Secondly, Mercy Corps has new operational challenges because some of its programs are located in insecure environments. We need to balance program impact with the need to keep our staff safe. In the past, aid workers weren’t directly targeted in conflict zones, but five Mercy Corps staff members have been killed in the past five years.

How does Mercy Corps collaborate with and differentiate itself from other international development organizations?

First of all, I have to say that I have tremendous respect for the other institutions in our field. At Mercy Corps, we look for creative, innovative solutions to solve the long term problems of absolute poverty. We strive to maintain an entrepreneurial culture by celebrating risk-taking. The senior leadership of the organization plays a very important role in reinforcing its culture. We work to build the capacity of aspiring leaders in the field, and provide leadership training for our staff through the Center for Creative Leadership. To keep up-to-date with original thinking and research in international development, we partner with educational institutions.

We also take our role as a humanitarian bridge very seriously. We started programs in North Korea when the 1997-1998 famine occurred to help with agricultural reform. Through our work we sponsored over 100 North Korean government officials to visit the United States and stay with American families. We believe that this positive engagement at the civil society level can create opportunities for political openings, as seen in the cases of the former Soviet Union and South Africa. A former Senior Vice President of Mercy Corps, Ellsworth Culver, who unfortunately passed away last year, was very involved in our work in North Korea. He would receive calls from North Korean government officials and U.S. State Department staff who wanted information on each others’ political climates.

Do you have any advice for current SOM students?

I have three pieces of advice. Aspire first to have mission impact, and make sure you place ethics and values ahead of ambition for a title. If you do this, you’re likely to find yourself in a leadership position. Don’t be afraid to take risks and follow your dreams—you can’t go wrong. Finally, surround yourself with exceptional people and those that will hold you accountable.

In the for-profit sector, the diffusion of new products and new production processes comes through both a push and a pull. Innovators provide the push element, spreading the market over which they use their innovation to generate profits. Innovators expand by growing production capacity at a home site, building in new sites, even sometimes licensing their innovations in exchange for royalty payments. At the same time, other firms within the same industry trawl the competitive seas looking for and at the innovations of their competitors, trying to imitate or adopt those innovations to avoid being competed out of business. In this way innovations are pulled into the marketplace by the forces of competitors.

How does this process work in the nonprofit sector? I would arguer that both the push and the pull work less effectively among nonprofits. On the push side, the fact that most nonprofits are local service providers (as opposed to manufacturers) means that the extent of the market will limit the diffusion of the benefits of an innovation by on-site expansion. There are limits to the extent to which educational innovations, for example, can be spread over more children by increasing the scale of a given school. But building new schools in new areas to promulgate an educational innovation requires capital, risk-taking capital. New ideas are inherently risky and those in the nonprofit sector perhaps especially so because they are often harder to unequivocally demonstrate. And yet nonprofits have limited access to equity-like financing.

What about the pull side? Because many nonprofits are local service providers and thus have some modest market power, the pressures to adopt innovations for competitive reasons are more restrained than in the for-profit sector. The difficulties in definitive proofs of superiority further complicate the picture on the pull side. Finally, and perhaps more controversially, I would argue that the strong mission drive of many in the nonprofit sector may militate against pulling innovations through from other organizations. Among nonprofit entrepreneurs, many retain a kind of missionary spirit, dedicated to their own way of doing something and that spirit can sometimes make it harder to learn from other similarly placed organizations. In this sector, with its heavy professional staff, it may be easier to learn from outside the industry, from professional associations, the academy and the like than from entrepreneurial rivals.

ACCION is a leader in microfinance in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. By partnering with lending organizations across these nations, ACCION has grown from serving 13,000 people in 1988 to 1.46 million people in 2004. Yet their goal is to change the world by providing loans to tens of millions of people, an audacious feat that will require much greater capitalization than is currently available. ACCION thus aims to generate income from interest on the microloans in order to increase the funding necessary to support even more microentreprenuers in the future.

Under Mr. Chowdri’s supervision, one of ACCION’s paths for growth is expansion into India. Mr. Chowdri brings great expertise to this area, as he previously resided in Hyderabad, India while consulting for the Society for Elimination of World Poverty. In addition to his training of field staff, Mr. Chowdri conducted a pilot program of microlending, thereby establishing relationships with Indian banks while encouraging lending at the village level.

In his current role as Advisor to India, Mr. Chowdri is establishing the infrastructure to support Indian microfinance programs. His responsibilities range from hiring IT staff to executing legal registration, from implementing accounting frameworks to establishing HR policies. In addition, Mr. Chowdri is promoting the profile of ACCION across India as the organization seeks to establish itself as a prominent force in all parts of the world.

However, Mr. Chowdri notes that ACCION is not without its challenges. The enormous pressure to grow microfinancing around the world is limited by capacities of lending organizations. One such capacity constraint, characteristic of many nonprofits that engage in aggressive growth strategies, is finding the best people. In addition to human resources, microfinancing organizations must continually balance the sometimes opposing commercial and social objectives. Finally, growth of this industry has not been supported by established systems of transparency and governance.

As he embarks on his career, Mr. Chowdri is poised to tackle these challenges and continue the expansion of microfinance around the world by leading the expansion of ACCION into India. With his guidance, ACCION aims to play an active role in determining microfinance policy in India similar to how it has done so around the world.

This trip was originally conceived by Marty DiMarzio ’05, in recognition of a desire by students to sit down with well-established leaders and glean as much as possible from their vast experiences. Such sessions would allow students to better grasp the nature of professional paths, and would provide insights into the politics and complex dynamics of organizations.

From private meetings with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and FBI Direct Robert Mueller, to a tour of the American Red Cross Disaster Operations Center and a personal viewing of NPR studios, the trip’s connections surpassed all expectations. Plans are already underway for the 3rd Annual Washington, DC Study Trip in March of 2007. For additional information, please contact Austin Clark [austin.clark@yale.edu].

Business and Society Panel Series 2006

In response to the popularity of last year’s panel series on Socially Responsible Business, Community Development Investing and Corporate Social Responsibility, the SOM Net Impact Chapter hosted the Second Annual Business & Society Series this past February. This year’s series kicked off with a unique discussion with Christine Bader (SOM ’00) about her role as policy developer for BP. In her current position, she is leading the company’s human rights agenda through internal workshops and external engagement, managing BP’s relationship with a number of external organizations, and working on a variety of policy issues with leaders throughout the company. The second event, a panel entitled Blending “Traditional” Business Skills and Social Mission in a Career, brought together representatives from Whole Foods, Aveda and The Calvert Foundation to explore the importance of “traditional” business roles in organizations that have social responsibility or environmental sustainability as part of their core mission. The Business & Society Series culminated in a final panel on Socially Responsible Investing. Speakers from Commonfund (Kristopher Kwait, SOM ’01), Smith Barney and Next Century Partners engaged the audience in a discussion on the current trends in double line investing from the perspectives of portfolio managers, individual investors and institutions, both in the US and internationally.


Mission: Possible! Internship Fund Auction 2007

The Internship Fund at Yale SOM provides financial support to students who wish to pursue summer employment in the public or not-for-profit sectors. The fund was established in 1979 by SOM students with the aid and encouragement of the SOM faculty and administration. As the first program of its kind among graduate management schools in the United States, the Internship Fund has supported more than 800 Yale MBA students. Every year, students raise funds through an auction, student and alumni pledge drives, and other events. The 2007 auction, themed Mission: Possible ‘007, was held on Thursday, March 30th. Raising over $40,000, the annual tradition attracted almost 400 attendees dressed in spy costume. To date, the class of 2007 has raised $92,000 towards its goal of $177,000.

Caroline Boyd, Centre for Financial Services Innovation

I will be spending this summer at the Center for Financial Services Innovation, an affiliate of ShoreBank Corporation in Chicago – one of the country’s leading community development banks. I found the internship through a listing on the Net Impact careers website as part of my search for internships in the field of community development finance. CFSI’s mission is to “assist the financial services industry to identify, develop, and implement innovative ways of delivering asset-building opportunities to the underbanked market that are profitable for both company and customer.” I will be working with the Research Director to identify institutions that provide pioneering products to individuals and communities that have previously lacked access to formal financial services. I will also work with established financial services companies in CFSI’s network that are interested in bringing innovations to scale.

Nicole Huvelle, Chicago Public Schools

This summer I will be working as a Fund Fellow in the Chicago Public Schools. The program is supported through the Chicago Public Education Fund; the Midwest’s only venture philanthropy organization. The objective of the Fund is to invest in the development of high impact programs that improve leadership and student achievement in the Chicago Public School District. The Fund hires 8 MBA interns to work with Chicago Public School executives to complete a high priority project for the school district. Past initiatives have included; developing a strategic plan for principal recruitment, building a business case for the centralization and improved management of the CPS library system, and doing market research and analyzing the results in order to determine a strategy to increase the number of master teachers in the district. As a former public school teacher, I look forward to working for the district and impacting not just one classroom, but an entire school system with half a million students.

Amy Letourneau, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

My internship will be with the Media Strategies group at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB is the nonprofit organization responsible for disbursing the federal appropriation for public broadcasting. I will work on research and consulting projects that inform CPB’s strategy and investments to ensure the long-term health and service of public broadcasting.

In the fall, I narrowed my search to the top 4 companies that where I would want to intern (CPB, NPR, PBS & Discovery). Using the SOM Alumni Database and the career network from my undergraduate institution, I set up many informational interviews to learn more about opportunities for MBA’s at each organization. Through these conversations, I made a contact at CPB Media Strategies. When I applied for the internship through a CDO posting by the MBA-Nonprofit Connection, I know having shown initiative to seek out this group was an important factor in being selected.

Trevor Graham: Asset Management, Museum of Modern Art

Next year, I will be working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York helping to manage its endowment. The returns on endowed funds finance a portion of the museum’s overall operating budget each year. Also, the endowment enables the museum to maintain a degree of financial and operational independence by limiting its reliance on outside capital sources such as corporate and government entities. I will contribute to a variety of asset management functions such as asset allocation, manager selection and monitoring, risk management, performance analysis and presentations to the museum’s investment committee.

Alicia Johnson: Consultant, Wellspring Consulting

During the summer of 2005, I worked with the Wellspring Consulting as a Summer Associate. I had the opportunity to work with two fantastic teams and develop project components for a small youth development organization and a national social services provider. After graduation, I will be joining Wellspring as a full-time Consultant. My work will expose me to the inner workings of a variety of nonprofit organizations and industry structures including education, the arts, and philanthropy. Wellspring uses a highly analytical approach to help nonprofit clients make strategic decisions about how to best accomplish their mission. Client engagements generally fall in the areas of strategic planning and business planning. Wellspring’s founding partners are alumni from the early days of SOM.

Shana Katz Ross: Director of Development, Domestic Violence Crisis Center

I have already begun my duties as Director of Development at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center. Serving Norwalk, Stamford, and surrounding towns, DVCC works to prevent and break the cycle of domestic violence through counseling, advocacy, safe housing, education, and increased public awareness. As a member of DVCC's senior management team, she looks forward to helping the organization maximize its impact in the community.

Raegan LaRochelle: Senior Associate, The Capstan Group

In the coming year, I will be working as a Senior Associate at The Capstan Group, a small firm that provides consulting services that focus on improving the sustainability of cities, organizations, and people. The firm is in a growth phase, and I look forward to working both internally and externally on aspects of the business. Capstan currently works with nonprofit and public sector clients, including the City of New Haven Office of Economic Development, Dress for Success Worldwide, Career Gear, and Childplan Inc. I look forward to the opportunity to grow professionally and learn about different aspects of community and economic development through these and other projects.

Rochelle Mackey: Associate Director of Programs, Children’s Bureau of Southern California

Next year, I will be working as an Associate Director of Programs at the Children’s Bureau of Southern California. The Children’s Bureau (www.allforkids.org) is a broad-reaching child welfare organization that provides services ranging from foster care to mental health provision via community centers and offices throughout Los Angeles County. My role will be to work with the Chief Program Officer and leadership team to evaluate program opportunities, to find solutions to any problems that arise within their programs, and to generally work to improve the Children’s Bureau’s service outcomes. I am very excited both to be working with the great team of people that are at the Children’s Bureau, and even more thrilled about the opportunity to have significant positive impact on the lives of children and families in the LA area through my work. Thank you so much to the many Los Angeles area SOM alumni who helped guide me through the job search process with orientation to the Los Angeles social sector landscape and networking support! Your assistance was invaluable and much appreciated!

Kaya Stone: Director of Operations, KIPP Schools NYC

Next year, I will be joining the KIPP Schools (www.kipp.org) team in New York City as the Director of Operations. Since 1994, KIPP has developed a network of 47 free open-enrollment college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. As Director of Operations, I will be responsible for operations and compliance for their four KIPP schools in New York City. In addition, I will be working closely with the KIPP founder to develop and open a new KIPP high school in 2008. I look forward to learning from and working with the wonderful team at KIPP NYC—and joining the continually growing community of SOM alums devoting their professional lives to education reform.