Student Profiles

The Sustainable Enterprise MBA Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler attracts the highest caliber students from around the world and helps them become innovative and successful business leaders.

Get to know more about our exceptional MBA students by reading their profiles.

		Napoleon Wallace (MBA 2010) Napoleon is a sell-side street analyst. He believes that ESG investing can change the way we view investments by re-pricing risk. He says, “Imagine if the proper governance pillars had been baked into the financial system from the start…Would we be in the current meltdown?” …more
		Dan Sowder (MBA 2010) Before starting his summer internship with Duke Energy, Dan Sowder (MBA 2010) spent time supporting an international defense exercise somewhere in Southeast Asia. From Naval Officer to sustainability advocate, Dan's journey has taken him all over the world with his latest stop being Kenan-Flagler Business School here in Chapel Hill. …more
		Yan Guan (MBA 2009) A CSR audit on one of his employer’s suppliers by British Telecom ignited Yan’s deep interest in sustainable enterprise. Yan, whose background is in engineering and technology, says, “During the audit, I saw thousands of young girls (some underage) working in harsh conditions. I told myself if I could run a company in the future I would never let this happen.” …more
		Paula Wertheim (MBA 2009) A year of life on a kibbutz in Israel during high school inspired Paula to be a trailblazer. She says, “As green businesses grow and become viable, I want to help bridge the gap between these businesses and MBAs looking for jobs in this sector.” …more
		Tom Outlaw (EMBA 2008) Tom is an international health consultant. After 4 years with USAID he came to UNC Kenan-Flagler for business skills to complement his graduate work in public health at Johns Hopkins. Recently returned from Uganda, he says, “Finding new ways to tap the power of markets and entrepreneurs can improve the lives of millions living at the bottom of the pyramid.” …more
		Katherine Jennrich (MBA 2008) Katherine was in her 1st year at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment when she decided to add an MBA at UNC Kenan-Flagler. In an internship with Wal-Mart, she was asked to plan and implement a pilot Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas (GHG) analysis that got national press coverage. She says it “truly gave me a chance to see it is possible to make money while achieving environmental goals.” …more
		Paquita Poindexter (MBA 2008) As an MBA at UNC, Pacquita has competed in the SVIC, worked with Burt’s Bees on a sustainable practicum and interned with 3M. She says, “Thinking about your product or service in a holistic way allows you to truly assess the risks and help mitigate them.” …more
		Beth Richardson (MBA 2008) Beth’s award-winning start-up venture, Zebra Crossings,  imports gifts made in South Africa. The venture employs and links crafts people there with buyers in the U.S. who value fair trade goods. Beth says she came to UNC for her MBA despite being a Blue Devil, because of the school's  highly  ranked programs for sustainable enterprise and entrepreneurs,, the depth of courses to choose from, and the school’s robust Net Impact chapter. …more
		Betsy Vos Reeves (MBA 2007) Betsy came to UNC after stints at Habitat for Humanity International and at a non-profit that raised millions for clients such as the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Between her first and second year as an MBA, she worked as a marketing intern for the consumer healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline. Betsy credits the success of MBAs at UNC in this arena to great professors and lots of chances to put sustainable ideas to work in the real world while still in school, through projects and case competitions. …more
		Shashank Khandavalli (MBA 2007) Shashank spent most of his life in India, where he earned a BS in engineering. After he came to the US, his work at Duke Energy in the nuclear engineering group led him to pursue an MBA. He says he chose UNC for its superior mix of finance and sustainability programs, and for the University’s long standing commitment to environmental responsibility. He said he chose to intern after his first year as an MBA with GE Energy because it invests in eco-friendly energy. While there, he worked on the market strategy for GE’s next generation of natural gas turbines. …more
		Jim Hutton Johnson (MBA 2007) Jim co-founded the now renowned SVCIC (Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition) at UNC Kenan-Flagler. He came to UNC after a record-breaking 4-year career in college baseball with a BA in economics from Brown University and 4 years as a certified financial planner and wealth manager for high-net-worth private clients in the Boston, MA area. Some of his clients asked him to place their money in socially-responsible investments. Since no one at his firm knew what that entailed at the time, Jim researched and designed his firm’s SRI approach and found it was a natural fit with his beliefs. When he was looking at schools before going back for his MBA in 2005, he saw the CSE Consulting Program as a strong selling point that set UNC Kenan-Flagler apart. …more
		Elena Miller (MBA 2007) As a business major with an bachelor’s degree and a minor in Spanish from the College of William and Mary, Elena worked for a few years as an environmental systems consultant at CGI-AMS Inc in Fairfax, VA and then chose to go back to school for her MBA. When she did her research to look at schools, she said UNC Kenan-Flagler impressed her with the chance to be part of the work of the Kenan Institute and the Center for Sustainable Enterprise. She also liked that the School was known to place interns and help students find jobs in the sustainable arena. Elena took a post as an MBA intern in Bangkok through a program of the school’s Kenan Institute Asia and the Thai Government that worked on the export logistics issues of small Thai businesses. …more

Alumni Profiles