Degan Mercado Leopold ’03

“I’m choreographing my life.” That’s how Degan Mercado Leopold explains how her study of dance at Wesleyan led to the creation of Bloomberg’s Diversity and Inclusion Recruiting Program. “Dance is about storytelling—and so is the practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion. They both stem from the narratives and perspectives that you share with the world.”

As a Puerto Rican student who describes her K-12 experience as primarily “white and wealthy,” Wesleyan represented a “melting pot of awesome fringeness that felt like it could be my place.” It meant real community. And the course of Degan’s life shifted during freshman orientation when she volunteered at a maximum-security juvenile detention center. Her interaction with one of the incarcerated youth there who challenged her Puerto Rican-ness quickly developed into a solid sense of purpose. “It made it so clear: who you are and how you leverage your identity can impact lives and be a source of power.” Degan’s work at that center paralleled her study of dance throughout her four years at Wes, solidifying her appreciation for the arbitrary forces that separated her from the youth with whom she worked, and her realization that her strength was in choreography.

“I’ve never applied for a job that exists. I’ve helped design each opportunity” Degan shares, acknowledging the privilege—and Wesleyan-ness—inherent in that statement. “You see the need, you build the case for meeting that need, then you act.” Through Degan’s effort in launching diversity recruiting at Bloomberg, the firm became an early proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. She saw the value in increasing representation and belonging, and she helped make it happen. And now as chief partnerships officer at the New York Jobs CEO Council, her sights are set on choreographing the hiring of 100,000 low-income New Yorkers by New York’s largest employers by 2030.