“When applying for my MBA, I sometimes felt nervous about bringing my passion for racial and economic justice into an elite business school environment. So joining this case competition with like-minded individuals has been a dream come true. I’ve learned a lot through the process, but my biggest takeaway has been that in order to spearhead true systemic change, racial justice shouldn’t just fit with your company’s strategy — it needs to be the strategy.”
— Cynthia Andrianjatovo (’22)
Member of a 6-student UCLA Anderson MBA team that advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition on January 21, 2021, and received Honorable Mention as a Top 12 team out of 105
Community Stories
At Home in L.A. and in His Skin, Ice Cube Reflects
The award-winning sports and entertainment powerhouse is UCLA Anderson’s 2020 Game Changer
Roll Up Your Sleeves
Kenyan-born Wambui Waiganjo (EMBA ’20) is an M.D. turned management consultant and soccer mom who leads strategic projects from planning to implementation and review processes.
Our Community Embraces Diversity
UCLA Anderson’s annual Embracing Diversity Week celebrates the strength of our diverse campus community and the power of our connections to reshape our future. Amid the tumult of 2020, Anderson student leaders adopted the theme of Connect for Real Change to focus on the importance of building strong relationships across differences, despite the year’s tensions.
For Oke Bamgbose (’22), an outwardly “diverse” workplace becomes inclusive only once a diversity of voices is truly influencing the organization.
In Their Words
What’s your one-sentence definition of success?
“Getting up every day to do something that I’m passionate about, that inspires me, and I can see where my efforts have contributed to changing the world in some way. Fortunately, I get to do that every day at YouTube.”
— Connie Knight (’98)
Connie Knight (’98)
Head of Multicultural Content Partnerships, YouTube
Why did you decide to get an MBA?
“After establishing a career in law, I knew that I would need a broader understanding of business to achieve my goal of running a media company someday. Entertainment has always been a fascination of mine. It is a platform that allows communities throughout the world to visualize possibilities.”
— Segun Aluko ('19)
Segun Aluko ('19)
Business Affairs Executive, William Morris Endeavor
Gene Alston (MBA/J.D. ’97)
VP of Marketing Partnerships, Facebook
Who do you admire most in the business world today and why?
“Well, if I had to choose, it would be Colin Powell because he’s an independent thinker and authentic leader. That said, I admire several leaders I’ve worked with over the years for the different superpowers they possessed.”
— Gene Alston (MBA/J.D. ’97)
Tazia Middleton ('18)
Certified Financial Planner
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever gotten?
“The best piece of career advice I’ve received was actually from my parents. They taught me that it’s important not to count yourself out. Show up and take a chance. You might actually surprise yourself!”
— Tazia Middleton ('18)
What lessons have you learned from being a person of color in the business world today?
Be yourself unapologetically; people respect authenticity. Someone before you created an opportunity for you; therefore, you are indebted to help provide a ladder that creates an opportunity for another.
— Jason Cole ('19)
What is the most important skill we should be teaching our students today?
“Empathy. It becomes much easier to make purpose-driven decisions when you empathize with the people supporting and driving your business. As a Black male, I know what it feels like to be marginalized. As a result, I recognize situations were groups are not given a voice, and I am intentional about making sure they are heard. When you get in someone’s corner, you earn an ally. And it was all possible because you were empathetic.”
— Landon Medlock ('18)
Landon Medlock ('18)
Senior Product Manager
Career-wise, where would you like to be in five years?
My answer now is probably completely different than when I came to Anderson. Now my answer is, to be a successful entrepreneur. In an ideal world, I would have had some success in entrepreneurship in the past and I think that I would like to use that as a platform to really focus professionally on companies that are in social impact and the education space.
— Jason Cole ('19)
From the UCLA Anderson Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Assistant Dean of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Heather Caruso is a scholar and researcher of organizational behavior. She guides the UCLA Anderson community in the small personal actions and large structural changes that lead to and preserve social justice.
It’s Not Just What You Say or How You Say It
Warren Olney and assistant dean of equity, diversity and inclusion Heather Caruso discuss how listening to understand is the key to averting conflicts, particularly among people of different backgrounds and cultures.
Featuring: Heather Caruso, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations and Behavioral Decision Making
Community Leadership
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Read MoreHeather M. Caruso
Creating a climate for greater equity, diversity and inclusion at UCLA Anderson
Watch VideoDean Al Osborne
Dean Al Osborne told Poets & Quants how Anderson leverages UCLA's "cluster of brain power" to be an entrepreneurial epicenter
Read MoreJay Tucker ('09)
Center for MEMES' executive director Jay Tucker is a relentless problem solver and unrepentant optimist
Read MoreAndrea Wade ('96)
Andrea Wade walks her talk as she helps alumni tap into the lifelong value of their MBA
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Guest Speakers
Learn How We Champion and Celebrate Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Women@Anderson
Black@Anderson
Veterans@Anderson
LGBTQ@Anderson
Latinx@Anderson
