As a young professional, Jennifer Roccanti enjoyed reading books on personal and professional growth with a particular interest in growing her leadership skills––though she never gave much thought on attending graduate school––that is, until she read Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.
“The book mentioned the Weatherhead [School of Management] Executive MBA program was one of the only programs in the world to focus on emotional intelligence and leadership, and have that be a really pivotal part of the program,” Roccanti said. “I tucked that fact away in my brain at the time, but it kept resurfacing every so often.”
As Roccanti was thinking about the program, her mom passed away suddenly. She said the traumatic experience jump started her focus on pursuing what she was passionate for in life.
“The Weatherhead EMBA program was on the list of things that I thought would make me happy,” she said. “I wanted to be steeped in leadership, learning, and according to my earlier reading, this was the place to be.”
Roccanti graduated from Weatherhead’s EMBA program in 2018 and said the program has greatly influenced her leadership and impact in the nonprofit sector––even today as the executive director of On My Own of Michigan, a nonprofit that supports people with developmental disabilities as they build and maintain their independence.
Roccanti’s interest in nonprofit work began at a young age as she watched her parents give back to the community through volunteer work. During her time as an undergraduate student at Suffolk University in Boston, Roccanti recalls volunteering one day a week at an elementary school and a nonprofit helping people experiencing homelessness.
When Roccanti started the EMBA program, she was working for Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit with a mission to eliminate the housing crisis in Washington D.C. In her second year of the program, she moved to Michigan where she began working at On My Own of Michigan.
“In my first year at On My Own, I had to make some really difficult staffing decisions and coincidentally each time I was traveling to an EMBA residency later that day,” Roccanti said. “It was so comforting to have my classmates to debrief with me and support me, and again, just share that I wasn't alone, that there are lots of people making difficult decisions every day, but at the end of the day that's what leadership is.”
What Roccanti loved most about the program was every time she would leave a residency, she would have five to 10 pages of ideas to implement back at work.
“Oftentimes those ideas were sparked by a comment from a professor or a classmate, and having that dedicated time to think hundreds of miles away from my desk at work was the most valuable aspect of the program for me,” she said.
That thinking time sparked the ideas that made up a rough sketch of what Roccanti envisioned On My Own of Michigan could be in the future.
“After I graduated I reached out to one of my favorite professors, Dr. Mohan Reddy, who was leading the marketing class when I was there, and I asked for his help in molding that sketch into reality,” she said. “Every few months I'd come back to Cleveland to meet with him and discuss my project. It's with Dr. Reddy's help that we're now halfway through implementation of an incredibly big expansion.”
On My Own of Michigan was able to launch an overnight independent living experience for teens and young adults with developmental disabilities earlier this year.
“That program is now selling out each quarter we run it,” Roccanti added.
Next year, the nonprofit is launching a two-year residential independent living program for young adults and the organization is working to build an affordable housing community for people with and without disabilities.
“For an organization that had less than two weeks of cash in the bank when I arrived in 2017 to launching a multi-million dollar expansion has been beyond the wildest dreams of most people here,” Roccanti said. “Making sure our dreams don't outpace our revenue is always top of mind, but there's a lot of excitement and momentum behind us here right now, and I attribute so much of that to my time in the Weatherhead program.”
This month, Roccanti has been recognized for her outstanding work by being named to the 2022 Notable Women in Nonprofits list by Crain’s Detroit Business. In November, On My Own of Michigan was honored as a 2022 Best Managed Nonprofit by Crain’s Detroit Business.
“I'm a huge fan of the Weatherhead program. I would do it again in a heartbeat if they would let people go through the program again,” Roccanti said. “Because of that, On My Own of Michigan is able to dream big and do big. Weatherhead has allowed this to happen, so that we're able to meet the needs of a larger community, which is just so exciting and so needed here in the Detroit area.”