Health Care Management & Policy Alumna Now Practices Finance Law in NYC

January 19, 2021 – After Georgetown, Dorothy Hector (NHS’12) worked in Peru for Ciudad Saludable. She earned a master’s degree at LSE and then attended Harvard Law School. The health care management & policy alumna is now a fourth-year associate and encourages current students: “Don’t be afraid to say yes to opportunities.”

Question: Tell us about your life after Georgetown graduation.  

Hector: After graduating from NHS, I worked for a year in Lima, Peru for an amazing non-profit, Ciudad Saludable, helping with programming for their educational initiatives. The following year, I went London for an MSc in international heath policy at the London School of Economics. Not quite done with school, the year after that I started at Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school in 2017, I started as an associate at Simpson Thacher and I’m still here today – though with the pandemic I am currently working remotely, enjoying winter in Florida.

Question: What is your current professional role, and what kinds of work do you do?

Hector: I’m a fourth-year associate in the banking and credit group at Simpson Thacher in New York. I represent companies, private equity firms, and investment banks in acquisition financings, corporate financings, and restructurings.

Question: How do you feel your education at Georgetown prepared you for your graduate education and career path?

Hector: Georgetown taught me a framework for problem-solving. Taking classes in many different disciplines, I learned that there is always more than one way to approach an issue and different approaches can arrive at the right conclusion. 

This gives me the confidence in my work to take the path that works best for me even when I see others taking a different approach. I also gained a deep appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of problems we face today. Though I don’t call on my epidemiology classes when I’m drafting loan agreements, I do work with clients in the health care space, and my knowledge about, for example, the Medicaid reimbursement system or the health regulatory environment gives me a better understanding of their business.  

Aside from any specific knowledge, the Jesuit principle of educating the whole person reminds me that no issues exist in a vacuum and while I work on the financing portion of a transaction, I am always engaged with colleagues in other departments who bring their expertise to bear in all the work that I do. 

Question: What are some of your professional goals? 

Hector: I want to keep learning and growing. One thing I really enjoy about my job is that I am constantly working on different types of transactions and tackling different issues. Each deal has something different from the previous one. I’ve also worked with a number of non-profits on structuring loans that help them continue the impressive work they do, and it’s so much fun to be able to help them continue their missions.

Question: Tell us anything else you might like to share, including any advice you might offer to current students.  

Hector: Don’t be afraid to say yes to opportunities, especially the ones that don’t line up with the path or plan you’ve laid out for yourself. I would never have predicted the various directions life took me or how different people I met would come back and shape my future.  

Spring of my senior year, I met Albina Ruiz, the founder of Ciudad Saludable (and my future boss) who spoke at an event at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. A close friend from my internship on the Hill ended up at LSE with me, and we now both work as finance lawyers in NYC. Your classmates and friends will be part of your life for many years to come and will do amazing things so make lots of friends and stay in touch with them.

By Bill Cessato