 and is dedicated to making organic baby food and other products that facilitate a healthy lifestyle for its consumers. The organization also partners with the Peanut Butter Project to feed malnourished children in Malawi. Stacey spearheaded the development of a new non-food consumer product through research, competitive analysis, production management, pricing and promotion. With the development and launch of this new product, HappyBaby will better meet the needs of its customers who seek products that are safe for themselves and the planet.
Two students worked with the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, an intergovernmental organization that is committed to responsible forest stewardship and climate compatible economic development:
- Edward Flanagan ’11 worked on a joint project with the Coalition and McKinsey & Company to assess the benefits of a national approach to climate compatible development and to evaluate the potential role of the private sector in that process.
- Daniel Pittman ’10 worked on an assessment of the benefits of a national approach to climate compatible development and an evaluation of the potential role of the private sector, as well as the drafting of climate compatible economic development plans for a collection of member states.
Jackson Hewett ’11 interned at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program. REDD is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. Jackson worked on researching the best model for conditional payments to indigenous peoples, an effort to ensure that any transfer of value from wealthy nations to developing countries under the REDD program would generate positive outcomes for peoples most affected. Jackson investigated whether payments could be made via mobile phones, thereby reducing costs and the difficulty in accessing government offices for indigenous peoples.
William Mack Knight ’11 interned for Just Energy, a startup solar energy developer focused on customers in the northeast. The company’s mission involves encouraging the acceptance and integration of solar energy sources by providing its clients with an economically attractive solar contract that immediately reduces energy expenses with zero upfront cost. Just Energy primarily serves educational institutions but has developed projects with municipal, retail, office, commercial, industrial and agricultural clients as well. Mack’s responsibilities included assembling sales pitches to pre-qualified customers and developing a strategic growth plan for expansion into new markets and for the acquisition of new customers.
Yves Lawson ’11 worked with Bali BioSciences, a local biomedical startup focused on reducing health and disease worldwide by commercializing novel, low-cost medical foods enriched with antibodies that address specific nutritional deficiencies and strengthen the body’s own immune defenses. Yves worked as a business development director where he helped to define Bali’s core operational strategy by working with the executive team, legal staff, investors, foundations, state financing officials, banks and industry partners. In an effort to obtain bridge financing in anticipation of seed financing, he developed essential documentation, including business models, business and financial plans.
Sharon Park ’11 interned at BBMG, a marketing and branding organization focused on integrating sustainability, technology and a social purpose to both for-profit and nonprofit client branding. Sharon focused on strategic business development, market research and consumer insight as well as benchmarking best practices in sustainability. Additionally, Sharon collaborated on an event for BBMG’s online community as well as assisted in the drafting of the agency’s thought leadership papers.
Erika Zauner ’11 completed her summer internship at Greenwich Energy Solutions. GES’s mission is to deliver greening and energy efficiency solutions to commercial properties and multi-family residences in the United States. GES covers the entire process from assessment to implementation and LEED certification and provides tracking and monitoring services to make sure that the building upgrades continue to perform at their maximum efficiency. Erika’s project consisted of evaluating growth opportunities for GES compatible with its overall mission of reducing the energy footprint in the U.S. To this end, GES is considering acquiring an energy savings project and expanding it, as well as gaining a foothold in the metering and sub-metering business in NYC.
Social Entrepreneurship
Two students worked at Jalia Ventures, a socially focused investment venture capital firm founded by Kesha Cash ’10 that provides seed and growth capital to minority-owned businesses, with a focus on healthcare, education, information technology and environmentally friendly innovations. Ben Brown ’11 and Nii Koney ’11 worked on developing a strategic plan for an Impact Investing Fellows Group, which will work closely with Jalia Ventures on potential and completed investment deals.
Andrea Davila ’11 worked with Blue Ridge Foundation, a social innovation fund that operates as a seed funder and incubator by identifying ideas with high‐potential for social impact and helping transform them into institutions that demonstrate practical and effective solutions to social problems. Andrea worked with the Foundation's portfolio organizations to help focus their missions and operational measures by engaging in short-term consulting projects in the following issue areas: financial modeling, strategic planning, organizational development and marketing.
Jessica Harrison ’11, worked on the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) initiative of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). GIIN seeks to accelerate development of an effective impact investing industry, which is the use of for-profit investment to help solve critical social and environmental problems around the world. At IRIS, Jessica’s work focused on refining quantitative metrics to measure social and environmental impact for investors focused on generating financial and social returns. She also worked on developing a user-friendly interface for impact investors to elect metrics that are relevant to their social impact goals as well as building an effective basis for comparison across impact investing funds. The results of Jessica’s work supported the launch of IRIS 2.0.
Sanin Mody ’11 interned with SJF Ventures, a sustainable venture capital fund that invests primarily in Cleantech and sustainability, business services and web-enhanced services. Sanin evaluated opportunities to invest in various sustainable ventures by conducting financial analysis, operational due diligence and industry segment analysis. His work also included developing a strategy for concurrent capital-raising initiatives.
Nandini Nayar ’11 interned at Intellecap, a social sector advisory firm based in Hyderabad, India. She worked to assist nonprofits, development agencies and governments working in developing markets to engage with customers at the bottom of the pyramid.
Stephanie Palmeri ’11 interned with NYC Seed, a seed-level public/private venture fund that provides capital, mentoring and support to technology entrepreneurs to create the next generation of companies and jobs in New York City. Stephanie evaluated companies seeking venture capital, conducted due diligence on companies of interest, built financial models, analyzed market opportunities and participated in the funding process for new deals. Additionally, Stephanie also completed business development projects to support entrepreneurial participants in SeedStart, NYC Seed’s newly launched, intensive startup boot camp that provides funding and mentorship to very early stage companies.
Edoardo Policano ’10 interned with Frogtek in Bogotá, Colombia. Frogtek, cofounded by David del Ser ’08 and Mark Pedersen ’07, is a social venture dedicated to creating business tools for micro-entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Using mobile phones, Frogtek has developed management applications for small businesses, providing point-of-sales functionality, basic accounting and financial reporting. Edoardo worked on a marketing and execution plan involving shopkeepers, which are the end users of the product, as well as senior executives at prospective corporate clients who are interested in improving the efficiency and lives of these micro-retailers.
Christine Sedky ’11 interned with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs whose mission is to provide an unparalleled platform for leading social innovators that highlight social entrepreneurship as a key element to address social and ecological problems in an innovative, sustainable and effective way. Christine split her time between identifying and analyzing the financials of finalists from the Middle East and setting up a process to identify and select U.S.-based social entrepreneurs.
Shashank Shekhar ’11 interned with Altura Capital, a women- and Hispanic-owned investment advisory and research services firm in the emerging and diverse managers space. Shashank worked in close collaboration with Monika Mantilla ’96, president and CEO, to cultivate new sales leads for the firm. He created marketing and financial presentations and reports and composed marketing and follow-up letters to help Altura expand its client base. In addition, he provided investment advisory services to institutional investors and helped them to formulate innovative, performance driven investment strategies.
Joe Silver ’11 spent the summer interning at Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative that uses mainstream financial markets to improve historically neglected urban neighborhoods. Living Cities is funded by 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions and creates social investment vehicles to enable institutions and individuals to invest in organizations that improve the quality of life for low-income urban residents and their communities. Joe worked on the Capital Formation team to select project investments, performed due diligence on potential projects, negotiated loan agreements, assisted with the deployment of debt and developed metrics to assess the financial, social and environmental impact of these projects.
2009
Nonprofit & Public Management
This summer, Elliott Baer '10 served as a Special Advisor Intern for the Department of Justice, joining the Internal Advisory Group of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The main mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorism and foreign intelligence threats, upholding and enforcing the criminal laws of the United States while providing leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners. Elliott developed a strategic recommendation and implementation plan for a specific organizational improvement project. At the end of the summer, he delivered a presentation to a group of senior executives at the FBI.
Two students interned with the Robin Hood Foundation, which targets poverty in New York City through partnerships with over 240 nonprofit organizations. Robin Hood focuses on alleviating poverty through programs in early childhood, youth, education, jobs and economic security.
- Gabrielle Breslow '10 interned in the Jobs and Economic Security Portfolio. Gabrielle worked to institutionalize a workforce development initiative to train low income women for jobs in the cosmetology field. She performed due diligence on potential project partners, developed a budget, and created policies and procedures for the program.
- Kim Smith '10 worked jointly with the Development Department and Program Department to develop a program-related investment fund that will focus on job creation across New York City, in for-profit and nonprofit entities.
Five students worked with Education Pioneers a national nonprofit, which aims to train, connect and inspire a new generation of education leaders dedicated to transforming the educational system through placements at primer education organizations.
- Amanda Cahn '10 worked in the District of Columbia Public Schools to create and implement a district wide professional development curriculum. Amanda’s responsibilities included structuring the implementation, establishing accountability, and developing tools to measure the impact on teacher quality and student achievement. Her final deliverable aligns professional development initiatives throughout the year and ensures consistency across school districts.
- Anne Eidelman '10 spent her summer working with the KIPP Foundation, which is dedicated to creating a respected, influential, and national network of public schools that are successful in helping students from educationally underserved communities develop the knowledge, skills, character and habits needed to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond. Over the course of the summer, Anne, in conjunction with the Network Growth and Sustainability team developed a framework to evaluate the sustainability of single site schools, including benchmarks of financials across the KIPP network.
- Jazmine Leon '10 interned with the NYC Department of Education, Office of Student Enrollment. This Office was created as part of the Children First reform to be a strategic, data-driven organization that manages the enrollment, registration and transfer of students citywide. During the summer, Jazmine developed a strategic communications plan to address the needs of a variety of stakeholders, including internal staff, students, parents, guidance counselors, principals and community organizations. Her work is part of the organization’s mission to increase equity and transparency in all enrollment and admissions processes.
- Alex Mitchell '10 worked at the NorthStar Academy, a charter school based in Newark, NJ. NorthStar Academy is part of a greater network of schools managed by Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit charter school management organization working towards the elimination of the achievement gap. During the summer, Alex developed operational models for the campuses, created a school-wide efficiency dashboard, and designed a standardized implementation guide for future expansion. His research provides a critical framework for the school as it looks to add three new campuses within the next five years.
- David Noe '10 interned at Jobs For The Future, a Boston-based nonprofit research, consulting, and advocacy organization, which seeks to ensure young people have the education necessary to recognize professional opportunities, and that adults have the skills to hold a job and support a family. David led a team on the “Achieving the Dream” project, which aims to ensure the success of Massachusetts community college students. Responsibilities included analyzing the impact of the State’s financial allocations on the success of community college graduates to develop legislative guidelines to influence state policy, schools and job placement organizations.
Rachel Feinberg '10 worked with New York City’s Office of Management & Budget on the Housing and Economic Development Task Force in the Housing Unit. Rachel helped research the cost to construct a unit of housing in the NYC private market as part of a larger initiative to establish a construction cost index as the basis for determining and evaluating affordable housing projects throughout the City. In addition Rachel tracked changes in the private market’s underwriting and lending standards and tracked City intervention in a random selection of HPD (Department of Housing Preservation and Development) buildings.
Heather Feinstein '10 worked in the Financial Operations and Analysis Unit (FOA) for the New York City Department of Corrections. The FOA functions as an internal operations consulting group for the New York City prison system. Heather improved the efficiency and wait time of inmate visiting hours at Rikers Island through statistical and operational analysis. She also implemented best practices in the Application Investigation Unit by studying process and workflow. Additionally, she researched and optimized staffing for inmate transportation to and from court.
Two students interned with New York City’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS), which serves New York City’s small businesses and commercial districts.
- Wesley Flamer-Binion '10 interned in the Business Express unit on the Strategic Operations team. Wesley played a key role in the development of Business Express, a Mayor Bloomberg priority project that will culminate in a one-stop online portal where businesses interact with the city for a number of activities ranging from permit and license applications to cost-reduction consultancy and technical assistance.
- Rebecca Holden '10 worked in the NYC Business Solutions Training Funds agency, which awards small business with funding to subsidize the cost of training and performance development programs. Rebecca researched the strategic question of why some businesses ultimately withdraw from the program after receiving an award from the Agency. Through interviews with staff and businesses as well as reviewing qualitative and quantitative information about past awards, Rebecca analyzed information about the cause of award rescissions and issued a set of recommendations to mitigate the drop-off of award recipients.
Shauna Grob '10 interned with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with the Chief of Capital Planning. The Port Authority is charged with coordinating regional transportation and furthering economic development of the New York metropolitan region, as well as managing reconstruction of the World Trade Center and related facilities at Ground Zero. Shauna worked on two main initiatives for the summer: an assessment of alternative financing approaches for certain Port Authority capital projects and an evaluation of current capital program management processes. With these efforts, Shauna identified opportunities to increase funding capacity for public infrastructure and improved the effectiveness of ongoing capital program work.
Laura Hahn '10 worked with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the city agency responsible for ensuring “adequate public funding for non-profit cultural organizations, both large and small, throughout the five boroughs”. During the summer, Laura analyzed the small purchase procurement process defining the landscape of purchases, their actual timelines and identifying general issues. Laura also created a baseline sustainability report on the 34 city-owned cultural organizations, benchmarking their current operations as well as assessing their strategic plans for compliance with the PlaNYC initiative. Finally, Laura managed a competitive federal stimulus funds procurement and proposal process for a workplace art handle training program.
Ryan Kinney '10 is interning with the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), a nonprofit membership organization that operates a training institute and clinical center that provide free or low-cost therapy for low-income patients. Ryan is working on constructing an organizational and financial plan for maintaining the organization in the current economic environment.
Jim Lindstrom '10 interned at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a leading academic medical center, in the Office of Strategy. He contributed to the development of the Comprehensive Center for Digestive Diseases by designing metrics for evaluating its operational, quality and financial performance. Jim also completed several internal consulting projects including an evaluation of the recession's impact on the hospital and the creation of strategies to fund innovation at the hospital.
Erica Lock '10 interned with the Mayor’s Office for Long-Term Planning and Sustainability working on the GreeNYC initiative. She researched and supported the development and execution of campaign messaging, media strategy, licensing deals and corporate partnerships. She also implemented large, complex public awareness campaigns – in coordination with City and non-City agencies and private entities – and created a scorecard system to benchmark and measure achievements.
Patrick Ondoa-Fouda '10 interned with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York (OCME), whose responsibilities include investigating cases of people who die in any suspicious or unusual manner. The OCME has developed leading technology for DNA testing in forensic investigations. As part of the Finance Division, Patrick provided a cost-benefit analysis to investigate the possibility of using the DNA technology for outside jurisdictions on a fee-for-service basis.
Nandeeta Seth '10 interned with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a national leader in financing nonprofits, strengthening their financial health and improving their capacity to serve their communities. NFF serves both nonprofits and their funders, offering an integrated package of financial and advisory services. Nandeeta reviewed financial statements and evaluated financial data to develop recommendations for a wide variety of nonprofit clients. She also worked to gather and analyze information from client organizations as part of the due diligence effort for loan requests.
Katrina Simon-Agolory '10 interned at the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) in the Human Resources Department. HCZ encompasses a multi-year comprehensive community building initiative. The organization's mission is to create significant, positive opportunities for all children living in a 100-block area of Central Harlem by helping parents, residents, teachers and other stakeholders create a safe learning environment for youth. Katrina led the effort for the second annual employee satisfaction survey and tracked employee turnover rates to create strategies to increase employee satisfaction and retention
Steven Thrush '10 interned for WNET.ORG/Thirteen.org (WNET) in the Interactive and Broadband Division. On air, online, in the classroom and community, WNET provides media that makes a difference. WNET pursues a single, overarching goal: to deliver media experiences of lasting significance for New York, America and the world. Steven worked on projects directed at optimizing WNET’s online search and user-experience as well as performing competitive analysis. All efforts were targeted toward improving WNET customer access to online content, opportunities for self-improvement and community dialogue.
Peter Tong '10 interned with the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), one of New York’s oldest not-for-profit local real estate development corporations. GJDC is focused on transforming downtown Jamaica, Queens through revitalization and economic development with a community-building mission. Projects include mixed use hotels, affordable housing, retail complexes, office facilities and parking garages. Peter is responsible for detailed reports and analysis identifying strategic acquisition, expansion and development strategies throughout the downtown area.
International Development
Rashi Agrawal '10, interned at Intellectual Capital Advisory Services (Intellecap), a multiple bottom line investment company that facilitates investment initiatives and creates knowledge focused on profitable and sustainable development. Rashi worked with the Business Advisory Group to research critical issues in the microfinance sector. Research topics included the rising competition in the microfinance industry, the geographical diversity in the industry, and assessing social impact. Her work contributed to Intellecap’s position as a thought leader and provided input to Microfinance stakeholders on areas of strategic importance.
Two students interned with Frogtek, a social venture dedicated to creating business tools for micro-entrepreneurs in emerging markets founded by Columbia Business School alumni. Using mobile phones, Frogtek has developed management applications for small businesses, providing point-of-sales functionality, basic accounting and financial reporting.
- Fernando Apaez '10 worked closely with shopkeepers in Bogota, Colombia, running the first trial of the company’s business tools. Fernando assessed the micro-entrepreneurs needs to help the Frogtek team improve products, its marketing plan and its business model.
- Leandro Caputo '10 refined the business model, evaluated the business needs and incorporated system requirements of consumer packaged goods companies into Frogtek’s operating flow. Leandro was also involved in the development of operative algorithms to optimize the operation of the application.
Three students interned with Endeavor, a New York based nonprofit organization that promotes high impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets.
- Letícia Yumi Beppu '10, served as an Endeavor eMBA with Robtec, a Uruguay and Brazil-based company. Robtec offers services and solutions related to highly specialized products called Rapid Prototypes. Leticia’s responsibilities included building a business plan focused on financial projections and sales strategies for the introduction of a new low-cost 3D printer in Latin America that would help Robtec to expand its operations in the region.
- This summer, James Wynne '10 worked with SubwayLink, one of Endeavor’s portfolio companies in Brazil. SubwayLink is a pioneer in corporate television and in store programming in the Brazilian market. James worked directly with Arnold Eugenio Correia, the founder and CEO of SubwayLink, to assess the Brazilian retail and advertising markets and the feasibility of scaling the company. Together, they developed a corporate presentation for some of the largest retailers and advertisers in Brazil.
- Fernando Velarde '10 spent the summer in Santiago de Chile, Chile, as an Endeavor fellow with Kibernum, a specialized outsourcer of IT services. Fernando generated operational models for process improvement and designed and implemented a management performance scheme for promoting continuous learning as well as enhancing employees’ sense of belonging to the company. Additionally, Fernando assisted Kibernum to establish a roadmap for the activities of the new marketing department in the coming year.
Melissa Cheong '09 was a Summer Associate for Enterprise Solutions to Poverty, an organization that seeks to mobilize and support leading companies and entrepreneurs in building profitable and inclusive businesses that incorporate millions of low-income individuals as suppliers, distributors, and consumers of asset building products. Melissa provided consulting and advisory services to Innosight Ventures, an early stage incubator of innovative business models that incorporate the socially disadvantaged linking financial and social investors in mutual benefit. Melissa assisted with fund marketing and fundraising, structuring financing to fund the growth of existing ventures and developing social impact metrics for reporting purposes for investors and stakeholders.
Paolo D’Aprile '10 interned with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations, the UN organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Paolo contributed to the expansion and the development of the “e-Agriculture” initiative, whose goal is to enhance sustainable agricultural development and food security by improving the use of information and communication technologies in the rural development sector. Paolo focused on developing the e-Agriculture program’s critical information and knowledge resources related to policy frameworks, and the use of mobile telephony for rural development. Paolo analyzed the current state of the art technologies and documented leaders in the field to identify key success factors and guidelines, and the role of public-private partnerships.
Samantha Dwyer '10 worked for Holsman International a start-up social venture headed by Henrietta Holsman Fore, former Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Holsman International aims to have a high impact on some of the world’s most pressing problems and is committed to delivering clean and efficient products and services to the developing world. This summer, Samantha developed a portfolio of potential investment opportunities in emerging products and technologies within energy, water and green building materials.
Raquel Fernandez Porras '10 interned with the Costa Rican Ministry of Trade, a government institution that develops trade policies to promote and facilitate Costa Rican immersion in the international economy. Raquel worked as a public policy consultant to develop an accountability strategy to measure Costa Rica’s success at attracting foreign direct investment in the areas of trade, environment, agriculture and technology. She also worked with a group of negotiators on the free trade agreement negotiations between Central America and China.
Two students worked with Gawad Kalinga (GK), a Philippines-based economic and community development organization that seeks to transform poverty stricken areas, with the goal of building 700,000 homes in 7 years.
- Cheryl Gladstone '10 worked on the Designer Village Campaign, which aims to mobilize top architects and designers to create housing and structures for those who otherwise cannot afford their services. Cheryl combined her Business School experience with her background in urban planning to form the foundation of the Designer Village Campaign, with a focus on developing a new Gawad Kalinga community in Taguig.
- Ray Liu '10 worked on the productivity program, which conducts livelihood and skills training and provides start-up capital and materials for microfinance and microenterprise for GK community members. Ray used his background in marketing research consulting and general business development to create a baseline assessment and evaluation of current enterprises in GK communities. In particular, Ray focused on GK’s relationship with individual entrepreneurs and the marketing of GK community products.
Three students worked with Acumen Fund, a social venture capital fund committed to building thriving social enterprises that serve the poor in developing nations. Since its inception in 2001, the Acumen Fund has invested in 36 organizations in India, East Africa and Pakistan helping an estimated 36 million people.
- Arvind Gopal '10 worked as a consultant to analyze new investment opportunities and develop an in-depth market study on Kenya’s bottom of the pyramid agriculture industry. Arvind reported on the industry size, competitive landscape, supply chain requirements and regulatory environment. His findings will be used by the Acumen Fund to identify and invest in sustainable, scalable agriculture businesses that serve Kenya’s poor.
- Monika Jhaveri '10 spent her summer at the India office of the Acumen Fund. She worked on Acumen’s water portfolio, conducting due diligence on key prospective investments, as well as supporting existing high-potential investments. She also helped refine the portfolio by identifying key sectors within water enterprises which had greater potential for creating social impact while balancing financial returns.
- Julia Sanchez Abeal '10 interned with Acumen Fund East Africa based in the Nairobi Office. Julia contributed to the Energy portfolio by carrying out in-depth analyses of the East Africa energy market and industry; developing findings on customer demand, competition, regulation and the present supply chain; and identifying key challenges energy players face entering the market as well as a list of key opportunities.
Hahna Kim '10 interned for the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) in Bangkok, Thailand. She worked on PDA’s flagship program, the Village Development Partnership (VDP), which strives to eradicate poverty from Thailand’s rural communities by helping them identify and start up sustainable business activities. Examples include raising pigs, creating organic fertilizer, and selling handicrafts. For her project, Hahna wrote a business plan on how each community could grow the market potential for such activities outside of their local communities.
Maggie Kirilova '10 spent the summer working for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a major initiative of the Clinton Foundation. CGI aims to drive action in addressing some of the most serious global challenges of our time. All member organizations of CGI devise practical solutions to global issues through the development of specific and measurable Commitments to Action. Maggie worked with members to develop these commitments by offering strategic advice, developing partnerships and advising on best practices. Her work leveraged her background in economics and her volunteer work with social programs to develop solutions in the area of Poverty Alleviation.
Caroline Lundberg '10 worked with the TechnoServe Coffee Initiative in Kenya. TechnoServe helps entrepreneurs in poor areas of the developing world build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth. The Coffee Initiative supports farmers transitioning to more lucrative specialty coffee markets by providing access to a pulping machine that cleans their coffee beans to the standard required by the specialty market. Caroline worked to arrange financing between coffee farmer co-operatives and the pulping machine manufacturers. Specifically, Caroline developed the financial structure, evaluated the creative collateralization methods, performed loan risk assessments, determined risk mitigation techniques, and standardized contracts across Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Scott Overdyke '10 interned as a financial analyst in the microfinance division of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in Washington, DC. OPIC is an independent government agency working to stimulate American private investment in developing economies through financial innovation and creative public-private partnerships. In the midst of a global credit crisis as foreign direct investment continued to plummet, Scott helped evaluate double and triple-bottom-line investment opportunities in portfolios of microfinance institutions around the world.
Lakshmi Potluri '10 is working this summer in Chennai, India for the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital. IFMR Capital is an IFMR trust venture whose mission is to act as a bridge to mainstream capital markets for entities and asset classes of relevance to low-income households. Lakshmi is working on identifying relevant sectors based on primary and secondary research andstructuring financial solutions for small and micro enterprises in rural India.
Kevin Rehak '10 worked for the Earth Institute's Millennium Villages Project (MVP) in Bonsaaso, Ghana, an organization that helps communities in sub-Saharan Africa overcome extreme poverty through investments in health, education, agriculture and infrastructure. Kevin helped support and develop sustainable business models that could leverage a 3G network. He advised entrepreneurs managing 3G kiosks and supported community efforts to deliver health and education services over the network.
Natalie Wieder '10 spent the summer working for the Indian School of Business’s Center for Emerging Market Solutions, which was formally inaugurated within the school in March of 2009. The center is committed to investigating inclusive economic growth for the purpose of solving a myriad of problems in developing and emerging markets, including poverty. The center focuses its research on the private sector, specifically small and medium size businesses. Natalie analyzed small and medium sized businesses to determine needs across a sector. She used this research to make recommendations on possible equity investments in impactful organizations.
Colleen Hsia '10 worked on a project in Cambodia involving the Kampot Pepper, a crop indigenous and unique to the Kampot region. This peppercorn was once recognized worldwide as a leading luxury spice in the early 1900's, but it disappeared from the marketplace following the ascension of the Khmer Rouge, as the hostile regime ceased exports and forced many farmers to destroy profitable plantations. The local farmers' association is currently working with a number of groups to revive this crop on the world market. Using the Kampot Pepper as one of its flagship products, Colleen completed a business plan with input of a World Bank development consultant. She also spent time working with a local group of volunteers who routinely brought food and first aid to families and children living in the Phnom Penh trash dump.
Two students interned with Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself (PEPY), an educational NGO in Cambodia which supports sustainable educational projects.
- Sachit Shah '10 worked on PEPY's partnership with a NGO named Daughters, which strives to give women an option outside of the sex industry. They do this through training and by providing employment to former sex workers. Sachit's role was to design a business and marketing plan for a money belt that would be designed as a fashion accessory. Sachit approached a number of local stores in Phnom Penh, outlined ideas for a focus group and designed a questionnaire. Furthermore, this experience allowed Sachit to apply his business skills and knowledge while working with two NGO's that could result in a revenue generating project for PEPY and Daughters.
- Jake Goldberg '10 also worked on the same revenue generating project to help PEPY sell "The Hipster". This is a money-belt made out of Kroma, a traditional Cambodian scarf, sewn by former-sex workers who have received jobs and training from some of PEPY's partner organizations. Jake focused on and is continuing his work while back in the US, to help launch an international marketing campaign.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Chris Backus '10 interned with Thornton Holdings, a renewable energy consulting business focused on wind, solar, green buildings and new renewable technologies. Projects included preparing several banking models for 20 -200 MW wind projects in Morocco and Tunisia. Other efforts included drafting a preliminary information memorandum for financing a new renewable energy technology company and assisting in the fund raising efforts for a California based solar energy company. Short term contributions included assuring the most accurate and complete tools for measuring project bankability and equity returns. Long term contributions included helping define the strategy for a start-up which could have a dramatic impact on reducing fossil fuel dependence.
Three students interned with Carbon Credit Capital (CCC), an early-stage company that generates carbon credits through greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration projects.
- Susan Basu '10 developed offset projects and marketing strategies to address the diverse market of carbon-intensive businesses in the United States. She also introduced clients to Carbon Credit Capital's new US-focused products through conferences and webinars.
- R. Daniel Pittman '10 worked on the development of CINCS, an affiliated company specializing in forestry carbon offsets. Towards this end, Daniel revised the business plan (accounting for the impact of the Waxman‐Markey Clean Energy Bill) and developed materials to enable stage one financing. Daniel further developed CINCS architecture through facilitating a pilot project to avoided deforestation in Madre de Dios, Peru. He refined financial forecasts underpinning the project investment plan and developed a new project methodology standard to successfully enable validation.
- Christian Toraldo '10 worked in the project finance group where he researched public and private financing for offset projects in the US and Canada including tax incentives, stimulus analysis, and the future carbon credit market. Christian analyzed the impact of renewable energy and carbon credits on return on investment (ROI), financing alternatives, and incentive structures within emerging US policy regulations. Christian also developed structures to raise capital and further expand the CCC business model in SE Asia.
Lakesha Cash '10 worked with the Majora Carter Group, a green-economic development consulting firm, to develop the platform for a venture capital fund that guides sustainable economic investments in distressed communities. Lakesha worked directly with Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx and a 2006 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, to identify key social factors that impede and stimulate growth in economically deprived communities; research successful traditional and social venture capital funds; meet with potential funders to discuss investment approaches that provide meaningful social and financial returns; and outline the mission, goals and investment strategy for the fund.
Ginger Elsea '10 interned with the ABC Home & Planet Foundation in New York, NY. Through a process of intensive research, commitment, and development, the Foundation inspires people to embrace a deeper spirit of giving through gifts that will be memorable and meaningful for a lifetime. Ginger helped manage the Gifts of Compassion program, which allows customers to purchase gifts that provide targeted services to heal our planet and its communities. Examples of gifts include bed nets to protect pregnant women in Africa from malaria and math and literacy classes for Afghani girls. She also developed a business plan for expanding the work of the Foundation through developing new brands.
Lindsey Greenberg '10 worked with Sustainable St. Louis, a start-up nonprofit whose mission is to serve as a resource and facilitator in the development of a more robust and holistic approach to regional environmental sustainability for the St. Louis area. Lindsey’s responsibilities included develop a stake holder database and collaborate with media consultants to expand and launch the organizations marketing and communications plan. She also benchmarked the organizations sustainability initiatives against peer initiatives to identify areas of improvement
Sanjay Hathiramani '10 interned at VeeV Spirits LLC, as a Business Development Manager. Veev is an entrepreneurial social venture that aims to provide consumers with a better way to drink: both literally, as a product, and environmentally, as a company fully committed to protecting the planet. Veev is the first spirits company to be certified carbon neutral and donate $1 per bottle sold towards green initiatives that protect the Brazilian Rainforest. Sanjay increased product awareness and product trials through the development of a novel digital marketing campaign that promotes eco-friendly practices in the industry.
This summer, Kayvan Parvin '10 interned at Equator LLC, a firm that generates and manages carbon credits and environmental assets derived from reforestation, avoided deforestation, and land management. Kayvan’s internship focused on the financial analysis and valuation of offset projects, primarily in South America, as well as research into new markets for offset projects. These new markets involve wetland and biodiversity conservation. Finally, Kayvan was tasked with keeping abreast of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape surrounding cap-and-trade programs domestically and internationally.
Jesus Rodriguez ’10 interned with Connect Us, a social start-up that is a pioneer in the use of cell phone technology to improve care for low-income minorities and the founders of the organization have published peer-reviewed research in the areas of immunizations, oral contraceptives and cardiology. Jesus assisted Connect Us in developing the fundraising strategy. He also helped to streamline the management of day-to-day operations, product development and sales.
2008
Nonprofit & Public Management
Katrina Simon-Agolory '09 and Bonnie Schwartz '09 both worked with the Harlem Children Zone (HCZ), a nonprofit, community-based organization that works to enhance the quality of life for children and families in some of New York City's most underserved neighborhoods. HCZ's 15 centers serve more than 12,500 children and adults, including more than 8,600 at-risk children. Katrina interned in the Human Resources Department, where she analyzed staff turnover rates and developed a retention strategy. She also worked for the Community Pride Department to develop a strategic and operational plan for the Community Advisory Board. Bonnie combined her Columbia Business School experience with her background in fitness by developing a strategy and implementation plan for HCZ's Obesity Prevention Program.
Sarah Barack '09 interned with the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), a nonprofit organization that supports a wide range of cultural groups and individual artists as well as provides programming for public arts. Sarah split her time between the BAC’s Development office and the Arts in Education (AIE) initiative, which provides programs for teachers, students and communities in digital, literary, performing and visual arts. The AIE asked Sarah to implement structural solutions to streamline its communications with all teaching artists. Sarah also assisted BAC’s Development department in fundraising, grant management and research regarding ideas for earned income projects.
Laura Bogomolny '08 spent her summer with the Big Apple Circus (BAC), which stages a traditional circus and also provides structured community outreach and afterschool programs for kids in New York City. First introduced through the Social Enterprise Program’s Nonprofit Board Leadership Program, she worked to establish a permanent summer home for BAC on Governors Island, which will include a restaurant, performance space and camp for underprivileged children. Over the course of the summer, Laura completed financial projections and cost-benefit analysis, drafted a proposal for the new site and began outreach to potential investors.
Kerry Ann Edwards '08 interned with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) this summer. She helped young people from low-income communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity by designing a volunteer program for NFTE’s New York Metro Program Office. Kerry built the structure for volunteer recruitment and training, streamlining the volunteer process. She also designed metrics for measuring the success of the program.
Daniel Fountenberry '08 worked with the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute, a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop a cadre of young leaders committed to giving back to their communities. Daniel worked closely with students, faculty and parents to develop an implementation plan for the Institute’s new strategy to generate additional income by adjusting the mix of youth served.
Three students were granted Education Pioneers Fellowships this year. These fellowships strive to develop leaders dedicated to transforming the educational system so that all students receive a quality education.
- Jessica Hendrix '09 worked with the New York City Department of Education’s District 79 during her Education Pioneers Fellowship. District 79 works with students throughout New York City who require alternative routes to quality education, including pregnant and parentingstudents. Jessica created a"best practices" toolkitfor principals and guidance counselors throughout the school system on supporting pregnant and parentingstudents. This comprehensive guide will focus on the students—not only documenting the obligations of the schools to them, butpreparing schools to take an innovative approachin their efforts to raise the graduation rate of teen parents.
- Lisa King '09 worked with The New Teacher Project (TNTP), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving teacher quality in high-need schools. Lisa researched and designed a set of services and tools to help school leaders with staff planning and vacancy identification — including a support process and an online system for staff planning and vacancy management. Her work is part of a broader TNTP initiative to build an innovative strategic human capital support center for district and charter schools, launching this fall.
- Deniz Ozgenc '09 worked at Uncommon Schools, Inc. (USI), a nonprofit designed to start and manage outstanding charter schools that focus on eliminating the achievement gap. Deniz built a centralized model to measure success at both an organizational and school level. Her metrics helped to measure the success of schools in areas including: student academic achievement, enrollment, attendance and attrition statistics, teacher performance, parent satisfaction levels and student recruitment.
David Huh '09, an experienced IT professional before attending Columbia’s Business School, spent the summer with Donorschoose.org. A nonprofit organization, Donorschoose.org addresses the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and resources to public schools in the United States. They've created an online marketplace where teachers describe their needs, and individuals can fund specific student projects. David implemented process innovations that better connect donors with the students and teachers they are assisting. This project helped donorschoose.org adapt to the rapid growth it is experiencing while accommodating its limited resources. David’s final recommendations enhanced the process while saving the organization more than 50 percent of the program’s current costs.
Ryan Kinney '09 interned with the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), a community-building organization focused on advancing responsible development to revitalize Jamaica, Queens, and to strengthen the region. Ryan worked on Jamaica Pathways, a project to improve the pedestrian environment in downtown Jamaica. Ryan assisted in developing a budget and a new marketing package for Jamaica Pathways and participated in real estate development initiatives.
Anna Pakman '09 interned for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the PBS Kids division. PBS Kids is a leading provider of commercial-free educational programming targeted at pre-schoolers and grade school students. Anna worked on a new media distribution strategy, developed a business plan for an online video initiative and investigated acquiring rights to show library content on the internet.
As a summer associate Summer Poole '08 worked for the McCarton Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing the educational opportunities of children diagnosed with autism and autism spectrum disorder and aiming to better life for these children and their families. She developed a sustainable business plan for research and training initiatives.
Kathleen Fregeau '09 spent the summer with Uncommon Schools, Inc., a nonprofit organization that starts and manages outstanding charter schools with the mission of eliminating the achievement gap. Kathleen created marketing materials providing a data-driven overview of the impact of USI’s charter schools, which can be shown to audiences ranging from the media to potential donors. These materials will also serve as a basis for USI's future communications.
International Development
Francisco Albano '09 traveled to Peru as a consultant for Technoserve, which helps entrepreneurs in poor rural areas of the developing world build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth. Francisco identified target sectors in which Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) strategies can be employed in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Beverly Chung '09 worked with Ventures in Development (VID), a nonprofit social enterprise promoting economic and social development in western China through the incubation of sustainable, for-profit enterprises. Yaks, abundant in rural China, serve as an opportunity to provide income to rural communities. Beverly helped VID expand Shokay, a rising lifestyle brand featuring items made from yak down, a luxury fabric with properties similar to cashmere. She also helped VID introduce Mei Xiang Yak Cheese to the Shanghai market. Her work for VID focused on developing a metrics and evaluation methodology that can be applied to VID’s current portfolio as well as future investment opportunities.
Melissa Floca '09 spent August in Bahia de Banderas, Mexico, working for P.E.A.C.E Mexico. P.E.A.C.E is a nonprofit umbrella organization that works with non-governmental organizations and community groups to facilitate sustainable programs and nurture self-empowerment throughout Mexico, by providing communities and individuals with tools to improve their quality of life. Melissa worked with a coalition of NGOs and municipal governments to create municipal recycling programs. She was responsible for a cost/benefit analysis and creating a business model for the program.
Carla Franklin '08 worked with two organizations over the summer: the Center of Enterprise Development Services (EDS) at Pan-African University and the African Service Committee (ASC). EDS is a Nigerian-based nonprofit organization focused on supporting small and medium enterprises. At EDS, Carla worked as a consultant to provide business development consulting and training services. Through ASC, she worked on business strategy and a financial model for an organic honey business to support HIV/AIDS programs in Ethiopia. Originally based in New York City, ASC is a grassroots, nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the health and self-sufficiency of the African Community in New York City and abroad.
Kelly Miksa '09 and Danielle Noto '09 were both Island Fellows with the US Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs traveling to some of the most beautiful, yet underdeveloped, places in the Pacific. As part of a team comprised of eight Fellows, they implemented a multifaceted private sector development project by training entrepreneurs on proprietary web-based networking and marketing applications in order to connect with the international investment community. They led marketing efforts via this online platform with the long term goal of fostering sustainable private sector development. The team also developed an international marketing strategy for the March 2009 Island Business Opportunities Conference.
Since its inception in 2002, the Clinton Foundation HIV/Aids Initiative (CHAI) has slowed the spread of AIDS and improved the quality of life of people suffering from this disease. Two students worked for CHAI this summer. Irene Obiero '09 was a Policy Development Intern in Kenya, working in conjunction with government health officials to improve the facilities, reach and scope of aids treatment. Irene focused specifically on women and children in rural areas and created a model to improve the design and delivery of the current health care system.
Stacey McKeever '08, who pursued an MBA and MPH while at Columbia, worked for CHAI’s Global Pediatrics Team. Worker with treatment and program managers in 33 countries, Stacey designed and implemented an online forum to share best practices in pediatric aids treatment and developed a series of workshops based on specific interventions to be held in various countries. The forum and workshops will be used by doctors around the world, towards CHAI’s long term goal of ensuring that more HIV-positive children receive care and treatment.
Two Summer Fellows interned with the Earth Institute’s Millennium Village Project (MVP), Dr. Jeffrey Sachs’ initiative to lift rural Africans out of extreme poverty through improvements in health, water, agriculture, education and more, per the mandates of the United Nations eight Millennium Development Goals. Andrew Umans '09 interned with MVP in Senegal and Mali. Andrew helped to foster business development by testing the feasibility of business plans aimed at maximizing agricultural output and value by optimizing production and marketing efforts.
Sandy Eapen '08 led a small-scale market trial for solar LED lanterns in Mwandama, Malawi, as part of the Earth Institute’s Millennium Villages Project (MVP). Eapen worked for the MVP’s Energy Sector which aims to create sustainable energy technologies and supply chains, improving the health and livelihoods of village communities. She assisted with the development of a business model and conducted a market feasibility analysis through vendor interviews and village focus groups. Sandy trained vendors, leading to the initiation of sales, and conducted household lighting surveys, which demonstrated the cost savings and benefits of transitioning from inefficient and unhealthy kerosene to solar lanterns.
Endeavor, an organization that seeks to transform the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs employed two Social Enterprise Fellows this summer. Sakura Takano '09 worked with Emre Mermer, owner of a specialty meat distributor, a premier butcher shop and Turkey’s only steakhouse, Dukkan. She worked on the strategic and operational challenges of expanding the business throughout Turkey, including developing new store concepts and setting high quality standards.
Julio Giraut '09 went to Buenos Aries, Argentina, as a Summer Fellow with Endeavor. Julio was paired with AMClean, a marketer, vendor and distributor of hygiene products. He was responsible for developing strategic recommendations for the franchise’s expansion targets across South America and internationally. This included examining feasibility studies, resource allocation issues, and marketing strategies, as well as finding ways to improve existing business lines.
Sawa Nakagawa '09 was a Summer Associate for South Africa’s Glenhove Fund Management, which manages the Women’s Private Equity Fund, the first private equity fund to focus on increasing entrepreneurship amongst black South-African women. Sawa evaluated and structured investment opportunities for the fund and developed a strategy and metrics for reporting on the social impact to investors and stakeholders.
Carmen Perez Solano '09 traveled to Peru this summer to intern with Save the Children, an international nonprofit organization working to ensure the wellbeing of children around the world, concentrating in education, health, emergencies, protection and creation of economic opportunity. Carmen built a performance evaluation system and personal development program for its employees as part of the program’s launch.
Frederic Ruaz '09 traveled to Burkina Faso to work with Freedom from Hunger on its Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative. MAHP works with partner microfinance institutions to design innovative and sustainable services for health protection. Based on his analysis of microfinance institutions offering health loans in three northern towns, Frederic developed recommendations and guidelines for a national launch of a program financing health loans.
Shoko Yanagisawa '09 interned with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), reporting to the Human Resources learning and recruiting team. The IFC is currently decentralizing to become more client focused. As part of this strategy its HR group is developing a new Global Career Framework. Shoko developed corporate communication and strategy tools in support of this effort — including a learning curriculum based on core job streams and corporate competencies, on- and off-line material to support this curriculum and a system to disseminate career opportunities. She assisted in the design and implementation of a career opportunities portal.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Matthew Balestrieri '09 was a summer associate for Bemporad, Baranowski Marketing Group (BBMG), a marketing and branding agency dedicated to serving forward-thinking brands that target socially conscious consumers. Matt focused on the agency’s strategic business development and cause-related programs, and he developed methodologies to measure the success of socially responsible metrics such as social return on investment (SROI).
Joanne Greenstein '09 interned with the American Express Philanthropy Department, which provides grants in three main areas: historic preservation, community service and nonprofit leadership. Her work focused on the American Express Members Project, an online program that gives card members the opportunity to create positive social impact by submitting and supporting project ideas. Winning projects will be funded by American Express and executed by the nonprofit and other appropriate organizations. Joanne’s responsibilities included researching and matching chosen projects with nonprofits, as well as managing the relationships with the nonprofit organizations involved in the initiative. In addition, Joanne assisted with proposal review, processing and follow-up; program implementation and marketing materials.
Giselle Leung '08 worked with Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP) — a start-up organization that works with leading companies to promote inclusive, competitive business strategies that incorporate low income people as suppliers, distributors and consumers of products that build income and assets. ESP aims to mobilize 50 million low-income people by 2012 by engaging private sector collaborators in six developing countries. Giselle completed the budget to accompany the business plan, identified leading companies to serve as collaborators and further developed the ESP’s existing relationships within the private sector.
Katie Leonberger '08 worked for Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP). She assisted ESP as it seeks to provide strategic advice, analysis and cross-learning opportunities for business executives and entrepreneurs, by preparing 40 live cases of leading companies from India, China, Mexico and Colombia already engaged with the organization. Katie also worked to advance ESP’s mission by contributing to the preparation of ESP’s strategy and business plan, developing and formalizing relationships with industry partners, and developing and aligning ESP’s online presence to its strategic goals.
Stephanie Nadeau '08 interned with Bioregen Systems, LLC (BRS). A sustainable wastewater company, BRS provides final treatment and disposal solutions for wastewater facility by-products. This facility will offer an environmentally responsible alternative to traditional wastewater management. Stephanie investigated market opportunities for BRS and participated in client management initiatives. She also contributed to the business plan for Natural Systems International, a start-up organization looking to provide clean-tech solutions to wastewater management for communities with centralized systems.
Mica Odom '09 interned with the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative in Houston, TX. Founded in 2006, The Clinton Climate Initiative applies a business-oriented approach to the fight against climate change in practical yet significant ways. Mica built a business plan for a residential energy efficiency retrofit program as well as drafted legislation around carbon emissions reductions. In addition, she assisted in the creation of a grassroots community outreach program that educates Houston residents about environmental sustainability and energy efficient lifestyle changes.
Social Ventures
Frank Buchanan '08 interned with Sweetriot this summer. Sweetriot is a double bottom line business that makes chocolate ‘peaces,’ high quality all-natural treats with ingredients from fair trade suppliers in Latin America. As part of a marketing team looking to drive Sweetriot into the mainstream chocolate market, Frank created and implemented revenue generating marketing plans to increase product recognition.
Kate Grossman '09 spent her summer working with Honest Tea. Honest Tea, a triple bottom line business focused on profit, people and the planet, with a commitment to social responsibility, put the first “just a tad sweet” and unsweetened organic iced tea on the market. Kate’s responsibilities included analyzing the viability of two new products and working on the manufacturing process of a sustainability project. She also supported community marketing efforts to grow the relationship of the brand with its consumers at a grassroots level.
Laith Kalamchi '09 interned with SJF Ventures, a venture capital firm that provides capital to high-growth companies in clean technology. Laith evaluated companies seeking venture capital money, conducted due diligence on companies of interest, co-developed financial models of companies, conducted market segmentations and researched potential grantees for SJF Advisory Services, the nonprofit arm of SJF ventures.
Richard Rosenblatt '09 joined SOUND, a nonprofit start-up organization promoting increased consumer awareness toward and consumption of socially and environmentally sustainable apparel and soft goods. Richard managed operational, financial and structural aspects of the company’s launch. He also developed metrics to rank sustainability amongst apparel producers for socially minded consumers.
2007
Juliana Almeida interned in Brazil with PlaNet Finance, an international nonprofit organization that aims to alleviate poverty by contributing to the development of the microfinance sector. Almeida performed field research at branch microfinance organizations in Mexico, developed a comparison analysis of the Brazilian market, revised lending procedures of the microfinance institutions, and participated in the development of new projects, recruitment and training.
Samantha Brenner worked in the New York City Department of Education for the Office of New Schools (ONS) as a fellow with Education Pioneers. ONS was created in response to Children First, New York City's comprehensive school reform effort that has led to the creation of more than 200 new schools since 2003. Brenner focused on strategy development for the ONS portfolio of new schools and conducted best practice research and data analysis on school performance metrics, as well as developed an internal knowledge management system.
Andrea Burgess and Madlen Massarlian interned at Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs who have innovative and practical ideas for solving social problems. Burgess joined the Social Financial Services team and oversaw projects aimed at educating leading financial intermediaries about the social sector. Massarlian worked directly with social entrepreneurs in India to design feasibility studies, develop business plans for scaling up operations through business and social partnerships, create marketing plans for products and services that serve the poor, and identify sustainable business models.
Young Chase, an Education Pioneers fellow, worked with Leadership Prep Charter School, an elementary school that prepares students to succeed in high school, college and beyond. Chase documented school operations and procedures, assisted in the preparation of the annual report for the charter authorizer, worked with board members to create a fundraising calendar for 2007-2008, and designed data collection materials and procedures.
Laura Coates worked for the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, which aims to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research, and to provide and enhance care and support for people affected by the disease. Coates investigated and reported on how different ethnic communities handle Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Her report was presented to select members of the board and will help direct the Chapter's limited resources to the areas that will have the most impact.
Enrique Coronado interned with Endeavor, an organization that seeks to transform the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs. Coronado was paired with Lixis, an Argentinean company that provides reliable, user-friendly and accessible quality control solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. Coronado implemented performance metrics to revamp the financial planning process and developed a strategy to increase customer lifetime value.
Melissa D'Agostino worked at Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators (RISE) as a fellow with Education Pioneers. RISE is a national nonprofit that strives to attract and retain highly qualified teachers in public schools serving low-income communities. D'Agostino created a strategy for RISE to expand into New York City by exploring partnerships with existing organizations, investigating fundraising opportunities, and identifying potential candidates to serve as executive director.
Emanuele de Santis interned with Good Morning Africa (GMA), a U.S.- based, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting high-growth social entrepreneurship in Africa. GMA supports African Business leaders who have an exceptional mind for business and a genuine passion for bettering their communities. De Santis worked in Ghana on a business plan for BusyInternet, the largest privately-owned and operated ICT center in Africa.
David del Ser Bartolome split his summer between two organizations: Donors Choose and Endeavor. Donors Choose strives to improve public education by creating an online marketplace where individual donors can direct their support to educational projects of their choice. Del Ser Bartolome worked for the head of operations to complete the digitization of the donor feedback process.
At Endeavor, Del Ser Bartolome worked in South Africa for Red Five Labs, a technology company, identified as a high-impact entrepreneur, that has developed an innovative product aimed at bridging the two main types of smart phones. Del Ser Bartolome developed a strategy to market the product to mobile operators, handset manufactures and third party developers.
Joseph Fisher interned with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which aims to inspire classical music lovers with fresh interpretations, and to foster classical music appreciation among a new generation through outreach to public schools in the New York Metropolitan area. Fisher worked on a strategic plan aimed at increasing revenue while remaining true to the organization's artistic mission. Fisher also conducted financial and operational analysis of the Orchestra's recording process, and explored strategic partnerships with corporations, music schools and other performing arts organizations.
Cristina Garcia-Coleman worked at the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) as an Education Pioneers Fellow. KIPP is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools that operate in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. Garcia-Coleman developed business planning tools and support structures for existing KIPP sites that are considering growth in their respective cities and markets.
Brian Lavery interned at Trinity Foundation, the development arm of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The Foundation supports Trinity College through fundraising and development, and encourages innovative business activities from start-up companies and university programs. Lavery identified new opportunities for development and liaised with the university's research departments to encourage the pursuit of new opportunities.
Giselle Leung worked at REDF (formerly Roberts Enterprise Development Fund), which invests in businesses that employ people working their way out of long-term poverty. Leung researched new nonprofit capital market practices to advance the field of venture philanthropy and served as a consultant on business assistance projects with organizations in REDF's portfolio.
Emi Kubota worked at the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, a nonprofit organization that manages a portfolio of funds that invest in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. Kubota analyzed and evaluated the financial viability of new initiatives for fundraising purposes, and valued portfolio companies for the bi-annual Fair Market Valuation.
Justin Mandel interned with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which mobilizes and facilitates the participation of United States private capital and skills in the economic and social development of less developed countries. Mandel reviewed new proposals on venture capital and private equity funds, assisted with research on potential fund managers, and generated annual reports.
Stacey McKeever interned with New York Prebyterian Hospital, the largest urban nonprofit hospital in New York, renowned worldwide for its excellence in providing services to those in need and giving back to its neighborhood of Washington Heights. McKeever worked in the Patient Centered Care department conducting research on internal operations and competitor institutions to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care.
Christopher Miller worked for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Suva, Fiji. ADB is a multilateral financial institution dedicated to reducing poverty and improving the welfare of people in Asia and the Pacific. Miller researched and produced reports on the policies of Asian Development Fund countries, with a specific focus on economic management and the business regulatory environment.
Vibhav Nuwal worked at Sustainable Conservation, which engages businesses and private landowners in the conservation of natural resources by using innovative and pragmatic strategies. Nuwal identified and evaluated opportunities for carbon trading/offset programs associated with agricultural production, as well as incentives and barriers associated with carbon trading.
Amancaya Torres Obleas interned at Women's World Banking, which gives poor women all over the world the means to lift themselves out of poverty by providing them with access to financial services and information. Obleas worked with the Development Team to develop strategies for approaching strategic and corporate partners, created templates for partnership agreements, managed the process of review and evaluation required by strategic partners, and searched for new strategic partnerships.
Folake Oguntebi interned in South Africa with the African Leadership Academy (ALA), a private co-educational secondary school dedicated to developing the next generation of African leaders. Oguntebi worked with international experts to develop a high-level African Studies curriculum, determined best-practices of surrounding African school systems, and identified specific curriculum modules and units to be implemented at ALA.
Olivia Peoples interned with Community Resource Exchange (CRE), a nonprofit management consulting firm committed to helping community-based organizations who work with people affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Peoples developed a business plan for CRE to provide human resources and accounting services to nonprofit organizations, and wrote a concept paper exploring the benefits and challenges of creating a nonprofit worker membership organization.
Lindsay Pollak and Meeta Sethna worked at Agora Partnerships in Nicaragua. Agora is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing talented entrepreneurs in emerging markets with the tools, networks, and financing necessary to launch successful, socially responsible businesses. Pollak and Sethna consulted with Agora entrepreneurs, developed post-investment services, promoted marketing strategies to expand communication to a broader community, wrote the first comprehensive social impact assessment, and identified additional entrepreneurs to fund.
Lydia Regopoulos worked for the New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) on the Westchester Campus. NYPH provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine and has consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the United States. As part of the Operations Department, Regopoulos developed a complete, up-to-date emergency preparedness plan for the NYPH/Westchester Campus and investigated effective billing practices to ensure compliance with Medicaid.
Kelly Roe interned with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, which uses the power of media to help children around the world reach their highest potential. Roe designed and conducted a comprehensive study of how Sesame Workshop enters and develops various geographical markets and a set of recommendations on how to standardize and make these processes more efficient.
Emily Sheetz interned with Transfair USA, a nonprofit organization that encourages sustainable development and community enhancement by creating equitable trade standards that benefit farmers, workers, consumers and the environment. Sheetz developed a system of tools for evaluating new fair trade product opportunities for the United States market and wrote a business plan allowing all Fairtrade Labeling Organization International certified products to be certified by Transfair USA.
Cai Steger joined the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which aims to protect the planet and promote environmental protection and sustainability. Steger work with NRDC's Clean Energy Project and new Market Transformation Center to help develop and support industry and finance policies that advance low carbon transportation fuels and low cost greenhouse gas reduction strategies.
Ira Trevedi worked for the Government of New Delhi on the Integrated Child Development Project (ICDP), an initiative of the Chief Minister's Office in New Dehli, India, which aims to provide preventative healthcare services to young children and women. ICDP also supports the education of young women through small savings accounts that can be withdrawn to pay for higher education. Trivedi investigated the operations and management of this initiative to reduce the incidence of fraud.
Jessica Wyman interned for New York Presbyterian Hospital, in the Marketing and Advocacy Department at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. The Children's Hospital has comprehensive medical services and facilities as well as surgical and emergency care for children. Wyman planned the town hall meeting and fundraising initiative in conjunction with CBS Radio, identified grant opportunities to support operating expenses, and organized the Family Advocacy Day and outreach campaign in Washington D.C.
Tracy Zhang interned at the William F. Clinton Foundation in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). CGI is a non-partisan "catalyst for action", which brings together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Zhang assisted the staff in tracking ongoing and new commitments in education, climate change, health and poverty.
2006
Rachel Albert worked with the New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, which is dedicated to the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. As a Summer Associate, Albert conducted site visits to long-term care facilities throughout New York City and produced a status report with recommendations on how to improve the quality of care for Alzheimer patients.
Caroline Andrews worked with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The EDC, in conjunction with the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), supports economic growth throughout the metropolitan area by providing finance, lease and real estate services. Andrews evaluated companies seeking financing from IDA tax-exempt bonds.
Andrew Archer interned in Kigali, Rwanda with the School of Finance and Banking (SFB), which provides post-graduate training and research for practitioners in accounting, banking and finance. Archer worked with SFB and Rwanda's Human Resources and Institutional Capacity Development Agency to develop and implement a self-sustainability strategy to reduce reliance on external (governmental) funding and subsidies.
Laura Clancy interned in the Community Sector Initiatives Department of Community Resource Exchange (CRE), a nonprofit consulting group that provides strategic advice and technical services to over 350 community-based organizations fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS. Clancy implemented a pilot project with CUNY targeting multiple-youth-focused client organizations through formal, credit-bearing nonprofit fundraising coursework.
Sybil Dodge worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose mission is to foster economic and social objectives in Latin America. As part of the Capital Markets Development group Dodge assisted in structuring and negotiating transactions for triple-bottom-line projects that increase access to capital and adhere to the IDB's social and environmental standards.
Sandy Eapen, Ronald Mincy and Juan Urrutia, worked with the United Nations Development Programme as part of the Growing Sustainable Business Initiative (GSB), a new initiative that seeks to eradicate poverty through the development of local sustainable businesses. Eapen and Urrutia investigated the merits for expansion of the GSB initiative in their host countries (India and Uruguay respectively) by assessing the investment potential of local socially responsible business models. Mincy worked in New York researching pro-poor commercially sustainable business solutions to address energy needs in developing countries.
Lauren Franks worked for EcoLogic Finance, a nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable financial services to community businesses in Latin America and Africa. Franks evaluated the availability of capital for small-scale farm cooperatives in Mexico and Central America by studying the attitudes and capabilities of local credit institutions.
Peggy Hermida interned in the Finance and Operations Department at the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), where she was responsible for managing financial planning and analysis, treasury functions and the NFF's cash and investment portfolio. NFF is a NYC-based community development financial institution that aims to support small-to-medium sized nonprofits by maximizing the impact of grants and the effectiveness of their organizations.
Debra Kurshan was a Fellow with Education Pioneers, whose mission is to develop the next generation of educational leaders through challenging internship opportunities, comprehensive training sessions, retreats and networking events. Kurshan worked with a charter school to develop financial systems, prepare for the annual audit and identify investment alternatives.
Christian Lee worked as a Summer Associate for Acap Development Trust (the Trust), a private equity fund with the dual mission of contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan through the renewal of the country's private sector and providing a financial return for investors. Lee assisted local businesses and entrepreneurs, source and structure investment opportunities, and evaluated requests for grants based on the mission of the Trust.
Marti Lilien interned with Environmental Defense (ED) a New York-based nonprofit committed to protecting the environment for current and future generations. As part of the Living Cities group, Lilien produced a report on reducing the effects of diesel emissions through partnerships between ED and various commercial shipping companies.
Eugene Lin worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral government development bank whose mission is to promote the economic development of its member countries throughout Asia and the Pacific. Lin worked with the Private Sector Operations Department to help identify potential investments for the ADB funds.
Yvonne Lu interned at the Robin Hood Foundation in the Management Assistance Strategy Group. The Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City through partnerships with over 140 nonprofit organizations. Lu assisted two nonprofits, a soup kitchen in the Bronx and a family support center in Brooklyn, to develop more effective program models.
Emily Robertson interned with the New York Philharmonic, whose mission is to perform and provide supporting activities for the western art music on a national and international level. As part of the marketing department, Robertson analyzed advertising expenditures and their relationship to sales for specific concerts in the 2005-2006 season.
Beth Robinowitz interned with the Biomimicry Guild, a for-profit LLC that uses nature as its guide to develop innovative products and solutions for companies including GE, Interface Carpets and Nike. Robinowitz consulted on current and new project pitches, evaluated the value of services and designs and worked on the company's five-year plan.
Sojin Song interned with Trickle Up Resource and Innovation Network (TRAIN) part of the Trickle Up Program (TUP). TUP, a nonprofit organization, assists low income people with business development through grants and workshops. As part of TRAIN, Song collected and developed tools for training practitioners in the micro enterprise industry in order to better serve clients.
Greg Zumas worked as a Summer Associate with Agora Partnerships, which supports talented small-to-medium sized entrepreneurs by providing the tools, networks and financing necessary to grow a successful business. As part of the finance team, Zumas helped to screen and select new entrepreneurs, consulted with current entrepreneurs and developed financial models to support Agora's planned investments.
2005
Rachel N. Albert worked as a Summer Associate at Blue Ridge Foundation New York (BRFNY), a grant-maker and incubator for New York based nonprofit start-ups. BRFNY's mission is to help develop effective strategies for connecting people living in high poverty communities to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to achieve their full potential. The goal is to equip each organization in its portfolio with the skills and resources necessary to operate in a self-sustaining and independent manner. Rachel, an MBA/MSW dual degree student, worked largely at the foundation level, assisting with structural improvements to BRFNY's operating systems. In addition, she offered consulting and strategic support to a number of portfolio organizations.
Michael M. Choi interned with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a community development financial institution that supports nonprofit organizations through direct lending services and financial advisory and consulting. Mike worked under NFF's Vice President of Program and Product Development in analyzing the financial statements and business models of over 60,000 mid-sized nonprofits in the USA to increase NFF's understanding of the distinct sub-groups of financial organization that exists in the nonprofit world. Mike's work will be used to change the way nonprofit finance is conceptualized and improve funding to NFF's nonprofit grantees.
Tami Chuang interned with the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, a nonprofit that has worked for nearly forty years to transform downtown Jamaica (Queens) New York into a dynamic center of commerce, business and government services, and a place of cultural and higher education opportunities. The Corporation administers funding programs for small businesses, coordinates cultural development though the Jamaica Center for the Arts and Learning, provides technical assistance to industrial businesses through a partnership with York College, and conducts capital and real estate development to enhance the physical attractiveness of the area. Tami leveraged her background in City Planning and Urban Design to serve as GJDS's project manager for a mixed use development. Her chief responsibilities were centered on funding preparation for the development's site acquisition, and required an ongoing dialogue with potential lenders, city planning staff, and stakeholders to review and remodel existing funding procedures.
Rachel V. Gehrls worked as a marketing intern for Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization that addresses the critical developmental needs of children worldwide through television and radio, magazines, computers, film, video and educational outreach programs. She was primarily responsible for conducting retail and market analysis for key markets; assisting in the development of country-specific marketing plans, including brand positioning; and coordinating global trade marketing activities, leading the Workshop's efforts at the Licensing International tradeshow in New York in June. Rachel's long-term plans involve growing a nonprofit to supplement public school arts education in her hometown of Detroit.
Joshua Gelfman, a second term CBS student concentrating in Real Estate and Finance, joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) in its efforts to stimulate more effective, cost-efficient business practices throughout New York. Drawing on his background in Urban Planning and the perishables trade, Josh assisted in several of EDC's endeavors: he worked with the Real Estate Development Group to forge partnerships to stimulate economic development in targeted areas of the city; he helped create new industrial development policy aimed at strengthening Hunt's Point Produce Market, the largest and most important produce market in the New York metropolitan area; and he collaborated with EDC's Vice President for Strategy on economic development policy initiatives and broader analyses of the City's wholesale and retail markets. Josh believes these projects broadened his understanding of public-private real estate partnerships, which he plans to use in the development of under-invested submarkets of New York.
Sabrina Huff served as a Summer Research Associate to Altura Capital Advisors, which provides research and strategic advisory services in the emerging and diverse managers’ space. Sabrina provided support in the evaluation of community development capital fund investment vehicles. Sabrina also contributed to the creation of ten case studies that analyzed four industries in New York that could be potential investment targets for the Fund, and she helped develop a list of organizations that currently offer technical assistance to businesses in the tri-state area.
Sue Igoe interned with Agora Partnerships. A start-up social enterprise based in Washington, D.C. and Managua, Nicaragua, Agora provides consulting, equity investment, and technical assistance to talented young entrepreneurs in Central America to help launch and develop socially responsible businesses. As Agora's first intern in Nicaragua, Sue worked with the enterprise's managing partners in creating a system for summer interns and volunteers. She also assisted in the design and implementation of Agora's entrepreneur search and selection process, and helped develop an outreach strategy to solicit potential local and international partners to support the fund.
Daiana Iqbal interned this summer with United Way of Essex and West Hudson (UWEWH), which is dedicated to strengthening the communities of northern New Jersey. Once primarily a fundraiser/fund distributor, UWEWH has transitioned to a more engaged role of community builder, and works to mobilize resources in the areas of early child development, education, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, health screenings and referrals, and mental health, housing, and employment services. Daiana interned at UWEWH's Center for Excellence, which works to increase the effectiveness of an array of community-based organizations through management training and technical support. She helped expand the programming and activities at the Center to increase its impact on the community and generate revenue for the United Way.
Jonathan Jacoby worked with Initiative for Global Development, a nationwide alliance of private sector leaders who are working to make global poverty alleviation a high priority among national policymakers. The organization seeks to build a national network of business leaders committed to its anti-poverty platform and is currently planning outreach events in ten major U.S. cities to take place in 2005. Jonathan worked to recruit IGD membership in the New York City metropolitan area by assisting in the organization and execution of a membership outreach event to be held in New York in late June. Jonathan, a dual MBA/MIA degree student, is planning a policymaking career in international development.
Hong Moo (Henry) Jun interned in the Country Analysis Unit at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. His primary responsibilities were to analyze Asian financial markets and to make supervisory plans to better incorporate Asian foreign banks into the U.S. market. Projects included conducting research on the growth and development of Korean-American banks and on the Indian financial system. Henry's long term goal is to help develop a stable and competitive financial system for Asian developing countries.
Lindsay Kruse spent ten weeks with the Robin Hood Foundation (RHF), which targets the root causes of poverty in NYC by providing funding and management assistance to poverty-fighting organizations. RHF focuses on four key areas of poverty prevention, including Early Childhood, Education and After School, Job Training, and Basic Survival programs, and hosts additional programs such as the Library Initiative (a joint effort with NYC public schools to redesign Federal public school libraries), the Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign (to assist those in poverty to maximize their tax credits), and the 9/11 fund (to provide security to organizations in large funding drops). Lindsay reviewed RHF's Early Childhood portfolio and analyzed the strategic costs and organizational structures of RHF's grantees. Lindsay was especially excited to build upon her consulting and quantitative skills in an organization that focuses on youth-development and poverty, two issues she feels deeply committed to.
David Lewis interned this summer with Echoing Green, a nonprofit that provides first-stage funding and support to visionary leaders with bold ideas for social change. Through a two-year fellowship program, Echoing Green helps social entrepreneurs and their organizations work to close deeply-rooted social, economic and political inequities to ensure equal access and help all individuals reach their potential. David devoted his energies to three main projects during the course of the internship. He worked to create a new pitch presentation for potential investors, helped develop a new education initiative targeted at both existing and budding social entrepreneurs, and analyzed the effectiveness of a new branding initiative recently undertaken by the organization.
Oliver Marquis interned at sweetriot, a socially conscious confectionary company that works to promote cross cultural understanding through innovative packaging. The company's first product, a dark chocolate covered cacao nib, comes packaged in a recyclable cacao tin that relates a fact about cacao and the countries in which it is produced. As an intern, Oliver assisted in the launch of sweetriot's initial products in its first set of retail markets, researching and creating a trade show recommendation, and developing a strategic media plan and press release for the launch. Oliver worked closely with sweetriot's founder to ensure that the company's marketing initiatives, from label designs to road show strategies, were all aligned properly with the mission and values of the company. He hopes to leverage his exposure to the inner workings of this socially responsible venture in his own future endeavors in socially conscious wine production and importation.
Tricia L. Morente split the summer between two organizations: Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) and Women's World Banking. CDVCA is a nonprofit that promotes the use of venture capital tools to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity, and wealth to advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of distressed domestic communities. Tricia worked with CDVCA's president to map the field of development venture capital and equity finance to provide perspective on CDVCA's role in the larger field; and assist CDVCA's Director of Research in collecting and analyzing data on the industry.
Women's World Banking is a microfinance network that works to expand the economic assets, participation and power of low-income women throughout the world as entrepreneurs and economic agents. Tricia conducted market research and industry analysis to explore expansion strategies by which retail microfinance institutions (MFIs) might grow their outreach. Tricia is a dual degree MBA/MIA student and plans to transition from business strategy consulting to a career in microfinance. She believes the combination of summer experiences gave her a broader understanding of high-growth microfinance and private sector development.
Aparna Mukherjee worked with the Alexander Abraham Foundation, which provides financial support to organizations that work in its two main areas of interest: environmental conservation and animal welfare; and economic empowerment and education for women in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Aparna served as Project Manager for a new initiative to build a network of pro bono service providers in the field of environment protection. The "AFF Network" will enable the Foundation to expand the scope of assistance it currently provides grantees, enabling organizations to grow their activities and further their missions through services and unlimited access to a network of experts in the field.
Andres Pardo interned at Banco de la RepÏblica, Colombia's Central Bank. The Bank's main objectives and goals, which are mandated by the Colombian Constitution, include preserving the purchasing power of agents in the Colombian economy, issuing local currency, formulating foreign exchange policy and managing the country's international reserves. Andres reported to one of the Bank's board members and worked on a project to analyze the behavior of pension funds in Colombia and identify problems in the current system of regulations that prevent these funds from maximizing returns in their portfolios or expose them to unnecessary risks.
Todd Riffey spent the summer in Lagos, Nigeria working with FATE Foundation USA, a nonprofit that works to promote business and entrepreneurial development among Nigerian youth by marshaling the resources, support, expertise, technology, and networks that exist in the United States. The majority of FATE's work involves the dissemination of education and consulting resources. Todd assisted a Nigerian entrepreneur, Tavia Technologies Limited, in developing more effective operating strategies, and taught least two classes as part of the FATE Short Entrepreneurial Courses program, a series of workshops open to the general public and designed to provide attendees with the business skills and networks necessary to succeed in business. The internship gave Todd insight into the obstacles to business growth in Nigeria, which he hopes to one day draw on in formulating U.S. policy around development in Africa.
Maury Stern split the summer between internships at Jubilee Enterprise of Greater Washington and the US Department of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI). Jubilee Enterprise helps address the need for affordable rental housing east of the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, working to preserve low rents and provide community service programs for residents in over 320 housing units owned or operated by the Enterprise. Maury drew on his experience in management and financial analysis to assist Jubilee's housing director with rehabilitation efforts in the organization's Howard Hill development and to identify potential new affordable housing properties for acquisition by Jubilee.
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund was created during the Clinton administration to increase economic development in distressed communities through greater availability of business and real estate financing, expanding the supply of affordable housing units, expanding access to financial and development services, and attracting private sector capital to CDFIs. Working under the Fund's Finance Manager, Maury was responsible for analyzing the assets in the Fund's loans portfolio. He also spent time with the Fund's Grants Management Division, learning the intricacies of the New Market Tax Credit. He plans to work in affordable housing development after graduation.
Rachael Strieter worked with Freedom From Hunger, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works through local partner institutions to provide financial, educational, and health services to very poor women and their families. Rachael worked within the Department of Program Services and was responsible for establishing the organization's first capacity center in Mexico to provide training and technical assistance. She also conducted market research to prepare for expansion into Peru and further expansion in Mexico, and examined the role of women in Freedom From Hunger's micro-finance model.
David Werlin spent the summer with St. Mary's Hospital for Children, one of the nation's pioneers in pediatric care. Located in Bayside, NY, the Hospital provides the full spectrum of medical care and related services to children, including social work, palliative care, respite care, home care and services for children with special needs. David worked under St. Mary's Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and was responsible for providing business analyses and support to a group evaluating a new model of pediatric home healthcare delivery. In addition, he reviewed business and healthcare literature and prepared pr³cis for his supervisor. Dan believes the experience has helped him to narrow his focus and fine-tune his professional goals as he prepares for a career in health administration.
Helena Plater-Zyberk interned with UnLtd., a nonprofit trust based in London that supports social entrepreneurs with a combination of funding and practical support. UnLtd.'s grantees span the scope of social enterprise, with project missions ranging from creating after school centers and disability awareness training to watershed cleanup initiatives and refugee recreation centers. Working under UnLtd.'s Head of Policy and Research, Helena helped finalize the design of an "impact assessment" to aid the organization in a review of its project funding to date. Once the design was approved, she embarked on case studies of UnLtd.'s grantees, which served as the basis for the qualitative section of the full impact assessment. A student of social entrepreneurship and international business, Helena believes the experience gained in this internship will help her future work with entrepreneurs in Poland and other emerging market economies.
Shervin Youssef Setareh spent the summer with Dalberg, a professional services firm that provides consulting to decision-makers on global development issues with social, economic, and environmental parameters. A for-profit venture, Dalberg serves both the nonprofit and for-profit spheres in its mission to advance effective and sustainable development efforts, and has worked with such notables as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UN Development Programme, and the UN Commission for the Private Sector and Development. As a summer intern, Shervin's main project was to create a Business Guide to Non-Profits, providing businesses with easier access to top notch nonprofit players in various fields and facilitating more effective partnerships. To this end, Shervin developed indicators that can display a nonprofit organization's ability to engage in partnership with the private sector; conducted interviews with European and US NGOs, academics, and the private sector about performance in creating partnerships; and developed a mechanism and format for marketing his research. In addition to this primary assignment, Shervin also developed the structure and contents of country profiles for a United Nations Development Programme, and for a large US foundation researched best practices in IT utilization and organizational behavior when dealing with international assignees.
2004
Margaret Angell worked for Pacific Charter School Development, a Los Angeles nonprofit, which provides real estate development, affordable lease and buy-back services to newly formed charter schools. PCSD was incubated and funded by New Schools Venture Fund, a leading venture philanthropy foundation and the Gates Foundation. Margaret conducted analysis of California charter school operators and the Los Angeles real estate market, and helped PCSD in marketing services to raise a further round of equity financing.
Malik Ashiru worked for the Africa Transport Unit and Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Program at The World Bank, a development bank which aims to fight poverty and improve living standards in the developing world. Malik's tasks included analyzing revenue and cost recovery strategies for transport projects in Nigeria, including the distribution of HIV/AIDS resources, and assessing the community impact of privatizing urban transportation within Nigeria.
Ariel Behr interned at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a nonprofit intermediary organization that helps resident-led community development organizations transform distressed communities into healthy ones through capital, training, technical expertise and information. Ariel assisted the president and CEO with research and financial analysis of potential grantors and grantees, and also worked with the Educational Facilities Financing Fund, which will finance construction of charter schools.
Ami Desai interned with the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) this summer. CDVCA is a trade association that promotes the use of venture capital to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity and development of low-income communities. Ami worked with the CDVCA's fund manager to conduct social and financial investment analysis, and due diligence on potential ventures and new projects. She also worked on a marketing plan to promote CDVCA's publications and other products.
Nicole Fernandez interned with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), a nonprofit corporation that manages a waterfront property in Brooklyn under a contract with the City of New York. BNYDC aims to foster economic development and culture in the Brooklyn community. Nicole worked on the strategic plan and financial models for a planned development. This included developing tenant mix scenarios and determining the range of revenues and expenses for different types of potential tenants.
Artem Gonopolskiy worked with the United Nations Environment Program - Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a public-private partnership between the UN and global financial institutions dedicated to promoting practices that encourage sustainable development within the financial services sector. UNEP FI provides member financial institutions with practical research, capacity building, and information exchange services. Artem analyzed Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies to assess sustainability rating agencies. In addition he help to develop the sustainable finance practice in Central and Eastern Europe by identifying potential partner financial institutions, creating regionally focused events and formulating a marketing plan.
Michael Grunow interned at Expansion Capital Partners, a clean technology venture firm that invests in fast growing, mid-stage ventures. During the summer he evaluated the commercial and investment maturity of sustainable ventures in the energy, transport, water and agricultural sectors. Grunow also worked on pro-bono consulting projects for several of the ventures that Expansion Capital considered for investment while completing his MBA the following year. After graduation, he joined GE to work on renewable energy projects.
Carolyn Hack worked as a financial analyst for the CFO with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, which serves youth by providing a safe place outside of school and offering activities to foster leadership skills, and address career, health and education issues. Carolyn developed a monthly operating statistics framework to track the performance of and assist management decisions for individual sites. She also conducted an impact and profitability assessment of fundraising activities, and determined site level data and data collection processes that need to be implemented across the organization.
Cate Han interned at Differential Dynamics, a for-profit technology licensing and development company with patents for revolutionary transmission design that will reduce vehicular emissions by as much as 30%. The company's goal is to incorporate its technology into all commercial and non-commercial gasoline-burning vehicles through licensing agreements with manufacturing companies. As an intern, Cate assisted in a wide array of business development initiatives, including raising venture capital funding, hiring personnel, completing pre-production for a prototype transmission for a John Deere tractor, analyzing and negotiating strategic partnership opportunities with like-minded companies, and seeking new business clientele. Following the completion of her MBA in May 2005, Cate went to work for Differential Dynamics as head of business development, and plans to spend the next 5-7 years with the business, building it from start-up phase into a profitable, global company.
Ben Kornfeind assisted a start-up nonprofit in Harlem called SEARCH (Stop Environmental Asthma.Restore Children's Health). SEARCH aims to decrease incidences of childhood asthma in the worst-hit neighborhoods in NYC by raising public awareness, and advancing an interdisciplinary research and remediation program. Ben helped to formulate a strategic plan with SEARCH's partners, assisted in the recruitment of an executive director and new board members, and connected partners via meetings and networking events. Ben also worked on a print and website marketing campaign.
Antigone Papageorgiou is one of two interns who worked with the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) which implements and executes operational projects and processes across the UN. Antigone examined ways to improve the accuracy and efficiency of delivery reporting processes, which involves better use of the PeopleSoft system that was recently implemented. She also analyzed possible adjustments to the pricing model that UNOPS uses within the UN.
Jennifer Parks also worked with the head of finance and strategic planning at the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS). Jennifer helped to re-engineer procurement and financial management processes to help reduce operating costs, speed cycle times and reduce error rates to improve the efficiency of core processes and the infrastructure throughout the organization. She also examined the organizational structure and roles and responsibilities of staff within the UNOPS.
Erica Pergament was a marketing intern with the Global Consumer Products Division of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational institution that aims to make a difference in the lives of children from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Workshop distributes to childcare and literacy organizations at no cost, and its programming includes Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa. Erica developed marketing programs including the roll out of Sesame Beginnings, a new infant brand program, which will be featured in licensing and trade shows.
Ben Powell worked on the Full Economic Citizenship (FEC) initiative for Ashoka, a global nonprofit that support entrepreneurs who advance social change via scalable and systemic approaches. FEC facilitates partnerships between business and social sector organizations to address the needs of low-income communities, and fosters "bottom of the pyramid" development models. Ben conducted field interviews in Latin America and India to analyze innovations and best practices, and developed a knowledge base that can be shared within and beyond the Ashoka community. He also worked on FEC's marketing strategy and implementation.
Ruchi Rastogi worked with Acumen Fund, an international development venture philanthropy fund that supports and scales ventures by market-oriented social entrepreneurs. Acumen fund has three portfolios: Health Technology, Economic and Civic Enterprises, and Water Innovations. Ruchi worked on the Health Technology portfolio to conduct market research and analysis for projects including: HIV/AIDS training for healthcare workers, telemedicine in rural communities, and group insurance schemes to provide health coverage to the poor.
Blythe Reyes joined the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy, (CECP) whose mission is to advocate, facilitate and expand strategic corporate philanthropy. Blythe worked on a marketing plan for the Corporate Giving Standard (CGS), a measurement program which aims to establish a consistent set of metrics to track and report the impact of corporate philanthropy. Her work included developing the appropriate format for communicating CGS survey results, which will provide benchmarks for companies, and other marketing materials for CECP.
Erik Svanholm interned with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a nonprofit organization for national and international labor unions, which also conducts extensive research and education. Erik worked on programs designed to benefit low-income workers, including remittance services and low cost checking accounts. In addition, he worked with the Corporate Governance and International Affairs groups to examine outsourcing and labor practices in developing countries.
Madeleine Tregidga interned at Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, a nonprofit that focuses on school reform for elementary, middle and high schools that emphasize high achievement through active learning, character growth, and teamwork. Madeleine worked on a marketing plan and budget to standardize sales and marketing efforts across regional offices, and developed evaluation measures to track program implementation with partner schools and the effect on student performance.
Carol Yang worked as a financial technician in the Business Operations division of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. Her main task was to identify cost drivers and implement a new activity based costing system across all business functions, to improve the efficiency of budgeting, operational cost control and forecasting within the organization's shore installations.
David Zapol's internship was with Investors Circle Foundation, the research and educational arm of Investors' Circle (IC). IC is a social venture capital intermediary that supports early stage sustainable business ventures. David's summer goals included examining new financing vehicles to fund local and sustainable organic food ventures, analyzing research and survey results on the need for financing alternatives, developing recommendations on the feasibility of launching a new funding vehicle, and convening and analyzing outcomes from workshops with leaders and social entrepreneurs working in this area.
2003
John Amore worked in the Political Risk Insurance Department at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government agency that issues political risk insurance for U.S. companies investing in emerging markets. He conducted due diligence on projects and quantifying macroeconomic risks in specific emerging markets.
Martina Banovac is one of two CORPS Fellows that worked with the Robin Hood Foundation. The foundation's mission is to fight poverty in New York City through assistance in five areas: education, early childhood, youth, after-school programs and job training. Martina worked with the Special Projects Team on the Library Initiative, which seeks to build library facilities in NYC elementary schools and introduce literacy-based programs.
Christina Flynn interned with Common Ground Community, an organization that provides supportive housing programs to formerly homeless adults. Common Ground also operates two Ben & Jerry's scoop shops in Manhattan, which provide job training for tenants and generate revenues for their programs. Chris helped Common Ground develop a new earned income venture to sell the works of its resident artists, who make up 20% of the tenant population.
Kathleen Gunn also joined the Special Projects Team at the Robin Hood Foundation to work on the Library Initiative. She worked on developing strategic plans for the literacy program, including a parental involvement component and a mentoring model.
Leah Hamilton interned at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a nonprofit intermediary organization that helps resident-led community development organizations transform distressed communities into healthy ones through capital, training, technical expertise and information. Leah assisted with the development of the LISC Education Facilities fund/loan pool by researching similar funds, structuring the underwriting and assessment criteria, creating a financial model and producing outreach materials for investors.
Ben Kornfeind assisted a new start-up nonprofit in Harlem called SEARCH (Stop Environmental Asthma.Restore Children's Health). SEARCH aims to decrease incidences of childhood asthma in the worst-hit neighborhoods in NYC by raising public awareness, and advancing an interdisciplinary research and remediation program. Ben worked to establish the program's infrastructure and increase its capacity. He led a market study of NYC neighborhoods, developed training materials to enable replication of the program and developed a new business plan.
Wing-See Leung worked with Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA), a nonprofit that brings together more than 100 community development venture capital funds in a regular forum to explore best practices and share resources and experiences. Wing-See's tasks included writing a business plan for CDVCA's training program, researching and developing a venture capital funds database, and researching social impact metrics for the CDVCs.
Amanda Luke was one of 3 CORPS fellows that worked as an eMBA Summer Associate with Endeavor Global, a nonprofit organization that fosters entrepreneurship in emerging markets by helping aspiring business people raise financing, enter new markets and form strategic partnerships. Amanda assisted the CEO of a women's apparel company in Uruguay expand its markets.
Alissa Peck was the Marketing Intern with the Global Consumer Products Division of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational institution that aims to make a difference in the lives of children from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Workshop distributes to childcare and literacy organizations at no cost, and its programming includes Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa. Alissa developed the marketing plan for Plaza Sesamo, a program targeted to the Hispanic market.
Federico Rossignoli worked with Idealist.org, a project of Action Without Borders that serves as an online resource and information exchange center for individuals and nonprofits worldwide. More than 33,000 nonprofit organizations in 165 countries are registered on the site, which posts information about job and volunteer opportunities, news, events, and campaigns. Francisco helped the executive director explore business development opportunities and develop a strategic plan for customer relationship management.
Pedro Ivo Lopes Salomao worked through Endeavor Global to assist the owner of a Brazilian car wash company in restructuring his franchises. Pedro developed a strategic marketing plan and assisted in reengineering the company's core processes.
Rebecca Thomas worked with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a development finance institution for nonprofits that provides financing and advisory services to help nonprofits fill their general capital needs. Rebecca helped NFF implement the first stage of its Comprehensive Capitalization Initiative, which will produce education and training materials to raise awareness among nonprofits, government agencies and funders about the direct impact of capital structure on programs and capacity.
Carolina Uribe worked with a software company in Uruguay on a project for Endeavor Global. Her main task was to help design more efficient operations for the company, Infocorp, to facilitate its successful operation in Puerto Rico and eventual growth to other markets internationally.
Rodrigo Vargas worked with the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), a publicly chartered entrepreneurial corporation committed to revitalizing underserved neighborhoods throughout the District of Columbia through initiatives and partnerships designed to enhance job creation, community amenities, and citizen empowerment. Rodrigo worked on several urban renewal projects in Columbia Heights and on the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront.
Shazi Visram's internship with Solar Household Energy (SHE), Inc. is a continuation of the work she began as a member of the student club MIDI (Managers in International Development Initiative). SHE's mission is to alleviate poverty and environmental degradation in the developing world through the manufacture and distribution of low-cost solar cooking devices to people in need. Shazi's summer goals included securing additional funding through corporate sponsorship, developing a cost structure and price points for distribution to entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations and developing additional distribution channels through targeted retail stores.
Mya Thazin Win interned with Women's World Banking, a network of microfinance organizations dedicated to expanding women's economic participation and power by opening access to finance, information and markets. Mya worked on a project to evaluate Bolivia's capital markets development, and also helped to enhance WWB's database on microfinance NGOs so that it can better monitor its investments.
2002
Frederick Brust divided his time over the summer between the Expeditionary Learning division of Outward Bound and Outward Bound NYC. Both organizations focus on "learning by doing" to encourage public school students to become more engaged with the material they are studying. NYC Outward Bound also tries to address specific problems, such as poor morale and low attendance. Fred helped restructure the accounting system for ELOB and developed a new marketing campaign to reshape NYC Outward Bound's public image.
Theresa Cassidy worked with Silicon Valley Community Venture, an organization that invests in and develops businesses that provide substantial economic benefits to low-income communities. Theresa helped identify potential target communities for investment through social, economic and demographic research, and developed an executable investment strategy.
Kelly Engstrom worked for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, on a research project entitled "Sharing the Burden of Supporting a Hospital." The report examined the cross-subsidization of hospital inpatient care among payer groups.
Miryam Frieder, a dual degree MBA/MPH student, performed financial and operational analyses of federal agencies and programs in the Health Care Division of the General Accounting Office. The internship allowed Miryam to gain experience in the public sector and insight into the inner workings of healthcare policy-making in Washington, DC.
Laura Goodman worked with Blue Ridge Foundation New York, an organization that provides intensive support to innovative organizations seeking to address such issues as youth development, education, community building, and the public use of technology. Laura worked with the Foundation's portfolio organizations to help focus their missions and operational measures. One of her tasks involved researching best practices in relevant nonprofit areas and developing benchmarks and financial metrics for measuring success.
Matthew Jacobs worked in the Planning, Design, and Development group of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency responsible for the physical planning around rebuilding at the World Trade Center site. Matthew's primary responsibility was to help devise a development strategy that successfully accommodates improved retail use while recognizing the overarching goal of building a structure that reconciles the tragic events of the past with a vision for the future.
Kari Loya worked in Los Angeles for The Broad Foundation, a private foundation founded in 1999 by business magnate Eli Broad. The Foundation provides funding for ventures seeking to improve the governance, management and labor relations in urban public school systems across the country. Kari managed the relationship with one of the foundation's largest grantees and met with public education leaders to identify new and exciting projects. He has a long-standing interest in education and has long term plans to establish and run a charter school in a low-income neighborhood.
Rebecca Stich served as the Program Coordinator of the Community Collaboratives for Refugee Women and Youth, an initiative of the strong>International Rescue Committee (IRC). The IRC has programs in more than 30 countries, ranging from immediate relief needs in refugee crises to long-term responses such as job training, education, family reunification, and demobilization of child soldiers. The Community Collaboratives program enables communities to give refugee women and youth the tools necessary for self-reliance. Rebecca oversaw 30 Americorps*VISTA volunteers at 10 sites around the country; trained volunteers in financial management, business standards and basic financial literacy in order to get the program up and running. Rebecca has experience in human rights and education in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Ben Thomases worked in the Real Estate Division of The Greyston Foundation, an organization based in Yonkers, NY that offers services in housing, employment, childcare and healthcare to formerly homeless families and people living with HIV/AIDS. Ben helped develop and implement a financing plan for Greyston's first Homeownership Project, which offers lower income families the opportunity to purchase quality homes. Among other things, he conducted a financial analysis of the project, projected sources and uses of capital for this and future projects.
Kimberly Tuby worked in the Financial Services Department of The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). WCS focuses on saving wildlife and wild lands around the world through science, international conservation efforts, education, and management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, including the Bronx Zoo, NY Aquarium, Central Park and Prospect Park zoos. WCS experienced deep cuts in funding and a loss of revenue from ticket sales following the events of September 11. Kim worked closely with both the President and the Director of Budget and Financial Planning to compile and analyze financial data and helped draft a paper focusing on long-range strategic goals for the WCS.
Selen Ucak was a Corporate Development intern with Endeavor Global, an organization that promotes entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Selen supported the 2002 summer endowment campaign and identified and reached out to global endowment donors. She also helped develop an entry strategy for Endeavor Turkey. Selen's long-term plans involve supporting economic development in her home country of Turkey through social enterprise.
2001
Debra Carbonaro, a dual MBA/MIA student, worked in Bolivia for Fundacion Boliviana Para el Desarollo de la Mujer (FUNBODEM), a micro-finance institution affiliated with Women's World Banking. FUNBODEM seeks to promote the economic development of Bolivia by providing financial resources, training and logistical support to Bolivian women and by opening local markets. Debra's primary responsibilities were to implement and evaluate an artisan microenterprise fair, perform needs assessment and evaluation of training programs, and research the development of new products and market niches for local entrepreneurs.
Michael Clayton and Dieter Fenkart-Froeschl both worked for the National Parks Conservation Association on its Business Plan Initiative (BPI). The BPI places business and public policy students at national parks throughout the US and its territories to help improve the National Park Service's financial management capabilities and to communicate to Congress and the public the real operating costs of national parks. Michael spent the summer at The National Monuments National Park in Washington, DC, and Dieter was stationed at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
Melinda Cohen pursue an interest in venture philanthropy through her work with New Profit, Inc. (NPI), a nonprofit venture capital firm that funds proven social entrepreneurs in an effort to effect large-scale social change. Melinda managed the due diligence process to identify new organizations for NPI's portfolio and provided business support for three existing portfolio organizations in New York. One underlying purpose of Melinda's work was to analyze the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of NPI's investments.
Mark Kleger worked for Los Angeles Community Design Center, a nonprofit architecture and real estate development firm committed to the preservation and production of affordable housing and community facilities across Southern California. Mark worked closely with the Director of Planning and Development to identify and assess the financial feasibility of new residential developments in underserved neighborhoods.
Vishak Nathan spent the summer in Bangalore, India working for the Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE), a technology intermediary whose mission is to deliver technology from the country's top Research and Development institutions to rural communities. TIDE's programs help enable poor communities to plan health care programs, plan for population growth, recover reusable energy, increase the efficiency of local industries and effect positive change in governance, civil society and the local economy. TIDE is embarking on new initiatives in e-commerce and e-governance. Through daily visits to local villages, Vishak helped identify and assess the information needs of rural communities and developed a package of services to support access to government resources, commodity trading and online banking. His internship resulted in a proposal and the implementation of a pilot program to deliver the new services.
Rachael Royal, a joint MBA/MSW student, worked for the Robin Hood Foundation on its Management Assistance Initiative. Founded in 1988, the Robin Hood Foundation has given nearly $100 million to innovative programs in early childhood, education, youth, job training, healthcare, hunger, housing and domestic violence. Rachael had full responsibility for two management assistance programs. Her tasks included developing a marketing plan for a homeless organization's new social purpose business, performing a customer analysis for a job training program and helping another grant recipient organization implement a strategic plan.
2000
Carlos Abreu, a dual degree MBA/MIA, interned with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). UNDP's mission is to enable countries to achieve sustainable human development by helping them build the capacity to design and implement programs in poverty eradication, job creation, empowerment of women and regeneration of the environment. Carlos worked with UNDP's Strategic Management Unit to assist with the reorganization of its largest Central American office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Christopher Behr worked with the Endeavor Initiative, a nonprofit organization that helps to overcome the barriers to entrepreneurship associated with emerging markets. Operating in Chile and Argentina, Endeavor pairs select MBA students from top business schools with local entrepreneurs managing growing businesses. Chris spent the summer working at Quinta Fresca, a food distribution company in Buenos Aires, where he helped the company define and implement its strategic, financial and operational objectives. Chris has extensive experience working with entrepreneurs in Latin America and Spain.
Jeanne Carmody worked for the Education Development Center, an international-focused nonprofit that conducts research and develops programs in such areas as early childhood development, K-12 education, health, workforce preparation and institutional reform. Jeanne was located in the New York office and assisted with the evaluation of EDC's Romania Teacher Training Program. She applied her statistical and analytical skills to prepare final reports and presentations for the World Bank, the project's main funder.
Camille Korschun joined the marketing department of WGBH-Boston, the largest producer of television and web content for PBS and a major supplier of programming for public radio stations across the country. She worked on the redevelopment of WGBH's website and helped develop marketing strategies focused on content, service management and implementation.
Staci Leuschner interned with the National Parks Conservation Association, which recruits MBA students from top business schools for summer positions with its Business Plan Initiative (BPI), a program designed to assess the financial state of individual national parks around the country. Staci was stationed at Wrangell St. Elias in Alaska and worked with another intern to produce a business plan outlining the financial and operational status of the park.
Eric McGee, a joint MBA/Ed.D. with a concentration in Educational Administration and Resource Management, worked with the New York City Partnership (NYCP). NYCP aims to promote the economic development of the city through a number of initiatives, including the Breakthrough for Learning Program. The program employs a combination of monetary incentives, professional development and strategic support to help improve the performance of troubled schools. Eric helped implement Breakthrough's private sector style strategy to recruit and retain teachers and helped scale its performance-based incentive program to the citywide level. Prior to enrolling in the Business School, Eric taught high school students and worked to develop academic standards and performance measures for alternative high school programs.
1999
Julian Cook worked at the Endeavor Initiative, a non-for profit organization that acts as a venture catalyst in emerging markets and provides entrepreneurs access to knowledge and capital. Julian worked with the CEO of Southern Winds, a start-up airline company in Argentina, to raise further equity and establish strategic partnerships with local organizations.
Elizabeth Riker interned with the Education Development Center (EDC), a U.S based nonprofit that conducts educational development work worldwide. Elizabeth worked on an educational reform project in Guinea West Africa, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. Elizabeth assisted EDC in evaluating and improving its Guinean educational materials to establish national achievement standards, and developed a distribution plan to reach the country’s primary schools given transport and infrastructure challenges. In addition, she set up two pilot programs at local schools to test and evaluate these materials, with performance measures that were adapted to local conditions.
Joe Rooney worked with the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA), an international nonprofit dedicated to promoting the use of the venture capital model for economic development. Joe developed a web strategy for CDVCA, and developed and presented a case study at CDVCA’s national conference, which examined a work-out situation in which an investment fund has placed capital in a struggling company, and the COO of the fund has to decide whether or not to invest further to save the company.
Isaac Halpern worked on a cause marketing campaign for The Advertising Council.