Abby Parsons '29

Biography

Born and raised in New York City, Abby Parsons ‘29 is a double-major in Finance and Economics with minors in Architecture and AI Analytics in Business. Her interests lie in the impact of artificial intelligence on business and STEM, and understanding how AI can serve the greater good. She is especially interested in how AI will change the way people work and make decisions, and wants to understand the technology well enough to take part in those changes rather than simply adapt to them. On campus, she is a resident of Cavanaugh Hall, where she works as head of the Spirit Committee and participates in many intramural sports. She hopes her deep involvement in dorm life, ranging from hosting dorm events to moving incoming students in, ultimately builds a strong community in her dorm.

As Finance Team Lead for Innovation for Impact, Abby leads a 30-member team working with St. Bakhita’s, an all-girls school in Northern Uganda, to rebuild its business microloan program. Her team researches microfinance models and works to understand what makes these programs financially sustainable in their respective contexts and how they are effective for the women they serve. She deepened her interest in this type of hands-on problem-solving while studying Innovation & Design Thinking in Milan in the summer of 2026. There, Abby worked with Cartiera, an ethical fashion organization, developing and testing fundraising strategies that taught her to adjust ideas based on what worked with the specific client rather than what sounded best on paper. Her work with both organizations has made her eager to keep exploring how many disciplines and emerging technologies like AI can be applied to real-world challenges.