Winslow Dresser

Winslow Dresser might have seemed like an unlikely candidate for an MBA. With a bachelor’s degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism from the University of Maine, he began his career as a National Park Service Ranger in New York. Soon after that, he took a position at the Trustees of Reservations, a major land conservation organization in Massachusetts. Even his friends and colleagues questioned his decision to enroll in business school. “I had to explain to them that everything in business is not about monetizing,” Winslow says. “A lot of it is about learning to be a good leader, whether you’re in the for-profit or non-profit sector.”

Winslow considered an advanced degree in natural resources, but with the goal of becoming a stronger leader in his current organization, he knew Questrom’s part-time Social Impact MBA program was the right move. “It was time to inject more fuel into my career. Thinking about the skills I wanted, I knew I needed to build on my knowledge of non-profits, but I also wanted to equip myself to have a seat at the table in a leadership role when decisions were made in my field.”

The program is exceeding his expectations. “I didn’t know how much I was going to get out of it when I started, but because my classmates are all working professionals, our class discussions are about as real-world as it gets,” he says. “What I’m experiencing every week at my job is relevant to what I’m learning in class. So, I’m getting a lot more out of the program than I thought I would.”

“Non-profits are not isolated from the world of business or from the for-profit sector,” Winslow adds. “We are increasingly data driven, and held to standards by our boards and members, many of whom are from the for-profit world. We have to deliver results in the real world, so we still need to know how to manage people, strategize, and know what systems we need to do all that effectively.”

“Non-profits are not isolated from the world of business or from the for-profit sector… We have to deliver results in the real world, so we still need to know how to manage people, strategize, and know what systems we need to do all that effectively.”

– Winslow Dresser