The Net Impact Club Second Year Leadership
The Duke MBA Net Impact Club is a student-run organization with a comprehensive cabinet focused on coordinating events, researching and lobbying for academic and extracurricular learning experiences, and providing general networking and knowledge-sharing activities. Here are our second year leaders with a brief summary of their backgrounds and their reasons for getting involved with the club. First year cabinet members will be elected at the beginning of the academic year.
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Jessie End Jessie’s career has spanned everything from youth leadership education to international development. After graduating from Brown University in 2001, she worked with the Vera Institute of Justice, evaluating a program designed to decrease recidivism in the New York State criminal justice system. In 2003, she joined the United States Peace Corps and moved to Nicaragua to teach earth science and conservation to primary school students. While there, she began to recognize more pressing community needs, working with a women’s cooperative on small business development and organizing, training and managing a committee of village leaders to mobilize the construction of a community library. She later relocated to San Diego, where she developed fee-based service learning programs for the city’s primary nonprofit volunteer center. These experiences led Jessie to pursue her MBA in order to bring strategic thinking, strong management skills and an entrepreneurial spirit to creating a more sustainable and just society. Last year, Jessie managed the Entrepreneurship Track for Duke University’s Conference on Sustainable Business and Social Impact. As co-president of the Net Impact Club, she looks forward to bringing social and environmental sustainability to the consciousness of the entire Duke MBA community. Jessie spent this summer as a Packard Environmental Fellow consulting on issues of organizational design for a conservation science group looking to expand its operations globally. In her free time, she explored her passion for blending sustainable international development with consumer products, working on a marketing plan to boost sales for The Clarity Project, a startup B Corporation providing fair-trade, sustainably-sourced diamond engagement rings to conscientious consumers.
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Brinda Ramaiya In her pre-Fuqua life, Brinda received a MS in electrical engineering and has lived in Triangle area for the past six years working as project manager. She has managed multiple projects and new market launches, developing new products and services. Her experiences working with corporations and personal passion for the environment led her to desire to grow further as a person by making a deeper impact in society. She came to Fuqua to accomplish this goal by focusing on environment and energy and marketing. During her first year, Brinda participated in Global Consulting Practicum in Belize to develop green strategies for a non-profit, a mentored study with Advanced Energy to create a business plan for a new service initiative, and was the Strategy Track Manager for the Net Impact Sustaintable Business and Social Impact Confernece.
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Maya Lloyd
Maya went to Duke University for her undergraduate studies after attending high school in Rosemont, Pa. She majored in Public Policy with a concentration in Health Policy. Following graduation she worked with the Cadmus Group, an environmental consulting firm in Arlington, Va. Over the next two years, she helped protect ground and drinking water by providing support for EPA regulations. Maya is also a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional; she has certified several green buildings and worked with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to create training materials for the LEED for Schools pilot.
Maya spent her summer interning at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, focusing on strategic planning.
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Karen Luby
Before coming to Fuqua, Karen worked at Sandbox Industries, a small business incubator and venture group where she launched two new businesses - Marbles: The Brain Store and Connection Brands. She also spent two years in marketing consulting at Cannondale Associates. At Fuqua, Karen is focused on marketing with a particular interest in sustainability. In her first year at Fuqua, she was involved with Net Impact in her first year at Fuqua as the Corporate Sustainability Chair as well as Fuqua on Board, the Global Consulting Practicum and Marketing Club. She serves as a Leadership Fellow with the Center of Leadership and Ethics at Fuqua and is also a Career Fellow. Karen spent her summer at Unilever as an Associate Brand Manager intern working on Brummel & Brown.
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Chris Tessone Before coming to Duke, Chris was a consultant in the operations practice of the Vagus Group, an Atlanta-based boutique management services firm with clients in the hospitality, gaming, and leisure travel industries. While a consultant, he specialized in call center and IT operations, working for Fortune 500 and private equity clients. At Fuqua, Chris has been concentrating in finance and is active in the Net Impact, Finance, and Culinary Clubs. He spent his summer as an Education Pioneers fellow in the DC Metro area working for the Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support in the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education. While there, he built financial reporting tools for the District's direct loan funds and developed and pitched a standardized credit enhancement product to aid public charter schools in financing facilities and real estate projects.
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Megan Walsh
After completing her undergraduate degree, Megan worked for three years as an Analyst at Citigroup in the Asset Backed Securitization Group. Most recently, Megan worked with a non-profit focused on microfinance. At Fuqua, Megan is involved with the Net Impact Club as the Director of Corporate Sponsorship and the Finance Club as the Chair of Private Wealth Management. Megan spent her summer as a Summer Associate in the Private Bank at JPMorgan. |
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Rhianon DeLeeuw
Prior to coming to Fuqua, Rhianon worked in public diplomacy as a State Department contractor at a non-profit in Washington, DC. She has also worked at the Department of Justice and the United Nations, and spent a year as an English teacher in Japan. At Fuqua, Rhianon is focusing on social entrepreneurship, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation. During her first year, she participated in Fuqua on Board, the Students Teaching Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) and was an Admissions tour guide. Rhianon is also a member of a start-up company in Fuqua’s Program for Entrepreneurs and is the VP of Marketing for FuquaVision. Over the summer, Rhianon pursued two internships. The first one was with B Lab, which works to promote companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and certify them as B Corporations. At B Lab Rhianon evaluated seven of the certified B Corporations and also worked on B Lab’s new initiative, GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Rating System). The second internship with the Mario Batali Foundation entailed developing an implementation strategy for one of the Foundation’s programs. |
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Vale Jokisch
Prior to attending Fuqua, Vale was the Deputy Director of Empowerment Group, a non-profit microenterprise development organization in Philadelphia. During her time there she created training and technical assistance services, scaled the organization’s programs, and implemented earned income strategies. In addition to her work in nonprofit management Vale has experience in law and as a full-time musician. Vale made the decision to get her MBA in order to develop the business acumen necessary to find entrepreneurial solutions to social and economic development issues. She is pursuing a concentration in Social Entrepreneurship and has also focused on coursework in finance. Vale is as an Admissions Fellow this year, and looks forward to helping first years with the job search process. Vale spent her summer with B Lab, an organization that identifies and certifies B Corporations. B Corporations are new kind of company which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems (examples include Seventh Generation and Method). During her internship Vale traveled to certified B Corporations and conducted audits of their social and environmental practices. |
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Nadia Berrio
Before coming to Fuqua, Nadia worked in Colombia as an Information Technology consultant focusing on Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Intelligence (BI) projects for the insurance and financial sector. She also participated in and volunteered with several leadership programs to benefit youth in Colombia. At Fuqua, Nadia is focusing on finance and social entrepreneurship and she is pursuing the Certificate in International Development at the Sanford School of Public Policy. During her first year, Nadia was a Section International representative and social co-chair of Latin American Student Association (LASA). She was also part of the team leading the dance initiative of the Arts and Music club and part of the Net Impact Summer Internship Fund taskforce. One of her most significant experiences was the Global Consulting Practicum in India. She serves as a Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE) Fellow and as a career co-chair of the Net Impact Club. Nadia spent her summer at Self-Help, developing the information and processes strategy for Microloans and Asset Quality Analysis in the Commercial Lending Team.
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Debbie Breisblatt
Before coming to Fuqua, Debbie spent four years in Chicago working as a project engineer for a construction management company called Clark Construction. During her time at Clark, Debbie also became a LEED Accredited Professional, directing the evaluation and implementation of green building strategies across a variety of projects. Inspired by the nexus of business and the environment, Debbie came to Duke to pursue a joint MBA and Master of Environmental Management. Last year she served as Net Impact’s co-manager of Green Week, a week-long exposition of global environmental sustainability. Debbie spent her summer as an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow working with the city of Raleigh, NC on energy efficiency strategies.
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Maureen Spain
Maureen spent eight years in legal marketing before coming to Fuqua. At her most recent law firm, she initiated the firm's first Green Committee and worked to reduce the carbon footprint of over 1000 employees. That experience inspired her to come back to school to find a career in which she could make a difference. Maureen has taken advantage of Fuqua's strong social entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability resources, including participating in the Fuqua on Board program and Global Consulting Practicum. Over the summer, Maureen split her time between two internships. She did marketing for a sustainability consulting firm and also researched Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives for two Fuqua professors.
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John Engler Before coming to Fuqua, John worked as an Environmental Education volunteer with the Peace Corps in Guatemala for 2 1/2 years. This was preceded by stints in community reconstruction in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in nonprofit consulting in Nicaragua. John likes to run and cycle in his free time, as well as to cook and eat delicious food. John spent his summer at the Boston office of the Boston Consulting Group working on an organizational design project for a large health care company.
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Joseph McMahan Following two years as a Product Manager, Joseph McMahan pursued a long-held dream and joined the Peace Corps in Kenya. His prior business background provided him with an opportunity to work as a business adviser for the United Nations. In this role he taught farming-as-a-business and provided smallholder farmers with linkages to marketing and financial services. After Peace Corps Joseph remained in East Africa as a consultant for TechnoServe, where he worked to develop the specialty coffee sector. Joseph’s experience in Africa reinforced his belief in the necessity of business skills in the development field, and he has become a strong advocate of market-driven yet socially conscious business. At Fuqua, Joseph is focusing his coursework on social enterprise and international development. During his first year, Joseph was the sustainability coordinator for Net Impact and participated in a Social Entrepreneurship mentored study, the Program for Entrepreneurs (P4E), and the Students Teaching Entrepreneurship Program (STEP). Joe spent his summer in Indonesia with Mars Symbioscience, developing a market entry strategy for a sustainable means of clean drinking water. He currently serves as co-president of the Outdoors Club and is Green Week Coordinator for Net Impact.
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Josh Makaron Before coming to Fuqua, Josh worked briefly in the consulting industry, and for three years in financial services for a well-regarded hedge fund in Greenwich, CT. His desire to use his business acumen to make a more sustainable impact led him back to the Gothic Wonderland of Duke, where he spent his undergraduate days. Josh is proud to serve on the Net Impact cabinet alongside a talented group of peers as a Co-Chair for the club's flagship conference, the Duke Conference on Sustainable Business and Social Impact. In his first year at Fuqua, Josh served as a track manager for the conference, bringing in a diverse array of panelists for the all-day event, and also served as a career mentor to Duke undergraduates through Fuqua2Duke, among other activities. His passions for food and social impact led him to accept an internship with Basis Foods, a start-up social venture in sustainable food based in New York City. Josh is interested in social venture capital and innovative business models in social entrepreneurship.
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Sam Verrill Prior to joining Team Fuqua, Sam was a Junior Architect at the boutique architecture firm Turett Collaborative Architects. In 2007 he founded Screens ‘N’ Spokes with his girlfriend. Over the past four years, Screens ‘N’ Spokes has joined cycling with the arts, partnering with over 40 professional artists and 30 amateur cyclists to raise money and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. At Fuqua, Sam is focusing on marketing. During his first year, Sam produced memorable campaigns for the Net Impact Club, most notably for the Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference (SBSI). Sam serves as co-chair of SBSI.
Sam spent his summer as a Marketing Intern at American Express, developing and implementing a fourth quarter retail strategy for the Platinum Card to drive value for card members and increase spend. |
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