‘I Want To Stop Big Problems Before They Happen’
Alum News
Published March 16, 2017
When Aubrey Menarndt ’08 arrived at Smith, she knew only that she wanted to change the world.
Guidance from professors—along with some exceptional opportunities—helped her see how she could do just that. Today, as a consultant in Washington, D.C., for Deloitte, she focuses on governance issues in countries whose economies are driven primarily by extractive industries, such as oil, gas and mining.
Problems in Democratic Thought, a course taught by government professor Martha Ackelsberg, transformed her thinking. “The biggest lesson I learned from that course is that you can’t have a democracy when everyone can’t participate. If a society is built on the idea that money buys influence, and you don’t have money, you do not have access [to political power].”
A 2011 trip to Nicaragua opened her eyes. “When I received a fellowship to go to Nicaragua for a month, I had never left the country before. I was scared! I had the chance to work with people who had survived landmine accidents. It was important work, but I also knew that it was a very one-person-at-a-time approach. I realized, in part because of that trip, that I wanted to find ways to stop big problems before they happened, instead of mitigating the effects of the problems afterward.”
A 2011 trip to Azerbaijan, whose economy is heavily reliant on oil extraction, focused her thinking. “I had the chance to visit Azerbaijan while I was working for the Truman National Security Project. I learned that when post-Soviet countries entered the market economy for the first time, they had difficulty managing large influxes of resource revenue and negotiating contracts with foreign companies interested in extracting their mineral resources—but they were getting much of their information from these same companies! ”
She saw an opportunity to make a difference. “There are countries that are taking in large amounts of money in oil, gas and mining industries, yet still have high levels of poverty and underdevelopment. It’s called the ‘paradox of plenty.’ For many reasons, countries that are wealthy in natural resources have major corruption issues. They tend to have single-sector economies that can rise—and then plummet. But if these resources weren’t mismanaged, they could lift people out of poverty. The revenue could improve infrastructure, hospitals and health care.”
“Countries that are wealthy in natural resources have major corruption issues. But if resources weren’t mismanaged, they could lift people out of poverty.”
She wants to help solve this problem. “We’re looking at pieces of this at Deloitte, and it’s so important. I’m an environmentalist, but we know that nobody is going to stop extracting mineral resources anytime soon. So how can we help manage this more effectively so that these resources don’t exacerbate the wealth disparity in these countries and make it harder for them to grow into democracies?”
She also wants to help women in these economies. “In a lot of these countries, women get crowded out of the workforce—in part because a lot of the jobs are in engineering, which women are not traditionally trained for, and in part because there tends to be a man in the family who has a big income, so women don’t have to work. It’s complicated, but there’s a huge correlation between high extractive-sector dependence and women being oppressed. This is something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while. I want to find a way to fit in to make a difference.”
This story appears in the Spring 2017 issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.
SEIZING THEIR MOMENT
Young alumnae, revved up at Smith, set their soaring ambitions into action
The women profiled here brought their dreams to Smith at a time when the college was laying the groundwork for its own dreams. While they were students here—taking courses that would expand their horizons—Smith was setting a course for a more global future, captured in the campaign theme Women for the World. For the women whose voices are presented here, Smith was the right choice at the right time. Brimming with optimism, idealism and boundless energy, they didn’t just dream of changing the world, they planned to go out and actually do it. These young alumnae, whose ambitions were nurtured at Smith, are breaking glass ceilings, transforming education, researching climate change and helping to build more democratic societies around the world.
They may be at the start of their careers, but already their work is rippling out into the world in powerful ways. Their achievements are what Smith’s work is all about.
‘Something Changed in Me’
Elim Chan ’09, Music Major
“I will always talk to young girls about having big dreams, whether that’s conduction or going to the moon."
‘We Need To Create the Right Opportunities’
Amber Scott ’07, Neuroscience Major
"I knew that this was what I wanted to do: to find solutions to tough social issues.”
Critical Research Support in Polar Reaches
Marie McLane ’08, Geological Sciences Major
“You don't want to be 300 miles from town and have your snowmobile break down. I help researchers with these things."
‘I Believe in the Cause of Afghanistan’
Shaharzad Akbar ’09, Anthropology Major
“We want to mobilize people around values like democracy, freedom of expression and gender equality.”
Photographed in Washington, D.C. by Jimell Greene