14th Annual
ALUMNI LEADERSHIP DAY
October 16, 2019
The Kinkaid School’s 14th Annual Alumni Leadership Day Dear Class of 2020, This year we have a very impressive group of over 50 alumni returning to campus to visit with the Class of 2020 about their respective careers and the decisions and paths that defined their choices. We want to thank our alumni for participating in this special event. Each of them has generously made time for Kinkaid and is willing and eager to share their insights so that you will be better equipped for the opportunities, challenges and decisions that lie ahead. The alumni panelists have shared a brief summary of what a “day in the life” of their career entails, along with their contact info and educational and work history. We hope that this information can be used to provide you with a realistic view of the demands and expectations of these various jobs. Our goal is that you will begin to better formulate the questions about your next steps and what lies ahead in the years to come. We encourage you to ask questions during the panel sessions and follow up with the panelists after the program. Making connections within the vast network of Kinkaid alumni is extremely valuable, and we hope that the Class of 2020 will take advantage of this unique opportunity. Sincerely,
Alexa Leach ’09 Alumni Activities Manager
Helen Hemingway McLaughlin ’05 Byron Langford ’07 KYPO President 2019-2020 KYPO Vice President 2019-2020
table of contents
3 arts & entertainment 6 banking, finance & accounting 9 computer science, military, security & intelligence 10 energy / oil & gas 13 engineering 15 entrepreneurship 18 healthcare / medicine 22 law 25 marketing & communications 28 non-profit & education 31 real estate 34 notes 35 schedule of events
advancement office contact information ALEXA LEACH ‘09 Alumni Activities
TOM MOORE Director of Advancement
(o) 713-243-5054 alexa.leach@kinkaid.org
(o) 713-243-5045 tom.moore@kinkaid.org
arts & entertainment
KATHERINE CUNNINGHAM ’09
MEGAN OLIVIA EBEL ’11
Institutional Giving Associate, Alley Theatre
Curriculum Developer for High School Art & Art Teacher, KIPP Public Schools / KIPP Houston High School
ksc1776@gmail.com
meganoliviaebel@rocketmail.com
BA, Psychology (Theatre Studies minor), Bryn Mawr College
BA, Studio Art with a focus in Sculpture and New Media (Women’s & Gender Studies minor), Sewanee: The University of the South
“What I do every day is corporate and foundation grant writing for the Alley Theare. Additionally, I am in charge of corporate and foundation stewardship, meaning I help create and coordinate all of the corporate and foundation sponsor events held throughout the year. Finally, I am the webpage coordinator for the Development department.”
3 | alumni leadership day
Prior Employer: Yes Prep Public Schools “By day, I am a teacher working in a West Houston charter school, providing an equitable college-ready education to low income populations. I create and instruct curriculum for High School art levels, plan exhibitions for student work on both the campus and system level and have the unique opportunity to expose students who often have never even been to a museum, let alone in an art studio setting, to a robust art education. Outside of school hours, I am a practicing artist, focusing on soft sculpture, watercolor, acrylic and illustration. I participate in shows across Houston and have several murals and exhibited works across the US. I am also currently participating in a residency through Lenka Claytons Art Residency In Motherhood, which is a grant-funded exploration created to combine the aspects of mothering and makership. I produce the bulk of my work through this residency, but also do commissions for both personal and commercial collections.”
arts & entertainment
ANTHONY HARRISON ’05 Sr. Analyst Operations & Planning, Warner Bros Entertainment tony.harrison@warnerbros.com BS, Finance, Louisiana Tech University MS, Concordia University (Irvine) “Working in the entertainment industry is nothing short of amazing! I’ve had the privilege of being on-set of some of the most historic movies and television shows in entertainment history. Warner Bros is one of the global leaders in creation, production, distribution, licensing and marketing in the entertainment industry. My day to day consists of working closely with executives on WB’s technology strategy & financial initiatives, and influencing financial initiatives, acquisitions, investments, business process changes and cost saving opportunities.”
HALEY BERKMAN KARREN ’06 Junior Associate, Kinzelman Art Consulting haley.karren@gmail.com BA, Art History & Archaeology, Washington University in St. Louis MA, Art History & Archaeology, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Prior Employer: The Menil Collection “As an art consultant, I specialize in developing and managing private and corporate art collections. I enjoy collaborating with artists directly on sitespecific commissions and working closely with clients. I am also an independent curator and arts writer.”
the kinkaid school | 4
arts & entertainment
PAIGE POE ’14 Freelance Wordsmith paigebypage@outlook.com BA, English & Theatre, Texas Christian University Prior Employers: St. John the Divine River Oaks Baptist School Casa De Novia Bridal Backslash Edits Various individuals “The best part about a writing career is that no two days are the same, and I wear a multitude of hats. As an editor, I may find myself spending the day correcting grammar, creating new content to weave paragraphs together or restructuring material. As a writer for hire, I gather research, craft outlines and create copy for different projects. I’ve worked on everything from devotional books and teaching materials to magazine articles and Instagram posts. When I’m not writing for clients, I write for myself, and my poems have been published in Brave Voices Magazine, Eleven40Seven, and the print collection Texas’ Best Emerging Poets.”
5 | alumni leadership day
banking, finance & accounting
MASON BASHAW CLELLAND ’08 Southwest Region Management Associate, Goldman Sachs mason.clelland@gmail.com BBA, Management Entrepreneurship & Spanish (Computer Applications minor), University of Notre Dame Prior Employers: Invesco, Ltd. James E. Bashaw & Co. “Most of my day is spent communicating with our Region Head, Business Unit Manager and the US Management Team about updates on the business. I also work with the private wealth management teams in the Southwest Region to help support their efforts by coordinating with other regions. I find the Private Wealth Management space to be super interesting, and really enjoy supporting our teams to do the best we can for our clients.”
NADER DAYLAMI ’06 EVP Finance & Business Development, Bruin E&P Partners naderdaylami@gmail.com BS, Economics & Mathematics, University of California, San Diego Prior Employer: Morgan Stanley “You wear many hats at a start up. I buy/ sell assets, raise capital and also do things like managing relationships with bond investors and Native American tribes.”
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banking, finance & accounting
CAROLYN DYER ’13
BYRON LANGFORD ’07
Analyst, J.P. Morgan
Associate, Lazard Frères & Co.
cldyer3@gmail.com
byron.langford@gmail.com
BBA, Business Honors & Finance, University of Texas
BA, Mathematics, Middlebury College
“I work in the Private Bank at J.P. Morgan and support a team of bankers. My role is to help the bankers cover their book of clients and work with investors, lending specialists, trust officers and other members of the team. My primary responsibility is to help analyze a client’s personal wealth and investment portfolio.”
Prior Employers: BMO Capital Markets Lime Rock Resources
7 | alumni leadership day
“I am an investment banking associate in the energy group at Lazard, which advises clients on M&A transactions, restructurings and capital raises. My responsibilities include financial modeling, client presentations and sharing our ideas with clients.”
banking, finance & accounting
KATHERINE TROPOLI PLUMB ’01 Partner, Deloitte Tax katherinetplumb@gmail.com BBA, Accounting, University of Texas MPA, University of Texas “The best part of my job is that each day is different! Each day is spent focusing on my clients and the people I work with at Deloitte. I am in Deloitte’s Corporate Tax group so I serve a lot of public and privately held corporations and partnerships. I spend the day meeting with my teams on each client account and having conference calls or live meetings with my clients. I also spend a lot of time recruiting new employees for Deloitte at the University of Texas in Austin.”
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computer science, military, security & intelligence
JAMES EILERS ’06 COO, The Akeeli Group jameseilers@gmail.com BS, Computer Science, Georgia Tech Prior Employer: United States Navy “I spent eight years as a Special Operations / Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer in the Navy. I have specialized training and operational experience in explosives, air operations, diving, security operations, risk management, crisis response and project management. I have lead teams around the world in high risk operations where initial success was the only option. I am now in the reserves with the Navy and run operations and project management for a private/business intelligence firm here in Houston.”
9 | alumni leadership day
energy / oil & gas
MARSHALL CRAWFORD ’09 Producer, Alliant Insurance Services mhcrawford3@gmail.com BBA, Marketing, University of Alabama Prior Employer: Wortham Insurance & Risk Management “I work on the brokerage side of the Energy/Marine insurance business. A typical day consists of business development, reviewing contracts, claims handling and addressing client’s needs from a risk management perspective. I also negotiate with underwriters on my client’s behalf to ensure we are providing the best terms and pricing for their insurance programs.”
KENNER SMITH FRANCIS ’10 Engineering Associate, Credit Suisse kennersfrancis@gmail.com BA, Communications (Business minor), University of Texas Prior Employer: Opportune “A member of the Acquisitions and Divestitures team, I provide technical advisory to oil and gas clients on asset and corporate M&A transactions. As an engineering technician, one looks at upstream assets and evaluates currently producing wells as well as undrilled inventory on operator’s acreage. A typical day includes analyzing oil and gas completion and production activity in all major U.S. Basins.”
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energy / oil & gas
DANIEL JENKINS ’97
HALEY EBEL O’BRIEN ’14
Vice President - Investor Relations, C&J Energy Services
Commercial Marketing Analyst, Gibson Energy
danieljenkinsiv@gmail.com
hbeobrien@gmail.com
BBA, Finance, University of Texas
BA, Education, Elon University
Prior Employers: Goodrich Petroleum Corporation Deutsche Bank Simmons & Company International Enron Corporation
“I work at an oil midstream company with our commercial trading team. I have a handful of daily tasks like monitoring our price and volumetric exposure for our risk team, tracking market prices and margins for our trading team and moving purchased crude lease barrels to capture blending differentials for our trucking and infrastructure team.”
“C&J Energy Services is one of the largest, most diversified providers of completion, well construction and production services in the U.S. land market. As the head of investor relations, my primary responsibility is to collaborate with senior management to properly communicate our company’s corporate strategy and vision to sell-side coverage analysts and buy-side institutional investors.”
11 | alumni leadership day
energy / oil & gas
DANIEL ROMERO ’04
HAYNER RUDE ’06
Principal Consultant, RS Energy Group
Business Development, Texas Brine Company
daniel.romero@rseg.com
hayner.rude@gmail.com
BA, International Studies & Spanish, University of Richmond
BA, Economics, University of Texas
Prior Employers: Wood Mackenzie Helmerich & Payne The Structure Group “RS Energy Group is a data technology and research firm focused primarily on the North America onshore upstream market. I work directly with some of the largest companies in the industry, helping them to analyze their operations and that of their competitors. I spend much of my time with my clients studying things like oil and gas well performance and company financial valuations.”
MBA & Masters of Management in Energy, Finance & Trading, Tulane University Prior Employers: Killam Oil Hunt Oil “I work for a family of companies in the salt business. We provide salt for the chemical industry and underground hydrocarbon storage in salt domes for oil companies. I spend my days working with petrochemical companies on chloralkali growth projects, major oil and gas companies on hydrocarbon storage needs, and figuring out how to expand our dry salt production for customers like HEB.”
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engineering
KEVIN CLEGG ’08
ELENI PAPPAS ’04
Director, Engineering & Underwriting, Tregan Energy
Principal Associate, Traffic Engineers, Inc.
kclegg7@gmail.com
ehpappas@gmail.com
BS, Mechanical Engineering; BA, Plan II Honors, University of Texas
BE, Civil Engineering, Vanderbilt University
Prior Employer: Chevron
MS, Civil Engineering, University of Texas
“Tregan Energy is a private equity fund that invests in oil and gas minerals. My primary role involves studying operators, forecasting well performance, and building financial models to underwrite deals. My day is split between technical work at the computer, interfacing with our sourcing and finance team, and conducting meetings with leadership to make investment decisions.
MBA, Rice University
In the years prior, I worked rotationally in the Gulf of Mexico for Chevron. This was a very hands on job that focused on construction and commissioning of an offshore drilling platform.”
13 | alumni leadership day
“As a transportation engineer and planner I spend my day trying to make Houston a more livable place. Days can include developing project deliverable, meeting with team members to ensure we are on track, exploring in the field, meeting with clients to ensure we are developing the best product for them, and sometimes lots of Excel.”
engineering
JOHN “JACK” PEDEN ’05
GLEN ALLEN WIND ’11
Software Engineer, TrustRadius
Project Engineer, Bold Production Services
jrpeden@gmail.com BA, Philosophy, University of Texas BS, Computer Science, University of Texas Prior Employer: Web.com “I write code! More formally I’m a full-stack software engineer working on feature development for TrustRadius, an Austin-based business software review startup. I work with our designers, product managers, and QA testers to turn business ideas into code that lets users do new things on our website. Additionally, I’ve worked at a variety of technology companies in Houston and Austin over the years.”
GAwind@bps-llc.com BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas Prior Employer: ExxonMobil “My primary responsibility is to provide engineering input and guidance for all Bold projects and operations. This ranges from sizing production equipment, to running process simulation for natural gas treating, to troubleshooting operational upsets. I am also responsible for new product development and product manufacturing. For new products, this entails developing an understanding of the market and the niche we are trying to fill. I am then accountable for the R&D effort to develop a product that meets that need while staying within the capital requirements to make the product profitable. For existing products, I serve as a project manager to handle vendors and suppliers engaged in the manufacturing process. There is a new challenge almost every day, which keeps things fresh and exciting.”
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entrepreneurship
KRYSTAL D. CARTER ’01
CAMPBELL CRAVENS ’12
President & Chief Cloud Enthusiast, Danny Kay Cloud
Co-Founder and CTO, auggie, Inc.
kdcarter@dannykaycloud.com Corporate Organizational Communication, University of Houston Prior Employers: Duff & Phelps ION Geophysical Chevron “My day ends and begins with checking my calendar, then it’s checking Salesforce and emails. One of the things I love about what I do is that no two days are just alike. There could be client calls, speaking engagements, several hours in the office developing cool client solutions or spending a lot of time in airports.”
15 | alumni leadership day
campbelljcravens@gmail.com BS, Advertising, University of Texas “auggie is a marketplace app that simply brings the merchandise table at concerts to fan’s smartphones. Right now we are in the exciting phase of acquiring our first customers. Previously, I would spend day and night developing the app – everything from user interface to data collection in Cloud Firestore. Now I spend days bug fixing, improving the app based on customer feedback and reaching out to advisors and potential customers for meetings. I spend nights going to concerts and events talking to artists to sell them on the idea.”
entrepreneurship
LANIE MARKHAM ’13
FRANCO SILVA ’09
Principal, Grace in Comfort
CEO, Mexssub International
graceincomfort@gmail.com
francosilva@mac.com
BS, Political Science, Baylor University BS, Political Science, University of St. Thomas in Minnesota
BA, Psychology, Tufts University
BA, Art Institute of Houston Prior Employer: LLB Traditional Design “Every day is different and every project is different! Most of what I do is custom for my clients. A couple of times a week, I’m working on a construction site with contractors and carpenters for a client building a home. I could also be at vendors for custom upholstery, tile design, paint selection, decor, custom drapery, etc. I also have many clients who want drawings of furniture plans so they can see the layout I’m picturing for their home.”
Prior Employers: Kizazi (Founder) L5 Advisors “As a strategic entrepreneur, my day to day is a balance between macro-level decision making and ground-level execution. I spend 20% of my time defining highimpact actions to take, and the remaining 80% assembling and managing the team to execute said actions. At the end of the day, knowing how to prioritize objectives and manage time are the two keys to establishing the highest level of long-term productivity.”
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entrepreneurship
CONSTANTINE ZOTOS ’13 Founder/CEO, Recharge Brewing Co. constantine@rechargebrewingco.com BSM, Finance & Art History, Tulane University Prior Employers: Bumble Pemex “A typical day begins the night before. Management plans for company (growth management), distribution and fulfillment (both kegs and compressed Nitrogen gas), budgeting (daily, monthly, quarterly), PR, HR, customer relationships, new product development and making cold brew coffee. We recently expanded our operations into Austin and Dallas – and are planning to expand into San Antonio Q1 2020. Management work 996 – 9am to 9pm, six days a week. New product development is time consuming, but essential and a large part of what keeps us ahead of the competition. Managing the growth of the company and preparing the best and readily available Nitro cold brew coffees and teas take up the most of my time.”
17 | alumni leadership day
healthcare / medicine
JEFFREY BERMAN ’08
ANDREW COSKEY ’07
Medical Resident, Baylor College of Medicine
Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, University of Texas Medical Branch
berman@bcm.edu
azcoskey@gmail.com
BA, Plan II; BBA, Business Honors, University of Texas
BS, Biology, Gettysburg College
MD, Baylor College of Medicine “A day in the life of a medical resident can vary a lot from month to month. Certain rotations are inpatient focused, and we see sick patients admitted to the hospital for various ailments. Other rotations are based in the clinic. We also rotate through various medical sub-specialties, including cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology, etc. Our daily schedule changes significantly depending on the rotation.”
MS, University of South Florida MD, University of Texas Medical Branch “As an orthopaedic surgeon, I take care of people every day doing what I love. From people with sports related injuries to people with multiple fractures, I get to treat a wide variety of patients. There is something new happening every day and that is what makes my job so fun. Even though I spend most of my time at the hospital, I have found a balance that works for my family and friends.”
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healthcare / medicine
FARYAN JALALABADI ’07
LAUREN LEAVITT-GRIFFIN ’00
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident (5th Year), Baylor College of Medicine
Emergency Medicine Physician, Signature Care Emergency Center & Memorial Hermann Hospital
fjalalabadi@gmail.com
Laulea01@aol.com
BBA, Finance (Biology minor), University of Texas
BS, Sociology, Vanderbilt University
MD, University of Texas Medical School at Houston “I round on in-house patients early in the morning, go to educational conferences, then the operating room or clinic, followed by afternoon rounds and see emergency room and hospital consults throughout the day and night. One night a week, I take hand and face trauma calls for five different hospitals in the medical center all at one time. Never a dull moment! My future interests are in microsurgery and cosmetic surgery.”
19 | alumni leadership day
MD, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine Emergency Medicine residency, University of Texas Health Sciences Center Medical School Prior Employer: Memorial Hermann Hospital TMC “My role as an emergency medicine physician is to provide immediate evaluation, diagnosis and resuscitation of acute illness and injury in both adult and pediatric patients. I perform a wide variety of procedures involved in the resuscitation and stabilization of my patients. My day is 12 hours long – whether that is day or night, weekdays or weekends, including holidays. My role as a provider is to be ready for whatever comes next though the Emergency Room doors!”
healthcare / medicine
MARGARET WATSON NESMITH ’07 Nurse Practitioner, Kelty Baker, Hematology mwnesmith@gmail.com BS, Human & Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University
LAURA SHEEDY PIPKIN ’01 Certified Physician Assistant, Complete Dermatology lsheedy@gmail.com BS, Human and Organizational Development & Spanish, Vanderbilt University
MSN, Vanderbilt University
MSPAS, Physician Assistant Studies, Baylor College of Medicine
Prior Employer: Memorial Hermann Neighborhood Health Center
Prior Employer: Bellaire Dermatology Associates
“I see patients both in clinic and in the hospital. My role involves all aspects of patient care including diagnosis, treatments and consultations. Depending on the day, I either see patients autonomously or in collaboration with my supervising doctor.”
“I assess, diagnose and treat various skin conditions (rashes, acne, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, etc.), as well as perform full skin exams trying to identify any potentially dangerous moles or growths. I focus on the medical aspect of dermatology, but my office offers comprehensive dermatologic care with cosmetic and surgical departments as well.”
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healthcare / medicine
ELIZABETH LOVE ROSS ’02 Clinical Psychologist, Private Practice/Baylor College of Medicine liz.love.ross@gmail.com BA, Psychology, University of Virginia PhD, Clinical Psychology, University of Houston Prior Employer: TIRR Memorial Hermann “I am a clinical psychologist specializing in health psychology. After five years at TIRR working on inpatient spinal cord injury and on outpatient with insomnia and pain patients, I recently transitioned into private practice. I also have a faculty position at Baylor as a pain psychologist in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. I spend the majority of my time doing individual therapy and psychological evaluations. I focus on providing clients with the skills that they need to overcome challenging situations. I also offer consultation to other medical professionals and work on a multidisciplinary team.”
21 | alumni leadership day
healthcare / medicine
law
MARY RODMAN CRAWFORD ’11
VALERIE GRAINGER HENDERSON ’04
Associate, Daniels & Tredennick
Associate Attorney - Business Litigation, Baker Donelson
maryrodmancrawford@gmail.com BS, Corporate Communication, University of Texas JD, South Texas College of Law “I am an associate at a civil litigation firm. My daily schedule varies greatly depending on what type of case I am working on and what stage of litigation the case is in. Most of my tasks revolve around various types of communications including e-mails, in-person meetings, drafting memorandums to partners, drafting and responding to discovery requests and drafting pleadings to the court. I also spend a substantial amount of time researching legal issues as they arise in each case. When I am not in the office, I am typically attending depositions or appearing in court.”
vhenderson@bakerdonelson.com BBA, Marketing & Management, Texas A&M University JD, South Texas College of Law “I represent corporate clients, mostly insurance companies, banks and financial service companies, and I typically am on the defense side of a litigation matter. I spend most of my days strategizing on how to move a case forward, drafting motions, discovery and other documents and meeting with clients and other attorneys in the firm. When I’m not in the office, I’m representing clients at hearings, depositions, mediations, arbitrations and trials. Every day in litigation is different.”
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law
law
ANDREW KLEIN ’08 Corporate Counsel, Targa Resources aklein@targaresources.com BBA, Finance, University of Alabama JD, University of Texas School of Law Prior Employer: Vinson & Elkins LLP “I advise Targa Resources, a midstream oil and gas company, on matters related to corporate governance, joint ventures, SEC compliance, securities transactions, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and secured financings. A typical day involves working with and advising Targa’s management team, treasury group, corporate and business development group and engineers on Targa’s obligations under the company’s agreements. I also spend significant time drafting and reviewing transactional documents and coordinating with other members of Targa’s legal group, outside counsel and investment bankers to facilitate and execute transactions.”
23 | alumni leadership day
BRITTANY SAKOWITZ KUSHNER ’04 Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP bsakowitz@velaw.com BA, Mass Communications, Louisiana State University JD/MBA, University of Houston Law Center Prior Employer: Baker Hostetler LLP “I assist private and public companies in mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance issues. Every day is different, but most involve reading and drafting agreements, discussing issues with clients and negotiating with buyers and sellers to come to a deal. I advise clients across a broad range of industries, including energy (upstream, midstream, oilfield services, power, marketing and trading).”
law
CASSON WEN ’06 Shareholder, Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC cassonwen@gmail.com BA, Philosophy, Emory University JD, Emory University School of Law “My law practice focuses on real estate development. I counsel developers and builders during the acquisition and development phases of residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects of various sizes. Much of my day-to-day consists of drafting or revising real estate documents and meeting with clients to discuss project development and risk management issues.”
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marketing & communications
NEHA BATAVIA AGRAWAL ’02 Director of Enrollment Marketing & Communication, Rice University n.batavia@gmail.com BA, Economics, Northwestern University MBA, Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management Prior Employers: Kantar Retail PepsiCo - Frito Lay “I market the Rice undergraduate experience to prospective students, parents and high school counselors. My job is focused on developing the strategic marketing vision to achieve enrollment goals at the university. This includes developing our brand identity, overseeing production of all marketing material (print, social, web, etc.) and determining methods to enhance the communication for the enrollment division. On a daily basis I work in close collaboration with the VP of Enrollment, the Director of Admissions, the Director of Financial Aid and Public Affairs.”
25 | alumni leadership day
AIMEE CRONFEL ’90 Strategic Marketing Consultant, Cronfel Consulting aimeec@gmail.com BA, Psychology, Davidson College MHM (Hospitality Management), University of Houston MBA (Marketing), Thunderbird Prior Employers: Mattel, Inc E&J Gallo Winery Shell Oil Company ExxonMobil “For the past three years, I have been consulting full time for ExxonMobil as a member of their retail fuels marketing team. I oversee two sponsorships (NBA and F1) in addition to a myriad of other projects ranging from budget management to custom campaign development. Prior to this role, I was the Pennzoil Marketing Manager for Shell overseeing media buying, public relations, music platform, grassroots activations, motorsports and causal marketing to ensure maximum exposure for the brand in the United States and Canada. I started my brand management career in California working for Mattel on the iconic Barbie brand and the Gallo Winery overseeing all brand activities.”
marketing & communications
JULIA WOOD HARRIS ’08
JULIA HICKMAN HOYT ’12
Marketing Development Manager, DEBNER
Chief Marketing Strategist & Founder, Hoyt Media
jcwood2012@gmail.com
julia@hoytmedia.net
BBA, Marketing, Texas A&M University
BS, Marketing, Brigham Young University
Prior Employers: Furniture Marketing Group (FMG) Sewell Automotive Companies
Prior Employers: Memorial Hermann Health System Disruptive Advertising
“As Marketing Development Manager of one of the largest commercial furniture dealerships in Houston, my day-to-day entails fostering client relationships, event planning, and brand management and marketing for DEBNER. DEBNER changes perspectives by changing environments through collaborative solutions and modern concepts. It’s not just about the furniture, it’s the way you work. We work closely with some of the largest architecture and design firms, as well as with commercial real estate brokers throughout Houston and other major markets globally.”
“Hoyt Media’s mission is to elevate your presence, tell your story in a creative way, and maximize your ROI through innovative cost-effective strategies. As the founder of a boutique digital marketing consultancy, I wear many different hats. Most of my days are spent creating and optimizing paid search and paid social advertising campaigns, developing websites and optimizing web conversion rates through UXD, writing blog posts and curating email campaigns, managing social media campaigns, and overseeing all graphic design and video projects.”
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marketing & communications
ELIZABETH ROBINSON KENDRICK ’07 Consultant Manager, Slalom Consulting erkend1088@gmail.com BA, Economics (Corporate Strategy & Financial Economics minors), Vanderbilt University Prior Employers: KPMG PwC MMI Agency “Consulting encompasses a wide variety of experiences. In my time as a consultant, I focus on helping organizations improve their effectiveness, enhance their strategy and empower their people. My day-today can include a variety of customer experience work, communications, training, change management, stakeholder engagement, culture work, etc. But most importantly, it all comes back to marketing and how you frame the task at hand for success.”
27 | alumni leadership day
non-profit & education
STEPHANIE WILKINSON COMPTON ’05 Development Associate, Breakthrough Houston steph.b.wilkinson@gmail.com BA, English, Rhodes College MA, English, University of Houston Prior Employers: Incarnate Word Academy St. John’s School Raul Yzaguirre School for Success “I absolutely love the variety of my job! During the summer, I’m responsible for gathering marketing material, managing the digital content, facilitating visitors’ days and jumping in wherever I can to help the program run smoothly. Throughout the school year, I assist with fundraising, event planning and maintaining consistent communication with our donors and families. The best part of my job is the mission: helping highachieving, deserving students gain access to competitive high schools and colleges and training college students for careers in education!”
CARLY GRAY ’12 Development Manager, Crime Stoppers of Houston carlygray17@gmail.com BBA, Marketing, Baylor University “I manage and ensure operating and capital campaign income by maintaining and expanding current funding. This includes prospecting, grant writing, cultivating new relationships and stewarding existing donor relationships. Additionally, I manage all aspects of fundraising for special events (including our annual gala) and oversee the Young Professionals Group.”
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non-profit & education
RODNEY KENNEDY ’12
EMILY SCHREIBER, CFRE ’06
Technical & Service Specialist, Millennium Relief & Development
Director of Development, Rice University
rodney.m.kennedy@gmail.com
egs.schreiber@gmail.com
BS, Computer Science, Trinity University
BA, Individualized Study, New York University
Prior Employers: iD Tech Summer Camp 24hr Fitness
MA, Non-Profit Management, University of Houston-Downtown
“I get to wear a number of hats at Millennium. In the mornings, I am taking care of daily administrative tasks and answering emails, dealing with any high priority issues that have arisen. In the afternoons I focus on development and maintenance of our database software. Throughout the day, I’ll answer phones as time allows to assist donors and clients with their questions, or deal with technical issues as they arise within the office.”
29 | alumni leadership day
“I am a Director of Development at Rice University, where I have been working with alumni and families raising philanthropic gifts for over three years. In my capacity as a major gifts officer, I am responsible for developing and implementing strategies to raise gifts of $100,000 or more to realize the goals of the university, partnering with donors who are interested in making a deep impact through their personal giving. I represent Rice in the Southeast United States, traveling 50% of each month from Maryland to Florida to Louisiana and back again.”
non-profit & education
ELLIE THOMPSON ’06 PreK Teacher, Annunciation Orthodox School elliet3488@gmail.com BS, Applied Learning & Development, University of Texas Early Literacy Leadership Academy (ELLA), Rice University Prior Employer: Peace Corps in Thailand “My day is different each day and I love it! I get to teach four and five-year olds daily with my wonderful assistant. The questions they ask direct our learning and I love helping them explore to find answers. Along with teaching at AOS, I am a part of a small group of educators at Rice University completing the ELLA program. When we meet, we discuss and analyze literacy development in early childhood.”
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real estate
JOHN FRAZIER ’08
SASHA LEVINE ’08
Broker, Baker Katz
Associate Vice President, Levcor, Inc.
j.w.frazier17@gmail.com
Slevine@levcor.com
BA, Finance, Texas Christian University
BA, International Studies & Spanish, Northwestern University
Prior Employers: Axis Tenant Advisors McCord Development
Prior Employers: CBRE UCR Urban Retail Properties
“Day-to-day my focus is retail tenant representation. Our firm’s primary business, and my core responsibility, is assisting our tenants in the development and implementation of overall market strategies. Simply put, we help retailers determine where they need to be relative to existing and future locations. This looks different for every client and requirement. Some of the analysis can be very technical, customized and data-driven, while other times it’s more standardized and straight forward.”
31 | alumni leadership day
“I joined Levcor in 2018. My responsibilities with Levcor include leasing management, retail and restaurant tenant advisory, creative repositioning, mixed-use merchandising and development strategy. Over the course of my career, I have worked with several prominent tenants, real estate developers and global REITs on business development, marketing, due diligence, site analysis, market research and transaction advisory matters. These clients include Yeti, Fox Restaurant Concepts, Total Wine, Freerange Concepts, Saint Bernard, 5.11 Tactical, Mesero Restaurant Group, Ascension Coffee and Hines, Spectrum Properties, Sueba, SFT Interests, Zimmerman Interests.”
real estate
COLLINS ORR ’14
LEXI SAKOWITZ ’07
Associate, Orr Commercial
Residential Sales Associate, John Daugherty Realtors
collins@orrinc.com BA, Government, University of Texas “Since we run a small shop, I have the opportunity to work in a lot of different aspects of commercial real estate. My main focus is on project leasing, but I also do get to help out with development and acquisitions. And I’m also involved with site selection and development of our restaurants concepts: Fajita Pete’s, TJ Reed’s, Flipper’s and Prince’s Burgers.”
lexisakowitz@gmail.com BFA, Film Production & Theatre, Chapman University Prior Employer: Reality Television Producer “I assist buyers, sellers and tenants with their residential real estate needs by negotiating contracts, getting my clients the best and fair offer or purchase price, putting together comparable market analysis, educating my clients with market knowledge and inventory; and rewardingly finding them the perfect place to call home in Houston.”
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real estate
SARAH CALLAWAY SULMA ’05 Realtor Associate, John Daugherty Realtors Scallaway@johndaugherty.com Prior Employer: Martha Turner Sothebys “Showings! Keeping up to date on the current market. Being prepared for anything – every day brings something new.”
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student notes
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schedule of events 9:45 – 10:05
Coffee & Light Breakfast, Student Life Building Front Lobby
10:10 – 10:40 Assembly, Moss Amphitheatre 10:50 – 11:20 Panel 1 11:30 – 12:00 Panel 2 12:10 – 12:40 Panel 3 12:45 – 1:25
Roundtable Luncheon, Ogilvie Lobby
The panel sessions will take place in the following rooms: 1.
Arts & Entertainment: SL 203
2.
Banking, Finance & Accounting: Anderson Room
3.
Computer Science, Military, Security & Intelligence: CEC2
4.
Energy/Oil & Gas: SL 206
5.
Engineering: Main Conference Room
6.
Entrepreneurship: SL 202
7.
Healthcare/Medicine: Moss Amphitheatre
8.
Law: Room 111 (Freshman Hall)
9.
Marketing & Communications: Character Education A
10.
Non-Profit & Education: Room 110 (Freshman Hall)
11.
Real Estate: Character Education B
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