Estrade, a native of Uruguay, received a bachelor's degree in international business and integration and a master's degree in marketing from the Universidad Cata del Uruguay. Before coming to Haas, she spent several years with ABN AMRO Bank NV in Montevideo, Uruguay, as a product manager. At Haas, she maintained her international focus while pursuing a new path in consulting.

International experience
During my first year at Haas, I took an international business course that places students in strategic consulting projects all over the world. As part of the course, I spent three weeks at a major oil company in Helsinki, Finland, to provide a market assessment and recommend an entry strategy to bring a new, environmentally friendly product to the United States. I was able to draw on the full resources of the university, including the engineering school.

This project helped demonstrate my commitment to doing consulting work, which in turn helped me land my summer internship and a position at McKinsey & Co. in Sao Paulo.

A social responsibility mindset
My time at Haas was a tipping point in my career path. Taking courses with Kelly Kienzle and Will Rozenweig and spending time with colleagues engaged in the social sector, made me realize social responsibility was a key element in designing my future career. While working at McKinsey, I pursued this passion by spending one year on a part-time program to dedicate time to work with nonprofit organizations and later becoming Engagement Manager for the Social Sector Office.

Now I am Strategy Director for CDI, one of the biggest social enterprises in Latin America, present in 753 communities in eight countries. Our vision at CDI is to transform communities by empowering people through education and technology.