18th Annual
ALUMNI LEADERSHIP DAY
Friday, October 20, 2023
The Kinkaid School’s 18th Annual Alumni Leadership Day Dear Class of 2024, This year we have a very impressive group of over 50 alumni returning to campus to visit with the Class of 2024 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 questions about your next steps in college and beyond. 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 2024 will take advantage of this unique opportunity. Sincerely,
Emily Dominique Alumni Activities Manager Chinna O’Suji ’11 KYPO President 2023-2024
table of contents 3 6 9 11 12 14 16 19 22 24 26 27 29 31
arts & creative banking, finance & accounting energy / oil & gas engineering entrepreneurship healthcare law marketing & communications nonprofit real estate & development sports business technology notes schedule of events
advancement office contact information EMILY DOMINIQUE Alumni Activities Manager
TOM MOORE Director of Advancement
(o) 713-243-5013 emily.dominique@kinkaid.org
(o) 713-243-5045 tom.moore@kinkaid.org
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arts & creative
JOSHUA BEN-SHOSHAN ’19
DEMETRIOS COKINOS ’10
Audio Engineer, Blackgum Media
Script Coordinator, INVASION Season 2 on Apple TV+
joshua@jabcentral.com
dcokinos@stellabelle.com
Berklee College of Music
B.S. Radio/TV/Film & English Lit (Directing minor) with Honors, Northwestern University
Prior Employers: SugarHill Recording Studios Atrium Audio
Prior Employers: HUNTERS Season 2 (Amazon Prime) INVASION Season 1 (Apple TV+) LITTLE VOICE (Apple TV+) Joshua is an LA-based recording/mixing/ DICKINSON (Apple TV+) mastering engineer. He is an audio engineer MASTER OF NONE Season 1 (Netflix) for Blackgum Media, working at Vevo Studios UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT Los Angeles with artists such as Khalid, Seasons 1-4 (Netflix) Niall Horan, Tori Kelly, and Cypress Hill. 30 ROCK Season 7 (NBC) While continuing his work with Blackgum, I work as a script coordinator in the writers’ Joshua has recently begun assisting producer room for the large-scale, globally-filmed and engineer Kevin McCombs (Papa Roach, sci-fi epic INVASION on Apple TV+. I Sueco, Illenium) at The Steakhouse Studio in am the last person to lay eyes on the script before it is distributed to our crew and later North Hollywood. filmed. I am the right hand to and conduit of the Showrunner and writers’ room to both the studio and production, making sure that the scripts are distributed to the cast, crew, and studio and understood correctly by the crew. I coordinate the writing and revision process, while also proofreading, editing, noting continuity between scenes and episodes, managing translators, and serving as an encyclopedia for the show at large, answering questions the crew may have about scripts/episodes. I do my best to be a robust resource for the show and our fantastic team. In addition, I own and operate my own production company, Stellabelle, where I write, direct, and produce original films. 3 | alumni leadership day
arts & creative
GRAHAM CRUSER MARSH ’14 Founder and CEO, Cruser Music & Calhoun Studios grahamcruser@gmail.com B.S. Music Industry, University of Southern California Prior Employer: Ableton Graham is a LA-based mixing engineer. After working as the Head of Artist Relations for North America at Ableton for 5 years, he shifted to mixing full time and pursuing a mentorship with mixer Jon Castelli (Harry Styles, Khalid, Summer Walker) who he frequently co-mixes tracks alongside. In the past 2 years, he has worked with prolific artists such as Alessia Cara, Kobe Bryant, Ryan Lewis, Zara Larsen, Zack Bia, Echosmith, Marc E Bassy, Felly, RMR, Mills, Hablot King Mala, Brown, Clay, Hans Zimmer, Haven, Y2K, Killy, Voila, sAlissa Benveniste, Sophie Pecora, Nate Traveller, Trip Carter, Sofi Dossi, and Mikey Ferrari. Some of Graham’s most notable releases include Clay & Alessia Cara’s “When The Sun Goes Down,” Mills’ “OTW,” and Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” (Zack Bia Remix).
MALLORY MOORE FERNANDEZ ’07 Project Designer, Jennifer Barron Interiors mallory@jbarroninteriors.com B.S. Medicine, Health & Society, Vanderbilt University Master’s of Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Prior Employers: Texas Children’s Hospital Legacy Community Health Services, KIPP Care Mallory recalls an early attraction to all things beautiful as a child. With a desire to see and know more about people, she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Medicine, Health and Society, and later, a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University. After 5 years of working in the medical industry, Mallory chose to pursue her innate passion for interior design and joined Jennifer’s firm in September 2017. Mallory is committed to creating authentic spaces that truly reflect the individual, often drawing upon texture and tone-on-tone palettes to characterize her environment. She draws inspiration from her travels abroad that have lent her unforgettable glimpses of historical, globally relevant design. When Mallory is not in the studio, you’ll find her walking her lab mix, Georgia, and spending time with her husband and son, Charley.
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arts & creative
MEG MARINIS VERNON ’02 Showrunner / Executive Producer of GREY’S ANATOMY marinis.m@gmail.com B.A. Radio-Television-Film & Plan II, Honors The University of Texas at Austin Meg Marinis is the Showrunner and Executive Producer on ABC’s GREY’S ANATOMY, television’s longest-running prime time medical drama. She began her career as a Writer’s Production Assistant during the show’s third season and has spent nearly two decades working her way from PA to EP, serving as writer’s assistant and medical research before being promoted to staff writer. She has penned more than 25 episodes, including the show’s 350th episode which featured a retrospective of the titular Dr. Meredith Grey’s medical career. As Showrunner, Meg oversees all aspects of story-telling and production at GREY’S, ranging from props and set design to music and editing in the final show.
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banking, finance & accounting
MAGGIE BREMER CLARK ’12
MARY LABANOWSKI ’16
Associate Manager & CPA, Siegfried Group
Private Equity Associate, KKR & Co. Inc.
angelikamaggieclark@gmail.com
mary.labanowski@gmail.com
B.A. Accounting, Baylor University MAcc, Baylor University
B.S. Business Administration, The University of Southern California
Prior employer: PwC
Prior employer: Morgan Stanley
I started in the assurance practice with PwC Houston before transitioning to the Siegfried Group. At PwC, I worked on year-end and employee benefit plan audits for large public oil and gas companies. At Siegfried, I work alongside financial executives across the nation on their most important accounting and finance projects (i.e. internal/external audit, financial reporting, technical accounting, budgeting and forecasting, controllership, IPO readiness, mergers and acquisitions, system implementations). Recent engagements include local projects with Sysco Foods in their internal audit department and National Oilwell Varco in their intercompany accounting group. I also worked with Blackboard Inc. in their revenue accounting department where I worked on monthly revenue analysis and also business combination accounting for the Blackboard/Anthology merger. I enjoy working in client services as it has given me the opportunity to expand my network and see new areas/industries. I also serve as a Team Leader; I mentor other professional resources in our firm as they navigate their own client projects.
I am a private equity associate in the Energy Real Assets group at KKR. A typical day as an associate consists of evaluation and execution of new investment opportunities in addition to portfolio management of existing assets within the business.
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banking, finance & accounting
RICKY PERUSQUIA ’11
MARCUS ROLLS ’04
Vice President, CAZ Investments
Executive Director Greater Houston Area Market Leader, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
rickyperusquia@gmail.com B.A. Economics, The University of Texas, MBA, University of Virginia Prior Employers: Credit Suisse Dimensional Fund Advisors We are a private investment firm with several investors across the US. I spend my time in three ways: 1. Finding, doing diligence on, and monitoring investments; 2. Meeting with existing investors to go through their investments with us; 3. Meeting with prospective investors to discuss investing with us. A typical day consists of two-to-three meetings with existing and prospective investors either in person or on Zoom, and the rest of the time, I review and prepare materials for prospective investments to help decide if we will participate.
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Marcus.Rolls@morganstanley.com B.A. Economics, Southern Methodist University Prior Employers: Wells Fargo Advisors JPMorgan Chase & Co. Marcus manages a branch in West Houston with supervisory duties over the Sugar Land and Woodlands offices as well. In this role, he works with both financial professionals and support staff to help deliver the full firm to their clients. He is a results driven, growth-focused, transformational leader with 10+ years of experience leading business development and navigating complex operational challenges. He joined Morgan Stanley from JP Morgan Chase where he was a Regional Director of Chase Wealth Management overseeing over 232 bank branch locations. Prior, he worked at Morgan Stanley as a Branch Manager, Associate Complex Manager, Business Development Manager and Financial Advisor. He also sat on several regional and national councils.
banking, finance & accounting
MATTIE RUTHERFORD THOMPSON ’07 Vice President, Finance, TES US Development Mattiebellrthompson@gmail.com B.A. Economics, Vanderbilt University Prior employer: Barclays Capital I oversee the finance organization for a global renewable energy start-up. Our company is supporting the global decarbonization efforts through the production of green hydrogen and electric natural gas. I am responsible for all internal and external financial reporting, accounting, capital planning, cash management, shareholder relations, capital markets, and human resources activity. A typical day involves speaking with prospective investors and lenders, managing project execution deliverables, preparing internal reports, and preparing marketing materials for the business. I started my career in investment banking at Barclays, where I advised Oil & Gas clients on mergers and acquisitions, equity capital raises, and debt capital raises.
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energy / oil & gas
CHRISTOS PAPANDREOU ’18
ANDREW RUBENSTEIN ’12
Analyst, J.P. Morgan
Associate – Corporate Development, Buckeye Partners, L.P.
christospapandreou12@gmail.com B.A. Economics, The University of Chicago I cover the energy clients with revenue greater than $500 million. Primarily, my clients are midstream and exploration and production companies headquartered throughout the United States. In my role at J.P. Morgan I serve as a relationship manager and assist in the origination and syndication of credit facilities and capital markets (debt and equity) issuances. I also spend a fair bit of my time working with product partners so they can market their products to clients, most commonly commodity derivatives.
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andrewrubenstein4@gmail.com B.B.A. Finance, The University of Texas Prior Employers: UBS Investment Bank Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. I work in Buckeye’s Corporate Development group evaluating commercial, acquisition, and divestiture opportunities. We review opportunities both in the traditional petroleum logistics sub-sector as well as in alternative energy sub-sectors such as renewables, carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen, biofuels and liquefied natural gas.
energy / oil & gas
MOLLIE SCHALL ’01 Government & Community Affairs Manager, Crestwood Midstream Partners LP
GEORGIANA SMYSER ZEHNER ’07 Senior Vice President, Orion Infrastructure Capital
mollie.schall@gmail.com
georgiana@oic.com
B.A. Plan I Liberal Arts Honors, English, The University of Texas at Austin
B.A. Dartmouth College J.D. /MBA The University of Texas at Austin
Prior Employers: Korn Ferry Apache Corporation Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Prior Employers: Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs
After graduating from college in 2005, Mollie worked on Capitol Hill for two years and then served as Press Secretary to Congressman John Culberson. She then moved from the federal to state government, serving as Administrative and Communications Director for State Senator Joan Huffman for two legislative sessions. On the private side, Mollie worked as a governmental affairs associate for Apache Corporation before moving to her current role at Crestwood Equity Partners in Houston, where she manages all aspects of the company’s government relations program.
Georgiana Zehner is Senior Vice President at OIC where she is responsible for the evaluation, due diligence, execution, and monitoring of investments. OIC is a middle-market focused private credit and equity infrastructure investment firm with approximately $3.5bn in AUM. Georgiana is a member of the ESG Committee. Prior to joining OIC, Georgiana was a Vice President in the Natural Resources Group of Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division, where she provided M&A and financing advisory services to Goldman’s upstream, midstream, oil field services, and energy transition clients. Previously Georgiana was a Management Associate with Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund based in Westport, CT. the kinkaid school | 10
engineering
CAMILLE PANACCIONE LOZERON ’08
DAVID ZUMMO ’06 Vice President – Projects, Wood
Engineering Program Manager, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
dzummo@gmail.com
clozeron@gmail.com
B.S. Mechanical Engineering and B.A. Plan II, The University of Texas
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Rice University Prior employers: MOGAS Industries Blue Apron Chevron I am an Engineering Program Manager for HPE. Working for a global technology company in a dynamic, ever-changing environment is extremely engaging and can be challenging. I manage schedules, coordinate with stakeholders and project teams across the globe, solve problems every day, and lead and support efforts to improve processes and systems. I have a wide variety of project management experience from previous roles in different industries and am able to bring a unique perspective. I love working for HPE!
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Prior employer: UniversalPegasus International I lead teams that design and build complex industrial projects. This involves engaging with customers and suppliers to understand their needs and industry trends, then developing project teams to turn concepts into operating facilities. A typical day includes working with other engineers and business leaders to solve problems, learning about new technologies and identifying ways to apply them with our teams, and testing new approaches to more effectively deliver projects.
entrepreneurship
KATE HINNANT ’16
JESSICA SILVER LEV ’04
Founder/Principal, Monarch Atelier & Owner/Editor, The Scout Guide Houston
Owner, Jessica Lev Antiques
kathrynhinnant@monarchatelier.org
B.A. Duke University MBA Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
B.S. Visualization and Minor in Marketing & Business, Texas A&M University No day in the life of a Chief of Staff is ever the same! As a member of the leadership team, I work side by side with the C-Suite to align our organizational objectives, drive strategic effectiveness, and ensure top-down communication is managed in a timely manner. My projects range anywhere from strategic re-structuring of business lines and operating companies, to marketing initiatives and event execution, to innovation consulting and mentorship. My job is truly one of a kind!
jessica@jessicalevantiques.com
Prior employers: Bain and Company, Houston I work with interior designers, and I specialize in custom antique furniture and decorative arts sourcing. I also hold select inventory in decorative smalls, like antique books, boxes, and porcelain. I buy antiques from all over the world and collaborate with designers to place them in their perfect homes!
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entrepreneurship
LAILEE TAGHDISI ’11 Founder, LT Consulting lailee.taghdisi@gmail.com B.A. Entrepreneurship & Spanish, Vanderbilt University Prior Employers: Hillstone Jean Georges, Sweetgreen, Parade After 8 years in the hospitality industry from kitchen management, to regional management, to opening 30 restaurants, and supporting the sweetgreen team through IPO, I shifted gears during COVID. I learned a new skill and went into the D2C space working for a seed round company, Parade; Parade is one of the fastest growing companies of all time. We sold in August 2023 after scaling to $50M+ in revenue. I realized two things drove me: 1. People and 2. Problem Solving. Creating my own consulting firm seemed like a perfect fit. Every day looks different. I support 3-4 clients at a time. Now, I am helping open a restaurant in Miami, supporting a founder of a Series A company that has travel capsules, operationalizing a low proof vodka startup, and helping fundraise and hire an exec team for a food waste company. My goal was always to work for myself and on my own schedule. I get to choose the projects I work on and learn from each of them! 13 | alumni leadership day
healthcare
KATIE BANNER ’14
SARAH HARRIS OSTER ’14
Resident Physician, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Senior Project Manager of System Patient Access, Houston Methodist
kabanner@comcast.net B.S.A. Chemistry & Plan II Honors, The University of Texas at Austin MD The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
saraheharris21@gmail.com B.A. Psychology, Indiana University Master of Public Health, Healthcare Management, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Prior employer: Baylor College of Medicine A day in the life as a healthcare administrator can vary depending on the project I am working on. My job consists of coordinating and implementing projects that improve the lives of our physicians and patients. My goal is to improve access to our services across the entire hospital system which includes 7 hospitals and over 300 outpatient clinics. My day consists of meeting with physicians, other administrators, and stakeholders in each project to determine how to move things forward, putting out fires, and analyzing data. I work on projects ranging from major innovations that affect the entire system to smaller projects that may improve the lives of one primary care clinic and its patients. My goal is to innovate and make the healthcare experience easy and efficient for all patients, new and established. the kinkaid school | 14
healthcare
MEAGAN ZWAHLEN ROBINSON ’12
ABIGAIL SMITH ZAMORANO ’05
Pediatric Oncology Registered Nurse, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Assistant Professor - Gynecologic Oncology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
meaganzwahlen@yahoo.com Registered Nurse Bachelor of Science in Nursing Being a pediatric oncology nurse at MD Anderson was my dream since I was a young girl. Once I graduated nursing school and started my dream job, I realized I hadn’t thought beyond that goal. It wasn’t until I gained experienced in my profession, I realized how much I could do in this role: inpatient nursing day shift and night shift, working in a clinic, being a charge nurse, lobbying for nursing policy changes, quality improvement projects, and presenting at conferences! The best part is being the front-line person for your patients and families. You are the one giving them time, care, emotional support, education, etc. At the end of every work day, I can honestly say I have made a positive difference in someone’s day and that is so special and unique to nursing!
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abigail.s.zamorano@gmail.com B.A. Religion; Spanish Certificate, Princeton University MD, University of Texas Southwestern MPHS, Washington University in St. Louis Prior Employers: Plan Uganda Washington University in St. Louis I have clinic one day a week and operate two to three days per week. Gynecologic Oncology is a fascinating field because I do patients’ initial cancer surgery and then manage their chemotherapy. When not working clinically, I research health disparities in gynecologic cancers and manage our division’s clinical trials.
law
HANNAH FRED BRADLEY ’12
MORGAN LATIN ’08
Attorney, Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP
Trial Associate, Nachawati Law Group
hannah.fred.bradley@gmail.com B.A. Corporate Communications, University of Houston J.D. Summa Cum Laude, South Texas College of Law Houston Prior Employer: Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP I serve as general counsel and bond counsel for special purpose districts that provide for the financing and construction of water, sewer, drainage, road, and recreational facilities and other development infrastructure in Houston and surrounding areas. A typical day includes reviewing contracts between developers and local governments, as well as leading public board meetings for special purpose districts.
mlatin@ntrial.com B.A. Urban Studies, Trinity University M.A. Teaching, Relay Graduate School of Education J.D. South Texas College of Law Houston Prior employers: City of Houston KIPP Public Schools I am a trial associate for a firm that primarily brings lawsuits on behalf of individuals who allege that a manufacturer’s product contributed to the cause of their injury. Throughout the day I take and defend depositions of fact witnesses and doctors, draft and argue various motions, and investigate documents for key facts that help prove our cases. I read scientific literature related to the likelihood that certain products contribute to cause diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and cancer. My favorite part of my job is trial. Trial is the pinnacle of my job, and despite very long hours in a different state, it improves everything else I do as a lawyer.
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law
CHRISTINA ROGERS ROBERTSON ’07
BRITTANY SAKOWITZ ’04
Associate Counsel, The Friedkin Group
Private Equity and M&A Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
christina.rogers.robertson@gmail.com
brittany.sakowitz@kirkland.com
B.A. Political Science & Spanish, Vanderbilt University J.D. Washington & Lee University School of Law
B.A. Communication & Journalism, Louisiana State University JD University of Houston Law Center MBA Finance & Energy, University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business
Prior Employer: Winston & Strawn LLP The Friedkin Group is a privatelyheld consortium of businesses and investments in the automotive, hospitality, entertainment, sports, and adventure space, including Gulf States Toyota, Auberge Resorts Collection, AS Roma soccer club, Diamond Creek Golf Club, Imperative Entertainment, and Legendary Adventures. I support the Family Office legal team in a wide range of areas including mergers and acquisitions, investments, finance, corporate governance, and philanthropic activities. A typical day involves providing legal advice to support the vision and strategic objectives of the enterprise and coordinating the negotiation, documentation, and implementation of various transactions in furtherance thereof. 17 | alumni leadership day
Prior Employers: Baker & Hostetler LLP Vinson & Elkins LLP Brittany is a corporate partner in the Houston and Austin offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, concentrating her practice on mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Brittany advises private equity and venture capital investors, their portfolio companies, and other public and private companies across a broad range of industries, including infrastructure, energy and energy-related services, renewables, technology and digital infrastructure. She primarily counsels clients on public and private M&A transactions, growth equity, private financing transactions and other corporate matters.
law
CARLTON WILDE ’07 Senior Counsel, Bracewell LLP cd.wilde@bracewell.com B.B.A. The University of Mississippi J.D. South Texas College of Law I am a trial lawyer focusing on complex commercial litigation and insurance recovery in state and federal courts throughout the country. I represent a variety of entities in the energy, construction, consumer products, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and waste disposal industries, among others. My days vary, which is one of the reasons I enjoy my career. On a given day I may be preparing for a hearing or trial, deposing a fact or expert witness, or meeting with clients to discuss litigation strategy and other business considerations. A lot of my time is spent leading my trial team and ensuring that other lawyers on the team are doing their part to fulfill our clients’ goals.
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marketing & communications
NEHA BATAVIA AGRAWAL ’02
KATHERINE CUNNINGHAM ’09
Director of Enrollment Strategy, Marketing & Communication, Rice University
Client Relations Director, Fountain Forward International
n.batavia@gmail.com B.A. 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.
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ksc1776@gmail.com B.A. Psychology & Theatre minor, Bryn Mawr College Prior Employer: Alley Theatre As the Client Relations Director of an automotive data analytics and digital marketing firm, I head up the team in charge of onboarding, service delivery, and customer satisfaction for 50+ automotive clients. My day-to-day consists of overseeing the management, training, and communication of our Client Success Managers with their clients, ensuring we are doing the best job at driving demand to the client’s website, making sure that demand converts into a lead once it lands on their website, or figuring out why it doesn’t. The final piece is that we advise clients with actionable next steps based on their own data to improve sales and reach their target goals.
marketing & communications
ABBY LESTIN ’05
ALEXIS ROBERTS ’12
Conference Sales Coordinator/Event Producer, France Media/Interface Conferences
Design & Development Manager Texas, 360 Destination Group
abby.lestin@gmail.com B.A. Communications & Public Relations, University of Arizona Prior Employers: REJournals / REDnews FreeRange Concepts DISH SOCIETY Houston Business Journal Abby brings 15+ years of multi-faceted restaurant, catering, event, sales and marketing experience. She has held tenure as an event sales manager at celebrated restaurants and venues across Houston, soliciting business, coordinating logistics and executing both large and smaller-scale events. Her pursuit to bring new clients and ideas to the France Media team is substantiated by her business development experience in addition to a desire to provide genuine hospitality and exceed expectations. Working for an acclaimed local business publication and in the special events field have strengthened her passion to prioritize and maintain her relationships with her clients. In her role, Abby coordinates turn-key events and generating sales leads in addition to implementing marketing goals and sponsor commitment fulfillment.
alexis.roberts@360dg.com B.S. Hospitality and Restaurant Management, The University of Arkansas Prior Employers: Porter Hedges LLP Aztec Events & Tents 360 Destination Group is a Destination Management Company (DMC) that takes stuffy corporate events and puts an innovative spin on them. We handle all logistics and organization, while blending together carefully thought-out event concepts. I generate proposals for our clients based on their event parameters. This is my favorite part! I get to be extra creative and find the perfect vendors to help make our client’s vision come to life. A typical day for me includes checking availability and pricing with vendors/ venues, putting proposals together with pricing and inspiration photos, attending site visits with clients, and depending on the size of the event, sometimes assisting onsite. I also keep a pulse on all the new and exciting restaurants and venues in Houston so we can continue to bring fresh ideas to our clients. the kinkaid school | 20
marketing & communications
MARSHALL SHAFFER ’11 Associate Director, Paid Social Media, Ogilvy mls4615@gmail.com B.A. Communication & Sociology, Wake Forest University Prior employer: Integrate Agency I began at Ogilvy in 2018 as a social media planner out of the New York office and helped to build out the new paid social media offerings for a suite of health and wellness clients. As media grew beyond just social into its own practice within the agency to encompass a broader range of digital tactics, I kept a foot in both worlds to demonstrate how content creation and media distribution go hand-in-hand on social. As an end-to-end specialist, I oversee media campaigns from strategy and planning as well as through to optimization and reporting.
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nonprofit
ALEXA LEACH ’09
MARY WAKEFIELD NEWALL ‘05
Advancement Services Manager, The Kinkaid School
Senior Associate Director, Philanthropy – The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
alexa.leach@kinkaid.org B.B.A. Marketing, The University of Texas at Austin Prior Employer: Vinson & Elkins LLP My role can be described as “air traffic controller” of our fundraising team and the School’s comprehensive campaign. Organization and efficient multi-tasking are a must! I prep our gift officers with research, data, and strategy and keep them on track to hit our fundraising goals through reporting and metrics tracking. I serve as liaison between various groups working on different parts of the campaign. I work closely with our business office, gift records/database team, volunteers, donors, campaign consultant, advertising firm, construction team, architects, etc. I coordinate all campaign meetings and am responsible for implementing and maintaining all campaign documents and processes. I assist with campaign communications, donor stewardship, events, and help the Director of Advancement with special projects.
Mwnewall@mdanderson.org BBA, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin Prior Employer: JPMorgan Private Bank I serve as a major gifts officer dedicated to obtaining significant transformational philanthropic support by matching donor interests with funding priorities of MD Anderson. I manage a diverse portfolio of prospects by building strong relationships and executing tailored fundraising strategies in order to secure six and seven figure gifts. I then collaborate with faculty to determine the appropriate use of philanthropic funds on behalf of donors.
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nonprofit
SARAH ATNIPP PARTIN ‘08 Senior Development Officer, Texas Public Policy Foundation spartin@texaspolicy.com B.A. Political Science, University of Mississippi Prior employers: Holloway Consulting Museum of Fine Arts, Houston I have 10+ years’ experience in political and non-profit fundraising. As a Development Officer, I am responsible for developing and executing fundraising initiatives and programs to help achieve our organization’s overall mission and goals. My job varies day-to-day, but usually involves some researching, prospecting, cultivating, and managing relationships with donors, as well as coordinating events around the state. I regularly meet with current and prospective supporters to share our policy work and keep them involved with the organization. Some days I am in meetings with donors and other days I might be in meetings with governors or state legislators to discuss policy solutions.
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real estate & development
JIM HUMPHRIES ’07
STEPHANIE VAN WALKER ’08
Director, JLL Capital Markets
Vice President, Enterra Homes
jim.humphries@jll.com
swalker@enterrahomes.com
B.B.A. Managerial Finance & Real Estate, University of Mississippi
B.S.B.A. Marketing, Organization + Human Resources, Washington University in St. Louis
Prior employers: HFF Colliers International As an advisor with our Capital Markets platform, my job is to act as a liaison between operators of investment real estate, their partners and the market writ large. My specific concentration is dispositions, but my team helps our clients with all points of the investment deal cycle, from raising investment capital and financing assets to liquidations or the occasional acquisition. My daily activities cover: strategy, personnel management, project management, client communications, financial analysis, negotiations and business development.
Working for a small company, I have several different roles. My day-to-day responsibilities include market research, land search and planning, interior and exterior design, and overseeing our accounting and customer service departments. Home building is truly a business of fine details so I am constantly reviewing work in both the planning and execution stages in order to fine tune and improve whatever I can.
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real estate & development
WILLIAM PADON ’07
DAWSON SMITH ’15
Senior Vice President, CBRE, Inc.
Associate Broker, Avison Young
william.padon@cbre.com
dawson.smith@avisonyoung.com
B.B.A, University of Georgia Real Estate Masters, Texas A&M University
B.S. Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University
I am a commercial real estate broker with CBRE. I primarily focus on helping large corporate clients with finding office space, but have also been involved in building new buildings for clients such as Marathon Oil and selling large pieces of land for Occidental Petroleum. There is no typical day in my business as it could be anything from client entertainment to lease negotiation to construction meetings to running financial models.
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Prior Employer: Shell Oil Company I specializing in leasing and sales for the industrial and office sectors in the Greater Houston market. I help my clients align their business strategies and real estate needs by providing data-driven market analysis, space/site optimization, economic advising, transaction management, and leading deal negotiations. When not serving existing clients, I spend time on business development and bringing new clients to our firm.
sports business
ANTHONY HARRISON ’05
GREG LABANOWSKI ’13
Community Engagement, Los Angeles Rams
Strategy & Portfolio Manager – Marketplace Operations, Nike
Tonydrewharrisonjr@gmail.com
greg.labanowski@gmail.com
B.S. Finance, Louisiana Tech University M.S. Athletic Administration, Concordia University Irvine
B.S. Business Administration, The University of Southern California MBA, The University of Texas at Austin
Prior Employers: Los Angeles Dodgers Warner Bros. Entertainment LSU Football Occidental Petroleum Episcopal High School (Football Coach) I absolutely love what I do! I am passionate about sports and its ability to change the world. My job is to utilize my platform and create as much change as possible. That change is centered around social justice initiatives, charitable donations, inner city involvement along with activating football camps and cheer clinics in the greater Los Angeles area.
Prior Employers: Playfly Premier Partnerships United States Tennis Association I lead strategy and portfolio for a 30+ person function called Marketplace Operations (MPO) with a focus on Asia Pacific & Latin America (APLA) Marketplace Supply Chain. In strategy, my team develops and implements strategic planning inputs aligned to enterprise growth goals – this includes a three-year corporate strategic review, one-year annual operating plan, and other activities throughout the fiscal year. Portfolio responsibilities include driving an integrated program management and investment framework across a network of six territories (Mexico, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia & India, Pacific, and Central & South America).
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technology
RODNEY KENNEDY ’12 Technology Services Manager, Millennium Relief and Development Services rkennedy@mrds.org B.S. Computer Science, Trinity University Prior Employers: iD Tech Camps 24hr Fitness Working at a non-profit that specializes in administration means I’m constantly wearing multiple hats. I have a steady set of responsibilities each morning (check for any client emergencies, generate expense reports, get funds out to our projects, etc). Additionally I lead our team of technology specialists in development and maintenance projects. That involves facilitating regular meetings with our tech team, development and maintenance on our back office tool, as well as troubleshooting any tech issues our clients are having. When those aren’t on my plate, I’m strategizing with our team about how we can optimize our own services, develop better systems for our tech team, or collaborate more effectively with other departments. Each day presents new sets of problems needing solutions, so the work never dulls. 27 | alumni leadership day
STEPHANIE KEINZ SCHNEIDER ’10 Vice President, Cyber Threat Intelligence Nation-State Lead, Bank of America Stephanie.keinz@gmail.com B.A. from St. Edward’s University M.A. from George Washington University Prior employers: Atlantic Council International Studies Abroad (now WorldStrides) Stephanie analyzes the intersection of international affairs and cyber threats to identify potential threats to the US financial sector. Cyber threat intelligence is about collecting and analyzing data to understand why cyber adversaries do what they do so we can prepare for what’s next. Stephanie is responsible for developing strategy and production for nation-state and emerging cyber threats and also serves as the Russia analytic lead.
technology
SOPHIA SOLE ’17
BUCK TOWER ’16
Strategic Finance Manager, Scale AI
Software Engineer, Verily
sophiamariesole@gmail.com
buck@bucktower.net
B.S. Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University M.S. Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University
B.S. Computer Science & Business Minor, The University of Texas at Austin
Prior Employer: Morgan Stanley Scale is an AI company whose product helps customers train their own AI models, such as GPT-4. I partner with the leadership team to develop KPIs, track performance against those metrics, and assist strategic decision-making. I spend my time on: Financial Reporting - we maintain a pulse on the business so we stay on track to achieve our goals and can adjust our strategy as needed. My reporting work includes a monthly presentation to the CFO, a quarterly P&L, and weekly headcount reviews. Business Partnership - our team helps leaders across the company with their strategic planning and forecasting efforts to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed. I work most closely with our HR, Legal, Engineering, and government-focused teams. Special Projects - we create financial models for ad hoc projects.I’ve analyzed the costs of international expansion, new employee benefits packages, and employee equity grants.
Prior employers: Robinhood, Atlassian, Silvercar I work as a software engineer on the Pathology Team within the Verily AI org developing oncology-related tools. Previously, we worked on a video portal using AI to analyze videos of colonoscopies. Now, I’m working on creating a microscopy image viewer that we plan to also integrate with our algorithms to identify cancerous growths of cells in a massive (>10GB) digital pathology slide image that zooms to 40x to the cellular level. Our team works in two week “sprints”. Every day we have a stand-up meeting to report progress and ask cross-functional questions, and have demos at the end of each sprint to show what we’ve been working on. The rest of the time is spent in meetings, writing code, or working on design docs. Alphabet is hybrid-remote so I’m in Google SF Monday and Friday and bus down to the Mountain View campus to be with the rest of my team Tuesday thru Thursday. the kinkaid school | 28
student notes
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student notes
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schedule of events 8:45 – 9:00 Check-in
9:00 – 9:30 Assembly, Moss Amphitheatre 9:45 – 10:15 Panel 1 10:25 – 10:55 Panel 2 11:05 – 11:35 Panel 3 11:40 – 12:30 Roundtable Luncheon, Ogilvie Lobby
The panel sessions will take place in the following rooms: 1. Arts & Creative Panel: Character Education A
2. Banking, Finance & Accounting Panel: Moss Amphitheatre 3. Energy/Oil & Gas Panel: Photography Center 4. Engineering Panel: Classroom 203
5. Entrepreneurship Panel: Orchestra Room 6. Healthcare Panel: Classroom 202 7. Law Panel: Debate Center
8. Marketing & Communications Panel: Classroom 206 9. Non-profit Panel: Student Publication Room
10. Real Estate & Development Panel: Brass Recital Hall 11. Sports Business Panel: Digital Filmmaking Room 12. Technology Panel: Main Conference Room
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