About Gabriela
Current Position: President, Equal Pay Group
Previous University: Emmanuel College
Undergraduate Major: Neuroscience
Q: What was your background before you joined the Part-Time MBA program?
A: I originally studied neuroscience to become a pediatric neurosurgeon, but I eventually realized that my desire to help people was calling me in a different direction. I'm now the president of Equal Pay Group, a strategy consulting firm. I'm passionate about addressing the wage gap and workplace discrimination. I help companies build the right infrastructure, strategy, and implementation plan so they can enact positive change.
Q: How did you discover your passion for social justice?
A: In my hometown, which is predominantly Latino, we're very community-oriented and supportive of each other. It first dawned on me that I was a person of color in the sixth grade when I transferred to a predominantly white institution. By the time I was in high school, many of my classmates were white students from wealthier neighboring towns, and that's when I started to notice the race and class differences—and I wondered if I could help make a change. I started doing advocacy work in college, organizing protests and raising awareness with various initiatives.
I also bring a unique perspective to social justice as the first Black Miss Massachusetts. I competed in the Miss America program in 2018 to earn money to pay off my undergraduate loans; I actually worked four jobs while I was in high school to afford my education because my mother couldn't pay for it alone. I ended the competition as an interview winner, STEM award recipient, People's Choice winner, and Top 5 finisher, which totaled around $35,000 in scholarships. 2018 was a historic year for Black representation in the Miss America competition.
Q: Why did you decide to get your MBA?
A: After college and my year as Miss Massachusetts, I worked at an e-commerce startup, where I was working at building out their operations, handling customer service, and refining processes. Because of the impact of my work, the owner said to me, “You're really good at business. I think you should consider getting an MBA.” After reflecting on that advice, I agreed that an MBA would be the best way to pursue a career in consulting because it would expose me to the knowledge I needed for my entrepreneurship journey and prepare me for the unpredictable situations my clients would face.
I decided to apply to Northeastern because it had been my dream school when I was first applying to colleges. I couldn't afford to attend as an undergraduate, but this was my second chance. The minute I was accepted to the Part-Time MBA program, I called my high school guidance counselor and said, “I may have been delayed, but I was not denied!” I really am grateful to be at Northeastern—it has a reputation for being on the cutting edge and always looking to improve.
Q: What concentration did you pick?
A: I'm studying Corporate Renewal. My goal in the work that I do is to help companies and people, and that's what that concentration is all about! If we can learn to acknowledge and accept our faults, we can find a way to do better in life and business.
Q: What are your future goals, and how will your MBA degree help you reach them?
A: I still plan to help companies on their accountability journey. I know that the network I've built at Northeastern will give me a much broader reach as I pursue this work. My experience here has also helped me understand other perspectives, including the way different industries and different countries look at these issues. By being exposed to a range of systems and strategies, I'll be better equipped to handle complex problems for my clients.
Five years from now, I see myself working with politicians and legislators. In ten years, I hope the wage gap ceases to exist, and I've worked myself out of a job!
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