Leah Heister originally intended to become a lawyer. However, she began to question her career choice when her college sorority, whose national philanthropic partner was St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, introduced her to the world of children’s charities.
Passionate about helping kids with special needs, she spent her gap year between her undergraduate study and law school working for St. Jude. Of her work there, she says, “I fell in love with it.” At that point, she decided to alter her career path and pursue a M.S. in Nonprofit Management rather than a law degree.
Heister completed the master’s program part-time while working full-time at St. Jude. “It was very intense but very rewarding,” she says, “because I was able to take strategies that we were talking about in the classroom and apply them to the real world.”
Now a Columbia alumna, she continues to work at St. Jude as an associate director. There, she manages a development team that guides fundraising strategy across New York City’s five boroughs plus New Jersey and Long Island. She says that she’s excited to wake up each day and help raise funds for the prominent pediatric treatment and research facility. Heister says of her work, “It's about a mission that's bigger than myself.”
She also remains committed to the Nonprofit Management program. As a graduate, she works as a teacher’s assistant for Prof. Jan Mittan. She also offers ad hoc advice to students and alumni who want to work in the healthcare nonprofit field. Of her new career, she says, “I had wanted to make a difference as a lawyer, and this is another way of making a difference.”
In the conversation that follows, Heister details her unconventional path to the nonprofit world, her longstanding commitment to St. Jude, and what she gained from her education at Columbia. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What got you interested in the nonprofit field in the first place?
I spent all four years of college preparing to become a lawyer. When I took a year off after undergrad, I went to work for St. Jude. It's one of the largest healthcare charities in the country. I was so lucky to have a job there. I fell in love with the work that I was doing. How can you say no to helping kids who are dealing with these health issues?
What were you doing right before enrolling in the master’s program?
I had been living in New York for two years, working for St. Jude in their event fundraising department. I love my job. I'm excited about the work that we're doing. It's about a mission that's bigger than myself.
I had wanted to make a difference as a lawyer, and this is another way of making a difference.
Tell me what brought you to Columbia’s Nonprofit Management program.
To move to the next level in my organization, I really needed to learn more about the field in general and nonprofit best practices in particular. I researched relevant programs at various schools. Ultimately, I felt that the Nonprofit Management program at Columbia was the best fit for me.
Columbia offered the most well-rounded curriculum among fundraising programs. Some of the other programs may have had more boutique courses, whereas Columbia really taught you the nuts and bolts of the major areas of fundraising. It laid a solid foundation. I also think that the reputation of Columbia as a school makes it really distinctive.
I did the master’s program while working full-time. [Going to school while working] was very intense but very rewarding because I was able to take strategies that we were talking about in the classroom and apply them to the real world.
When you were working full-time and going to school part-time, how did you balance work and school?
Time management is a major concern for any student regardless of whether they're enrolled in a program part-time or full-time – especially at a rigorous institution like Columbia. I found that while I might have lost a bit of my social life at that time, it was well worth it because of what the master’s program was giving me in the long run.
I was also lucky to work for a company that offered a modest tuition assistance package, which was great.
When you were in the program, what did you find most beneficial?
The program made me a complete fundraiser, and I gained an amazing professional network.
I also met Prof. Jan Mittan, who still remains a mentor to me. She gave me the opportunity to work for her as a director of development at St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children. She believed in me 110 percent. It was an amazing opportunity that I never would have had without Columbia.
Now I'm back at St. Jude. I was given the opportunity to come back as an associate director and manage a development team here in New York City. Being able to do that every day is a dream come true.
