Nicholas Vaughan, MBA ’09, tells us about his times with McCombs and gives us an update on his career and future aspirations in the medical world. Nicholas currently serves on the MBA Advisory Board and is CEO at PAZ Veterinary.  

Tell us about your experience as a student here at McCombs. 

I rolled into McCombs at the ripe age of 33, excited to be learning again in a structured manner. I still had a pliable frame of mind, and it was a good time to be surrounded by intellectuals that had an opinion. My favorite group I was involved with was the one that got to class early so we could have first run at the tacos brought in by Juan in a Million! There was nothing more fun than starting a Friday with Dr. Jemison covering an interesting case review, current news, and high finance all in one class while having great coffee and a true breakfast taco. It made the experience LOCAL, GLOBAL, and very much AUSTIN—all in one big learning process that definitely counted as higher education, but felt closer to a large network where you held yourself accountable. Dr. Doggett was by far my most influential professor. His teaching style was a good fit for my learning style and most of his “biz stories” still resonate with me today and made me an unconventional creative when it comes to business. 

How did your educational experience change you? 

It added a lot of respect to my education portfolio.  I attended Louisiana Tech for undergraduate and although my program was challenging—bio medical engineering—I could sense that many colleagues that I worked with at large corporations took me a bit more seriously once I received a degree from UT. You could tell it elevated my game from a paper standpoint, and that gave me a lot more confidence to ask for more challenges. That is my ego answer and of course it lines up with my academic answer; I was able to prove that my degree was not in vain, and the UT program gave me new friendships, new perspectives, and a diverse way of looking at specific problems. It was the first time I had worked at such a high level with backgrounds from all over—it was not a homogenous group at McCombs, and to this day, it’s been hard to replicate how rich that network was for me. 

Please provide a brief summary of your career path since graduating. 

I did some things with Purina that even to this day are still developing and releasing to the public. My 50 page business review was (at that time) received by the CEO and Vice President of our Vet division—and I am pretty sure they thought I was crazy because of some of the ideas, but I have been told a lot of them have been action items over the last few years. That has been gratifying to find out, but the real fun came from using the MBA to leverage investing in myself. It was easier for me to have conversations with high officials in banking, etc., and added to my profile so I could start my own business. It gave me a leg up on competition and I have been able to grow a company valued at over $25 million dollars in just 5 years—and it was all on a $300,000 loan that was offered to me by Citibank, and I know for a fact the UT MBA was one of the components that sold my idea. 

What are you most proud of in your career so far?  

The ability to create culture as I see it in my work place. It’s a natural fit that enjoys profitability but not at the expense of employee happiness.  

Has your career path played out the way you expected?  

I have been more successful than I imagined and have had more opportunities offered than I would have dreamed—being a consultant, helping non-profits, and I’m even in development for an educational TV show.  

How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?  

Many of the alums in my class—who I am either somehow aligned with through a business venture or as part of a local network of coffee drinkers—I still see and we talk about local business, global markets, and crack up laughing at what we though we knew in 2009. The family and I still go to basketball, baseball, and football games. My wife and I also stay involved by donating to the arts at Blanton, and anytime UT or McCombs reaches out to me to help current students with projects, mentoring, etc., I am all over it. I currently serve as a member of the McCombs MBA board. My hope is to get more time in the next few years so I can dedicate myself completely to the cause of teaching sustainable business and being a diverse mentor for students coming through the program. 

How have you personally benefited from being a part of the network?  

I am a veterinarian first, so it’s always nice to know that my fellow class mates come visit my practice for pet health, but beyond that, I have had a chance to prove my entrepreneurial worth and when you couple that with the fact I am a McCombs graduate, it has really opened up a different set of opportunities. I have not been pigeon holed into only being a marketer, only being a doctor, etc.—it has allowed full visibility on what I can bring to an organization as a vision seeker 

What are your goals for the future? 

Goals include spreading our brand of medicine beyond Austin and hopefully having an influence on human medicine. I am already starting to see some of our approach being adopted by human physicians, which is encouraging.  We have a strong reputation of making medicine less fear-based and more about healing from within and focusing on mental health first as it leads to better physical health. 

Any other community involvement, hobbies or tidbits you’d like to share?  

I’m a busy father of 3 young dudes, so I am active in anything Zilker and PTA. I also t-ball coach with South Austin Little League and basketball coach at the YMCA and WAYA.  I am proud to be in a charitable book club known as the 512 society—I chartered this group right after my graduation from McCombs and it has seen over 50 members come and go and become successful business leaders in Austin. My hobbies tend to follow the interests of our children but many things have stayed constant for me, even when I was at McCombs. I am an avid fan of the outdoors, camping, hiking, biking, skiing, running, climbing, and I am all over any activity that allows you to see within yourself and expand your mind. 

Mario Barrett received his MBA in 2014 after being an officer in the Army. Here he shares his experience shifting from the Army to the business world and highlights his career path as an entrepreneur. Mario frequently volunteers at McCombs and loves connecting with fellow Longhorns. Thank you for your continued relationship with the Alumni Network, Mario!  

Tell us about your experience as a student here at McCombs. 

Prior to attending McCombs, I was an Army officer. I knew I wanted to enter the business world and figured an MBA was the best way to do that. A bunch of factors went into my choosing McCombs — location, entrepreneur program ranking, strength of Texas economy, and being a native Texan. When I finally got to McCombs and met my fellow classmates, I knew I made the right choice. I was heavily involved in the Adam Smith Society and Entrepreneur Society — both of which played a profound influence on my time at McCombs and introduced me to interesting individuals who challenged my typical way of thinking (I’d say this held true for most people I met). It’s hard for me to really pick a favorite class, but one of my favorite teachers was Professor Doggett. I loved the way he challenged students to give real answers (no MBA jargon) and made an effort to take them out of their comfort zone. 

How did your educational experience change you? 

I definitely gained a solid foundation in “business basics.” The Army can teach you about time management and leadership, but you aren’t reading balance sheets. My experience also demystified the entire process behind starting a business or what it meant to have a “real job” as I’d refer to it in the Army. I realized that people in the business world were mostly the same as the Army, just with a different mission. 

Please provide a brief summary of your career path since graduating. 

I’d like to consider my career path out of McCombs anything but ordinary! I graduated and took a job with Deloitte Consulting, but had almost a year between graduation and my start date. So instead of taking time off, I started a subscription box company. Surprisingly, the company grew and I was able to hand off most of the operations by the time I started at Deloitte. After two years at Deloitte, I made the decision to leave and join Cratejoy, the world’s largest subscription box marketplace to help lead new seller growth and success. 

What are you most proud of in your career so far? 

I was able to take an idea and very little money and turn it into a growing, profitable business that I was eventually able to sell.  

Has your career played out the way you expected?  

No way! To be honest, I did not know what to expect after leaving school. I still think I’m finding out what I want to be when I grow up. 

How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?  

I always volunteer to come back to McCombs to chat with new students interested in entrepreneurship or veteran students looking to transition into the business world. These are my favorite events to participate in. 

How have you personally benefitted from being a part of the network? 

The network has done a lot for me! The biggest benefit of McCombs is that I have a diverse set of professionals I can leverage if I ever have a question. Someone is always out there who has “done it” and is willing to help a fellow grad. I’ve stayed very close to several of my classmates in different industries and always leverage them for advice, guidance, or motivation.  

What are your goals for the future, career wise and in relation to McCombs? 

I plan on starting another business or buying a business in Austin. Regardless of the path, I want to continue to stay involved in events at McCombs and mentor or give back to any students looking to pursue a life in entrepreneurship. 

Any other community involvement, hobbies or tidbits you’d like to share?  

Yes! If you or anyone you know is selling a business in Austin, let’s talk!  

Alissa Bayer, owner and founder of milk + honey day spa, shares updates on her recent business ventures and reflects on her MBA days—where she first started working on the concept for a spa. Alissa joined a panel discussing the next wave of entrepreneurship and innovation for our Homecoming Weekend Alumni Business Conference a few weeks ago; thanks for your continued engagement with the Texas McCombs Alumni Network, Alissa!

How did your educational experience change you?
I studied philosophy and literature as an undergrad, so business school was great for me—there were so many things I didn’t know that I didn’t know! I really loved the case study method; as with many things there is no right or wrong answer, and learning from other people’s situations and outcomes is so easy to assimilate. In the early years of milk + honey, I regularly called upon lessons learned from those case studies to help me make better business decisions.

Please provide a brief summary of your career path since graduating.
I started working on a business plan for a spa as an independent study class during my last semester. After graduation, it took about 18 months to round up the debt, finalize the lease, and get the first spa designed and constructed. Within our first year, we signed a lease for our second location. Within two years, we launched our salon concept. In 2013, we introduced our line of hyperclean (non-toxic) bath and body products. This spring, after 6 years of R&D, we launched our own skincare line, which was formulated in close partnership with our team of amazing estheticians.

I’ve bootstrapped the business entirely on my own until last year, when I sold a small amount of equity in order to speed up our growth. Today, we have six locations, about 500 employees, and two Los Angeles projects in development, and our product line is sold at major retail partners including Neiman Marcus, Free People, Ulta, and Whole Foods.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I am most proud of the amazing community that has been created at milk + honey. Life-long friendships, marriages, and new entrepreneurial ventures have been created by our team. Our team really takes care of one another, and I love that I was able to help bring these amazing people together. I’m also very glad that milk + honey has been able to give back to the community. At milk + honey, we define our success not just by increasing ‘shareholder value,’ but by also increasing value for our employees, guests, vendors, and community. We call it the Virtuous Cycle, and when we focus on taking care of our team—with health benefits, 401k, paid vacation, a positive and professional management experience, and a happy office culture—it makes it easy for our team to take great care of our guests.

Has your career played out the way you expected?
I have three young children (ages 6, 8, 8), and it took me four years of intense fertility treatments to have my children. So really for the past 12+ years, my energies and attention have not been entirely on my business. Now that all of my kids are in school, I have a lot more time and bandwidth to focus on the business, which is why we were finally ready to take some outside investment.

How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumna?
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed participating in many events on campus. I love meeting with the BBA and MBA students and sharing my experiences. On occasion, I’ve also been able to participate as a judge with Texas Venture Fellows and various panels and discussions during homecoming events. My office is just a mile away from campus so it makes it easy.

How have you personally benefited from being a part of the network?
I have the most amazing group of friends from McCombs—they have been my biggest supporters over the years and I am so grateful to them. I’ve also found that anytime I need some help or expertise, the Longhorn network is strong, vast, and generous. I feel truly lucky to be a part of such an amazing group of humans.

What are your goals for the future, career wise and in relation to McCombs?
We plan on growing milk + honey rapidly in the next several years. Last year’s fundraising was very informal and did not involve any roadshows or even pitch decks. In the next two years or so, we plan on raising around $30M to continue opening more spa locations and continue growing our product brand. It’s an exciting time!

From their MBA days to the current hustle-and-bustle of working at Amazon, Seattle Chapter Leaders Beth Hood and Eric Strow share what they value most from their time at McCombs and how they’ve used those experiences to leverage success in their post-MBA grad careers. As chapter leaders, Beth and Eric have built up the Seattle chapter through an increase in networking opportunities, volunteer leaders, and hosted social gatherings—one recent event they hosted, the Seattle Summer Celebration, was a huge hit with Seattle alumni and current McCombs students interning in the city. Thanks for all your great work as chapter leaders, Beth and Eric!

Please talk about your experience as a student here at McCombs. Why you came here, groups you were involved with, favorite class/teacher, etc.

Beth: I choose McCombs because I was a previous graduate student at the University of Texas (in the Mathematics program from 2011-2013) and knew the rigor and high standards across all UT graduate programs. We are also a collaborative program with many opportunities and programs to help shape whatever kind of career you’re looking for.

I want to give back to my community when I can, and was involved in a lot… I was the Alumni Affairs Chair for the Graduate Business Council, co-founder of the MBA Wellness Collective, Member of Graduate Women in Business and the McCombs Ambassador Committee, mentored BBAs in the Women’s Case Competition and mentored for the Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate Internship program, participated in the Texas Venture Labs class and Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition, and two MBA+ projects.

I concentrated in business analytics and really enjoyed Maytal Saar-Tsechansky’s Business Analytics and Data Mining course, but thought all of our core curriculum professors were outstanding and benefited from them all.

Eric: It sounds cheesy, but I came to McCombs because of the unique culture of our MBA program. Students here have a genuine interest in helping one another achieve their goals, and in building a strong community during our two years in Austin as well as a network to stay connected with after we leave. I was also drawn in by the entrepreneurial aspects of our program, and the ability to join groups like Venture Fellows and interact with the vibrant Austin startup scene (which is extremely welcoming toward McCombs students.) To top it off, it helped to know I’d have Austin’s warm weather, live music, tacos, barbecue, and craft beers to enjoy outside the classroom.

As a student, I was able to learn first-hand from entrepreneurs and investors as part of Venture Fellows, combining the classroom experience with an internship at Dreamit. I also built a network of like-minded students through the Graduate Business Technology Group and Entrepreneur Society while pursuing some personal interests as Co-President of the Sports, Entertainment and Marketing Association (SEMA) and the MBA Brew Club, hosting forums with professionals across industries (and a homebrew competition). This goes to show you, there’s no limit to what you can get involved in while at McCombs.

Some of my favorite classes were those that helped me develop a more global mindset. I took full advantage of McCombs’ opening doors to learn while traveling the world, taking the Global Connections class Social Entrepreneurship in South Africa that involved a trip from Austin to Durban and Cape Town to meet with incredible people building unique companies with a mission to give back. I also did a study abroad semester at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, meeting MBA students from all over the world (full time and other exchange students).

How did your educational experience change you?

Beth: Before the MBA program, I had the technical skills, but not the business acumen or leadership experience to take on new roles or career paths. My MBA opened up a lot of doors and gave me the credibility and experience I was lacking.

Eric: In addition to fine tuning the hard skills that are important to any career in business, my MBA education was full of lessons on empathy and compassion, as well as prioritization and making difficult decisions. It was a well-rounded experience that in my opinion leaves alumni better prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead, regardless of industry or function.

Please provide a brief summary of your career path since graduating.

Beth: I interned with Amazon as a Sr. Product Manager while enrolled in the MBA program, and joined full-time in 2018 after graduation.

Eric: I came to McCombs after a career in financial services consulting with EY based in New York. Since graduating in 2016, I’ve been in product management with Amazon in Seattle, launching products such as Prime Book Box (subscription service for children’s books) and Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe (fashion styling service as a Try Before You Buy program). Amazon is a place where you can move around the company every few years, and I’ve grown in my career here by taking on more scope and developing more technical skills with each new role at the company.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

Beth: I was promoted to a Sr. Product Manager- Technical within 6 months of joining Amazon full-time, as a result of leveraging my background in mathematics and my MBA.

Eric: It’s been extremely rewarding to see the impact of the programs I’ve helped launch at Amazon, and knowing that these products are making customers’ lives easier is something I’m definitely proud of.

Has your career played out the way you expected?

Beth: The quick promotion exceeded my expectations and has encouraged me to push boundaries.

Eric: It certainly isn’t what I expected when I first came to McCombs. I was pretty certain there was no way I would join a company even larger than the Big Four firm I left, and yet I landed at Amazon. But, I didn’t have too fixed a plan outside of using the MBA to transition into the tech sector, and I don’t think I’d have moved to Seattle and joined Amazon if it wasn’t for my decision to go to McCombs and leverage our campus recruiting opportunities. Each step of my career has built on the one before it, and in that way, you could say it’s going to plan.

How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?

Beth: Eric and I help coordinate alumni events in the Seattle area, as well as host our McCombs Seattle Tech Trek.

Eric: I’m involved in Amazon’s efforts recruiting McCombs MBA students, and I also stay engaged with other alums at the company through organizing events for McCombs interns and new hires, and hosting students who come as part of McCombs’ career treks. Outside building the McCombs-Amazon connection, as one of the leaders of the McCombs Alumni Seattle Chapter, I help plan events for the local alumni base, and engage with the school’s MBA Advisory Board to bring news and information from McCombs up here to share with alums. We’re trying to build up the Seattle Chapter to have more volunteer leaders, create more networking opportunities, and host faculty for speaking events while continuing to have social gatherings to welcome new alumni that move to the city each year.

How have you personally benefited from being a part of the network?

Beth: I benefited a lot as a student with the great alumni network that Texas McCombs has created, especially seeing the empowered women that we produce; I view my current role as an alumna as giving back and helping to grow and strengthen the program.

Eric: For me, the decision to move to Seattle after grad school was made much easier knowing there was such a strong McCombs network here. Having a built-in social circle of classmates from my time in Austin who moved here, as well as alumni from previous classes who’ve helped me navigate my career, has been an incredible benefit from my MBA that keeps paying dividends years after graduation.

What are your goals for the future, career wise and in relation to McCombs?

Beth: I hope to be an ambassador to the benefits of the business analytics concentration program, and push McCombs to continue to build out the program.

Eric: I am passionate about building products and experiences that make life easier and more fun, and so far this career routing through product management allows me to achieve that goal. Right now my plan is to continue growing and advancing in product management, which is a field that many McCombs students are interested in, so I’d like to help the school ensure we are a top destination for product-minded students and recruiters/hiring managers.

Any other community involvement, hobbies or tidbits you’d like to share?

Beth: I stay involved in mentorship opportunities for women and young girls, and recently got involved with “Built By Girls” in the Seattle area. I’m new to the organization but excited to see where it leads!

Eric: Last year I finished my quest to go to all 30 active Major League Baseball stadiums, so I’m starting to work through some new travel lists, like visiting all 50 states and all 7 continents. We’ll see about actually getting to Antarctica, though.

San Antonio chapter leaders, Dan Crites and Hunter Stanco, have spent the last few years revitalizing their chapter through supportive leadership and an assortment of engaging activities. With a focus on improving the local business ecosystem, Dan and Hunter have strengthened the Texas McCombs Alumni Network in San Antonio and its connection to the school. They recently took the opportunity to reflect upon their successes as chapter leaders and to share their goals for continuing the chapter’s meaningful programming.

Please talk about why you stepped up as leaders for the McCombs San Antonio Alumni Chapter and your general experience as leaders.
A little over three years ago, we attended a local Professor Speaker Series event with John Doggett. The alum that coordinated the event at the time recognized the need for a stronger Texas McCombs presence in San Antonio.  Realizing the chapter had gone dormant, we sought to fill the leadership void with the intent to rebuild the Texas McCombs network and create a positive impact on the San Antonio community.

While he was an undergraduate in Austin, Hunter was the associate editor for The Daily Texan.  Hunter frequently judges the final round of the Evening MBA Capstone Challenge and maintains close relationships with McCombs leadership both in Austin and San Antonio.

Dan served over 8.5 years of Active Duty in the US Navy as a naval flight officer, enjoying multiple operational deployments as well as US Army and Air Force cross-service assignments.  Dan is also a recent alum of Leadership San Antonio (LSA) Class 300 sponsored by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Describe a recent chapter event or activity that you thought went well.
In late 2017, we hosted what we like to call one of our “Education Series” on the topic of Blockchain.  We try to focus on emergent and potentially disruptive technologies impacting the San Antonio business ecosystem while featuring subject matter experts from McCombs faculty, alumni, and local business leaders.  With the Blockchain event, we felt we were well ahead of the buzz in educating our community.  In fact, the same forum was replicated later by the school in 2018 when they hosted a Blockchain conference using the same panelists.  Here is a quote from one of our attendees:

I attended the McCombs School of Business event today at the Witte, and enjoyed the company of an impressive group of individuals.  I must admit that I did not comprehend much of the presentation (too deep for me), but I am pleased to be exposed to the subject of Blockchain because I can now ask my son or my grandson to explain to me what this means, and when it will be coming down the road.

How have you personally benefited from being a part of the Texas McCombs Alumni Network?
The Texas McCombs Alumni Network has allowed us to expand our personal and professional networks beyond what we could have arguably achieved through other business networking organizations.  We have remained attuned to what is occurring at the McCombs School and built stronger relationships because of it.

How would you recommend that alumni get involved with their local chapter?
It’s never too early to start.  One way we have been encouraging alumni to get involved is before they even graduate.  We have been leveraging the Working Professional Program Directors to promote our events and have seen strong attendance from the current students who have proven to be engaged and eager to get others involved.

What are your chapter plans or goals for the future?
Create a vibrant and involved chapter with community leadership opportunities and a well-defined succession plan.  One of our more ambitious goals is to generate traction for an annual fundraising event dedicated to local initiates with ties to Texas McCombs.

“When I started school, GSB was a relatively new building,” Ken Parekh reflected as he now looks forward to all that the new graduate business building, Robert B. Rowling Hall, has to offer to students, alumni, and the greater Austin business community. Parekh will become the chair of the MBA Advisory Board this fall and we recently had the opportunity to interview him about his business school memories, career path, and goals for the board.

How did you choose McCombs and what are some of your business school memories?

I was an engineer at Texas Instruments in Dallas and I decided to start exploring MBA programs. I really craved the in-person experience, so I wanted to explore programs where I would feel a part of a community. When I visited the Texas business school, not yet called McCombs, I found the community that I wanted to connect to. The balance between case study and practical applications and the management applications—and to do it with a fairly diverse group of students—really appealed to me.

Some of my fondest business school memories involve my professors. I had multiple classes with Professor Dan Short who changed by perception of accounting and he became my favorite teacher and a sort of mentor. I also really enjoyed Jack Brittain’s organizational behavior class. I found the combination of what I learned from these classes with what the Kozmetsky Center had to offer very interesting.

How did your educational experience change you?

It ended up bringing me in a very different direction than I would have initially predicted. With my engineering background, I was particularly interested in the school’s program for information systems and the practical application of theory. However, after taking Dan Short’s accounting classes and Jack Brittain’s organizational behavior class, my eyes were opened to the value and importance of people. I was an engineer at the time and all of a sudden I’m introduced to the concept of teams and culture. This was an eye-opening experience for me. You need to have the right teams and culture to be successful in business. That really started my path to what I do now. That class was the spark for me. Here was a technology guy—an engineer—who discovered a much larger scheme to this puzzle.

Can you walk me through your career path since graduating? How did you end up in the Bay Area?

UT really opened my aperture and I was seeking broad-based business experience. I thought the consulting path was a great opportunity. So I took a job with Deloitte based in Dallas, but focused primarily on Boston and its tech sector. I thought I would be at Deloitte for a few years and then go back into industry, but I fell in love and was there for 17 years. In 1994, the market moved from the northeast to Silicon Valley and I found myself on a plane between Boston and the Bay Area for four years before asking for a transfer to San Francisco. This was before the dot com boom. It allowed me to stay close to the tech sector and my roots. My passion is around innovation and how to create cultures to drive innovation, and the Bay Area is actually an incubator for this.

I left Deloitte in 2005 to start my own business. The firm had become so large and I craved to focus on the small, early-stage, building phase of business—Deloitte was like that in the early days. I wanted to pursue my passion for executive coaching. There was a mentor, apprenticeship culture at Deloitte in the early days and I wanted to focus full time on that. I valued that experience such as working with Dell and on the HP/Compact integration.

I also chose to start my own business for lifestyle reasons. The life of a consultant can get overwhelming at times. It ended up being the right choice for me because one month after I left Deloitte, I met my future wife and we got married one year later. We now have two sons, aged 7 and 11 years old. My family has brought balance to my life.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

The fact that I’ve developed a number of leaders—a bunch are amazing leaders in their own right that I helped to groom when they were starting out as business analysts or engineers. Now they are running their own companies and I love that I’ve had some impact on creating future leaders. I still keep in touch with many of them professionally and informally and it’s wonderful to have built 30-year relationships with them and to see their careers progress.

And of course, on a personal note, my two boys are amazing and they are going to do great things in the world. They are my true legacy.

How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?

I’ve been very involved with the MBA Advisory Board. I am starting my 4th term this fall and have spent 9 years being actively involved on the board. I have also been active in local chapters, particularly in the Bay Area. I was a class ambassador a few years ago and now I am on the Bay Area for McCombs Board. Of course, I am also involved with the Texas Exes and I’m a rabid Longhorns fan. I find some excuse to come back to Austin 3-4 times per year because there is always something going on. I also keep in touch with my classmates and attended the reunion in Austin and we have also had class reunions in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. I have personally benefited from being part of the alumni network. I am particularly proud of the work I’ve been doing with the MBA Board’s “Third-Year MBA Task Force” that works on initiatives to promote the value of the alumni network to new graduates. We are “Texas for life.” Our network is a huge force to be reckoned with. One of my main goals as the incoming chair for the MBA Advisory Board is to continue to promote the network and to educate others that The University of Texas is not just within the borders of Texas. We are prominent in other business centers throughout the world and there is great value in that. Alumni engagement and activation are key goals of mine.

What other types of community involvement initiatives are you involved with?

I am very active in nonprofit work and have three areas of focus. The first is for children’s educational development and making sure that all kids have an opportunity to get an education by leveraging technology and other resources to make this happen. My second focus is neighborhood housing and affordable home ownership, which is a big issue in the Bay Area. My third focus is my work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in support of eradicating diseases in Africa. I was born in Nairobi, Africa, so this is particularly personal for me. My work with the foundation involves coaching health administrators to use technology and other resources to increase their capacity to do their jobs. The foundation has learned that it takes more than money to solve problems. I travel there somewhat frequently and I have extended family in east Africa. I highly recommend that everyone add an East African safari to their bucket list.