Impact Connections: Interview with MIINT Team Member & SII Graduate Assistant Catherine Lucchesi
by Sandi S. Ruddick
I had the pleasure this month of sitting down to chat with MBA student — and Social Innovation Initiative Graduate Assistant extraordinaire — Catherine Lucchesi. Catherine brings over 8 years of experience as an advocate for social change in the nonprofit sector to her position through building public and private partnerships and assessing and scaling programs. She earned her BA from NYU in art history, business, and creative writing before being accepted into the MBA program at UT. Catherine is actively involved with the SII and Net Impact at McCombs, and she has also been a dedicated participant in programs such as the MBA Impact Investing Network and Training (MIINT) Competition Team, Social Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), McCombs Ambassador Committee, Graduate Women in Business, and CleanTech. Catherine has a passion for sustainability and volunteering, and she can often be found working with local nonprofits in Austin or exploring national parks.
Sandi: Good morning, Catherine! Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us about your experiences at McCombs with MIINT and as the SII Graduate Assistant.
Catherine: You’re very welcome!
Sandi: You have such a rich background in both academics and work experience! For instance, you began your collegiate career at NYU as an Art History major and are now an MBA candidate in Sustainability at McCombs. What do you consider to be the element or philosophy that ties them together?
Catherine: I have always been interested in how ideas can change the world and bring people together: inspiring people to make change, come together, and get behind a new idea. So, I found that being able to understand people’s ideas, think deeply about them, and then be able to communicate them is just as critical in art as it is in social impact. Starting my career out working in an art museum and going on to do community organizing here in Austin with different non-profits, I used all of those skills to translate ideas on how to bring people together within a vision.
Sandi: Tell me about your journey to MIINT: how did you hear about the program? What made you want to be part of it? What did you learn?
Catherine: I came into Business school wanting to learn more about impact investing as a strategy, and I felt that MIINT offered both the curriculum to get that foundational knowledge of impact investing and also the opportunity to find an investment, think like a venture capitalist, do the due diligence, go through all the processes of building up an investment memo, and then make that presentation. For me, it really brought together so many elements that I was hoping to learn about. Looking back at the other teams, it was really a very diverse community of students from different backgrounds. I learned so much from the team that SII put together. As a second year, it has brought so many of the classes I’ve taken together: my private equity knowledge, my finance classes, and ESG investing. It has been almost a capstone type of project for me. You’re really getting the time to learn the material and the industry while having the support of the SII team, which is really unique.
Sandi: Would you describe for us your work in Net Impact?
Catherine: Of course! I am the Vice President of Impact Investing, and Net Impact is kind of the student hub of social impact on campus. We help students who are interested in pursuing a career in social impact connect with the resources on the academic and career side. Net Impact is very collaborative and team-based — you get support from all of your classmates. We focus on having people understand the many different pathways they can go through social impact and making sure they are aware of the different classes and resources on campus available to them. We work as mentors for the incoming class of people who are interested in social impact.
Sandi: What has been the best thing for you about working with SII as a graduate assistant? What has been the most surprising?
Catherine: One of the best things has been just getting to know the team and feeling part of the incredible work the team is doing on campus — creating the space for other students like me, with all of the support and resources. Even playing a small part in SII’s mission is so rewarding — feeling like you can support the incredible speaker series we have coming on to campus by spreading the word to everyone, making sure people know about all of the tools at their disposal at McCombs, having the support of Madison and Meeta as mentors and co-workers throughout the whole process cheering you on, and knowing that we are making sure that our collective voices are heard when it comes to sustainability and social impact. One of my more surprising things was during my graduate assistant role when I was helping out with a class for undergrads, and I learned so much from them. The job of being a teacher is incredibly challenging, and it was so rewarding to see them over a semester change and flourish and come into their own, creating these fantastic projects addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges, like world hunger.
Sandi: You have been involved as both a student and graduate assistant with SII, which gives you a multi-layered perspective. Where do you see the SII going? How do you feel that it is influencing students?
Catherine: I think sustainability is only becoming more and more integrated into every aspect of business, and SII has always walked that walk. SII has been building a movement within this community of students, academics, and leaders — I only see that continuing to build and continuing to grow people. Students are desperate for these resources, and SII provides it to them with incredibly innovative programming. Without these resources, students would not be able to pursue a career in social impact, and companies would not be able to find the employees they need. It’s influencing students by really supporting their dreams, and it’s also providing a critical talent pipeline for companies and UT, as well.
Sandi: What are your future goals? How might they offer you the opportunity to contribute to social, environmental, or governance impact?
Catherine: One thing I’m passionate about is access. I was able to follow my dreams coming out of high school, and I know that’s a very unique experience; it shouldn’t be, but it is. It’s kind of a right versus a privilege — I would love to see it be that way, so some of my goals are definitely supporting companies that are empowering economic development. Hopefully, right out of school, I will be working in social impact or ESG strategy at a publicly-traded company or large tech company. I would love to get to support efforts with employees, helping them connect to giving back and educating. Also trying to impact strategy at a large company and make sure that they’re making the most positive impact on the climate that they can. Personally, I’m also excited about starting to do a very small amount of impact investing, myself — I like to just call it “investing”. I’d like to grow that moving forward and maybe one day start my own fund. You want to love what you do and feel that it is contributing to positive outcomes in society; that’s where I see my career moving forward and, hopefully, bringing others along on that journey as well.
Sandi: And that can be the most amazing, impactful thing of all — to carry people along with you and blaze that trail so that it is easier for those who come after us. What an amazing goal! Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Catherine: Yes. I think that another part of social impact that is so important is acting as an ally on campus and volunteering to support your classmates — especially with student-led diversity initiatives. Being available as a resource as someone who’s willing to step in. Student leaders need that support. I think that is a huge part of what SII and a lot of the students here involved in impact are willing to do, and that is important to me personally and to society at large.
This interview has been edited in context and length for clarity and brevity.
