"When you give back to Sewanee, you're supporting a place that helps people lead in ways that improve life on a worldwide scale."

BCG BrightHouse, a global creative consulting firm, has a strong Sewanee contingent. Pictured are (left to right): Managing Director Cathy Carlisi, C'89, P'25; Strategy Intern Sher Shah Mir, C'26; Senior Strategist Francesca George, C'23; and Senior Strategy Director Lee Schurlknight, C'14.
BCG BrightHouse, a global creative consulting firm, has a strong Sewanee contingent. Pictured are (left to right): Managing Director Cathy Carlisi, C'89, P'25; Strategy Intern Sher Shah Mir, C'26; Senior Strategist Francesca George, C'23; and Senior Strategy Director Lee Schurlknight, C'14.

Here’s an assignment: Explain why Sewanee matters. Sounds simple enough, right? Try boiling your response down to a few, memorable sentences—and keep your message straightforward for people who may not have heard of the University, let alone set foot on campus. Even the most gung-ho alumni might feel slightly intimidated by this type of task, but Cathy Carlisi, C’89, P’25, and Lee Schurlknight, C’14, took it on with gusto. Moreover, they completed the work pro bono, as a service to their alma mater.

Carlisi and Schurlknight serve as managing director and senior strategy director, respectively, for BCG BrightHouse, a global creative consulting company headquartered in Atlanta, and in 2022 then-Interim Vice-Chancellor Nancy Berner enlisted their firm to translate the University’s purpose statement into a more succinct call to action. “[Berner] said Sewanee needed a way to condense its purpose into a single phrase with an accompanying story emphasizing the University’s institutional values,” Carlisi says, “In essence, Sewanee needed a rallying cry.”

After getting the go-ahead from BCG BrightHouse’s CEO Ashley Grice, Carlisi and Schurlknight worked with a committee of University faculty and staff to solicit feedback from the Sewanee community about the campus’s strengths and needs. “We talked to everybody—from students to people who work at McClurg to faculty,” Carlisi says. “It was really special to have deep conversations about the magic, uniqueness, and opportunities of a place I hold so dear,” Schurlknight adds. In 2023, they shared their findings with Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen, C’76, P’14, P’17, as he began the process of developing Sewanee’s strategic plan.

Among the themes that Carlisi and Schurlknight discovered were Sewanee’s strong focus on community and the University’s adeptness at forming leaders. They delivered their research to BCG BrightHouse’s team of writers, who crafted language that Sewanee has used in a variety of communications. “When we create statements of purpose, we devise aspirational, tight language that encapsulates why an organization or institution matters.” Carlisi says. “These statements have to be highly applicable, functional, useful, and meaningful to the people you’re working with.” BCG BrightHouse’s clients encompass a large slate of global corporations and nonprofits, including Mercedes-Benz, The North Face, United Way, and Delta Airlines.

As an undergraduate, Carlisi majored in fine arts and was awarded a Wilkins Scholarship. In 2019, she received the University’s prestigious EQB Award, given to outstanding alumni between their 15th and 35th reunion years. She credits Sewanee with equipping her to communicate and problem-solve in any setting, and she encourages other alumni to consider devoting their time and talents for the benefit of current and future students. “When you give back to Sewanee, you’re supporting a place that helps people lead in ways that improve life on a worldwide scale,” she says. “I feel like every time we take on pro bono work, it’s like a droplet that becomes a giant ripple.”