Elena Schiefele ’27

I became a civil rights lawyer to help people achieve greater economic mobility and financial stability. After practicing law for a few years, I realized that I needed additional tools to achieve this kind of impact. I pursued an MBA to better understand how capital can be directed to overlooked communities, and how stronger networks of funders and organizations can drive change. After SOM, I’ll be able to combine my legal background with a technical financial skill set to advance economic justice.

At SOM, the courses Corporate Finance and Impact Measurement and Financial Reporting in the Social Sector have been particularly useful. They’ve given me a strong grasp of financial decision-making—one of my goals coming into the program—and taught me to assess investment opportunities based on their potential for impact.

Before SOM, I didn’t know impact investing existed. My introduction to the field came during my first year through Turner MIINT, a national impact investing competition where student teams pitch startups to an investment committee. SOM’s Impact Investing Club, which hosts the school’s internal competition, organized weekly sessions to walk us through the entire process: How do you source a startup? How do you conduct due diligence? It was a great learning experience—I don’t think I would have landed my internship without that foundation.

For my internship, I supported the impact investing team at Spring Point Partners, a social-justice organization in Philadelphia. A lot of funders tend to overlook investment opportunities in certain communities because they perceive those investments as riskier. Over the summer, I saw how a hands-on, collaborative approach—where you provide programmatic support to the organizations you’re funding—can de-risk those investments. When it comes to equitable investing, these efforts are critical.

It’s been easy to find like-minded people and build community at SOM, especially through extracurriculars. Last year, I helped organize the Yale Philanthropy Conference; this year, I’m co-chairing the organizing committee. It’s been a great way to connect with classmates who care about similar issues, as well as people working in the sector. SOM has hosted the conference for more than 20 years, and it’s something people always look forward to.

The stereotype is that business-school students only care about the bottom line, but that’s not the case here. At SOM, there’s a lot of thoughtfulness about impact and the way our work affects society and the world. The community is welcoming and cares deeply, and everyone’s so willing to help each other. I’ve made friends here that I’ll have for the rest of my life.