Monica Rowand (MBA’17)
COO at Phase 3 Sports and Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Why did you decide to come to Leeds? I chose Leeds because I wanted a program that would not only teach me how to “speak business” but also would allow me to study socially responsible business practices. Because Leeds has the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR), graduate classes like Social Entrepreneurship and Topics in Sustainable Business, and a strong Net Impact chapter, I knew it would be a good place for me to pursue my career goals.
Could you share an experience (or two) that was particularity memorable at Ƶ Boulder/ Leeds? The Net Impact Case Competition is an incredible and impressive event that was started and has been held at Leeds since 2001. It not only gives teams from schools around the world an opportunity to solve a business case using environmentally and socially responsible tactics, but it also brings them to the Ƶ Boulder campus. As the presenting school, our MBA students get a unique opportunity to see the competition entries, meet and work with impressive professional judges and sponsors from the Denver/Boulder area, and interact with MBA students from other programs.
Any particular professors or mentors that influenced you while you were at Ƶ Boulder/ Leeds? Hands down, Dave Newport, the Director of the Environmental Center. Ƶ Boulder has a premier sports sustainability program, Ralphie’s Green Stampede, which was pioneered and led by Dave. An additional reason I chose Ƶ is because I would be able to work with him on this program. The point of me attending business school was that I would be able to work in sports to not only reduce the environmental impacts of large events but to also use their platform to promote sustainability and sustainable behaviors to fans. This is the same mission of Ralphie’s Green Stampede, and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to learn from Dave, his team, and the program that was built at Ƶ.
Where has life taken you since you graduated Leeds? I am now in the Office of Sustainability at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In July 2018 we released a 3-year Sustainability Strategic Plan that addresses pretty much every aspect of campus operations and has a great emphasis on student, faculty and staff, and community engagement. I was brought to UL specifically to increase engagement on campus and grow their sports sustainability program. This football season we started composting in a state with no commercial compost facility! In addition, during my 2nd year at Leeds, a couple of business partners and I decided to start our own business where we would help sports properties develop and monetize their sustainability platforms. is a growing sports sustainability marketing and consulting frim and we are currectly working with the Pac-12 Conference to build out the platform.
What is one piece of advice/best practice that has stuck with you throughout your career? There’s something to the “it’s who you know” cliché. What I mean is: Starting on day one of orientation at Leeds, a major emphasis was placed on the networking aspect of the MBA program. I’ve always been a person who follows up with people after meeting them at an event or introduces myself to speakers at a conference, often asking for more of their time to ask further questions, pick their brain, and learn more (when it was convenient for them of course!). As MBA candidates, this exact approach was encouraged. I definitely attribute this practice—meeting and getting to know people who do what I do, who do what I want to do, and who do what I don’t want to do—as playing a major role in where I am today. It’s how I figured out where exactly I wanted to go with my career. It also keeps me up-to-date with happenings in my industry. I have great relationships with colleagues who I can ask for advice or share best practices. And on the flip side, it is how I started (and continue to) building a name and place for myself in sports sustainability.
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April 2019 - Earth Month Edition!