Meet the Center Team

Center Staff

Melissa Carrier, Executive Director

Melissa Carrier joined the Smith School at the University of Maryland in 2006 after a decade of leading organizational growth for technology companies ranging from Fortune 500 to early stage start-ups. She brings broad experience across corporate and product-line positions including mergers and acquisitions, venture investments, system implementation and cause related marketing programs. Carrier arrived from AT&T, where she served as Finance Director for Corporate Development and led investments for the company's corporate venture fund. She began her career as a consultant for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and then transitioned to several startup technology companies followed by a business strategy role at SAP.

Melissa developed the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship regional programs, and in 2009, she designed and launched the Center for Social Value Creation. She is responsible for the center's strategic direction across co-curricular programs, curricula, research and career. Melissa also created the Changetheworld.org Social Venture Consulting Program which has served more than 300 students and 80 non-profit organizations since its inception. Melissa is a lecturer in Management & Organization, teaching social innovation and social entrepreneurship to MBA and Undergraduate students.

She received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Ohio State University and an MBA with Honors in Finance and Strategic Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Melissa currently lives with her husband and three boys in Potomac, MD.

[back to top]

Guillermo Olivos, Assistant Director

Guillermo Olivos joined the Smith School in March of 2011 and brings over five years of experience in social enterprise, not-for-profit consulting, entrepreneurship, and innovation. He is a recent MBA graduate of the Yale School of Management, where he focused on strategy, NGO management, and the intersection of profit and social motives in business.

After a number of internships, including work at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as well as on the Capital Markets floor of Morgan Stanley in New York, Olivos found his true passion in the humanitarian sector. He spent two and a half years volunteering and later working in Biloxi, Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. As a staff member of Hands On Gulf Coast, his responsibilities included direct management of a quarter million dollars’ worth of community development, rebuilding projects, and toxic mold remediation research. He also worked with the Mississippi Development Authority's financial counseling program for affected homeowners receiving CDBG funding.

In addition to disaster recovery work, Olivos spent time in Denver, CO during the height of the foreclosure crisis working in a housing counseling agency on direct client delivery, foreclosure prevention strategy, and marketing to untouched customer segments. At Yale, he held leadership positions in both the Net Impact chapter as well as Student Government, took on both domestic and international pro-bono NGO consulting opportunities, and served as a Second Year Advisor in the Leadership Development Program. Over the summer and fall of 2009, he co-founded Evacuteer.org, a non-profit emergency preparedness and evacuation volunteerism organization in the City of New Orleans. He continues advising on Evacuteer development and program strategy as a member of the Board of Directors.

Olivos is a proud alumnus of the Montgomery County Public School system and grew up in Rockville. In addition to his MBA, he received a BA in both English and Psychology from Dartmouth College. He lives with a dog named Helicopter and enjoys writing, his record player, and being outside. Much like the 80s rock band Journey, he refuses to stop believing.

[back to top]

Kimberlee Robertella, Program Manager

Kimberlee Robertella joined the Smith School in September of 2011. She brings to the table five years’ experience in the renewable energy industry with a focus on marketing and graphic design. A recent MS graduate of James Madison University and the University of Malta, Robertella explored the impacts and opportunities of globalization through examples drawn from social and environmental issues across the Euro-Mediterranean region and throughout the world. Her graduate coursework was conducted in Valletta, Malta where she worked in cross-cultural and multidisciplinary teams as both a student and a Member of the Academic Board of Studies.

Robertella also earned a BS in Business Management from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University with a concentration on global business strategies for the earth, energy, and materials industries.

Having a deep-rooted interest in the natural world and an appreciation for business as a necessary vehicle for change, Robertella aims to help create a more harmonious and prosperous relationship between people and the planet.

She is currently a Marylander-in-training after having recently lived in the Mediterranean, Charlotte, and the Philadelphia area. She enjoys playing outside, music, photography, learning new things and travel.

[back to top]

Executive-in-Residence

Dennis Wraase, Former CEO & Chairman of the Board, Pepco Holdings Inc.

Dennis Wraase is the former chairman of the board for Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), a regional energy holding company that provides service to 1.9 million customers. PHI is the parent company of Potomac Electric Power, Delmarva Power, and Atlantic City Electric. After joining Potomac Electric Power Company in 1974, Wraase eventually worked his way upward to chief executive officer in May 2004, when he was also appointed chairman of the board. He served as CEO until February 2009, and concurrently as president of PHI from 2002 to 2008. He was a member of the board of directors since 1998. Prior to joining Potomac Electric Power Co., Wraase worked for Exxon Corp. where he held various financial positions in the controller's organization.

A native of Washington, D.C., Wraase graduated from the University of Maryland with a B. S. in accounting. He also holds a master of science in finance from the George Washington University and is a certified public accountant.

Wraase served as a director of the Edison Electric Institute, Association of Edison Illuminating Companies and the Institute for Electric Efficiency and was past president, Southeastern Electric Exchange. In addition, he served as a director of the National Capital Area Boy Scouts, Federal City Council, Economic Club of Washington, and the Washington Performing Arts Society. He currently serves as the treasurer and director for the University of Maryland Foundation and is vice chairman of the Washington Hospital Center. He also is a trustee for Northeast Utilities located in Hartford, Conn. Wraase is a member of the Financial Executives Institute and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

In 2010, Pepco was named in the top 100 of Newsweek magazine's annual Green Rankings, one of only three electric utilities to do so.

[back to top]

Faculty Committee

Sandy Boyson, Research Professor & Co-Director, Supply Chain Management Center, Logistics, Businss and Public Policy Dr. Boyson has significant expertise in technology management and supply chain management, with over 20 years experience in strategic technology planning, systems development/ management, and enterprise-wide process integration. In partnership with the Center for Social Value Creation, Dr. Boyson is co-creating a Sustainable Supply Chain program at the Smith School.
Ethan Cohen-Cole, Assistant Professor, Finance Dr. Cohen-Cole research interests include consumer finance and financial institutions. In 2011, he taught a Global Studies course in micro-finance.
Shreevardhan Lele, Ralph J. Tyser Distinguished Teaching Fellow of Decision Sciences Dr. Lele teaches several courses relating to social value creation, including Managers in Society: Values and Institutions, an elective on sustainability and managerial ethics, and Social Responsibility in Business. He emphasizes the development of a personal set of aspirational values while analyzing business using economic, legal and ethical frameworks.
Stephen Loeb, Ernst & Young Alumni Professor of Accounting and Business Ethics An internationally known scholar in accounting ethics, Dr. Loeb taught important topics relevant to the current business environment, including corporate social responsibility and stakeholder concerns over questionable business practices or environmental impacts.
Paulo Prochno, Tyser Teaching Fellow and Associate Department Chair, Management and Organization Dr. Prochno has written articles in the areas of knowledge management, organizational routines, cross-border management and manufacturing strategy, and has presented his research at national and international conferences. He also teaches the Global Studies course to Brazil.
Rebecca Ratner, Associate Professor, Marketing Dr. Ratner received a Ph.D. in social psychology and incorporates consumer psychology principles in her research and teaching. Professor Ratner teaches the Marketing for Social Value course.

[back to top]

Affiliated Staff

Kasandra Gunter Robinson, Expert Industry Advisor, Office of Career Services

Kasandra joined the Smith School in 2010 after spending six years with the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., serving as the Senior Director of Marketing/PR. There she was responsible for branding, external communications, fundraising campaigns, online and social media, and special events. Prior to Capital Area Food Bank, Kasandra worked at FEMA for two years after 9/11 in Customer Relationship Management. Prior to FEMA, she spent five years at General Motors in New Product Research and Brand Management after attending the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University where she earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Prior to business school Kasandra was employed by Abbott Laboratories as a pharmaceutical sales representative. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Merchandise Management from Michigan State University.

In her personal time Kasandra enjoys running, reading, music, design, golf and watching the NBA. She is married and has a four year old son. Kasandra can be reached at 301.405.8234 or in VMH 2301E.

[back to top]

Faculty Thought Leaders

Joseph Bailey, Research Associate Professor, Decision, Operations, and Information Technologies
Dr. Bailey teaches a joint course BMGT438Q on operations management in non-profit organizations, as well as QUEST capstone projects in areas of environmental sustainability, social ventures, and new technologies in energy.

Bob Baum, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Management & Organization
Dr. Baum's relevant research includes the role of business schools in serving as thought leaders in social responsibility and corporate accountability (see Rhonda Reger, below), and the strategic value of employee health care. In addition, he teaches several courses that incorporate social entrepreneurship, including electives New Venture Creation, New Venture Financing, and our MBA core course Integrative Business Plan Competition.

Gary Cohen, Lecturer, Logistics, Business & Public Policy
In addition to teaching in the Freshman Fellows program, as a principal of Forward Action Coaching, LLC, Professor Cohen assists businesses and organizations in the public and private sectors successfully execute sound business strategies and achieve overall objectives.

Curt Grimm, Deans Professor of Supply Chain and Strategy
As the faculty advisor for Net Impact, Professor Grimm oversees the MBA student clubs operation as a hub for networking and career-oriented activities related to developing a broader perspective of leadership and entrepreneurship for economic, social and environmental change. In addition, his involvement in the curriculum includes teaching Global Economic Environment, which outlines issues of globalization including environmental concerns and job losses.

David Kirsch, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, Management & Organization
Dr. Kirsch's research interests include global environmental management systems and the role of entrepreneurship in the emergence of new industries. He teaches the course New Venture Creation, which incorporates social entrepreneurship and ethics in new ventures.

Vojislav Maksimovic, Deans Chair Professor of Finance
Maksimovic's research interests include banking systems in emerging economies, and how a country's legal and institutional environments influence the financing and investment by firms. His recent research has focused on the drivers of international perceptions of property rights, including institutions, legal systems, and ethnic differences, and the differences in access to capital among small and large firms in developing countries.

Sunil Mithas, Associate Professor, Decision, Operations, and Information
Professor Gopal was the recipient of a 2009 Summer Research Grant for work on “Doing Well by Doing Good: Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance.”

Brian Nelson, Tyser Teaching Fellow, Logistics, Business and Public Policy
With research interests in social enterprise and corporate governance, Professor Nelson was involved in facilitating the Smith Schools participation in the Ashoka Changemaker Campus program. He also teaches a variety of courses at the Smith School, including Social Responsibility in Business and Global Business Citizenship.

Kislaya Prasad, Director, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
Professor Prasad is the Director for CIBER and is responsible for programming involving social value creation in emerging markets. He also was the recipient of a 2009 Summer Research Grant for work on “Corruption in Hierarchies.”

Rhonda Reger, Associate Professor, Management & Organization
Dr. Reger's research (together with Bob Baum and Lori Kiyatkin) look at the disparity between businesses and business schools in the area of social and environmental responsibility. Dr. Reger seeks to uncover the viability of wind energy, the economic and non-economic barriers to its implementation, and to suggest public policy and business strategy recommendations to governmental policy makers and executives in the wind energy industry.

Rachelle Sampson, Assistant Professor, Logistics, Business & Public Policy
Professor Sampson teaches The Economics of Sustainability, an MBA elective that explores the market failures that lead to problems such as pollution and overuse of natural resources and the policy solutions that exist. [Link to July appearance in Smith Business Close-Up]

Jim Sanders, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor Sanders, currently Director of Strategy and M&A at Harris Corporation, has expertise in new venture creation and experience developing entrepreneurship programs in developing countries. He teaches several courses, including International Entrepreneurship, which includes casework on social and environmental international impacts, and an elective in Social Entrepreneurship, in which students develop business plans for social sector startups.

Oliver Schlake, Tyser Teaching Fellow, Management and Organization
Professor Schlake teaches Creativity for Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs.

Lemma Senbet, William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance
Dr. Senbet's research interests include corporate governance and bank financing in emerging economies.

Robert Sheehan, Academic Director, Office of Executive Programs
Rob Sheehan has eighteen years of experience as the CEO of two different national nonprofits. His research focuses on leadership, strategy and organizational effectiveness in the nonprofit sector, including applying for-profit competitive strategy in nonprofits.

Hugh Turner, Tyser Teaching Fellow, Logistics, Business & Public Policy
Dr. Turner, Faculty Champion of the Smith Schools prestigious Freshmen Fellows program, teaches multiple sections in the program including the required Practicum in Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility.

Siva Viswanathan, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Decision, Operations, and Information Technologies, Co-Director, Center for Digital Thought & Strategy (DIGITS)
Professor Viswanathan was the recipient of a 2010 Summer Research Grant for work on “Networks of Green People: Web 2.0 and Environmental Sustainability.” He also received a 2009 Summer Research Grant for work on “Lending to the Bottom of the Pyramid: Investor Incentive and Peer-to-Peer Micro Lending to Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries.”

Yi Xu, Associate Professor, Decision, Operations, and Information Technologies
Professor Viswanathan was the recipient of a 2010 Summer Research Grant for work on “Networks of Green People: Web 2.0 and Environmental Sustainability.” He also received a 2009 Summer Research Grant for work on “Lending to the Bottom of the Pyramid: Investor Incentive and Peer-to-Peer Micro Lending to Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries.”

[back to top]