Charlotte Vance

University of Virginia, Darden School of Business

“Curious, relationship-driven, empathetic, intentional, ambitious, creative, adventurous.”

Hometown: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Fun fact about yourself: I love niche crafting like metal embossing, cyanotype, even designing/making lettering for my own corduroy hats.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Auburn University, B.S. in Computer Science with Concentration in Foreign Languages

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Epsilon, Business Systems Analyst

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Washington Nationals, Business Strategy and Analytics Intern

Where will you be working after graduation? Still on the search – one of the quirks of recruiting for a “just-in-time” industry!

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Section D Representative (Go Dragons!)
• President of Media, Entertainment, and Sports Club
• President of MBA Sports Business Alliance
• VP of Communications for Darden Christian Fellowship
• Golub Capital Board Fellow for Piedmont CASA
• Class Pledge Committee Chair

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I co-authored a case study with Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Stefan Ruediger on AI and CBA negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA. While I’m proud of the work itself, what meant most was the opportunity to teach the case in our Sports Economics class.

Teaching 50 of my classmates pushed me well outside my comfort zone, but it also affirmed that I want teaching to be part of my career, something I’ve long suspected. Being able to guide a discussion around a topic I care deeply about was both challenging and rewarding.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? This year, I had the privilege of working for Unrivaled Basketball as a league data analyst. During our first tour stop in Philadelphia in January, we broke the record for the best-attended women’s professional basketball game ever and the best-attended event in Xfinity Mobile Arena’s history (surpassing Michael Jordan’s last game as a Chicago Bull).

It was an honor to be part of such a historic moment for women’s sports. What stayed with me most was the way fans rallied around it, specifically seeing young girls in the stands discovering the game for the first time alongside older fans who have spent decades advocating for women’s sports (often in the face of real pushback). Witnessing those generations come together in support of what we were building is something I’ll never forget.

Why did you choose this business school? I wanted a school where people took academics seriously but didn’t take themselves too seriously, and Darden stood out immediately in this regard. My classmates are exceptionally bright, but what defines them is their humility and their willingness to listen, teach, and excitedly admit when they’ve learned something new. Even in areas of expertise, people show up with curiosity rather than ego, which made it exactly the environment I was looking for.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Pnina Feldman! I was lucky enough to have Pnina not only twice during Core for Ops I and II but also in her elective, Management of Service Operations. Anyone who knows Pnina knows her energy is real! She starts each class by asking a few students how they’re doing, instantly bringing warmth and excitement into the room. She makes complex material feel intuitive, and by the end of the course, she’ll have you believing that operations and life are one and the same. On a personal level, Pnina always has her office door open to chat about life and has made Darden feel like home since Day 1.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? I took a reading seminar called Character Traits during my second year that was amazing! With only ten students (six from Darden and four UVA Lawn residents), we met weekly on the Lawn to discuss how character is shaped over time, drawing on thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Benjamin Franklin. Our conversations were thoughtful and personal, and our undergraduate classmates provided a refreshing dynamic that forced us out of the “Darden bubble.” The mix of perspectives, plus weekly pizza and wine with our professors after class, made it a uniquely meaningful experience.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? When one of my professors learned that I enjoy singing and playing music, he invited me to join our student/faculty/alumni band, Blues Jam. I’ve never been particularly keen on being on stage, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give it a go. It was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I made at Darden! We’ve performed at various Darden events like Cold Call at the Rotunda, the Darden Cup Talent Show, and SWOT Carnival.

More than anything, Blues Jam reflects the kind of community Darden attracts and builds through people who are deeply committed to their work but are equally invested in creative pursuits and life beyond it. This connection stretches past the classroom and North Grounds, bringing together professors, alumni, and first-year and second-year students in a way that feels both rare and genuine.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have tried to stay in better touch with my friends outside of business school. I came to Darden with the approach of wanting to truly maximize these two years, and that often meant prioritizing what was right in front of me. However, these longstanding friendships from outside of Darden often provide a much-needed sense of grounding and valuable perspective that business school – and business more broadly – isn’t the whole world.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? In our Core Ethics class, we discussed a case on gender inequality in the workplace. There were two main things that stood out. First, I was encouraged by the women in our section and their willingness to share very vulnerable aspects of their experiences in the workplace. Second, I was struck by how well and how many of the men in our section engaged by asking thoughtful questions and continuing the conversation after class.

It reinforced for me that progress on complex issues requires shared ownership and commitment. Speaking openly about difficult experiences creates space for others to understand and to step in alongside you as we search for and implement solutions.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? The outdoors scene in Charlottesville is hard to beat. My hometown is incredibly outdoorsy, so I grew up being in nature as much as I possibly could. I was thrilled to spend a couple of years in a place with incredible access to Shenandoah, the Blue Ridge Valley, and some impeccable paddleboarding and rock climbing.

What business leader do you admire most? I’ve always admired Yvon Chouinard, the founder and former CEO of Patagonia. Despite not seeing eye-to-eye with some of his views on capitalism, I admire his willingness to challenge conventional thinking by treating and designing them as tools as opposed to typical clothing/fashion and his commitment to a mission. Furthermore, he always made decisions by building consensus as opposed to compromise. He focused on thinking through decisions from multiple perspectives and found a way to communicate the reasoning behind those decisions effectively so that everyone would buy-in.

We often think that we’re faced with endless tradeoffs and that at least one stakeholder will be left unhappy with any decision. I think this is a dangerous fallacy. Sustainable and impactful leadership requires intentional creativity and thoughtful communication to identify solutions that don’t disadvantage any one group, and Chouinard demonstrates this well.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? In our Data Visualization and Analytics elective, we were encouraged to use AI to build regression models. In class, we compared the AI-built models to student-built models that either didn’t use AI at all or used the AI model as a base and refined it further. What I appreciated about this approach was how it demonstrated the need and benefits of human judgement. AI can get us to a strong starting point quickly, but the real value came from refining those models with context, judgment, and domain understanding. It reinforced that AI is a powerful tool, but not a substitute for tactful decision-making.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I most admire Mel Phillips. He and I met during Darden Days (our admitted students weekend) the spring before we matriculated, and I was instantly impressed by his ability to make everyone feel like his friend. Once getting to Darden, it was clear how sharp he was – always quick-witted and practically an encyclopedia of knowledge. He’s unapologetically himself, and this makes everyone feel comfortable being themselves around him, myself included. Mel has been a wonderful sounding board and thought partner throughout school, and I’m equally as grateful to have him in my corner as I am to have a front-row seat to the ways in which he’s going to tackle life and work.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I absolutely want to be on the board of a non-profit at some point. I’ve been the beneficiary of the work of many and feel compelled to use my business expertise to ensure other individuals can benefit from those same services. Secondly, as someone who plans to work in sports, I’d also love to win a championship with an organization. Sometimes it can be easy to forget the larger ‘why’ behind your work, and I can only imagine how inspiring and fulfilling it would be to witness how much a sports team can mean to a city and larger community of fans.

What made Charlotte such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Charlotte’s positive energy is felt by all at Darden. Whether in the classroom or outside of it, Charlotte is passionate about giving back, and about moving the organization forward. She is always willing to step up, help her classmates, give up some of her time, to ensure the community is taken care of. She cares so much about the welfare of those around her, and she is so positive and enthusiastic, such that it is hard to deny. Through her work as section rep or leading the Sports, Media and Entertainment Club, Charlotte has become known as a trusted leader, one that her peers look up and rely on. No job or task is too small or too big – Charlotte approaches them all with optimism and excitement.

She truly is fun to be around, and she make you want to give back more! I feel lucky to have had the chance to work with her and cannot wait to see what she will do next.”

Yael Grushka-Cockayne
Senior Associate Dean for the Full-Time (Residential) MBA
Landmark Communication Professor of Business Administration

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