Landon Dickey recently graduated from Harvard Business School. But he’s not just another MBA receipent. Recently BusinessInsider profiled Landon Dickey as one of the “most impressive business school students” for the class of 2013. And there is no wonder why.
It has been education that has driven Dickey to his early renown. In 2009, he joined Teach For America in New York. Teach For America is a national teacher corps of college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in public schools. While with Teach For America, he spent two years in the South Bronx teaching students with learning disabilities. Dickey also co-led the design and implementation of various school-wide initiatives.
Soon after he enrolled in Harvard Business School and during his university years he has served as co-president of the Harbus Foundation, which is the only MBA-student-run foundation in the United States. It has a $1.2-million endowment and through this Dickey managed 30 first-year MBAs in distributing more than $50,000 in grants to Boston nonprofits.
Dickey went on to become a Marcus Foster Education Fund Fellow. The Marcus Foster Education Fund, designed by teachers, is considered the first of its kind and its mission “is to develop relationships and mobilize resources that create opportunities for all children in the Oakland public schools to achieve excellence.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Marcus Foster Education Fund. The staff is very committed to improving the lives of young people and driving systemic change in the Oakland Unified School District. I had the enviable opportunity of working closely with the Executive Director, Alicia Dixon, who is truly a visionary working to positively impact public education in Oakland. I served as a consultant on a strategic project of importance to the future direction of the organization. I felt very privileged to have incredible access to a leader in the field and influence the strategy of MFEF,” said Dickey.
Since his recent gradation, Dickey began working on the education team of the Gates Foundation in Seattle for the summer.
“Broadly, the team strives to speed the implementation of Common Core standards and teacher effectiveness measures across the country,” says Dickey. Following his stint with the Gates Foundation, Dickey will join the Mayor’s Office in Boston to complete a yearlong fellowship sponsored by Harvard Business School. “I intend to work on policies impacting public education and economic development in Boston,” he said.
Education still is at the root of the career moves Dickey has made.
Dickey said,“I believe there is no greater determinant of a healthy, productive life than a high-quality education. I was blessed to receive one from the public school system in San Francisco and I hope to help all of our nation’s children access a high-quality education,” he explains. “I’m drawn to all things that shape communities. My decision to attend business school was driven by a desire to broaden and strengthen my skill sets and I intend to do that throughout my life. Specifically, I’m interested in real estate, business development, and financial services. While I don’t have discrete long-term business goals, I know I want to be instrumental in building vibrant, economically productive communities that raise citizens’ quality of life.”
