ALUMNINotes channel and operations center for a new product. Jan Smilek is chief accounting
officer and controller at Sucampo Pharmaceuticals in Bethesda, Md. Smilek joined the company in February 2008 as vice president of finance and corporate controller.
his wife, Emily. They recently enjoyed a holiday family reunion in Beaver Creek, Colo., and celebrated their first anniversary in St. Michaels, Md., at the end of March. Celeste Diaz Ferraro was hired as a
dresser of the IEMBA Xs — behind Gary Gadson, of course. Stroud recently joined classmate Jason Ettinger as a director at Aktivist Finance, a merger and acquisition firm specializing in emerging markets.
professor of international business and entrepreneurship in the MBA program at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. She is growing her management consulting practice working with socially and environmentally responsible microenterprises, serving on volunteer boards, and playing with her new Rottweiler puppy.
Obinna Squires joins the rest of
John Gray has been working as
the class in wishing Ilkka a speedy recovery. daughter. Her family now resides in Ann Arbor, Mich. Vines is working for a startup biofuel company as a strategic adviser.
project controls manager on a Bechtel project in Tbilisi, Georgia, a great place to work where the food is fantastic and the wine is plentiful. He hopes to head home soon, before the snow melts and the Russians start coming over the border again.
Marc Waggener still works in the
Susan Payne and her husband, Kyle,
auto industry in Detroit. He enjoys testing the maximum speed on American muscle cars when he is not practicing martial arts.
have had a busy year: new jobs, a new baby, and marriage. Ethan Joseph Payne Stokes was born Aug. 2, 2008, at 9 pounds, 5 ounces. Payne recently joined the Georgetown University Medical Center as deputy director of Web strategy, where she is responsible for 40+ Web sites, including the Lombardi and the School of Medicine.
John Stroud still is the second-best
Chani Vines is married and has a
Tim Winter still peddles petro-
leum out of Annapolis, Md. In his spare time, he bumps around in the wild blue yonder in the Navy Reserves. He currently resides in Annapolis with his wife, Julie, and three kids. IEMBA 11 Class of 2006 Duane Deason is president of The
Efficacy Group, a firm focusing almost exclusively on offering cost-management services to clients in the D.C. metropolitan area. He lives with his wife and son in Alexandria, Va. Deason spends most of his spare time wondering why he thought financials were a good buy in November 2008. Webb Dryfoos is a director of new
product development at NeuStar and lives in Georgetown with
38
Dan Polk and his wife, Claire, wel-
comed the birth of their first child on Jan. 13. Gabriel Austin Polk was born at 6:22 p.m., weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 21 inches. Mom and baby are doing well. Ada Vaughan has enjoyed lots of
domestic travel with baby Zola, now 17 months, and nanny in tow. She says it was great to see fellow IEMBA 11 Isabelle Leveugle in Jackson Hole, Wyo., this winter. Professionally, she is shifting her schedule at Allegro to four days per week so she may pursue a new business endeavor.
Hoyas Helping Hoyas: Young Alumni Program
From New York and Dubai to London and Tokyo, the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business alumni network spans the world’s leading financial centers and an array of key industries. “The Georgetown network is well placed and very tightly connected,” explains Ellen Bates of the Young Alumni Mentoring Program (YAMP). “And Hoyas are extremely helpful and responsive to other Hoyas.” Established in 2007 and overseen by Professor Lynn Doran and outgoing Alumni Program Chairman Jim Gregoire (BSBA ’04), YAMP connects undergraduate students with successful alumni and provides students and mentors opportunities to learn from each other via social gatherings, workshops, and roundtable discussions. Entrance into the program is competitive and based on a student’s academic record and leadership potential. Currently, more than 30 mentors from companies such as MTV Networks, Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM Consulting, and IMG Group coach 120 Georgetown McDonough School of Business students on how to succeed in the business world.
Young Alumni Mentor Program’s 2008 Winter Dinner in Copley Formal Lounge
Mentors also share their expertise and experiences with students one on one. Each mentor has up to three mentees, allowing them to develop personal and meaningful relationships tailored to each student’s professional goals. Incoming Alumni Program Co-Chairman Elaine Maslamani (BSBA ’99), manager at KPMG LLP, has given her mentees insights into what to expect in the first five years after business school and which academic experiences best prepare students for a professional career. Junior Andrew Madorsky (BSBA ’10) has learned important lessons from his mentors, Justin Gaither of Merrill Lynch and Kevin DeSanto of KippsDeSanto. “The opportunity to have them make suggestions on my résumé, as well as give me sample interview questions, has been invaluable,” he says. “By interacting with them, I have gotten a great perspective on how to explore various business fields and what I need to be successful in my career.” Tom Raffa (BSBA ’76), founder and president of accounting and technology firm Raffa Corporation, signed on as a mentor because he wanted to give back to his alma mater. “You quickly learn that you get more out of such a program than you feel like you could ever give,” he says. “I have seen at least two generations of students through the program and learned much about their goals, ambitions, and abilities. It has helped me become a better leader and develop friendships with people who are generations apart from me, but very similar in their hopes, experiences, and visions for the future.” YAMP’s successful start has paved the way for more ambitious future plans. New York alumni chairman Stephen McMullin (BSBA ’07) is spearheading efforts to organize a New York City chapter for students interning in the city this summer. The D.C. program also is expanding to provide students with mentors from other areas of expertise, such as the legal industry and the nonprofit sector. “The response from students and mentors has been overwhelming and surpassed our expectations,” Gregoire says. “We’re hoping for even more success in the future.” — Zia Morales
msb.georgetown.edu