Summer Internships

2003 Summer Internship Experiences

Name: Fabio La Mola
Organization: KaBOOM!
I devised a measurement system to evaluate the performance of the organization, collected the necessary data and constructed a first working model of a “Dashboard” showing few selected measurements that the Board of Directors will use to evaluate the health and effectiveness of KaBOOM!. I presented the results of the project to the Board of Directors. The final product consists in a report that explains the theoretical frameworks underpinning the measurement system chosen by KaBOOM!, the rationale behind the measurements and a calculation of the chosen measurements.

My main tasks were to create a theoretical framework for the measurement system, to devise measurements and indexes that would help KaBOOM! to understand how well it was working toward its mission, talk to staff to understand the organization’s operations. I shared the document with internal staff and externals advisors of the organization and gathered feedback, later incorporated in the document. I collected the necessary data to run the measurement system and wrote the policies to collect the data so that a staff member could calculate the measurement consistently year after year. I then prepared the presentation for the Board of Directors. The experience was very positive; the fact that it was a finite project made the internship very meaningful and manageable time-wise. I had a chance to work directly with the highest levels of the organization and with their most valued external advisors. I learned something of value and I had the opportunity to impact the way the organization functions.

Name: Anjali Goel
Organization: Seedco
"I worked at Seedco this summer with their Non Profit Venture Network (NVN) group. NVN primarily provides capacity building and consulting support to non-profit organizations who wish to start Social Purpose Business Ventures. I worked with two of NVN's grantees to develop a marketing plan. In addition, I worked with one of these grantees to develop a financial plan for the next four years of operations in order to attain profitability in each of the business ventures they plan to start."

Name: Carolyn Bess
Organization: National Park Service
The National Park Service’s (NPS) Business Plan Initiative engages business and public policy students from around the country to design and implement a 45-page document for 10 selected NPS sites. The assignment challenges students to work with park employees to collect and analyze data on how the park uses it monetary and human resources to accomplish its mission. The goal of the project is to help the parks (1) identify more effective ways to advocate for funding from Congress and other stakeholders and (2) use their resources more efficiently.

During the summer of 2003, I worked with two other MBA students at Sequoia – Kings Canyon National Park in California. I had the best summer of my whole life. The assignment challenged me in many ways: partnering with my two colleagues (whom I adored), working with government employees who were suspicious of my motives, understanding accounting and financial data, and recommending ways for improving park operations. I also became more aware of the serious issues affecting our country both from a government standpoint and an environmental one.

This summer enriched my life so much that I would at some point consider working for NPS – which I never expected to occur as a result of this summer.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of service to any prospective students considering this summer internship: Carolyn Bess 617-794-7449 (cell)

Name: Kimberly Ramirez
Organization: Fox Chase Cancer Center
I spent the summer working in the strategic planning department of Fox Chase Cancer Center, the fourth largest cancer center in the United States. Prior to coming to Kellogg I was a merger & acquisition
consultant, so my summer internship provided me with an excellent opportunity to understand the inner workings of a mission based organization. My goal for the summer was to determine whether I would
prefer being a full-time employee of a nonprofit or a junior board member. Although I have decided that I am better suited for a board member role, I loved the experience.

Additionally, I was treated more like an independent consultant than an intern since I was switching industries, not function. I was responsible for the following two projects:

• Evaluated the medical coding department at ten national cancer centers, and identified alternatives including shift to home-based workforce, domestic/offshore outsourcing, and shared consortium to buy
  or provide coding services. Project impact estimated at $1.0MM per center.
• Measured economic contribution of expanding the hospital to Philadelphia or Montgomery counties; findings improved Fox Chase's bargaining position with County Planners.

Name: Chris N. Hegarty
Organization: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
I worked at the Chicago Transit Authority's heavy rail car maintenance facility in Skokie. I worked primarily with the managers of the facility in a small office environment, but I also interacted with the union forces in most areas of the shop. My major function was to support the development of plans to extend the life of 336 passenger rail cars through an overhaul program to begin in 2004, but I also supported an ongoing overhaul program being performed on other cars. For both programs, I performed inventory analysis, work flow analysis, scheduling, and automation of productivity reports. Excel spreadsheets were used quite a bit! The CTA has a large intern program, but it is geared mainly towards undergraduates. If someone is interested in pursuing an internship at the CTA, I would suggest he/she try to contact the AVP or Director or General Manager of the area they are interested in working in, and talk directly with the person you will be primarily working with before accepting a position. In other words, avoid Human Resources. If you need contacts, I may be able to help: I made a point of meeting people in various areas of the company. There are a lot of bright people that work at the CTA, I was impressed! If you are interested in the CTA, I would certainly recommend doing an internship with them.

Name: Ramiro Rodriguez Agusti
Organization: Chicago Council on Foreign Relations
My name is Ramiro Rodriguez Agusti and I worked during the summer for the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, one of the largest independent, non-profit international affairs organizations in the United States that serves over 7,000 members and the community through diversified programming about significant international issues and their bearing on American foreign policy.

My summer job consisted in helping organize The Chicago Conference on the Global Economy, an event that was co-organized as well by Kellogg School of Management. There I had to take care of lot of issues related to the organization of the conference. The most prominent were: acting as liaison between the Council and 20 other co-operating organizations, helping develop a media/marketing plan to drive audience to the conference and help rise money to fund the event. The conference turned out a success!

Name: Barnaby Olson
Organization: EcoLogic Enterprise Ventures (EEV)
I worked for EcoLogic Enterprise Ventures (EEV), a Boston-based non-profit that operates as a "green" loan fund offering affordable financing to rural enterprises located in environmentally sensitive areas of Latin America. I had two primary responsibilities: 1) I was responsible for developing a pipeline of new loans in northwest Mexico. Based on in-country due diligence, I identified 7 loans totaling $710,000 for projects related to sustainable fisheries and community-based ecotourism. I will present my results to the Packard Foundation in the fall with the hope that this will lead to additional project-related investment for EEV. 2) I was responsible for developing a streamlined loan renewal process to expedite subsequent loans for organizations that have already undergone a thorough credit review. This process is currently being implemented for all loan renewals. My internship at EEV proved to me that it is possible to find a dynamic fast-paced environment in the non-profit world where an MBA can apply his or her business experience and work toward making the world a better place.

Name: Akeshia E. Craven
Organization: America's Second Harvest
This summer I reported to the Vice President of Affiliate Services at America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization with a network of more than 200 food bank and food rescue organizations. Affiliate Services is responsible for all aspects of the relationship between America's Second Harvest and the members of their network. My responsibilities for the summer included a detailed analysis of A2H's market potential to partner with several faith-based organizations in the effort to end hunger and recommendations as to who to partner with and how; a numerical analysis of allocation patterns from A2H to two affiliates who operated in overlapping territories and were having jurisdiction disputes; recommended changes to A2H's grant review process that would add objectivity; created a template for A2H affiliates to follow when applying for grants; and performed a cost benefit analysis of farming and community gardening initiatives within the network. I also sat on a grant review committee this summer and provided the benchmark evaluation upon which all other members of the committee based their evaluations.

While at A2H, I took advantage of their annual Resource Development Conference, sat in on several executive level meetings, and due to the variety of projects I was responsible for was able to interact with members of every department from logistics to development to marketing and communications.

Name: Michel Protti
Organization: KaBOOM!
I worked at KaBOOM! a national non-profit dedicated to providing children with healthy play opportunities. My specific project entailed putting together a strategy designed to attract sponsors to a new program initiative: building skateparks. My summer was spent learning about skateboard culture and the skateboard sponsorship landscape and pricing, targeting and positioning the skatepark program for rollout by the development team. Overall the summer was fantastic, I had exposure to the organization CEO and Board of Directors and was brought into assist with important strategic decisions outside the purview of my project.

Name: Patrick Fischer
Organization: Save the Children in Dhaka, Bangladesh
I accepted an internship with Save the Children in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Field Office is currently expanding in southern Bangladesh with a food security program, which provides training, healthcare and food with a goal of lowering the child stunting rate. I participated in a cross-functional team which was responsible for researching food security issues and preparing a formal application for a five-year $40 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Name: Courtney Marsh
Organization: KaBOOM!
This summer, I worked as a Marketing Intern for KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to the child's right to safe, fun play spaces. In order to execute their mission, KaBOOM! builds playgrounds and skateparks in partnership with corporations and local communities (they've built 550+ in the last 6 years). In effort to generate more unrestricted funds, KaBOOM! has entered into a few one-off cause-related marketing partnerships with companies such as Ben & Jerry's, Home Depot, Unilever (Wisk) and Walgreen's.

My job for the summer was to develop a cause-related marketing strategy. Some of the questions I was charged with answering were: What types of corporations should they partner with? What are the implications for the branding of KaBOOM! as an organization? What are the legal and tax issues? What human resources are needed? In effect, it was a modified marketing plan of sorts. It was a great experience. I had responsibility for developing a report and recommendations that KaBOOM! plans to use in its strategic planning going forward. It was a high level project that was able to be completed in a 10-week period, and I had access to senior managers within both the for-profit and non-profit communities who I interviewed to determine " best practices" in cause-related marketing. I also developed a marketing brochure for the organization that can be used to present partnership opportunities to corporations.

My internship gave me great insight into: 1) a non-profit that has adopted a successful business model and values the application of hard core business principles to the social sector; and 2) a look inside a truly entrepreneurial enterprise and the challenges of a small organization as it strives to grow, position and brand itself, all while meeting a crucial social need.