Meet Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA Class Of 2020

Sable Worthy

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

“Pisces double Taurus with plans to change lives and EGOT along the way.”

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Fun Fact About Yourself: My Instagram stories showcase two of my greatest passions: preparing good food and eating it!

Undergraduate School and Major: Yale University, Anthropology

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: GetWorthyMedia.com, Founder and Chief Consultant

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Since launching my own consultancy, GetWorthyMedia.com, I’ve had opportunities to work with two of my former bosses who now run their own agencies. I’ve had the chance to assemble the digital components for some of their larger clients’ campaigns and to pitch jointly with them for new business. I know that these folks have high standards, so I’m encouraged by the fact that they trust me as a partner on some of their top projects.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? The quality that best describes the MBA classmates I’ve met so far is warmth. I’ve felt that folks are genuinely interested in answering questions, being inclusive toward my partner and bringing me into the social fabric on campus.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I made the decision to attend Kellogg based on a gut feeling. I had all the stats to know that Kellogg was a stellar program; however, the Pisces in me had to ultimately rely on intuition. Twenty minutes into the first day of the admitted students’ weekend, I knew I was staring down the perfect path, created by a combination of thought, action and intention going back several years and hand-delivered from the universe. (The short answer is, probably, it was Sally Blount’s opening speech!)

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’m looking forward to joining the Pride at Kellogg community and fulfilling my role as a Reaching Out MBA fellow on campus. It’s important to me to increase the visibility of queer and gender non-conforming business leaders – especially women and people of color — and to advance the message that different backgrounds and perspectives are key to innovation and success within all spheres of society.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know the mobile advertising ecosystem and launching my own company. However, I want to expand my knowledge to a greater number of industries within our economy, so that I can start to problem solve across them. I’m eager to pursue an MBA at this point in my career because it will provide me with the structure to begin thinking about the intersections of different industries such as real estate, agriculture and entertainment and how I might apply my skills and passions to provide value to more people.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Because I have a company that is just starting to take off, it was hard to know if the time commitment required for business school would be worth it. Receiving a Reaching Out MBA fellowship played a significant role in my decision. It’s brought the cost of attendance down while giving me robust resources with which to engage the LGBTQ community: something I was determined to do wherever I decided to attend. Most important, however, was the sense I got during my visit to Kellogg that the faculty and administration truly want students to be proactive in shaping exactly what they want their MBA experience to look like. As an entrepreneur who’s determined to actively shape my own path, that was extremely compelling.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Yale School of Management, UCLA Anderson, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, Berkeley Haas, NYU Stern

How did you determine your fit at various schools? The factors I prioritized most were the programs’ areas of expertise, location and reports from folks who’d previously attended. While I was trying to avoid Chicago-like weather at all costs, Kellogg’s expertise in marketing, coupled with its faculty’s investment in me through the awarding of a ROMBA fellowship made it an easy decision.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment came at the end of a relationship. I was filled with regret that I hadn’t fought to make it work. I realized I’d been listening blindly to an inner voice that didn’t have my best interests at heart, and I began an intense search to find out why. I discovered there were three main principles I had to incorporate into my life: gratitude, self-compassion and self-awareness. I started keeping a daily gratitude journal and pushing myself to focus on the positive aspects of my life. I started going to therapy, building up my self-esteem and meditating, so I could recognize my thoughts and evaluate whether they were worth keeping in the rotation. I began to discover that a lot of the habits that contributed to the end of my relationship were also holding me back in other aspects of my personal and professional life. My new perspective has given me the energy and confidence to launch my own business, walk the runway for Bindle and Keep, co-chair my 5th year college reunion and strengthen lines of communication with my loved ones. It’s been a nonlinear journey that has been painful at times, but also the single most important thing I’ve done for my own personal happiness, accountability and business success.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? I plan to write and produce a television series centered on a friend group of young, high-powered LGBTQ people of color. This will allow me to combine my lifelong passion for theater and performance with my growing business knowledge to tell a story that reflects experiences that are not frequently represented in popular media. I believe that art and representation can help to inspire individuals and expand economic opportunities within our communities. I am encouraged by the growing inclusion of marginalized perspectives in popular culture and want to extend my creativity and growing business insights to further increase the number of these stories that are told.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself with my wife and kids en route to our semi-annual trip to Hawaii. Lena Waithe, Lin-Manuel Mirandaa, and I are good friends who collaborate often and I’m launching an initiative to foster kindness in schools through the use of augmented reality with Gary Vaynerchuck. I have just sold my second pilot and am using my increased visibility to champion my foundation, which delivers high-nutrient, low-cost food ingredients to areas lacking full service grocery stores.

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