Managing NYC's Climate Crisis: A Conversation With DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala ’00
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
Release Date: 01/14/2025
Catalysts for Change: CBS Alumni Shaping the Future of Social Enterprise
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In the final episode of the season, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright lead listeners into an engaging live discussion with eight distinguished Columbia Business School alumni, whose careers in social enterprise span industries from climate adaptation to financial inclusion, education equity, and impact investing. Together, they explore critical themes emerging from this season’s conversations: The evolving role of business schools in social enterprise: From experiential learning to incubating nonprofits, alumni share how Columbia Business School shaped their journeys. ...
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Ron Gonen ’04 on Building a Circular Economy Through Leadership and Innovation
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Ron Gonen ’04, founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, a New York-based investment firm composed of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project finance, and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. During this engaging interview, we discuss Gonen’s career trajectory, and he offers lessons on the transferability of leadership skills across different sectors, from entrepreneurship to government and finance. He stresses the importance of adaptability in leadership styles,...
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Turning Purpose Into Progress: Justine Zinkin ’02 on Leading Change in Social Enterprise
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Justine Zinkin ’02, CEO of Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, a national social enterprise providing financial services to low-income workers. Born and raised on New York's Upper West Side, Zinkin’s journey into social enterprise was influenced by her family's academic background and her parents' diverse experiences. Zinkin joined Neighborhood Trust directly after graduating from Columbia Business School in 2002, initially leading two separate but related organizations: Neighborhood Trust Federal...
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Kaushik Kappagantulu ’17 on Empowering India’s Small Farmers, Scaling Kheyti, and Rethinking Social Enterprise
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Kaushik Kappagantulu ’17, co-founder and CEO of Kheyti, a groundbreaking social enterprise. Kappagantulu shares his journey from the conventional career in engineering his parents favored to founding a social enterprise aimed at lifting millions of India’s small farmers out of poverty. Columbia Business School played an important, but somewhat atypical role, in the development of Kheyti. The inspiration for Kheyti (also a portfolio member in our ) was Kappagantulu’s recognition that weather changes resulting...
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Bridging Academia and Community With Shaba Keys: Insights From a Social Enterprise Leader
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Shaba Keys, adjunct faculty at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies Nonprofit Management Program, founder and president of the Bridge Lab, and a dynamic leader in academia and community development. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Keys was deeply influenced by her parents, both educators who championed marginalized communities. This early exposure to civic engagement laid the foundation for her future in social enterprise. After completing her BA at Tufts University and JD from Columbus...
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Trailblazing Sustainability: Mary Jane McQuillen’s 07’s Path to ESG Leadership
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Mary Jane McQuillen ’07, head of ESG and portfolio manager at Clearbridge Investments, on her journey into sustainable investing, which might not be what you expect. It began with her experiences as a seasonal park ranger in New York City, where she witnessed firsthand the environmental impacts of oil spills and water pollution. These early experiences, along with influences from National Geographic magazines and Jacques Cousteau, shaped her environmental awareness and determination to address...
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Daniel Nissenbaum ’88: A Banker Who Puts His Money Where His Heart Is
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Daniel Nissenbaum ’88, CEO of Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), one of the largest of a special kind of nonprofit organization known as Community Development Financial Institutions. As such, LIIF is able to aggregate funds from all levels of government, banks, and foundations to make targeted investments in low-income communities. Nissenbaum graduated in 1983 from Grinnell College, where he first developed an interest in urban economic development. After graduating from Columbia Business School in 1988,...
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Transforming Education for All: Lindsay Kruse ’06’s Mission to Create Inclusive Schools
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Lindsay Kruse ’06, CEO of All Means All, an organization dedicated to transforming education to be more inclusive. Kruse shares her inspiring journey from management consulting to becoming a passionate advocate for equitable education, especially for students with disabilities and other marginalized groups. Kruse discusses how her personal experience as a parent of children with learning differences became a catalyst for founding All Means All. She explains the organization's unique approach, which...
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The Role of Nonprofits in the Worlds of Business and Government With Phoebe Boyer ’93
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Phoebe Boyer ’93, president and CEO of Children’s Aid — one of the oldest and largest of New York City’s nonprofit social welfare agencies. Before joining Children’s Aid a decade ago, she spent 15 years in the foundation world giving money to nonprofits. The way the foundation experience prepared Boyer for running a complicated organization is one of the topics discussed in the episode. She also discusses how her family and religion steered her toward a career in social enterprise; how...
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Kesha Cash ’10 on Transforming Communities Through Purposeful Investment
More MPE with Professor Ray Horton and Sandi Wright
In this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Kesha Cash ’10, founder and general partner of Impact America Fund. Cash's journey from humble beginnings to becoming a trailblazer in impact investing is a testament to her resilience and vision. She was the first in her immediate family to attend a four-year college and her experiences growing up in a low-income household — witnessing the challenges faced by small business owners — shaped her perspective on economic disparities. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in applied mathematics,...
info_outlineIn this episode of More MPE, hosts Ray Horton and Sandi Wright speak with Rohit “Rit” Aggarwala ’00, the chief climate officer and commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of the City of New York, a position he has held since being recruited in 2022 to the administration of Mayor Eric Adams.
The hat Aggarwala wears as commissioner of DEP puts him in charge of a major municipal agency, one with nearly 6,000 employees, a $1.5 billion operating budget, and a capital budget of $3.2 billion — and a long history. It performs three functions that are essential to the health of New Yorkers: supplying clean drinking water; collecting and treating wastewater; and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution.
The hat Aggarwala wears as chief climate officer no doubt brings an urgency to the department’s longstanding programs given his belief that New York City’s environment faces a “climate crisis.”
Aggarwala is a rare holder of three Columbia University degrees — a BA, an MBA, and a PhD — plus for 12 years and running an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches a popular course titled The Politics and Policy of Urban Sustainability.
Aggarwala discusses a series of issues with Horton and Wright in this conversation: the impact of his Columbia degrees on his career; whether different skills are required to perform leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors; the importance of networking in his career; and finally, an issue that has largely escaped consideration in the literature of management — should you stay or leave when your boss is in hot water?
Mentioned in this Episode
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Rohit “Rit” Aggarwala ’00
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More MPE is co-hosted by Sandi Wright and produced by The Podcast Consultant. Special thanks to executive producer Hannah Slow and student producers Sofia Martins '26 and Dominica Wambold '26.