“Mentorship isn’t just about giving advice,” says Katrin Dambrot. “It’s about truly investing in someone’s potential and helping them see what’s possible.” For Dambrot, the current Chair of Antioch’s Board of Governors, this insight crosses her professional work, her volunteer service, and even her private life.
Dambrot is a business strategist who has advised some of the biggest companies in the world, including Citibank, PwC, Prudential, Staples, and IBM, through her practice, Dambrot & Company. However, one of her proudest moments comes from a friendship she struck up with a concierge in the Florida building where she lives. The concierge, Kelly, was working her way through college while raising a young daughter. One day, Dambrot asked her what she wanted to do. “Political consulting,” said Kelly. Dambrot replied, “Then go to law school,” with the certainty of someone who sees doors where others see walls. Kelly was listening. She applied to law school and was accepted with a full scholarship. A few years later, Kelly invited Dambrot to her graduation—to hear her deliver the commencement speech. “Seeing her thrive despite the odds was one of the most meaningful moments of my life,” Dambrot says.
Dambrot makes a pracitce of seeking places where she can support others. She has a special focus on diversity that reflects her personal experience having been born and raised in Chile, then successfully navigating the American business world. “I know firsthand how crucial it is to have opportunities to succeed, regardless of your background,” she says. “Education is the great equalizer.”
One place where Dambrot’s efforts as a volunteer have had a transformative impact is at the Financial Women’s Association of New York (FWA). This is a leading professional association in the global financial services industry. In the 2000s, Dambrot became involved in FWA’s Nonprofit Committee. Then, in 2009, at the peak of the Great Recession, as women in finance were losing their jobs in droves, she decided that instead of hosting another networking event, she and her Nonprofit Committee co-chair would build an infrastructure for career survival in turbulent times. The seminars they put together focused on nonprofit leadership, governance, and finance, transforming an overlooked sector into a pathway for reinvention. “We became the most attended, most profitable committee in the FWA,” she says. In 2012, she was asked to join FWA’s board, and she served as its President from 2015-17. She was the first president in FWA’s almost 70 years of history to rise through the nonprofit track. And in 2023 she was asked to return to the FWA board after a two-year “sabbatical,” this time as Chair of Operations Resources. She serves in that role today.
In 2014, Dambrot was recruited to serve on the Board of Governors of Antioch University. “I looked at Antioch’s background, genesis, and mission, and I saw something powerful,” she recalls. “Particularly in terms of women and underserved groups, there were so many parallels with the work I had
been doing.”
At Antioch, she has advocated for the University to keep prioritizing efforts to support students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As Dambrot puts it, “We’re working to break down barriers and create pathways for students who might otherwise be left behind.” She has also been a strong supporter of forward-looking initiatives like the founding of the Coalition for the Common Good. She believes in creating scalable models that other institutions can adopt, ensuring that the impact of Antioch’s initiatives extends beyond its campuses. “I view Antioch as a place where hope meets action,” she says. “We’re not just preparing students for careers—we’re preparing them to change the world.”
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