Left to right top to bottom : 1 : Laura stands between her mother and father . 2 : Laura ( on the right ) with her sister Emily . 3 : Laura as the Tin man on Halloween circa 1968 . 4 : Laura at one . 5 : Laura at her wedding . 6 : Laura at camp in 1971 .
for me . I loved it . I was a producer , I was a reporter , and I actually directed a show that won the Peabody . It was a five-hour live show called , The Sunday Show , and I was filling in as the director for the show . I also had a great experience producing a series called , NPR Recital Hall . It was submissions from all around the country from amateur musicians . One of the things that I loved producing was a recital by a young man named Bert Wells who was a harpist . About eight years later , I met Bert Wells in person — and he is now my husband !
Sherman : That ’ s a wonderful story ! Let ’ s talk about your time at Yale Business School . Can you tell me about your experience there ?
Walker : I was propelled to go to business school , because I wanted to be thinking about strategy and creativity from that perspective . I applied only to Yale . At the time , it was a new business school . The degree actually was a Master ’ s of Public and Private Management . I had been out in the world for six years and working , and I loved it , but also loved going back to school and spending two years with an incredible group of people , many of whom are very close friends . It really pushed me to think analytically and think about individual behavior and group behavior strategy .
Sherman : Mentorship is so critical . Who were some of your early mentors ?
Walker : The editor at WGBH was an early mentor . There was also a guy at WGBH who was on the music side . Three weeks into my internship , he got mono . He called me into his office and said , “ Laura , I want you to take my job for the next three months .” He really believed in me and was a huge mentor . Joan Ganz Cooney at Sesame Workshop was also a real mentor of mine . She had asked me to create a development department . I had never raised money before , and I said , “ Joan — you ’ re kidding me ! I have never asked anyone for money before , and you want me to run the development department for this multimillion-dollar organization ?” She said , “ Yeah .” I watched her like a hawk , and I learned a lot from her in terms of the way she asked for money , and also
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