We interviewed six current and former VPF staff members for a feature in the August 2022 VPF Statement. We asked them to share their career path and tell us what they learned about growing their career at MIT.
Danforth's Story: Making Your Own Luck
Danforth Nicholas considers it pure luck that he ended up at MIT. He interviewed with the Math Department on a whim and was enticed by the benefits and stability the administrative assistant position offered him. He was initially ambivalent about finance and research administration when he started but fell into it when an NSF grant application was due while his administrative officer was on vacation. “Someone needed to submit the application, and it was a webform, so I stepped up to the challenge when no one else was available. I think a lot of people at MIT just fall into finance by accident the same way—it’s not just a job for mathy people, it’s for problem solvers.”
Over the next twenty years, he took on roles with increasing responsibility—which started with reviewing monthly transactions in his department—and grew to MIT-wide reporting and analysis of transactions for sponsored projects at VPF. In addition to being the subject matter expert on sponsored programs for the Controllership team, he helped educate financial professionals across MIT by serving as an instructor in VPF's “Fundamentals of Financial Management” training. He now steps into the role of Senior Finance Officer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering where he is responsible for managing all funds in the department.
Danforth attributes his career growth to the support he received from his supervisors and the network of colleagues he has cultivated over his MIT career. “In every role I’ve had, there was someone who believed in my ability to grow my skills. They knew where I was starting from, and what I didn’t know, but they give me the opportunity to try it anyway,” says Danforth. One mentor stuck out in his mind—not because she provided him the answers, but because she refused to. “She told me the biggest resource you’ll find at MIT are the people who have done what you are trying to do and gave me a list of financial officers from outside of my department. She knew how important it was to have a good network of colleagues to bounce ideas off of, and encouraged me to not ask her, but to ask around instead.”
Pure luck—maybe—but also a career of supplementing that luck by daring to try something new and cultivating his network of supportive and knowledgeable colleagues. Danforth’s formula for a successful finance career at MIT? “Actively network outside of your department, get exposed to the things you don’t do all the time, and sign-up for extracurriculars or groups that put you in contact with people you don’t know yet.”
Abisola's Story: Zeroing in on Finance
Abisola Okuk started at the Institute as a temp and turned a twelve-week assignment into a launch pad for a career in finance at MIT. Now in her eighth year, she looks back and is amazed to see where this brief stint led her—to the Media Lab, to the Sloan School of Management, and today, as a Senior Staff Accountant on the Accounts Receivable (AR) team in the Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF).
One of her temp assignments was in the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Media Lab. From there she was offered a full-time staff job as an administrative assistant, providing administrative and financial support for the research group, and supporting Scratch team events. “As anyone who has handled events at MIT knows, it’s a great way to learn about finance,” she says. “I learned how to use all of MIT’s accounting and financial systems from SAP to Buy-to-Pay. I also helped prepare budgets for grants and learned about research administration in this role.”
Next, Abisola moved to the MIT Sloan Office of External Relations (OER) as an operations coordinator. She handled financial matters, and co-led a team to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with an aim to infuse some new ideas into the team. “One idea was to better align our spending with our DEI goals. We worked with VPF’s Small and Diverse Business program coordinator to analyze and then diversify our spending to support smaller businesses, minority-owned businesses, and those that offered more sustainable products.”
“The common factor in these roles was finance. I knew I wanted to take my career in this direction, in a role that was fully dedicated to finance. I joined the VPF AR team in 2021 where I help manage funds that come into MIT, including domestic and foreign wire payments and provide support to DLCs who handle incoming payments. As we modernize our systems, I’ve taken on the project of process documentation and improvement. I love the team’s approach to customer service excellence and the spirit of collaboration and mutual support.
“When I came to the U.S. from Nigeria, I always dreamt of being grounded in my profession, even though I didn’t know what field I wanted to pursue. I learned that there are many ways to build a career and it begins with finding out what your interests are and pursuing them, no matter the odds,” she says. Her advice? “Explore what you like. Take risks. Stay open. Trust the process. Learn everything you can. Be a good team member. Focus on building great relationships. You can create your own journey.”
Pam's Story: Building a Career Across MIT
Pam Schickling Buckley arrived at MIT with a high school diploma and a love for accounting. She took a job as an administrative assistant in the Purchasing and Stores department, supporting administrative and accounting functions. Fast forward 32 years, today Pam serves as the Senior Director for Finance and Administrative Services in the Office of the Vice President for Finance and holds two degrees from Northeastern University—a BS in accounting and a Master’s degree in education with an emphasis on higher education administration.
“My managers and mentors encouraged me every step of the way, in my career and in my education,” says Pam. “I earned both degrees while working full time, and when I received my bachelor’s degree the department threw a party and the faculty there stood up and cheered for me. I get teary-eyed thinking about it to this day.”
Pam’s finance journey at MIT took many twists and turns as she moved around and up—to the Center for Real Estate, to the area that launched MIT’s OpenCourseWare, to the Audit Division, then a leap to academic administration in the Program for Writing and Humanistic Studies, and as an Administrative Officer in the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education.
“I had this love for accounting and spreadsheets, and that grew over time to include finance and administration,” Pam recalls. “What I see in each of these roles was a chance to help build something—a new department, a new dean’s office, or MIT’s first large-scale global open learning project. The finance part was a tool that I could use to help inform decisions, solve problems, make something happen, or create something new. And then in 2011 came an opportunity to join VPF as Manager of Sponsored Accounting, and move to a role in central administration.
“This move was transformative for me, as it gave me a window into finance at the Institute level. At the same time, I brought a deep understanding of how departments work to VPF and helped bridge some of those knowledge gaps. I was promoted to Assistant Controller and eventually to the role I have today.
“There are so many ways to do finance at MIT. There’s no set formula but I’m happy to share my story and some guiding principles I’ve learned along the way: be willing to move, take risks, learn new things, and go outside your comfort zone. Believe in yourself, your abilities, and your capacity to learn new things, and recognize there are always people willing to help you advance your career.”
Nadie's Story: Energizing her Career
After gaining broad experience in finance and administration in the Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF), Nadie Trotman Brathwaite was ready to hone her skills and focus on research administration, an area of great interest to her. Today she is a fiscal officer at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI).
Nadie came to VPF in 2013 as a finance and operations administrator supporting the internal workings of VPF. She helped manage VPF’s finances, processed transactions, monitored spending, and each year, with her unit director, developed VPF’s annual budget.
“At VPF, I wore many hats,” says Nadie. “In addition to the finance piece, I handled space planning, emergency preparedness, and managed our service desk operations. One of the first assignments involved reorganizing our space—helping to relocate more than 100 staff members within our offices in NE49—and in that process, overseeing our efforts to recycle or shred a lot of paper records.”
As she thought about her next career move, Nadie knew she wanted to learn more about how MIT works as a whole. “I was drawn to this position at MITEI, for its overall mission and the opportunity to learn research administration,” she says.
At MITEI since 2018, Nadie provides financial oversight and guidance on a portfolio of industrial and federal research projects with sponsors including Shell, American Tower, Equinor, Iberdrola, and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The scope of her work is connected to more than 60 principal investigators—spanning dozens of departments across MIT—and encompasses the entire research cycle, from pre-award planning, budget development, and managing a project’s account until the project is completed and closed out. She analyzes spending, provides forecasts, and supports decision-making on the allocation of research dollars. All of these activities roll up to helping a research team stay on track and in compliance with MIT policies and audit guidelines while supporting MIT’s efforts to research low- and no-carbon energy solutions.
Nadie says she has had a few informal mentors, and also has initiated conversations with senior leaders for career guidance. “When I made this change,” she says, “I didn’t see it as a risk, I saw it as a learning opportunity. I found my peers were very open, kind, and willing to share their knowledge with me.
“I think that if you are self-motivated and have a willingness to learn, you will find a lot of support for your career growth. I have no doubt that moving from one area to another creates a win-win for the employee and for MIT. To me, some keys to navigating a finance career at MIT are to ask questions, learn as much as you can, get involved in the broader MIT community, develop a great network, and keep asking questions.”
Johana's Story: Engineering a Career Change
MIT is a magnet for engineering types, so it is no surprise to find Johana Amatucci Reyes—an industrial engineer by training—operating payroll processes and monitoring data feeds on VPF’s HR/Payroll team. “I like process improvement and I’m interested in business administration. I want to grow my skills in that area, and I think this position is helping me to do that,” Johana says.
That mindset has been Johana’s approach throughout her career. After finishing her engineering degree in Venezuela and moving to the United States, she continues to push herself outside of her comfort zone when she knows it will lead to growth. “I’m a pretty shy person,” Johana says, “but when my husband and I opened a frozen yogurt store, I quickly had to learn to manage people and to be more outgoing to network as a small business.” After a few years, she took on her next challenge as a sales representative for a car dealership. “English is my second language so I wanted to immerse myself in a role that would help me practice while continuing to challenge myself to be more extroverted. It’s not possible to work in sales and not be outgoing—you have to learn how to approach people and you have to learn how to negotiate.”
When a temporary position opened in VPF HR/Payroll to help with the busy tax season, Johana saw her next opportunity. “I was looking for a permanent position, but I wanted to get my foot in the door, so I took it,” she says. A bit intimidated by finance, she knew the only way to build her skills was to try. “I have an engineering mindset, so I ask a ton of questions! I’m always asking someone about things I want to know, and everyone has been very willing to answer.” Putting her people skills to good use, Johana says she “would walk around and talk to people that do interesting things and ask them about their job.” That networking led her to landing a permanent position in Accounts Payable as a vendor maintenance specialist, and a little over a year later, to a promotion onto the HR/Payroll team.
While reflecting on her journey, Johana says to “always start with a goal in mind. It will evolve over time as you learn more about yourself and about what you like. Just don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know yet because you can learn and there will be people willing to help you get there if you show an interest.”
Joe's Story: Getting SMART at MIT
When the pandemic arrived less than a year after he took on a new position at MIT, financial analyst Joe Siniscalchi used the lockdown to accelerate his educational goals and earned an MBA, with the same deliberate and measured approach he has taken in his career.
Joe joined VPF Sponsored Accounting in 2011 soon after graduating from UMass Amherst with a degree in accounting. His main responsibility was closing out industrial grants to the Institute. He enjoyed working directly with departments and labs on their research grants and learned how to juggle projects and effective time management. He later moved to VPF’s Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) team where he supported general ledger accounting functions. There he had an Institute-wide view and learned how everything in the general ledger rolled up to the year-end close, and into the Report of the Treasurer.
“After four years, I was ready for a new challenge and joined the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) team in 2019 as a financial analyst, after a former VPF colleague who had moved to SMART encouraged me to apply for this position,” says Joe. “In this role, I help the SMART team close out books on two financial cycles (the Singapore year-end in March and MIT’s year-end in June), stay in compliance with MIT and Singapore travel policies, and create financial reports in Singapore dollars.
“The work I did at VPF really prepared me for this complicated finance role. I was able to apply a great deal of my VPF experience—a deep understanding of MIT’s accounting structure, familiarity with using the Data Warehouse to build Brio reports, and knowing the activities related to closing out the year—to my position on the SMART Headquarters team.”
Soon after the start of the pandemic, Joe enrolled in an MBA program at Fitchburg State University, completing a management degree in 14 months with more than 80 percent of the tuition paid by MIT’s Tuition Assistance Plan.
Reflecting on his eleven years at MIT, Joe puts a lot of stock in relationships and mentoring. “My managers and mentors have played a big role in my career, as they encouraged me to take on new challenges and grow. My advice to anyone starting out in a finance role at MIT—either at VPF or in a DLC—is don’t get too comfortable, stay open to new challenges, and understand how building relationships is essential to your work and your career advancement. There’s no one right way to pursue a finance career at MIT. It’s amazing how many different paths are out there.”