Student Spotlight Featuring Taylor Sprague

Taylor Sprague 's areas of expertise include higher education, workforce development, strategy and strategic planning, partnership cultivation and management, and equity & inclusion. Learn more about their social impact area and experience in the program.

Why did you choose this Executive Program? I have a vision for a world I want to see, but turning that into action isn’t always the most intuitive process. I knew the executive program would do two big things for me: 1) help me formalize and level up my strategic thinking in a way that would boost my career, especially as I transitioned to working on my organization’s strategy team and 2) turn my ideas for a more inclusive and equitable world for trans and nonbinary people into action. From there, it was easy to determine this was the right program for me.

Taylor speaks about their social impact area and passion: There is a lot of conversation, especially right now, around transgender and nonbinary people. That conversation often, rightfully, centers on healthcare, mental health, bathroom access, and pronouns. We don’t often recognize the way these factors, among many others, impact trans people’s economic advancement, despite the fact that trans people report unemployment at a rate that is 6 times higher than the U.S. unemployment rate (2022 US Trans Survey). Youth housing insecurity, reliance on survival work, traumatic incarceration in inaccurate gender facilities, and employer discrimination are just some of the many factors that trans people face at high rates that limit their ability to secure quality jobs and stable financial futures. These systemic barriers perpetuate one another in a structurally sound cycle of poverty. I’ve been spending my time in the Executive Program designing approaches to combat this reality.

Advice for future applicants: If this program seems exciting to you and you have an area of interest that you’re passionate about, go for it! I’ve changed my idea quite a bit since starting, and each course and assignment is designed to help you do just that. Whether you’ve already started a venture or are kicking some ideas around, this course gives you the structure and expertise required to build that idea out, pressure test it, and define some of the critical aspects required to bring it to life. And the opportunity to learn from the genius and experience of colleagues in the program is a key benefit that cannot be overstated.

How do you envision this program impacting your career? I transitioned to my current role as Director of Organizational Strategy at Jobs for the Future (JFF) about a month after starting this program, so it’s safe to say that a career in strategy and impact is where I see myself continuing to lean in. Having the knowledge, tools, and skill sets from this program has improved the sophistication of my strategy work, and I expect to continue learning and growing as I apply them in my work. This program has also given me what I need to consider how I might better align my passion for improving the lives of transgender and nonbinary people with my career, and I’m looking forward to figuring out what that looks like for me - entrepreneurship certainly feels like a more feasible path than it ever did before.

Thank you, Taylor! Follow our LinkedIn page to hear from more brilliant Changemakers.SIS graduates are eligible to apply to the Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) in an accelerated, on-campus, or online format. The NPL program is a ten-credit master’s program; SIS Alumni must complete six credits to graduate. Also, sign up for our speaker series; register at https://bit.ly/sprk24.