Dr. Sam Bonsall is the Deloitte & Touche Teaching Excellence Professor of Accounting at Penn State's Smeal College of Business in University Park, Pennsylvania where he teaches Master of Accounting and doctoral students and conducts research related to the impact of information on capital markets. Before joining Penn State in 2017, he served on the faculty of the Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business in Columbus, Ohio and worked in economic litigation consulting at Bates White LLC in Washington, DC. He earned a B.S. in Economics with Honors from Penn State in 2004. He also earned a M.S. in Business Administration from Penn State in 2004 and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Penn State in 2012. Please feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn. Sam serves on both the Scholar Alumni Society Board and the College's Faculty Advisory Committee.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Alejandro Cuevas is a PhD candidate in the School of Computer Science (SCS) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), in Pittsburgh, PA. His work revolves around how reputation is built in decentralized systems, particularly darkweb marketplaces and decentralized autonomous organizations. He also is co-founder and COO of Redoux, an elevated fragrance brand from NYC. He earned his BS in Security and Risk Analysis with Honors from Penn State in 2018. You can find more about his work and connect with him at aledcuevas.github.io

Tyler Dischinger earned B.A. in Political Science with Honors, B.A. in Economics in ‘09 (Pennsylvania State University); and J.D. ‘12 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is currently a practicing lawyer with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, a full-service corporate law firm with 400+ lawyers: Associate (2012 - 2020); Counsel (2021 - present). In the past, Tyler has coordinated his firm's summer associate program, and he has been active in interviewing and recruiting efforts at his firm for years.

Nikolai Foreman is the Director of Environmental Markets Research at Green Trading Capital in New York City, NY / Houston, TX, where he advises the firms funds on liquid and illiquid environmental products trading . Before joining Green Trading Capital in 2022, he previously worked in commodities trading at Shell Trading US and Broad Reach Power. He earned BS in Finance with Honors from Penn State in 2014. He currently serves on the Scholar Alumni Society Board.

Olivia Francois is an Exam Developer at the National Restauration Association in Washington, DC where she develop resources for professional certification exams in the food and restaurant industry. Before joining the National Restaurant Association in 2023, she previously worked in k-12 assessment at Cambium Assessment as well as in fundraising for cancer research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Olivia earned a BS in Toxicology with Honors in BioBehavioral Health and a minor in Global Health. Please feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn. Olivia currently serves on the Scholar Alumni Society Board.

Andrew (Drew) is a 4th year Medical Student at The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) where he is currently applying to Internal Medicine Residencies in The Greater Philadelphia Area. Aspiring Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician - he will know more by the time of Connect after "Match Day." He graduated Cum Laude from The Eberly College of Science in 2019 with a Bachlelor of Science in Biology with Honors and an option in Vertebrate Physiology. He completed his Thesis through the Stress, Health, and Daily Experiences Lab under Dr. Joshua Smyth, PhD. Andrew currently serves as a Student Committee Member for the Admissions Committee at PCOM, where he has participated in virtual interviews the last two interview cycles as well as an alumni admissions interviewer for the Schreyer Honors College.

Asia is the founder of the vegan skincare line, Redoux. She founded the company in 2019 while living in New York, where she previously worked as a user experience research consultant at IBM and Capco. She earned a BS in Marketing with Honors from Penn State in 2017, and served as president of the Scholar Alumni Society Board President. Currently, she is based out of the Philadelphia area. Feel free to connect with her via Linkedin if you don't mind waiting, or email if you're looking for a quicker response.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Mr. Harkless became a Navy civilian in 2010 and currently serves as NAVAIR Command Property Officer, Sustainment Group, Property Management Department at Patuxent River, MD. In this role, he is responsible for the physical accountability of all NAVAIR owned material as well as policy, oversight and guidance for all Property Management functions at the Command. Mr. Harkless previously served as Branch Head for NAVAIR 6.8.3.3 Sponsor Owned Material branch in the Total Asset Visibility Division at Patuxent River, MD. In this role, he managed Interim Supply Support warehouses for all pre-Material Support Date NAVAIR Spares and maintained the Special Tooling/Special Test Equipment boneyard at Granite City, IL. Prior to joining Logistics full time, Mr. Harkless completed a year-long NAVAIR Leadership Development Program (NLDP) special project rotation where he developed the processes and procedures for NAVAIR material conversion to Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (Navy ERP). His primary engineering work at NAVAIR was serving as a composite material Subject Matter Expert in the NAVAIR Airframe Technology Branch where he developed new composite repair and evaluation techniques and led cross-organizational teams to implement advanced technologies with other Department of Defense agencies and foreign partners. Before NAVAIR, Mr. Harkless worked in the private sector for 15 years primarily in military aircraft structural repair, ultimately acting as Chief Engineer and Program Manager for CSC’s Bonded Repair Division. Mr. Harkless holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering with Honors from Penn State (BS) and the University of Maryland (MS) where he focused on aircraft structures, composite materials and smart structures as well as an MBA from Texas Christian University. Mr. Harkless is a 2016 graduate of the NAVAIR Leadership Development Program and a 2018 graduate of the Department of the Navy Bridging the Gap Program. Brian currently serves as the Chair of the Alumni Engagement & Membership Committee for the Scholar Alumni Society, and is a 2020 Outstanding Scholar Alumni Award Recipient.

John Hemmer is a patent attorney and partner at Morgan Lewis based in Philadelphia. John focuses his practice on patent counselling in the mechanical engineering, industrial design, and life science fields to help clients identify patenting opportunities, protect and leverage competitive advantages, manage patent portfolios, and avoid patent infringement. John also prepares and negotiates technology agreements and works with clients on licensing, investment, merger and acquisition agreements, and IP due diligence. John earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering magna cum laude and with Honors from Penn State in 2003 and his law degree from Temple University in 2006.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Basel Kayyali is a Senior Partner and co-leads McKinsey’s Payor and Provider digital practice globally. In addition, he is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Mid-Atlantic Digital Office and is based in Summit, NJ. He has worked primarily at the intersection of operations, technology, and healthcare, serving clients across the healthcare value chain on various topics, including large operations and digital transformations. In addition, he leads several large prominent hi-tech and telecom clients across a wide range of topics. Prior to McKinsey and business school, Basel worked three and a half years as a marketing strategist and processor architect for Intel Corporation. Basel graduated from Pennsylvania State University’s College of Engineering and Schreyer Honors College with an Electrical Engineering degree (was valedictorian) and earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as a Palmer Scholar (top 5 percent—highest distinction). Basel currently serves on the Scholar Alumni Society Board.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Natalie is a Senior Food Scientist at La Colombe Coffee Roasters in Philadelphia. Joining the company in September 2021, she works on their signature canned draft lattes as well as cold brew coffees sold in grocery stores and cafes in major cities. Her project areas cover beverage formulation and processing, quality improvement, and innovation with new ingredients and manufacturing technology. Prior to joining La Colombe, she spent four years at Mondelez International working on Chips Ahoy!, belVita, Nutter Butter, and other major snack brands. She earned a BS in Food Science with Honors in 2017 and was involved in Schreyer Student Council, THON, and Food Science Club while at Penn State. Currently, she serves as the President of the College's Scholar Alumni Society. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn or at nataliekeller@alumni.psu.edu.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Sue Kelley went on to earn her M.S. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh after completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Penn State. Sue’s research focused on the socioemotional development of toddlers. She studied factors related to self-conscious emotions and mastery, learned helplessness, and attachment. After spending nearly 20 years teaching psychology at Lycoming College, she transitioned into an administrative position at Pennsylvania College of Technology. She is currently Dean of the School of Business, Arts & Sciences.

Joe Kernen is a Litigation Partner at DLA Piper, a global business law firm with more than 4,500 lawyers across Europe, Asia and the Americas. He represents corporate clients in commercial and class action litigation, and advises and defends companies on employment law controversies. Joe previously served as Managing Partner of the DLA’s Philadelphia Office and as Chair of Philadelpha Litigation. He graduated from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts in 1986, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law with Honors.

Eleni is currently the Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Marketing for Dynavax Technologies, and prior to this role she served as the Global Marketing Leader for HPV Vaccines at Merck/MSD. She has over 20 years in numerous roles of increasing responsibility across the US and Global Commercial and Marketing Organizations, Business Development, Strategy, Sales, New Products and Manufacturing. She has dual B.S. degrees from Penn State and Universidad de Alicante, SPAIN, in Supply Chain Operations and Global Marketing with Honors, and an MBA in Marketing from Villanova University. She is currently a Board Member for the Scholar Alumni Society. Eleni and her family live in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Caleb is a private equity investment professional at BDT Capital Partners. He was preivously a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. Caleb graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business in 2018 with a BS in Finance with Honors.

Dr. Kristin Lambert Medicine is a pediatric resident at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She graduated from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences in 2014 with a B.S. in Immunology & Infectious Disease with Honors in Biology. She was the inaugural student in the Schreyer Early Assurance "MD/PhD" Program at the College of Medicine, so that upon graduation, Kristin matriculated at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey. She was a dual-degree trainee at Hershey, pursuing both a Doctor of Medicine which she earned in 2021 and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) which she earned in 2019. Her doctoral research focused on the genetic regulation of inflammation in asthma and allergic disorders. She serves on the Scholar Alumni Society Board and the 2018-2019 recipient of the Outstanding Scholar Alumni Mentor Award for her contributions to her mentees in the Mentoring with Honors program.

Please feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.

Learn more about me before the event by listening to my episode of the Following the Gong podcast.

Mark E. Lavallee, M.D., C.S.C.S., F.A.C.S.M., F.A.M.S.S.M. received both his undergraduate and medical school degrees from Pennsylvania State University. After completing a family medicine residency at York Hospital in York, PA, and a sports medicine fellowship at the Crozer-Keystone Health System in Philadelphia, PA, he acquired the C.A.Q. in sports medicine and his certification as Strength and Condition Specialist from the NSCA. In 1998, He was recruited by the Memorial Family Medicine Residency to start the South Bend Sports Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Lavallee is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. He has served on the board of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (2004-2008), where he was inducted as a fellow in 2019. He has been an associate editor of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine (2004-2008), and had a faculty appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine currently with Drexel University School of Medicine. He held previous clinical professor appointments with Indiana University School of Medicine (1998-2013), Penn State University College of Medicine (2013-2020). While in South Bend, Dr. Lavallee was the team physician for numerous South Bend area high school athletic programs, head team physician for Indiana University South Bend and Holy Cross College, medical director of the Sunburst Race (1999-2013) and was the team physician for University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team. Since relocating back to York, PA in 2013, Dr. Lavallee served as head team physician at Gettysburg College (2014-2020). Dr. Lavallee has proudly served as Head Team Physician for the Gettysburg College Women’s Lacrosse team won the NCAA National Championship both in 2017 and 2018. Dr. Lavallee has authored numerous papers and book chapters on various topics in sports medicine. On a national and international level, Dr. Lavallee has been the IWF medical director for the World Masters Weightlifting championships in Glascow, Scotland (1999), Orlando, Florida (2000), Kefalonia, Greece (2001), the World Masters Games in Melbourne, Australia (2002) Savannah, GA (2003), Vienna, Austria (2004), World Masters Games in Edmonton, Alberta (2005), Bordeaux, France, (2006) Karcinbarcika, Hungary (2007), Kefalonia, Greece (2008), Sydney, Austalia (2009) and Chiechenow, Poland (2010) and Lviv, Ukraine (2012) and the 2013 World Masters Games in Turin, Italy (2013), World University Games in Chang Mai, Thailand (2014), World masters in Copenhagen, Denmark (2014), Rovaneimi, Finland (2015), Heinsheim, Germany (2016), Halmsted, Sweden (2017), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (2017), Barcelona, Spain (2018), and Montreal, Canada (2019). Dr. Lavallee has attended for USAW Olympic Trials in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. He was lead US physician for Rio Summer Games Test event in 2016. In 2017, Dr. Lavallee was nominated by USAW/USOC for IWF Medical Committee and was elected at the IWF Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in May, 2017 and re-elected in 2021. Dr. Lavallee coordinated as chief medical officer an international medical staff for the 2015 IWF Worlds in Houston, TX, 2017 IWF Worlds in Anaheim, CA and 2018 IWF Youth Worlds in Las Vegas, NV. In 2019, Dr. Lavallee travelled with Team USA to Lima Peru for the 2019 Pan Am Games, Tokyo and Thailand in the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan in 2021. Dr. Lavallee served as Chief Medical Office for the IWF Junior Worlds in Heraklion, Crete, GRE in May 2022, followed by 2022 IWF World Masters Championships In Orlando, Florida. Dr. Lavallee has been involved in the study of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome since 1987, soon after the establishment of the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation (now called Ehlers Danlos Society). He helped establish the first network of healthcare providers with an interest in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in the mid 1990’s while chair of the medical committee for EDNF.

Alice Lin is a second year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, PA. Before starting medical school, she worked as an English Language and Culture Assistant for the Council on International Educational Exchange in Madrid, Spain. She earned a BS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology with Honors and a BA in French & Francophone Studies from Penn State in 2020.

Dana Lindt is a Vice President at BDT & MSD Partners, responsible for sourcing, transaction analysis, and execution of both investments and advisory assignments. Prior to joining BDT in early 2022, Dana was at Morgan Stanley on the Alternative Investment Partners Private Markets team, sourcing and investing in privately held companies in the lower middle market. Dana began her career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. Dana earned her BS in Finance from Penn State University’s Schreyer Honors College in 2015 and is a CFA charterholder. Please feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.

Rachel-Paige is a Vice President in PNC Bank's Technology Finance Group in Philadelphia where she manages and underwrites new and existing investments in connection with leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth situations and assists in structuring debt facilities for private equity backed technology companies. Before joining PNC's Technology Finance Group, she previously worked at LBC Credit Partners as an Analyst in the Structuring and Underwriting team and in PNC's Debt Capital Markets Group as an Investment Banking Analyst. She earned her BA in International Political Economy with Honors and BA in Economics from Penn State in 2015. She is also currently working on her MBA with Penn State's Smeal College of Business. Rachel-Paige is currently an Associate Board Member of the Schreyer Honors College Scholar Alumni Society Board and sits on the Membership Committee for the Association of Corporate Growth - Philadelphia Chapter. Please feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-paige-mumenthaler-9078007b.

Hallie Murray is the Senior Director of Clinical Affairs at Tyber Medical in Bethlehem, PA where she oversees all the clinical research supporting the orthopedic medical devices that Tyber Medical designs and sells. Before joining Tyber Medical in 2018 she previously worked at Biomet where she oversaw osteobiologics development and Zimmer Biomet where she oversaw the research (both clinical and pre-clinical) supporting their electrical stimulation portfolio. Hallie earned her BS in Chemical Engineering with Honors from Penn State University in 2002. She also earned her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. Please feel free to connect with her via LinkedIn/Email.

Jake is currently a 4th year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. After graduation he hopes to match into a Family Medicine residency somewhere on the east coast! His interests in medicine include addiction medicine, LGBTQ+ health, and behavioral health. He is also passionate about advocacy in medicine as well as teaching and mentoring those interested in healthcare. He earned a BS in Kinesiology with Honors in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State in 2018. Please feel free to connect with him via email at nairj13@gmail.com!

Michael O'Connor oversees all global litigation and disputes for Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange. Before joining Kraken in 2019, he was in private practice in Washington, DC. He earned dual BS degrees with Interdisciplinary Honors in Computer Science and Biology from Penn State in 2005. He subsequently received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Please feel free to connect with him by LinkedIn.

William Okrafo-Smart is a Recruitment Manager at Teach For America. He leads Teach For America's talent, leadership, and campus partnerships team at various schools in the Northeastern United States including his Alma Mater, Penn State, where he seeks to recruit as many of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence. Before joining Teach for America’s National Recruitment Team in 2021, he served as a Teach for America Corps Member in his hometown, Philadelphia, PA, where he taught High School Chemistry and Math. He earned his BS in Psychology and BS in Global and International Studies with Honors from Penn State in 2019. He was also selected as the 2019 Student Marshal for the Global and International Studies Department. Please feel free to connect with him via email (will.smart@teachforamerica.org) or via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-okrafo-smart/).

Brady Press is a Senior Director at Changing Our World - a social impact consulting firm based in New York City. As a member of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practice, Brady specializes in designing and implementing strategic, purpose-driven programs for companies across various industries. Her role leverages research, project management, writing and interpersonal skills to help corporate clients engage employees, win consumer loyalty and deliver meaningful social impact. She earned a BA in English with Honors from Penn State in 2018. Please feel free to connect on LinkedIn.

Nik is the Technology Investment Banking Associate at Jefferies. He was preiously the VP of Sales at DBC, Inc. after working at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Investment Banking division. He earned a BS in Finance with Honors from Penn State in 2016. Please feel free to contact Nik at njshekher@gmail.com.

Aroostine McDowell Sheston currently teaches history at the alternative public High School for Stafford County, King George and Fredericksburg, VA. She is a retired CIA Case Officer/Instructor who has visited 31 countries, (and counting). She graduated from Penn State in 1989 in Foreign Service and International Politics with her Honors Thesis on Catholicism in Poland under Communist Rule.

Jack Yoskowitz is a Litigation Partner at Seward & Kissel LLP where he specializes in complex commercial and corporate litigation and regulatory matters predominantly for financial services institutions and individuals. Jack regularly represents clients in securities regulatory matters and private litigation, including proceedings brought by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), state securities regulators and self-regulatory organizations. Jack has tried cases in Federal and State courts as well as before various arbitration organizations. According to The Legal 500 US, Jack is “particularly impressive for [his] strong analysis and strategy” and “highly regarded for regulatory enforcement matters.” Jack earned his degree in Psychology with honors from Penn State in 1989. Feel free to connect with Jack on LinkedIn or by email.