Hosted by the Archdiocese of New York’s Office of Black Ministry, led by Br. Tyrone A. Davis, C.F.C., the awards dinner recognized President Tania Tetlow and two Fordham scholars for their leadership and commitment to their communities.

The annual event supports the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Fund, named for the once-enslaved Haitian-American entrepreneur who devoted his life to charitable work. Hundreds of attendees gathered in the landmarked Manhattan restaurant Guastavino’s to honor the scholarship recipients and this year’s Pierre Toussaint Medallion awardees, Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum and President Tetlow. 

Tetlow spoke about the inspirational life of Toussaint, who was emancipated in 1800s New York. 

“As we think about leadership and how to lead with love, we remember the example of a man who escaped such profound pain and injustice and oppression. It would’ve been very human of him to lean into hatred and resentment,” she said. “And instead … he came to this city and was so incredibly generous …  if we can, any of us, have a fraction of what he achieved every day, the world will be a better place.”

‘Service Is Love’

Two of the three Pierre Toussaint Scholars featured at the event were Fordham students: Angel Madera Santana, a Fordham junior studying English and pre-law (and the executive vice president of communications and marketing for Rose Hill’s United Student Government), and Fordham senior Joseph Giraldi, who plans to apply his engineering physics degree toward designing medical devices for patients in need.

Emcee Rev. Kareem R. Smith, a pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in the Bronx and the senior chaplain for the scholars program, asked the students about its impact on their education. 

For Giraldi, it “helped us become leaders in the sense that we view everyone with worth and we understand that we have a duty to serve,” he said.

Madera Santana said the program inspired him to serve others: “Service is love, and if we all share just a little bit of what we have, of our gifts and our talents, we would see the greater impact that love has on our community.” 

Established in 1983, the Pierre Toussaint fund provides mentorship as well as spiritual and financial support to students of diverse backgrounds from public, private, and parochial schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York. Of the 88 current Pierre Toussaint Scholars across 45 universities, five of them attend Fordham, including sophomores Erika Grullon and Carol Riaz, first-year student Sofia Morales, and Madera Santana and Giraldi. 

Pierre Toussaint is considered by many to be the father of Catholic Charities in New York. A hairdresser to well-heeled clients like Eliza Hamilton, he donated and raised money to open the first Catholic orphanage in New York and the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral, began the city’s first school for Black children, and cared for the sick. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him “venerable” in 1997, moving him further along the path to sainthood. 

A University Worthy of Toussaint Scholars

Archbishop of New York Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan awarded Tetlow the Pierre Toussaint Medallion, recognizing her commitment to academic excellence, social justice, and service to young leaders.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of Fordham University,” she said, “which has for 183 years brought together brilliant faculty, like Bryan Massingale, and an incredible staff and administration, to create a university worthy of the student scholars that you got to hear speak tonight.”

In her remarks, Tetlow celebrated Fordham’s strides in increasing diversity against steep odds. “In this year when the Supreme Court banned us from considering race in admissions, our students of color went up to 50%,” she said to applause.

Cardinal Dolan then awarded the second Medallion to Kirk Whalum, who punctuated his thanks with a performance of the Whitney Houston song he famously soloed on, “I Will Always Love You.”  

As the evening came to an end, Cardinal Dolan told attendees that more and more students come up to him now and say they are former Toussaint scholars. “And that brings such satisfaction and joy and gratitude to my heart … We couldn’t do it without folks like you.”

In a Q&A, Nuñez talked about the board’s vision for Fordham, including the University’s commitment to global education; its Jesuit identity, and the need to embrace new technologies like AI. 

You have led the international divisions of major U.S. media companies, including CBS, where you brought some of the world’s most well-known shows to a global audience. How will you bring your experience in media and communications—and your global perspective—to this role? 

My experience has given me unique insights. Corporations historically viewed their businesses through a bifurcated lens: international vs. domestic. With time and evolution, that paradigm has shifted to mostly a global view.

Likewise, I want to help Fordham to continue to grow globally. When I was a student, Fordham was mostly a tri-state area university. Now it is a nationally recognized institution. California, where I live, is our third largest feeder state into Fordham for undergraduates. International students make up roughly 7% of our undergraduates and 11% of the entire Fordham population. In the last few years, we have seen an increase in recruitment from countries like India and Vietnam. We recently held regional alumni receptions in Beijing, Hong Kong, Rome, and Shanghai, and Dean Aksoy announced the relaunch of the Doctor of Professional Studies in Business program with Peking University. There was also a contingent led by President Tetlow at our incredible campus in London this year. 

Many opportunities already exist, but we need to continue to recruit and expand—nationally and internationally—and offer more of our students the opportunity to study abroad, seeing firsthand our world’s different governments, cultures, and religions, while broadening their perspective. 

You started as chair-elect on the same day that Tania Tetlow became Fordham’s 33rd president. Can you tell us about your shared vision for Fordham?

There’s no question about the great impact that President Tetlow has already had on Fordham. Our shared vision is one of opportunity, while confronting the current challenges facing higher education, like accessibility and affordability.

Fordham is a Jesuit Catholic institution in the greatest city in the world. Thirty-six percent of our undergraduates identify as Catholic, so clearly, concepts of a Jesuit education resonate, irrespective of religious background. It’s who we are and will always be, and what separates us from other educational institutions in New York. We have tremendous opportunities to evolve. And we have an innovative and abundantly gifted president working with our engaged board members, many of whom are themselves first-generation college alums, who will lead us boldly into Fordham’s next chapter. 

You are the first Hispanic person to serve in this role. How will this influence your leadership?

We have incredible diversity on our board. The overwhelming majority of trustees are Fordham graduates who came from very humble backgrounds, from across the country and outside the U.S. They were fortunate to be able to go out into the world and succeed, after graduating with a Fordham degree and a Jesuit education. Now they want to give back to Fordham. And at this pivotal moment, with President Tetlow starting her second year in office, we want the best and brightest sitting around that table, engaging with the challenges and opportunities ahead of us. 

My participation on the board and being chair of the board reflects that great diversity. I’m extremely proud of my Cuban background and heritage and proud that Fordham has such great diversity, which includes a large percentage of students who are Hispanic. It’s a great honor for me to be the first Hispanic chair—and being asked to serve in this position.

As higher education—and the workplace in general—are facing disruption from AI, can you tell us how your industry faced similar challenges, and how and whether AI had already started to disrupt your work in global communications?

I worked in an industry that probably had more revolutionary changes than any other over the last five years. Those changes were primarily driven by technology, which significantly impacted the way people consumed content and how content was monetized. We transitioned from the old-fashioned way of watching linear television during set times scheduled by companies to the flexibility of watching content at any time. That’s an over-simplistic version of the impact of technology on the media industry, but with that came groundbreaking changes. It was a difficult undertaking, but there was no choice but to embrace it and move on. 

That’s been the same issue with all new technologies. There’s a certain level of fear when something new comes along. But you can’t run away from it—and you can’t run away from AI. We have to embrace it, study it, know it, teach it, and figure out its benefits, while trying to protect ourselves from its pitfalls. You embrace it, and you move on. 

Any final thoughts? 

I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams that this Cuban kid who commuted on the D train from Hell’s Kitchen to Fordham would end up serving on its board for 11 years, and now serve as its chair. It’s an honor to be a voice for the board and to work closely with our president at a key moment for our country and the world where education in general, and Jesuit education in particular, are abundantly needed. I look forward to every opportunity to give back to Fordham, and to thank other donors who have invested in our noble mission. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

This was the focus of “Leading in Difficult Times,” an April 7 presentation by Chris Lowney, FCRH ’81, GSAS ’81, that was part of the Fordham University Alumni Association’s Forever Learning Month.

During his presentation, Lowney, the author of six books, including Make Today Matter (Loyola Press, 2018), talked about the past year in terms of the acronym VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, economic difficulties, and the need to foster equity in the workplace and society, leaders have had to find creative ways to build skills and inspire colleagues and constituents. When Lowney prompted the more than 30 attendees to state whether there was more or less volatility, complexity, and change today than there was 15 years ago, every respondent in the Zoom chat said they believed there is more now.

He cautioned the audience not to think of this past year as an exception, though, instead urging them to look at it as a somewhat more extreme version of the world in which we will continue to live. He also made clear that when talking about leadership, we shouldn’t just think about public figures, or even just high-level managers.

“I’m not talking about Pope Francis, Barack Obama, Joe Biden,” Lowney said of his definition of leaders. “I’m talking about every one of us. We’re all implicitly pointing out a way [for each other]and having an influence.”

In breakout rooms and after returning to the full group, attendees talked about what they’ve learned about leadership over the past 12 months. Patrick McGuire, Ed.D., GRE ’86, shared that volunteering has ­­been an essential part of his life, echoing Lowney’s call for gratitude in the face of so much suffering and hardship.

Jackie Fenley, TMC ’68, shared her efforts to cherish the things she has in her life even when losing touchstones, and Sharmini Pardo, GABELLI ’02, said she had learned many lessons about both joy and gratitude from her children in the past year.

“My kids have the innate ability to live in the present,” Pardo said. “They wake up in the morning, and they jump out of bed, and they’re excited that it’s a new day. I think as adults, we lose some of that, so I’ve been trying to appreciate it.”

Lowney’s experience is well-tailored to conversations about how to employ those values, as he began his own career journey with spiritual contemplation. As an 18-year-old, Lowney entered a novitiate with the plan to become a Jesuit priest, but as he told Fordham Magazine in 2018, “life happened. I discerned that my calling in the world lay outside the Jesuits.”

Lowney left the order in the 1980s after earning degrees in medieval history and philosophy at Fordham, and he went on to become a managing director at J.P. Morgan & Co. He published his first book, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Loyola Press), in 2003, shortly after leaving J.P. Morgan.

In 2006, he established a nonprofit, Pilgrimage for Our Children’s Future, to support education and health care initiatives throughout the world, and he also co-founded Contemplative Leaders in Action, an emerging leader formation program now active in a half-dozen cities. He is currently the vice chair of the board of CommonSpirit Health, America’s largest nonprofit health system, regularly writes about leadership strategy for Forbes, and has been an adjunct professor at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

Even as a student at Fordham, Lowney recognized the value of Jesuit ideals and how they can serve as a foundation for a lifetime of both learning and leading. While introducing Lowney to the attendees, John Pettenati, FCRH ’81, chair of the Fordham University Alumni Association, read a quote that his classmate contributed to their 1981 yearbook, where Lowney was highlighted as a “Tomorrow Scholar”: “Jesuit education is supported by a wisdom of what it means to be human.”

Forever Learning Month events will take place throughout April. For a full list of events, all of which are free to attend, visit Forever Fordham.

Fordham SVA chapter president, Emma Cassidy, was nominated as a finalist for Student Veteran of the Year and Chief Diversity Officer Rafael Zapata spoke on a panel for the two-day event—which included a keynote address by First Lady Jill Biden, Ed.D.

Biden thanked the veterans for their service and encouraged attendees to share their stories so that other veterans might view higher education as a way back to civilian life.

“I’ve taught many veterans transitioning from military service, worried that they might not adjust to civilian life, only to find confidence and purpose in the classes they take,” said Biden. “I’ve seen them not only adjust, but thrive and become leaders in their communities and that’s what we see in SVA’s award nominees today.”

Zapata, who spoke on a panel on leadership an diversity, said that the many SVA chapters reflected the diversity of those communities and hold the potential for forging racial harmony.

“The military is uniquely situated to bring people of all kinds together,” he said. “I can’t think of any other organization that can bring people together who have never encountered each other—even more than colleges and universities. The military looks more like this country than most institutions, and I think there are great possibilities in that.”

For her part, Cassidy, who took the helm of Fordham SVA in January, said she was surprised to be nominated. She deflected attention to her predecessor Matias Ayala who she said maintained community and provided ways for members of the group, known as RamVets, to connect virtually during the pandemic.

“I was surprised that it was me, and while I’m proud to have been nominated, there were others who made more of an impact,” she said. “If had been on the nominating committee I would have chosen Matias. I have very big shoes to fill.”

Cassidy said she has given little thought to her role as a woman leading the chapter, though she acknowledged the challenges she faced when she was enlisted in the Navy.

“I was proud to be a woman in the military, but I had to adapt to a male-centric work environment,” she said. “I definitely had some pushback on my attitude. I think they expected me to be much sweeter and demure, but I didn’t see much point of being that way.”

For now, she said, she’s focused on her new role and picking up several virtual events, as well as a few socially distanced in-person events. She noted that the group will hold a socially distanced volunteer effort to help pack COVID-19 relief boxes in Brooklyn at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27 in partnership with DreamcenterNYC. RamVets can register ahead of the event, and the rest of the Fordham community can join the vets by registering at the What Remains website and selecting the Harman Street locale from the dropdown menus.

“We don’t know where we’re gonna land right now with the new normal; we’d love to add more in-person events, but we’ll definitely continue online as well,” she said.

In addition to the volunteer event, the Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a virtual event to help Fordham veterans navigate disability benefits on Thurs., Feb 25 from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Assistant Director of Military and Veterans’ Services Steven Hellman said student veterans can email [email protected] to set up and appointment to revisit an old claim or start a new one.

“It’s a pretty wild process to get your disability claim done on your own without a support system in place and luckily the VA is sending a team over to help all our vets one-on-one,” said Hellman.

Hellman said that veterans often experience delayed ailments well after they leave the military. He encouraged the notoriously self-sufficient vets to reach out for help when they need it. It’s a notion that Zapata touched on during his panel, by paraphrasing the poet Audre Lorde.

“Self-care is a revolutionary act,” he said. “Our existence itself can be revolutionary, that we are still here and we are still thriving—we have to do that.”

 

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Sunday Morning Special Contributor Ted Koppel asked Father McShane, “What do you think are the most important elements of leadership?”

“That’s a tough question,” he replied. “I think you have to begin with self-knowledge. Number two, you have to know what your priorities are. Number three, you have to be wise enough to ask for advice. And four, you have to be humble enough to accept it.

“And if you are able to do those, you’ll be a leader. A good leader? Maybe. A great leader? Possibly.”

Click here to watch the full clip on CBS News Sunday Morning. 

This year, six Pioneering Women in Philanthropy will be honored for the personal and financial support they have given Fordham. Leaders in their fields, each one has invested in bettering their communities and the world in their own way. Here, they share their thoughts on the importance of mentorship, empathy, self-confidence, and more on the path to success—for them and for all women.

In cosmetics, which is where I particularly grew up, we had these wonderful [women]  role models. … If you’ve been given this road map and you see that others have gone before you and achieved, you never have in your mind the notion of failure. You have the notion that you can do it too, if you’re good enough and smart enough and make the right decisions.
—Rose Marie Bravo, CBE, TMC ’71

Bravo grew up in the Bronx, the daughter of an Italian-born barber and a seamstress from Sicily. A Bronx High School of Science graduate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English cum laude at Fordham’s Thomas More College in 1971 and later held leadership positions in several major fashion businesses—including Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. She took over Burberry in 1997 and is widely credited with transforming the classic brand and greatly expanding its markets during her nine-year tenure as CEO. In 2006, Queen Elizabeth II recognized Bravo’s achievements in promoting British fashion, naming her a Commander of the British Empire.

Bravo will deliver a keynote address, “From the Bronx to Buckingham Palace,” at this year’s Women’s Philanthropy Summit.

I entered the work world bolstered by an amazing education in liberal arts that made me feel strong and confident. Still, to rise up the corporate ladder meant more than just feeling confident. I soon learned that it meant persistence and resilience, not being afraid to ask for help, and so much more. I quickly realized the importance of communicating, listening, adaptability, and using words like “us” “we” and “with.” I learned that the best leaders hire strong people, set goals, don’t make excuses, are empathetic, and understand their own self-worth.
—Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., UGE ’62, GSAS ’65, ’71

Dursi Cunniffe grew up in a family of eight, including two brothers who also went to Fordham. Fluent in French and Italian, she studied at the Sorbonne and the University of Perugia as well as Fordham, where she earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in French literature. She had a successful career as an executive in the cosmetics industry and, later, in executive recruiting. She spent 13 years at Revlon, rising to vice president at a time when that title was a rarity for women. She was a senior vice president and the key strategist in recruiting senior talent at Cablevision Systems Corporation before retiring in 2011. Her husband, Maurice “Mo” Cunniffe, FCRH ’54, is a fellow Fordham grad.

From my parents, I was always encouraged to be kind and fair—and to always let people know they are valued and loved. I think women have that capacity to inspire people by their passion, compassion, and empathy. Women stand tall for their beliefs and by nature have the ability to listen and compromise. We know how to bring people together and we are problem solvers.
—Barbara Dane, Ph.D., GSS ’67, ’85

Dane is a retired professor of clinical social work who has maintained a private clinical practice, working with dying and grieving persons and their families, since 1971. She earned both her M.S.W. and Ph.D. in gerontology from Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service. She has taught at Fordham, Columbia University, and NYU, and has a substantial publishing record in social work. Dane was awarded a summer fellowship from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on aging, and she was among the first recipients of a social work leadership grant from the Soros Foundation’s Project on Death in America. Her research on Thai women coping with HIV/AIDS and the role of meditation was presented at the Seventh International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women in Tromsø, Norway.

What I know is that we each have the opportunity to change a life every day, to share wisdom from experiences that can help one another, even if we don’t get to hear the triumphant follow-up story. What counts is what we give to lift others up around us, no matter how big or small our gift may be.
—Valerie Rainford, FCRH ’86

Rainford is head of advancing black leaders and diversity advancement strategies at JPMorgan Chase. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Fordham. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, she served at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 21 years, where she rose to become the most senior black woman there and the first to rise to senior vice president. The author of an award-winning memoir, Until the Brighter Tomorrow: One Woman’s Courageous Climb from the Projects to the Podium (Eloree Press, 2014), she has dedicated much of her life to uplifting others by sharing her story of perseverance, as she did with local Bronx students on the Rose Hill campus in August.

Rainford will deliver a keynote address, “Paying It Forward: A Journey of Resilience and Giving Back,” at this year’s Women’s Philanthropy Summit.

Being a leader is about continuous learning, hands-on engagement, and the power of giving time and resources. Women do this exceptionally well. The challenge is to understand the exciting opportunities for change, and to still find time for self-care and reflection.
—Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82

Conley Salice is the president of the Salice Family Foundation. She also serves on the boards and chairs the development committees of Fordham University, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, and Greenwich Hospital. Before shifting her focus to philanthropy, she worked in the business sector for two decades. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fordham College at Rose Hill and a master’s degree in fundraising and philanthropy from New York University. She was one of the keynote speakers at the inaugural Women’s Philanthropy Summit in 2017.

Women who have succeeded in business need to discuss how we navigated the workplace. These experiences are especially relevant today as some business leaders and politicians are seeking to erode the progress that women have made in this world. Women continually face discrimination based on their gender and have an especially tough path to managerial roles in many organizations. A man is considered tough when he makes a strong point while a woman is considered to be too emotional when making a similar point in a similar tone of voice. These stereotypes need to be put to rest. We must lead through a combination of common sense, empathy, and determination.
—Donna Smolens, FCRH ’79, GSAS ’81

Smolens has been a senior advisor at Insight Partners, a leading global private equity and venture capital firm, since 2015. Prior to joining Insight, she worked at Portfolio Advisors LLC, was a voting member on the investment committees of numerous Portfolio Advisors funds, and was on the advisory boards of 13 private equity funds. She previously worked at Crossover Ventures, DLJ Securities Private Fund Group, General Motors Investment Management, and New York Life Insurance Company. She graduated from Fordham University with both a B.A. and an M.A. in economics.

How did you get started at Con Ed, and how has your career taken shape there? 

I have always been very focused. I started at Con Edison back in 1998 as an assistant engineer. In that role, I was assigned to learn about different parts of the company and give presentations to a multidisciplinary committee. I learned about everything from fossil generation to nuclear energy. When I graduated from the program, I started my career as a technical supervisor, moving up to become a section manager, and then a senior system’s operator, and finally, to the role where I am now as a General Manager.

While I was in these roles, I really wanted to understand, how do you supervise people? How do you measure productivity? How do you get to align folks with the strategy? 

What inspired you to pursue engineering?

My brother was a great source of inspiration. He’s a civil engineer and he’s 13 years older than I am. Growing up with him, we had a lot of discussions around engineering. I attended Samuel Gompers Industrial High School on Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, a public school, where I studied computer science and electrical engineering. I didn’t find computer science challenging enough but I did find the challenge that I wanted in electrical engineering. I received an engineering degree from the City College of New York. While I was in college, my brother was already in the field. He knew what I was going through in terms of academics, and was always very supportive when I needed any help with my coursework. 

Could you tell us a little about your service on the Board of Directors of Bronx Works and why that’s important to you? 

I was raised in the Bronx, not too far from Yankee Stadium. I am a die-hard Yankee fan. Growing up there I knew what the challenges were. It was not an easy place. I knew kids that didn’t know anything outside a mile radius from where they lived. Knowing first hand the challenges that Bronx kids face really inspired me to give back to the community.  

BronxWorks is a non-profit that helps individuals and families improve their economic and social well-being. They work with everyone from toddlers to seniors to build a stronger community. Their mission really resonates with me, and I’m a big supporter of the STEM programs there. 

What are the most important qualities of a good leader?

My mother and father are from Puerto Rico, they came here in the mid-1950s. One of the values they instilled in myself, my brother, and my sister was the importance of education. They didn’t have the opportunity to finish school back in Puerto Rico, they had some challenges. But they always told me that you can be whatever you want to be in life, as long as you have a passion for it, and you have the time and energy to do it— you can do it. That encouragement stayed with me. Encouragement is what I always try to bring when I manage teams. I always try to encourage folks to do their best. 

I also think it’s important to look for someone who is a great listener, who really tries to understand people on a one-on-one basis. It’s important to have high emotional intelligence and to demonstrate integrity and sound ethical decision making. 

Why did you pursue an EMBA?

I always tried to balance academics and practicality. I had an engineering degree and I was doing technical work and so that balanced out. As I moved on to more leadership roles, I was getting the practical hands-on part of it, but I knew there was more involved. I wanted to learn the different philosophies behind management, leadership, and strategy.  

One of the most important things that I learned in the EMBA program is how to create an environment of intrinsic motivation and high morale.

But shortly after graduating and accepting an offer from a master’s degree program in music, she realized she was taking the wrong path.

“It sounds like an apocryphal story,” Edelman admits, “but I woke up one morning and said, ‘I’m doing the wrong thing.’ So I took the GMAT, applied to Fordham, and started going to business school at night that September.”

She was attracted to Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business because of the University’s culture, which the 1980 grad describes as “scrappy, diverse, with no pretensions. And you can still feel that now.”

Two years after enrolling in Fordham’s MBA program, where she concentrated in marketing and operations research, she got a job in marketing at Avon. Over the course of 25 years there, she worked her way up through several marketing and product development positions and later led the sales organization and global supply chain—until she ended up in IT. “I had not written a piece of code since I had been in the seventh grade,” she laughs, “but they felt I understood the Global IT area well enough to run it while we recruited a CIO.” She fell in love with the job and ended up as senior vice president and chief information officer for eight years.

She left the company in 2008 to deal with family matters and, for flexibility, decided to focus on expanding her positions as a board member for two public companies. But she was soon recruited as vice chairman at Emigrant Bank, which Fordham founder Archbishop John Hughes helped establish. The bank’s values and ethos have a lot in common with those of her graduate alma mater, Edelman says, noting that both were founded to support Irish immigrants. And, she adds, she loves working for an organization whose “footprint is primarily in the community.”

“It almost seems like, no matter who I meet, if I tell them where I work it’s like, ‘Oh, I had my first mortgage with you,’” she says. “It’s terrific to see the values and legacy of the bank in action.”

Edelman especially enjoys using the diverse experiences and knowledge she’s gained to support young women as they begin their own careers, something she does often with her own daughter, Julia, now a first-year law student at Fordham, and her friends.

“I’m close with several of her friends,” Edelman explains, “and I’ve met with several of them often, either helping them write resumes or coaching them on how to handle work situations that sometimes get political. Early in my career I had terrific mentors, people who explained the dynamics that weren’t apparent to a young person starting out in the workforce. And that was tremendously beneficial to me. So I have a great time with her friends, soaking in the stories, and helping them if I can.”

Though sometimes, she says, they already know exactly what to do. “I’m so impressed with this generation. Sometimes they tell me the situation, and I just ask what they think they should do next, and they’ve got it. They just need to hear themselves speak it.”

She hopes to touch on some of these themes during her keynote speech at next month’s second annual Women’s Philanthropy Summit at Fordham, which will be held on October 24 on the Lincoln Center campus.

“Part of what’s important for women and women’s development,” Edelman says, “is leadership, not only in terms of your professional life but your full life.”

This generation of young women, she says, “is focusing on supporting each woman’s personal choice, on self-reliance and independence, which I think is positive. So a focus on personal principles is important.

“We’re in a world right now with a lot of mixed signals. So individuals who have a constancy to them, a set of beliefs, an inner strength—they are going to prevail and lead.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about my family and our extended family of friends. I’m very fortunate that both my parents are still alive, and I’m very close with my sister and brother. And then there’s my daughter, Julia, and her friends and their parents. We are loving, close, together constantly, and help each other navigate life.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
It came from a friend in the form of a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” Because the reality is that, in business and in life, there often can be multiple “rights.” But if you operate in a way that’s consistent with your values and with what you really believe, you can’t look back with regret. Everything may not work out, but you have your integrity.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
In New York, it’s Lincoln Center, especially the Metropolitan Opera House. I think it’s an extraordinarily beautiful place, with an energy and a dynamism all its own.

In the world, I have two. First, my home in rural Connecticut. It’s very quiet. It’s very slow. It’s very nature-filled. And I love that. But also Florence, Italy. I inherited that one from my dad. We traveled there together, and I’ve been there since. I’ve brought Julia and her friend and her friend’s mom there too. There’s this intersection, particularly from the Renaissance period, of the highest order in architecture and art and music—all in one very walkable city.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
I am a student of human behavior. I have to name three. Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence for me filled in the blanks about certain characteristics of high-performing leaders that translate into more success than others. Because I don’t know how you can be a great leader if you do not have self-awareness, if you don’t listen, if you don’t have empathy. It’s the glue that holds together why certain people make certain situations—situations that by all rights should never have worked—work. Next is John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, about tragedy on Mount Everest. It’s an incredible story of a plan that goes awry, of team dynamics, of individualism and—to some degree—selfishness. And then Endurance, by Alfred Lansing, about Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated trip to Antarctica 100 years ago—an incredible story of leadership, resilience, integrity, and persistence.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
Alan Alda. He is a man of diverse talents and interests, humble and honest, and forever young. He is still trying to change the world for the better, including through his podcast and his book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? I saw an interview he did recently where he said that the question he most likes to ask people, either as an icebreaker or just as a way of getting some noise out of the system, is “what are you passionate about?” Because people are absolutely willing to talk about that, and all of a sudden you learn something about them, and all of a sudden maybe you have a connection you didn’t know about.

That was one of the two virtual reality exercises that the 2018 cohort of the Executive MBA (EMBA) program at the Gabelli School of Business in Westchester found themselves wrestling with in a course led by professor Julita Haber, Ph.D. 

The experience was created through a head-mounted device that simulated the fear of heights. The software and equipment was provided by Lyron Bentovim, president and CEO of the Glimpse Group, a virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) company.

Haber, a clinical assistant professor in the leading people and organizations department, believes the emotional immersive exercise can help students understand the skills and characteristics that are key to building and leading high-performing teams.

“The topic of team dynamics and technology go very well together,” she said. “I wanted to create activities that would evoke emotions and enhance their communication skills to reach a goal.”

It’s a team exercise that’s relevant to students’ work in the program, which thrusts them into leadership situations.

“In general, most of the students in the program have developed an expertise in a specific area, but they want to have more of a bird’s-eye view of an organization to formulate and implement strategies as leaders,” said Francis Petit, associate dean for global initiatives and partnerships at the Gabelli School.

Though EMBA student Ryan Grillo was able to climb the computer-generated skyscraper and walk across the beam successfully, his responsibility to his team didn’t end when he completed the task, he said.

“We were all trying to help the students who were afraid of heights eliminate some of their fears,” said Grillo,  who works as a general manager at a company that manufactures elevators and other related products. “I’d say, ‘Walk straight or walk towards my voice. You can do it.’ Some people were able to walk over or at least take baby steps.”

In the second VR/AR exercise, one student from each team was selected to deactivate a bomb. The student received directions from five other team members.

“Our team trusted each other more than I had anticipated,” said Stephanie Miano, GABELLI ’18, a sales manager at an international based luxury brand. “When it came down to the wire, we communicated effectively and did our best to work together.”

“Each exercise provided me with a different framework for my thought process in how to approach a situation,” added William J. Allan, GABELLI ’18, a financial professional at a global business and tech consultancy. “It [showed]me the importance of delegation and teamwork in time-sensitive situations.”

Haber said VR/AR experiences can challenge misconceptions about team work, including the myth that people don’t need to like each other to work well.

“When people like each other, it often helps to achieve a high quality of creative and innovative results,” she said, adding that effective teamwork is crucial to team success. “Well-designed team processes that are coupled with an individual’s ability to influence others can increase a team’s sense of control over the deliverables.”

In situations like this, Miguel Alzola, Ph.D., associate professor of ethics at the Gabelli School of Business, said the decision-maker’s choices aren’t necessarily a matter of right or wrong.

“There can be conflicts between right and right, from conflicts in time management to conflicting shareholder values,” he said.

“The answers are not that clear, and that is what creates opportunity for students to engage in a conversation.”

A ‘Win-Win’ Mindset

Alzola teaches courses in corporate social responsibility and business ethics. “Our best students have a win-win mindset,” he said. “They recognize that it’s in the best interest of the shareholders to protect employees and treat customers well.”

His research focuses on character-based ethical theories in business. Alzola found that people make distinctions between the virtues that they attach to being a good human being, and the character traits that they need be successful in their professional roles.

One key question that he is exploring is whether one’s character can be corrupted by participating in improper business practices.

“It’s undeniable that you have a social role that you play in every group in which you belong,” he said. “These groups can have an impact on the way you perceive whether your actions are a problem or not.”

Examining the Underlying Principles

Prior to joining Fordham in 2008, Alzola worked in the oil industry during the ‘90s in his home country of Argentina. Corruption, bribery, and favoritism were widespread in the industry at the time. The experience inspired his interest in virtue ethics and moral psychology.

Alzola reviewed case studies in leadership and business in which individuals strayed from their values. He also explored the different ways people frame a problem, in order to choose an alternative course of action in tricky business dealings.

In many of these situations, the decision-maker is faced with disparate interests: Employees want higher salaries. The shareholders of a company demand hire revenue. Meanwhile, customers want better service.

“We try to provide a platform to initiate a conversation among the students, which is not only connected with the case studies, but also with their own values,” said Alzola. “It allows them to look at their convictions critically. “

Mainstream business ethics tend to evaluate different choices based on the consequences of the decision-maker’s actions or the means they use to achieve their desired outcome.

Since there is a greater emphasis on whether the decision-maker’s action is permitted or prohibited, Alzola said the character of the decision-maker is often overlooked.

“Ethics is not only about what you do, but how what you do reflects on who you are, and who you will be as a result of performing the action,” he said.

Making a Better Choice

In his courses, Alzola has advocated an integration of business, legal, and ethical outlooks to help students effectively dissect contemporary business dilemmas, from pay equity and privacy protection to conflicts of interests and corporate espionage.

“Psychology has found that the more sophisticated you get in framing a problem, the more likely you’re going to behave ethically,” said Alzola. “Framing is a key part of good decision-making.”

“It’s about finding long-term solutions to short-term conflicts,” said Alzola. “You have to think about the company, 10, 20, and 30 years from now.”

He said the onus is also on business leaders to develop organizational structures and systems that help people to choose better.

“Part of it is recruitment, and the other part is internal development,” he said. “Leaders have a responsibility to create systems that are aligned with what people want to do and what they ought to do in order to be better at what they do.”

“Marymount showed me the importance of working as part of a team. But I also learned that you can’t always wait for someone to give you an opportunity,” she says. “If you want things to happen, sometimes you need to be the one to push it through.”

MacInnis, who joined the Marymount Alumnae Board in 2016, is taking that same initiative in her new role as the board’s president. “Some of it is about looking backward, being able to continue coming together and getting this cross-section of women that really helps you see the progression of history and how similar and yet radically different things are,” MacInnis explains. This is especially important for Marymount, MacInnis says, which began merging with Fordham shortly after she graduated in 2000 before closing in 2007.

“But I also want to look forward with the women of Fordham, and see where we might be needed to help create future women leaders.”

She’s already begun by reaching out to Deanna Howes, FCRH ’07, the leader of Fordham’s Alumni Chapter of Washington, D.C., who gave her helpful advice on working with alumni. And she hopes to continue growing the Marymount Legacy Fund, which just reached $1 million in June 2017 and provides scholarships to talented female Fordham students with a Marymount affiliation. MacInnis also hopes to find new ways to bring together Marymount alumnae and Fordham’s current students, perhaps by partnering with campus clubs.

“I’m still getting my sea legs,” she says, “but I want to continue supporting this special community.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
My favorite hobbies are reading and going to the theater. Both are great ways to learn about experiences outside of your own, and you really develop empathy and respect in the process. And when I’ve gone through difficult times, such as when my father passed away, I took great comfort from reading about how others went through the same experiences and seeing our commonalities.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t tie your self-worth to your job. Obviously your job is important, but you can’t hang everything on the outcome of a meeting or project. I’ve always taken things to heart more than I should, and I’ve been trying to separate myself from that habit recently.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
I don’t know that I have one particular favorite spot in New York, but whenever I visit, I try to walk wherever I go. It’s amazing to see the different neighborhoods and people, a cross-section that is hard to get anywhere else. As much as I love New York, I’m originally from New England, so I immediately feel at home there more than anywhere else in the world.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you. Explain how and why.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn stays with me to this day. It was one of the first books I read that described individuals—and especially family—as flawed and complex people that you still love. And the ending is so melancholy—not tidy like children’s books. More recently I loved Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds, which takes place during an elevator ride. It’s a short book, but he packs a lot of emotion and complexity into it.

Who is the Marymount or Fordham grad or professor you admire most? Explain why.
I have great memories of meeting Geraldine Ferraro my freshman year at Marymount. I still remember asking her about public financing of elections! She attended the Marymount Convent School across from Marymount College, and she graduated from Fordham University’s Law School. I’ve always admired how she was able to combine her commitment to helping others and her professional work, especially at a time when it was not necessarily expected that women would become lawyers, members of Congress, or vice presidential candidates.