Anita Lederer

Please describe how your experiences at NYU Wagner prepared you for your career?

Quantitative classes,  like statistics and multiple regression, were useful in my first job after Wagner because I worked with a lot of data in that role. Now that I am doing more project work, I don't use those skills as much. Nonetheless, it has been very helpful to know how to look at financial statements and make sense of them. Knowing how to look at a spreadsheet, seeing where things are coming from, and being able to track different cash flows have been essential skills as I manage projects and my team. Working with groups throughout Wagner, whether in Capstone or in any of the courses I took, has also been invaluable to me since I’ve graduated. Working on a team is a large part of what we do, and those skills you learn when completing group projects are valuable once you’ve graduated.

Can you tell us a bit about your job responsibilities?

As Assistant Director of Community Engagement, I oversee a team of eight at UNICEF USA. We cover a large number of issues depending on what we get from our advocacy team and other teams within UNICEF. In our role, we generally are the ones making sure we have volunteers at events and people are engaging with the issues we want them to engage on. The three things we are focused on this year  are mental health, migration, and climate change.

Please describe why you chose NYU Wagner for graduate school?

What really drew me to Wagner was its strong focus on international focus, including the opportunity to do my capstone abroad. In addition, I really appreciated that Wagner was located in NYC with the UN and some many other key international organizations.