Stephanie Brody
Technology Audit Department, Goldman Sachs
Class of 2020
“Without exception, every member of the class was accomplished in the field and extremely supportive. I was also impressed by the real-world expertise of the faculty. They have all been on the front lines in government and companies and were therefore extremely pragmatic in their approach.“
Professional women who take time off to raise their children are finding more acceptance as they seek to return to the workforce, especially if they’ve made the effort to brush up on skills or learn new ones. Returnship programs, short-term paid positions, help them ease back into the rhythms of the workplace and possibly teach them some new steps. After more than a decade away from paid full-time work, Stephanie, a former Morgan Stanley banker with a joint JD/MBA degree from NYU Law and NYU Stern, dived into the MSCRS program determined to expand her knowledge base. The payoff: Goldman Sachs offered her a returnship in its internal technology audit department.
As anybody who’s stepped away from the workforce knows, once a professional always a professional, paid or unpaid. The skills are simply applied to a different domain. Stephanie explained, “I took a long break to raise my kids, during which time I was involved with starting a private equity fund with several former MS colleagues, served as treasurer for several school organizations, and served on the board of the local chapter of a global philanthropic organization. It was a full-time job!”
When she contemplated returning to the office, Stephanie considered how to leverage both her training and her interests. She had nursed an interest in technology since helping build a computer while at Bronx High School of Science, in her native New York City. “In my law and finance careers, I always tried to integrate technology to streamline processes. So after my futile attempts to convince my four teenagers to pursue cybersecurity, I decided to follow my own advice.”
As an alumna of NYU Law, and a law school classmate of MSCRS program’s Co-Director Randal Milch, the offering was a front-runner in her consideration. “The MSCRS program’s cross-disciplinary approach sealed the deal,” she said. “I also knew that with Randy involved with running the program, it would be of the highest quality.”
Her expectations were more than met, she said, by the quality and collaborative approach of her cohort and the experience of the faculty. “Without exception, every member of the class was accomplished in the field and extremely supportive. Even after graduating, we continue to be a support network and hopefully that will continue into the future. I was also impressed by the real-world expertise of the faculty. They have all been on the front lines in government and companies and were therefore extremely pragmatic in their approach.”
The classes and team projects have acclimated Stephanie to the current thinking around cybersecurity, to the extent where she is comfortable with the technology aspects and up to speed on the legal challenges and state of the law surrounding it. “The program provides a solid understanding of the law while also highlighting the issues that remain unresolved,” she said. “I believe that the program grounded me in the legal and technological skills I will need to add value to the cybersecurity challenges facing financial institutions.”