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Big Believer in Athletics

Alumna Tricia Turley Brandenburg ’99 created her own learning and career opportunities through sports and now advocates for college student-athletes.

Tricia Brandenburg ’99 poses with the Commander-in-Chief Trophy in the East Room of the White House in May of 2024. The trophy is given annually to the winner of the college football series between Army West Point, Navy and Air Force.
Read about Tricia

2025 Groat and Alpern Awardees

Scott Buchheit, M.S. ’77

A series of experiences during his ILR years helped Groat Award recipient Scott Buchheit build a deeper appreciation for different perspectives.

Scott Buchheit, M.S. '77
Read about Scott

Linda Gadsby ’88

The law, young people and providing educational opportunities are primary passion areas for Alpern Award recipient Linda Gadsby.

Linda Gadsby '88
Read about Linda
Groat and Alpern Alumni Awards 2025

April 24, 2025     |    6:00 - 9:00 PM     |    The Pierre, New York City

Alumni Stories

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Jennifer Choi ’08 Has Dream Job as NBA Hawks’ “Swiss Army Knife”

After spending several years working for companies such as American Express, McKinsey & Company and Dropbox, Jennifer Choi '08 has found her "dream job" with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Jennifer Choi ’08 standing in front of an Atlanta Hawks step and repeat.
Jennifer Choi ’08 Has Dream Job as NBA Hawks’ “Swiss Army Knife”

Do Women in the U.S. Still Earn Less than Men?

Cornellians
Francine Blau ’66, an alumnae who’s an ILR professor emerita weighs in on the gender pay gap—how it has narrowed, and why it persists.
An illustrated image representing the gender pay gap. Credit: Ashley Osburn / Cornell University
Do Women in the U.S. Still Earn Less than Men?

Cheng-Cimini ’92 Is Ready to “Rewire”

After three decades as a human resources professional, Angela Cheng-Cimini ‘92 has decided to “rewire,” stepping away from her latest role as the senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Harvard Business Publishing.
Angela Cheng-Cimini '92
Cheng-Cimini ’92 Is Ready to “Rewire”

Fateh’s World View Cultivated at ILR

When Christopher Fateh ’13 first entered ILR, he didn’t want to limit his future by choosing a career path. The school gave him a well-rounded education and an appealing philosophy—that he could make a difference in the lives of regular people.
Christopher Fateh ’13
Fateh’s World View Cultivated at ILR

School violence reduction program led by 2007 alumna

Marie Schell ’07 is leading Maryland’s new Statewide Youth Conflict Coaching Pilot Program as project director and executive director of the Conflict Resolution Center of Baltimore County. 
Marie Schell ’07
School violence reduction program led by 2007 alumna

ILR’s EMHRM Program: “Best in Class”

Airbnb Global Talent Director Ruben Ponte says the Executive Master’s in Human Resource Management program emboldened him to help build the kind of company he would like his children to work at.
Portrait of Airbnb Global Talent Director Ruben Ponte
ILR’s EMHRM Program: “Best in Class”

ILR Donors Make All the Difference

To Do the Greatest Good

The ILR community everywhere is continuing to do the greatest good. Each year, ILR alumni, parents and friends come together to support the ILR School to ensure all students have the resources they need to be successful. Each year, the school recruits and retains faculty who are outstanding educators and leading researchers.

Your gift helps ILR remain the preeminent school focused on work, employment and labor. ILR is proud to be developing the thought leaders and practitioners shaping the future of work, and your gift advances this mission.

Please read our ILR Case for Support here

Learn more about giving to the ILR School here.

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News

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Pambianchi ’90 Offers Insight on Obtaining Success in Hatfield Lecture

Cornell Chronicle
In a conversation with Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff, Christy Pambianchi '90, reflected on her more than 30 years of experience as a human resources officer as Cornell’s 42nd Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education.
Sreang Hok/Cornell University Christy Pambianchi ’90 delivers the Hatfield Lecture in Ives Hall. Photo courtesy of Sreang Hok/Cornell University.
Pambianchi ’90 Offers Insight on Obtaining Success in Hatfield Lecture

Kricky Ksiazek, MPA ’13 Honored for Community-Engaged Innovation

Cornell Chronicle
Kricky Ksiazek, Civic Researcher and High Road Fellowship Coordinator at the ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, is one of 13 faculty members from across Cornell being honored by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement with this year’s Community-Engaged Practice and Innovation Awards.
Kricky Ksiazek
Kricky Ksiazek, MPA ’13 Honored for Community-Engaged Innovation

Rare Transcript, Photos of MLK Jr. Union Speech Discovered

Cornell Chronicle
Claire Deng ’22 was doing a survey of archival papers at a Cornell library when she came across something unexpected: the full transcript of a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957 – one of only two known in the country.
Claire Deng ’22, collections survey assistant, is surveying archival materials at the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, to find and describe the historical records of marginalized groups in archival collections. Jason Koski/Cornell University
Rare Transcript, Photos of MLK Jr. Union Speech Discovered

Events

Labor Economics Workshop: Raffaella Sadun

Raffaella Sadun Training within Firms Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement. This study uses data from three firms—a car manufacturer, a quick-service restaurant chain, and a retail company—to show that variation in training participation among employees is closely tied to differences in middle managers’ behavior and practices. Middle managers who actively engage with their employees and emphasize their well-being and development are associated with significantly higher participation in training programs. These managerial differences significantly influence employee performance and absenteeism, especially during periods of organizational change. Together, these findings underscore the importance of middle managers in bridging the gap between centrally designed HR policies and their effective on-the-ground execution.

Localist event image for Labor Economics Workshop:  Raffaella Sadun
Labor Economics Workshop: Raffaella Sadun

Stopping Forced Labor

As the Trump administration rewrites U.S. trade policy and 2025 European Union rules banning goods made with forced labor go into effect, many questions about trade’s global impact have arisen. Some of what we buy worldwide is produced by an estimated 28 workers in forced-labor situations. New government leaders in Washington and Brussels will influence how forced labor is uncovered as well as how regulations to control it are developed, enforced, or even reversed. Join Jason Judd of the Global Labor Institute (GLI) at Cornell’s ILR School and two global labor governance experts, Samira Rafaela and Kelly Fay Rodríguez, as they discuss different approaches being taken by the U.S. and European countries and how those differences could unfold for individuals, companies, and consumers.

Localist event image for Stopping Forced Labor
Stopping Forced Labor

New York’s Climate and Renewable Energy Mandates: A Climate Jobs Perspective

Join Cornell ILR’s Climate Jobs Institute for a timely discussion with state legislators, labor leaders, and environmental advocates on New York’s progress towards its climate and clean energy goals, and how the state can deepen its leadership to reach these goals and build an equitable clean energy economy that benefits workers and communities alike.
Two workers installing solar panels
New York’s Climate and Renewable Energy Mandates: A Climate Jobs Perspective

Labor Economics Workshop: Elio Nimier-David

Elio Nimier-David Location Effects or Sorting? Evidence from Firm Relocation Abstract: Why are wages in cities like New York or Paris higher than in others? This paper uses firm mobility to separate the role of “location effects” (e.g., local geography, infrastructure, and agglomeration) from the spatial sorting of workers and firms. Using French administrative records and U.S. commercial data, we first document that firm mobility is widespread: 4% of establishments relocate annually. Establishments retain their main activity and structure as they move, but adjust their workforce and wages. Combining firm and worker mobility, we then decompose wage disparities across French commuting zones. We find that spatial wage differences are largely driven by the sorting and co-location of workers and firms: location effects account for only 2–5% of disparities, while differences in the composition of workers and establishments account for around 30% and 15%, respectively. The remaining half is accounted for by the co-location of high-wage workers and firms, especially in cities with high location effects. Revisiting the elasticity of local wages to population density, we find a significant coefficient of 0.007—two to three times lower than estimates not controlling for firm composition.

Localist event image for Labor Economics Workshop: Elio Nimier-David
Labor Economics Workshop: Elio Nimier-David

Meet our Team

Jennifer Sellen Dean

  • Assistant Dean, ILR AAD

Harlan Work

  • Gift Officer

Penny Lane Spoonhower

  • Assistant Director

Amanda DeLee

  • Program Assistant

Alyssa Cooper

  • Gift Officer