Net-Impact at Smith  

Smith Net Impact 2011-2012 Board


  Becky Eisen
  President
  rebecca.eisen@rhsmith.umd.edu

Becky graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan with a BA in Organizational Studies. Prior to attending the Robert H. Smith School of Business, she work for the social enterprise consulting firm, Community Wealth Ventures, to help nonprofit organizations to own and operate franchised businesses as a means of generating unrestricted revenue, and she ran national anti-poverty advocacy campaigns with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.  At Smith, Becky focuses her studies on marketing and general management and serves as a Leadership Fellow in the Office of Career Services.  Building on her interest in healthy behavior promotion and food access, Becky spent her summer as an Associate Brand Management Intern at Campbell Soup Corporation working on the V8 brand.

 

Valerie Lubrano
VP Finance
vlubrano@gmail.com

Valerie joined the Smith community in 2010 as a dual MBA/MPP candidate.  After growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Valerie attended Northeastern University in Boston, MA as a Mathematics and Finance major.  Remaining in Boston until relocating for graduate school, Valerie worked for a variety of asset management companies, most recently spending three years at Loomis, Sayles & Company as a credit analyst with coverage of biotechnology and Latin American Emerging market companies, among others.  Valerie hopes to move into the impact investing space after graduation and did her 2011 summer internship with the Calvert Foundation in order to get more experience in the industry.  In addition to her role with Net Impact, Valerie is also the VP of Finance for the Emerging Markets Association, a GA in the Finance department, and a graduate student Senator representing the Smith School.　

 

  Andrew Giessel
  VP Marketing and Communications
  andrew.giessel@rhsmith.umd.edu

Andrew graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia with a BA in Spanish Literature.  He comes to Smith with several years of experience in government relations at the National Association of Attorneys General.  There, Andrew supported the state Attorneys General in their consumer protection activities, coordinating multistate and state-federal actions aimed at investigating and prosecuting businesses for deceptive and anticompetitive trade practices.  Andrew recently completed a Global Entrepreneurship Fellowship in Haifa, Israel where he served as VP of Sales and Marketing for a technology-based startup in the Israeli biomedical sector.  At Smith, Andrew focuses is focused largely on marketing and sales management, with a specific interest in international business.


Pradeep Suthram
VP External Relations
 pradeep.suthram@gmail.com

With a lot of hard work, great support from classmates and professors (and some luck), Pradeep got an internship at GE's Rural Health Initiative.  Pradeep joined a team of people across various businesses within GE that are dedicated to developing innovative and affordable products to provide better rural healthcare in developing countries.  His project was to design an "open innovation" challenge for the rural health team and help launch a research study in Tanzania targeted at improving maternal and neonatal health using GE devices.  After spending a few weeks in the Washington DC office, Pradeep traveled to GE's Bangalore campus to witness the company's amazing engineering & design work while also learning more about the devices themselves.  Pradeep landed in Tanzania to spend three weeks going to rural healthcare sites such as district hospitals and dispensaries to benchmark their current practices, perform observational research on present conditions and clinical pathways, and inform the design of an innovative and comprehensive maternal and neonatal healthcare solution.  And yes, he learned a lot about pregnancies this summer.

 

Tim Casey
VP Part Time Relations
tim.casey9@gmail.com

Tim is in the part time program with the 2013 Shady Grove cohort. He studied International Politics at Fitchburg State University, graduating magna cum laude and was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha, a political science honors society. Originally growing up in Massachusetts, he moved down to DC in 2008 for work. Tim has worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and presently works as an analyst for an economic consulting firm, Economics from Washington. Tim is also a youth mentor with Big Brother, Big Sisters of the National Capital Area.

 

 Megan Burkhart
   First Year Board Member
   megan.burkhart@gmail.com

Megan graduated Cum Laude from Florida State University, with a degree in Interior Design.  After working as a freelance decorative painter, landscape designer and bartender for two years, she left for the Peace Corps in Tanzania, where she served as a Health Education and Outreach Volunteer.  Following her service, Megan worked with USAID in Dar es Salaam, where she developed a passion for business as a catalyst for social change and development.  Back in the US, she worked with EcoVentures International on a project to create enterprise development curriculum for Somali refugees living in Kenya.  She then decided to explore an interest in food service and entrepreneurship, and founded District Catering, which continues to operate in and around the DC metropolitan area.  Megan also works as the Financial Assistant to the DC branch of Amani ya Juu, an Africa-based social reconciliation and entrepreneurship project.

 

Isabel Caruana
 First Year Board Member
isabel.caruana@rhsmith.umd.edu

Isabel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The Catholic University of America with a BA in Finance. At the same time, she graduated from the Autonoma University of Madrid in Business management and administration. Isabel grew up in Spain until 2006 when her family moved to Washington, DC. During her senior year Isabel interned in the emerging markets department at Tudor Investment, a Hedge Fund in DC. After her internship, Isabel decided to go to the opposite side of finance and went to work for a Microfinance Foundation in Peru. In Peru, she worked in designing and implementing projects that promoted financial inclusion for the poorest people in the rural highlands. In addition to her commitment to Net Impact, she is also a board member of LAMBASA. Her biggest passion is traveling.

 

Beatriz Ariza
 First Year Board Member
beatriz.ariza@rhsmith.umd.edu

After growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, Beatriz moved to Bogota where she pursued a degree in Economics at the Universidad de los Andes.  After graduating, Beatriz worked as a macroeconomic policy analyst at the Colombian Ministry of Finance for five years. Prior to attending Smith, Beatriz joined the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure to direct the Economic Affairs department. At Smith, Beatriz is focusing on finance and impact investing.  In addition to her role with Net Impact, Beatriz is also a board member for the Latin American MBA Students Association (LAMBASA) and a GA in the Accounting Department. 

 

  Emmy Lang-Kennedy
   First Year Board Member
   emmylangkennedy@rhsmith.umd.edu

Emmy graduated from Earlham College with a BA in International Studies.  After graduating from Earlham she received a year-long fellowship to work for Mercy Corps International.  While based in Portland, OR with Mercy Corps, Emmy led the organization's strategic engagement with youth, conducting field work that focused on youth HIV/AIDS and job training programs in Liberia and Niger.  After leaving Mercy Corps Emmy served in the United States Peace Corps for two years as a Small Business Consultant in rural Senegal.  In Senegal, she worked with a female-owned juice and jelly business on their financial management and supported them in product and brand development.  After returning from Peace Corps Emmy moved to Washington, DC and has spent the past two years working in business development for IREX, an international development nonprofit that specializes in education, civil society and media.  Emmy is currently a graduate assistant in the Center for Social Value Creation.  

 

Adam Coile
 First Year Board Member
adam.coile@rhsmith.umd.edu

Adam graduated from American University with a BS in Business Administration and Finance.  Prior to attending Smith, Adam worked for several years for Himmelfarb Commercial, a DC-based real estate investment company.  There he managed a multi-state portfolio of commercial properties.  In addition to Adam’s board position at Net Impact, he is a graduate assistant in the Finance Department.   At Smith, Adam is focusing on finance and energy, combining his passions for investing and renewable energy.  In his free time, Adam enjoys running ultramarathons and traveling.