Educational BeneFitz Northwestern football coach and SESP alumnus Pat Fitzgerald on leadership - School of Education and Social Policy
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SPRING 2019 Educational BeneFitz Northwestern football coach and SESP alumnus Pat Fitzgerald on leadership
S E S P SPRING 2019 VOL 19, NO 2 M E SSAG E F RO M T H E D E A N
Dean
David Figlio
Senior Associate Dean
Coleen T. Coleman (MS91)
Associate Dean
Kavita Kapadia Matsko (MS97), Teacher Education DE AR FRIENDS,
Assistant Deans
At SESP, we emphasize that teamwork
Jeanne M. Hughes, Research and collaboration are vital to great lead-
Susan Olson, Student Affairs ership in every domain. So I’m never
Amy Pratt, Community Education Partnerships surprised—but always delighted—that
Managing Editor many Northwestern athletes gravitate
Julie Deardorff to SESP, where they learn how to apply
Publication Design lessons from the playing field to change
Office of Global Marketing and Communications lives and organizations for the better.
You don’t need a PhD to appreciate
Image Credits
Steve Drey, Yancey Hughes, Jim Prisching, why our learning and organizational
Leon Walls, Monika Wnuk change concentration—centered around
©2019 Northwestern University.
people and their roles within families,
All rights reserved. 5-19/17M/RM-HC/2793 teams, nonprofits, corporations, and
other organizations—would be espe-
12
SESP is published twice a year for alumni, families,
and friends of the School of Education and cially attractive to students who spend
Social Policy. Diverse views are presented and many hours a week working in teams. Dean to coach: David Figlio (left) and Pat Fitzgerald
do not necessarily reflect the editor’s opinions or And our student-athletes help their
Northwestern University’s official policies.
Fitz’s Playbook classmates better understand learning
SESP welcomes all reader input, including story in organizations, because the lessons D’Wayne Bates (BS98), Gerald students—who came to SESP to learn
The winning combination of SESP, Coach Fitz, and Northwestern football
ideas, comments, class notes, corrections, and from sports successes and failures are Conoway (BS99), and Vince Cartaya not only how to succeed but also how
address changes. highly transferable. All SESP students (BS03)—just to name a few. They shared to lead, at Northwestern and in life.
sespalums@northwestern.edu
are so connected in their learning and what they’ve learned about 21st-century We’d love to hear how you’re using
@ sesp_nu
847-467-3147
mutual sharing that once our student- literacies such as change management your leadership skills to make lives
athletes take their skills into the world, and team dynamics—and how to prepare better. Please email us at sespalums
For more stories to read and ways to connect,
they often return to campus to share for success wherever you land, be it in @northwestern.edu or use the
visit sesp.northwestern.edu.
their experiences and wisdom with the classroom, boardroom, or courtroom #SESPLove hashtag on Twitter.
current students. or on the playing field.
At a Reunion Weekend luncheon each We work in teams. We work in fami- Go ’Cats!
8 year, SESP alumni volunteer to meet
and mentor current undergraduates.
lies. We work on committees. Every
where we go, we are destined to work
How They Built It Last fall’s participants included several with other people. Making these inter
Five entrepreneurs who former Wildcat athletes: Doreen Maxcy actions as successful as possible is part David Figlio
found there’s no better place (BS68) from Northwestern’s first wom- of the essence of SESP. Orrington Lunt Professor and Dean
6 to start (up) than SESP
en’s golf team; former ’Cats point guard
Vernon Ford (BS68); and football pro-
This issue highlights some of the
people—from head football coach Pat
Embracing Identities, gram greats Stanley Davenport (BS88), Fitzgerald (BS97) and Union College
ON THE COVER Cultivating Leaders president David Harris (BS91) to
Before Pat Fitzgerald became Northwestern’s SESP Leadership Institute startup founders, social justice entre
Dan and Susan Jones Head Football Coach preneurs, and first-generation college
students bring much more than
and Big Ten Coach of the Year, he earned
his degree from SESP. Many student-athletes diversity to campus
choose SESP to learn and practice what it
takes to be a leader.
PHOTO BY JIM PRISCHING Message from the Dean 1 | School News 2 | Alumni News 16 | Donor Roll 20
1
S C H O O L N E WS
No One Is Immune to Fake News Variable Power of
Even when we know we’re getting false, fictitious, or mis- Positive Thinking
leading information, our exposure to it can have clear conse-
Searching for a silver lining in a stress-
quences, says David Rapp, professor of learning sciences.
ful situation can help ease anxiety,
We may feel confused or doubt what we previously knew,
particularly for people from lower socio-
says Rapp, whose article on the consequences of exposure
economic backgrounds, suggests new
to misinformation appears in the journal Policy Insights from
research by Emily Hittner, a human
the Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
development and social policy PhD
The article, coauthored by Northwestern cognitive psy-
student and life span developmental
chology PhD student Nikita Salovich, builds on Rapp’s previ-
psychobiologist.
ous work suggesting that even when people know better,
they often draw on inaccurate or misleading ideas when
making decisions or solving problems.
“People show clear effects of that information, whether it
comes from listening to news or reading fiction,” Rapp says.
The authors add that learning how to critically evaluate
misleading statements can improve understanding. So can
recognizing that we’re not immune to fake news.
‘New Math’ Strategies for ‘Old Math’ Mindsets
A study of teachers coauthored by James Spillane offers valuable how-tos for getting employ-
ees on board with reforms.
Spillane, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change,
Hittner says that the findings, pub-
and his collaborators wondered how school leaders were able to get elementary school
lished in the journal Emotion, “highlight
teachers to adopt a curriculum that differed from what the teachers had learned. One aim of
the important role a person’s situation
the study was to determine whether the teachers’ interactions with peers influenced their
or environment plays in shaping how
beliefs about math instruction.
they deal with their emotions—and how
The study found that it took multiple strategies—changing the organizational structure,
that matters for their health.”
adopting curriculum that was different enough to nudge teachers to talk to one another, and
STEM FOR PRE-K offering professional development opportunities—to lead a majority of teachers to change
Reappraisal, a strategy of cognitive
behavioral therapy, involves finding
their beliefs over time about how to teach math.
During October’s statewide STEM Summit at Northwestern, teach- something positive in a negative situa-
The results hold important lessons for other organizations looking to change their members’
ers tried out playful ways to build STEM learning into early childhood tion. Someone who worries about
behavior, says Spillane, who also has a courtesy appointment in Northwestern’s Kellogg
education. The ninth annual event was copresented by SESP’s Office loneliness after a breakup, for example,
School of Management.
of Community Education Partnerships. might seek new passions or rekindle an
“Organizations need to take a holistic approach and think about how various components
old friendship.
of their infrastructure shape interactions among employees,” Spillane says. “Peers can be
Hittner and her team, including SESP
a powerful source for improvement, but leaders have to support, engage, and channel this.”
faculty member Claudia Haase and PhD
student Katie Rim, analyzed data from
Turning Ideas Into Action two different sources: a lab-based
Graduate students Liz Jackson and Hernando climate change, peace and human rights, pov- Parker, a social policy major and global study of 112 married spouses and a
Sevilla-Garcia and undergraduate Christina erty alleviation, or public health. Overall, 25 health studies minor, is working with Weinberg nine-year national survey of more than
Parker connected with other changemakers Northwestern students joined about 1,500 College undergraduates to create a community
SESP Names New Dean for Teacher Education 2,000 people.
at October’s 11th annual meeting of the Clinton others from 397 schools and 112 countries at garden program to combat Chicago-area food Both studies showed that people who
Global Initiative University, a three-day sum- the event, held at the University of Chicago. insecurity. Kavita Kapadia Matsko (MS97), whose research focuses on make less money benefit more from
mit designed to engage the next generation Jackson and Sevilla-Garcia, both pursuing “CGI U reinvigorated our commitment to developing and supporting teachers in urban schools, is SESP’s reappraising situations than those with
of leaders from college campuses around their master’s degrees in higher education tackling disparities in educational access,” new associate dean for teacher education, succeeding Miriam higher incomes, possibly because
the world. administration and policy, are building a study Jackson says. “We came away with resources Sherin. Matsko was previously director of strategic innovation low-income earners have less control
Hosted by Bill and Chelsea Clinton, CGI U abroad program to boost international oppor- and connections that will help us put our com- and research at National Louis University. over their environment. In both experi-
requires participants to develop initiatives tunities for students at Chicago institutions mitment into action.” ments, cognitive reframing began to
addressing education, the environment and with high Hispanic enrollment. lose its effectiveness when a person’s
annual income rose above $35,000.
2 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 3
S C H O O L N E WS
IN BRIEF The Threshold
Learning sciences faculty members How an unlocked door changed Larry Hedges’s life
Megan Bang (PhD09) and Shirin Vossoughi
received the Alumnae of Northwestern
Eleven-year-old Larry Hedges was waiting “I’m passionate about
University’s Curriculum Development
Cynthia Coburn Award to create a hybrid social justice
for his mother to finish her shift as a dish- education precisely
course for Northwestern undergraduates washer in a college cafeteria when he wan- because it was life-
and Evanston Township High School dered through the open door of a nearby changing for me,” says
students. chemistry lab. Hedges, “I want every-
College wasn’t something for poor fami- body else to have that
Social policy professor and Institute for
lies like theirs, Hedges’s mom had told chance.”
Policy Research (IPR) associate Cynthia
him. But after repeat visits to the lab—and A bright, curious
Coburn was appointed to the National
Academies’ Standing Committee on conversations with a friendly graduate student, Hedges won
Sheridan Fuller Advancing Science Communication student—Hedges began to envision a a prestigious Regents
Research and Practice. future he never thought possible. Scholarship to the Uni-
A first-generation college graduate versity of California,
Human development and social policy whose father never finished high school, San Diego, where he stud-
faculty member and IPR fellow Mesmin
today Hedges is Northwestern’s Board of ied math and physics. As
Destin was recognized by the American
Trustees Professor of Statistics and an undergraduate, he
Psychological Association for his early-
career work on how socioeconomic status Education and Social Policy, Psychology,
Sybil Madison affects human behavior. and Medical Social Science and an Insti-
tute for Policy Research faculty fellow— “You can teach any child almost anything that
PhD student Sheridan Fuller was named a and one of the world’s most influential
2018 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
applied statisticians. He is working to
the best students are able to do. We know it’s
CTD Bolsters STEM Education
Health Policy Research Scholar.
give others the same educational oppor- possible to achieve excellence for all.”
Research associate Sybil Madison joined tunities he received.
in Jewish Day Schools the Civic Leadership Academy, a program His life’s work was celebrated at a
The Center for Talent Development is collaborating with for promising leaders in nonprofit organi- December ceremony in Hong Kong, where tutored and mentored underrepresented The author of 10 books, he was nomi-
Paula Olszewski-Kubilius zations and local government agencies in students, staying on for three years after nated by President Barack Obama to the
Chicago-area Jewish day schools to strengthen STEM educa- Hedges was awarded the $3.9 million
tion programming and teaching, an effort supported by a grant Chicago and Cook County. Yidan Prize for Education Research—the graduating in 1973 to build programs that National Board for Education Sciences,
from the Crown Family Philanthropies. largest prize of its kind—for pioneering the made college more accessible. which he now chairs.
The funding will help CTD review the offerings for high-ability Center for Talent Development director
use of meta-analysis. He is using the prize Hedges understood that education was a His latest and perhaps most daunting
students, make program recommendations, offer professional Paula Olszewski-Kubilius coauthored the
books Talent Development as a Framework to help launch the Center on Statistics for powerful way to address inequalities on a challenge involves figuring out how to
development to teachers, and facilitate in-school programming
for Gifted Education: Implications for Best Evidence-Based Policy and Practice at large scale. While earning his doctorate in organize the education system so that all
for students at four partner day schools. A pilot after-school
Practices and Applications in Schools Northwestern, which will develop new statistics, he envisioned new ways of apply- children excel.
program at Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School is expand-
Uri Wilensky and The Handbook of High Performance: ing advanced math to real-world issues “You can teach any child almost anything
ing this spring. methods for generating and synthesizing
Developing Human Potential into Domain- such as school funding, class size, and the that the best students are able to do,” says
The grant will also help offset costs for Jewish day school evidence across trial studies and translat-
Specific Talent.
students taking Sunday CTD enrichment courses on the ing it into education policy and practice. lifelong effects of good teachers. Hedges. “We know it’s possible to achieve
Evanston campus.
Uri Wilensky was named the Lorraine … Disarray in the field of education excellence for all. We just don’t know how
The collaboration grew from a successful pilot program research in the 1970s spurred Hedges to to make it happen yet.”
Morton Professor of Learning Sciences Hedges’s commitment to evidence-based
spearheaded by J-STEM, a nonprofit that provides supplemen-
and Computer Science. education policy as a tool for social good come up with rigorous methods for synthe-
tal STEM curriculum for Jewish elementary, middle, and high
stems from a central question guiding sizing research findings across studies—a BY JULIE DE ARDORFF
school students. In 2015, J-STEM founders Michael and Marcelo Worsley, assistant professor of
Jennifer Zukerman approached CTD with the idea of creating his career: what if he used his talents in subfield of statistics called meta-analysis.
Marcelo Worsley learning sciences and computer science,
a Sunday enrichment program to accommodate Sabbath- math to help solve gritty, everyday societal His work eventually resulted in most of
received Northwestern’s Daniel Linzer
observant Jewish day school students. problems rather than those conjured up the meta-analytic methods now in wide-
Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity
“While supporting the needs of high-ability students,” says and Equity for his efforts to bring STEM in academia? spread use, informing evidence-based edu-
CTD associate director Rhoda Rosen, “the Crown funding education to all, regardless of physical cation policy across the United States and
will also help us strengthen programming and teaching for ability. throughout the world.
all students.”
4 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 5
One of Destin’s core research findings
suggests that helping lower-income and
first-generation students express their iden-
tities and sense of purpose boosts academic
Embracing Identities,
achievement, career motivation, and resil-
ience, even in the face of tremendous chal-
lenge and adversity.
“SLI activities explore who the students
Cultivating Leaders
are, what matters to them, why they are
here, and what they want to contribute to from reading it in her predominantly white
the community,” Destin says. “These are the high school, where she often felt pressure
students who may have been undervalued to represent her entire community.
I
in the past but have the potential to help the Mayorga, who co-led a discussion of
Intense summer program builds bonds and confidence University grow.” Coates’s work, says reading the book
SLI reading assignments are care- helped him find his own writing voice.
fully selected to expose students to “Shirin also talked about her own experi-
different perspectives and spark ences, which opened us up to talking about
insights about how the texts ours,” he adds. “That led to really good
relate to their own lives. discussions.”
n summer’s final weeks, New relationships, new realizations strong social life, maintains a 4.0 GPA, and
Writing assignments blend Those talks continued in the daily
when Lake Michigan SESP faculty members Shirin Vossoughi gets eight hours of sleep a night,” Buresch
research with autobiogra- Leaders Lab, led by Destin, where conver-
is at its warmest and and Mesmin Destin developed and piloted says. “It takes some time to understand
phy so students reflect on sations ranged from what leadership looks
Deering Meadow is lush SLI in 2017 to support incoming students, that each of us is as deserving to be here
how culture influences like in practice to ways of building commu-
and green, 20 incoming especially those who come from lower- as the next person. SLI definitely helps
thinking and learning. nity and overcoming challenges.
Northwestern students income backgrounds or are the first in students realize they are much smarter
After Vossoughi “We spent time thinking about what
are holed up in a campus their families to attend college. Over 17 than they once thought they were.”
assigned Between leadership meant for us and what each
residence hall, feverishly days, new first-year students, as well as
the World of us contributes to the collective group,”
preparing for the next rising sophomore and transfer students, Putting research in action
and Me by Suarez says. “I realized that even though
morning. explore identity and equality in education, By all accounts, SLI is intense. With
Ta-Nehisi I’m pretty quiet and don’t often speak out,
Energy drinks fuel the finishing of hone their writing skills, and develop an full days of classwork and discus-
Coates, a I can still be a leader and make a difference
essays, research papers, and reading academic and social support system. sion, along with daily reading
young black woman in my own way.”
assignments; the clicking of keyboards SLI also stresses building community and writing assignments,
in the program Mayorga, too, tapped into newfound
is constant. The academic year has yet and relationships to combat alienation, late nights are com-
wrote an essay on leadership skills. Feeling more confident
to begin, and already these students are a strategy that Destin’s research sug- mon. Saturday trips to
how reading the on campus, he is part of a task force on
all in. gests is a key ingredient for academic suc- Chicago landmarks, an
book in SLI differed diversity and equity and cofacilitated a
The transition to college can be a cess. Some students, such as SESP juniors improv workshop, and
SESP town hall. “I’m leading events,
daunting and lonely experience. But these Christopher Mayorga and Veronica Suarez, a ropes course help stu-
reaching out to people, and being more
participants in the SESP Leadership participated in SLI as rising sophomores dents blow off steam and build
vocal in meetings,” he says. “I’m really
Institute (SLI) will begin the school year and returned as counselors. Last fall, camaraderie.
out here doing things and making an
with a for-credit course under their belt, SESP senior Samantha Buresch worked as For Vossoughi, assistant
impact. I attribute a large part of that
newly formed friendships, and a better a resident assistant, helping her younger professor of learning sciences,
to SLI.”
grasp of how their diverse backgrounds colleagues on everything from meeting and Destin, associate profes-
and cultures are assets in a university 10 p.m. deadlines to finding campus sor of human development
setting. resources. and social policy and psychol- BY CL ARE MILLIKEN
“Sometimes it seems like everyone at ogy, the SLI curriculum offers
Northwestern graduated at the top of an opportunity to apply their
their class, is involved in a million clubs, groundbreaking work in edu-
is double majoring with a minor, has a cation equity.
6 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 7
At Northwestern, entrepreneurship is
about more than launching a product;
it’s about a process. Classes like
Designing for Social Change, startup
resources like The Garage, and alumni
connections create an atmosphere that Matt Zients
Cocreator of Connect & Care
promotes resilience, teamwork, risk-
HOW
taking, design thinking, and other Matt Zients was in high school when he realized
qualities innovators need. he wanted to help young people connect with
“Entrepreneurship complements nonprofits.
That vision was why he chose SESP. It’s also why,
other student interests, such as the
THEY
in the first week of school, he beat a path to The
maker movement, civic engagement, Garage, Northwestern’s startup hub, to see if his
leadership in organizations, and social project qualified for its residency program.
advocacy,” says SESP dean David “SESP’s social justice curriculum and emphasis
BUILT
on policy were key. I loved the ethos and the mis-
Figlio. “Our approach is intentionally sion of making the world a better place,” says
flexible—with a definition that empha- Zients, a junior who cocreated the mobile app
sizes activating knowledge.” Connect & Care, which lets users browse, learn about,
and donate to selected charities around the world.
IT
SESP’s entrepreneurs come from a
“I could tell the SESP community was going to be really
wide variety of backgrounds, interests, strong and unlike any I’d encountered.”
and experience levels. One thing they Zients, who grew up volunteering at an AIDS orphanage in
all have in common is what first his mother’s hometown of Cape Town, South Africa, launched
attracted them to SESP: a desire to
Connect & Care with his two younger brothers. In addition to
helping millennials establish relationships with nonprofits
Kristin Sanders
Five entrepreneurs create positive change in the world. they really care about, the app updates users on how their
Creator of People6
money is making a tangible impact. Like most startups, the
who found there’s no project is always evolving in response to user feedback.
When Kristin Sanders couldn’t find a decent paid summer
internship, she did what any budding entrepreneur would do:
“You have to be critical of any initiative you’re in,” Zients says.
better place to start (up) “Community development
includes understanding
started her own business.
The company, People6, is a student-led digital marketing
than SESP the stakeholders you’re
mobilizing and not bur-
agency that provides everything from branding and web design
to research. Since the company’s April 2018 launch, People6 has
completed more than 16 projects for clients ranging from local
dening them or creating
schools to corporations.
anything inconvenient.
Prior to the launch, Sanders was awarded a winter-quarter
This was a big takeaway
residency at The Garage, which supported her venture’s incuba-
from my SESP courses.”
tion phase. Those 10 weeks culminated in the company’s cam-
SESP classes also got
pus debut at Wildfire Demo Day—and a $2,000 third-place prize
him thinking about the
for Sanders.
power of privilege: “I knew
Born and raised in Southern California, Sanders came to
I wanted to use any privi-
Northwestern determined to study economics. When she real-
lege I had to do something
ized she didn’t love the field, she sought out SESP adviser Caitlin
constructive. I’m privileged to
Burnett to learn more about the school’s learning and organiza-
feel empowered by having
tional change concentration.
resources to start something. I want
“Months later I returned, and right away Caitlin remembered
to turn empathy into action.”
my name, which really set the tone for the kind of place SESP is,”
Sanders says. “I took my first LOC class and loved it. I knew I
was in the right place.”
8 9
Sanders appreciates the flexibility of the SESP curriculum and
says her LOC classes bolster her entrepreneurial aspirations. At
Chuck Friedman
one point she was managing more than 30 students in various
Corporate vice president at Microsoft
People6 projects while also keeping up with her coursework.
“SESP gave me the courage to think differently,” she says. “And It was 2013 when senior leaders at Microsoft asked Chuck
that’s not something you can get at other places.” Friedman (BS88) to head the team that would revamp the
A first-generation college student, Sanders expects to graduate Windows “shell”—the part of the software consumers actively
in June. She plans to continue growing People6 and to pursue a use. A self-described “startup-y kind of guy,” Friedman says
teaching career “to create more entrepreneurship programs for
students, especially those of color and those who may not have
Isabel Benatar the opportunity was a “fascinating entrepreneurial moment.”
Rather than reworking the existing framework, Friedman
Cocreator of Bossy Chicago began researching what users actually wanted from the operating
the same opportunities as Northwestern students.”
system. He assembled a racially, culturally, and organizationally
Isabel Benatar (BS18) grew up in Palo Alto, the epicenter of diverse team to speak with consumers about how they used their
California’s Silicon Valley, with an entrepreneurial father. At computers.
the dinner table, she often heard about his experiences as CEO In the end, curiosity, empathy, and diversity were key elements
of a fast-growing startup. in the successful Windows 8 redesign, Friedman says.
Those conversations fed Benatar’s own entrepreneurial incli- “Everyone brings their own skill,” he adds. “Mine is that I’m a
people like you,” BrewBike’s namesake
nations, which first led her to study learning and organizational good listener and can work well across groups and the company.”
cold brew has twice the caffeine of
change at SESP and, three years into her degree, to apply to His learner’s mindset is also big plus. “Too often, people hear ‘Why
other coffee, promising a competitive
The Garage’s Wildfire Pre-Accelerator Program. During that did you get that wrong?’ instead of
edge for its drinkers—and delivering a
program, she and engineering major Samantha Letscher cre- ‘What did you learn?’ I don’t
competitive edge for the venture.
ated Bossy Chicago, an online directory that connects local need to be right all the time—
An early turning point for BrewBike came
women-run businesses to feminist consumers wanting to lever- I just need to get us to the
when Philips took a call during English class
age their purchasing power. right outcome.”
telling him the company had made the
In cocreating Bossy, Benatar conducted user and After graduation,
finals of the New Venture Challenge at the
market research and attended entrepreneurial work- Friedman joined and became
University of Chicago’s Booth School
shops. She hired and managed team members and a partner at Specialized
of Business.
fostered relationships with business owners. In Systems in Software, a startup
“I just walked out and started
the pitch contest at the end of the accelerator founded by Kellogg School of
cheering. It was just the best
program, Bossy received funding and placed Management faculty member Troy
moment ever,” Philips says. “We
second out of 11 teams. Henikoff. They built the company and
received $45,000 in funding. Then
“I learned how to go out and talk to people sold it to Medline Industries. Friedman
we placed second at Northwestern’s VentureCat competition—
and actively network—just for the connec- came to Microsoft in 1997.
that was more validation. We got another $20,000, and with
tion,” she says. “In classes, you’re given a He sees an entrepreneur as a creator
that we were able to raise an $850,000 seed round and start
prompt and instructions and so much of something others don’t think is
expanding to other campuses.”
guidance. But with a startup, you’re doing possible.
As part of a resident team at The Garage, Philips has gleaned
it because you’re passionate about it.” “There are two mindsets—one that
Lucas Philips advice from colleagues and entrepreneurial alumni, including
Neal Sáles-Griffin (BS09) and Claire Lew (BS11), who team-teach
Benatar recently joined Plaid, a financial
services startup in the Bay Area. As its recruiting
says, ‘We can do it!’ and the one the
Cocreator and chief growth officer of BrewBike the Engineering and Entrepreneurship class. Inside Annenberg lawyers have, telling you all the reasons
coordinator, she says she is drawing on the “great com- it can’t be done,” Friedman says. “You
Hall, meanwhile, the SESP administration allowed BrewBike to
bination” of her entrepreneurial experience and her actually need both. But it’s that core
Founded in 2015 by SESP’s Lucas Philips and Brammy Geduld, open its first retail location in the lobby.
SESP learning and organizational change major. optimism that defines entrepreneurs.”
BrewBike is Northwestern’s first student-owned and student- Now BrewBike’s chief growth officer, Philips offers this advice
Entrepreneurship requires “believing in yourself
run coffee venture. The company has generated more than to other young people launching a business: “Do less. Focus on
enough to create something completely new,” Benatar B Y B O NNIE M IL L E R R U B IN
$220,000 in sales and recently expanded to the University of fewer things and do them really well.”
says. Cofounding Bossy exemplifies it, but so does join-
Texas at Austin. IL LU S T R AT E D B Y S E R G E B L O C H
ing a tech startup rather than a big corporation. That’s
BrewBike originally operated from a custom-built bike that
because for Benatar, “it’s all about impact.”
Philips and his associates pedaled around campus between
classes, strategically parking it near the Rock and other high-
traffic locations. Branded as “fuel, brewed by people like you, for
10 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 11
Fitz’s Playbook:
“SESP offered me the best way
to prepare for my current role.
My job is about inspiring people—
A SESP Education and that’s what leadership
is all about.”
J
ust days after the Northwestern Wildcats celebrated decades later, Coach Fitz is known as a gifted motivator who
their 2018 Holiday Bowl victory, head football coach stresses education—and whose players have made nine bowl
Pat Fitzgerald has four hours of meetings scheduled appearances in 13 years.
with the defensive coaching staff in a single day. Back at his What may be news to many fans is that the School of
desk in the Walter Athletics Center, he resumes his usual pace, Education and Social Policy is where Fitzgerald (BS97) laid the
devoting each minute of the day to advancing Northwestern foundation for his future, studying how people and organiza-
football. tions develop and thrive.
A two-time All-American linebacker with the ’Cats in the With small classes fostering a team mentality and family
mid-1990s, Fitzgerald played a key role in that era’s dramatic atmosphere, along with a transdisciplinary curriculum empha-
turnaround of Northwestern’s football program. Back then, sizing leadership, SESP is particularly appealing to student-
the student-athlete who went by “Fitz” was likened to athletes who, in the Fitz mold, want to guide others and inspire
Chicago Bears great Dick Butkus—but with a style “more change on and off the field. Eleven of the football team’s 21 SESP
brainy than barbarian,” as Sports Illustrated observed. Two students earned Academic All–Big Ten honors last fall; overall,
the football program earned a record and Big Ten–best 60 honors.
“A SESP education is perfect for those who want to be CEOs,
lead organizations, or run companies, because it emphasizes the
FALL ’18 STATS FOR FITZ’S WILDCATS
human aspect,” Fitzgerald says. “It offered me the best way to
prepare for my current role. My job is about inspiring people—
60 and that’s what leadership is all about.”
As an undergraduate, Fitzgerald studied learning and organi-
A C A D E M I C A L L– B I G T E N H O N O R E E S ( M O S T I N T H E B I G T E N )
zational change (then called organizational studies), the SESP
concentration that centers on people and their roles in families,
16 of 22 teams, nonprofits, corporations, and other organizations.
“My classes focused on how to build genuine relationships,
S TA R T E R S : A L L– B I G T E N H O N O R E E S work with others, and find common ground when you don’t
agree,” Fitzgerald says. “They also stressed what is particularly
relevant in football: how to create a culture, a vision, and a set of
80 values that everyone stands for and lives up to.”
Since becoming head coach, Fitzgerald has helped build and
S T U D E N T- AT H L E T E S W I T H A 3 . 0 O R H I G H E R G P A
grow Chicago’s Big Ten team in part by giving players a voice
and letting them elect a 12-member leadership council. He meets
99% weekly with the council to discuss everything from locker-room
issues to uniforms for the next game
G R A D U AT I O N S U C C E S S R AT E (# 1 I N T H E N AT I O N ) “That core group gets a lot of trust,” says director of player
development Jacob Schmidt (BS11, MSHE14), who has worked
Source: Office of Academic Services and Student Development for and with Fitzgerald for 12 years, first as a player and now as
12 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 13
A L U M N I N E WS
SPIRITS
a staff member. “Their job is to be the connection between players UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE MAKES
and coaches. They have a ton of ownership, and it’s paid off.” ANYTHING POSSIBLE—JUST ASK
IN HER
Preparing student-athletes for life after football is no less A COUPLE OF ’CATS
important to Coach Fitz than inspiring them to excel on the field.
D’Wayne Bates (BS98) was one of several former
SUITCASE
SESP sophomore Jeremy Larkin knows this from experience: after
athletes among the record turnout of SESP alumni
receiving a diagnosis of cervical stenosis, he was forced to retire
at the school’s Reunion Weekend luncheon last fall.
from the game in 2018. Heeding Fitzgerald’s advice, he stayed with
A former wide receiver with the Chicago Bears and
his football family as a mentor on staff.
Minnesota Vikings, Bates earned a graduate degree Q&A with ’08 alumna Amanda Kralj
after retiring from football and is passionate about
lifelong learning and working with youth. Since 2015
he has been assistant principal for athletics at
Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois. Whenever Amanda Kralj has the chance
“I’m always telling the kids, ‘There’s victory in loss. to hit the road, she does. And no matter
Go back and study what went wrong,’” Bates says. where this intrepid globetrotter lands,
“Twenty years after learning it at Northwestern, I still she makes a point of sharing a drink
utilize that in life.” with locals to better see the world
Also attending the lunch was Gerald Conoway through their eyes.
(BS99), a teammate of Pat Fitzgerald during the
This simple, universal act—and her
Wildcats’ 1995 Rose and 1996 Citrus Bowl seasons.
love-at-first-sip experience with craft
Conoway was drawn to psychology and teaching
gin while in Johannesburg, South
and majored in human development and psychological
services, the SESP concentration that explores how Africa—formed the basis of her new
people are influenced by family, group, and organiza- company, Suitcase Spirits, which she
tional dynamics. recently launched from her home in Where did the company name come from? How does having a master’s degree help?
That knowledge translated to the football field and Hong Kong. Whenever I came back to my home base, I’d There’s one MSLOC tool I come back to over
As @NUFBFamily tweeted, “One door closed . . . another one opened” for have a suitcase full of spirits from around the and over: the Burke-Litwin Change Model. It’s
Jeremy Larkin (center), who joined the Northwestern coaching staff last fall.
later to the workforce, says Conoway, who landed a SESP talked with Kralj, a Milwaukee world to share with friends, along with my always on the wall of my office wherever I am
position in labor relations at General Motors immedi- native with a master’s degree in learn- experiences and learnings. I always thought in the world. It seems like it’s been haunting
ately after graduation. Now he is a GM human resources ing and organizational change (MSLOC) of them as my “suitcase spirits.” Each gave me and a few of my classmates over the years!
“I’m focusing on leadership and teamwork skills that you learn manager, dealing with benefits, hiring, firing, and other me the sense of a city—the people, the food, I do love it. It’s great for visualizing different
from Northwestern, about blending
at SESP as well as those shown by Coach Fitz,” Larkin says. “He issues for some 4,300 employees. the drinks. I want my spirits to capture those aspects of an organization and their influence
her personal passions with her profes-
helped me throughout the process. It was a true testament to what “SESP emphasizes building relationships, under- unforgettable flavors and feelings. They’re on one another.
sional dreams.
he says during recruiting: you’re important as a person, not just standing people from different walks of life, learning love letters to the great cities they represent.
Any “suitcase advice” to share?
as a football player.” to talk with them, and getting your point across,” What do you love most about traveling? Is the first Suitcase Spirit out now? Explore as much as possible—in life and in
That’s also why Northwestern football runs an individual men- Conoway says. “You learn flexible ways of thinking Connecting with people and learning their Yes—it’s HKG Gin, which showcases the love your career. Listen, and see what others are
toring program, which pairs every sophomore on the team with a and you work in groups, which teaches you how to stories! Whether I’m discussing cooking in and excitement I always feel in Hong Kong. doing. When you keep your eyes and ears open,
former player. The two stay together for at least three years, but in Barcelona with a group of grandmothers over you sometimes find what you didn’t realize you
collaborate.” What’s hardest about starting a company?
vermouth or learning about French pride at a were looking for.
many cases the relationships are much longer. Now in its 11th year, SESP sophomore Jonathan Sun spent most of the Knowing when to bring people in. I love to
craft brewery just outside Paris, I’m learning
the program includes 25 players and nearly 100 football alumni. luncheon in conversation with Bates and Conoway. learn and will dive in deep on any topic—
about the people, community, and history
“It’s a way for our alums to truly have an impact,” says Schmidt, That night he wrote three takeaways in his journal: from those who know it best. It’s the common
which is why I loved the MSLOC capstone
who participated in the program as a player, stays in touch with Trust the process. Working in education makes other experience. But that’s both great and terrible.
thread through all my travels.
mentor Marc Hujik, and now runs the program. I have to be hyperaware of the best use of my
things possible. And his favorite: don’t regret your
How did you become a craft gin maker? time and the need to rely on others’ expertise
SESP is a unique school, but “I’d call it the School of Education past—it has created the person you are today. I was toying with a business idea in the craft to get things done.
and Leadership Development,” Fitzgerald says, flashing a smile. beer industry and visiting craft brewers around
“Who doesn’t want to develop as a leader?” To join other SESP alumni and students at the 2019 What do you see as your strongest suit?
Johannesburg. Then I took a master distilling
I am a connector. Friends joke that I always
Reunion Weekend luncheon, contact Shelena Johnson course and started traveling all over South
“have a guy” for whatever it is they’re looking
B Y A NN E S T E IN at shelena.johnson@northwestern.edu. Africa to meet distillers and learn about their
for. It comes naturally to me. I’m also a good
products. I loved the creativity, technical
listener and pay attention to details.
know-how, and entrepreneurial spirit.
14 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 15
A L U M N I N E WS
inclusion. After moving to Montana to be near April Peters-Hawkins (BS93) is associate pro-
her grandchildren, Doyle continued to offer fessor and associate chair of educational lead-
Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World, an ership and policy studies at the University of
online class for early childhood educators, Houston’s College of Education. She received a Refugee Rights in Focus
until retiring last June. 2018 service award from the University Council Lan Hoang Nguyen (BS17) wrote, directed, and
for Educational Administration. produced Bị Kẹt / Limbo, a short documentary
Barbara Talbott (BS73), president of the NU
Club of Atlanta, retired after a 30-year career Grace Hong Duffin (BS95) is president and CEO film that profiles the activism of Tung Thanh
Maryellen Spore Krammer Corey Winchester Nguyen, a formerly incarcerated Vietnamese
with IBM. She interviews high school seniors of Kenneth Young Center, a nonprofit provider
applying to Northwestern and also volunteers of personalized behavioral health and older- community organizer who is at risk of being
on several boards in Atlanta, including Big Ten adult services in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. deported from the US. The film premiered in
Alumni, Alpha Phi Alumni, and the Atlanta Los Angeles at last October’s Viet Film Fest,
Ryan Rockaitis (BS98) of Chicago, a Spanish the largest international Vietnamese film festi-
International School. In addition to Talbott, the
teacher and mentoring coordinator at Deerfield val in the world. Since receiving her master’s
NU Club of Atlanta’s board includes Brianna
(Illinois) High School, is president of the Illinois degree in Asian American studies from UCLA,
Castle (BS14) and SESP advisory board mem-
Melissa McGonegle Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Nguyen has been working with Vietnamese
ber Edith “Edie” Bostic (BS74).
organizers in Southern California to host
Art Ellison Danielle Moehrke
80s 00s community discussions, educational events,
and political demonstrations.
Melissa McGonegle (BS03) founded Stellar
Drew Miles (BS86) was named vice president of
Collegiate, a K–5 public charter school serving
global brand partnerships for Variety Content
primarily low-income English language learn-
Timothy Simonds Studio and now works out of Variety’s New York
ers on Milwaukee’s South Side, in 2016.
City office. He has been a sales and marketing
executive for several leading media brands, Holly Palin (BS06) of Chicago celebrated the Sara Blair Winter-Rosenberg (MS12), an Tade Mengesha (BS14) is a healthcare consul-
Jordan Latham
including Advertising Age, the New York Times, five-year anniversary of her business venture instructor of Spanish for Heritage Learners tant for Navigant Consulting and a member of
Oprah.com/OWN, and the Huffington Post. CrossFit CE. at Mundelein (Illinois) High School, received the Cook County Health Foundation Associate
Barbara Talbott a coveted 2019 Golden Apple Award for Board, which engages young professionals
Kathy Tuan-MacLean (BS87, PhD96) of Jordan Latham (BS08) of Pearland, Texas, is Excellence in Teaching. through volunteering, fundraising, networking,
Baltimore is national faculty ministry director an attorney/senior consultant at EY (Ernst & and advocacy opportunities.
for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an inter- Young) who recently launched Soul Sweet Laura Bidireanu (BS13) of Naples, Florida,
denominational campus ministry on 700 cam- Sensations, a home-based baking and catering directs fundraising and events for Collier Caitlin Burnett (MSHE15), senior academic
Grace Hong Duffin Zoe Goodman Child Care Resources, a nonprofit that serves adviser at SESP, was named to Northwestern’s
puses across the US. Her son Ren is a first-year business, to support fellow breast cancer
SESP undergraduate studying social policy. fighters and survivors. families and early-learning professionals. Associated Student Government Faculty and
Administrator Honor Roll.
Rosemary Caruk (MSED88) was appointed Andrew Tinajero (BS08) joined Waystar, a Bain Zoe Goodman (BS13) joined LifeLabs Learning,
to the Berwyn (Illinois) Public Library board Capital portfolio company, as director of stra- a nonprofit that brings financial coaching to Jake Hershman (MSHE16) of Philadelphia is
of trustees. tegic initiatives and chief of staff to the CEO. work-force-development nonprofits across the assistant director of strategic analytics for
country. The Brooklyn resident is in her second Temple University’s Fox School of Business
Maryellen Spore Krammer (BS88), a member Emily Machado (BS09) is assistant professor year as copresident of the NU Club of Greater and Management.
of the Northwestern Alumni Admission Council, of language, literacy, and culture at the Univer New York.
Drew Miles Ryan Rockaitis Emily Machado Jake Hershman is a substitute teacher and aspiring fiction sity of Washington’s College of Education. The Corinne Smith (MSHE16) is senior assistant
author working on her first novel. Seattle resident studies writing pedagogies in Eric Johnson (MSLOC13) is an executive direc- director of admissions at Yale University,
linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms tor for Open Books, a nonprofit that provides where she coordinates its QuestBridge
60s 90s and teaches literacy instruction courses for books, supplies, and innovative literacy and program, fly-in program, and rural outreach
preservice teachers. reading assistance to Chicago students. and recruitment initiatives.
Art Ellison (MSED66) was elected to a seat Doreen Maxcy (BS68) retired after a 39-year Timothy Simonds (BS91, MBA98) became CEO
career at Louisiana State University, where Danielle Moehrke (BS13) directs partnerships
in the New Hampshire House after retiring
as director of adult education for the state’s most recently she was director of public
of Merrick Pet Care in 2016. Previously, he was
chief marketing and engagement officer for
10s and program innovation for OneGoal-Chicago,
Department of Education. service. The active volunteer, grant writer, a nonprofit that enlists and trains educators
Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Manage Corey Winchester (BS10), a history and social
and grandparent traveled to Antarctica to teach underperforming high school students
ment. His niece Elise Lamarre enrolls at SESP studies teacher at Evanston Township High Please send all news updates and address changes
Marianne Jirgal Ariyanto (BS68) of Jakarta how to apply to and persist through college.
earlier this year. in the fall. School, received a highly prized 2019 Golden to sespalums@northwestern.edu. You can also
retired after a 45-year career teaching dance. She is earning her MBA at Kellogg.
Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. reach us on Facebook (facebook.com/sespnu) and
Ariyanto originally came to Indonesia to study
Balinese dance at Bali’s College of Performing 70s Mark Loretta (BS93) was named the new
Chicago Cubs bench coach. He spent the last Kelly Ross (MSLOC11), an adjunct lecturer
Evan Watkins (BS13) is a career coach for Twitter (@sesp_nu). For more class notes, visit
Athletes to Careers, a recruitment company sesp.northwestern.edu.
Arts on a Fulbright scholarship in 1977 and has Sandra Mulert Doyle (BS73) spent the last nine seasons with the San Diego Padres after in the MSLOC program, coauthored the book
lived there since 1985. that connects past and present student-
20 years training and supporting teachers in retiring as a professional baseball player in Fearless Feedback: A Guide for Coaching Leaders
to See Themselves More Clearly and Galvanize athletes to business careers.
underserved communities and focusing on 2010, most recently serving as special assis-
tant to baseball operations. Growth.
16 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 17A L U M N I N E WS
CLASS OF ’91 ALUMNUS
David
Harmonizing ‘Synergies on Both Sides’ of a School Merger
Karen Cross (MSHE16) has been a respected knowledge that are in place at UIC will help.”
teacher, scholar, and faculty leader at Chicago’s So will Cross’s master’s degree in higher edu-
Harris
John Marshall Law School for nearly 25 years. cation administration and policy, which came
But upon hearing the school would be merging with internship experience in the compliance
with the University of Illinois at Chicago, she and provost’s offices at Northwestern.
jumped at the chance to assume daunting As cochair of the merger’s academic integra-
new responsibilities. tion working group, she is working with UIC to
Currently John Marshall’s associate dean for get Illinois Board of Higher Education approval
administration, Cross is playing a leading role in for proposed degree program revisions—
the creation of Chicago’s first public law school. including some that will incorporate legal edu- On Taking Risks,
Synergies on both sides make the UIC–John
Marshall union a natural fit. Both schools have
cation into engineering, social work, and health
sciences courses. The reconfigured law school,
Finding Opportunity
diverse and inclusive student bodies. Their to be called UIC John Marshall Law School, will
campuses are geographically close. Still, the be up and running by this fall.
John Marshall faculty and staff are facing a big “Karen’s curiosity drew her to SESP to get the
cultural shift, as the school has functioned as big picture of the higher education landscape,
its own entity for almost 120 years. which includes law and ethics, history and
“Becoming part of a larger structure can limit philosophy, and budget and finance, as well as
spontaneity and the ability to do things quickly,” student development,” says Lois Trautvetter,
Cross says. “But with compliance being para- director of the MSHE program. “We affection-
mount, the infrastructure and institutional ately label her a lifelong learner.”
Last July I became the 19th president of were not smarter than I was. I was also Cornell University. Then I left academia briefly
Union College in Schenectady, New York. fortunate because my family lived in a good to serve in the Obama administration in the
Observe a Plant, Help a Scientist It’s an exciting opportunity with all the chal- school district. I worked hard academically, Department of Health and Human Services.
It has never been easier for nonscientists to says Schwarz Ballard, an expert in both lenges of leading a great institution of higher got into Northwestern, and landed a financial After that, I became provost and chief academic
help the pros study climate change. Simply formal and informal science education. education, but Union is small enough (2,200 aid package that made becoming a first- officer at Tufts University.
find and observe a native plant, wildflower, “Changes in the life cycle of plants affect undergraduates) that I get to know the faculty generation college student possible.
Some people might call that a meandering
tree, or other flora in your backyard or neigh- pollinators, birds, and small mammals that
and students.
borhood, and record your notes online. need nectar, fruits, and seeds to survive.” At some level, my whole life has been path. But creating a meaningful and reward-
This nationwide citizen science initiative, At the Chicago Botanic Garden, Schwarz I also partner with Schenectady, about trying to understand the situation ing life is often about embracing uncertainty
called Budburst, generates Ballard oversees adult and youth education a town that’s been through hard times of the 12-year-old me and trying to make the and being flexible. I tell Union students that
location-specific data offerings, horticultural therapy programs, and and bounced back. Part of my job is to world a better place for the 12-year-old me. In part of their job in college is to identify the
on how changing seasonal community outreach that includes Budburst find ways for Union to support local educa- middle school and high school I knew I wasn’t many paths they could take; then they can
temperatures are affecting and the Windy City Harvest urban agriculture
tion and economic development; that’s like the white kids, but I also wasn’t like my eliminate some and pinpoint others. When I
plants, including when program; all provide opportunities for collabo-
profoundly important to me because my black cousins who grew up in the city. So early entered Northwestern, I thought I was going
they bud, bloom, or ration with researchers.
drop their leaves. In one partnership, Schwarz Ballard is career has been about understanding on, I understood that racial identity must be to be a journalist. I switched my major to engi-
Jennifer Schwarz Ballard working with SESP learning sciences profes- “Our goal is to positively impact people’s opportunity—who has it, who doesn’t— something more. That set me up to grapple neering and even dropped out for a quarter
(PhD05) is Budburst’s sor Megan Bang and graduate student Mario lives through our work,” says Schwarz and learning how to close that gap. with questions of inequality and to pursue a before I found SESP.
coprincipal investiga- Guerra. Guerra is analyzing data to see how the Ballard, whose affiliation with the botanic career to try to address them.
Growing up, I was a black kid from Philly I’m glad I took risks. Each one helped clarify
tor and vice president garden’s summer program for middle and high garden began in the final year of her SESP
whose parents moved to a white suburb. At Northwestern I found the beginnings what I wanted to do.
of learning and school students changes their perceptions of doctoral work in learning sciences. “Citizen
engagement at the STEM education. He plans to propose his own science can engage everyday people in the We were never wealthy, but when my dad of what would become my family and my
Chicago Botanic study to build on the data and eventually scientific endeavor, which increases aware- lost his job, we were financially devastated. profession. I met my wife, Anne, in sopho- AS TOLD TO
Garden, which runs become his dissertation. ness of nature and the environment and I saw inequality up close. I worked briefly more year, and we now have three daughters. COLLEEN MCNAMAR A
the program. Bang may pursue research that looks at familiarity with the scientific process.” at a country club, which helped demystify I earned my bachelor’s degree in human
“Plants are often barriers to citizen science and explores how wealth and white people for me. Without that development and social policy and my PhD
the keystone species nature-based learning affects teaching
exposure, I might have been intimidated, but in sociology, focusing on race and class.
in an ecosystem—all practices and children’s development of
I learned that people who lived in mansions After Northwestern I joined the University
life depends on them,” pre-science skills.
of Michigan faculty and later moved to
18 SESP S P R I N G 2 019 19You can also read
