Meet the MBA Class of 2022: Elisse Roche, Yale SOM

Elisse Roche

Yale School of Management

“Extant.”

Hometown: Mahwah, NJ

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I’m an herbalist apprentice, studying plant morphology, human physiology, and traditional medicine-making.

Undergraduate School and Major: Columbia University, English

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Product Marketing Manager, Google

The Yale School of Management is regarded as a purpose-driven program. What is your mission? How will your MBA at Yale SOM help you fulfill that mission? As a joint-degree MBA/ Master of Environmental Management (MEM) candidate at the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of the Environment, my mission is to build a better, more equal, and more sustainable future for all. I seek to build a future in which both people and planet thrive, together.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the school’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The mission: to educate leaders for business and society. In applying to the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of the Environment, I did so with an eye towards working in the environmental/ public sector. It was of the utmost importance to me to find alignment between my own mission and that of my school. Yale SOM pursues ambitious and conscientious change.

What quality best describes your MBA classmates and why? Conscientious. They are conscientious in their choices and in their actions. From the admissions process and recruiting events to the orientation weekend to the digital connections of the present, I have met an array of students that prioritize doing what is right — not what is easy.

What club or activity excites you most at this school? The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), whose mission is to advance the science of climate change communication, help leaders communicate more effectively, and increase the public’s understanding of climate risks and opportunities. I started working with YPCCC as a Digital Strategist this summer, and am excited to bring my marketing experience together with my passion for catalyzing behavioral change.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Google Cloud, I had the opportunity to found a Data for Good program for nonprofits and purpose-driven individuals to apply big data solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as unemployment and the circular economy. In collaboration with the Google for Nonprofits, Google Earth Outreach, and Google Sustainability teams, we were able to provide credit grants to hundreds of nonprofits. We also launched two global contests – Visualize 2030, a data storytelling contest for students, and Circular Economy 2030, a sustainability contest for social entrepreneurs – with leading organizations like the United Nations Foundation and The World Bank.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? In my work around Data for Good, I not only recognized the importance of building private-public sector partnerships to realize a more sustainable future, but also decided to pursue further graduate study so as to help secure that future. Given the present trajectory of our changing world, what occurred to me was this: If not now, when? My intention in pursuing both an MBA and an MEM is to develop the core management expertise and environmental knowledge I need in order to advance climate-critical initiatives in a collaborative way, from conservation to sustainable resource management to environmental justice.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? In applying to MBA programs, I considered only schools that offer a joint-degree program in environmental management and/or a specialization in sustainability (as well as that consider social and environmental impact at the core of their culture). For me, these schools included: Oxford Saïd Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Cornell SC Johnson School of Business, and Michigan Ross School of Business.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? That would be Yale SOM’s essay question: “Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made.” It’s an existential question. I thought of personal commitments and professional commitments. After much reflection, I chose to speak to a commitment I have made to myself: to consistently ask why things are the way they are, and to figure out how I (and we, as a whole) can live a more ethical and conscious life.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? With my intention to shift to the public sector to focus on advancing climate-critical initiatives, I started my graduate school journey by looking at schools that prioritized social and environmental impact – through their mission, nonprofit and sustainability concentrations, and/ or joint-degree programs. I wanted to immerse myself in a culture of accountability, one that looks critically at the past and at the present so as to approach the future with an entirely different lens.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? A defining moment in my career was the Circular Economy 2030 contest. In partnership with SAP, UN Environment, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Google Cloud hosted an international initiative to support social entrepreneurs around the world in their pursuit of sustainable solutions. From ideation to project management to execution, I had the opportunity to bring an initiative to life that would drive real-world impact. This helped me to prepare for graduate school in that I worked cross-functionally, nurtured private-public partnerships, and took on new leadership opportunities – all in all, it was a holistic learning opportunity.

What is your favorite company and what could business students learn from them? A favorite company of mine is King Arthur Baking Company. A certified B-Corp, they are 100% employee-owned and believe in the power of what they do (baking) to make a difference for people and for the planet. As a baker myself, I am a loyal customer. Their products make for great baked goods. Along the way, by choosing them I too help to support their practices – from their green energy commitments to their donations to local communities. Anyone can learn from them in that they stand for using the power of business as a force for social and environmental good.

What is the most important attribute that you are seeking in an MBA employer? Purpose. As I look towards working in the public sector after graduation, I aim to work with an organization that prioritizes environmental stewardship, conservation, equitable access to nature and natural resources, and environmental justice.

DON’T MISS: MEET YALE SOM’S MBA CLASS OF 2022