Jessica Mambula (MPH/MBA ’25) makes Poets & Quants list of MBAs to watch

When Jessica speaks, her peers listen.

That ability to recognize and work with other people’s points of view is a skill that Mambula has carefully developed within herself through travel, advocacy work, and purposefully listening to others’ stories. And that holistic approach to life—and business—is part of what makes her one of Poets & Quants 2024 MBAs to Watch. According to Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Professor of Practice Stacey Lee, Mambula has impressive presence, which makes her influential.

“Her words are often full of wisdom, demonstrating her ability to reflect on the multitude of perspectives around a particular topic,” Lee said.

In  addition to her rigorous academic work pursuing a dual degree at Carey and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Mambula has founded the Jessicare Foundation, which she envisions will deliver evidence-based solutions to address public health challenges among vulnerable populations, specifically focusing on reintegrating those out of school and providing economic empowerment programs for underserved communities. Standing up the Jessicare Foundation is the achievement of which Mambula is most proud thus far in her professional career.

“Through leading a foundation and being in an MBA program, I’ve been able to navigate and learn the role of leadership in the nonprofit world. I think that’s one of the biggest highlights of my professional career,” said Mambula.

Mambula was born in Nigeria, educated in Saint Kitts and Nevis, worked as a primary care physician in Jamaica, and is now in Baltimore.

“At the same time, I’m earning my master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and my MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. There aren’t many programs like that,” said Mambula.

A driving force

With aspirations of being a prominent advocate for women in business, particularly within health markets where she hopes to enhance health care access for all, Mambula is already driving positive change. She is an ambassador in Carey’s Women in Business group, a volunteer in Carey’s Africa Business Club, and was part of the winning team in the Annual Minority Case Competition at Howard University.

Of the many groups and events Mambula has invested herself in, one of her favorites is  the Stoop Storytelling event organized by Carey Women in Business.

“Many times, we see people, but we don’t see what they’re going through. By sharing these stories, we learn how they navigate life,” said Mambula. “It’s one of my favorite events. It reflects how invested Carey is in being inclusive in leading women and providing a forum for expression.”

The human component

Mambula chose Carey because the core values—relentless advancement, unwavering humanity, boundless curiosity, and collaborative leadership—align  with her personal goals and vision.

“I think it’s very easy in the professional world to get carried away with productivity and to forget about the human aspect of it if you are just focused on the figures,” she said. “It’s important to have that central core. At Carey, we are a big impact community - the faculty, the staff, the students - and we have that opportunity where we can learn from one another. I love that.”

In addition to learning from those within the Carey community, Mambula said she has been repeatedly impressed with the caliber of external organizations she’s been able to work with through experiential learning opportunities at Carey.

“The quality of the education and our curriculum structure are phenomenal. I really do like how the courses have been arranged – not just having classroom knowledge, but having experiential lessons and working with external organizations,” said Mambula. “I worked with McCormick & Company for the Big Data Consulting Project course. I worked with the U.S. Veterans Administration for my Innovation Field Project. Students’ teams also worked with Siemens and other organizations. I think that’s one great experience that we have here.”

Next steps

Following graduation in the spring, Mambula will continue her leadership of the Jessicare Foundation and her efforts to advocate for health care access for vulnerable populations.

“Coming from my background, women are not so much known to be in certain positions in my country. Carey Business School has given me a platform to use my voice to make changes.”