Alumni Spotlight

Background

Where are you from originally?
St Brieuc, France

How long have you lived in NYC and where do you live now?
I moved to NYC in 2004 and left for 2 yrs for business school.  I am now back in NYC

What do you love (or miss) most about NYC?
I love the energy and access to everything the city has to offer from dining, going out, to museums.  I also love that the city is also home to the most amazing and accomplished young professionals that our country has to offer.

Where did you go to college/grad school? Major?
Undergrad: USC, BS Business
Grad School: Wharton, MBA

What company do you work? What is your role and professional background?
Current employer: Greenwood Energy, renewable energy investing
Previous roles: BlackRock – real estate debt, Bank of America, investment banking

What are your hobbies?
Working out, running, photography, adventure travel, fine foods and liquors

nycTIES Experience

How did you find out about nycTIES?
I was introduced to nycTIES through Bharani Rajakumar who was one of the co-founders

What has been your favorite charity to work with and why?
My favorite charity was New Alternatives for Children.  I really liked their mission of helping kids with special needs become productive members of society instead of being hospitalized for life.  The kids were amazing and always in good spirits, it makes you think about what’s really important in life.

What is your favorite nycTIES memory?
The Harlem RBI Olympics, it was my first nycTIES event and it really got me motivated to get involved.

What were your roles when you were involved in the organization?
Strategy Team Lead

How has nycTIES helped you personally/professionally as you have moved along in your career?
Most people can’t afford to mess up or try new things at work.  nycTIES is a true leadership development lab where I felt comfortable taking risks in order to develop.  Young professionals don’t get many opportunities to manage teams but nycTIES is a great place to manage in a risk-free environment.

What advice do you have for new members looking to get involved with nycTIES?
Jump in with both feet in, it’s truly a place where the more you put in it, the more you get out of the experience.

Miscellaneous

Name three things we would find in your purse or briefcase
Headphones, iPad, HP 12C calculator

What is the best concert you have ever been to?
Kenny Chesney

What is one of your life goals?
Go to all continents (only Australia and Antarctica left!)

What’s the next vacation you want to take?
Short mid east tour scheduled for June 2013: Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt

If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
Ronald Reagan

Background

Where are you from originally?
I’m from Sunrise, FL.

How long have you lived in NYC and where do you live now? Five years and I live in the mighty neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

What do you love (or miss) most about NYC? I love the fact that this city is accepting of so many and really encourages the freedom to be yourself. (Oh, and contrary to popular myth people here are quite nice—I love that too.)

Where did you go to college/grad school? Major? I went to Florida State University and earned a degree in International Relations.

At what company do you work? What is your role and professional background? I’m a senior account executive at Bullfrog & Baum. We’re a PR agency specializing in culinary/hospitality clients. Basically, I work with chefs and restaurants—and I love it. Prior to pursuing PR, I worked as a reporter/columnist for a newspaper in Florida.

What are your hobbies? In my off time I love cooking and hanging out with my fiancée, friends, loved ones and my dog. I also try to hit up concerts, farmers’ markets and ride my bicycle as much as possible.

nycTIES Experience

How did you find out about nycTIES? nycTIES co-founder Alex Price and I are old friends from college. (We’re actually fraternity brothers.) When I moved to New York he told me about this wonderful organization and I was happy to help lend a hand.

What has been your favorite charity to work with and why? Career Gear. I just love the organization’s mission and everyone involved in it.

What is your favorite nycTIES memory? No one moment stands out as it’s fair to say that I just enjoyed my time in nycTIES immensely.

What were your roles when you were involved in the organization? I was the PR director.

How has nycTIES helped you personally/professionally as you have moved along in your career? It gave me a great introduction to NYC and provided me with a group of friends that I still have and cherish today.

What advice do you have for new members looking to get involved with nycTIES? Pretty simple: Just do it. It’s a great way to give back to our community and make great friends.

Great Things About Me

Name three things we would find in your briefcase: Chewing gum. Phone charger. Pens.

What is the best concert you have ever been to? Wilco at KeySpan Park (now MCU Park) in Coney Island. Epic show with Yo La Tengo opening and Leslie Feist jumping on stage for a song during the encore.

What is one of your life goals? To just be happy.

What’s the next vacation you want to take? Italy or France would be rad internationally; Portland, OR, and Seattle domestically.

If you could meet anyone, who would it be? Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. As an out-of-shape ex-hockey player, this is a no-brainer.

Background

Where are you from originally?
I was born in Chennai, India but I grew up in Gainesville, Florida.

How long have you lived in NYC and where do you live now?

I lived in NYC from ’04-’09. Then I moved to get my MBA and moved back in 2011. I currently live on the UES.

What do you love (or miss) most about NYC?
Love the energy the city has. There are also lots of really neat people here and lots to learn!

Where did you go to college/grad school? Major?
I studied Finance as an undergrad at The University of Florida and I studied Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon.

What company do you work? What is your role and professional background?
I started an education technology company called LearnBop. I am a co-founder and the CEO. We help teachers ensure that their student master math and science subjects.

What are your hobbies?
I like working out, reading, running in central park with my fiancé and barbecuing! nycTIES

Experience

How did you find out about nycTIES?
I lived with Alex Price when he lost his father so a group of us decided that we would help him get through it by having a charity event in his dad’s honor. The impact that it had on him was absolutely magical and we realized that there must be other people out there that we could use a little help as well. Thus, nycTIES was born!

What has been your favorite charity to work with and why?
That’s a though one! They are all so special to work with. I don’t think I actually have a favorite!

What is your favorite nycTIES memory?
My favorite memory was from our very first event. We didn’t have a budget so we had to do everything ourselves. We were all in a friend’s apartment putting together gift bags, making flyers and preparing hors d’oeuvres for the event.  I remember looking around at the hustle and bustle and seeing a bunch of friends just working together and having a great time.  It was really neat to see how people came together when someone else needed their help.

What were your roles when you were involved in the organization?
I was a founding board member and an active member.

How has nycTIES helped you personally/professionally as you have moved along in your career?
Let’s just say there are more ways than I can recall at the moment! Personally, nycTIES taught me how to work in large unstructured teams that share a common goal. Professionally, nycTIES helped me develop skills as a relationship builder and a responsible teammate that needed to get things done. I learned a lot of leadership skills during my time at nycTIES that helped me raise money and start my own company.

What advice do you have for new members looking to get involved with nycTIES?
Have fun and celebrate the organizations achievements. nycTIES is all about building a stronger relationship with the community while growing as an individual as well. When you commit yourself to the service of others you learn a lot about yourself. What makes nycTIES great is that you’ll be surrounded by a lot of like minded people.  Have fun, meet new people, grow as an individual and leave your impact on the community.

Miscellaneous

Name three things we would find in your purse or briefcase
I carry a back pack. You’ll find my gym clothes, ipad and flyers from the last education conference I attended in there.

What is the best concert you have ever been to?
U2 in Miami!

What is one of your life goals?
To help all students master algebra, the foundation of advanced math
and science subjects.

What’s the next vacation you want to take?
I think I’m headed to Sarasota, FL for the 4th of July!

If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
If I could meet anyone, I would want to meet Kermit the Frog. He seems
fun to hang out with.

Background

Where are you from originally?
Brooklyn, NY

How long have you lived in NYC and where do you live now?
I lived in NYC for 29 years before moving to Chicago for school.  I’ve enjoyed my time in Chicago but am happy to say I’ll be back in NYC (and finally able to hit a few nycTIES happy hours) for good in 3 months!

What do you love (or miss) most about NYC?
Definitely my wife (she lives in the tri-state area), the energy and excitement of NYC, and the great people and partners of nycTIES

Where did you go to college/grad school? Major?
I went to Baruch College for my BBA in Finance and MS in Accountancy and will be graduating from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in June with an MBA (concentrations in Economics and Entrepreneurship)

What company do you work? What is your role and professional background?
Before my MBA I spent 7 years as an auditor at a Big 4 public accounting firm.  After graduation I will be starting a new career as an investment banker.

What are your hobbies?
Eating – I once went on a cross country road trip modeled after Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (a TV show on the Food Network)
Travelling – I got back from Mexico yesterday and will be heading to Hawaii next week
Sports – I’m a huge Knick fan and helped lead my University of Chicago intramural flag football team to the 2011 championship

How did you find out about nycTIES?
I was actually cleaning my apartment a few years ago when I saw nycTIES founders Alex Price and Matt Farkash profiled on NY1 as the New Yorkers of the week. I had always done volunteer work but found it hard to find opportunities that were truly meaningful to me where I also had a chance to work alongside other young, talented, and committed professionals.

What has been your favorite charity to work with and why?
This is an impossible question to answer. I joined nycTIES as the first Project Management Team Leader and had the opportunity to manage a group of volunteers that oversaw relationships with six prior charity partners. All of the organizations do amazing work and are filled with tons of people that are fully committed to their respective causes.

What is your favorite nycTIES memory?
I have two:
i. First, the NAC Olympics in 2008. This was my first major nycTIES event. Seeing firsthand the energy that nycTIES members brought to the volunteer event was truly remarkable and was what immediately got me hooked on nycTIES. Whether coordinating wheelchair races, bean bag tosses or simply switching roles at the face paint station (letting kids paint our faces) you could tell that the nycTIES volunteers were there because they wanted to make a difference and have fun at the same time.

ii. Second, planning the 2009 fundraiser for nycTIES. Working 50 hours a week in my day job and 20-30 hours a week coordinating the fundraiser with fellow nycTIES members was truly life changing for me. The opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and do something I had never done before (event planning) was amazing and something you can’t always get in your job. As CFO, I knew I would be involved in financial decisions related to the event (i.e. venue/marketing costs, ticket pricing, etc.) but the contract negotiations, event promotion, and general creativity required in coordinating a high class event on a limited budget were true challenges for me.
What were your roles when you were involved in the organization?
From 2008-2009, I was the Project Management Team Leader. In this , I managed a team that coordinated volunteer opportunities with current and past charity partners, managed the charity selection process, and tracked the number of hours and value of our volunteer impact.
From 2009-2010, I was the CFO, handling all financial tasks associated with running the organization and played a significant role in coordinating the annual fundraiser (venue selection, contract negotiation, marketing/promotion) despite never having organized such an event before.

How has nycTIES helped you personally/professionally as you have moved along in your career?
There is no way to adequately explain how much nycTIES has helped me. It was nycTIES and its highly intelligent and motivated members that inspired me to apply to business school and pursue a new career. Additionally, if not for Alex Price’s recommendation and my amazing nycTIES experiences I’m convinced I never would have been accepted to school. Finally, despite having lived in NYC for 29 years, I met many of my closest friends during the two years I was involved in nycTIES.

What advice do you have for new members looking to get involved with nycTIES?
Recognize the opportunity that is in front of you. You can get as much from the organization as you are willing to put into it. Whether you are looking to meet new people, make a difference, or develop a new skill set, the opportunities are there for the taking. Don’t be afraid to propose and lead a new project or initiative. There is no other organization that will grant you the freedom to run with an idea and try something new like nycTIES.

Name three things we would find in your purse or briefcase
iPhone, financial calculator, and bills that need to be paid

What is the best concert you have ever been to?

Ha! You can tell this questionnaire was prepared by our resident living music encyclopedia Scott Brenner. I don’t go to concerts. I did recently go to Congress Theater in Chicago. They hold a lot of concerts there but I was there to watch a MMA fight.

What is one of your life goals?
In the short-term, I’m excited to graduate and move back to NYC to be with my wife (we’ve lived in different cities for 4 years). In the medium-term, I want to be successful in my new career and start a family. In the long-term, I want to return to the world of non-profit/social enterprise

What’s the next vacation you want to take?
As I mentioned above, I’m going to Hawaii next week but the trip that has me most excited is my post-graduation honeymoon in Spain

If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
Jeremy Lin of the NY Knicks of course!