This will be a lunch discussion with two leaders in philanthropy and non-profit sectors in the Washington DC area.  We will focus both on the careers of the speakers but also the session will offer some practical advice for those potentially seeking opportunities to work in these sectors.  What’s the best way to get started? What will opportunities look like in the  coming years. 

About the Speakers

John Rice is the Founder & CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a nationally recognized non-profit focused on expanding economic mobility for students and professionals and advancing meritocratic employer practices. Supporting 15,000+ fellows and alumni nationwide, MLT partners with 200+ leading
companies including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citi and Target on their talent strategies. John has been featured on CNN, the cover of Fortune, and was named one of Forbes top 30 social entrepreneurs in the world.

Prior to MLT, John was an executive with the National Basketball Association, where he served as managing director of NBA Japan and as director of marketing for Latin America. Before joining the NBA, John spent four years with the Walt Disney Company in new business development and marketing. 

John serves as the lead independent Director for real estate finance company Walker & Dunlop (NYSE-WD). He served on the Board of Trustees of Yale University for twelve years and is a member of venture philanthropy fund New Profit’s board.

John received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA with honors from Yale, where he was a three-year starter on the basketball team. He resides in the Washington, DC area with his wife Andrea and has 2 children, Mateo and Kiki.

Mieka Wick is the Chief Executive Officer of The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, where she leads efforts to foster equitable, sustainable, and thriving communities by partnering with extraordinary nonprofits. Since joining in 2018, she has guided strategic expansions in health equity and mental health, food security, and housing. Mieka spearheaded major philanthropic initiatives, including a $20 million commitment to Howard University to establish the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership and a $25 million gift to the University of Utah to launch the J.W. Marriott, Jr. Institute.

Previously, Mieka served as CEO of CityBridge, where she advanced a system of high-quality, transformational schools in Washington, D.C. Earlier in her career, she worked with Professor Howard Gardner at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, helped to establish Massachusetts’ first Office of Teacher Quality, built the investor relations practice at New Profit Inc., and held a leadership role at Reebok International during its merger with Adidas.

A dedicated leader with nearly three decades of experience building cross-sector partnerships, Mieka is deeply committed to the role of philanthropy in social change and community impact. She is a graduate of Brown University and holds an MBA from Babson College. An active member of the Washington, D.C. community, she has served on numerous boards, is an alumna of Leadership Greater Washington and the Aspen Pahara Fellowship. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two children.

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