“That richness of thought and perspectives really helps our work,” said Jonathan Valenti, FCLC ’98, a principal in the customer and marketing strategy practice at Deloitte.

Valenti, who majored in information science, was one of three Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) grads who participated in a Feb. 9 virtual panel titled “From FCLC to the World of Business.”

Tracyann Williams, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at FCLC, moderated the discussion. She asked the panelists to share their experiences as Lincoln Center students, their tips on taking liberal arts skills into the job market, and what they like about hiring applicants with that background.

Maureen Beshar, FCLC ’86, majored in philosophy and political science, and today she is executive director of business development for the investment management firm Hardman Johnston Global Advisors. She said her Fordham Jesuit education—with its focus on well-rounded learning and being a person for others—has been valuable in her personal and professional life.

“Fordham’s [Jesuit] foundation … I really think it makes a difference in a person,” said Beshar, whose two daughters both attend Fordham and who serves on the University’s President’s Council, a group of successful alumni committed to mentoring Fordham’s future leaders, funding key initiatives, and raising the University’s profile. “It really, ethically, helped me think differently. I can attribute a lot back to Fordham, with how I treat others, how I think about situations.”

Make the Most of ‘Internship City’

Scot Hoffman, FCLC ’98, majored in English and assumed he would pursue a career in academia. But a public affairs internship at the Fresh Air Fund, which Hoffman found through Fordham’s Career Center, resulted in him becoming the organization’s director of public affairs after he graduated. He has worked in the public affairs and corporate communications field ever since, specializing in building and managing corporate reputation. Today, he is vice president and director of communications at the San Francisco-based investment firm Dodge & Cox.

“Internships are really, really important,” Hoffman told students, adding that Fordham’s location is helpful in getting that experience. “Explore what’s available to you. New York City is one of the greatest cities in the world. So many industries are represented there, [and there are]so many opportunities there.”

Blending Business Education with the Liberal Arts

The alumni panelists were joined by Robert Daly, assistant dean of the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center, who discussed the opportunities for FCLC students to study things like marketing, business administration, and sustainable business by taking classes or minoring at Gabelli. He also emphasized that Gabelli undergraduates complete a liberal arts core, an example of Fordham’s faith in the value of a liberal arts education, and that he often encourages Gabelli students to consider FCLC minors like psychology to complement their business majors.

Williams said that the panelists’ perspectives were “invaluable” in helping students “understand how you may move from the liberal arts into business—that it is not necessarily a linear path, but one that is exciting.”

Today, as president and CEO of JobsFirstNYC, Parker leads a nonprofit organization that bridges the young adult workforce to partners like employers, policymakers, and colleges and universities. Its mission is to “support young adults and their communities in the pursuit of economic opportunities.”

While JobsFirstNYC is largely focused on helping build systemic support for young people—work the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects have made even more urgent—Parker says employers and managers can do much to help create equitable workplaces where young leaders can develop.

At the start of her career, she says, it wasn’t unusual for managers to ask her to take the lead on projects. As one of six siblings and a former high school athlete, she understood the value of teamwork. But the experience she gained as a young professional helped her strengthen her interpersonal skills and build confidence as a public speaker.

She recently shared with us several ways organizations and employers can help create the best possible environment for their young workers.

Inclusivity needs to start early.
In order to build an inclusive environment in corporate America, you have to start early. That means [providing]internships and work-based learning. Your core of people that you have working for you now needs to begin to be exposed to the people that they’re not around. And they need not to see it as a social intervention, but as a professional experience for someone who wouldn’t have it. If you want to get diversity, you need to change your core. When that changes, then you begin to make different decisions about hiring, who you’re engaging, how you’re including people. In a country where you’re going to have a large number of people who are Black and brown in the workforce, you need to start investing now so that you can help to support the talent that you’re going to need.

Provide young people with leadership experience and exposure to external stakeholders.
The organizations I worked with were comfortable having me go out and speak about the organization and engage with investors early. I would be the person doing the workshop about the work that we do at the organization. And that led to me speaking at conferences locally, statewide, and nationally. That kind of ongoing exposure helped me to be very comfortable in front of people and develop some confidence. And it begins to help you figure out what things are yours—what you believe in—and what things are other people’s.

Engage in shared leadership models.
I worked at an organization called Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow and now at JobsFirstNYC. One thing that the leaders of these institution did was to engage in a shared leadership model with me. And what that meant was I knew I was the deputy, but they didn’t treat me like I was just the deputy leader. They called me a partner and presented me as a partner to investors and to community stakeholders.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
I fell in love with Fordham’s campus and its location. I always wanted to go to school in or near a city, and Fordham had the best of both worlds. It had a beautiful campus and was located in New York City. Another reason I decided to go to Fordham was for its liberal arts curriculum and its Jesuit values, which emphasized the care and cultivation of the whole person. I had opportunities to take classes that wouldn’t normally be offered to chemistry majors.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
Fordham’s access to New York City provided a tremendous opportunity to [translate]what was being taught in class to learning beyond the classroom. I was able to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see famous pieces I had just talked about in my art history course. I attended special exhibits for a history class. I did a tour at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum for a sociology class on migration, and I even had a biology lab take place in the New York Botanical Garden right across from campus.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path?
Researching with Joshua Schrier [the Kim B. and Stephen E. Bepler Chair Professor of Chemistry at Fordham]had an incredible impact on placing me on my current path. He introduced a whole new perspective of science and chemistry. I got involved in conducting research later than typical chemistry students. I was initially intimidated [about getting]involved in research because I always felt I never knew enough, especially when it came to computational chemistry research.

Working with Professor Schrier, I realized I didn’t have to know everything right from the beginning. This was my first experience doing any form of chemical research, and I accomplished far more than I ever thought possible. I was introduced to many aspects of computational chemistry, including database mining, computer modeling, data curation, programming, supercomputing, and generating chemical data analysis. I collaborated with other scientists, attended my first conference at the MERCURY Consortium, and reviewed a manuscript for a textbook titled Machine Learning in Chemistry.

Researching with Professor Schrier inspired my scientific inquiry. I’ve come to appreciate the extraordinary fact that what we do in scientific research is continuously unique. Every moment in research was an opportunity to become closer to answering seemingly unsolvable questions or to positively impact society.

What are you optimistic about?
Although our efforts may sometimes feel insignificant, I am optimistic that our actions do have meaning and make a difference in the world. So, any action, however small, is quite powerful. I’m also optimistic about the compassion we can encounter from others, as well as the kindness we can deliver to others in our day-to-day lives.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
When applying to schools, I was unsure whether or not I wanted to pursue a pre-med track or a business degree. Fordham boasted excellent programs with regard to both paths, along with a gorgeous campus placed in New York City. It quickly became my top choice.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
Through the Gabelli School of Business, I was taught the importance of networking and taking advantage of internship opportunities early on. Networking events helped me to land multiple internship roles and gain a better understanding of which profession I wanted to pursue after graduation.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path?
My experience with the Fordham Mentoring Program helped to prepare me for interviews and expand my professional network. Connections I made through this program were pivotal in aligning me with the job I have today. Shout-out to my mentor Tom Hartigan for all his help!

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
The Fordham professor that I admire most is Jackie Jung. I took her ethics of business class [at the Fordham]London [campus], and she not only taught the class extremely valuable information for the workplace but also taught various life lessons. She also used her wide array of professional experience, such as working for the United Nations, to connect a few of my colleagues with very experienced professionals.

Can you paint us a picture of your current responsibilities? What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
Currently, I am in Pittsburgh, working for PNC. I am in the process of completing a three-year development program that will place me on track to be either an underwriter or assistant relationship manager for the bank. I have just completed my introductory credit training with the bank and will soon begin my first rotation within the Diversified Industries Group (DIG), where I will be refining my credit knowledge and learning how to underwrite for the bank. After working with DIG, I will work with a separate lending vertical in Pittsburgh. Then, I will have the opportunity to relocate with the bank for my relationship management training. At the end of this program, I hope to become an effective relationship manager for PNC, [providing]businesses with loans and capital allocation strategies that help [them]succeed through all economic cycles.

What are you optimistic about?
I am optimistic about my opportunity to continue learning after completing my formal education. PNC has continuously provided me with the resources to expand my knowledge base and personal and professional network while on the job. I think one the best things that anyone can do for themselves is to keep learning, and I feel I am in a situation that will encourage my continued education as my career develops.

Anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
The friends I’ve made through Fordham are something that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and even though I moved outside of the tristate area, I have been able to stay in close contact with so many of them. However, I would love to move back to New York City later in my career to reconnect with my Fordham friends in my day-to-day life.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
A major selling point of Fordham for me was definitely the ability to have both a traditional campus feel while having access to the many resources a major city provides. At the Rose Hill campus, I loved the idea of being able to travel to other boroughs and explore different cultures, landmarks, and entertainment opportunities, and at the same time being able to spend a sunny day relaxing on Eddies Parade with my friends. The possibilities were endless both on and off campus, making Fordham the perfect choice.

I also gravitated toward the small class sizes offered at Fordham. With most classes having only about 25 students, I saw myself being a true part of the University, actively engaging with peers and professors about larger issues facing the world. Fordham was dedicated to seeing its students grow as both individuals and as members of a larger community—one that I am proud to be a part of.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
Fordham allowed me to meet so many wonderful and interesting people from completely different walks of life. Particularly as a political science major, I was always surrounded by diverse experiences and perspectives, and the ability to have constructive conversations on complicated issues with my peers was amazing. In a larger sense, the Fordham community is so incredibly strong and supportive. Fordham students care for and support one another, and the friends I have made will always mean something special.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path?
While not directly related to what I am doing now, my three years at the RamLine call center [reaching out to Fordham alumni and parents of current Fordham students]taught me many important skills and gave me valuable insight into the kinds of work I want to do in the future. As both a student caller and a supervisor, I learned strategies to successfully engage with individuals with vastly different experiences than I [have], listening to them and meeting them where they are at so that they know they are understood and appreciated. More importantly, working at the call center made me realize how proud I was to be a Fordham student. There was never a point when talking about my job or life at school felt forced, and every call was just another opportunity to talk about the people, classes, and opportunities I loved so much. Having graduated, I want to be able to work somewhere and say that I have a true passion for what I’m doing.

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
Professor Diane Detournay taught the introductory course to my American studies minor, and it ended up becoming one of the most important experiences I had at Fordham. I think there is a tendency to present U.S. history to kids in simplistic terms, and before coming to college I had never really sat down and considered the larger issues that have and continue to shape America and its people. In Diane’s class, we were primarily tasked with having these conversations, thinking about the institutions and structures in society we take for granted, and how they shape the America we live in today. Never had I had a professor so passionate about the work they were doing, wanting her students to challenge conventional thinking and advocate for needed change. Diane taught me about my duty to be good citizen, and the ideas she presented will always [stay]with me.

What are you doing now, and what do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
Right now, I’m working in the development office of my high school creating communications and media strategies. I am responsible for designing content on our platforms that tells the story of the school while encouraging our immediate and broader communities (alumni, parents, friends) to continue feeling engaged and supporting our mission. Curating our social media presence and publishing articles on our website and in our magazine have been some of my most recent responsibilities.

At night, I am pursuing a graduate degree from Fordham in elections and campaign management. The program has given me a wide look into the opportunities to work in politics, and with the current work I am doing, I am hoping to get involved in the communications planning for candidates running for office.

What are you optimistic about?
I’m optimistic about the kind of world my generation can create. Particularly now, we have seen young people be so passionate about the issues they are fighting for, and [be]truly invested in making the world a better place for all of us. My peers and I care deeply about one another and advocate for our collective well-being, and it is that mindset that will always give me hope.

Anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
I’m excited for the day we can come back to campus and celebrate the end of my senior year. This year was certainly not what anyone was expecting, so I look forward to reconnecting with classmates I haven’t seen in a while and experiencing [what]we would have had in May.

This fall, she began a master’s degree program in higher education and student affairs at the New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Along with her coursework, she was matched with a graduate assistantship at Columbia University’s Office of Student Life. “Everybody in the Office for Student Involvement [at Fordham]helped me cultivate my own understanding of what student affairs means and find my passion,” Peay says.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
One of the things that really resonated with me were the Jesuit tenets of education and what it meant to be part of a Jesuit community. I had the opportunity to come with both of my parents. My mom and I are sitting next to each other listening to [former Fordham College at Lincoln Center dean]Father Grimes speak about what it meant to have a Jesuit education and what it meant to be involved at Fordham and what it meant to just generally be a student of New York City. He is a wonderful speaker and just really blew us both away. So it was kind of a combination, I guess, of Jesuit education, being in the city, knowing that [Fordham offers] a lot of different majors, knowing that I could be part of a small community, and really just some of the things that Father Grimes said about the power of the Fordham community at Lincoln Center, specifically.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you maybe would not have gotten elsewhere?
I think the biggest thing that I got out of Fordham that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else was just the breadth of mentorship network. I got the best of both worlds knowing and participating in academics and student involvement at both Lincoln Center and Rose Hill, and a lot of people were really invested in me as a student and invested in my academic career. I am still in touch with a lot of the administrators I worked with in the Office for Student Involvement. We chat about grad school and classes and all of these things. That’s one of the things that I think I cherish the most out of my Fordham experience: the number of people I met who genuinely care about students.

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
I would probably say Zein Murib in political science. I had four classes with them [Murib]—American Social Movements, Interest Group Politics, Judicial Politics, and Politics of Sex and Sexuality in the United States—and they were all very, very interesting classes. I think I learned the most in those classes because of the ways the topics were so far-reaching and applicable to so many different things. They really gave me a deeper appreciation of living in New York.

Was there one particular moment when you realized you had a certain talent for student affairs work, and how did that feel?
It took me sitting back and thinking about the things that really did bring me joy and what I was really interested in and excited about at Fordham. Under the guidance of some of the people from the Office for Student Involvement, I started exploring the idea of getting a master’s in student affairs in higher education, because I realized that the things that I was most passionate about were giving back to the community and helping students find their place at Fordham and build their own community. It was something that I had struggled with freshman year, so I wanted to be a vehicle and vessel of knowledge for them at Fordham rather than just kind of move on.

What are you optimistic about?
I would say the thing that I’m most optimistic about is kind of personal; it’s more the possibilities of community building in the time of COVID, because we’re in a time where so many people are remote and so many people are digital, and not everybody is in the place that they feel most comfortable or the place that they call home. I’ve really found that, especially with my friends who are still juniors or seniors at Fordham or who have just graduated, we all are really looking for community and time to spend with each other. I think coming out of this time, we will all be a lot closer.

I would say I’m also optimistic about the state of New York City as a whole. I love being able to go outside and see people dressed up in their COVID getups, and they’re really taking it seriously, just remembering that we are part of a community as a city that is handling this all together and working together to make it better. I feel so much better and happier about being in New York than I did when I was in California, because you can feel that energy and feel the community support that is here.

Au-Yeung’s research focus is multiple sclerosis, one of many conditions for which the company is developing therapies. At Fordham, majoring in biological sciences, she discovered not only the joys of research but also many other sources of inspiration.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
Having been raised in small-town Wilton, Connecticut, I knew I wanted to experience college in the city. Fordham was perfect because it also had such a classic campus atmosphere. And I have always valued small classes because I learn best not only by being challenged but also through actively engaging in discussions and debates. So Fordham was the right choice for me because of the smaller classes with passionate professors teaching them.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
Prior to coming to Fordham, I was only excited to learn about things pertaining to my major, biological sciences, but through the University’s core curriculum, I was exposed to so many different classes I never would have taken otherwise. I’m thankful that I took these courses because they refined the way I question and think about virtually everything: religion, ethics, myself, the health care industry, et cetera. I gained new interests through many of my core courses, such as Buddhism in America, and Intro to Bioethics challenged many preconceived beliefs I had about the healthcare industry and controversial ethicists.

Did you take courses or have experiences at Fordham that helped you discern your talents and interests and put you on your current path?
Originally I was set on going to medical school after graduating and did not consider anything else. To build my resume and earn money, I applied for an undergraduate research grant for the summer of 2017. Working at the Calder Center, I studied the use of eDNA—or DNA that animals leave behind in their environment—as part of biodiversity and conservation studies at the center.

This experience changed everything for me. I enjoyed it so much that I applied for another grant and worked on cell/molecular research in Associate Professor Patricio Meneses’ lab. These academic experiences motivated me to try out industry research, so I applied for an internship with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where I work now. This internship affirmed for me that I wanted to change my medical school plans and pursue research instead. In the spring before graduating, I worked part time at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, contributing to global HPV and HIV studies, after finding this position through Fordham.

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
Patricio Meneses—I took his cancer biology and introductory virology classes, and he was my lab mentor. He helped give me the confidence to pursue the life I wanted after I graduated. His intelligence is admirable and his life story of getting where he is today is inspiring. He didn’t discover his passion or “dream job” by following one path; he went through different career paths, all of which led him to where he is today. It’s admirable because I am a planner, and his story and advice remind me that you don’t necessarily have to know where you want to be a year from now.

Can you describe your current responsibilities? What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
I’m a research associate working in Regeneron’s Immune and Inflammation Group. My group focuses on autoimmune diseases, but I specifically work on multiple sclerosis. My responsibilities include developing, optimizing, and testing candidate therapeutics for MS in mouse models and downstream analysis of associated disease-related pathologies. My professional goals are to continue learning (since the learning curve is steep), and my long-term goal is to become a scientist.

Is there anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
While I love science, I also love to travel, paint, cook/bake, and run long distance. I also would love to be a resource for current pre-med students or help out in any way I can as a proud Fordham alumna.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
Two major reasons why I decided to attend Fordham University were the location of both campuses and the reputation of the University. When I was doing research on schools, I was intrigued by Fordham’s selective admissions, notable alumni, small class sizes, and its access to an abundance of research and resources.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
The opportunity to connect with alumni through the Fordham Mentoring Program. Being a Fordham mentee helped me get my foot through the door and into the professional world. I [took part in]the mentoring program in my junior and senior years and was matched both times with amazing people who were able to help me grow and develop my skills and career mindset.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path? What were they, and how did they prepare you for what you’re doing now?
I had little to no experience in the office setting before I was placed in the Office of Alumni Relations for work-study. Through the staff’s guidance and instruction, I was able to learn and develop important skills such as data management, efficient communication, and organizational skills that serve as the core of my professional abilities. As a human resources intern, I was able to learn more about the functions of a human resources department and how HR supports a company or organization. The department is the backbone of an organization and plays an integral role in its success.

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
Professor Karen Siedlecki in the psychology department! I had her for most of my required classes in the psychology major and learned so much. I love how she breaks down detailed scientific concepts into topics that are easy to learn and easy to remember. She is always willing to help students and is always available to talk about research, psychology topics, or life.

What are you doing now? Can you paint us a picture of your current responsibilities? What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
Right now, I am the human resources administrative assistant at University Settlement/The Door/Broome Street Academy, a family of organizations that give back to immigrant and low-income communities and provide youth services for New York City’s disconnected youth. I am involved in onboarding new hires, data management and compliance, and maintaining the human resources information systems. I hope to gain enough experience to become a knowledgeable and skillful HR practitioner and one day lead my own team of HR professionals.

What are you optimistic about?
The end of the coronavirus pandemic! I am excited about travelling the world and trying out different cuisines, and I hope to be able to do that safely soon.

Is there anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
I am thankful to be a Fordham graduate and proud of where I am today as a first-generation college student who graduated magna cum laude in three-and-a-half years. I would not have made it here without the amazing faculty and staff members of Fordham, especially those in the Office of Alumni Relations, the psychology department, and the Mandarin Chinese department.

“We see all of the early, cutting-edge technologies,” says Juelis, a member and co-chair of the life sciences committee at Band of Angels, Silicon Valley’s oldest angel investment group. “In the life science area, particularly now, there’s a lot of redirecting of work towards a COVID cure and diagnostics, as well as digital health technologies that help the hospitals become more efficient and monitor patients at home.”

Juelis cites one of Band of Angels’ portfolio companies that is developing a special respirator used by emergency response crews for whom mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is no longer a viable option due to the spread of the coronavirus. Responders will be able to pump oxygen to people via the device while performing CPR. Based on that technology, Juelis says, the company was quickly able to develop a ventilator system that has been offered to several California hospitals.

“The sciences have continued to develop in all directions,” says Juelis, who majored in chemistry at Fordham before earning his M.B.A. at Columbia and working in finance and operations for both Hoffmann-La Roche and Schering-Plough (now Merck), including stints in Cork, Ireland, and Puerto Rico. “[It] used to be that chemists didn’t really talk to biologists that much. But now all of these disciplines, including computer sciences, have all merged together.”

As an angel investor, Juelis draws on his experiences as a chief financial officer for companies that ultimately developed lifesaving medications. He has also sat on the boards of directors of a number of smaller public companies and tech firms, and he currently serves on the board of El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California, where he is a member of the finance committee.

Juelis says that Fordham helped lay the foundation for his career, and that’s why he has remained a part of the community, helping students experience a global education and connecting them with career opportunities. In 2011, he set up an endowment for the Global Outreach program that allowed Fordham students to travel to northwest Lithuania to work with the Auksuciai Foundation, where he served as a board member, at its farm and forest center, and to travel to other countries in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Romania. Separately, he sponsored two Fordham computer science students with a summer internship in the research division of a public robotics company where he served as a board member. And the former Rams pitcher and team captain is now supporting the University’s baseball program, as well.

“I would always try to talk to the students that wound up getting the scholarships,” Juelis says of his support for Global Outreach. “It was great to hear what their motivations were.”

This year, Juelis was preparing for his 50th Fordham Jubilee when the COVID-19 pandemic put things on hold. He is part of a planning committee for his class and had begun reaching out to some of his classmates, who knew him as “Tucker” from his undergrad days.

“I was beginning to call a lot of my contacts that I’ve seen in the last few years, or maybe not for a long time, just to catch up with everybody and see how they’re doing,” says the Newark, New Jersey, native. He does plan to make the trip to the Bronx next spring, when 2020 Jubilarians will be invited to Rose Hill to celebrate belatedly. But when the Bronx comes to him via baseball, Juelis said he feels conflicted.

“I was a longtime Yankees fan, but being on the West Coast, I root for the Giants and the Oakland A’s [now],” he says. “So when the Yankees come out to play, I always have a hard time deciding who to root for.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
Three things. First, entrepreneurship. I enjoy meeting with and mentoring Fordham and Columbia student entrepreneurs [through my work at Band of Angels]. And through the Fordham Foundry and other sources, I speak with some of the student entrepreneurs [at Fordham], a couple of whom have wound up here in the Bay Area and I’ve worked with [them]. Second, volunteering. And third, sports. I’m a sports fan, but mostly I like to participate: skiing, golf, hiking, fitness, and now playing catch with the grandsons.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My parents and a couple of high school teachers encouraged me to work hard, take risks, try to succeed in a few different areas, and, of course, attend Fordham.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
I enjoy walking in midtown Manhattan, seeing what’s new, and ending up at Hurley’s Saloon in the Theater District. The 9/11 Memorial is incredible. I was on my way to a meeting at the World Trade Center on that fateful day, so the memorial is particularly meaningful [to me].

Other favorites: San Francisco; Cork, Ireland, where we lived for three years and got to travel throughout Ireland and much of Western Europe; and Vilnius, Lithuania, a fabulous city with my ancestral connections. It’s one of the least known, most beautiful cities in Europe, with a long important history. Their Jesuit high school and cathedral date back over 400 years despite various purges by the Czars, Nazis, and Soviet Russia.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
Several books and letters written about the pre- and post-World War II period in Eastern Europe and Russia. At Fordham in the late ’60s and afterwards, we lived with the overhang of the Communist threat. Until recently, many details about the devastating effects of Soviet socialist domination on the local people in the Soviet Republics, like Lithuania, were little known. I’ve gotten to know several people who were child refugees that fled, on a moment’s notice, when the Soviets took over after World War II. Many of their parents, relatives, and friends wound up in Siberia and were never heard from. Even after the Soviet collapse in 1989, many of the same Russian threats still exist today, most recently in Ukraine.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
Father Robert Cloney, our freshman chemistry professor. First-year chemistry was intimidating enough, but Father Cloney was a very kind, inspiring teacher who always made time after class to help students. The alumnus I most admire was Vince Lombardi, Fordham’s most well-known sports figure and NFL legend. A classic New Yorker and Fordham figure: tough, hard-working, successful.

“When you are a factor in providing someone with safe and affordable housing, you’re not just giving them that,” she says. “You are giving them access to a career, to a stable schooling system for their children—it trickles out, and I think that’s an extraordinarily important thing, a human right.”

Reynolds joined New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development as its new executive director of housing opportunity in February. She leads a team that evaluates and implements affordable housing practices, ensuring that the city is providing affordable housing in a fair, open, and transparent way.

It’s the kind of big-picture, policymaking job that is especially critical during the coronavirus crisis, she says. “Sharing rooms is not exactly an ideal situation for a pandemic, so we have been working in overdrive to try to link people currently residing in shelter to housing opportunities.”

The silver lining, she says, is that the current crisis has sped up the usual process. “It’s a service we do in a regular environment, but now we have extra staff from other areas of the agency. And getting people this stability has a ripple effect in the rest of their life.”

Reynolds says her time at Fordham helped her find a place she could pursue her passions professionally.

“It was refreshing to be in an environment where everyone is encouraged to pursue a little bit of everything so they can be the best person they can be,” she says, “for themselves and for the world.”

When she graduated with a double major in general science and sociology, she knew she wanted to serve the Bronx community she had grown to know and love. Her first position at Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation introduced her to the idea of preserving and expanding safe, affordable housing, and that experience has continued to play a large part in the rest of her career, including in her current position. “When I’m thinking about what policies are best to make affordable housing as successful as possible, I have real on-the-ground experience, real names, real faces that I can think about.”

When she talks about her career path with current Fordham students, Reynolds says, “I like to tell them that I never would have guessed, when I was in undergrad, that I would be where I am now, in this specific role, because it just wasn’t on my radar at the time. But my work definitely lines up with the mindset I have always had, to help vulnerable populations; none of that has changed. It’s just the specifics of how it worked out.”

She has also helped mentor students through a 2016 Global Outreach project in Nicaragua, and she’s been on the Young Alumni Committee since she graduated, most of that time spent on either the philanthropy or the social justice subcommittee.

She says her continued involvement with the University has been especially rewarding because, aside from her career, the friends she made at Fordham have had the most significant impact on her life.

“Fordham attracts a special type of person, which is why those relationships have been so valuable,” Reynolds says. “Any way I can maintain that community and give back or encourage continued improvement at Fordham is important to me.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about bringing about greater equity in New York City. New York is an amazing city, with a plethora of resources. Yet we have income inequality and wealth disparity that defines us just as much as being “the city that never sleeps.” I was exposed to this firsthand at Fordham. This passion has informed a lot of my decisions in life, including my career. I am also on the board of the Bronx is Blooming, a nonprofit that promotes environmental justice by giving Bronx youth the tools they need to be leaders in their own communities. It’s an organization I was introduced to as a student; I worked there for two summers when it was fairly new, and it really made me feel part of the Bronx community. I’ve stayed involved ever since, and it’s been amazing to see it grow. Serving on their board now helps me maintain my connection to the Bronx, which is still very important to me. I hope to one day live in a city where no one has to worry about the security of their housing, health, or food; I think we have the ability to get there, and I hope to be part of that solution.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I think the advice to “take a lap”—most commonly used when someone does something dumb or silly and you have to take a lap to walk off the embarrassment—is both funny and earnestly helpful. I’m not sure who first gave me this advice, but whenever I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious about something, whether it’s in my professional life or my personal life, I find taking a lap (or a walk, or a breath) is always worthwhile time spent to collect my thoughts and re-center myself.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
New York City is my favorite place in the world! I have so many favorite places in New York, and they each stir a different memory or feeling for me: the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge, Belvedere Castle in Central Park, and the market on Arthur Avenue are just a few. One of my favorite places in the city is the hidden gem that is Fort Tilden. Fort Tilden is part of the National Parks Service and is located just east of Rockaway. I love this spot because it provides a beach oasis where I can see piping plovers nesting in the dunes and go for a swim in the Atlantic, and then take a 45-minute ferry ride at the end of the day back home to Manhattan.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
I had heard Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City referenced often, especially among my colleagues in the housing industry. I knew it was critically acclaimed, and did not doubt its significance; however, I had quickly filed it away in my mind as a good book for laypeople to read, a book for those who didn’t already know about the struggles of low-income renters. What I did not expect was how intimately Matthew Desmond tells the stories of victims of eviction and their landlords, and how that intimacy lends to a uniquely compelling book about the rental market’s role in institutional poverty. I highly recommend that any social justice-minded folks who are interested in the nexus between having a home and breaking the cycle of poverty pick up this book!

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
I am proud to say I have a long list of graduates and professors who I admire from my time at Fordham, many of whom are my personal friends. But the Fordham grad I admire the absolute most is my dad, Patrick Reynolds. My dad graduated from Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 1981 after working his way through school to be the first one in his family to get a college degree. He went on to join the New York City Fire Department—another thing I admire about him—and he always fostered an environment of learning and curiosity in our home growing up, which I am grateful for. Thanks to my dad, I valued eloquentia perfecta before I even set foot on Fordham’s campus.

Her career got off to a fast start. A college internship at Black Enterprise Magazine led to a full-time job at CNN and several freelance magazine assignments after she graduated from Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 1997. By 25, she had sold her first novel to St. Martin’s Press. What should have been a wholly exciting time was mixed with turmoil.

“I thought I had to choose,” she says. “It was either my job at CNN or being an author; I told myself I couldn’t do both.”

So Reid quit her job and tried to make a living as an author. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Miami. And for a while things went well.

She created a lot of buzz around her third book, Marry Your Baby Daddy, a novel in which three sisters will inherit their grandmother’s fortune only if they marry the father of their children no more than six months after reading the will. In keeping with the theme of the novel, Reid started hosting Marry Your Baby Daddy Days—group weddings intended to promote two-parent homes in urban communities—which received plenty of media coverage, including interviews with major news outlets and the likes of Soledad O’Brien.

But “publicity didn’t pay the bills,” Reid says, and it became harder for her to support herself financially.

She decided she needed a reset. On a whim, she applied for a teaching position in the United Arab Emirates. She got the job.

From 2013 to 2014, Reid lived in Abu Dhabi, where she taught English to oil and steel industry employees and took the time to reconnect with herself. It was there that Reid says she realized “having a job is self-care,” because it allowed her to pursue her creative endeavors without having to worry about how she was going to support herself.

“Being there gave me time to be alone, but not lonely. To rest, to develop the discipline to work a 40-hour work week and also write. It gave me the space to reinvent myself and experiment with my ideas.”

On the weekends, Reid spent time with other women who had formed a local writers group, and she started working on a new novel, later published as This Life. She also joined an entrepreneurial women’s group in Dubai. “We would keep each other accountable, share ideas, and get feedback before going out to experiment,” Reid says.

In 2015, about a year after moving back to the United States, she found a local support network in the form of the Fordham community, which she reconnected with during a Yankees spring training event in Tampa, Florida. Now she’s a member of the Fordham University Alumni Association’s advisory board, focused on networking and engagement. She’s also a regular contributor to Forbes, where she has published articles on topics such as workplace diversity and wellness, and has been a content strategist at a major New York City-based investment bank.

“Fordham always felt like a community, always provided a safety net of support for me,” says Reid, who transferred to Fordham as a sophomore. She credits her professors for helping her develop her voice as a writer and says the University’s Jesuit culture made Fordham “a place where I could reflect and renew.”

“I knew I could always connect with people from my past and they would be a catalyst for my future,” she says. “Now I feel I can use the voice I developed there to add value and be a more active part of that community.” 

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about growing my spiritual foundation and my connection to God. It’s not really a thing I do, it’s more of a feeling or listening thing. And I’m always trying to develop a more consistent discipline around that.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My driving instructor told me to “stay in my lane,” and I followed that advice and now apply it to everything. It’s not that you have to choose either/or. But when I notice that I’m starting to get drained, I know then I’m doing too many things at once and I have to figure out what to focus on and finish. It helps maintain a sort of stability in my core so I can do both, so I can stay focused, so I can hold on to more in life.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
Being born and bred here, I’ve seen it all. I’m not fascinated by any place in New York City.

My favorite place in the world is poolside at the Shangri-La in Abu Dhabi. There’s a beautiful view of the Grand Mosque. And they have awesome pool service.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn. It’s a compilation of all her work. From her book, I learned how much power I have—not only as a woman but just being born, that being here makes me a powerful person, and I don’t need anything else. I read it in 2004, and looking back later on it reminded me that being in itself is enough, being born fulfilled my purpose, and I’m powerful because of that. That has brought me clarity and peace in some challenging situations.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
Elizabeth Stone. She’s a tough professor; she isn’t sugary and sweet. I liked that. She gave me good critiques, things to think about, good advice about my work. I trusted her opinion. And she helped me land that first internship, which helped me land my first published piece. She saw that I was talented and she trusted me enough to vouch for me. I will always remember that.