Leaving the Nonprofit World and Still Making an Impact
Real-Life Relaunch
Gillian Mollod, Vice President, MSCI, Inc.
“If you feel like you’re not growing or advancing and you have an instinct to make a change, you probably should.”
Gillian Mollod is a bad-ass Manhattan mom of two who has worked for her entire career to save the planet. She thought she’d always work at a nonprofit, but a few years ago she realized that it was time for a change. Read on to learn how she made the leap from the nonprofit world and created a corporate career with impact.
Q: How did you first get into the environmental field?
It was kind of an awakening. I was in my sophomore year in college when I took my first environmental science course. I was blown away by all of the things that we were doing to destroy the environment, and I was realizing the immensity of climate change. I looked around and realized that no one was doing anything about it.
Q: How did you get your professional start in sustainability?
Starting at the age of 19, I started to get internships at environmental nonprofits. After college, I started working in fundraising for an environmental nonprofit. My supervisors quickly realized that I had a lot of technical skills—some of which I didn’t even realize I had. I somehow had a knack for a lot of different software. When they realized that, they asked me if I wanted to train in GIS, which is a program that takes geographically based data and creates maps.
I took classes in GIS and I decided to go back to school for a graduate certificate. Afterward, I worked for a small, Northeast-based nonprofit as a GIS specialist and IT manager. I stayed for 13 years. It got to a point where I realized there wasn’t much room for growth there. I left without a plan, but actually ended up getting a project-based job with a large global nonprofit.
Q: How did you know you wanted to leave the nonprofit field?
Even when I transitioned to a much larger organization, I still saw a lot of the same things I saw at the small nonprofit I had worked at. There were a lot of incredibly smart, driven people. But if you’re not working in fundraising, it’s very hard to move up. I didn’t want to go back to fundraising, and so I felt it was time to look for a change.
Q: How did you actually make the transition?
I had taken some interest in the built environment and sustainable buildings, and I got my LEED Green Certificate. I thought I’d work at a big architectural firm or a real estate company. I actually almost got a job at one, but it fell through. It turned out to be like a blessing in disguise, because one point of feedback I got was that I didn’t have a lot of experience outside of a nonprofit. It made me realize that I had better get some!
I decided to do the Columbia University graduate program in sustainability management. My kids were really young at the time, and I thought it would be a good time to be at home more, go to school, and get experience. And, to be honest, part of the reason I started the program was because I couldn’t find the job I wanted. I thought that maybe if I did this program, it could open some doors.
The program opened my eyes to the field of sustainable investing, which is really growing. I never thought I’d want to work in the financial industry. It always kind of scared me. But I realized that I needed to get past that intimidation, because we live in a capitalist society. One of the things that I focused on in my grad program was environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and sustainable investing. That led me to getting an internship with MSCI, which is where I work now.
Q: Many people want to change careers but are afraid of starting over. What was it like to be an intern again?
I think I can dispel some myths. It was a paid graduate internship, so it was a bit more glorious than some of the internships I had in college. At MSCI they take their internships very seriously, and you're given real projects. For example, I used data from the EPA to look at which companies were repeatedly penalized for pollution, and used it to develop a score that investors could use to assess risk.
I was offered a job two days before my internship ended. I started as a senior associate almost exactly three years ago, and last month I was promoted to vice president.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is looking to transition out of nonprofits?
If you feel like you’re not growing or advancing and you have an instinct to make a change, you probably should. Your instincts are usually correct. It took me a long time to follow my instinct, because I was so comfortable where I was. You might be comfortable, but you might not be challenging yourself or taking your skills to the next level.
I think many people have the misconception that to make a difference or have a fulfilling job or help the environment that you have to work for a nonprofit. I don’t think that you have to work for a nonprofit to do good. It's all about the company that you work for, and what you're selling.
When you're in the nonprofit world for so long, it can seem intimidating and scary. You may think, ‘Do I want to be at a large company? I've been at a small nonprofit. I know everybody here.’ But once you make the transition, you can see if it's right for you or not. For me, it was a bit of an adventure, and I'm glad I did it.
Q: Any last bits of advice for career changers, especially working moms?
For moms, I would say if you're brave enough to give birth, you're brave enough to try a new job.