Jessica Brazelton, Executive Director

"Look for flexibility and a lot of course options in the MBA curriculum, including independent study options or nonprofit electives."

Education

• MBA, Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, 2002
• Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Texas at Austin, 1996

What I Do

Director of a private preschool and daycare center
Houston, Texas, USA

I am responsible for working with the board of directors on forming and executing plans for the strategic direction of a comprehensive early childhood education program that serves at-risk, low-income children. On a daily basis, my responsibilities include communicating and presenting to funding sources; managing the human resource needs, payroll, budget, and taxes of the organization; and working on long-term strategic projects for the school.

Words of Advice for This Career…

You have to have the ability to stay focused and not get caught just putting out the fires. There will always be too little time help and money in a nonprofit; you have to work around that to move the organization overall to a higher, better-managed level.

… And on Choosing an MBA Program

Look for flexibility and a lot of course options in the MBA curriculum, including independent study options or nonprofit electives. You don’t want to repeat a lot of topics. I chose the Jones School at Rice, where I could easily set up independent studies on nonprofit and entrepreneurial topics.