Social Enterprise Track
HBS Hawes 101 (map/directions)

Date/Time: Thursday April 8 2010 at 6:00 PM

• 6:00 - 6:30 PM Networking with Light Dinner Buffet & Refreshments
• 6:30 - 8:00 PM Program

Location: HBS Hawes 101

The challenges in American Education -- and attempts at solutions -- are myriad.  "In a global economy, the single most important issue facing our country is an educated work force," says former Houston Mayor Bill White.  According to one study, only half of the high school students in the nation's 50 largest cities are graduating in four years, with as few as 25% in Detroit. "America's Promise" estimates that cutting the number of dropouts in half could generate $45 billion annually in new tax revenue.

But how are the business community and business schools forging effective partnerships?  What models are working, how and why?  How do we as leaders make a difference -- via volunteering, board work, influencing public policy, and starting new schools?

In this panel, three Harvard MBAs will speak to their participation and results.

Bob Mooney, '74, earned a BS in Engineering from St. Louis University and spent more than 30 years in the chemical industry.  He was a founder and founding board chair of St. Martin de Porres High School in Cleveland, OH, a Cristo Rey Network member school that opened in 2004.  Bob is now is the Vice President for Mission Effectiveness with the Cristo Rey Network, a group of 24 urban Catholic schools nationwide.  He has served on the boards of several non-profit corporations and Catholic high schools in Cleveland.  He will speak to the role of schools in revitalizing urban areas, and the impact of a professional Work Study program for Cristo Rey students.

Tony Helies, also '74 with an MSEE from Northeastern, spent nearly 30 years at RCA, Data General, Analog Devices, and Concord Communications, before becoming a partner at Walnut Ventures, then President of Helies & Company.  He began tutoring math in Boston Public Schools in 1999, and teaching Astronomy in 2004.  His Board affiliations include Boston Renaissance Charter School, Boston Community Leadership Academy, Edwards Middle School, and Codman Academy.  He is a founding member of Boston Leaders for Education which advocates for public policy change in public education.  He will speak both to working directly with students, school governance, coaching school leaders, and influencing public policy.

Matt Haldeman, '09, also earned his MEd. in 2007 in the Education Policy and Management Program.  A Williams graduate who double majored in English and Political Science, he taught 6th grade in Washington, DC through Teach For America.  Later, he taught at a middle school in the Bronx, NY and was a computer teacher at a village school in Tanzania.  He is currently a strategy consultant with the Parthenon Group, working with large urban school districts, and recently assisting with one state's "Race to the Top" application.  He will speak to the experience of recent MBAs pursuing their passion for education, and the use of data in driving education decisions.

Pricing: 

• Member price through April 1: $35
• Member price April 2 and later: $40
• Non-Member price through April 1 : $55
• Non-Member price April 2 and later: $60