Students and Local Organizations Kickoff Social Impact Consulting Club Collaborations
The Evans Hall atrium buzzed with energy as students and leaders from local mission-driven organizations gathered for the annual Social Impact Consulting Club’s (SICC) Meet-the-Clients Mixer. The event marked the official start of this year’s experiential consulting projects, where Yale School of Management students partner with local organizations to help them solve critical challenges that advance their organizations’ goals for impact across the region.
The evening opened with welcoming remarks from Caroline Petro’26, a student co-lead for SICC, who framed the event. “We love this event. We are so excited to welcome the clients to Evans Hall. Hearing about the impact the clients are making and what projects they are working on really makes the hall come alive.” Her remarks captured the spirit of the evening - one that blended learning, collaboration, and a shared commitment to business and society.
For more than two decades, SIC has connected Yale SOM students with public and social sector leaders, giving students the opportunity to apply business knowledge to real-world challenges. The Meet the Clients mixer continued that tradition, giving students the opportunity to learn about each organization’s mission and explore potential partnerships. The participating organizations reflected the diversity of the local nonprofit and public sectors, spanning economic development, community services, arts and culture, and youth development.
Economic development partners ranged from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, which is working to leverage data to attract new business to the region, to the State of Connecticut’s Office of Workforce Strategy, seeking engagement strategies to support the Governor's Workforce Council in building an equitable talent pipeline. Both organizations exemplified the long-term, systems-level focus of many SICC projects.
In the community services space, organizations like the Storehouse Project and Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven shared efforts to expand their missions beyond immediate aid, developing multi-year financial and operational strategies to better serve families.
“We’re really excited to be working with the Social Impact Consulting students,” said Raymond Hagan of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven, an organization that develops affordable housing and promotes homeownership opportunities. “We feel that this is an opportunity to really give them an inside look at how local community nonprofits like us operate, and how we seek funding for the projects we’re working on.”
Highlighting the arts and culture sector, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven outlined a vision for shared services to sustain the region’s creative ecosystem. Similarly, organizations like East Haven Public Television sought support to evolve their community media models and amplify underrepresented voices. Youth-focused groups like Squash Haven and Whiskey Bravo underscored the transformative potential of education and mentorship.
“It’s exciting to meet all the people who are really eager to collaborate with us as students,” said Isabelle Goldstein SOM ’27. “I want to use traditional business skills to help organizations that need them – it’s why I came here.
For many students, the mixer was an opportunity to find the right avenue for service. Manasa Sunkavalli ’27 shared, “I was excited to learn about the different organizations and the problems they’re trying to solve. I was curious to see where the skills I bring to the table could make the most impact.”
After the formal presentations concluded, students and organizational leaders mingled, deepening discussions about each project’s scope. In the coming days, student teams will be formed, marking the official start of a year-long partnership dedicated to turning those discussions into tangible, lasting outcomes for the community.
