Candidate Statement and Bio
For an Ethical, Accessible, and Responsible Student Government
With the same passion, determination and drive as well as management skill that I employed to put on the Negotiation & Leadership Conference 2009, I plan to take HESA to the next level of organization and success by focusing on ethics reform, substantive development of community interaction and substantive leadership development of students. For more details on my plan, click here. Having been the Vice President of HESA in 2007 - 2008, I have a unique view into the HESA organization and how to bring improvement. I also have the unique view of having been a student club leader (The Founding President of HESLS) and so I know what students, who want to get involved, need in order to be successful for student-led endeavors. I have a vision for HESA that is not based on mere campaign promises but on actual demonstrated leadership capability and a reputation for getting things done successfully. If elected, I will work hard to increase the level of participation by extension students in the same way that I have found a way to stimulate interest/participation at unprecedented levels with over 300 attendees in the Negotiation & Leadership Conference 2009, quadrupling the turnout of and breaking all records for attendance for any student-run event in the entire history of the Harvard Extension School. In 2008, I had similar success with over 240 attendees and was able to attract coverage from the Harvard Gazette which elevated the university-wide profile of professionalism for and showcased the leadership role of Harvard Extension School students.
I also have the real-world experience and education that I can draw upon for the role of HESA President. With an MBA in marketing management and a Masters of Science in Finance, I have been involved in the venture capital field, where I structured seed-stage capital for multimillion dollar projects ranging from real estate to technology startups, also serving as a board director and developing successful business plans. I also have experience in the management consulting field, where I helped SME firms to realign corporate missions and to develop strategy/vision for successful turnarounds. My experience includes work for Andersen Consulting, Terrafly Inc. (a joint venture between NASA and The National Science Foundation), and Cingular/AT&T Wireless. I also demonstrated a commitment to public service as a teacher/tutor to inner-city, high-school students in the Miami-Dade public school system via the federally-funded GEAR-UP initiative. In an academic context, I have previously served in many leadership roles, including: 1) MBA Team Leader for the National Dell/Microsoft MBA marketing case competition, leading my team to place 1 in the final 6 out of 100's of students from over 38 teams across the nation's top MBA programs; 2) Graduate Finance Tutor for Behavioral Finance 3) Political Op Ed Newspaper Columnist. 4) Marketing coordinator for on-campus recruitment. 5) Special Honors TA for upper level theology courses while still only an undergraduate student. 6) President - Theology/Philosophy Debate Club.
I therefore ask for your vote for HESA President and support for the coming year as we make our student government more ethical, accessible and responsible - the way it should be.
Andre Bisasor
Candidate for HESA President (2009 - 2010)
President of HESLS
Former Vice President of HESA (2007 - 2008)
