Today’s guest on the OneHaas Alumni Podcast is D’Juan Wilcher, the Deputy Director of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and a 2022 graduate of the executive MBA program at Haas.  D’Juan comes from a military family with deep roots in Gary, Indiana. After getting his bachelor’s degree at Indiana University, he decided to join the Navy as an officer. Over the course of his 14 years in the military, D’Juan learned the importance of putting service at the center of all of his work.  D’Juan...

The OneHaas alumni podcast is back for its seventh season and it’s kicking off with a special guest — Fernando Lopez, Sales Director at Conviva.  Originally from Mexico City, Fernando moved to the U.S. during the first dot com boom as a software developer and engineer. But the idea of building a business has always run deep in Fernando’s family. After falling in love with the San Francisco area, he decided to pursue his MBA at Haas where he found his passion for sales.  Fernando and host...

On this episode of OneHaas, hear from alumna Sahar Kleinman – a global strategy and operational excellence executive at Amazon Advertising. Sahar, a first generation American, grew up in New York after her parents emigrated from Iran to further their education. The time she spent watching her mom work in finance on Wall Street and help run her uncle’s photo business had a significant impact on Sahar’s career path. She and host Sean Li chat about Sahar’s experience moving from brick and...

The OneHaas alumni podcast is honored to have Allan Spivack, philanthropist, community builder, and business leader, share his career path insights on today’s episode.  Allan spent much of his childhood fascinated by how his dad ran their family home furnishings business. But he was also curious about how businesses could be used for social good. After getting his JD MBA from Haas, he combined his two passions into RGI Home which he led for more than 30 years.  He and host Sean Li chat about...

Today’s guest on the OneHaas alumni podcast is Jeff Wang, the head of business at Codeium and co-founder of RocketFuel Education.  Jeff grew up in Chicago with a passion for experimenting with the latest cutting edge technology. After some unfilling corporate jobs, Jeff got his MBA at Haas and jumped head first into the startup world. From there, he found a new passion for crypto and AI and started writing his own newsletter filled with keen market analysis.  Jeff and host Sean Li chat about...

On this episode of OneHaas, entrepreneur, advisor, and investor Albert Lee shares his career journey from finance to the startup world and his invention of the app, MyFitnessPal. Born to Korean-immigrant parents, Albert grew up in a small town outside Albany, New York. His dad worked as a scientist at a research and development laboratory right next to Albert’s high school – a school with a reputation for producing successful entrepreneurs. Albert chats with host Sean Li about co-founding...

This month, OneHaas is honored to welcome Noor Gaith to the podcast. Noor is the co-founder of Jaffa Coffee Roasters, named after the city in Palestine, and specializes in artisanal coffee experiences. Noor and his brothers grew up in the Bay Area but come from a big Palestinian family. Raised by immigrant parents from Palestine and Jerusalem, Noor learned the importance of education and following your heart and passions at an early age. By 16, he was already running his own business selling...

In this episode of OneHaas, meet alumna Tricia Tran, Senior Field Marketing Manager of the financial services and Fintech group at ServiceNow. She’s also the founding co-President of the Berkeley Haas Women in a leadership Alumnae network. A child of Vietnamese immigrant parents, Tricia grew up in the Bay Area with her heart set on one day attending UC Berkeley. Her family instilled strong values of education and hard work in her from a young age. Host Sean Li chatted with Tricia during...

The OneHaas alumni podcast is thrilled to welcome Eileen Kwei, the Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of Artisan Partners, a global investment management firm that offers a wide range of high-value-added investment strategies. Eileen was born in the U.S. and spent the first six years of her life in New York where her parents furthered their studies at American universities. When they decided it was time to move back to Taiwan, young Eileen quickly realized she was not going...

On this episode of OneHaas, we hear about the incredible career journey of Laura Clayton McDonnell – the president of Corporates at Thomson Reuters and a board member at Signal AI and Zuora. A first-generation American, Laura grew up in a military family from Panama with her parents always encouraging her to stay curious and never stop learning. She got her undergraduate degree at San Jose State and went on to earn her JD and MBA at Haas. From there, she worked with some of the biggest tech...

The OneHaas alumni podcast is thrilled to welcome Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda – a social impact entrepreneur, globally-recognized human rights expert, and a leading scholar on inclusive and accessible smart cities. After immigrating to the U.S. at seven years old and navigating life with a disability, Dr. Pineda graduated from the Haas School of Business in 2002 and has since gone on to advise Fortune 500 companies, negotiate international sustainability agreements, founded and run the...

In commemoration of Native American Heritage Month, Indian Country Executive Michael Garrow joins the OneHaas podcast to talk about his cultural heritage, his career, and his time at the Haas School of Business. Michael is a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York and grew up on the reservation. After spending some time in an aviation career, he applied to Haas to get his MBA so he could give back to his community. Michael and host Sean Li discuss what it was like growing...

It’s Veterans Month, and this episode of OneHaas welcomes a special guest and a special guest host. Last month’s guest, Cassandra Salcedo, MBA ‘21, speaks with her former classmate and military veteran Joseph Choi, an account executive at Amazon Ads. As the son of a Korean military vet, Joseph grew up always wanting to go into the service. After attending the Naval Academy, he landed one of the few and coveted spots with the Navy Seals and spent nine years in the service before enrolling...

This month on the OneHaas podcast, we’re celebrating Filipino Heritage Month with Cassandra Salcedo, a Product Marketing Senior Lead at Salesforce. Cassandra is a first-generation Filipina American whose parents emigrated from the Philippines in search of the American dream. It was this story that propelled Cassandra's adventurous career path and ultimately led her to Haas. She and host Sean Li discuss what it was like growing up in a traditional Filipino household and her trips back to...

OneHaas’ commemoration of Latinx Heritage Month continues with an interview with Adrien Lopez Lanusse, the former vice president of consumer insights at Netflix. Adrien’s intersectionality between being Latinx and gay gave him a certain kind of insight into the culture within corporations and the impact of those companies’ products on the consumer. He and host Sean Li delve into the art of consumer insights, how Adrien’s upbringing shaped his work ethic, and what it was like to watch...

To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, the OneHaas podcast welcomes Patty Juarez, the executive vice president and head of Hispanic and Latino Affairs at Wells Fargo Bank. Patty found her passion for finance and banking at an early age, growing up in Mexicali, Mexico, watching her father run his business. After moving to the U.S. at age 11, education became a top priority for Patty and her siblings. When it came time to apply for colleges, Patty knew Haas was the school for her. She and host...

Our spotlight on first-generation alumni continues with a conversation with Cassidy Nolan, the co-founder and managing member of Mach 1 Hot Sauce. Growing up, Cassidy struggled in school. But joining the Marine Corps after high school helped him find his drive and discipline that ultimately led him to Haas. Cassidy and host Sean Li discuss his family roots in the kitchen, his military intelligence work for the Marines, how his education at Haas helped shape the idea for Mach 1 Hot Sauce,...

This month, the OneHaas podcast is highlighting first-generation alumni like Carolina Picazo. She’s the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Spectrum Equity – a private equity firm focused on growth capital for internet-enabled software and information services companies. Before Spectrum Equity, Carolina spent 15 years at Deloitte working in tax services. Even as a child growing up in a Mexican immigrant family in San Francisco, she always had an affinity for numbers....

Our conversations for Pride Month continue with musician and composer Adrienne Torf. She and a few classmates co-founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual MBA Students Group, known today as Q@Haas. Adrienne has been a piano player her entire life, but after getting her undergraduate degree in Political Science at Stanford, she saw an opportunity to help fellow self-employed musicians build their businesses. She just needed to acquire the business skills before she could share them with her...

Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, Mark Buchanan joins the podcast to talk about his work in LGBTQ advocacy and community empowerment. After graduating from Haas with a degree in finance and accounting, Mark spent 22 years at Apple as a finance and sales executive. But now, he runs Buchanan Advisory, where he helps diverse leaders reach their full potential. Mark and host Sean Li discuss Apple’s one-of-a-kind culture, how coming out helped Mark in his professional life, and what people can...

Our celebration of AAPI month continues with a conversation with Celeste Fa’ai’uaso. Celeste is a senior program manager at Google and has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. She attributes her academic drive to her parents’ passion for education. Celeste’s father grew up in American Samoa before moving to the mainland for college, and her mother, who is Mexican American, was raised by a single mom in Compton, CA. Her parents and older brother were instrumental in...

As part of AAPI Celebration Month, we welcome Eurie Kim to the show. Eurie is a venture capital investor, serving as Managing Partner at Forerunner. As a former entrepreneur, Eurie has deep personal appreciation for the emotional commitment and relentless passion required of a founder, allowing her to be radically empathetic to the entrepreneurs she works with while being realistic and honest in the advice she offers. Her point of view reflects her practical nature and her penchant for...

Our conversations celebrating Earth Day continue with Adriana Penuela-Useche, a chemical engineer, startup consultant, and future investor who’s passionate about the intersection between entrepreneurship and VC as a way to create Climate Action and protect the planet for future generations. Adriana grew up literally hugging trees in Bogota, Colombia, and wanted to find a way to combine her love of nature with her passion for engineering. With her 11 years in the chemical engineering field,...

In celebration of Earth Day, we invited Martin Szczepanik, NYC alumni chapter president, to talk about renewable energy and sustainability, topics that he is extremely passionate about. Martin currently works at PA Consulting as a Principal Consultant, where he supports their Clean & Smart Mobility offering, helping companies and cities transition to de-carbonized transportation. He also supports utilities and other entities with their purchase and acquisition of renewable energy....