Babson College

Chief Strategy Officer at BrainFutures

BrainFutures

Chief Strategy Officer

Offer consulting services focused on career development and whole person education. Clients include:

•BrainFutures, MD - Co-authored issue brief on executive function school-based programs.
•Kennedy Forum, NJ - Co-authored white paper on brain health and fitness early interventions and potential impact on educational and life outcomes.
•The Hawn Foundation, CA – Oversaw content creation for a $300,000 digital teacher-training project.
•Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health’s Institute for Extraordinary Living, MA - Provided management training; consulted on a standardized well-being curriculum for frontline health providers.
•Sarley Enterprises, NY – Researched contemplative education programs for funding consideration by a $100 million foundation.
•The Karuna School, MA - Contributed to a business plan for a contemplative school endorsed by the Dalai Lama.
•Private Clients, Berkshire County, MA - Offer a holistic approach to personal and professional growth.

McCormack Consulting

Principal

College's chief ambassador for career education. Oversaw an 8-person team aimed at offering excellence in advising, programming, and applied learning opportunities. Developed a strategic plan that earned the endorsement of the president, provost, and Board of Trustees. Significantly increased faculty, alumni, and parent engagement. Team highlights of annual growth within the first two years (unless otherwise noted) included:

•80% increase in total programs/workshops offered (103 to 185).
•82% increase in number of students served through workshops and programming (1150 to 2100).
•350% increase in annual alumni/parent-led career workshops (from 7 to 31). 
•650% increase in annual faculty-partnered workshops (from 7 to 52).
•41% increase in annual employer recruitment events (from 41 to 58); and a 265% increase in 
  alumni/parent-related employer events (from 3 to 11). 
•125% increase in annual alumni/parent-related internship and job listings (from 73 to 165). 
•41% increase in graduate school advising sessions (from 291 to 410).
•Implemented industry-leading platforms, Handshake (CSM) and Wisr (Mentoring/Networking).
•Grew nascent local Community Internship Program from approximately 8 internships/year with area organizations to more than 40/year. 
•Instituted Career Treks, offering opportunities for students to visit employers in major metropolitan cities across industries.
•Attracted seven-figure and six-figure major gifts, restricted to the office's related programs and services.

Kenyon College

Dean for Career Development

Integrated a high-profile experiential work term into the academic fabric of one of the nation’s renowned, progressive, liberal arts colleges. Networked with employers to connect innovative companies with creative, workplace-ready, graduating talent.

Highlights:
•Served as a member of Senior Staff and the Academic Policy Committee.
•Grew internships with global employers by 70% within 7 months of launching a solicitation plan.
•Increased career sessions by 100% within 8 months, and by 250% (to 1200 session) within 3 years.
•Redesigned the College's career coaching approach. Over 3 years, 97% of 1700 employers reported being satisfied with their Bennington interns; 90% rated their interns ready for entry-level employment (freshmen through seniors).
•Activated a network strategy yielding a 300% increase in program involvement among constituents. (More than 80 alumni and employers led over 50 workshops in the 2016-2017 academic year.) 
•Ran a $700,000 campus employment program. Upgraded system to save hundreds of staff hours annually.
•Implemented undergraduate fieldwork proposal process inclusive of faculty review and overhauled internship reflective assignments required by full student body.
•Designed a workplace readiness rubric with the Dir. of Institutional Research; presented at the 40th annual NEAIR conference and the NEean Fall Forum 2015.
•Collaborated with Provost and VPs for Institutional Advancement and Strategic Partnerships on endowment planning and on foundation funded work-and-study-away programs. 
•Partnered with VP for Communications on media strategy and on redesign of all digital content, including website. Efforts earned 2017 CASE Gold Award in the Branding Program category.
•Managed new fellowship initiated by President, mentoring 7 alumni through one-year appointments.
•Appointed chair of the VP for Admissions and Financial Aid search by President, resulting in top candidate hire.

Bennington College

Dean of Field Work Term and Career Development

Hired by Academy Award-winning actress, director and producer, Goldie Hawn to run her educational 501(c)(3) that trains Pre-K through 8th grade teachers in its signature program, MindUP. Published by Scholastic, Inc., MindUP is a contemplative and social and emotional learning (SEL) program based in neuroscience and positive psychology.

Executive Director Highlights:
•Managed a 166% growth in first year—from a $450,000 operation in 2010 to $1.2 million in 2011.
•Supervised the Director of Education towards overhauling and growing teacher trainings, resulting in a 300% increase in annually trained MindUP educators—from 400 faculty in 2010 to 1600 faculty in 2011.
•Supervised domestic and global satellite partnerships: worked with research universities, celebrity PR firms, international publishers, broadcast companies, health/education movements, and international teacher trainings.
•Partnered with legal counsel team from elite New York City law firm to ensure best practices related to  governance, intellectual property, trademark and copyright, partnerships and royalties, celebrity appearances, and human resources. 
•Collaborated with top researchers and educators in neuroscience, mindfulness, and SEL, including: Daniel Siegel, Amishi Jha, Kim Schonert-Reichel, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Shafali Tsabary, and Tish Jennings.

The Goldie Hawn Foundation

Executive Director

Transformed Kripalu Schools of Yoga and Ayurveda into more efficient and more profitable operations at North America’s largest holistic education center. Directed the development of a new four-month, college-accredited, contemplative education, residential semester program.

Director of Kripalu Schools of Professional Training Highlights:
•Managed a $3.5 million annual department budget. Exceeded budgeted net revenue by 35%; increased units of sales by 15% over prior year despite economic downturn. 
•Restructured positions and supervised a department of 9 full-time staff and more than 40 visiting faculty.
•Analyzed financial and operational effectiveness of a 2500-member Professional Associations department, reducing expenses by 30% ($100,000) without decreasing member services. 
•Increased Admissions inquires by 40% within the first year.
•Instituted an admissions call center reducing response rates from 2-3 days to less than 24 hours. 
•Carried out analysis of industry curriculum standards; adjusted school offerings to better respond to student feedback and market trends.
•Asked by CEO to assume leadership of Group Programs department during budget cycle while director was on leave—overseeing a $12 million operation responsible for scheduling 700 holistic educational workshops per year.

Director of Institute for Integrated Leadership Highlights:
•Co-created the vision for and executed the implementation of the organization’s first college-accredited semester. 
•Secured college credit through Lesley University and oversaw the design and scheduling of over 600 content hours per semester. 
•Facilitated a curriculum team of Kripalu Senior Faculty to produce program syllabi, core teaching methodologies, and comprehensive assessment measures.
•Collaborated with Harvard researchers (Sara Lazar, Sat Bir Khalsa, and Lisa Conboy) responsible for designing and carrying out IRB approved research to evaluate program effectiveness.

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

Director of Kripalu Schools of Professional Training/Director of Institute for Integrated Leadership

•Directed term worth 25% of students’ education. Elevated term to a main selling point for Admissions.

Director of Field Work Term and Career Development

•Delivered life and learning skills, leadership coaching, conflict resolution, and cultural sensitivity training to USAID/Georgetown University scholarship awardees from Central America and the Caribbean.

Holly McCormack