From Classroom to Community: Inside the Social Impact Consulting Showcase
On a spring evening at Beinecke Terrace, students, clients, and advisors gathered to mark the close of another year of work by Yale SOM’s Golub Capital Consulting Fellows. What unfolded was not just a series of presentations, but a reflection of months of collaboration between students and organizations working across New Haven and beyond.
For more than two decades, the SOM club has connected Yale MBA students with nonprofits, government agencies, and social enterprises to tackle real world challenges. The End of Year Project Showcase offered a window into that work, bringing together organizational partners and student consultants who had spent the semester building solutions si de by side.
Across four presentations, the range of projects was striking. One team worked with the Shore Line Trolley Museum to rethink revenue and visitor engagement. Another partnered with Connecticut CASA to strengthen how it communicates its impact to diverse stakeholders. A third supported East Haven Television in identifying new, sustainable revenue streams. A fourth collaborated with the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy to improve how a statewide council translates discussion into measurable outcomes. Each project was distinct in context and approach but shared a common thread: translating analysis into something practical. Teams focused on tools their partners could carry forward, from clearer messaging and data structures to actionable roadmaps.
That emphasis was visible not just in the presentations, but in how partners and students described the experience. Anne Benowitz, vice president of economic development and workforce initiatives at the Greater New Haven Chamber, reflected that the project evolved far beyond its initial scope, reshaping how she approached her work and strengthening the impact of her organization’s reporting. She shared that she would readily partner with the club again, pointing to both the value of the work and the strength of the collaboration. For students, the process was equally formative. Ryan Sales ’27 described the experience as deeply collaborative from the outset, with teams working alongside clients to refine the problem itself and adapt their approach over time. The goal was not only to complete a project, but to produce work that would remain useful as conditions changed.
Advisors and club leaders saw team progress from working with initial problems to developing a deeper understanding of the context and formulating meaningful outputs. Sooah Rho, who supported multiple groups through the semester, noted that many projects began with problems that student consultants helped clarify and then offered concrete, meaningful recommendations. The level of commitment, she observed, reflected the school’s broader mission, with students investing significant time and energy because they genuinely cared about the outcomes. For the club’s leadership, the showcase was also a moment of reflection. Co-president Caroline Petro ’26, described the year as an opportunity to create meaningful engagements for both clients and students learning to translate classroom concepts into real world impact. That momentum carries forward with next year’s leaders, including Camila Ortiz Silva ’27, who emphasized building on the strong sense of community and ensuring that future participants have an equally impactful experience.
The evening also marked moments of transition. Three students were recognized for going above and beyond in their contributions, reflecting both the intensity of the work and the collaborative spirit behind it. The organization also announced its transition into the Golub Capital Consulting Fellows network, connecting it to a broader ecosystem of social impact initiatives across business schools.
Together, these moments reinforced what the showcase ultimately represented. Beyond individual projects or presentations, it captured a model of engagement that sits at the heart of the Yale SOM experience: students applying their skills in real settings, organizations opening their doors to new perspectives, and both sides working toward outcomes that extend beyond the classroom. As the evening gave way to conversation and reflection, the impact of the work was already evident not just in the recommendations delivered, but in the relationships built and the capacity created for organizations to continue that work long after the semester ends.
