Palpable excitement reverberated throughout Grace Dodge Hall last fall, when more than 100 Social-Organizational Psychology students, alumni and faculty convened for their marquee event of the year. One of their very own, Monique Herena (M.A. ’17) — a graduate of TC’s Executive Master’s Program (XMA) in Change Leadership and the Chief Colleague Experience Officer at American Express — returned to her alma mater for a standing-room only discussion that revealed insights that have shaped her success including lessons learned throughout her career and what it takes to make a difference.

With the conversation led by Herena’s Amex colleague and fellow TC grad Kelly DiBenedetto (M.A. ’08, Social-Organizational Psychology), the evening was also an opportunity for students to interact with Amex leadership and learn more about their HR Leadership Development Program and summer internship opportunities.

Herena’s visit and the crowd that rallied around her reflect not only the unique bonds that form within TC, but also the particular strength of the College’s Social-Org Psych community — “serving as active change agents and leaders in their fields,” in the words of President Thomas Bailey, who delivered the gathering’s opening remarks.

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Student Elizabeth Hyde, student Yael Silverstein, Monique Herena, President Tom Bailey, doctoral student Zoë Troxell Whitman, Bill Pasmore, Professor of Practice of Social Organizational Psychology, and doctoral student Nilima Ajaikumar (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

President Thomas Bailey delivers welcoming remarks. (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

Debra Noumair, Professor of Psychology and Education and the founding director of the XMA program, and Herena. (Photo: Bruce Gilbert)

“I’m enormously proud that our program at TC centers [change leadership] as part of our scholarship,” he said, “and also really impacts the health and effectiveness of businesses and organizations around the world.”

Herena embodies such influence. As a leader helping define the ideals of company culture more broadly, Herena is leveraging the very lessons she learned in TC’s XMA program to challenge traditional ideas about company success. At American Express, the C-suite executive has championed a colleague-centered culture that is keeping colleagues engaged, growing, and focused on driving business results.  

“You will learn something from every single person you encounter — and others can learn from you,” says Herena, for whom this mantra is among her top pieces of advice for professionals. “You unlock your full potential as a leader when you realize it isn’t about you. The focus needs to be on others. It’s about the organization, your team and helping them deliver strong results and outcomes for customers and various stakeholders. The faster you figure this out, it will start coming back to you tenfold.”

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(Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

(Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

Debra Noumair, Professor of Psychology and Education;  Monique Herena (M.A. ’17), Chief Colleague Experience Officer (CCEO) at American Express; Kelly DiBenedetto (M.A. ’08, Social-Organizational Psychology); President Thomas Bailey; and Marina Field (Ph.D. ’10). (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

(Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

Herena’s focus is not only on giving back at Amex, but also at Teachers College. With her husband, Lou, the TC alum established the Herena Family Endowed Scholarship Fund — which has supported 12 Social-Organizational Psychology masters or doctoral students since 2018, including four current students.

Herena and her family wanted to “give others the opportunities to be inspired by the best research and the best thinkers, and to provide them with tools to become vehicles of change. After meeting many of the Herena Family scholars and receiving personal notes from others, there is no doubt in my mind that this group of amazing future leaders will do just that. It is important to me to give back.”

For Herena, it all began in Wisconsin, where she grew up as the daughter of a high school teacher in a family of Italian entrepreneurs who inspired her work ethic. After supporting herself through college and graduate school, Herena launched her career in human resources — building her experience at Quaker Oats, Honeywell and PepsiCo. By the time she started the XMA program at TC, Herena was the Chief Human Resources Officer at BNY Mellon.

Her classmates at TC were also experienced professionals across a wide range of industries — a core feature of the XMA program. In addition to learning from fellow high-achievers during her time in XMA, Herena sought evidence-based tools to advance teams and organizations when she embarked on her TC journey.

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Debra Noumair, Professor of Psychology and Education, and founding director of the XMA program. (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

Michael and Monique Herena (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

Michael and Monique Herena with President Thomas Bailey. (Photo: Bruce Gilbert) 

(Photo courtesy of Amex) 

“Human Resources is a balance of art and science, and I needed more research-based methods that I could apply in the real world…My time at XMA was invaluable and took my leadership to the next level — personally and professionally,” Herena says. “I continue to put what I’ve learned into my daily practice. It also reaffirmed that you’re never too old or in too senior of a position to keep learning and that each of us can be a better version of ourselves in the next moment than we are right now.”

The XMA program’s strong emphasis on cohort-based learning reflects its critical role in professional success and the “transformational” impact of the learning community, explains TC’s Debra Noumair, the program’s founding director.

“These formative group dynamics allow our XMA grads to not only learn from each other, but develop empowered voices as leaders. They have the freedom to experiment in a supportive environment before applying new tools in the workplace,” describes Noumair, who alongside colleague Marina Field (Ph.D. ’10) is working to build networking relationships among the program’s students and alumni. “Both XMA and the MA in SOP give them the tools and models needed for driving tangible success and growth within organizations.” 

Herena’s dialogue last fall with Amex colleague Kelly DiBenedetto (M.A. ’08, Social-Organizational Psychology) was followed by a question-and-answer session, and reception with attendees, who felt “seen, heard” and inspired to “carry Herena’s vision” of more colleague-centered cultures forward.  

“Monique and Kelly’s thought-provoking dialogue sparked meaningful contemplation for our community about what is possible after TC ,” said Noumair. “Both of them are exceptional examples of how our pedagogy and practice spur innovation and productive and healthy organization cultures.”

As an alum, Herena continues to shape change leadership for not only her colleagues, but the graduates who will follow her. For them, it’s the clarity of her advice that makes it so striking.

“Don’t play small,” says Herena. “Do the work, speak up, share your ideas, suggest improvements, make an impact. Think about the best version of you and who you want to become and show up as that version every day.”