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Starting Mother's Day 2019, we are highlighting 100 MBA Mamas who inspire us. Every day for 100 days, we will profile a new MBA Mama. Check out our most recent profiles and see more here.
Mama # 13: Lilian Ngobi-Pryor
Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper School of Business, Class of 2017
Focus: Finance, Strategy, & Organizational Behavior
Current Job: Senior Strategy Consultant
Company: Accenture
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Hometown: Coral Springs, Florida
Mom Status: Mother of 1
Relationship Status: Married to college love
Instagram: @lilianmcn
It truly takes a village to raise and care for your child.
Mama # 12: Shammi Quddus
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Class of 2018
Current Job: Customer Insights Solutions and Strategy Manager
Company: Google
Location: Sunnyvale, California
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mom Status: Mother of 2
Relationship Status: Married (cis female, hetero)
Being a working mom is like playing tennis. You are on the court but there is an entire team on the benches that make it possible for you to get up there. My parents are essentially raising my kids. I make sure to explain clearly why I need the help and celebrate the wins as a team effort at home. For example, when I won an internal innovation award at Google, I made sure to recognize the contribution that my family made towards it.
Mama # 11: Nazik Zhumalieva
The Wharton School
Class of 2018
Current Job: Finance Lead for Waze Carpool
Company: Google
Location: Mountain View, California
Hometown: Bishek, Kyrgyzstan
Mom Status: Mother of 2
Relationship Status: Married
Instagram: @zhumalieva
I used to feel very guilty for taking some afternoons off at work to make it to my son's belt testing/dentist appointment/[fill in the blank]. I used to feel even more guilty for spending a lot of time working/studying/travelling for business away from children. But that's not what I want my life to be about and definitely not the model that I want my children to follow. So I am learning constantly to give myself credit for everything that I'm doing and enjoy being both a professional and a mom. That's a single lesson I want to teach my children - follow for your dream, but don't forget to enjoy the ride.
Mama # 10: Aishwarya Nagarajan
University of Texas McCombs
Class of 2019
Current Job: Product Manager
Company: Cerebras Systems
Location: Mountain View, California
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Mom Status: Mother of 1
Relationship Status: Married to her (prior) grad school sweetheart
Instagram: @aish_naga
Twitter: @AishwaryaNaga
The best thing I learned was to turn what was different about me into an advantage. Whether it was being a woman in computer engineering, where I used my empathy and relationship-building skills to be promoted to tech lead, or in business school, where having a child provided me opportunities to form meaningful connections with mentors, sponsors and potential employers. I was already pretty efficient with my time before school, but adopted the Pareto principle as my motto in school - recognizing I won't get everything done, so only prioritize the work and relationships that would provide me meaning and joy.
Mama # 9: Denise Ochigbo
Arizona State University (MBA in Finance and Marketing/Entrepreneurship) and MS in Finance
Class of 2017
Current Job: Global Brand Manager
Company: Eli Lilly & Company
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Mom Status: Mother of 1
Relationship Status: Happily married
It’s possible to work in the healthcare industry. Find a company that values family life and has active mom support groups. I am fortunate to work for Eli Lilly, a top pharmaceutical company that have a strong support group for moms, dads, and kids.
Mama # 8: Stacy Blackman
Kellogg Graduate School of Management
Class of 1999
Current Job: President
Company: Stacy Blackman Consulting
Location: Los Angeles, California
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Mom Status: Mother of 3
Relationship Status: Married for 18+ years
Instagram: @theblacklightchannel
Twitter: @stacyblackman
Much of the time we feel tired not because we are doing too much but because we are doing too little of what makes you come alive. Focus on the stuff that lights you up, and you will be more energized to do it "all".
Coaching Services for Non-Members
Not interested in membership but still want to get assistance from MBA Mama as you navigate family and career? Our CEO helps women in our global community develop a game plan to accomplish their goals.
Whether you need an accountability partner, help strategizing for a career pivot or promotion, or help prepping for MBA applications, Divinity is here to be of service. If you are interested in multiple sessions, customized coaching packages can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis depending on your income-level, family size and financial need.
Divinity offers the following services:
- Interview preparation and mock interviews
Reviewing your resume and/or MBA essays
Developing your business plan
Design and launch your personal website or blog
LinkedIn and/or social media makeover
Strategizing for career pivot or promotion
Negotiation practice and preparation
Dream Team
Inspiration and Vision
"I was inspired to start MBA Mama after seeing few images of - or resources for - women with children in MBA programs I was interested in. The StartingBloc family and Nicole's passion gave me the confidence to launch MBA Mama as a business. As Black and Latina founders, Nicole and I are proud to be the creators and leaders of MBA Mama. We both have overcome many hurdles to reach this point in our careers. We are committed to creating a company that revolutionizes how our society views work and family. We are thankful for the privilege to pursue our dreams of empowering career women who desire to live full, balanced lives." - Divinity
How We Met
Divinity and Nicole's chance encounter
"Divinity and I met for the first time in February 2015 in Los Angeles at StartingBloc's Social Innovation Institute, although we later learned we'd both attended USC, have a ton of mutual friends and each spent time working in East and Central Africa. I was impressed with Divinity's pitch of MBA Mama in StartingBloc's Ideas Marketplace competition. Divinity was named one of the winners, and her prize was a team of 15+ fellows rapid prototyping the MBA Mama concept for half a day. I was on Divinity's team. We hit it off immediately. After discovering our shared passion for women's empowerment, we agreed to form a business partnership." - Nicole
