Summer Associates
2004 Social Enterprise Summer Fellowship Summaries
Click on organization name for summaries.
- Advanced Energy Corporation
- Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
- The Animal Medical Center, New York
- The Atlantic Philanthropies
- Boston Community Capital
- Botswana Masa National Antiretroviral HIV/AIDS Therapy Program
- Bridges Community Ventures
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Chicago Public Schools
- City Year
- The Community Food Resource Center; Youthline America
- Education Pioneers
- Endeavor
- Endswell Foundation
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- FATE Foundation, Nigeria
- The Fresh Air Fund
- The General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service
- Global Giving
- Inter-American Development Bank
- International Finance Corporation
- The John Templeton Foundation
- Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Juma Ventures
- Kandy Municipality, Sri Lanka
- Leadership Public Schools
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- Maasai Education Discovery
- Mercy Corps
- National Association of Investment Institutions
- National Parks Service
- New Leaders for New Schools
- New Sector Alliance
- New York City Department of Education
- New York City Economic Development Corporation
- Office of Management and Budget
- Population Services International
- Public Broadcasting Service
- Riga Business School
- Robin Hood Foundation
- The Rocky Mountain Institute
- Rubicon Bakery
- Social Ventures Australia
- Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
- StreetWise Partners, Inc.
- Taproot Foundation
- TechFoundation
- Technoserve
- Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund
- Times Square Alliance
- US Department of Labor
- US Naval Air Systems Command
- United Nations Development Program, Timor Leste
- United Way of Atlanta
- The World Bank
Lesley Said
How can a nonprofit help profit-minded builders to construct homes that
are healthier for both their inhabitants and the environment? This
summer I set out to answer that question, interning with Advanced Energy
– a $5 million non-profit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina,
committed to creating environmental and economic benefits through
innovative approaches to energy. I worked with Advanced Energy’s
Building Performance group—a team whose goal is to make buildings more
healthful, environmentally friendly, durable, and comfortable in an
economically sustainable manner. Over the course of the internship, I
crafted a new business plan enabling the team to have greater impact in
the marketplace.
LaMonica Carpenter
I spent the summer with the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, a non-profit
organization that supports the internationally renowned Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater, The Ailey School, Ailey II and Ailey
Arts-in-Education and Community Outreach Programs. I worked across three
functional areas including Finance, Marketing and Development. My
projects consisted of assessing the key internal controls of the entire
organization, working on the day-to-day marketing campaign
implementation for the New York performance season, and identifying and
soliciting new high net worth prospects to donate to the Foundation.
I was connected to Ailey through a HBS graduate, Henry McGee, President of the Board of Directors of Ailey. When I expressed my interest in working in the Arts, his excitement helped me realize that this was the right path for me. He pointed out that there is a need for talented MBA students to work in Arts Management. In addition, there is a real need for diversity in this field (especially at Ailey since it is primarily an African-American dance company). The Executive Director, Sharon Luckman, echoed Mr. McGee’s sentiments.
The Animal Medical Center, New York
Kalpana (Zeena) Rao
As an intern at the Animal Medical Center (AMC), the largest veterinary
Hospital facility in North America, I worked on operations and finance
projects which involved (i) analyzing the Hospital’s processes in
capturing data through its information systems and making
recommendations to improve these processes, and (ii) financial analyses
to determine the profitability of each unit within the Hospital, such as
ophthalmology, cardiology, pathology and dentistry.
Shalinee Sharma
I feel privileged to have had an opportunity to work for the Atlantic
Philanthropies for the summer of 2004. I had an extremely fulfilling
experience, and I learned more than I had hoped to about the challenges
and opportunities facing a grant-maker. Overall, the organization did an
excellent job integrating me and leveraging my MBA/consulting skill-set.
Even more so, I had the opportunity to work with wonderful people who
were genuinely interested in my learning experience and professional
growth. I genuinely had not expected an eight-week project to be so
fulfilling.
Adam Weers
Performed market research and created
action plan to help BCC obtain investment from pension funds. Performed
due diligence for high profile, multi-million dollar loan. Provided
accounting expertise to senior loan officers including informal training
workshop and review of underwriting processes. Worked directly with CEO
and COO in creation of investment vehicle for $70 million New Markets
Tax Credit award received by BCC including:
- Helped prepare materials to market investment vehicle to major corporate investors.
- Participated in investment pitch to multi-billion dollar financial services company.
Botswana Masa National Antiretroviral HIV/AIDS Therapy Program
Colleen McLaughlin
In creating the Masa National Antiretroviral HIV/AIDS Therapy Program, the
Government of Botswana has taken a courageous first step to provide free
antiretroviral therapy to all Botswana who need it. Masa, a Setswana word
meaning “new dawn”, was the name chosen for the program intended to restore hope
for Botswana to “live longer, healthier lives by providing people living with
HIV/AIDS with time to nurture their families and build a future for the nation”.
Botswana has one of the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. An estimated 19%
of its 1.7 million people, and 37.4% of Batswana from ages 15 to 49 years old,
are HIV positive. Of the approximately 300,000 HIV positive Batswana, 110,000
Batswana require immediate treatment with antiretroviral therapy. Currently, the
Masa program is introducing free Antiretroviral (ARV) therapy across the nation
to all Batswana who present with a CD4 count below 200 or an AIDS-defining
illness.
As Masa has expanded, it has become clear that the shortage of public healthcare providers is a roadblock to the program’s continued expansion. Specifically, the lack of doctors, pharmacists, and laboratory technicians in the public sector limits the government’s ability to provide ARV treatment to all patients in need. To address these current bottlenecks, the government sought to evaluate the possibility of utilizing potential excesses in private sector capacity to assist the public sector’s effort to roll out antiretroviral therapy nationwide. The Masa ARV team was tasked with examining exactly how private sector health care providers could assist the government in providing ARV therapy nationally to meet current and future demand and proposing a recommended model for a public-private partnership.
Laura Howard
I worked at Bridges Community Ventures, the UK’s first community development
venture capital fund, who are considering setting up a new social fund which
will invest in social enterprises. My project involved conducting over 40
interviews with the sector as part of an exploratory study. This both progressed
the thinking in this area for the sector and helped BCV decide to set up this
new fund.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Radiology
Scott Hunter
My summer internship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital department of radiology
placed me onto several projects. One of my primary assignments was to develop a
unified system for monitoring the performance of the Dana Farber Cancer
Institute’s radiology department along the dimensions of physician satisfaction,
efficiency, and financial performance. Over the summer, I also researched and
developed recommendations for potential avenues of expanding services and
achieving growth. These projects have me keen insight into the important issues
relevant to providing a high volume of technology-intensive health care
services.
Aarti Dhupelia
At Chicago Public Schools (CPS), I worked within the Office of
Technology Services. My efforts were part of a large-scale effort to
improve information management processes across the organization, so
that information would begin to be viewed as a critical asset and be
used to make more data-driven decisions. My objectives were two-fold:
1) To define the current landscape of data management across CPS by developing a comprehensive understanding of major current sources, uses, and owners data by CPS department, and to subsequently develop recommendations for optimal data ownership structure and accountabilities.
2) To identify and take action on key data management issues and opportunities (e.g., provide better training in data analysis, create a task force to troubleshoot ongoing IT issues, etc.).
As a result of these efforts, CPS will:
- Provide easier access to information to all departments (via clear data sources and owners)
- Improve quality of available data (via reduction in inconsistencies, more efficient and universally recognized process of regularly updating data, etc.)
- Leverage this higher-quality information in more effectively evaluating the success of CPS programs and making data-driven decisions (e.g., reduction in hardware costs, increase funding by more accurately reporting the # of students, etc.)
Garth Napier
I was looking forward to working at City Year because I shared in their
mission of promoting democracy through social initiative. City Year’s
involvement in South Africa through the Clinton Democracy Fellowship and
its commitment to establish an office in South Africa (its first
international office), offered me an opportunity to play a role in
advancing City Years international ambition while making a contribution
to future success of City Year South Africa.
City Year was founded in 1988 by Michael Brown and Alan Khazei, then-roommates at Harvard Law School, who felt strongly that young people in service could be a powerful resource for addressing our nation's most pressing issues. City Year seeks to demonstrate, improve and promote the concept of national service as a means for building a stronger democracy. City Year has expanded to 15 sites nationally with 750 youth service corp. members.
City Year works toward the full realization of this vision through three core activities:
- Youth service corps: City Year unites a diverse group of 17 to 24 year-old young people for a year of full-time, rigorous community service, leadership development, and civic engagement.
- Engaging citizens in service through large-scale, high-impact community
events
o The City Year Serve-a-thon unites thousands of people each year in completing critical service projects to revitalize their communities.
o On MLK Day, City Year sites across the nation lead moving and powerful celebrations of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., fostering a sprit of civic engagement and bringing together community members from all walks of life. - Leading discussion and development of national service policies and initiatives
- At cyzygy, City Year's Annual Convention of Idealism, a discussion of the future of the national service movement that brings together corporate and civic leaders, social entrepreneurs, policy experts, foundation program officers, and other champions.
My summer internship offered me the opportunity to develop in three key areas:
- Leadership development—I would gain valuable experience in non-profit sector, learn non-profit best practices from a well run American non-profit which can be transferred to South Africa.
- Networking opportunities - Opportunity to work and learn from senior management at City Year and to develop a network within the non-profit sector which will be invaluable in the future.
- Operational Experience—opportunity to apply the frameworks and knowledge gained in my first year as a MBA is a real world environment with the opportunity to gain experience in the implementation of strategic initiatives.
The Community Food Resource Center; Youthline America
Janelle Lin
1. Strategic Planning and
Performance Measurement (Community Food Resource Center): The Community
Food Resource Center was engaged in a Strategic Planning process with
McKinsey & Co and Robin Hood Foundation. My primary task was to present
the conclusions, develop an action plan, and to develop a sustainable
framework of performance metrics for the entire organization.
2. Business Plan (Youthline America): My project was to write a business plan to start up Youthline America, a national 24-hour hotline for youth to call for information, counseling, and crisis intervention. Though youthlines are already in existence, this national center would be the hub for all calls and track data and best practices from around the country.
3. Afterschool Article (www.afterschool.org): In partnership with the National Afterschool Alliance Board, I interviewed 8 of the leading practitioners, policymakers, and funders in afterschool education on the challenges facing the sector in 2004. This article will hopefully be published in Afterschool Matters, a national academic journal.
Greg Thompson
This past summer, I joined a fellowship program called Education
Pioneers. The program’s mission is to train future education leaders by
providing them with the experience, knowledge, network, and skills to
create a “tipping point” in our nation’s failing school system. Fellows
are matched with an Education Pioneers’ partner organization where they
will work four days a week (Monday-Thursday). On Friday, Fellows come
together to develop their leadership skills and expand their knowledge
of the K-12 education reform landscape.
The partner organization I worked for is called Envision Schools. Envision Schools develops and sustains small, innovative, high-performing public high schools serving diverse students in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the organization is to transform the public high school education system through charters schools. A charter school is a new type of public school that does not require parents to pay tuition, is freed from most of the restrictive laws that govern traditional public schools, and is held more accountable for student success. For additional details on Envision Schools, please visit their web-site at www.envisionschools.org.
Marisa White
This summer I participated in the Education Pioneers Fellows Program. As
part of the Fellows Program, I worked in depth with an amazing
organization, Aspire Public Schools. Aspire is a non-profit charter
management organization that operates small K-12 schools in California.
Aspire plans to grow from 11 to 52 schools in the next ten years, and my
projects focused on helping them maintain quality and consistency
throughout the schools during this period of rapid growth. One key way
to do this is by strategically developing a strong culture so that
decisions made throughout the organization, at any time and by any
individual, align with organizational values and goals. My projects
included:
- Partnering with the COO and CEO to create a leadership retreat for 80 people around culture development, resulting in action plans that are currently being implemented.
- Developing organization-wide recommendations for action, based on research I conducted with over 50 employees including principals, educators, office managers, and key home office staff.
- Upgrading knowledge management tools to improve accessibility, usability, and transition to electronic tools.
I also spent one day each week working with a variety of innovative education reform leaders and organizations to gain a better understanding of the K-12 education landscape and how to effect change within it.
Angel Bernal
When I first joined Endeavor eMBA´s program I was sure it would be an
excellent opportunity not only to get hands on experience on the
entrepreneurial setting of emerging markets, but also a chance to
contribute positively with entrepreneurs in Latin America and more
specifically in Mexico, my home country. Working for Endeavor, helping
Grupo Empresarial Espinosa (GEE) has been one of the most gratifying and
enriching experiences of my life. During my ten weeks as a summer
associate I was able to help GEE in many different areas: defining and
refining their short, medium and long term strategic plans;
restructuring the organization and recruiting the management team for
their commercial, financial and operations departments; defining and
implementing their sales, planning and production processes; defining,
developing and implementing tools to manage purchases, sales and
inventories; and defining the structure, roles and profiles to form a
board of directors for the company. The main objective I had in mind
during my project was to prepare GEE for their future growth and provide
the company with a solid management team that can help GEE accomplish
its aggressive growth plans both national and internationally.
Wilson Lourenço da Rosa
José Augusto Pereira da Silva (Guto) is one of Endeavor´s entrepreneurs
in Brazil. His company, Pipeway Engenharia Ltda, builds and operates oil
pigs, a tool used to inspect gas and oil pipelines. They currently
employ thirty people and have a revenue of US$1.5 million / year. My
project at Endeavor was to help Guto in three main areas: management of
Pipeway results, creation of a budget process and strategic planning.
The project took ten weeks and delivered to Pipeway 4 main end-products:
- Detailed financial statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement)
- Budget for August—September 2004 and for 2005 and structured budget process for the following years
- ABC cost for the main company services
- Evaluation of the strategic options for the company growth
Additionally, a side end-product of the project, but equally important, was the development of Pipeway’s main managers. I dedicated most of my time to motivate them to implement my recommendations and, as a result, I believe that from now on they will be able to keep using the new management tools developed throughout these ten weeks.
Endswell Foundation, Vancouver, Canada
Christy Gibb
The endswell foundation and renewal partners company are sibling
organizations—one a philanthropic foundation and the other a seed fund
for triple-bottom line businesses. The dual nature of endswell/renewal
partners makes it a perfect advisor to a $120 M conservation financing
effort currently underway in British Columbia. The result of years of
tireless work by environmental organizations, First Nations, government,
private foundations, industry and activists, the current proposal will
grant $120 M to First Nations communities for sustainable economic
development activity, while providing for the protection of 21 M acres
of endangered temperate rainforest.
During my brief tenure, I helped shape the organizational and financial structure of the organization that will manage these goals going forward, assisted with negotiations, created financial models and governance documents, and coached entrepreneurs. The work of renewal partners and endswell is an incredible testament to what can be achieved when you employ conscience and extraordinary creativity in putting capital to work.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Akos Kassai
I have had very mixed experience on my internship at Property and
Tourism Group of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In general I concluded the organization was not prepared to provide
suitable work during this internship. Both in the amount and in the
quality of the job my skills and my working capacity were significantly
underutilized. During my internship I rarely was given any work and when
I got a task it was just a small bit. It seldom took longer then a few
hours to complete. I was not assigned to any project, thus I could not
have learnt about either the lending or the portfolio management process
of the bank. It was very difficult to apply any skills developed at HBS
since the nature of the tasks very more like basic number crunching or
research related. I left EBRD with the conclusion I would not want to
work for them after the graduation.
Maryanne Lombardo
I am grateful that the Social Enterprise Fellowship afforded me the
opportunity to intern at the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development this summer. I supported numerous projects in the Property
and Tourism group that gave me a meaningful window into the investment
process and the nature of financing real estate projects in eastern
Europe and the ex-soviet countries. In one project, I built a financial
model to estimate returns for the largest divestment so far of a real
estate equity fund that invests in central and eastern Europe. In
another, I worked with Ukrainian clients to build a preliminary
financial model to build the first shopping mall in regional Ukraine. I
found these projects to be highly engaging and my co-workers at the Bank
very intelligent and diverse. I am surprised that despite these strong
positives, the culture of the Bank lacks a certain hunger for
achievement. It seems that many hybrid public/private organizations
struggle with this same tension.
FATE Foundation, Nigeria
Alok Deshpande
My summer internship with the FATE Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria was an
extremely rewarding personal and professional experience. My assignment
covered a range of economic development initiatives including the
private sale of a hotel property, development of a growth strategy for
an emerging company and teaching business fundamentals to aspiring
entrepreneurs. For eight weeks, I was completely immersed in the
Nigerian economy and became well versed in their capital markets,
regulatory issues and national growth objectives. At the same time,
adjusting and thriving in Lagos was a challenge in and of itself.
Nigeria is a relatively new democracy and struggles with corruption and
poverty. The country has yet to build a middle class amidst 40%
unemployment. Citizens labor tirelessly for their daily bread and my
repeated interactions reinforced my good fortune. My summer internship
was an amazing learning experience on multiple fronts. Moreover, I am
confident that I can build upon the three most important skills I
acquired while in Nigeria: Patience, Persistence and Humility.
Lauren Kramer-Dover
Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund — an independent not-for-profit agency —
has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million children
from New York City’s toughest neighborhoods. The Fresh Air Fund’s Career
Awareness Program enables over 300 children, over the course of two
sessions, to explore educational paths and career options during summer
camping sessions and intensive term-time activities. I spent a
significant portion of my time this summer addressing the strategic
human asset issues that the program faces. Key initiatives were related
to (1) clarifying job responsibilities and organizational structure, (2)
upgrading the performance management system and (3) developing a more
robust training program. I worked closely with the program director and
other relevant program staff in order to assure that my final report
recommendations were meaningful to the organization.
The General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service
Joseph Somers
The General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service (PBS)
strives to be the best real estate organization in the world. The agency
manages over 360 million square feet of federally owned and leased space
and provides a superior work environment for a million federal
employees. The PBS participates in all aspects of the real estate
industry, including development, acquisition and disposition, finance,
lease negotiation, property management, and real estate consulting.
During my 10 week internship with the PBS, I worked for the Southeast Region’s Director of Development as a Business and Industry Specialist. My primary areas of focus were 1) performing initial valuations of properties and businesses to support the formal site selection process for a Courthouse in Greenville, SC 2) participating in negotiations and preparing documents to help finalize agreements between the federal government and the City of Charlotte, NC and 3) preparing written offers to be used in land acquisition negotiations for several construction projects throughout the region.
Oliver Thomas
My primary role for the summer was to analyze how the company could best
achieve its transition from a foundation dependent non-profit into a
self-sustaining, revenue generating social enterprise. Which cutsomers
could the company serve to drive the greatest volume of funds to social
projects overseas? Individual Donors? Employee giving schemes? Corporate
Strategic Philanthropy? High Net Worth individuals? How much will these
markets cost to serve? The management offsite was 8 weeks into my
internship, and it was my job to provide the analysis to inform the
strategic discussions at this event. My work was received very well, and
was said to have a tangible impact on the future direction of the
company.
Inter-American Development Bank
Adithya Raghunathan
I worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a
multilateral development bank like the World Bank, which focuses its
development loans and grants exclusively on Latin America and the
Caribbean. Working in the Information Technology for Development for
Division, I had four major projects: (1) setting the agenda and workplan
for regional meetings leading to a consensus on technology and
e-government, (2) critiquing efforts to change the mindset of the Bank
in regards to private sector involvement, (3) creating proposals for
conference meetings of technology policy makers, and (4) researching and
writing a strategy position paper for the Bank on wireless technologies
for development. While doing these projects, I utilized significant
knowledge of finance in making cost projections, strategy consulting
skills, in estimating new proposals fit with existing strategy, and most
of all leadership—change management within a skeptical organization.
My experience taught me a lot about international development,
Washington aid organizations, international cooperation, and internal
politics at a large aid institution.
Tatiana Soufen
Having worked for five years in investment banking, I wondered if
there was something exciting in the financial area that I could pursue
during my summer job. I had lived in an emerging Latin American country
for all my life, and I was certain that the most interesting challenges
come from those regions of the world where everything, from markets to
basic infrastructure, are so underdeveloped compared to the US that you
have to be creative to adapt and come up with unique solutions for the
many problems that you encounter. With that in mind, and also my passion
for finance, I decided to take a summer internship at the Inter-American
Development Bank in Washington DC. It represented a great opportunity to
be based in the US, getting to know a new culture and having access to
all the resources that one can only find in this country, while at the
same time, being able to know many international people and impact
emerging countries in my home region.
International Finance Corporation
Mei Chee
After four years on Wall Street, I came to HBS to consider a switch
to social enterprise and dedicated my summer to explore a career within
international development and finance. I received a social enterprise
summer fellowship to intern at the International Finance Corporation,
the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group. Around that
time, I also accepted an invitation to lead a microenterprise project
affiliated with the United Nations International Year of Microcredit.
This was clearly a step in the right direction for both my personal and
career aspirations. Both these projects proved to be ideal opportunities
to integrate my prior experience in institutional asset management with
my international perspective, passion for sustainable development and
desire to eventually relocate to Southeast Asia. In particular, the
summer gave me much food for thought, and reaffirmed my desire to pursue
a career that would enable me to work directly on international projects
with a high development component after HBS.
Rita Singh
Joining the John Templeton Foundation’s Venture Philanthropy Division, I worked on a number of individual and group projects. Working
in tandem with the Director of Venture Philanthropy Strategy and New
Programs Development, my primary project was to develop a
risk-assessment methodology for the Foundation’s grant-making process.
My second project involved developing a strategy for philanthropic
collaboration with high net worth (defined as >$500MM) individuals in
India. Apart from these individual projects, I was also involved in
group projects on designing the Foundation’s online university program;
the identification of innovative university programs for the purpose of
sponsorship; and identifying new strategies for increasing the
Foundation’s collaborative arrangements in grant-making.
Andrew Young
As a summer intern in Strategic Planning and Market Research for Johns
Hopkins Medicine, I was the senior project manager responsible for the
redesign of the department’s project management process. I analyzed
competitive strategies and provided suggestions to improve the
consistency of those analyses and recommendations. To build a better
understanding of business in healthcare, I also had the opportunity to
interview departments around the institution such as business
development and clinical administration.
Jenny Berrien
Over the past year, Juma has completed a strategic planning process. One
conclusion of this planning process is Juma’s need to improve their
financial and social performance. Both of my summer projects were
related to further refining Juma’s enterprise strategy towards better
securing Juma’s financial self-sufficiency in the future. One potential
tactic proposed for achieving these objectives is to pursue a portfolio
strategy. Under this strategy, Juma would operate a portfolio of
businesses, which overall would be financially viable and achieve
significant social impacts. For example, one or two businesses might
employ the majority of Juma’s youth participants, whereas another
business might be less employment-heavy, but more profitable.
Nayana Mawilmada
My summer internship was at the Kandy Municipal Council in Sri Lanka. I
was excited about the prospect of returning to my home country to make a
contribution, after 14 years of being abroad. I worked with the
municipality’s public health unit to launch a pilot dengue fever
prevention campaign in one of the localities. I was positioned as an
intermediary between the municipality and the local community, and was
given the responsibility to develop and execute the pilot effort in
collaboration with the local leadership. It was an excellent opportunity
for me to understand the complexities of local governance in the
developing world through the eyes of the government. It was also a great
opportunity to test my leadership skills. I never expected that
convincing people in a community to work together to save their own
lives would be so challenging. The experience gave me a great deal of
clarity on my professional development needs, and how best to move my
social enterprise career forward.
Allison Sands
This summer I worked with Leadership Public Schools (LPS), a network of
charter high schools in California. The organization currently operates
two schools and plans to open a total of 25 sites over the next 10
years. My projects this summer were all focused on helping the
organization to focus its strategy for growth. I examined the
organization’s financial sustainability, analyzed school districts to
make recommendations on where they should open future schools, and
helped to solidify their knowledge management system. LPS is a wonderful
organization positioning itself to make systemic change within public
education and it was an exciting experience to help them think through
these strategic issues.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Jennifer Houston
This summer I worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. in
New York City. Lincoln Center is the world’s premier center for the
performing arts, with twelve resident performing arts groups, including
The Metropolitan Opera, the School of American Ballet, Juilliard, and
the Chamber Music Society, to name only a few. Lincoln Center, Inc.
functions as management for the campus and also presents highly
acclaimed artistic series, such as the Lincoln Center Festival and the
Mostly Mozart Orchestra. My summer internship in the Executive Offices
allowed me a wide range of opportunities and insights into performing
arts management.
Masina Leilani Malepeai
Working together with the Vice-Presidents of Marketing and Development
and the President of Lincoln Center, my work focused on three separate,
though related, projects. A brief summary of the three projects is
included below:
- Corporate Sponsorships. Development of a sponsorship solicitation strategy and priority prospects for the expansion of Lincoln Center’s sponsorship activities. Plan for standardization and valuation of standard sponsorship packages.
- Marketing Research. Review of past research and determination of Marketing and Development research needs. Design of research plan and questionnaire for customer research fielded during the summer. Short-term plan for creating behavioral / demographic customer segmentation using research data. Three-year rolling plan for rationalized audience measurement.
- Board of Directors / Governance. Strategy and plan for expansion of the Board of Directors in both number and level of diversity. Review of key governance (by-law) provisions affecting expansion and quality of the Board and recommendations for changes to by-law provisions.
Jan Postma
I was one of three Summer Fellows working on a broad array of
consulting-type projects within Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
Inc., one of the largest cultural institutions in the world.
Specifically, my work within this New York City organization consisted
of developing a financing plan for an upcoming expansion project,
collaborating with human resources in revamping the organization’s
performance appraisal system, evaluating technology across relevant
functional areas, creating a financial model for the in-house ticketing
center, and assessing retail opportunities upon completion of the
aforementioned expansion project. The work drew on my prior experience
in the cultural sector, but was significantly enhanced by knowledge
gained during the first year of HBS. Overall, the experience exceeded
expectations and furthered my post-MBA interest in the cultural sector.
Richard Buhrman
This summer I worked in Narok, a small village in the Rift Valley of
Kenya, with an education-based NGO, Maasai Education Discovery, that
aims to liberate young Maasai women from cultural injustices, such as
early marriages, female genital mutilation (FGM) and general abuse, and
provide these women with an education, which traditionally they are not
entitled to. My job responsibilities were twofold—conducting a
strategic assessment of the organization for the CEO and teaching two
business classes to students in the newly established post secondary
program. I acquired the job purely through independent networking, but
attended and utilized several of the Social Enterprise workshops and
presentations. My primary goal for the summer was to work in Africa,
gaining exposure through the non profit sector to some of the plights
that the continent currently faces to see if I have some role to play in
their resolution. Notwithstanding a number of trials and challenges
impossible to predict or prepare for, this goal was largely met and I
really could not have imagined a more fruitful summer experience for
myself.
Suzanne Gauron
My project was an assessment of Mercy Corps Kosovo’s five year program
under the aegis of the US State Department Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration. This community stabilization program targets
recent returnees of Albanian, Serb, Bosniac, Roma, Egyptian, and
Ashkalia ethnicities who fled their villages since the conflict began in
1999—many of whom left during violent outbreaks in March 2004. Mercy
Corps provides one-time in-kind grants of agricultural inputs, either
supplies or livestock, for grantees to start small businesses. The goal
is to support vulnerable individuals, to enable them to become
self-sustaining, and improve the climate for business in the region. I
designed a study methodology and conducted extensive field interviews
with 60 grant recipients in order to understand the economic conditions,
the types of grants which succeeded, and the profiles of grantees whose
businesses were successful. I also interviewed representatives of 20
governmental, non-governmental, and microlending agencies active in
Kosovo, including the UN, EU, and US State Department, to gather
information about the challenges and barriers that the region faces in
the future. I then wrote a field report which proposed a revamped model
focusing on fewer, larger grants with a co-investment requirement from
grant recipients and rationalizing targeted agricultural value chains.
Drawing on learnings from our RC course The Entrepreneurial Manager, I
also designed tools to select for high performing grant recipients.
Robert Martin
I spent this summer working for Mercy Corps, an international NGO. My
internship was in Mongolia working for the country director, and I was
charged with reviewing their loan disbursement process and developing
training materials for their business officers.
National Association of Investment Institutions
Cindy Ko
My project involved providing technical assistance and recommendations
to the small- and medium-sized institutional members of the National
Association of Investment Institutions (NAII), a non-profit,
self-regulating organization established to represent interests of
companies involved in the Uzbek securities market (similar in concept to
the NASD in the U.S.). As a technical advisor to NAII, my primary
responsibility involved assisting Carthill Capital, one of the founding
members of NAII, set up a research effort that would conduct analysis on
key Uzbek industries—something that has never been done before by an
Uzbek company.
John Knoch
This summer provided the opportunity to combine my HBS skills, my
consulting experience and my love for the outdoors. I worked for the
National Park Service to develop a business plan for Cuyahoga Valley
National Park. Located in northeast Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
was established to protect and preserve the natural and cultural
resources of the Cuyahoga River and its surrounding valley. After
spending one week in Rocky Mountain National Park for training with the
consultants from the other 11 parks, my co-consultant and I spent 10
weeks developing a business plan for the park. The business plan is a
40-page document that includes a park overview and inventory, historical
financial analysis, operational summary of the five main functional
areas in the NPS, investment priorities, and strategies for reducing
costs and increasing non-appropriated revenue.
Benjamin Kleban
New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) is a national non-profit organization
that recruits, trains and places principals in urban district and
charter public schools. New school leader cohorts are selected each year
and are trained in an intensive six-week summer institute before
entering a residency year, where they receive hands-on training and
mentorship from an experienced urban principal. There are increasing
opportunities for new school leaders to spearhead the design and
creation of new autonomous district and charter schools. My main project
this summer was to help develop a week-long school start-up workshop for
the 20 (out of 56) residents who are expected to open a new school in
the fall of 2005. The school start-up training took place in August and
covered the planning of key instructional and operational elements of
the school design process. I also did extensive work with Todd Kern,
NLNS Chief Information Officer, on reporting programmatic performance to
the Board of Directors and evaluating database and technology
infrastructure solutions to enable NLNS to achieve its aggressive goals
for organizational and geographic expansion.
Tynesia Boyea-Robinson
As a summer associate with New Sector Alliance, I completed several
projects for Year Up, a one year intensive IT training program for urban
young adults. My main goal was to position Year Up for success during
regional site expansion. Therefore, I revised a model to determine the
most suitable areas based on a number of criteria. As a result, Year Up
is tentatively planning to expand to New York City and Washington, DC
within the next two years. In addition, I implemented a balanced
scorecard to monitor site performance and updated the web development
curriculum to increase the marketability of program graduates.
Alison Avera
New Sector Alliance is a dual mission consulting firm that targets
meeting the needs of today's nonprofits while cultivating nonprofit
leaders for tomorrow. I enjoyed an invigorating summer internship
experience as a consultant the New Sector Alliance team. I developed an
electronic media marketing campaign for Citizen Schools, the client
agency. Citizen Schools is a Boston- based nonprofit which provides out
of school time programming for middle school students. The organization
has been expanding its model nationally, and building a national brand
and marketing campaign are among the strategic steps of their expansion
strategy. This project provided a real-time opportunity to explore the
inner workings of a nonprofit organization while "trying on" my
first-year HBS learnings experiences. New Sector Alliance, Citizen
Schools, and Accenture mentors were all very interested in my learning
and in the project results. Citizen Schools is already implementing
parts of the final project recommendations. Thus, the Fellowship led to
a win-win-win situation in my summer experience.
New York City Department of Education
Martina Widmann
The New York City Department of Education (DOE) provides primary and
secondary education to over one million students and is undergoing one
of the largest transformations of any public agency in decades. In 2003
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein announced the launch
of Children First, a multi-year effort to improve New York City’s public
schools to create a system of 1,200 great schools. I worked with the
Office of Student Enrollment Planning and Operations which connects the
issues of student placement, zoning, and enrollment to the reforms being
implemented. My primary assignment was to evaluate the success of the
2003-2004 High School Admission process reforms implemented to ensure
transparency and equity in access to NYC schools. The summer provided me
with a phenomenal learning experience as I gained a much better
understanding of the education industry, where a MBA is applicable, and
which segments I will consider for future career alternatives. I am very
grateful that the Social Enterprise Fellowship supported my pursuit.
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Andrew Immerman
The New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) mission is to
encourage economic growth in each of the five boroughs of New York City
(NYC) by strengthening the city's competitive position and facilitating
investments that build capacity, generate prosperity and catalyze the
economic vibrancy of city life as a whole. The EDC works with the
private and public sectors on economic development initiatives to
revitalize businesses, create jobs, and generate revenues for the City.
Specifically, the EDC works closely with the Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development and Rebuilding to attract and retain businesses in NYC.
My summer entailed working for two groups at the EDC. These are: 1) Industrial Development Agency, a group that uses various tools such as low-cost tax exempt financing programs, low-cost energy subsidies, and sales and real estate tax abatements to encourage businesses to remain in NYC, and 2) Client Coverage, a group focused on long-term strategic priorities for NYC (i.e. analyzes different industries and decides which NYC should invest resources to attract).
Office of Management and Budget, Washington DC
Warren Durbin
During my summer internship at the Office of Management and Budget
in Washington DC, I worked in the Energy Branch on several different
projects. For the first two projects, I evaluated the Department of
Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program (i.e. Hydrogen Car R&D program)
and the State Energy Program (energy conservation projects chosen at the
state level). These analytical reviews covered several aspects of the
programs’ operations, including strategic planning, program management,
and program results, and the goal was to facilitate the use of
performance budgeting. Additionally, I re-designed a system of metrics
to better structure OMB’s evaluations of all federal departments’ R&D
investment decisions. Lastly, I worked with the OMB Energy Branch Chief
and Department of Energy to implement a pilot system to prospectively
quantify the economic, environmental, and national security benefits of
applied R&D projects at the Department of Energy.
Population Services International
Adrian Blair
Internship Site: Kathmandu, Nepal
My brief was to produce a report recommending health sector reform
strategies for Nepal. I interviewed eighteen officials representing
international donors, multinationals (Unilever, Coke and Pepsi), NGOs,
and the government (including the Director General of the Department of
Health). Each year, Nepal spends $10 per capita on health (the US spends
around $5,000). My research revealed that just $3 of this comes from the
government and international donors. The remaining $7 is out-of-pocket
private expenditure. As well as dominating healthcare financing, the
private sector also plays a major role in provision. But despite the
limited resources available, government and private sector services are
often duplicative, leaving large chunks of the population with no access
to western medicine. I therefore recommended detailed ways in which
government and private sectors could improve coordination, including
incentives for the private sector to serve remote rural areas,
contracting out of services from government to the private sector, and
use of rural distribution networks of non-health related for-profit
businesses such as Coke and Pepsi.
Florence Boupda
Internship Site: Washington, DC
I spent almost seven weeks at PSI, in the Maternal and Child Health (MCH)
department and my role was mainly to provide support to two of the
several programs of this department. My two projects were the following:
(1) Putting together a manual for launching PSI’s safe water system
product (“Waterguard” or “Sûreau”) in any new country or region, and (2)
comparing the results of PSI’s ORS (Oral Rehydration Salt) programs in
countries where it had been launched since 1995 and analyzing the
reasons why some countries had been more successful than others.
Aurore Leclercq
Internship Site: Kathmandu, Nepal
Social marketing organizations aim to improve the health of low-income
and vulnerable people through the social marketing of health products
and services, for as long as necessary. Organizational sustainability is
therefore critical if health projects are to achieve meaningful
long-term impact.
PSI/Nepal aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its partner organizations so that they are equipped with the tools, systems and expertise to conduct their work more efficiently in order to achieve greater health impact in the field of social marketing. PSI/Nepal therefore asked the Social Enterprise Summer Fellow to develop a tool, the “Capacity Building Tool” for Sustainability (CBT), aimed at organizations working in related fields. This tool can be adopted by other NGOs focusing on social marketing.
Work on a first version was completed in partnership with two organizations focusing on social marketing to various extents.
Patrik Silén
Internship Site: Mexico & Nicaragua
Population Services International (PSI) aims to improve the health and
well-being of low-income people through social marketing programs that
encourage healthy behavior and increase access to needed health products
and services. Four projects in the fields of HIV prevention and
reproductive health were carried out during a nine-week internship in
June through August 2004 with the support of the HBS Social Enterprise
Summer Fellowship - planning the launch of a condom brand in Mexico; the
re-launch of a condom brand in Nicaragua; and the launch of oral,
injectable, and emergency hormonal contraceptive products in Nicaragua.
In addition to maximizing the health impact of PSI’s programs through a
carefully researched and thought-out marketing plan, the projects also
revealed product gaps and health issues to be addressed using
entrepreneurial social marketing. The fellowship fund were shared with
another HBS student, Sally Hotchkin, who volunteered for three weeks to
assist with a related project at PSI in Mexico.
Paul Oppenheim
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit media
enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television
stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of
noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the
lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services.
As an intern in the Digital Ventures Group, I created strategic overview
that brought PBS’s on-demand broadcasting initiatives into alignment
with station activity and developed a business plan that clearly
articulates the rationale for on-demand programming. The project
required actionable recommendations for the advancement of Video on
Demand, Personal Video Recorders (TiVo) and Internet video streaming on
PBS.org. The project concluded with a document and presentation to
senior management that clearly articulated the on-demand position for
PBS, explained the business rationale for potential PBS on-demand
initiatives, and presented near-term steps and resource commitments.
Krists Culkstens
The initial goal of this internship was to develop and coordinate the
early implementation of two projects (Career Development Program and
International Student Support Program). While these projects remained
the central piece of the job, multiple additional duties with elements
of marketing, strategic planning, and human resource management expanded
the scope of the internship significantly. Both projects assumed no
direct subordinates, yet involved leading large cross functional expert
teams. While the CDP project achieved results well beyond the
expectations, ISSP was seriously hampered by insufficient resource
allocation and reached only its primary goals.
Nihar Shah
As a management assistance intern at the Robin Hood
Foundation, I spent the summer providing consulting service to poverty
fighting nonprofits in New York City. It was an extremely positive
experience from both a personal and professional perspective. I
developed a collaboration model and supporting governance structure for
three small middle schools and managed Robin Hood’s 2004 Compensation
and Benefits Survey. The work was challenging and interesting. The
people were intelligent, talented, driven and down to earth. The hours
were good. Of course there were challenges. Measuring performance and
convincing organizations to change remains difficult. The nonprofits I
saw are still under-investing in employee
training and career development. Additionally, the road to becoming a
leader in the sector remains unclear.
As I move forward, what I do know is that working in the sector is a viable option for me. There are organizations and jobs in the sector that are intellectually demanding where I will continuously learn, build my leadership skills, make a significant impact in the lives of others, enjoy my job, have a balance between my personal and professional life and earn a sufficient income.
Brett A. Farmery
Did you know that most of the oil now used in the United States is being wasted, and can be saved more cheaply than buying it? I was not
aware of this fact until I started working with CEO Amory Lovins of the
Rocky Mountain Institute on his latest book entitled “Wining the Oil
Endgame”. As an intern for Mr. Lovins, I assisted in the research,
evaluation, and composition of the business plans for the light vehicle,
aircraft, and heavy trucking industries. For each instance there is
compelling evidence that companies’ bottom lines would benefit by
improving the efficiency of their products or fleets and substituting
petroleum based fuels with biofuels or hydrogen. I feel fortunate to
have had the opportunity to work with a visionary and an organization
focused on the world’s future resource issues.
Susan Keuffel
This summer I worked at Rubicon Bakery, a gourmet bakery in San Francisco that sells its products to retailers in the Bay Area and
elsewhere on the West Coast. In addition to making delicious products
for its customers, the bakery trains and employs people who face serious
economic and social obstacles to entering the workforce and it
contributes its net revenue to its parent non-profit organization that
provides housing, training, employment and support services to the same
demographic.
My project was to improve Rubicon Bakery’s marketing with the goal of impacting the bakery’s sales and profitability. Rubicon had been the recipient of many well-researched marketing recommendations but did not have the resources to execute the ideas. I focused on implementing a suite of marketing programs that benefited the organization while also establishing processes and relationships that Rubicon could continue to use after my internship concluded.
Susan C. Herzog
Social Ventures Australia (SVA) is a non profit organization headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It partners with outstanding social
enterprises and is Australia's first venture philanthropy fund.
Throughout my internship, I engaged with various social enterprises that
SVA had funded in order to provide management with strategic advice to
address growth challenges. Additionally, I performed diligence on
organizations that applied for SVA support to evaluate candidates and
identify opportunities for SVA involvement. I also contributed to the
operations and strategy of a newly launched fund focused on youth
employment. Lastly, I conducted an individual project focused on the
area of mentoring young people, which entailed extensive research and
interviews. At the conclusion of my internship, I presented best
practices and case studies to the entire organization. Additionally, I
led a discussion on the strategic implications for SVA and a potential
business line extension.
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
Tiffani Lott
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) is a nonprofit organization
that was founded in 1963 as one of New York City's first mentoring
programs for minority high school students. Over the past four decades,
SEO has expanded programs to benefit a wider age range of students,
helping them develop throughout high school, college and their careers.
SEO’s Career Program provides college undergraduates of color
orientation, training, coaching and substantive internships in some of
the most exciting and competitive fields worldwide.
As a Career Program Summer Coordinator my responsibilities were centered on three major projects. First, I worked closely with SEO staff to determine the most efficient use of resources for their recruiting and interviewing processes. In order to obtain the best candidates SEO needs to spread its resources across regional areas and in the most time effective manner. Based on historical application data, regional preferences and alumni locations I created a coverage model that was used to most efficiently schedule recruiting for the year. In addition, I spearheaded a successful intern class fundraising event by mobilizing SEO summer interns, staff, alumni, city vendors and board members to donate time and money to local charities. This summer we set a new record and were able to surpass SEO’s lofty fundraising goals.
Finally, I served as a coordinator for the investment banking Class of 2004. This entailed overseeing thirty five interns spread across two investment banks, and managing SEO’s relationships with its banking partners. I acted as a professional and technical resource for interns throughout summer, closely monitoring their work performance and coordinating support resources to assure students’ success. My responsibilities included the implementation of program training activities, assisting in the planning of special projects, and the design and preparation of intern summer evaluations. In this role I provided mentorship and guidance to an eager group of future business leaders.
StreetWise Partners, Inc.
Jennifer Cole
StreetWise Partners provides employment and job-readiness skill training
through an innovative model of mentoring adults with employment barriers
through partnerships with corporate professionals and corporations. As a
young growing, organization StreetWise Partners is at a point of
inflection and facing a number of critical issues at this important
juncture including how, when, & where are the ways the organization
should grow; how do they effectively market their unique model to ensure
all necessary areas are ready to grow simultaneously; and how do they
further enhance their programs and administration to enable them to
pursue that growth in the most efficient and effective manner. Over the
summer my projects focused on helping answer some of these questions and
creating plans for that growth. I managed the summer training session
for the organization’s young adults program, created a 12-month
replication/expansion plan for the organization, developed a branding &
fundraising campaign for the upcoming year in collaboration with ad firm
BBDO Proximity, and devised a technology strategy to enhance
programming, fundraising, and organizational administration.
Elizabeth Dawson
I spent the summer working for the Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit
organization founded in 2001 that uses teams of volunteers to provide
local nonprofits with grants of consistent, high-quality professional
services. The Taproot Foundation is growing rapidly, as is its forecast
budget, just as its start-up funding is phasing out. My project,
therefore, was to work with the founder of the organization, Aaron
Hurst, and the National Program Director, James Shepard, to develop a
fundraising plan, present this plan to the Board of Directors, and begin
its implementation.
Armando Requejo-Ricaud
TechFoundation is a Cambridge based nonprofit organization that delivers
technology, expertise, and capital to help other nonprofits deliver on
their missions.
TechMarketplace, one of TechFoundation’s four main programs, is a business-to-nonprofit distribution channel for donated and discounted hardware, software, and services. The program was initiated in early 2003 and has established partnerships with twelve technology providers. Because TechFoundation’s message has only reached a small percentage of the 1.5 million nonprofits in the US, the main idea surrounding the summer internship was to create awareness in the program and to strengthen the message towards nonprofits. For this purpose, I conducted a survey and talked to current members in order to understand the behavior and context surrounding current and potential members. Upon analyzing the results, I created a plan and initiated several parts of the campaign.
Heidi Henson
Facing faltering revenues from coffee and other agricultural products,
Honduras is racing to embrace the growing worldwide tourism industry.
Working alongside a tourism expert from Technoserve, I helped assess the
current state of tourism in Honduras and identified key dimensions where
USAID investment can significantly advance the state of the industry and
help grow Honduras’ GDP.
Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund
William Plummer
As a social enterprise fellow, I worked with the Tibet Poverty
Alleviation Fund (TPAF) to conduct an evaluation of its microfinance,
mother-child healthcare (MCH), and vocational training activities. The
central purpose of was summer internship was twofold: 1) to identify
ways in which TPAF operations could be improved; and 2) to develop a
reporting and evaluation format for the aforementioned activities. While
office headquarters are in Lhasa, I spent the majority of my time in the
Tibetan countryside (in Nakchu and Lhoka prefectures) interviewing aid
recipients, field staff, and local government officials.
Isis Nyong’o
I spent my summer in the heart of New York City, Times Square working for the Times Square Alliance. This non-profit is the business
improvement district (BID) for Times Square and I worked in the
marketing group, reporting to the Vice President. The Alliance was
formed 12 years ago to help transform Times Square from the dismal and
unsafe neighborhood of the 1970-1980s to the dynamic and safe
intersection of business and residence it is today. The clean streets,
dramatically reduced crime, and return of prominent companies to Times
Square are hallmarks of the success the Alliance has had in partnership
with other local organizations. The key projects I worked on include:
- Marketing strategy development: Created first-ever strategic framework for current and future marketing campaigns.
- Program development: Designed incentives/discount program for the 250,000 employees working in Times Square to get them to spend more time in the district. Conducted focus groups, designed program structure, developed marketing collateral, and signed up participants (major businesses in the district).
- Brand management: Generated and implemented several brand building marketing activities for the Information Center including collateral design and production. Conducted extensive visitor satisfaction survey.
- Merchandising analysis: Analyzed potential for merchandising and identified an opportunity to generate revenues.
Chris Dittmer
This summer, I had the opportunity to work for the US Department of
Labor as a Summer MBA Fellow. I was able to apply the skills from my
first year at HBS and my previous experience to assist the Department in
programs promoting public/private relationships between the government
and the private sector. The two major issues that the internship raised
were planning and performance evaluation in the non-profit/government
arena, and marketing of social enterprise programs to ensure that
private sector organizations understand the business value in social
issues. My experience answered a number of questions that I had about
government service and more generally, about a career pursuing social
goals. At the end of the summer I was able to look back and feel that my
work did in fact add value to the efforts of my office to support the
interests of the US workforce.
US Naval Air Systems Command, Office of Network Centric Warfare
Michael Rapport
The acceleration of technology, the end of the Cold War, the rise of
geopolitical terrorism, and the shrinking of funding have all placed tremendous
pressure on the Department of Defense (DoD) as it attempts to fulfill its
mission. Efficiency has become a critical objective, and senior leaders are very
interested in learning how to apply private-sector business principles and tools
to maximize their “return” on spending. The challenges are immense, since the
DoD operates under very different conditions and rules from traditional
businesses. It is within this environment that I spent the summer helping to
introduce business management tools to Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR), the System
Command that manages all Naval Aviation assets, with respect to measuring the
performance of their innovation process. To help NAVAIR access the power of
private markets, I wrote a business plan for a venture capital partnership that
would improve access and implementation of cutting-edge commercial technologies.
United Nations Development Program, Timor-Leste
Keat Goh
This summer I served as an intern at the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) in Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor. I was part
of a task force mandated with the implementation of Knowledge
Management. The UNDP is one of the United Nations’ specialized agencies,
and works alongside related organizations such as the World Bank, the
World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations International
Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF). The UNDP’s primary task is to advise
governments on issues related to national development. In Timor-Leste,
the UNDP primarily provides advice on the establishment of democratic
institutions of governance and the reduction of poverty.
Kate Eskew
My fellowship was for Smart Start Georgia, an early learning initiative
founded by the United Way of Metro Atlanta. My two major assignments
were the creation of a brochure targeted at the Georgia business
community and the design of a parenting initiative. The end result of
sixteen interviews with top business, government, and education leaders
in Georgia was a three page brochure focused on the economic benefits to
businesses and the state of providing quality early learning
opportunities to the youngest children in Georgia. Smart Start’s
parenting initiative goal was to educate parents on their powerful role
to advocate for their children and to demand quality early educational
opportunities. The Program Manager of Smart Start and I created a plan
to target the faith based community, teen mothers, Spanish speaking
groups, and parents with children enrolled in childcare centers. We
identified existing distribution channels in hospitals, high schools,
childcare centers, and churches and collaborated with several
organizations currently teaching parenting classes with measurable
results and flexibility to add an advocacy lesson. From the largest
companies in Georgia to small inner-city churches, my summer fellowship
allowed me to fully experience working in a medium-sized social
enterprise.
Chiat Lau
As a finance officer/consultant to the Corporate Finance
Department within the Strategy, Finance and Risk Management Vice
Presidency (SFRVP), I was tasked to develop a financial model to support
The World Bank’s management and Board of Governors (comprising of
representatives from 184 member countries) to make decisions on its
US$230 billion portfolio of assets. The old model, a legacy database,
required far too much time to upkeep, thus preventing the management and
the Board to make strategic decisions in a timely manner. Working
closely with senior advisors and finance officers from the Corporate
Finance Department, we designed a user-friendly, interactive finance
model that included two critical elements—the income stress test to
analyze World Bank’s ability to sustain credit shocks and the cash
allocation engine to determine the minimal level of reserves and
surpluses required to maintain its obligations to low income countries.
The final model is also sophisticated enough to handle many ad-hoc
requests and questions that both management and Board would have (such
as changing growth rate of loans, operating expenses, changing interests
rates etc) during Board meetings. The management at SFRVP is very
delighted with the new model and has invited me to serve on as a
part-time consultant to the Corporate Finance Department to counsel and
advise the department on future finance and modeling issues—an
appointment that I had proudly and gladly accepted.
Salim M. Maherali
I spent this summer working for a small unit within the World Bank Group called Foreign Investment Advisory Services (FIAS). FIAS is a
group of ~40 people that consults developing country governments on
policies related to foreign direct investment (FDI) and promotion of the
private sector.
My summer was spent on 2 projects. The first project was an internal knowledge management initiative focused on developing a case study on land market reforms in China. The second project was a consulting assignment for the Chinese government in which I helped to develop a foreign direct investment strategy for northeastern China.
