Jack Schaufler

University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management

“Active and optimistic person first, thoughtful teammate and leader, passionate about making a positive impact.”

Hometown: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Fun fact about yourself: I’m happiest on a bike (gravel, mountain or road) and I met my goal in 2024 of doing three century (100+ mile) bike rides!

Undergraduate School and Degree: BS in Sustainable Technology from Appalachian State University

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Skyline Renewables – Asset Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Two part-time internships: Echo River Capital – Associate, California Community Power – Finance, Strategy & Procurement Analyst

Where will you be working after graduation? To be determined! I’m seeking a role in a forward-thinking organization focused on innovation, financing and deployment of clean energy technologies at scale.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Co-president of Net Impact Club: Spring 2024 – current. Leading events demonstrating potential careers in impactful industries, including food & agricultural innovation, clean energy, and social impact.

MBA Integrated Management Project, Team Lead: Fall 2024. Led project looking at the feasibility of an Agrivoltaics (solar + agriculture) project at UC Davis. Our team demonstrated the economic viability through a complex financial model, and the business case for pursuing a project at UC Davis.

Net Impact Global Case Competition Finalist: Winter 2024. Competition hosted by UC Boulder LEEDs School of Business.

Sacramento Kings Fastbreak Mentorship Program: Spring 2024 – current. Mentor for two college students in Sacramento, providing guidance on transition to higher education and career development.

Graduate Student Researcher: Spring – Summer 2024. Researcher for Grand Challenges Climate Solutions initiative, focused on understanding Agrivoltaics research and commercial activities around the country and how UC Davis can expand efforts in Agrivoltaics.

In addition, I was just named one of two recipients of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s Stephen G. and Shelley A. Newberry Distinguished Fellowship, the School’s largest privately-funded award.  The recipients demonstrate great potential for leadership based on their experience before their MBA and while at the Graduate School of Management.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of my involvement with the Sacramento Kings Fastbreak Mentorship Program, which was part of the Graduate School of Management’s partnership with the NBA team. This may not be an “achievement” in the sense that it isn’t an award or a graded project, but I’m most proud of this for a few reasons. In business school, it is easy to stay in the bubble of campus, but I think it is important to step beyond that into the broader community. I’ve greatly enjoyed the Sacramento area since moving here and felt it important to take a step to get to know the community better and participate at a deeper level. The Sacramento Kings mentorship program focused primarily on the human and people aspect of connection and networking. I’m glad to be able to support undergraduate students on how to navigate entering the professional world, but I’m prouder of being able to connect with them and be a resource as a friend and mentor.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I’m most proud of the work I did in my previous role to onboard our company’s first solar project into operations from construction. I came to the company as the only person with a background in solar energy and played a lead role in building out our processes for managing a large-scale solar power plant. The team was full of amazing people with decades of experience operating wind power plants, but I’m proud to have been the person they turned to help build and implement policies and procedures that would hopefully serve as guidance for years to come.

Why did you choose this business school? When looking at where to attend business school, I wanted to be somewhere that had programming and expertise on clean energy and climate technologies as well as innovation and entrepreneurship. I wanted to be in an area that had access to both industry and policy. The GSM met these criteria. However, the main reason I chose the GSM is because I felt wanted and supported. I immediately felt comfortable and a part of the community when I first stepped in the building on my visit. Dean H. Rao Unnava was recently named Dean of the Year by Poets&Quants for good reason. This culture is set from the top by his kindness and effort to make sure each student has what they need to be successful.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor has been Ayako Yasuda. She has been a resource and mentor for me from before I even started my MBA, setting aside time to chat with me as a prospective student. I was eager to learn from her given her expertise in Venture Capital and impact investing. She is a brilliant professor, but it is her calm and wise outlook on life and the intersection of business with our values that has been important for my development. She has challenged my perspectives on the roles of finance and innovation and helped me find my way to where I need to be.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Articulation and Critical Thinking, taught by Brian Kennedy. This class focused on improving our writing skills, our public speaking, and challenging our critical thinking. Each week, we had a different presentation to give using different formats (seated on a panel, standing with a podium, using a presentation or not, etc.) This class was fun and the topic of the presentations was not the focus, so students were encouraged to have fun with it or challenge the viewpoints of their peers. I gained confidence and skills as a speaker and as a writer, but most importantly engaged in debates and had the way that I think challenged by my peers. This class made everyone a better person and member of society on top of making us better in a business context.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite tradition was UC Davis Picnic Day. One of the largest student-run events in the nation, Picnic Day is arguably the biggest event in town each year. It brings together UC Davis and the surrounding community to highlight research and the strengths of the school and also just to have fun! There are events like the Battle of the Bands, expositions and demos of animal and plant research, and food trucks and games. The business school’s participation in this event shows their involvement in the larger community.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would take more trips with my classmates! I’ve gone camping in Yosemite, camping at the beach, and skiing at Tahoe with classmates – and those are certainly trips I will always remember. I wish I would have taken initiative to plan a couple more trips like this, and writing this is serving as motivation to try to squeeze in a couple more before we graduate!

What is the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth about Davis is that it is only an agriculture school. It is the No.1 school in the nation for agriculture, so of course this has an influence on campus. However, there are so many other incredible areas of expertise at the school. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible students and professors in engineering, energy systems, and law. The MBA program has incredible intersection with its Food & Agriculture Industry Immersion experience, but this isn’t its only strength. As a UC Davis MBA student, you can tap into the world-class expertise across the campus.

What movie or television show (e.g. The Big Short, The Founder, Mad Men, House of Lies) best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? This is probably not the answer most people would say but I’m going to go with The Office. The reality that holds true from a ridiculous sitcom is that in the day to day of business, everyone has their own lives and their own challenges they are worried about. How we grow as humans – our relationships and friendships – these are present through our work as well. The Office focuses on these relationships and dynamics, and is a good reminder that everyone you work with is a person dealing with their own variety of things in this world. While other shows show the glamour and money that the business world can offer, the reality is most people want to make a good living working with good people. I think it is important to remember that every business is just a group of people at the end of the day, and this show helps me remember that.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? It has been interesting attending business school as the AI wave hit. Each professor handled it differently, but many encouraged us to use AI in our work, often requesting we explain how we used it. This gave us the ability to try integrating it in different ways like brainstorming, editing, writing, and image creation and ideation. I learned how AI can be useful and how it can be harmful. It is obvious to tell when someone has over-used it as a tool and instead

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire Varsha Yelamanchi, and the other mothers and fathers in our cohort. Varsha has had to make some incredible challenging decisions in her journey here, working to achieve a better life for her and her daughter. I didn’t get to know Varsha very well until she opened up about more of her background some time into the program. Business school is hard under the best of circumstances. It is incredible admirable to move away from home to improve the life of the ones you love, to step into a new country, to be a parent, and to somehow still show up and be humble, kind, engaged, and a leader.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. To be able to look back at real change that I played a key role in. Much of the energy industry takes place in the form of physical infrastructure. I want to look back at projects and companies that have built real things that are directly changing our energy industry and know that I played an important role in implementing them. Ideally, I’d like to help bring a new wave of technology to scale and point to specific examples of projects that shaped the industry.

2. To help write legislation. I’ve always been interested in policy and have strongly considered energy policy as a career path. I’ve decided to focus on industry side for now, but would like to apply my learnings in industry to help shape the future of US energy policy someday. I have already seen how good (and bad) policy drives action in industry, and intend to take learnings like this to help write and implement new initiatives in the future.

What made Jack such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“I’m delighted to nominate Jack Schaufler for Poets&Quants’ Best & Brightest MBAs. Jack is a self-assured, nurturing leader whose dedication to environmental sustainability and love of community embody our school’s ethos and strengths. He possesses a strong internal compass that always points toward his North Star, guiding him in making decisions that not only advance his career but also align with his values. His positive energy, volunteerism, and curiosity have benefited the community within GSM and beyond, making Jack an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jack before he began his MBA journey at UC Davis. He was weighing offers from multiple programs and sought a candid discussion about which path best aligned with his aspirations in sustainable energy. Our conversation was both frank and engaging, and I was impressed by his maturity and clarity of purpose. Ultimately, he chose GSM—against the conventional choice—and since then, he has demonstrated time-and-again that his decision was grounded in a deep understanding of where he could make the most impact.

Jack’s approach to career development is as thoughtful as it is systematic. Over the past year, he has gained hands-on experience in both the venture-backed startup ecosystem and the more traditional utility sector, enabling him to assess the comparative advantages of each. While many at his stage are drawn to the glamour of big-name corporations, Jack evaluates his career path through the lens of internal conviction and real-world impact. His focus on scaling clean energy solutions, rather than merely chasing prestige, exemplifies the kind of leadership that will drive meaningful change in the sector.

During his MBA career, Jack has actively integrated his expertise in environmental science with business and finance skills, making him a valuable contributor to clean energy-related organizations. His ability to bridge technical knowledge with financial acumen allows him to propose innovative, pragmatic solutions to some of the most pressing sustainability challenges.

Jack’s leadership and commitment extend beyond the classroom. He has been a driving force in numerous sustainability initiatives on campus, including an infrastructure decarbonization project and an agrivoltaics project, both of which exemplify his ability to translate theory into action. His competitive spirit and strategic thinking were on full display when he competed as a finalist in an impact business competition, further proving his ability to tackle real-world environmental and business challenges with creativity and rigor.

In addition to his personal and professional achievements, Jack is deeply committed to mentorship and community-building. As co-president of the student Net Impact Club, he has fostered a culture of collaboration and social impact within GSM. He has also dedicated time to mentoring undergraduate students in Sacramento, demonstrating his belief in the power of knowledge-sharing and the importance of guiding the next generation of leaders.

Jack Schaufler represents the very best of what an MBA student should be—intellectually curious, mission-driven, and committed to creating a more sustainable future. His combination of technical expertise, financial insight, and principled leadership make him not only an asset to our program but also a future leader in the clean energy space. For these reasons and more, I strongly endorse Jack’s nomination for the Best & Brightest MBAs.”

Ayako Yasuda
Gallagher Professor of Finance
UC Davis Graduate School of Management

DON’T MISS: THE 100 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAS: CLASS OF 2025