Each year, approximately 30 MBA students and alumni participate in this program. Students are selected through a rigorous application process and matched with an alumnus based on experience and interest. Project topics have included:
- Community Development: Develop a business plan to create new revenues relating to a business involving labor from assisted program participants.
- Education: Rebuild the organization’s financial model to reflect changes in the way they provide services to charter schools; conduct competitive mapping to determine primary competitors and how to measure success.
- Public Radio: Assist a brand development project and a customer experience comparison across five key markets to determine differentiating aspects and what works in each area.
- Young Women: Conduct thorough board of directors evaluation on effectiveness and underlying metrics used to judge success; Recommend more effective ways to communicate and simplify evaluation metrics.
- Healthcare: Conduct an ROI analysis of all fundraising activity including gala events, mailings, phone drives, etc; benchmark against comparable organizations.
Past Projects: 2016-17 Projects | 2015-16 Projects | 2014-15 Projects | 2013-14 Projects | 2012-13 Projects | 2011-12 Projects | 2010-11 Projects | 2009-10 Projects | 2008-09 Projects | 2007-08 Projects | 2006-07 Projects
2017–18 Projects for Nonprofit Boards
Code Purple Now, Erica Abramson, ’19BUS
Erica Abramson, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Bob Wright and Code Purple Now to identify key stakeholder organizations that the foundation should partner with in order to build support for the establishment of a new government agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (HARPA), to support research for pancreatic cancer.
Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), Nellie Beach, ’19BUS
Nellie Beach, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Anisa Keith, ’93BUS, and Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) to conduct peer analysis on national organizations that provide comparable services. CUP is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement.
American Composers Orchestra, Katherine Bergstrom, ’19BUS
Katherine Bergstrom, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Tess Matteo, ’97BUS, and American Composers Orchestra to identify potential new governing board structures. Analysis included peer research and a recommendation to the current board.
Partnership for Inner City Education, Edwinna Bright, ’19BUS
Edwinna Bright, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Jane O’Connell and Partnership for Inner City Education, a network of six urban Catholic schools in Harlem and the South Bronx, to create a teaching fellowship program for Xavier University students.
Friends of the Children NY, Miah Brown, ’18BUS
Miah Brown, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Joan Rosenthal and Friends of the Children NY to develop additional metrics to track success beyond simple rates of participation. Friends of the Children NY is a nonprofit organization that provides salaried, professional mentors to at-risk youth in Harlem and the South Bronx.
New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), Emily Carton, ’18BUS, and Michael Schub, ’18BUS
Emily Carton, ’18BUS, and Michael Schub, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Dr. Mark Lauria at the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), a nonprofit association of nearly 200 independent schools across New York state. Emily and Michael analyzed the association’s data collection and analysis tool, DASL, which is used by member schools for strategic decision making purposes, with the goal of increasing both the quality of data collection and its utility for school decision makers.
Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS), Miranda Chu, ’18BUS
Miranda Chu, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Regina Fechter, ’13BUS and Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS) to develop additional metrics to track success beyond simple rates of participation. Friends of the Children NY is a nonprofit organization that provides salaried, professional mentors to at-risk youth in Harlem and the South Bronx.
Horizons at Sacred Heart University, Sara Ferrario, ’18BUS
Sara Ferrario, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Brad Evans, ’70BUS, and Horizons at Sacred Heart University, a summer enrichment program located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sara identified local sources of government funding and provided a roadmap for Horizons to obtain the potential government grants.
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC), Jordan Giallanzo, ’18BUS
Jordan Giallanzo, ’18BUS, worked with mentors James Blanco, ’05BUS, and Radhy Miranda at the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC), an organization that provides holistic resources and services to empower Bronx residents from cradle through career. Jordan developed business and implementation plans to diversify the organization’s funding sources.
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Dena Greenbaum, ’18BUS, and Jackson Tanis, ’18BUS
Dena Greenbaum, ’18BUS, and Jackson Tanis, ’18BUS, worked with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and mentor Claude Arpels, ’98BUS. The project focused on potential real estate opportunities for ICE.
Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY). Adam Goren, ’19BUS
Adam Goren, ’19BUS, worked with executive director Peter Iwanowicz and center advisory board member Lise Strickler, ’86BUS, of Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY). EANY is the leading environmental government watchdog in Albany. Adam provided EANY with a clear, actionable playbook to improve annual marketing and fundraising efforts.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), Julie Joseph, ’19BUS
Julie Joseph, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Peter Sacripanti, a member of the Columbia University Medical Center Board of Advisors and chair of the Cardiac Council for the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), to build a strategic business, marketing, and branding plan for the Women’s Heart Center at CUMC. The Women’s Heart Center is a new program at the CUMC that focuses on clinical care, research, and education in the area of women’s heart disease.
Arthur Miller Foundation, Josh Landay, ’18BUS
Josh Landay, ’18BUS, worked with the Arthur Miller Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing access and equity to quality theater and film education in New York City in the belief that arts education is a right, not a privilege. In collaboration with Jaime Hastings, executive director of AMF, and Peter Avery, NYC DOE director of theater, Josh analyzed research data on the impact of the Arthur Miller Fellows Program, and helped to communicate the quantitative and qualitative results of that study. In addition, he provided strategic recommendations for future program assessment.
Calhoun School, Jessica Langman, '19BUS
Jessica Langman, '19BUS, joined the strategic planning committee at the Calhoun School, a team of stakeholders assembled to assist with the outline of a five-year strategic plan. Jessica worked closely with Michael Conboy, the head of school, to survey faculty and parents from choosing a survey provider, managing survey design, overseeing survey implementation, and analyzing the data to help inform the priorities for the strategic plan.
Literacy, Inc., Joycerine Lee, ’19BUS
Joycerine Lee, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Shari Levine, ’87BUS, and Literacy, Inc., an organization that creates a sustainable culture around reading through interconnected programming designed to mobilize existing resources. Joycerine analyzed available academic achievement data for 30 LINC schools to better understand LINC’s impact.
The Vera Institute of Justice, Anne McGrath, ’18BUS
Anne McGrath, ’18BUS, worked with The Vera Institute of Justice, a research and advocacy organization that works closely with the government to build and improve justice systems that ensure fairness, promote safety, and strengthen communities. Partnering with the director of Vera's new policing department, Anne analyzed historical reliance on revenue from fines and fees in municipal budgets around the country.
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), Ariel Merrick, ’18BUS
Ariel Merrick, ’18BUS, worked with mentor and center advisory board member Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). Ariel worked with Melissa and Tamer Center for Social Enterprise staff to explore potential interest in a new philanthropy series for Columbia Business School alumni.
Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS), Jackie Piccolo, ’18BUS
Jackie Piccolo, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Blake Sturcke, ’98BUS, at Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS), a relatively new charter school in District 15. Jackie assisted BUGS in its effort to reduce teacher turnover, benchmark best practices, and make recommendations for better recruitment practices.
Abilis, Venkat Rajaraman, '19BUS
Venkat Rajaraman, '19BUS, mentored by Professor Alonso MartÃnez, worked with Abilis to evaluate potential merger opportunities with peer organizations to extract cost synergies while maintaining quality of services and reputation. Venkat analyzed cost drivers for Abilis and peer organizations, interviewed key people, and recommended a plan of action for a merger with certain peer organizations within Connecticut.
Bottomless Closet, Carli Roth, ’19BUS
Carli Roth, ’19BUS, worked with Bottomless Closet and mentor Sheila Lambert to streamline client data collection and inventory management processes. By evaluating current procedures as well as conducting peer analysis, Carli and Bottomless Closet realigned reported outcomes with the organization’s mission statement and improved operational efficiency.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Kurt Schwab, ’18BUS
Kurt Schwab, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Michael Bogdonoff at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a national organization dedicated to empowering those affected by MS and ultimately ending the disease forever. His project involved the development of performance metrics for the organization to measure its progress, evaluate its impact compared to resources invested, and hold itself accountable to the achievement of its strategic plan.
The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), Jill Scovanner, ’19BUS
Jill Scovanner, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Sharon Sager at The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), a venture philanthropy organization that funds breakthrough Alzheimer's research. ADDF was aiming to increase gifts from major donors and needed better insight in to their existing donor base. By analyzing historical giving data and highlighting trends for various categories of donors (e.g. Multiyear, Lapsed), Jill helped inform ADDF's donor retention strategy.
Dancing Classrooms, Thayna Silva, ’18BUS
Thayna Silva, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Patricia Koyce and Dancing Classrooms, an organization that cultivates essential life skills in children through the art of social dance. Thayna analyzed potential strategic partnership models for Dancing Classrooms.
Kweli Journal, Onika Williams, ’18BUS
Onika Williams, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Moran Shekel Nosatzki, ’10BUS, and Kweli Journal, an organization that supports emerging writers of color and creates opportunities for their voices to be recognized and valued. Onika helped Kweli building a new financial model to improve the organization’s ability to predict revenue generation and financial sustainability.
Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), Elaine Wu, ’18BUS
Elaine Wu, ’18BUS, worked with mentor Dan Vandivort, ’82BUS, and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) to help formalize and implement a new volunteer engagement and fundraising plan. HDSA is dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by Huntington’s disease by providing a range of services from community services to education, advocacy, and research.
Bronx Arts Ensemble, Patrick Yee, ’19BUS
Patrick Yee, ’19BUS, supported strategic planning for the arts education program at the Bronx Arts Ensemble, a multidisciplinary arts organization serving diverse communities in the Bronx. With the support of executive director David Nussenbaum, ’81BUS, Patrick helped define the program’s existing strategic model and collaborated in developing a new model that supports deeper integration with partner organizations
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Rob Zochowski, ’19BUS
Rob Zochowski, ’19BUS, worked with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and mentor Michael Bogdonoff to analyze the society’s organizational realignment process. Rob produced a final report that leveraged an academic change management framework to describe and analyze the changes implemented by the organization. The report also provided MS Society leadership with recommendations and guidance to realize the full benefits of the aligned structure.
Building for the Arts, Julia Zweig, ’19BUS
Julia Zweig, ’19BUS, worked with mentor Wendy Rowden and Building for the Arts to conduct analysis of social media in the sector and provided recommendations for how Building With The Arts could use social media to increase awareness and support fundraising efforts.
