Beyond Awareness to Action

When Leena Jube (MBA’21) was working with Professor of the Practice Ella Washington (see page 18) to develop the Innovation Through Inclusion course, she landed on a valuable bit of guidance.

“It’s not just about being aware of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but it’s about how you use it,” says Jube, who at the time was student government vice president for DEI for the MBA program. Her quote refers specifically to how Washington and team approached building the course for MBA students, but it also applies handily to Jube’s work before, during, and after her time at Georgetown McDonough. Jube previously had a career in brand management, including stints with Dove and Ben & Jerry’s. “I was able to see a lot of social empowerment work. I could see the value in that early in my career. So when it came to school, I was looking for that.” What she found was a chance to explore DEI from a curricular, co-curricular, and cultural perspective. “I had three main goals. One was future-proofing the student experience. Second was driving access for admissions—looking at how to create more opportunities for diverse candidates to engage with Georgetown before coming here. And third was amplifying inclusivity within the classroom and extracurriculars.”

In practice, that meant everything from the course design mentioned above to designing DEI-focused content series and bringing special speakers to campus. Jube carried forward her experience to work on Georgetown McDonough’s DEI Standing Committee. And now she’s hoping to apply her knowledge further in a brand-new position with Deloitte, where she’s already been asked to participate in DEI initiatives based on her past work. “I’m so excited, because it’s a thread that’s been there throughout my career,” said Jube. “I’ve formalized this journey. I have an understanding and tools to move others along this journey, step by step.”

CO-CURRICULUM

CAREERS

Speakers on campus: The DEI Standing Committee and others continue to work to diversify topics and speakers for campus events. Examples include the DEI Research Speaker series in 2021 and the Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series of 2020–2021. The latter featured an alumnae panel with female entrepreneurs and leaders including Melissa Bradley (B’89), Fatema Dewji (B’10), Jennifer Sheehy (MBA’97), and Regina Wolfe (B’68). An EMBA student also created a Q&A session with diversity consultant Tiffani Donaldson-Berry. Student advisory and affinity groups: Across all of our masters programs, we have an increasing enrollment of veterans. 2018 saw the creation of MSF Women in Finance, followed by MSF Veterans in 2019. Georgetown LGBTQ+ Mentors and Resources (GLMR) rebranded and expanded in 2019. And Georgetown GAMBLE (Georgetown Aspiring Minority Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs), has been a resource for underrepresented minority undergraduates since 2008. McDonough Women similarly advances networking and professional development exposure for undergraduate women in business. BUILD a community: Like Smart Start (see Composition), Business Undergraduates Invested in Leadership Development (BUILD) offers programming and resources for first-year underrepresented minority students. BUILD also exposes those students to the business community around Georgetown before orientation. Students are mentored by upperclass peers. The program enhances community throughout the first year with a series of ReBUILD activities.

The company focus: Career services teams across McDonough highlight companies recognized by employees and outside groups for supporting a diverse workforce, specifically those rated highly for individuals with disabilities, veterans, women, Black and Latinix employees, and LGBTQ+ employees. For example, in 2019, M.S. in Finance began highlighting job and internship postings and events for diverse populations. Venturing into women’s leadership: A study by Different Funds noted that Georgetown is the second-best university in graduating women who lead venture capital firms.

“BUILD made the Hilltop authentic for me. One thing that plagues a lot of students when they come to Georgetown is they overcommit to things they don’t actually want to be involved in because they’re looking for some form of community. BUILD prepped me by giving me my own community before this pressure kicked in.” —Bryce Badger (B’21) BUILD Participant and Coordinator