Here’s a reality check: you’re down with the wheeling and dealing of the Apprentice set, but you’re also drawn to a save-the-world vibe. Relax. You can have your cake and feed the world too.  The business skills you cultivate at Wharton can also prepare you for the non-profit sector.

Just ask Alison LeMasters. The 2001 Wharton grad went from the conference room to the campground when she accepted a position as the External Communications Manager at the Painted Turtle, a camp for children living with chronic illness. “I knew that I would benefit a lot as a person by contributing to something that impacted others rather than just myself or the bottom line,” she explains.

Alison’s career path didn’t always point towards the non-profit world.  Once upon a time, she worked tirelessly on mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley in New York. Primed by an internship the summer before senior year, she shined as a member of the media department’s corporate finance team. However, during her second year at the financial firm, she began to realize she wanted something more. “I didn’t leave investment banking because I didn’t want to work 80 hours a week,” Alison says. “It was me saying, ‘If I am going to work 80 hours a week, where do I want to do it and what is the consequence of that going to be?’”

The result of her self-examination? She now meets the daily challenge of working on a staff whose mission is to run the camp founded by legendary actor Paul Newman. She wears many hats, working in a field where “not in my job description” is not an option.  On any given day, she can find herself researching potential donors, planning special events, or producing press materials. Thankfully, the career switch didn’t leave her dazed and confused. The former Finance and Management concentrator credits her Wharton education with keeping her at the top of her game.

So how do you go from investment banking to investing in improving the lives of chronically ill children? We talked to Alison about tackling that transition and making her mark as a woman in the business world.

When you were younger, did you see
yourself as business-minded?

As a high school student, my strengths weren't necessarily in math. I saw a business degree as providing me with the widest set of opportunities. I believed that a business education, no matter if I wound up in business or not, would arm me with the greatest depth and breadth as a person.

What drew you to Wharton?

Once I decided I wanted to focus on business, I wanted to make sure it was part of my overall undergraduate experience. I wanted it to be the basis of my whole educational experience-the overall business fundamentals brought into it from freshman through senior year. From that perspective, Wharton was clearly the most exceptional program that I considered. And it was no competition once I looked at the school-being part of the University of Pennsylvania, being part of Philadelphia-it was pretty clear to me where I wanted to go.

Business classes tend to have more
men than women. Did you ever feel
intimidated or out-of-place?

It actually gave me pride and more of a sense of purpose being there. I definitely enjoyed that dynamic. Everyone brings something to the classroom dynamic, and Wharton was structured on discussions and smaller classroom settings for some of our coursework. I remember feeling like I was there to represent a certain perspective. I thought the school had done a good job of surrounding me with a group of people who were different from me. But I certainly felt comfortable around them. I felt I was there for a reason.

How did Wharton prepare you for the competitive world of investment banking?

By the time I graduated, I went in to Morgan Stanley feeling really confident and excited. Wharton definitely gives you that. But, until I left Morgan Stanley, I didn't really realize how ready I was to go out into this big bad world and feel confident. Until I left, I didn't know how perfectly positioned I was to do the job.

Did you notice any differences
between you and your non-Wharton
peers at Morgan Stanley?

We went through a training program before we began. I certainly had to do the work, but there was no concept that they presented to me that I wasn't at least familiar with, or aware of from a case that we had read or a discussion I had heard. Being educated and having to defend what I learned in a classroom environment really benefited me once I got out into the workforce. I was able to have a real passion for what I was doing and real interest in what I was a part of because I wasn't frightened that I wasn't going to be able to do it. I could take it to the next step and know what I was a part of.

So why make the leap to the
non-profit world if you were doing
so well at Morgan Stanley?

I really enjoyed my analyst experience. I was surrounded by a great group of people who helped me a lot, and I really enjoyed being at Morgan Stanley. But by the time I got into my second year there, I was realizing that it was my entire life. It was how I defined who I was and how I was spending time-which was fine and which I had no regret about. But I started to think about who I was as a person and who I wanted to be within any organization. I recognized that I'm always going to overdo it a little bit-and that is who I am. I started to think, if that is true, then what do I want to be a part of? I didn't leave investment banking because I didn't want to work 80 hours a week. I decided that I wanted to be part of something a little bit bigger than that.

How did you fall in with
the Painted Turtle?

It's a camp for kids, and that was personally appealing to me—who it was reaching out to. I originally joined the group to do grassroots and communications outreach and share the fact that we were opening our doors and we were a social services agency and we needed funding or that we needed families and campers to join up. The minute I got here, everything changed, and they realized I could do more than that. I started to do aspects more related to development than to just outreach. I agreed to do whatever I
had to do.

How has a business degree from
Wharton helped you in this sector?

Wharton taught me this: I look at a set of factors and influences or daily challenges and come up with a strategy and a clear direction among all of those influences. It is a very business-focused path forward. My peers here are more reactive, and my education has allowed me to be more proactive in the field than I find others to be. I can look at a landscape and digest what is affecting our role or position in that landscape and come up with how we can benefit most from this set of circumstances and what the next step is.

What is the best part of your job?

I feel exceptionally fortunate to be a part of all this is accomplishing. I am inspired every day by some sort of conversation I have. I am moved by the way these campers embrace this experience. I am motivated by a young business owner who chose to do a fundraising opportunity at his store and calls me to tell me he is sending a check. I am inspired by the fact that I have a program team that makes all this happen and has put their life on hold to be up at this camp facility 24 hours a day working to create an unbelievable opportunity for these kids—an opportunity that doesn’t exist if all of us don’t keep going.

The kids must really motivate you.
Do you get to spend time with them?

I committed to one weeklong session and I do the weekend programs as often as I can. Once, we had a session with children with Crohn's and Colitis and a little girl was getting on the bus. She was very sad to leave, but she smiled and she literally said, “A lifetime of Crohn’s is worth a week at this camp.” She got it. That is exactly what we are trying to do. To empower these kids to live with their illness, not be overcome
by it.

Do you ever regret the switch
to the non-profit arena?

I remember talking to my parents and telling them how much I was going to make and how I was going to make that work and what I was walking away from and what I was walking into and feeling certain that I was doing the right thing. It was and it has been. I have found that I can contribute very meaningfully to this organization and think there is a growing tide to make sure that organizations in this sector do include business leaders or professionals who bring a different voice or perspective to the challenges and the opportunities that exist for these types of organizations.

Do you have any advice for
a young woman just starting out?

I have never allowed myself to feel limited by being a woman. I want to educate myself and take full advantage of my role as a woman. It has allowed me to bring a particular voice to a conversation. It certainly has allowed me to feel unique among my male peer group in the investment banking world. It has allowed me to make a career choice. As a woman, I really thought about who I was as a person and what I wanted to be a part of and what I wanted to contribute. I allowed compassion and emotion to be part of my professional path. I say: celebrate those aspects of our character as a woman.

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