DC Area Activity Continues Across Darden
While Darden coming to the D.C. area in a physical fashion is a notable culmination of years of careful study, it’s far from the only iron in the capital region’s fire. Indeed, the ties between the School and the area are longstanding, strong and deep. Darden maintains space at the Sands Capital Management offices in Rosslyn, nearby the Waterview classroom space, for a variety of Darden Executive Education programs such as the pre-MBA Darden Business Institute. Research centers such as the Institute for Business in Society and the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation have also forged relationships with key partners in the area. For instance: • Batten maintains a relationship with the startup incubator 1776 — offering workspace for Dardensupported entrepreneurs in the District and co-hosting events throughout the year. It also held an Innovator’s Roundtable event with senior innovation executives in April and co-hosted an entrepreneurship research conference with the University of Cambridge Judge Business School in May.
• The Institute for Business in Society continues to burnish its thought leadership through events in the area such as gathering executive thought leaders for CFO Roundtables, its partnership with the U.S. State Department and Concordia for the P3 Impact Awards, and the Tri-Sector Leadership Fellows Program, among other initiatives. (See “Blending Business,” Page 21)
• Executive Education offers an expanding suite of courses in the area, and maintains strong ties to the military community in the region through its nearly 40-year history developing courses with the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army. Darden is also planning events in the area to celebrate the School’s momentum in the D.C. market.
District of Darden Grads
Perhaps the biggest built-in advantage for Darden’s continued expansion can be seen via the well-worn path alumni have made from Charlottesville to the D.C. area, as the region is the metro area with the single largest concentration of both UVA and Darden alumni, with about 36,000 and 1,500, respectively. Abby Ruiz de Gamboa (MBA ’04), the former co-president of Darden’s D.C. alumni chapter and a member of the Darden Alumni Association Board Abby Ruiz de Gamboa (MBA ’04) of Directors,
From left: Frank Sands Jr. (MBA ’94) and Frank Sands Sr. (MBA ’63), both members of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, have been enthusiastic supporters of Darden. Thanks to their generosity and leadership, Sands Capital Management will play host to classes and activities for Darden in the D.C. area at their 1000 Wilson Blvd. location.
said D.C.-area alumni congregate in large numbers for events ranging from jazz at the National Gallery of Art to networking events with admitted students, but avenues for additional engagement remain. “While the D.C. chapter has always been highly engaged with Darden, there is still more opportunity to take advantage of the strength of our alumni base in this area,” said Ruiz de Gamboa, a partner at Deloitte. “I think bringing the School to the area is a good starting point.” Ruiz de Gamboa said she hoped Darden could “continue to capitalize” on the current energy in Washington, D.C., a city that is booming in a number of ways. The Darden grad said she had been heartened to see new alumni interested in engaging on many fronts. This includes networking and lifelong learning, as well as a new initiative to launch the D.C. Women’s Scholarship Fund, which seeks to raise funds for deserving D.C.-area women and create a “community and culture around bringing more top female talent to Darden.”
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