2023 Symposium & PMBA/OMBA Conference Presentations



2023 GBCR Symposium & OMBA/PMBA Conference Agenda*
All times Central Time Zone
All times/events subject to change


 
Tuesday, October 10, 2023  
6:00–8:00 Informal Welcome Social Event  
Wednesday, October 11, 2023  
9:00-10:00 Check-In/Continental Breakfast  
10:00-10:30 Welcome  
10:30-11:30 Plenary Panel Session – Building Curriculum and Programs to Meet Your Market Needs Alexander McKelvie, Interim Dean, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University
 
Phil Miller, Assistant Dean for MBA & MS Programs, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
11:30-12:15 Concurrent Breakout Session:  What’s next for Alternative Credentials? Kate Klepper, Associate Dean, Graduate Programs, D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University
Concurrent Breakout session: Launching Berkeley Haas Flex: Strategies and Lessons Learned Marjorie Degraca, Executive Director of Admissions for Berkeley MBA Programs for Working Professionals, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
 
Leah Rozeboom, Director of Flex Experience, Evening & Weekend MBA Program, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
Concurrent Breakout Session:  Creating a Collaborative Coalition of Corporate Partners Greer Jason-DiBartolo, Associate Dean for Academic Administration, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business
  Sponsor Sessions: Beyond the Classroom: Enhancing Business Programs though Global Immersion Alex Leik, Worldstrides

Danielle Edmonson, Director of Global Experiences, Worldstrides

Nicole Koppel, MBA Director, Montclair State Unviersity 
12:15-1:30 Lunch  
1:30-2:15 Concurrent Breakout Session: The Future of the MBA is Flexible Joey-Lynn Bialkowski-Peterson, Executive Director of Career Engagement and Industry Relations , Concordia University, Wisconsin|Ann Arbor

Amber Gray, Director of the MBA, MS in Accountancy, and MS in Business Analytics Programs, Concordia University, Wisconsin|Ann Arbor

Kim Schave, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Concordia University, Wisconsin|Ann Arbor
Concurrent Breakout Session: Building Communicative Managers Elizabeth Williams, Associate Faculty; Doctoral Candidate, Royal Roads University
Concurrent Breakout Session: The State of Admissions Panel
 
Mariana Stoyancheva, Executive Director OMBA Experience, Boston University Questrom School of Business (moderator)

Shelbi Brookshire, Assistant Dean, MBA & MS Admissions, University of Maryland, R.H. Smith School of Business

Stephanie Gunn, Director, Student Recruitment & Admissions, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Xani Haynie, Director, PMBA & MBAO, University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business    
Sponsor Sessions: 'Stranger Things' to Familiar Faces: Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Online Business Education
 
Tawnya Mean, Assistant Dean for Educational Innovation and Chief Learning Officer, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaigne

Bob Ertischeck, Head of Client Services, Yellowdig
2:15-3:00 Concurrent Breakout Session: Thrive in the Hyper-Competitive Market: A 3-Pronged Digital Marketing Approach for Business Schools Pamela J. Suzadail, Associate Dean and Executive Director for Online Learning, William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business

Michael Bell, Chief Marketing Officer, Everspring
Concurrent Breakout Session: Leveraging OPMs for Student Success Joseph Zielinski - Assistant Director Master's Advising, Syracuse University
 
Anh Murphy - Counselor, Academic Services,
Syracuse University
Concurrent Breakout Session: Delivering Student Choice through a Customizable MBA Program Jill Tomkins, Assistant Dean, University of Iowa
 
Jen Blackhurst, Associate Dean, University of Iowa
 
Sponsor Sessions: Student Preparedness for Online and Part-Time Programs Ana Kyper, Senior Director, GME Prep and Readiness, Graduate Management Admissions Council

Ginny Wagg, Assistant Director, MBA Programs, Virginia Tech
3:00-3:30 Break  
3:30–4:30 Plenary Panel Session: MBA Advisory Ecosystem Structures for Success Moderator:  Sarah Hardcastle, Founder, Hardcastle & Associates
 
Panelists: 
Mirjeta Beqiri, Professor of Operations Management, Gonzaga University

Steve Burton, Executive Director, Career Management Center, Mays Business School, Texas A & M University
 
Sharon Ryan Lydon, Associate Dean of Alumni and Corporate Engagement, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University
 
4:30-5:15 Concurrent Breakout Session:  Leveraging Career Resources to fully Engage Leaders Lynn Snyder, Director, Academic Resources & Student Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jean Sink, Director, Career
Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Concurrent Breakout Session:  Using what we learned in a pandemic and university consolidation to save a failing part-time MBA Karen Carlin, Assistant Director, MBA Programs, University of South Florida Muma College of Business

Eric Douthirt, Director, MBA Programs, University of South Florida Muma College of Business
Concurrent Breakout Session:  ESG, DEI, AI: Keeping Current at Nexus of Business, Public Affairs and Policy Tina Mabley, Assistant Dean, Full Time MBA, University of Texas at Austin

Mike Lord, President, The Washington Campus
Sponsor Sessions: Cultivating Next-Gen Leaders: Ensuring Learners Thrive in a Rapidly Changing Business World Mary Theresa Taglang, Educational Testing Service, Associate Director of Business School Relations
5:15–6:15 Networking/Social time – Happy Hour  
6:15 Group Dinners  
Thursday, October 12, 2023  
8:15-9:15 Breakfast – Table Topics  
9:15-9:30 Welcome Back  
9:30 - 10:30 Plenary Session:  View from the Dean’s Office Lisa Ordóñez, Dean, University of California -  San Diego's Rady School of Management
 
Prabhudev Konana, Dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
 
Jamie Prenkert, Dean, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
 
Moderator:  Tina Mabley, Assistant Dean and Director of the Full-time Texas MBA Program, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
 
10:30-11:15 Concurrent Breakout Session:  The Power of Access: Impact Business Lending to Underserved Communities M. Michelle Purnell-Hepburn, Associate Dean for Inclusion & Diversity, Foster School of Business, University of Washington

Michael Verchot, Executive Director, Consulting & Business Development Center. University of Washington Foster School of Business
Concurrent Breakout Session:  Curricular Innovations in Times of Disruption and Transformation Brian Cameron, Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Programs and Executive Education, Penn State’s Smeal College of Business
Concurrent Breakout Session:  Managing Change and Innovation Across your PMBA and OMBA Programs
 
Erica Ochotorena, Senior Coordinator, Academic Operations, Eller College of Management, The University of Arizona
 
Ryan Pinkerton, Assistant Director, Evening MBA Program, Eller College of Management, The University of Arizona
 
Alana Zwiener, Assistant Director, Online MBA Program, Eller College of Management, The University of Arizona

 
Sponsor Sessions: Amazon Books & Professional Education Programs Gretta Kosanovich, Sr. Sales Manager, Higher Education and Enterprise, Amazon Books

Wendy Case, Sr. Associate Director Student Affairs, Emory University
11:15-11:30 Break  
, Concurrent Breakout Session: Restructuring your admissions team to fit your admissions/recruiting needs Paul North, Executive Director, Graduate Programs, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University
  
Emily Haydon, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Concurrent Breakout Session: Making Magic Moments in Online Graduate Business Education Sarah Wanger, Executive Director, Kelley Direct Online MBA, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
 
Will Geoghegan, Chair Kelley Direct, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Concurrent Breakout Session:  Building your corporate partnerships Matt Bowler, MBA Director/Associate Professor of Management, Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University
Sponsor Session: Using The Learner Journey as A Framework for Managing Your Graduate Program
Rodney Alsup, Professor Emeritus & GME News Digest Founder, GME News Digest

Len Rhodes, Executive Director Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business, East Carolina University
 
12:15-1:15 Lunch  
1:15-2:30 Plenary Session: State of the Industry Research Report

Part 1
Part 2
Monica Powell, Senior Associate Dean Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas
2:30-3:30 Plenary Session:  The View from the Chief Learning Officer’s Office Sarah Gisser, Director of Learning & Development Strategy, McKinsey & Company
 
Roz Tsai, Vice President, Talent, Learning, & Org Effectiveness, Thrivent

Kevin Wilde, Executive Leadership Fellow, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota/Former Chief Learning Offer, General Mills
 
Moderator: 
Mary Zellmer-Bruhn, Associate Dean of MBA and MS Programs and Professor in the Work and Organizations Department, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
3:30–4:00 Break  
4:00-4:45 Plenary Session:  SCOTUS & Affirmative Action: an Interactive Discussion with a University General Counsel Babak Bakhtiari, Associate General Counsel, Northwestern University

Greg Hanifee, Associate Dean, Degree Programs & Operations
Clinical Assistant Professor of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
5:00-5:45 Plenary Working Session with Breakouts:  Who wants this job anymore?! Managing your staff and your career in graduate management education. Stephen Taylor, Research Director, BusinessCAS
5:45 Transfer to Event  
6:00 Social Event – Campus Club at the University of Minnesota  
Friday, October 13, 2023  
8:15-9:15 Breakfast – Table Topics  
9:15-9:30 Welcome Back/ Innovator Award Winner Announcements  
9:30-10:30 Plenary Session:  Case Studies in Curricular and Strategic Reviews. Erin Duran, Director, Technology Management MBA, Foster School of Business, University of Washington
 
Gonzalo Freixes, Associate Dean, Fully Employed MBA Program, UCLA Anderson School of Management

Chris Weber, Assistant Dean, Business Transformation, UCLA Anderson School of Management
10:30-10:45 Break  
10:45-11:30 Concurrent Breakout Session: Innovation Studios with Corporate Clients Warren Ritchie, Academic Director, Masters of Science Program, Ivey Business School
Concurrent Breakout Session: Maximizing Alumni Engagement Jennifer Ninh, Senior Director - Enrollment Management & External Relations, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
Concurrent Breakout Session: Technological Innovation in Online Teaching: Where are we now and where are we going? Will Geoghegan, Chair Kelley Direct, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Sponsor Sessions: Integration of ESG into Graduate Business Curriculum (through Immersive Study Trips and Consulting Projects)
Alexander Tapp
Austral Group - Academic Travel, Experiential Learning & Online Education
 
Gonzalo Freixes
UCLA Anderson
11:30-12:15 Concurrent Breakout Session: Flipping Learning: How Integrating Key MBA Skills Increases Learning Jodi Detjen, Associate Dean of Innovative Education & Programs, Associate Professor of Practice, Executive Director of the MBA Program, Suffolk University
Concurrent Breakout Session: To Learn We Must Do: Engaging Students and the Community through Live Client Projects and Partnerships Kate Eaton, Assistant Dean for MBA Programs and Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing, Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business
 
Erin Jordan, Clinical Assistant Professor -  School of Accountancy, Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business
Concurrent Breakout Session:  From Theory to Practice: Developing FT MBA Students to be Agile Leaders in a Rapidly Changing World Tina Mabley, Assistant Dean and Director, Full-time Texas MBA Program, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin

Maura Herson, MIT Sloan, Assistant Dean, MBA & MSMS Programs
 
Sponsor Sessions: Integrating FT and other media content into business school teaching Andrew Jack
Global education editor
Financial Times
12:15-1:30 Lunch Session with Keynote Speaker: Generative AI in Higher Education Paul Wolff, Director of the Faculty Consulting Group, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
1:30-2:15 Concurrent Breakout Session: Stakeholder Engagement Across the Innovation Journey Lisa Abendroth, Founder, Business in a Digital World, University of St. Thomas, Opus College of Business

Carleen Kerttula, Consultant
Concurrent Breakout Session: Breakout Session:  Inclusivity and Belonging: An Examination of the Learning Environment and Experience of MBA Students and Alumni Michelle Wieser, Dean, School of Business and Technology, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Concurrent Breakout Session: What is the Future of the MBA? Moderator:  Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor, Financial Times

Angel Burgos, Executive Director, Graduate Programs, College of Business, Florida International University

D. Jill Green, Sr. Associate Dean for Student Experience and Strategic Initiatives,  Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

 
2:15-2:30 Closing wrap up session  
2:30–3:30 Optional Tours to Carlson School Building  
 

*Agenda and presenters subject to change