ALUMNI NEWS

DC

Photo: Laura L’Esperance (MBA’01)

30 domestic projects 1 230+international virtual project alumni participants

Photo: Lissa Venosh

Top right: The Club of Detroit worked at the facility for Cass Community Social Services. Bottom right: Partnering with the Los Angeles Mission, the Club of Los Angeles assembled food packages for homeless encampments and the Guardians of Love Foster Care program.

Day of service returns after pandemic hiatus

On April 30, alumni from around the world came together for the ninth annual Hoyas Give Baxa, a coordinated day of community service. This uniquely Georgetown event invites alumni and their families to participate in such projects as hosting youth clinics for basketball, working to feed the unhoused, cleaning park trails, and more. “One of our core Jesuit values is being a person for others,” says Sam Sanders (C’07, G’13), director of regional engagement for the Georgetown University Alumni Association. “I’m thrilled that our alumni around the world choose, year after year, even with the impact of COVID-19, to help others in their hometowns.”

After a two-year hiatus necessitated by the global pandemic, the GUAA team brought the event back with a hybrid option: regional clubs could choose to participate virtually or in person. The 2022 event saw 30 domestic projects and one international virtual one. Over 230 alumni participated. “Hoyas Give Baxa is one of the best alumni programming events each year. It invites us to come together, to work together, and offer service rooted in justice and love,” shares Gabrielle Lambert (C’96), president of the Club of Los Angeles. Each club chooses the local organization they will serve. For many, the event is a celebration of service as well as a project. For those who participated this year, Hoyas Give Baxa offered a chance to reconnect with fellow alumni after the forced separation of the pandemic. “Volunteering at the LA Mission in particular allowed us to offer our time and hands to an organization that breaks the cycle of homelessness and poverty by stabilizing people in a safe and spiritual environment,” adds Lambert. “That community support is exactly what being people for others is all about!” • —Camille Scarborough

Alumnus joins Biden administration’s agriculture equity commission

Earlier this year, Todd Corley (MBA’97) was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s 15-member Equity Commission. An expert in organizational development, design thinking, and change management, he will collaborate with leaders in public policy, economic development, civil rights, and other areas to “provide the Secretary of Agriculture with recommendations that create an infrastructure and ecosystem supporting equitable practices throughout and on behalf of the USDA,” says Corley. The commission was developed as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on advancing equity for those who have been historically discriminated against and underserved across the agricultural ecosystem. Its membership is composed of rural and urban farmers, environmentalists, climate experts, scientists, and historians, including Mireya Loza, an associate professor in Georgetown’s Department of History and the American Studies program. “I did not know Dr. Loza prior to joining the Equity Commission, however, I was immediately impressed by her command on historical influences, such as the role of immigration patterns on the food economy which has kept our agriculture thriving, vibrant, and sustainable,” adds Corley. Corley is the senior vice president of inclusion, sustainability, and community at Carhartt, a global premium workwear brand. In that role, he is responsible for creating initiatives that strengthen the company’s commitment to environmental and social issues. A recipient of the Nobel World Betterment Award, Corley has deep experience leading transformational change focused on promoting equity and belonging. He is credited with mitigating the reputational and financial losses following a landmark $50M EEOC discrimination case (Abercrombie v. Gonzalez). That experience is now the subject of the Netflix documentary White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch.

While earning his MBA at Georgetown, he was influenced by the Jesuit principle of cura personalis, or care of the whole person. In particular, he recalls a conversation with one professor, Dr. Jose Guerrero-Cusumano, related to the Million Man March being held in D.C. when he was a Georgetown student. “He encouraged me to attend and lean into the experience, because as one of only seven Black male students in the MBA program it was important to be my authentic self, surrounded by other Black men, and imagine my endless possibilities.” • —Camille Scarborough

“...as one of only seven Black male students in the MBA program it was important to be my authentic self, surrounded by other Black men, and imagine my endless possibilities.”