Ellie Wachtel

Yale School of Management

“Early riser for a good challenge, fun novel, complex system, or a long bike ride.”

Hometown: Chevy Chase, MD

Fun fact about yourself: One Saturday in college, I ran a quesadilla stand on my front porch. We’ll see if I’m ever a part of a business that successful again!

Undergraduate School and Degree: Williams College, B.A. in Mathematics and History

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Associate, SE Group (Planning and consulting for ski areas, mountain communities, and outdoor recreation destinations)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? L.E.K. Consulting, Boston

Where will you be working after graduation? TBD – looking for roles in operations and strategy in transportation, services, or sports

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Ski and Snowboard Club, Leader
Jewish Students Association, Leader
Title IX Working Group
Teaching Assistant: Housing Connecticut, Operations Engine, Macroeconomics, Supply Chain
Connecticut Public Impact Fellowship

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Each year, I have helped orchestrate the annual SOM Vermont ski trip. The trip had been a hallmark of the SOM experience, but in COVID, the tradition had faded, and numbers dwindled. With two amazing co-leaders, we worked to generate enthusiasm for the trip, make it relatively accessible, and offer relatively smooth logistics for the hundreds of SOMers traveling to Vermont. Each year, we’ve more than doubled the number of people who come on the trip and build bonds with their classmates beyond New Haven. It was so rewarding running into classmates everywhere and hearing the joy of people experiencing their first day on the slopes.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? As the 2020/21 winter approached, ski areas faced a myriad of capacity restrictions and concerns amidst the COVID-19 restrictions. I devised a methodology to assess how many people a resort could safely accommodate given their chairlifts, lift lines, eating areas, and shuttles. I worked directly with several major resorts to develop reservation systems and establish projections. I then presented this work and its implications to over a hundred other ski areas to guide their operational planning award for the coming season. I’m proud of my ingenuity, to develop a practical tool implemented across the country and helping millions of people to enjoy the slopes that winter.

In my third year at SE Group, I worked on the planning process for the Pilot Hill open space adjacent to Laramie, Wyoming. The project transformed the City of Laramie, resulting in 7,000 acres of formerly private land becoming community open space, trails, and wildlife habitat. As the project went along, I gained responsibility and oversaw all aspects of the project, from client relations to trail design to facilitating a stakeholder group. Our stakeholder group, of federal and state agencies, worked collaboratively to arrive at effective management schemes and connectivity. I led forums for hundreds of Laramie residents to ensure that our planning aligned with their vision for the area. Pilot Hill was the 2020 Wyoming Project of the Year.

Why did you choose this business school? Yale SOM felt like the ideal mix of familiar and the new or different: the right-size step beyond my comfort zone. Business school was going to be a big change for me; I spent the preceding five years living in a small Colorado mountain town working with designers, engineers, planners, and a lot of skiers.

I wanted a place that would instill a strong business foundation but offer flexibility to explore my academic interests. I wanted a city with mail delivery and arts and culture, but opportunities to be in nature. I wanted to be surrounded by people with a variety of backgrounds and interests, but small enough in number to form a tight-knit community.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Professor Edieal Pinker who I had for Healthcare Operations. Professor Pinker crafted a course that brought operations concepts to life. His assignments required balancing analytical and strategic thinking with empathy and practicality. Better yet, he brought immense energy and enthusiasm for these topics for an 8:30 a.m. class. Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know Professor Pinker beyond the classroom and have been the lucky recipient of his thoughtfulness and perceptiveness.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? I really enjoyed the Workforce core course. Workforce was the perfect MBA inflection point: a moment to evaluate your pre-SOM workplace, take stock of trends and best practices, and envision the future. The three professors did an excellent job of sharing research, hearing from and contextualizing our own experiences, and giving us actionable items and concepts for when we return to the workforce. It has helped me frame my current job search, to appreciate motivating job design elements and priorities.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? To offer something I should have done sooner, I wish I’d made more of an effort to get to know faculty and staff during my first year. This year, with club leadership, elective classes, and TA-ing, I have spent a lot of time connecting with the faculty and staff of SOM. We have had bagels and babka, dove deeper into topics from class, and navigated community conversations. I have so appreciated learning from them, thinking with them, and turning to a supportive, wise sounding board.

What did you love most about your business school’s town?  I love the East Rock neighborhood where I (and many of my classmates) live. East Rock is full of colorful, multi-family houses from the early 20th century brimming with character. There are corner grocery stores and neighborhood pizza joints and bakeries. Walking around East Rock, I’m constantly running into friends and faculty who make me feel like I’m home.

What surprised you the most about business school? I have been most surprised by the expansiveness of my SOM education. SOM preaches “educating leaders for business & society,” and I’ve had so many opportunities to dive in, appreciate societal issues, and what my role, with an MBA, can be. For my Non-Profit Strategy class, I dove into the Washington D.C. synagogue landscape, interviewing board members, staff, and rabbis to understand the financial pressures they face.

The clubs at SOM also help expand the conversation, from Net Impact club events to the Title IX working group and event with Mana Shim and Molly Hensley-Clancy on sexual abuse in women’s soccer. I drew connections from a nascent women’s soccer league to toxic workplace paradigms and was empowered by the change they’re creating. At SOM, I feel encouraged to look out, take my passions and interests, learn, and apply that business lens.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Toughest question! I will say Jay Rosenberg. Jay is our class liaison to the Career Development Office. Jay keeps one ear to the ground and offers the other to any classmate in need of advice or support. He also does a great job reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously, wearing his Lord Farquad from Shrek Halloween costume for days on end.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I am so grateful for the mentorship I’ve received and the responsibilities I’ve been entrusted with as I start my career. I want to mentor people in a way that fosters creativity, versatility, and curiosity.

And what may be elusive – I want to work in a brick and mortar, collegial, in-person work environment making the world a more efficient place!

What made Ellie such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?
“Ellie Wachtel is a conscientious, creative, and wonderful leader, Ellie frequently speaks up, offers ideas, listens to what her colleagues have to say, and builds from group discussion. Ellie is very committed to fostering strong communities and is passionate about the work she does through her co-curricular involvement. Ellie is an asset to every group that she is a part of and provides her leadership skills in a very unassuming way that motivates others. She leads by example always conducting herself in a responsible and ethical fashion. She is dependable, dedicated, and poised regardless the subject matter. The Yale School of Management has benefited greatly by Ellie’s involvement particularly in the Title IX Working Group where Ellie has been instrumental with the programming and accomplishments of this group.”

Rebecca Udler
Assistant Dean of Student and Academic Affairs
Yale School of Management

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024