Heller MBA Adds Concentration in Public Management
The Heller MBA Program has just announced a new Public Management concentration designed for students who seek management careers in local, state and federal government. To complement the core curriculum in operations, strategy, data analysis, accounting, marketing and leadership, public management concentrators will take additional courses that provide both a theoretical and applied foundation in areas relevant to the public sector - the procurement of resources, policy and program implementation, government budgeting, and outcome measurement, amongst numerous others. The concentration is designed to develop leading edge public sector managers who will effect positive, sustainable change at the government level.
Heller MBA Alum Receives First Prize in Business Accelerator Program
Brenna Schneider, MBA ’12, was recently awarded first prize from among a field of 21 semi-finalists in the Merrimack Valley Sandbox Business Accelerator program. The program aims to give early-stage entrepreneurs a greater chance at success and consists of a 12-week program offering mentors, workshops, and meeting space. The Sandbox Winter Accelerator culminates in a competition for $25,000 in cash prizes. Participants are judged on the progress they make toward meeting their goals, an evaluation from their mentor, submissions to a weekly blog and presentations throughout the twelve weeks.
Schneider is the president and COO of 99C Manufacturing, an apparel manufacturing company that produces custom, built-to-order apparel. The company will launch in early April and will offer employees living wages, forward thinking benefits, empowerment through training and education opportunities, and pathways into advanced manufacturing and STEM field careers. Schneider's new enterprise will keep her close to her Heller roots as her first customer, Project Repat, is run by former classmates Ross Lohr and Nathan Rothstein. She also turned to her fellow Heller MBA colleagues to practice her pitch which resulted in her win and is working closely with another MBA graduate to secure space for her new company. Says Schneider, "It's amazing to have Heller friends to call on for brilliant feedback. It's one of the most amazing networks I've ever had. They are some of the most incredible people I know and they've been the greatest support team I could have dreamed of."
Click here to read the announcement of the winners.
Alumna’s Organization Recognized as a Social Innovator by Root Cause
Groundwork Lawrence, which is directed by Heller graduate Heather McMann, MBA ’12, was one of five organizations in Greater Boston chosen from among 100 applicants to receive more than $115,000 in cash and capacity-building services from Root Cause and its partners.
Groundwork Lawrence was selected for its in-depth work in Lawrence, MA on environmental and open space improvements, fresh food programs, youth education, employment initiatives, and community programming and events.
Each year, the Social Innovation Forum partners with leading foundations, corporations, and individual donors to support Social Innovators with financial contributions, in-kind resources, volunteer time, and personal referrals or connections. For more information click here.
Former Walmart Foundation Head Delivers MBA Distinguished Management Lecture
Margaret McKenna, former president of the Walmart Foundation, recently delivered the annual MBA Distinguished Management Lecture. McKenna spoke on Leadership: Lessons for Proving the Possible.
MBA Alum Included in List of 60 Extraordinary Women
Siiri Morley, MBA '10, was included in Fast Company's League of Extraordinary Women, alongside Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Cherie Blair, Dina Powell, Tina Brown and many others. Morley is a founding partner of Prosperity Candle, a non profit that helps women in Iraq, Bhutan and Burma rebuild their lives through candle making. Click here to read more.
MBA Alum Working in Department of Defense
After completing her Presidential Management Fellowship, Jessie Babcock, MBA '09, is now Country Director for Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the Department of Defense. She recently traveled to Chile with Secretary of Defense Panetta.
MBA Student Part of Winning Team
MBA student Rachel Koffman and her Fresh Routes team (Margaret Tung, John Wessler and S. Frank advised by MBA Adjunct Professor Carole Carlson) won first place in the 2011-2012 Food for Health Business Plan Competition, winning $25,000 in start up funds. This competition was hosted and funded by the Communities IMPACT Diabetes Center. Koffman's team was one of five teams that qualified for the presentation round in NYC. Two teams were from Yale, one from Boston University, and one from the University of Pennsylvania.
Heller Classmates Receive Funding
MBA student Ross Lohr and his former classmate Nathan Rothstein are working as partners with REPAT, the upcycling t-shirt business founded by Lohr. HUB Ventures, a start-up accelerator, recently awarded them $17,500 for their work with REPAT. Click here to read more.
Heller Professor Wins Case Award
MBA Adjunct Professor Carole Carlson won the 2012 European Case Clearing House (ecch) Case Award in the the Economics, Politics and Business Environment category along with co-author Christopher Bartlett for their recently published case "United Cereal: Lora Brill's Eurobrand Challenge." ecch Case Awards are presented annually to recognize worldwide excellence in case writing and to raise the profile of the case method of learning. Cases are judged anonymously. The winning case in each category is the one that has achieved the highest growth in popularity among peers worldwide based on the number of individual organizations ordering and teaching the case during the calendar year. Professor Carlson teaches Social Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management in the Heller MBA Program. Click here to read more.
Panel Discusses Social Impact Bonds
The Annual Heller MBA Distinguished Management Lecture focused on social impact bonds and featured Jeffrey Liebman, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, Steven Goldberg, Managing Director and General Counsel at Social Finance, Inc., and Heather Feltman, CEO of Lutheran Social Services of New England. Click here to view a video of the panel discussion.
Recent Graduate Chosen as a Finalist for Prestigious Fellowship
Recent Heller MBA graduate Jessica Davidson-Sawyer( MBA '12) was selected as a finalist for the Presidential Management Fellowship program. The PMF program matches outstanding graduate students with jobs in the Federal government. Jessie Babcock (MBA ' 09) just completed the PMF program. During her last rotation working for the State Department, Jessie was doing strategy and policy work for the US Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany.
Heller Alum Named Woman of the Year
Heller MBA Alum Audrey Savikas (MBA '07) was honored as the 2011 Woman of the Year by the East Boston Times for her work as Director of Crossroads Family Shelter in East Boston, a homeless shelter. Click here to read more.
Heller MBA is on the Move: Ranked Number 38 Amongst 149 Programs
Every two years, the Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes Program releases a ranking on the degree to which MBA programs integrate social, ethical and environmental issues into their curricula. The Heller MBA Program was just ranked number 38, globally, out of the Aspen Institute's Top 149 MBA programs, moving from its previous position of number 45. Further, the program now enjoys the number two position amongst Boston area schools. Click here to read more.
Heller Student Interviewed on Fox News
Heller MBA/MA student Ross Lohr was interviewed by Fox News about Project Repat, the non-profit clothing company he co-founded. The company "repatriates" secondhand clothing from Africa and sells it to provide funding for schools in Tanzania. Click here to watch the interview.
Heller Students Team Up with MoJo
Team Consulting Project client MoJo in Lowell, Massachusetts was featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. Heller MBA student Brenna Schneider has been interning with this clothing company where single moms get a fair wage and free child care and is a member of the student consulting team working with them this summer.
Heller Alum's Organization Receives Helping Hand from Brandeis Students
Heller MBA alum Samantha Watson (MBA '06) is working with a group of Brandeis undergraduates to raise money for the SAMFund, the non-profit she founded to help young adult cancer survivors. The goal of the campaign is to raise funds for grants and scholarships. Click here for more information.
CEO of Boston Community Capital Delivers Lecture
Elyse Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital, delivered the Annual Distinguished Management Lecture, the signature event of the Heller MBA Program. She inspired students with her description of an innovative and groundbreaking foreclosure relief initiative that helps families facing eviction stay in their homes. This relief effort was recently cited as a model for how local communities are meeting the challenges of touch times in troubled communities by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Click here to read more.
Heller Student Introduces Keynote Speaker
Heller MBA/MPP student Brian Schon was given the honor of introducing Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Obama, when she was on campus to deliver the Segal Memorial Lecture. There were over 400 people in attendance. Schon is a Segal Fellow who did his Segal internship in 2009 at Health Care for All in Boston. MORE
Heller Student Chosen for Prestigious Graduate Fellowship
Heller MBA/MA student Caitlin Deschenes-Desmond received an Education Pioneers Fellowship and will be doing a ten-week consulting project with an education organization in San Francisco this summer. Education Pioneers is a national network of leaders and entrepreneurs committed to improving leadership within public education. They received over 2,000 applications from students at top schools throughout the country and accepted fewer than fifteen percent. MORE
A New Campaign Calls For Healthier Neighborhoods
NPR interviews Heather McMann, Heller MBA Student and Executive Director of Groundwork Lawrence, about her work with a nonprofit whose goal is to increase access to healthy food stores in low-income areas. MORE
Brandeis Project Examines State Street's Water Use
Heller MBA student Jenn Taylor leads a team of students from Brandeis University in an environmental project for State Street Corporation examining the company's water supply and sanitation levels in locations where it has offices to determine potential operational risks. MORE
Massachusetts Health Advocates Push Community-Wide Agenda
Heller MBA student Heather McMann was part of a coalition unveiling an agenda at the Statehouse with the goal of improving the health of Massachusetts citizens by promoting exercise and more nutritious eating where people live.
Shortage of Grocers Plagues Massachusetts Cities
The Boston Globe quotes Heller MBA student Heather McMann about the lack of supermarkets in Lawrence. McMann is executive director of Groundwork Lawrence, a community development organization that has been trying to improve people’s access to healthier food.
