Carra Cote, WG'06
Current Employment: Directly after graduation, I became a Program Officer at the Robertson Foundation. The Foundation makes large, transformative grants in four primary areas: environment (with a focus on climate change), education (with a focus on public school reform), religion/spirituality, and medical research. All program staff are generalists -- I work across the entire portfolio. My primary responsibilities include: identifying opportunities for philanthropic investment, conducting due diligence, and monitoring and assisting partnerships with grantees. I also currently serve as Board Chair of the Andrus Family Fund, which grants over $4 million annually to foster care and community reconciliation nonprofit organizations.
Before Wharton:Prior to attending Wharton, I served as a Consultant on behalf of the Children's Bureau and the Administration for Children and Families regarding the Child and Family Services Reviews (foster care reform). I have worked at the Center for Child and Family Policy (at Duke) on research regarding violence prevention in the schools, and I also have worked for a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute regarding child policy. I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology and Child Development from Vanderbilt University, and hold a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University.
At Wharton:I was elected Cohort Community Service Representative and was an active member of Net Impact, serving as Vice President-Careers during my 2nd year. I also was involved with the Nonprofit Board Leadership program, Rebuilding Together, and numerous other charitable activities. I was awarded the Morgenthau Public Administration Fellowship, and a merit award from a Wharton alumnus for my involvement in public service. I pursued an individualized MBA major in Nonprofit Leadership/Management.
How Wharton Prepared Me:I chose to attend Wharton specifically because of its strong reputation in finance and other "hard-skills." I realized that, although my background provided me with the analytics and substantive knowledge of important social issues, I lacked training in finance, accounting, and general economic theory. My experience at Wharton, and the core curriculum on which it was based, prepared me to think critically about nonprofit management (to demand accountability and performance metrics), and helped me understand how to holistically evaluate investment opportunities. I took two classes outside of Wharton (both at the FELS School of Government) that were substantively interesting; however, I rely on the Wharton "hard-skills" classes to be effective in my work. Those classes have helped me to manage toward meaningful performance changes inline with an organization's mission.
My Job Search:I found my position at Robertson through an internet search on public sector job boards. Foundation positions are typically advertised on grantmaking association sites (i.e. NYRAG) and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Advice for students interested in a career in philanthropy: Jobs in philanthropy can be difficult to secure because they seldom open up and almost always require previous foundation experience. If committed to this part of the sector, consider interning, if possible, at one of the foundations in Philadelphia while at Wharton. I worked at the William Penn Foundation during the summer and through my second year -- the experience was worthwhile. If interested in opportunities in philanthropy or beyond: network, network, network. I think it is helpful to set up a bunch of informational interviews, which will put you in touch with more leads, and continue down the path
Alli Myatt, WG'06
Current Employment: I work as a consultant at The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm that brings "leading edge strategy and tools to the challenges facing nonprofits and foundations." As a consultant, my job is to drive major pieces of analysis that help form our clients' strategies.
Before Wharton:I worked in the nonprofit sector in community development finance. I made loans and investments in nonprofits focused on community development (affordable housing, small business, community spaces, etc.) and trained nonprofit leaders on financial analysis. After 4 years in community development finance, I wanted to be more involved in the strategy of organizations. I thought earning an MBA at Wharton would help me gain the skills needed to achieve that goal.
At Wharton:I'm most passionate about making sure people have the information they need to fully access the opportunities available to them, so at Wharton, this passion manifested itself in my activities with admissions. Since I was a "nontraditional" student on many dimensions, I wanted to help other students like me find out about Wharton as well as find out about how they can strengthen their applications to get there. I was an admissions liaison for the Social Impact Club, co-chaired the student-2-student message board, served as a admissions graduate assistant, and did admissions activities with the African American MBA Association. I also am passionate about diversity, so I served on the WGA Board as the ED of Diversity. In addition, I was a member of the Summer Public Interest Fellowship exec team and was a member of the Wharton Follies sound team.
How Wharton Prepared Me: I learned how to apply frameworks to business problems during in-class case discussions and that skill is at the foundation of my job as a consultant. Consultants pride themselves on providing and receiving feedback - and Wharton teams, like my learning team, prepared me to give AND receive feedback in an open way that has served me well. Finally, the time management skills you learn at Wharton, particularly during the first year, have served me well (although nothing I'm doing now can compare to the insanity that is the first semester at Wharton!)
My Job Search:In my Wharton application, I said I wanted to go into nonprofit consulting, so as part of the business school due diligence I learned about Bridgespan. During my tenure at Wharton, my career search was circuitous, but after some soul searching during my second year, I decided to apply to Bridgespan, as part of the regular recruiting process through Bridgespan's website.
Advice for students interested in a career in philanthropy: Bridgespan is looking for smart analytical people with a passion for nonprofits. It's important that you demonstrate both of these aspects when applying. So if you don't have both, use your time at Wharton to build whatever is lacking. And as always follow your passions.
