Dana-Farber Cancer Institute shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Nick Woulf, MBA was looking for a pen. He wound up getting a whole lot more.
It was the first night of an accelerated MBA course at Northeastern University in 2007 when Nick had to ask a fellow student for one a few minutes into class. One thing quickly led to another. “For me, there was definitely an instant attraction,” recalls Nick. “Her personality was amazing, and we hit it off right away. But I could tell she was struggling a little with the work.”
“I was ready to quit after the first day,” admits Erica Woulf, MBA. “It was incredibly intense, with two or three classes and 30 hours of homework every week on top of my fulltime job as a software developer at Dana-Farber.” Encouragement from her new study buddy, with whom she began to regularly partner on projects, was a life-saver.
Nick has also been her Dana-Farber colleague — and her husband — since 2010.
While Erica and Nick’s friendship was immediate, their courtship took a little longer. They had their first date, a Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park, in 2008. Then, around the time both earned their MBAs in the spring of 2009, came a true test of their devotion.
“I was just about to propose to Erica when the company I was working for eliminated my territory,” Nick explains. “They told me I was free to find another job within the organization, but it couldn’t be in Boston. I told them I’d take the severance package, because I wasn’t leaving.”
In June 2009, the couple were engaged and Erica moved into Nick’s apartment. Erica had worked at Dana-Farber since 1995, and when a position opened up a few months after their wedding, Nick applied for and got it.
Each has since worked their way up the career ladder, and today are putting those MBAs to use in leadership roles. Erica is vice president of Research Informatics Operations (RIO), while Nick is associate vice president of Operations, Business Affairs. They enjoy the fact that they know so much about each other’s responsibilities, and being part of the same mission.
“I think in a lot of ways, it makes life easier,” says Nick. “When spouses work at different companies, and they talk about the different people they work with, they don’t really know who John or Jane is. In this case we know all the players and our discussions are more interactive.”
And what their colleagues think? ‘I love this couple because they are great humans and loving parents,’ says Ralph Nerette, associate vice president of Safety and Emergency Management. ‘They are both such great sports, but more importantly, I am grateful to be able to see such love at Dana-Farber.’ ”
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