May 2012
Dean’s Message – Greg Hanifee, Assistant Dean of Executive Programs
Dear EMBA Alums,
As we turn the corner on another semester and campus graduation, we are nearing the culmination of another cohort of Smith EMBA executives reaching their graduation in July of this year. It's been a busy month of job changes, promotions, but most of all, great teamwork both within the program (ALP time!) and outside - as evidenced by the many community events our EMBA students and alumni participated in over the past several weeks. These are just a few examples, I know, of the impact we see from the alumni of our Smith program. On behalf of the staff and faculty at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, thank you for making us all very proud!
Cheers-
Greg Hanifee
In this issue:
- Cohort 13 Begins January 2013
- Tips for Working with Millennials – from Dr. Joyce E. A. Russell
- Meet James White – EMBA Cohort 2
- Cyber Techies: Take It To The Next Level
- SAIC Business Simulation & Graduation
- Join Smith’s EMBA Alumni LinkedIn Group
- The Spirit of EMBA Teams in the Community!
- Upcoming Events
- Alumni Updates
Features
The first application deadline has come and gone and the Admissions Committee is in full swing interviewing candidates and making decisions. The next deadline of June 4th is around the corner. If you have an interested colleague/friend, feel free to make the connection with Shelbi Brookshire (sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu or 301-405-2386). Together we can continue to grow the global credibility we have achieved through our recent high rankings by bringing together the best and brightest of the DC/Baltimore talent. Remember, the value of our EMBA rises along with the success of Smith as a whole.
Tips for Working with Millennials – Dr. Joyce E. A. Russell
On April 17th, over 80 members of the Smith EMBA community joined Dr. Russell and a panel of alumni to discuss the impact of millennials on the work force. Sue Adams (Cohort 1), US Dept. of Labor, Liam Brown (Cohort 3), Marriott International, Heath Campbell (Cohort 11), BB&T and Karen Reinhardt (EMBA 10) Lockheed Martin discussed tips on motivating and managing cross generational teams. Joyce followed up the event with additional advice in her reoccurring career coach column with Capital Business. You can read the entire transcript online.
Meet James White – EMBA Cohort 2
On May 2nd, James White joined Inova Health Systems as their new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In this role, James will be responsible for the establishment, leadership, development and delivery of a comprehensive, system-wide information security and privacy program for Inova Health System. James will be in charge of designing & implementing audit policy for all IHS applications and systems. His primary focus is to ensure IHS / IT compliance with existing laws, regulations, best practices and maintaining continuous security readiness throughout the System.
Most recently, James held the position of CISO at MedStar Health Systems. Over his career he served in leadership roles as Director, Information Security Operations for Freddie Mac and Senior Manager, Information and System Security at Kaiser Permanente. Throughout his career James has continually demonstrated an outstanding record of discipline, collaboration, service excellence, and effectiveness in leading organizations towards security compliance and industry best practice. James received his undergraduate degree (BBA) at Averett University, Danville Virginia and his MBA from Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. In addition, he is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager.
In addition to the above accomplishments, James served in the Marine Corps, Quantico Virginia where he worked as a Senior Information Security Specialist.
Cyber Techies: Take It To The Next Level
Do you have cyber experts on your team.? Would you like them to have a chance to learn from Joe Bailey and other first rate College Park faculty? Joe will be one of the professors teaching our new Certificate in Cybersecurity Leadership this fall. This 15- credit course offers technical specialists the opportunity to develop business, management and strategy skills, helping them become confident communicators and well-rounded leaders while they explore leading edge cyber technology. Talk to Liz Barron at 301-405-5387 or sign up for one of our virtual info sessions to learn more.
SAIC Business Simulation & Graduation
It is Business Simulation time of the year!! Most recently, Smith facilitated the 5th Business Simulation for the on site SAIC Executive MBA. Students from SAIC cohorts 5 and 6 participated in the 5 day competitive event. As those of you who have gone through it know, the days are long but is a truly valuable and fun experience. Marty Sullivan, EMBA Cohort 10, was voted Most Constructive and Helpful in his universe (thanks, Marty!). After the completion of their Biz Sim week, SAIC Cohort 5 also graduated on Sunday, May 20. EMBA Cohort 11 will begin their Business Simulation on July 23, 2012. Please contact Dr. Joyce E.A. Russell at jrussell@rhsmith.umd.edu if you would like to participate as a VC!
Join Smith’s EMBA Alumni LinkedIn Group
Need to locate a subject matter expert or simply reconnect with a classmate? We strongly urge you to consider joining the Robert H. Smith School of Business Executive MBA Alumni LinkedIn group. Approximately 1/3rd of our alums have already joined the group. Contact Shelbi Brookshire at sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu if you have any difficulty finding/joining the group.
The Spirit of EMBA Teams in the Community!
EMBAs Eat Dirt…Well…Mud Really
On May 19th, seven members of EMBA Cohort 11 participated in a 3.2 mile run with 12 obstacles, including climbing cargo nets, sliding down hills, scrambling through tunnels and finally jumping over a pit of fire known as the Warrior Race.
Seek & Find – EMBA9’s Supporting the BE GREAT Foundation
Pete Plotas (EMBA9) and wife Alison kicked off the inaugural "Seek & Find" challenge to support the BE GREAT Foundation. The foundation was formed in memory of Pete and Laison’s late son, Alexander Plotas, and which benefits the Center for Diagnostic Immunology & Transplantation at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Find out more online - lots of EMBA9 alums (the Wolfpack!) showed up to support, check out photos on Don Kandel's (EMBA9) facebook page.
Avon Walk
for the Cure – EMBA Students
The Cohort 11 ladies of The Robert H. Smith School of Business participated in one of the most fulfilling “Mastery Classes”of all times! Elizabeth Bartheld (EB) and Dana Harris put together a team to participate in the 10th annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer that took place on May 5-6 2012 in Washington DC. It was an effort to honor those families, friends and loved ones who have been impacted by cancer. The event raised a total of $5 million all given to local charities, and Dana and Elizabeth raised a total $4,230 largely thanks to our Robert H. Smith Cohort 11 and 12 classmates, faculty and friends!
Baltimore Alumni Club Launch Event – June 6, 2012
The Robert H. Smith School of Business has plans in Baltimore. With a campus located in the UMD BioPark building and more than 8,000 alumni in the region, launching an alumni club is the next step to building a stronger community.
Join the Baltimore Alumni Club leadership and other alumni for the official launch event. Come learn about the club, connect with fellow alumni from the Smith School of Business and be a part of this new initiative in Baltimore.
DATE: Wednesday, June 6, 2012
TIME: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Legg Mason Tower @ Harbor East
100 International Drive, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202
FEATURED SPEAKER: Gary Williams ’68, Former Men's Basketball Coach
HOST: Bob Billig ’88, Partner & CPA, McGladery
REGISTER ONLINE
Summer Cohort Lunches
Let’s take a moment to get together this summer at Rosa Mexicano. As with last summer, cohort lunches are being held in June. Come and connect/re-connect and share your personal and professional triumphs and joys. This year, we have combined a couple of cohorts to maximize the networking opportunities. Below are the dates and registration links for the events. If you can not make your own cohort’s day, feel free to join us. The lunch is free, however, please do register so we have the correct number for Rosa Mexicano.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.:
Cohorts 1, 2 and 3
Register Online
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.:
Cohorts 4, 5 and 6
Register Online
Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.:
Cohorts 7 and 8
Register Online
Wednesday, June 21, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.:
Cohorts 9 and 10
Register Online
Sandra Brummitt, EMBA 10, has accepted the position of Director, Tax with Exelon Utilities, which recently acquired Constellation Energy, Sandra’s former employer. Sandra will be relocating to Chicago soon, so please wish her luck!
Jennifer Wulff, EMBA 6, accepted the position of Director, Clinical Innovation with Pfizer.
EMBA Alumni Newsletter
Previous editions can be found online.
Stay Connected
We have two areas where we ask you to make sure your email and mailing address are up to date.
- UMD – Email university relations at bio_updates@ur.umd.edu. This is important if you want to keep getting the Smith Business Magazine and other UMD publications.
- Smith Connector: www.smithconnector.com
Don’t forget to look for the Smith School on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
We would like to request personal updates to share with all of our EMBA alumni. We would like to highlight your successes! Please send any updates you want to share such as new job or new baby. Email the updates to emba_alumni@rhsmith.umd.edu.