For self-described compulsive worker Jane Veron (MBA 1991), the decision to step away from her marketing role at American Express some 18 years ago reflected the desire to put down roots with her husband and young daughters in Scarsdale, New York. Turns out, that was just a new beginning for her.

Activities such as building a community playground, running neighborhood associations, chairing the Scarsdale planning board, and serving locally as president of the League of Women Voters—all while starting and running her own consulting practice—earned her the Mayor’s Award for Exceptional Leadership in 2007. In the spring of 2016, Veron was elected a trustee of Scarsdale Village.

Community involvement also planted the seeds for the Acceleration Project (TAP), a nonprofit Veron cofounded in 2012 to encourage the growth of small businesses in Westchester County. The organization works to enable highly qualified but under-employed women in resuming their professional development as volunteer strategic consultants.

Recently awarded Westchester’s 2016 Outstanding Advocate for Small Business, Veron says, “TAP consultants are helping local businesses develop and compete.” Clients range from a New Rochelle–based manufacturer of undergarments for people with limited mobility, to a Peekskill company whose sweet potato pies were served at the 2014 Super Bowl.

TAP’s staff comprises about 40 consultants, including some HBS graduates. Veron also serves on the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard. “I think a lot of women MBAs are having an impact in the world in ways they never anticipated. Leadership comes in many guises.”

Editor’s Note: Jane Veron’s work with the Acceleration Project was recently honored by the international volunteer-service organization Points of Light. Read more here.

(Published September 2016; updated October 2018)

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