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From finance to sports, four Leeds graduates show how impact is reshaping every business role—and why sustainability is no longer a niche, but a career-wide mindset.

For graduates of Leeds, that shift is creating new oppor- tunities to apply core business skills—finance, strategy, analytics and operations—to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, and it’s exactly what they’ve been prepared to do.

The following alumni have built careers at the intersection of business and sustainability, moving into roles that didn’t exist a generation ago and tackling problems that touch every corner of the organization. Their careers show what it looks like when sustainability stops being a silo and becomes the DNA of a business role.

How combat zones inform clean energy

Ethan Subra

Associate of Mergers and Acquisitions at Scout Clean Energy

After a decade of leading Army infantry platoons and counter-terrorism intelligence missions with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ethan Subra (MBA’25) wasn’t looking for just any next step—he was looking for a mission with lasting impact. He found it in renewable energy, drawn in by what he describes as “an interest in being a part of the clean energy transition” and the growing global demand for sustainable power.

Today, in his role at Scout Clean Energy, Subra brings his unique military mindset to evaluating deals. He’s quick to size up risk, understand competitive dynamics, and—just as importantly—recognize where not to engage. Knowing your strengths, avoiding “mission creep,” and studying the competition aren’t just business strategies—they’re habits forged in high-stakes environments.��

“The economics of the opportunity matter, but what’s critical is that renewable energy is a competitive form of energy generation and necessary within our country’s energy composition,” he said.��

Leeds helped bridge his transition from the military, giving him the financial toolkit and industry exposure to turn interest into expertise. Through the school’s Clean Energy Pathway, networking and hands-on learning, Subra developed the valuation and deal analysis skills he now uses every day—building a career where sustainability isn’t just a goal, but the foundation of the business itself.

From spreadsheets to sustainable style

Sarah Reice Kohn

Senior Manager of Sustainability and Social Impact at Anthropologie Group

For Sarah Reice Kohn (Fin’18), the path to leading environmental strategy at Anthropologie Group began with an epiphany during her sophomore year. While her friends at other schools were immersed in traditional business subjects, she noticed that Leeds’ curriculum framed social and environmental impact as fundamental to long-term corporate success.��

As a finance major and certificate holder in Social Responsibility and Ethics, she viewed these not just as values-driven concepts, but as an essential tool for risk management and future-proofing a brand.��

“The science is critical,” Reice Kohn noted, “but my finance training helps me connect it to business priorities.”��

At Anthropologie, she uses that lens to weave environmental goals into the retail experience—like integrating regenerative cotton into the company’s clothing lines. In proving that lower-impact materials can still align with the brand’s aesthetic and meet customer expectations, she has turned its core values into a tangible business success.��

“I was first introduced to regenerative agriculture during my time at Leeds, so being able to help bring this concept into our assortment has felt full circle,” she said.

A whole new ball game for zero-waste

Monica Rowand

Senior Manager, Advisory Services – Sports & Entertainment at WM

For Monica Rowand (MBA’17), her game-changing moment came when she was doing environmental advocacy for a nonprofit in New Orleans. “I kept thinking, ‘Imagine if the Saints told their fans about these energy efficiency programs—the impact would be massive compared to our grassroots reach.”

Fast-forward to getting her Leeds MBA and role at WM’s Advisory Services group—combining passions for sports and sustainability and helping massive venues treat sustainability as a strategic asset rather than a “back-of-house” function. By identifying long-term efficiencies, she and her team work to convince executives that comprehensive materials management is a competitive advantage.��

Her MBA gave her the framework, she said, “to step into high-level conversations not as an ‘idealistic educator,’ but as a grounded strategist providing relevant, reality-based guidance.” Leeds’ holistic combination of academics and real-world application taught her to build a case that “moves sustainability from a peripheral add-on to an attainable, institutionalized part of an organization.”��

Whether they are designing a zero-waste logistics plan or suggesting sustainability activations to a sponsor, Rowand hopes to normalize sustainable behavior by sports fans. How? By “making it as easy and convenient as possible” to recycle their trash, like beverage containers.��

“When we align values-driven marketing efforts with operations, we create an impact that lasts long after the final out, buzzer or putt.”

Investing in human outcomes

Carlos E. Peña

Director of Investments at ImpactAssets Capital Partners

For Carlos Peña (MBA’19), sustainability shows up in the day-to-day decisions behind where money goes. His role sits at the intersection of returns and real-world outcomes, where every investment is evaluated not just for its financial upside, but for the problem it’s trying to solve—and who it helps.��

That means asking a very practical question: Is impact built into the business model, or is it an add-on?��

While the data is essential, Peña knows that “measurement matters, but so does context,” so he pairs metrics with a deep look at how a company operates and delivers on its promises. He’s found that the strongest investments don’t force a choice between doing well and doing good.��

“The most resilient strategies,” he noted, “are the ones where impact and financial performance reinforce each other over time.” It’s a mindset he developed at Leeds through hands-on experiences like the Deming Center Venture Fund and the New Venture Challenge for Social Impact, where he learned to evaluate ventures through both a financial and a human lens—an approach that now defines his work.

Learn more about Leeds’ sustainability and social responsibility programs available through the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility >>