The Berkeley Executive Education Team
Our team of experts bring to bear their diverse professional backgrounds in education, consulting, customer service and other industries to design and develop exceptional learning experiences for our clients. Meet our team:
Ann Harrison, Board Chair
Dean, Haas School of Business
Ann E. Harrison became the 15th dean of the Haas School of Business on Jan. 1, 2019. A renowned economist, she has dedicated her career to creating inclusive and sustainable policies in development economics, international trade, and global labor markets.
Harrison came to Haas from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was a professor of multinational management and business economics and public policy. Before joining Wharton in 2012, she was the director of development policy at the World Bank, where she co-managed a team of 300 researchers and staff.
Harrison has deep Berkeley roots. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley with a double major in economics and history. She also served as a professor of Berkeley’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics from 2001 to 2011.
Harrison is one of the most highly-cited scholars globally on foreign investment and multinational firms. She is the author of dozens of journal articles and the editor of three books, including Globalization and Poverty and The Factory-Free Economy: Outsourcing, Servitization, and the Future of Industry. In 2017, Harrison and her co-authors were awarded the prestigious Sun Yefang Prize by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The prize, given every two years, is considered one of China’s most prestigious honors in economics.
As director of development policy at the World Bank, Harrison reformed its process for allocating research funds and oversaw the institution’s flagship publications. She convinced the World Bank’s president to release all historical records on project loans, a milestone in increasing transparency.
Harrison has been interviewed about global trade policies and manufacturing by top publications including Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times.
In addition to Berkeley and Wharton, Harrison has held positions at Columbia Business School, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the University of Paris. She has lectured at most major U.S. universities and in India, China, Latin America, Europe, the Philippines, and North Africa.
Harrison earned her PhD in economics from Princeton University. She also holds a DEUG (diplôme d’études universitaires générales) from the University of Paris. Born in France, she is a dual citizen of the U.S. and France.
Emily Nishi
Chief People Officer, Lyft
Emily is the Chief People Officer at Lyft, a company driven by its mission to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. Just as Lyft strives to connect people to their communities and their cities, Emily sees her role as bringing Lyft team members together toward a shared mission and creating the best place for people to do their best work.
Prior to joining Lyft in 2017, Emily was YouTube’s global head of People Operations where she led the organization development, talent strategy, and human resource operations for the team that delivers YouTube to over 1.5 billion users around the world.
Emily moved to YouTube after 9 years at Google, where she partnered with various leadership teams on building and scaling their organizations. She led the People Operations function for several Google sales and operations teams. When she first joined Google in 2005 she established Google’s global diversity and inclusion programs and created K-12 and community initiatives, scholarships, staffing, benefits and workplace programs.
Prior to Google, Emily was a management consultant at Accenture’s Manila office, and held various human resource roles at Agilent Technologies in Palo Alto, California. Emily has an MBA from UC Berkeley and an undergraduate Psychology degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.
When not thinking about how to make Lyft an even more amazing place to work, she spends her time with her two young kids in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Josh Bersin
Founder and CEO, Josh Bersin Academy
Josh Bersin is the Founder and CEO of the Josh Bersin Academy, which provides research and advisory services focused on corporate learning, leadership, talent management, and HR technology. He is responsible for the direction of Bersin’s strategy, research, and market eminence.
Josh is a popular speaker at industry events and has been featured discussing talent management topics in media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, BBC Radio, CBS Radio and National Public Radio. He is the author of two books on corporate learning, a popular blogger for Forbes.com, a leading LinkedIn influencer, and has been a columnist for Chief Learning Officer magazine since 2007.
Prior to Bersin, Josh spent 25 years in product development, product management, marketing and sales of e-learning and other enterprise technologies at companies including DigitalThink (now Convergys), Arista Knowledge Systems, Sybase, and IBM.
Josh holds a B.S. in engineering from Cornell University, an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Marina Gracias
General Counsel/Corporate Secretary at Varo Money
Marina Gracias is General Counsel/Corporate Secretary at Varo Money. Varo[s mission is to help people improve their financial lives by providing them with a suite of mobile app based financial tools. Prior to joining Varo, Marina was a Managing Director in Financial Services at Accenture and prior to that the Head of Global Sourcing at Visa. Marina also practised corporate law both in house and at a prominent San Francisco law firm. Marina also serves as an Advisory Board member for Bizworld which is educating our future entrepreneurs.
Michael Katz
Professor of Economics, UC Berkeley
Michael Katz is the Sarin Chair in Strategy and Leadership at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Katz is also a professor in the Economics Department at UC Berkeley. He has previously served as chair of Economic Analysis Group, Strategic Planning Committee, and Policy & Planning Committee at UC Berkeley. In addition, he has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at UC Berkeley.
Katz earned his A.B. Summa Cum Laude, from Harvard University and Ph.D. in Economics from Oxford University.
Richard Wilson
Senior Director in the Portfolio Product Development group at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc
Richard Wilson (EMBA ‘15) is currently Senior Director in the Portfolio Product Development group at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, a publicly traded rare disease biotech company in San Rafael. Richard has spent the last 25 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in a broad range of roles ranging from research project ideation to commercialization and investment strategy. He currently leads a cross-functional team charged with defining the global strategic plan for Palynziq, a new therapy for phenylketonuria, which was just recently approved by FDA. Prior to BioMarin, Richard has held positions of increasing responsibility in organizations including Glaxo Group Research (London, UK), Biochem Therapeutic (Montreal, Canada) and Theravance/Innoviva (South San Francisco, CA). He’s been involved in the commercialization of four new medicines during his career and has also lead R&D programs in cardiovascular disease, anti-infective therapy, respiratory disease, rheumatology, and urology.
Richard has also served in a variety of volunteer roles within his industry, serving as a start-up mentor for the California Life Science Institutes FAST program, and also participated in the Haas Startup Marketplace program, a joint initiative with the College of Chemistry.
Richard holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in the UK, and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Richard is a passionate advocate for the mission of the Haas School of Business.
Richard first became involved with Haas as a student in the MBA for Executive program in 2014, where he was elected class president and has been an active alumnus ever since, serving as an ambassador and fundraiser for his class, and a mentor for those looking to explore careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He’s delighted to be nominated for the Board of Directors of the Executive Education Program and looks forward to giving back to the school and playing a part in the governance of this exciting program. Go Bears!
Rosemarie Rae
Vice Chancellor - CFO, UC Berkeley
Rosemarie Rae is the Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer (VC-CFO) at UC Berkeley. She brings over 30 years of experience in finance and administration to her role. She has worked in both the public and nonprofit sectors, which includes serving as the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of The National Trust for Historic Preservation; Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Financial Officer at Volunteers of America; held senior leadership positions at Experience Works and LORAL Space and Communications; and was a principal and founder of Balrae Associates, an Information Technology services firm.
Rosemarie holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Radford University, a masters degree in public administration from American University, and is a doctoral candidate in organizational design at The George Washington University.
Mike Rielly
Chief Executive Officer
Mike Rielly is CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education, serving leaders and organizations who aspire to redefine the future of business.
A 20-year veteran of the sports industry, as Senior Vice President at IMG, Mike managed world-class athletes, organized major sports and entertainment events, and developed international markets for the agency.
Mike joined the Haas School of Business in 2009, first as a highly regarded lecturer in sports marketing, then as Assistant Dean and Executive Director of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. Mike has been CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education since 2016.
A graduate of Stanford University and Ohio University, Mike is an avid sports and architecture enthusiast and spends most weekends in Anderson Valley.
Andrea Salvemini
Vice President, Customer Success
Andrea brings to UC Berkeley Executive Education her passion for partnering with companies to inspire their leaders to grow, develop and exceed expectations. With over 15 years of working with global organizations to develop their leaders, Andrea is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that will make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, research and thought leadership at Berkeley. Andrea’s personal passions and curious nature align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and she’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources within Berkeley to bear for her clients. Prior to joining CEE, Andrea was the VP of Business Development for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her customers.
Andrea also founded Alliances Corporate Training, successfully partnering with companies as a training resource consultant. In addition to delivering program on Emotional Intelligence and Time Management, Andrea scoured the Bay Area to bring in the best resources for organizations in terms of coaching, assessment and leadership development. Over the last 10 years, Andrea has worked with clients in the technology, financial and healthcare industries, including HP, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Medtronic.
Andrea holds an BA from UC San Diego in Physiology, with additional postgraduate work in exercise physiology. She is certified in the MHS EQi Assessment. In her free time, Andrea loves to exercise, explore the outdoors, create culinary delights for friends, and spend time with her family.
Connect with Andrea at andrea_salvemini@berkeley.edu
Jon Greco
Chief Financial Officer
Jon holds more than 20 years in financial and accounting leadership along with deep experience in organizational design in finance.
Prior to Berkeley Executive Education, Jon was the Director of Finance for the Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco office. At UC Berkeley Executive Education, Jon leads the finance and operations team which handles all aspects of financial operations and reporting as well as oversee the legal, technology and human resource functions. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an MBA from Boston University.
A Boston area native who relocated to the bay area in 2004, Jon enjoys mixing his passions for travel and music and is an avid collector of artwork relating to rock concerts.
Judy Walklet
Vice President, Growth & Partnerships
Judy’s passion is connecting business leaders with new sources of insight, inspiration, and expertise that enable enhanced innovation, products, customer experiences and growth. Drawn to Berkeley by its distinctive values and culture, breadth and relevance of faculty expertise in helping our partners solve crucial business challenges, and her own life-changing experience with executive education, Judy is excited to be back in the heart of business transformation. In 2019, Judy returned to Berkeley from Harvard Business Publishing, where she worked in product management in the fast-evolving world of virtual learning experiences. Before Berkeley, Judy was Director of Strategic Accounts at C Space, an Omnicom-held global agency that embeds customers as collaborative partners in innovation and marketing strategy development for leading global brands. Previously, Judy was VP of Strategic Accounts for Iconoculture (now part of Gartner), a global consumer insight and strategy firm. She also served as VP of Business Development for ThirdAge Media and the Ancestry.com Network in San Francisco, early pioneers in online media. Throughout her career, she has led the development of strategic partnerships with clients across a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer goods, retail and media/entertainment. Judy holds a BA from Middlebury College and completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Julie Shackleton
Vice President, Digital Initiatives
Julie Shackleton brings to Berkeley Exec Ed nearly 10 years of experience in online education. A recovering lawyer, she taught law at several universities in Paris before moving back home to design, produce, and deliver in-person and online diploma programs at the Law Society of Ireland. In 2014, Julie moved to Boston where she managed legal and policy issues for Harvard Business School’s HBX (now HBS Online).
Julie holds an LL.B and an LL.M in International Business Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is licensed as a Solicitor in Ireland and an Attorney in the state of New York. She specialized, academically and professionally, in data privacy law and stays current by supervising graduate students working towards an LL.M Advanced Legal Practice.
Lisa Ryan
Vice President, Marketing
Lisa is a senior brand and marketing strategist dedicated to enabling organizations to realize their growth potential in market. With more than 20 years in sales and marketing, she is tenacious in applying insights driven strategies to heighten engagement, build business and create the ultimate end to end branded experience. Lisa is passionate about purpose and thrilled to be part of an organization that is committed to redefining the future of business.
Lisa leads open enrollment programs in Executive Education with responsibility for development, marketing, and eCommerce. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Of Management. Beyond work, Lisa is an avid runner, hiker, traveler and mom.
Nate Castro
Vice President, Business Development
Nate is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of business development and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Nate lived in London and New York, and held senior leadership roles at General Assembly, Apple, and several early-stage Silicon Valley start-ups.
Nate graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Applied Economics. As an avid believer in continuous learning, he is also a graduate of several advanced training and certificate programs. When not building teams to scale high growth, disruptive businesses, Nate can likely be found on Southern California hiking trails or beaches with his wife and dog.
Richard Freishtat
Vice President of Curriculum
Richard comes to Executive Education building on an impressive career in education, most recently serving as Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley, where he designed and delivered a full range of enrichment initiatives and consultation services to the 2000+ faculty across campus. Richard also serves as Co-Faculty for Exec Ed's Communications Excellence program where, along with his co-faculty, he "helps executives shine in public forums and achieve breakthroughs."
Richard works closely with the entire Executive Education team, where his responsibilities include Faculty Engagement and Support, Curriculum Strategy, Business Development support, and Thought Leadership.
Ashim Shanker
Instructional Designer
Ashim Shanker is an instructional designer with Berkeley Exec Ed. Bringing over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, curriculum development, qualitative research, and instructional design, Ashim began his foray into education in 2003 when he moved to Tokyo, Japan. While there, he taught in a variety of settings ranging from international high school classrooms to executive board rooms.
After completing his Master's degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University, Ashim contributed to educational research publications in collaboration with UNICEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He also contributed to a collection of educational case studies profiled in a book published by Harvard’s Global Education Innovation Initiative.
In his free time, Ashim is an active writer. He has authored 3 absurdist fiction novels and a book of short stories and poems. Ashim currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts with his spouse and a guitar he affectionately refers to as ‘Poochie.’
Andrea Salvemini
Vice President, Customer Success
Andrea brings to UC Berkeley Executive Education her passion for partnering with companies to inspire their leaders to grow, develop and exceed expectations. With over 15 years of working with global organizations to develop their leaders, Andrea is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that will make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, research and thought leadership at Berkeley. Andrea’s personal passions and curious nature align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and she’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources within Berkeley to bear for her clients. Prior to joining CEE, Andrea was the VP of Business Development for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her customers.
Andrea also founded Alliances Corporate Training, successfully partnering with companies as a training resource consultant. In addition to delivering program on Emotional Intelligence and Time Management, Andrea scoured the Bay Area to bring in the best resources for organizations in terms of coaching, assessment and leadership development. Over the last 10 years, Andrea has worked with clients in the technology, financial and healthcare industries, including HP, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Medtronic.
Andrea holds an BA from UC San Diego in Physiology, with additional postgraduate work in exercise physiology. She is certified in the MHS EQi Assessment. In her free time, Andrea loves to exercise, explore the outdoors, create culinary delights for friends, and spend time with her family.
Connect with Andrea at andrea_salvemini@berkeley.edu
Nate Castro
Vice President, Business Development
Nate is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of business development and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Nate lived in London and New York, and held senior leadership roles at General Assembly, Apple, and several early-stage Silicon Valley start-ups.
Nate graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Applied Economics. As an avid believer in continuous learning, he is also a graduate of several advanced training and certificate programs. When not building teams to scale high growth, disruptive businesses, Nate can likely be found on Southern California hiking trails or beaches with his wife and dog.
Amanda Thoet
Business Development Associate
Amanda brings a global perspective to Berkeley Executive Education through growing up as a third culture kid and serving as a Fulbright scholar in Leipzig, Germany. Prior to joining Exec Ed, Amanda worked for an international development firm specializing in implementing government-funded rule of law projects in developing countries. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service with a concentration in international diplomacy, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and Communication Arts & Sciences from the Pennsylvania State University.
In her free time, Amanda is an avid runner, seasoned hiker, world traveler, podcast enthusiast, and community volunteer, especially in the area of refugee integration as a volunteer with Upwardly Global.
Carolyn Robertson
Director, Business Development
Carolyn brings 20 years of partnering with global organizations in the human capital arena focused on driving thoughtful relationships and innovative client-focused solutions. Carolyn is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, world-renown research and thought leadership Berkeley has to offer. She has a clear understanding of the expectations and pressures on executives to immediately contribute to the greater organization. Carolyn’s natural curiosity and passions align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and passion for lifelong learning. She’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources and tools within Berkeley to her clients.
Prior to joining BEE, Carolyn was the Strategic Account Director for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her enterprise clients. Carolyn’s experience spans industries, with a focus on high-tech, biotech and financial industries in Fortune 500 organizations, a few examples are; eBay, PayPal, Genentech, Facebook and Lam Research.
Carolyn received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from University of California, Davis. In her free time, Carolyn can be found spending time with her husband and two small children, exploring tidepools, cooking, or taking a yoga class.
Justin Dunn
Business Development Associate
Before joining Executive Education, Justin received his bachelor’s degree from Haas Business School while playing football and rugby for the university. As a fourth generation Cal student, Justin is excited to join the team and contribute to a long legacy of representing the school.
Justin loves dogs and enjoys outdoor activities such as fly fishing, hiking, and working to get his pilot’s license.
Liz Lowry
Director of Business Development, Nordic, Australasia and Northeast U.S.
Elizabeth Lowry joined the Haas School of Business in 2018 as Director, Business Development. In her role, she partners with organizations to diagnose business challenges and talent competency gaps that can be bridged through executive learning and development. Liz is passionate about preparing leaders for the future of work by marrying game-changing technologies and their business applications with critical leadership competencies needed in a tech-driven economy.
Prior to joining Haas, Liz' executive experience included 13 years in recorded music where she developed commercial partnerships to launch Apple Music, Amazon Music and SoundCloud Music. Liz also was part of the go-to-market team at Universal Music to launch VEVO in 2009, a joint-venture between Universal and Sony Music.
Liz embodies Haas' leadership principles and goes beyond herself by giving back to Berkeley Haas where she obtained her Executive MBA. While at Haas, Liz organized a student-led fundraising campaign to give back to the university. Under her leadership, the Class of 2016 set up the Beyond Yourself Fellowship to fund needs based fellowships for future EMBA students.
A graduate of the University of Miami (BM) and Berkeley-Haas School of Business (EMBA), Liz is an active vocal performer, active traveler, and novice cook. She spends her weekends with her husband exploring The Bay Area’s beauty and nightlife.
Connect with Liz at liz_lowry@berkeley.edu
Michael Dunn
Sales Operations Manager
Michael joined Executive Education in December 2017 as a Business Development Associate. He brings to Executive Education a strong professional background in client management and development, sales and event planning in the entertainment and fashion industries. He is excited to be part of the Business Development team as this allows him to continue to pursue his interest in working with clients and building strong relationships.
Executive Education is a natural fit for Michael. A 2017 graduate of Berkeley Haas, Executive Education allows Michael the opportunity to help clients reach their organizational objectives as well as give back to a university that has enriched his life both educationally and personally.
In his free time, Michael enjoys his lifelong passion for playing hockey and is engaged in several mentoring programs within his community.
Richard Freishtat
Vice President of Curriculum
Richard comes to Executive Education building on an impressive career in education, most recently serving as Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley, where he designed and delivered a full range of enrichment initiatives and consultation services to the 2000+ faculty across campus. Richard also serves as Co-Faculty for Exec Ed's Communications Excellence program where, along with his co-faculty, he "helps executives shine in public forums and achieve breakthroughs."
Richard works closely with the entire Executive Education team, where his responsibilities include Faculty Engagement and Support, Curriculum Strategy, Business Development support, and Thought Leadership.
Emily Odenberg
Curriculum Designer
Before joining Berkeley Executive Education, she was the Senior Event Manager for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a global effort supported by over 60 of the top Fortune 100 companies. She oversaw the largest LGBTQ professional conference in the world, convening over 3,500 participants annually.
Mary Nguyen
Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom
Mary received her Bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Public Policy at UC Berkeley in 2019 and is a former Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellow at the Goldman School of Public Policy. She has previously interned at the San Jose City Council and California State Senate.
Mary began her career at ExecEd in August 2017 as a Program Management Assistant. Upon graduating, she continued on the Program Management team as an Associate Program Manager, and has since transitioned to her role as a Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom on the Digital Initiatives team.
Mary was born in San Jose and is a long time resident of the Bay Area. She continues to stay involved in her local youth group by organizing service projects, planning community events, and being a leadership mentor. In her free time, Mary enjoys going to concerts, taking food adventures, scenic drives, photography, and hiking.
Jon Greco
Chief Financial Officer
Jon holds more than 20 years in financial and accounting leadership along with deep experience in organizational design in finance.
Prior to Berkeley Executive Education, Jon was the Director of Finance for the Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco office. At UC Berkeley Executive Education, Jon leads the finance and operations team which handles all aspects of financial operations and reporting as well as oversee the legal, technology and human resource functions. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an MBA from Boston University.
A Boston area native who relocated to the bay area in 2004, Jon enjoys mixing his passions for travel and music and is an avid collector of artwork relating to rock concerts.
Sue Helinar
Manager of Accounting
As a Senior Accountant/Financial Analyst, Sue has brought a breadth of industry experience ranging from Healthcare, Architecture, Consulting and Startup (Pre-IPO).
She graduated from the University of Arizona with Cum Laude honor and majored in Accounting and Operation Management, obtaining her BA in two-and-a-half years. Sue has also passed all 4 parts of CPA exam with self study.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, she spent much of her adolescent years in Singapore and Taiwan before coming to United States for college. When she’s not working, she loves to travel, experience new cultures and create lasting memories with her family.
Yolanda Williams
Financial Analyst
Yolanda Williams serves as a Financial Analyst within Berkeley Executive Education's finance team. She has more than 20 years of progressive experience in accounting and financial services. Her role includes a vast array of duties within accounts payable, accounts receivable and collections, all while managing open enrollment registration process and providing a variety of financial support to the CFO.
Yolanda is a lifetime resident of California and loves the opportunity she has had to work with different people throughout the UC System. She is passionate about accounting and her high standard of excellence is what clients and coworkers can expect when working with her.
In Yolanda’s spare time she loves roller skating, church, shopping and enjoying family time.
Lisa Ryan
Vice President, Marketing
Lisa is a senior brand and marketing strategist dedicated to enabling organizations to realize their growth potential in market. With more than 20 years in sales and marketing, she is tenacious in applying insights driven strategies to heighten engagement, build business and create the ultimate end to end branded experience. Lisa is passionate about purpose and thrilled to be part of an organization that is committed to redefining the future of business.
Lisa leads open enrollment programs in Executive Education with responsibility for development, marketing, and eCommerce. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Of Management. Beyond work, Lisa is an avid runner, hiker, traveler and mom.
Alexandra Hesse
Marketing Communications Manager
Alexandra joined Berkeley Executive Education in December 2017. Before joining ExecEd, she obtained her Master’s in Education and taught middle school science as a Teach for America corps member. After two years of teaching in New York, she continued her teaching career at one of Shanghai's top international schools. Passionate about education management, Alexandra then went on to earn a Master’s in Business Management at Peking University HSBC Business School (北京大学汇丰商学院) in Shenzhen, China.
Alexandra has spent the past five years teaching and studying in three of China’s major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. She is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese and is always looking for volunteer opportunities where she can use her Chinese language and cultural fluency in the Bay Area.
In her free time, Alexandra loves running and training for road races. She ran her 29th half marathon this fall. She also enjoys hiking, baking, improv theater classes, blogging, and spending time with her friends and family.
Anj Gonyea
Digital Marketing Strategist
Anj brings her deep interest in marketing and global business to the Marketing and Business Development team.
Anj graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BS in Business Administration and a focus on Marketing. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, she lived in London where she worked for Thomson Reuters as a marketing coordinator in the Financial & Risk sector while obtaining her Master's in Global Business.
Jennifer Arvai
Associate Director of Customer Experience Marketing
Jennifer provides the highest quality customer service to program participants that are looking to redefine the future of business. She is dedicated to a customer-centric approach and facilitating a smooth and productive customer journey. Jennifer also directs our Certificate for Business Excellence, a mark of distinction for participants that complete programs from each of our four academic pillars.
Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Jennifer worked as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a Senior Admissions Representative for Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.
Jennifer received her BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ally DeArman
Senior Program Manager
Ally DeArman comes to Berkeley Executive Education with more than a decade of event management and organizational leadership experience. Her love for logistics and program planning keep her striving to produce the highest quality experiences for international leaders looking to change the status quo.
Prior to joining ExecEd, Ally served as Director of the Food Craft Institute, an educational nonprofit for small businesses in the food sector, and also ran a large outdoor food festival for 9 consecutive years. She recently joined the Board of Directors for West Oakland’s new Community Foods Market, a mission-driven social enterprise bringing healthy food options into an underserved neighborhood. Ally has spent all her life in California and currently resides in Oakland.
Bryanna Cacioppo
Associate Program Manager
Bryanna is a Bay Area native with a passion for customer service. She began her career in hospitality, working from front desk to sales coordinating. From there she moved on to become a Sales Manager for a hospitality company located in the East Bay, and oversaw all sales activities for 6 hotel properties.
Bryanna is a highly motivated and driven individual who thrives under pressure. Since joining BEE in October 2019, she has found a new love for higher education and continues to bring enthusiasm and a positive attitude to every program she assists with.
Clemence Schomberg
Senior Program Manager
Clemence brings over 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Having grown up in France, Canada, and the United States, she is fluent in 4 languages and highly adaptable across cultures. Clemence worked for 3 years as a Sign Language teacher and is an advocate of the Deaf community. Her previous role at INSEAD inspired her to develop her expertise in the Executive Education sector, which led her to join our team at Berkeley.
Clemence is a solution oriented collaborator who prides herself in her attention to detail and her exceptional customer service. She holds a Master’s degree in communications from the University of Québec in Montréal.
Courtney Willing
Associate Director, Program Operations
Courtney has over 10 years of exemplary program development, talent recruiting, and event coordination experience. She is motivated by outstanding customer service and producing high-quality programs at Berkeley Executive Education.
Courtney worked as Director of Programs with Youth UpRising prior to Berkeley Executive Education. She holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters from San Francisco State University.
Jacqueline Ma
Senior Program Manager
Jacqueline received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley, but has always had a passion for event planning. She began her career as the Senior Events Assistant with the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley during her undergraduate studies. After graduating, she gained administrative and customer service experience from Laney College working in both student services and instruction, while also coordinating weddings on the side.
Before joining ExecEd, Jacqueline was the Facility and Event Coordinator at Preservation Park, an office park of restored Victorian homes in Downtown Oakland, managing public space rentals and assisting with the coordination of around 400 events annually. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, arts and crafts, and traveling.
Jennifer Bui
Associate Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Jenn began her career at ExecEd as a Program Management Assistant in May 2016 before transitioning to her role as a coordinator on the program management and marketing teams.
Originally from San Jose, CA, she started her undergrad as a student in San Diego and transferred to UC Berkeley where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Policy.
In her free time, Jenn enjoys cooking, doing pilates, and going to local festivals.
Manpreet Chahal
Program Manager
Manpreet comes to Berkeley Executive Education with 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Born in the United Kingdom she completed her undergraduate degree in International Business and Globalization from De Montfort University. She moved to the US in 2017 where she later entered the field of Executive Education at Berkeley. Currently as a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs for clients, participants and faculty with exceptional customer service and attention to detail.
In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Marose Eddy
Senior Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Marose Eddy brings over 15 years of experience in events management and customer engagement with background in talent recruitment. As a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs and provides hands-on support to clients, participants and faculty.
Previously she worked in INSEAD, Singapore, as a Program Advisor where she advised top global executives in identifying suitable programs to complement their professional needs.
Originally from the Philippines, she spent 8 years in Singapore before permanently relocating to the United States. She enjoys being a mom to her 4-year old daughter and a 9-month old son.
Tabassum Shaikh
Associate Program Manager
Tabassum joined the Program Management team at Berkeley Executive Education in October 2019. She is a San Francisco native and has been managing programs within non-profits for the past six years. Developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything she does, both professionally and personally. Since joining, Tabassum has successfully assisted with delivering 16 programs, providing high-touch & hands-on customer service. Prior to joining ExecEd, Tabassum was working at the YMCA of San Francisco as an Assistant Site Director. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and photography.
Julie Shackleton
Vice President, Digital Initiatives
Julie Shackleton brings to Berkeley Exec Ed nearly 10 years of experience in online education. A recovering lawyer, she taught law at several universities in Paris before moving back home to design, produce, and deliver in-person and online diploma programs at the Law Society of Ireland. In 2014, Julie moved to Boston where she managed legal and policy issues for Harvard Business School’s HBX (now HBS Online).
Julie holds an LL.B and an LL.M in International Business Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is licensed as a Solicitor in Ireland and an Attorney in the state of New York. She specialized, academically and professionally, in data privacy law and stays current by supervising graduate students working towards an LL.M Advanced Legal Practice.
Ashim Shanker
Instructional Designer
Ashim Shanker is an instructional designer with Berkeley Exec Ed. Bringing over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, curriculum development, qualitative research, and instructional design, Ashim began his foray into education in 2003 when he moved to Tokyo, Japan. While there, he taught in a variety of settings ranging from international high school classrooms to executive board rooms.
After completing his Master's degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University, Ashim contributed to educational research publications in collaboration with UNICEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He also contributed to a collection of educational case studies profiled in a book published by Harvard’s Global Education Innovation Initiative.
In his free time, Ashim is an active writer. He has authored 3 absurdist fiction novels and a book of short stories and poems. Ashim currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts with his spouse and a guitar he affectionately refers to as ‘Poochie.’
Board of Directors
Ann Harrison, Board Chair
Dean, Haas School of Business
Ann E. Harrison became the 15th dean of the Haas School of Business on Jan. 1, 2019. A renowned economist, she has dedicated her career to creating inclusive and sustainable policies in development economics, international trade, and global labor markets.
Harrison came to Haas from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was a professor of multinational management and business economics and public policy. Before joining Wharton in 2012, she was the director of development policy at the World Bank, where she co-managed a team of 300 researchers and staff.
Harrison has deep Berkeley roots. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley with a double major in economics and history. She also served as a professor of Berkeley’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics from 2001 to 2011.
Harrison is one of the most highly-cited scholars globally on foreign investment and multinational firms. She is the author of dozens of journal articles and the editor of three books, including Globalization and Poverty and The Factory-Free Economy: Outsourcing, Servitization, and the Future of Industry. In 2017, Harrison and her co-authors were awarded the prestigious Sun Yefang Prize by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The prize, given every two years, is considered one of China’s most prestigious honors in economics.
As director of development policy at the World Bank, Harrison reformed its process for allocating research funds and oversaw the institution’s flagship publications. She convinced the World Bank’s president to release all historical records on project loans, a milestone in increasing transparency.
Harrison has been interviewed about global trade policies and manufacturing by top publications including Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times.
In addition to Berkeley and Wharton, Harrison has held positions at Columbia Business School, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the University of Paris. She has lectured at most major U.S. universities and in India, China, Latin America, Europe, the Philippines, and North Africa.
Harrison earned her PhD in economics from Princeton University. She also holds a DEUG (diplôme d’études universitaires générales) from the University of Paris. Born in France, she is a dual citizen of the U.S. and France.
Emily Nishi
Chief People Officer, Lyft
Emily is the Chief People Officer at Lyft, a company driven by its mission to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. Just as Lyft strives to connect people to their communities and their cities, Emily sees her role as bringing Lyft team members together toward a shared mission and creating the best place for people to do their best work.
Prior to joining Lyft in 2017, Emily was YouTube’s global head of People Operations where she led the organization development, talent strategy, and human resource operations for the team that delivers YouTube to over 1.5 billion users around the world.
Emily moved to YouTube after 9 years at Google, where she partnered with various leadership teams on building and scaling their organizations. She led the People Operations function for several Google sales and operations teams. When she first joined Google in 2005 she established Google’s global diversity and inclusion programs and created K-12 and community initiatives, scholarships, staffing, benefits and workplace programs.
Prior to Google, Emily was a management consultant at Accenture’s Manila office, and held various human resource roles at Agilent Technologies in Palo Alto, California. Emily has an MBA from UC Berkeley and an undergraduate Psychology degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.
When not thinking about how to make Lyft an even more amazing place to work, she spends her time with her two young kids in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Josh Bersin
Founder and CEO, Josh Bersin Academy
Josh Bersin is the Founder and CEO of the Josh Bersin Academy, which provides research and advisory services focused on corporate learning, leadership, talent management, and HR technology. He is responsible for the direction of Bersin’s strategy, research, and market eminence.
Josh is a popular speaker at industry events and has been featured discussing talent management topics in media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, BBC Radio, CBS Radio and National Public Radio. He is the author of two books on corporate learning, a popular blogger for Forbes.com, a leading LinkedIn influencer, and has been a columnist for Chief Learning Officer magazine since 2007.
Prior to Bersin, Josh spent 25 years in product development, product management, marketing and sales of e-learning and other enterprise technologies at companies including DigitalThink (now Convergys), Arista Knowledge Systems, Sybase, and IBM.
Josh holds a B.S. in engineering from Cornell University, an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Marina Gracias
General Counsel/Corporate Secretary at Varo Money
Marina Gracias is General Counsel/Corporate Secretary at Varo Money. Varo[s mission is to help people improve their financial lives by providing them with a suite of mobile app based financial tools. Prior to joining Varo, Marina was a Managing Director in Financial Services at Accenture and prior to that the Head of Global Sourcing at Visa. Marina also practised corporate law both in house and at a prominent San Francisco law firm. Marina also serves as an Advisory Board member for Bizworld which is educating our future entrepreneurs.
Michael Katz
Professor of Economics, UC Berkeley
Michael Katz is the Sarin Chair in Strategy and Leadership at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Katz is also a professor in the Economics Department at UC Berkeley. He has previously served as chair of Economic Analysis Group, Strategic Planning Committee, and Policy & Planning Committee at UC Berkeley. In addition, he has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at UC Berkeley.
Katz earned his A.B. Summa Cum Laude, from Harvard University and Ph.D. in Economics from Oxford University.
Richard Wilson
Senior Director in the Portfolio Product Development group at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc
Richard Wilson (EMBA ‘15) is currently Senior Director in the Portfolio Product Development group at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, a publicly traded rare disease biotech company in San Rafael. Richard has spent the last 25 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in a broad range of roles ranging from research project ideation to commercialization and investment strategy. He currently leads a cross-functional team charged with defining the global strategic plan for Palynziq, a new therapy for phenylketonuria, which was just recently approved by FDA. Prior to BioMarin, Richard has held positions of increasing responsibility in organizations including Glaxo Group Research (London, UK), Biochem Therapeutic (Montreal, Canada) and Theravance/Innoviva (South San Francisco, CA). He’s been involved in the commercialization of four new medicines during his career and has also lead R&D programs in cardiovascular disease, anti-infective therapy, respiratory disease, rheumatology, and urology.
Richard has also served in a variety of volunteer roles within his industry, serving as a start-up mentor for the California Life Science Institutes FAST program, and also participated in the Haas Startup Marketplace program, a joint initiative with the College of Chemistry.
Richard holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in the UK, and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Richard is a passionate advocate for the mission of the Haas School of Business.
Richard first became involved with Haas as a student in the MBA for Executive program in 2014, where he was elected class president and has been an active alumnus ever since, serving as an ambassador and fundraiser for his class, and a mentor for those looking to explore careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He’s delighted to be nominated for the Board of Directors of the Executive Education Program and looks forward to giving back to the school and playing a part in the governance of this exciting program. Go Bears!
Rosemarie Rae
Vice Chancellor - CFO, UC Berkeley
Rosemarie Rae is the Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer (VC-CFO) at UC Berkeley. She brings over 30 years of experience in finance and administration to her role. She has worked in both the public and nonprofit sectors, which includes serving as the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of The National Trust for Historic Preservation; Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Financial Officer at Volunteers of America; held senior leadership positions at Experience Works and LORAL Space and Communications; and was a principal and founder of Balrae Associates, an Information Technology services firm.
Rosemarie holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Radford University, a masters degree in public administration from American University, and is a doctoral candidate in organizational design at The George Washington University.
Executive Education Team
Mike Rielly
Chief Executive Officer
Mike Rielly is CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education, serving leaders and organizations who aspire to redefine the future of business.
A 20-year veteran of the sports industry, as Senior Vice President at IMG, Mike managed world-class athletes, organized major sports and entertainment events, and developed international markets for the agency.
Mike joined the Haas School of Business in 2009, first as a highly regarded lecturer in sports marketing, then as Assistant Dean and Executive Director of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. Mike has been CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education since 2016.
A graduate of Stanford University and Ohio University, Mike is an avid sports and architecture enthusiast and spends most weekends in Anderson Valley.
Andrea Salvemini
Vice President, Customer Success
Andrea brings to UC Berkeley Executive Education her passion for partnering with companies to inspire their leaders to grow, develop and exceed expectations. With over 15 years of working with global organizations to develop their leaders, Andrea is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that will make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, research and thought leadership at Berkeley. Andrea’s personal passions and curious nature align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and she’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources within Berkeley to bear for her clients. Prior to joining CEE, Andrea was the VP of Business Development for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her customers.
Andrea also founded Alliances Corporate Training, successfully partnering with companies as a training resource consultant. In addition to delivering program on Emotional Intelligence and Time Management, Andrea scoured the Bay Area to bring in the best resources for organizations in terms of coaching, assessment and leadership development. Over the last 10 years, Andrea has worked with clients in the technology, financial and healthcare industries, including HP, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Medtronic.
Andrea holds an BA from UC San Diego in Physiology, with additional postgraduate work in exercise physiology. She is certified in the MHS EQi Assessment. In her free time, Andrea loves to exercise, explore the outdoors, create culinary delights for friends, and spend time with her family.
Connect with Andrea at andrea_salvemini@berkeley.edu
Jon Greco
Chief Financial Officer
Jon holds more than 20 years in financial and accounting leadership along with deep experience in organizational design in finance.
Prior to Berkeley Executive Education, Jon was the Director of Finance for the Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco office. At UC Berkeley Executive Education, Jon leads the finance and operations team which handles all aspects of financial operations and reporting as well as oversee the legal, technology and human resource functions. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an MBA from Boston University.
A Boston area native who relocated to the bay area in 2004, Jon enjoys mixing his passions for travel and music and is an avid collector of artwork relating to rock concerts.
Judy Walklet
Vice President, Growth & Partnerships
Judy’s passion is connecting business leaders with new sources of insight, inspiration, and expertise that enable enhanced innovation, products, customer experiences and growth. Drawn to Berkeley by its distinctive values and culture, breadth and relevance of faculty expertise in helping our partners solve crucial business challenges, and her own life-changing experience with executive education, Judy is excited to be back in the heart of business transformation. In 2019, Judy returned to Berkeley from Harvard Business Publishing, where she worked in product management in the fast-evolving world of virtual learning experiences. Before Berkeley, Judy was Director of Strategic Accounts at C Space, an Omnicom-held global agency that embeds customers as collaborative partners in innovation and marketing strategy development for leading global brands. Previously, Judy was VP of Strategic Accounts for Iconoculture (now part of Gartner), a global consumer insight and strategy firm. She also served as VP of Business Development for ThirdAge Media and the Ancestry.com Network in San Francisco, early pioneers in online media. Throughout her career, she has led the development of strategic partnerships with clients across a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer goods, retail and media/entertainment. Judy holds a BA from Middlebury College and completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Julie Shackleton
Vice President, Digital Initiatives
Julie Shackleton brings to Berkeley Exec Ed nearly 10 years of experience in online education. A recovering lawyer, she taught law at several universities in Paris before moving back home to design, produce, and deliver in-person and online diploma programs at the Law Society of Ireland. In 2014, Julie moved to Boston where she managed legal and policy issues for Harvard Business School’s HBX (now HBS Online).
Julie holds an LL.B and an LL.M in International Business Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is licensed as a Solicitor in Ireland and an Attorney in the state of New York. She specialized, academically and professionally, in data privacy law and stays current by supervising graduate students working towards an LL.M Advanced Legal Practice.
Lisa Ryan
Vice President, Marketing
Lisa is a senior brand and marketing strategist dedicated to enabling organizations to realize their growth potential in market. With more than 20 years in sales and marketing, she is tenacious in applying insights driven strategies to heighten engagement, build business and create the ultimate end to end branded experience. Lisa is passionate about purpose and thrilled to be part of an organization that is committed to redefining the future of business.
Lisa leads open enrollment programs in Executive Education with responsibility for development, marketing, and eCommerce. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Of Management. Beyond work, Lisa is an avid runner, hiker, traveler and mom.
Nate Castro
Vice President, Business Development
Nate is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of business development and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Nate lived in London and New York, and held senior leadership roles at General Assembly, Apple, and several early-stage Silicon Valley start-ups.
Nate graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Applied Economics. As an avid believer in continuous learning, he is also a graduate of several advanced training and certificate programs. When not building teams to scale high growth, disruptive businesses, Nate can likely be found on Southern California hiking trails or beaches with his wife and dog.
Richard Freishtat
Vice President of Curriculum
Richard comes to Executive Education building on an impressive career in education, most recently serving as Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley, where he designed and delivered a full range of enrichment initiatives and consultation services to the 2000+ faculty across campus. Richard also serves as Co-Faculty for Exec Ed's Communications Excellence program where, along with his co-faculty, he "helps executives shine in public forums and achieve breakthroughs."
Richard works closely with the entire Executive Education team, where his responsibilities include Faculty Engagement and Support, Curriculum Strategy, Business Development support, and Thought Leadership.
Alexandra Hesse
Marketing Communications Manager
Alexandra joined Berkeley Executive Education in December 2017. Before joining ExecEd, she obtained her Master’s in Education and taught middle school science as a Teach for America corps member. After two years of teaching in New York, she continued her teaching career at one of Shanghai's top international schools. Passionate about education management, Alexandra then went on to earn a Master’s in Business Management at Peking University HSBC Business School (北京大学汇丰商学院) in Shenzhen, China.
Alexandra has spent the past five years teaching and studying in three of China’s major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. She is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese and is always looking for volunteer opportunities where she can use her Chinese language and cultural fluency in the Bay Area.
In her free time, Alexandra loves running and training for road races. She ran her 29th half marathon this fall. She also enjoys hiking, baking, improv theater classes, blogging, and spending time with her friends and family.
Ally DeArman
Senior Program Manager
Ally DeArman comes to Berkeley Executive Education with more than a decade of event management and organizational leadership experience. Her love for logistics and program planning keep her striving to produce the highest quality experiences for international leaders looking to change the status quo.
Prior to joining ExecEd, Ally served as Director of the Food Craft Institute, an educational nonprofit for small businesses in the food sector, and also ran a large outdoor food festival for 9 consecutive years. She recently joined the Board of Directors for West Oakland’s new Community Foods Market, a mission-driven social enterprise bringing healthy food options into an underserved neighborhood. Ally has spent all her life in California and currently resides in Oakland.
Amanda Thoet
Business Development Associate
Amanda brings a global perspective to Berkeley Executive Education through growing up as a third culture kid and serving as a Fulbright scholar in Leipzig, Germany. Prior to joining Exec Ed, Amanda worked for an international development firm specializing in implementing government-funded rule of law projects in developing countries. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service with a concentration in international diplomacy, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and Communication Arts & Sciences from the Pennsylvania State University.
In her free time, Amanda is an avid runner, seasoned hiker, world traveler, podcast enthusiast, and community volunteer, especially in the area of refugee integration as a volunteer with Upwardly Global.
Anj Gonyea
Digital Marketing Strategist
Anj brings her deep interest in marketing and global business to the Marketing and Business Development team.
Anj graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BS in Business Administration and a focus on Marketing. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, she lived in London where she worked for Thomson Reuters as a marketing coordinator in the Financial & Risk sector while obtaining her Master's in Global Business.
Ashim Shanker
Instructional Designer
Ashim Shanker is an instructional designer with Berkeley Exec Ed. Bringing over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, curriculum development, qualitative research, and instructional design, Ashim began his foray into education in 2003 when he moved to Tokyo, Japan. While there, he taught in a variety of settings ranging from international high school classrooms to executive board rooms.
After completing his Master's degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University, Ashim contributed to educational research publications in collaboration with UNICEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He also contributed to a collection of educational case studies profiled in a book published by Harvard’s Global Education Innovation Initiative.
In his free time, Ashim is an active writer. He has authored 3 absurdist fiction novels and a book of short stories and poems. Ashim currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts with his spouse and a guitar he affectionately refers to as ‘Poochie.’
Bryanna Cacioppo
Associate Program Manager
Bryanna is a Bay Area native with a passion for customer service. She began her career in hospitality, working from front desk to sales coordinating. From there she moved on to become a Sales Manager for a hospitality company located in the East Bay, and oversaw all sales activities for 6 hotel properties.
Bryanna is a highly motivated and driven individual who thrives under pressure. Since joining BEE in October 2019, she has found a new love for higher education and continues to bring enthusiasm and a positive attitude to every program she assists with.
Carolyn Robertson
Director, Business Development
Carolyn brings 20 years of partnering with global organizations in the human capital arena focused on driving thoughtful relationships and innovative client-focused solutions. Carolyn is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, world-renown research and thought leadership Berkeley has to offer. She has a clear understanding of the expectations and pressures on executives to immediately contribute to the greater organization. Carolyn’s natural curiosity and passions align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and passion for lifelong learning. She’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources and tools within Berkeley to her clients.
Prior to joining BEE, Carolyn was the Strategic Account Director for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her enterprise clients. Carolyn’s experience spans industries, with a focus on high-tech, biotech and financial industries in Fortune 500 organizations, a few examples are; eBay, PayPal, Genentech, Facebook and Lam Research.
Carolyn received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from University of California, Davis. In her free time, Carolyn can be found spending time with her husband and two small children, exploring tidepools, cooking, or taking a yoga class.
Clemence Schomberg
Senior Program Manager
Clemence brings over 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Having grown up in France, Canada, and the United States, she is fluent in 4 languages and highly adaptable across cultures. Clemence worked for 3 years as a Sign Language teacher and is an advocate of the Deaf community. Her previous role at INSEAD inspired her to develop her expertise in the Executive Education sector, which led her to join our team at Berkeley.
Clemence is a solution oriented collaborator who prides herself in her attention to detail and her exceptional customer service. She holds a Master’s degree in communications from the University of Québec in Montréal.
Courtney Willing
Associate Director, Program Operations
Courtney has over 10 years of exemplary program development, talent recruiting, and event coordination experience. She is motivated by outstanding customer service and producing high-quality programs at Berkeley Executive Education.
Courtney worked as Director of Programs with Youth UpRising prior to Berkeley Executive Education. She holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters from San Francisco State University.
Emily Odenberg
Curriculum Designer
Before joining Berkeley Executive Education, she was the Senior Event Manager for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a global effort supported by over 60 of the top Fortune 100 companies. She oversaw the largest LGBTQ professional conference in the world, convening over 3,500 participants annually.
Jacqueline Ma
Senior Program Manager
Jacqueline received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley, but has always had a passion for event planning. She began her career as the Senior Events Assistant with the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley during her undergraduate studies. After graduating, she gained administrative and customer service experience from Laney College working in both student services and instruction, while also coordinating weddings on the side.
Before joining ExecEd, Jacqueline was the Facility and Event Coordinator at Preservation Park, an office park of restored Victorian homes in Downtown Oakland, managing public space rentals and assisting with the coordination of around 400 events annually. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, arts and crafts, and traveling.
Jennifer Arvai
Associate Director of Customer Experience Marketing
Jennifer provides the highest quality customer service to program participants that are looking to redefine the future of business. She is dedicated to a customer-centric approach and facilitating a smooth and productive customer journey. Jennifer also directs our Certificate for Business Excellence, a mark of distinction for participants that complete programs from each of our four academic pillars.
Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Jennifer worked as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a Senior Admissions Representative for Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.
Jennifer received her BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Jennifer Bui
Associate Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Jenn began her career at ExecEd as a Program Management Assistant in May 2016 before transitioning to her role as a coordinator on the program management and marketing teams.
Originally from San Jose, CA, she started her undergrad as a student in San Diego and transferred to UC Berkeley where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Policy.
In her free time, Jenn enjoys cooking, doing pilates, and going to local festivals.
Justin Dunn
Business Development Associate
Before joining Executive Education, Justin received his bachelor’s degree from Haas Business School while playing football and rugby for the university. As a fourth generation Cal student, Justin is excited to join the team and contribute to a long legacy of representing the school.
Justin loves dogs and enjoys outdoor activities such as fly fishing, hiking, and working to get his pilot’s license.
Liz Lowry
Director of Business Development, Nordic, Australasia and Northeast U.S.
Elizabeth Lowry joined the Haas School of Business in 2018 as Director, Business Development. In her role, she partners with organizations to diagnose business challenges and talent competency gaps that can be bridged through executive learning and development. Liz is passionate about preparing leaders for the future of work by marrying game-changing technologies and their business applications with critical leadership competencies needed in a tech-driven economy.
Prior to joining Haas, Liz' executive experience included 13 years in recorded music where she developed commercial partnerships to launch Apple Music, Amazon Music and SoundCloud Music. Liz also was part of the go-to-market team at Universal Music to launch VEVO in 2009, a joint-venture between Universal and Sony Music.
Liz embodies Haas' leadership principles and goes beyond herself by giving back to Berkeley Haas where she obtained her Executive MBA. While at Haas, Liz organized a student-led fundraising campaign to give back to the university. Under her leadership, the Class of 2016 set up the Beyond Yourself Fellowship to fund needs based fellowships for future EMBA students.
A graduate of the University of Miami (BM) and Berkeley-Haas School of Business (EMBA), Liz is an active vocal performer, active traveler, and novice cook. She spends her weekends with her husband exploring The Bay Area’s beauty and nightlife.
Connect with Liz at liz_lowry@berkeley.edu
Manpreet Chahal
Program Manager
Manpreet comes to Berkeley Executive Education with 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Born in the United Kingdom she completed her undergraduate degree in International Business and Globalization from De Montfort University. She moved to the US in 2017 where she later entered the field of Executive Education at Berkeley. Currently as a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs for clients, participants and faculty with exceptional customer service and attention to detail.
In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Marose Eddy
Senior Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Marose Eddy brings over 15 years of experience in events management and customer engagement with background in talent recruitment. As a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs and provides hands-on support to clients, participants and faculty.
Previously she worked in INSEAD, Singapore, as a Program Advisor where she advised top global executives in identifying suitable programs to complement their professional needs.
Originally from the Philippines, she spent 8 years in Singapore before permanently relocating to the United States. She enjoys being a mom to her 4-year old daughter and a 9-month old son.
Mary Nguyen
Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom
Mary received her Bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Public Policy at UC Berkeley in 2019 and is a former Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellow at the Goldman School of Public Policy. She has previously interned at the San Jose City Council and California State Senate.
Mary began her career at ExecEd in August 2017 as a Program Management Assistant. Upon graduating, she continued on the Program Management team as an Associate Program Manager, and has since transitioned to her role as a Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom on the Digital Initiatives team.
Mary was born in San Jose and is a long time resident of the Bay Area. She continues to stay involved in her local youth group by organizing service projects, planning community events, and being a leadership mentor. In her free time, Mary enjoys going to concerts, taking food adventures, scenic drives, photography, and hiking.
Michael Dunn
Sales Operations Manager
Michael joined Executive Education in December 2017 as a Business Development Associate. He brings to Executive Education a strong professional background in client management and development, sales and event planning in the entertainment and fashion industries. He is excited to be part of the Business Development team as this allows him to continue to pursue his interest in working with clients and building strong relationships.
Executive Education is a natural fit for Michael. A 2017 graduate of Berkeley Haas, Executive Education allows Michael the opportunity to help clients reach their organizational objectives as well as give back to a university that has enriched his life both educationally and personally.
In his free time, Michael enjoys his lifelong passion for playing hockey and is engaged in several mentoring programs within his community.
Sue Helinar
Manager of Accounting
As a Senior Accountant/Financial Analyst, Sue has brought a breadth of industry experience ranging from Healthcare, Architecture, Consulting and Startup (Pre-IPO).
She graduated from the University of Arizona with Cum Laude honor and majored in Accounting and Operation Management, obtaining her BA in two-and-a-half years. Sue has also passed all 4 parts of CPA exam with self study.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, she spent much of her adolescent years in Singapore and Taiwan before coming to United States for college. When she’s not working, she loves to travel, experience new cultures and create lasting memories with her family.
Tabassum Shaikh
Associate Program Manager
Tabassum joined the Program Management team at Berkeley Executive Education in October 2019. She is a San Francisco native and has been managing programs within non-profits for the past six years. Developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything she does, both professionally and personally. Since joining, Tabassum has successfully assisted with delivering 16 programs, providing high-touch & hands-on customer service. Prior to joining ExecEd, Tabassum was working at the YMCA of San Francisco as an Assistant Site Director. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and photography.
Yolanda Williams
Financial Analyst
Yolanda Williams serves as a Financial Analyst within Berkeley Executive Education's finance team. She has more than 20 years of progressive experience in accounting and financial services. Her role includes a vast array of duties within accounts payable, accounts receivable and collections, all while managing open enrollment registration process and providing a variety of financial support to the CFO.
Yolanda is a lifetime resident of California and loves the opportunity she has had to work with different people throughout the UC System. She is passionate about accounting and her high standard of excellence is what clients and coworkers can expect when working with her.
In Yolanda’s spare time she loves roller skating, church, shopping and enjoying family time.
Executive Leadership
Mike Rielly
Chief Executive Officer
Mike Rielly is CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education, serving leaders and organizations who aspire to redefine the future of business.
A 20-year veteran of the sports industry, as Senior Vice President at IMG, Mike managed world-class athletes, organized major sports and entertainment events, and developed international markets for the agency.
Mike joined the Haas School of Business in 2009, first as a highly regarded lecturer in sports marketing, then as Assistant Dean and Executive Director of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. Mike has been CEO of UC Berkeley Executive Education since 2016.
A graduate of Stanford University and Ohio University, Mike is an avid sports and architecture enthusiast and spends most weekends in Anderson Valley.
Andrea Salvemini
Vice President, Customer Success
Andrea brings to UC Berkeley Executive Education her passion for partnering with companies to inspire their leaders to grow, develop and exceed expectations. With over 15 years of working with global organizations to develop their leaders, Andrea is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that will make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, research and thought leadership at Berkeley. Andrea’s personal passions and curious nature align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and she’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources within Berkeley to bear for her clients. Prior to joining CEE, Andrea was the VP of Business Development for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her customers.
Andrea also founded Alliances Corporate Training, successfully partnering with companies as a training resource consultant. In addition to delivering program on Emotional Intelligence and Time Management, Andrea scoured the Bay Area to bring in the best resources for organizations in terms of coaching, assessment and leadership development. Over the last 10 years, Andrea has worked with clients in the technology, financial and healthcare industries, including HP, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Medtronic.
Andrea holds an BA from UC San Diego in Physiology, with additional postgraduate work in exercise physiology. She is certified in the MHS EQi Assessment. In her free time, Andrea loves to exercise, explore the outdoors, create culinary delights for friends, and spend time with her family.
Connect with Andrea at andrea_salvemini@berkeley.edu
Jon Greco
Chief Financial Officer
Jon holds more than 20 years in financial and accounting leadership along with deep experience in organizational design in finance.
Prior to Berkeley Executive Education, Jon was the Director of Finance for the Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco office. At UC Berkeley Executive Education, Jon leads the finance and operations team which handles all aspects of financial operations and reporting as well as oversee the legal, technology and human resource functions. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an MBA from Boston University.
A Boston area native who relocated to the bay area in 2004, Jon enjoys mixing his passions for travel and music and is an avid collector of artwork relating to rock concerts.
Judy Walklet
Vice President, Growth & Partnerships
Judy’s passion is connecting business leaders with new sources of insight, inspiration, and expertise that enable enhanced innovation, products, customer experiences and growth. Drawn to Berkeley by its distinctive values and culture, breadth and relevance of faculty expertise in helping our partners solve crucial business challenges, and her own life-changing experience with executive education, Judy is excited to be back in the heart of business transformation. In 2019, Judy returned to Berkeley from Harvard Business Publishing, where she worked in product management in the fast-evolving world of virtual learning experiences. Before Berkeley, Judy was Director of Strategic Accounts at C Space, an Omnicom-held global agency that embeds customers as collaborative partners in innovation and marketing strategy development for leading global brands. Previously, Judy was VP of Strategic Accounts for Iconoculture (now part of Gartner), a global consumer insight and strategy firm. She also served as VP of Business Development for ThirdAge Media and the Ancestry.com Network in San Francisco, early pioneers in online media. Throughout her career, she has led the development of strategic partnerships with clients across a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer goods, retail and media/entertainment. Judy holds a BA from Middlebury College and completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Julie Shackleton
Vice President, Digital Initiatives
Julie Shackleton brings to Berkeley Exec Ed nearly 10 years of experience in online education. A recovering lawyer, she taught law at several universities in Paris before moving back home to design, produce, and deliver in-person and online diploma programs at the Law Society of Ireland. In 2014, Julie moved to Boston where she managed legal and policy issues for Harvard Business School’s HBX (now HBS Online).
Julie holds an LL.B and an LL.M in International Business Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is licensed as a Solicitor in Ireland and an Attorney in the state of New York. She specialized, academically and professionally, in data privacy law and stays current by supervising graduate students working towards an LL.M Advanced Legal Practice.
Lisa Ryan
Vice President, Marketing
Lisa is a senior brand and marketing strategist dedicated to enabling organizations to realize their growth potential in market. With more than 20 years in sales and marketing, she is tenacious in applying insights driven strategies to heighten engagement, build business and create the ultimate end to end branded experience. Lisa is passionate about purpose and thrilled to be part of an organization that is committed to redefining the future of business.
Lisa leads open enrollment programs in Executive Education with responsibility for development, marketing, and eCommerce. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Of Management. Beyond work, Lisa is an avid runner, hiker, traveler and mom.
Nate Castro
Vice President, Business Development
Nate is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of business development and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Nate lived in London and New York, and held senior leadership roles at General Assembly, Apple, and several early-stage Silicon Valley start-ups.
Nate graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Applied Economics. As an avid believer in continuous learning, he is also a graduate of several advanced training and certificate programs. When not building teams to scale high growth, disruptive businesses, Nate can likely be found on Southern California hiking trails or beaches with his wife and dog.
Richard Freishtat
Vice President of Curriculum
Richard comes to Executive Education building on an impressive career in education, most recently serving as Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley, where he designed and delivered a full range of enrichment initiatives and consultation services to the 2000+ faculty across campus. Richard also serves as Co-Faculty for Exec Ed's Communications Excellence program where, along with his co-faculty, he "helps executives shine in public forums and achieve breakthroughs."
Richard works closely with the entire Executive Education team, where his responsibilities include Faculty Engagement and Support, Curriculum Strategy, Business Development support, and Thought Leadership.
Ashim Shanker
Instructional Designer
Ashim Shanker is an instructional designer with Berkeley Exec Ed. Bringing over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, curriculum development, qualitative research, and instructional design, Ashim began his foray into education in 2003 when he moved to Tokyo, Japan. While there, he taught in a variety of settings ranging from international high school classrooms to executive board rooms.
After completing his Master's degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University, Ashim contributed to educational research publications in collaboration with UNICEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He also contributed to a collection of educational case studies profiled in a book published by Harvard’s Global Education Innovation Initiative.
In his free time, Ashim is an active writer. He has authored 3 absurdist fiction novels and a book of short stories and poems. Ashim currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts with his spouse and a guitar he affectionately refers to as ‘Poochie.’
Business Development
Amanda Thoet
Business Development Associate
Amanda brings a global perspective to Berkeley Executive Education through growing up as a third culture kid and serving as a Fulbright scholar in Leipzig, Germany. Prior to joining Exec Ed, Amanda worked for an international development firm specializing in implementing government-funded rule of law projects in developing countries. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service with a concentration in international diplomacy, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and Communication Arts & Sciences from the Pennsylvania State University.
In her free time, Amanda is an avid runner, seasoned hiker, world traveler, podcast enthusiast, and community volunteer, especially in the area of refugee integration as a volunteer with Upwardly Global.
Andrea Salvemini
Vice President, Customer Success
Andrea brings to UC Berkeley Executive Education her passion for partnering with companies to inspire their leaders to grow, develop and exceed expectations. With over 15 years of working with global organizations to develop their leaders, Andrea is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that will make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, research and thought leadership at Berkeley. Andrea’s personal passions and curious nature align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and she’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources within Berkeley to bear for her clients. Prior to joining CEE, Andrea was the VP of Business Development for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her customers.
Andrea also founded Alliances Corporate Training, successfully partnering with companies as a training resource consultant. In addition to delivering program on Emotional Intelligence and Time Management, Andrea scoured the Bay Area to bring in the best resources for organizations in terms of coaching, assessment and leadership development. Over the last 10 years, Andrea has worked with clients in the technology, financial and healthcare industries, including HP, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Medtronic.
Andrea holds an BA from UC San Diego in Physiology, with additional postgraduate work in exercise physiology. She is certified in the MHS EQi Assessment. In her free time, Andrea loves to exercise, explore the outdoors, create culinary delights for friends, and spend time with her family.
Connect with Andrea at andrea_salvemini@berkeley.edu
Carolyn Robertson
Director, Business Development
Carolyn brings 20 years of partnering with global organizations in the human capital arena focused on driving thoughtful relationships and innovative client-focused solutions. Carolyn is passionate about designing business-driven executive programs for organizations that make an impact, leveraging the best teaching, world-renown research and thought leadership Berkeley has to offer. She has a clear understanding of the expectations and pressures on executives to immediately contribute to the greater organization. Carolyn’s natural curiosity and passions align closely with the Berkeley Haas principles — she’s inspired by the mission of questioning the status quo and passion for lifelong learning. She’s committed to bringing the tremendous wealth of resources and tools within Berkeley to her clients.
Prior to joining BEE, Carolyn was the Strategic Account Director for Right Management, delivering innovative business solutions to her enterprise clients. Carolyn’s experience spans industries, with a focus on high-tech, biotech and financial industries in Fortune 500 organizations, a few examples are; eBay, PayPal, Genentech, Facebook and Lam Research.
Carolyn received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from University of California, Davis. In her free time, Carolyn can be found spending time with her husband and two small children, exploring tidepools, cooking, or taking a yoga class.
Justin Dunn
Business Development Associate
Before joining Executive Education, Justin received his bachelor’s degree from Haas Business School while playing football and rugby for the university. As a fourth generation Cal student, Justin is excited to join the team and contribute to a long legacy of representing the school.
Justin loves dogs and enjoys outdoor activities such as fly fishing, hiking, and working to get his pilot’s license.
Liz Lowry
Director of Business Development, Nordic, Australasia and Northeast U.S.
Elizabeth Lowry joined the Haas School of Business in 2018 as Director, Business Development. In her role, she partners with organizations to diagnose business challenges and talent competency gaps that can be bridged through executive learning and development. Liz is passionate about preparing leaders for the future of work by marrying game-changing technologies and their business applications with critical leadership competencies needed in a tech-driven economy.
Prior to joining Haas, Liz' executive experience included 13 years in recorded music where she developed commercial partnerships to launch Apple Music, Amazon Music and SoundCloud Music. Liz also was part of the go-to-market team at Universal Music to launch VEVO in 2009, a joint-venture between Universal and Sony Music.
Liz embodies Haas' leadership principles and goes beyond herself by giving back to Berkeley Haas where she obtained her Executive MBA. While at Haas, Liz organized a student-led fundraising campaign to give back to the university. Under her leadership, the Class of 2016 set up the Beyond Yourself Fellowship to fund needs based fellowships for future EMBA students.
A graduate of the University of Miami (BM) and Berkeley-Haas School of Business (EMBA), Liz is an active vocal performer, active traveler, and novice cook. She spends her weekends with her husband exploring The Bay Area’s beauty and nightlife.
Connect with Liz at liz_lowry@berkeley.edu
Michael Dunn
Sales Operations Manager
Michael joined Executive Education in December 2017 as a Business Development Associate. He brings to Executive Education a strong professional background in client management and development, sales and event planning in the entertainment and fashion industries. He is excited to be part of the Business Development team as this allows him to continue to pursue his interest in working with clients and building strong relationships.
Executive Education is a natural fit for Michael. A 2017 graduate of Berkeley Haas, Executive Education allows Michael the opportunity to help clients reach their organizational objectives as well as give back to a university that has enriched his life both educationally and personally.
In his free time, Michael enjoys his lifelong passion for playing hockey and is engaged in several mentoring programs within his community.
Nate Castro
Vice President, Business Development
Nate is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of business development and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Nate lived in London and New York, and held senior leadership roles at General Assembly, Apple, and several early-stage Silicon Valley start-ups.
Nate graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Applied Economics. As an avid believer in continuous learning, he is also a graduate of several advanced training and certificate programs. When not building teams to scale high growth, disruptive businesses, Nate can likely be found on Southern California hiking trails or beaches with his wife and dog.
Curriculum
Emily Odenberg
Curriculum Designer
Before joining Berkeley Executive Education, she was the Senior Event Manager for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a global effort supported by over 60 of the top Fortune 100 companies. She oversaw the largest LGBTQ professional conference in the world, convening over 3,500 participants annually.
Mary Nguyen
Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom
Mary received her Bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Public Policy at UC Berkeley in 2019 and is a former Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellow at the Goldman School of Public Policy. She has previously interned at the San Jose City Council and California State Senate.
Mary began her career at ExecEd in August 2017 as a Program Management Assistant. Upon graduating, she continued on the Program Management team as an Associate Program Manager, and has since transitioned to her role as a Participant Experience Manager, Virtual Classroom on the Digital Initiatives team.
Mary was born in San Jose and is a long time resident of the Bay Area. She continues to stay involved in her local youth group by organizing service projects, planning community events, and being a leadership mentor. In her free time, Mary enjoys going to concerts, taking food adventures, scenic drives, photography, and hiking.
Richard Freishtat
Vice President of Curriculum
Richard comes to Executive Education building on an impressive career in education, most recently serving as Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley, where he designed and delivered a full range of enrichment initiatives and consultation services to the 2000+ faculty across campus. Richard also serves as Co-Faculty for Exec Ed's Communications Excellence program where, along with his co-faculty, he "helps executives shine in public forums and achieve breakthroughs."
Richard works closely with the entire Executive Education team, where his responsibilities include Faculty Engagement and Support, Curriculum Strategy, Business Development support, and Thought Leadership.
Finance
Jon Greco
Chief Financial Officer
Jon holds more than 20 years in financial and accounting leadership along with deep experience in organizational design in finance.
Prior to Berkeley Executive Education, Jon was the Director of Finance for the Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco office. At UC Berkeley Executive Education, Jon leads the finance and operations team which handles all aspects of financial operations and reporting as well as oversee the legal, technology and human resource functions. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an MBA from Boston University.
A Boston area native who relocated to the bay area in 2004, Jon enjoys mixing his passions for travel and music and is an avid collector of artwork relating to rock concerts.
Sue Helinar
Manager of Accounting
As a Senior Accountant/Financial Analyst, Sue has brought a breadth of industry experience ranging from Healthcare, Architecture, Consulting and Startup (Pre-IPO).
She graduated from the University of Arizona with Cum Laude honor and majored in Accounting and Operation Management, obtaining her BA in two-and-a-half years. Sue has also passed all 4 parts of CPA exam with self study.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, she spent much of her adolescent years in Singapore and Taiwan before coming to United States for college. When she’s not working, she loves to travel, experience new cultures and create lasting memories with her family.
Yolanda Williams
Financial Analyst
Yolanda Williams serves as a Financial Analyst within Berkeley Executive Education's finance team. She has more than 20 years of progressive experience in accounting and financial services. Her role includes a vast array of duties within accounts payable, accounts receivable and collections, all while managing open enrollment registration process and providing a variety of financial support to the CFO.
Yolanda is a lifetime resident of California and loves the opportunity she has had to work with different people throughout the UC System. She is passionate about accounting and her high standard of excellence is what clients and coworkers can expect when working with her.
In Yolanda’s spare time she loves roller skating, church, shopping and enjoying family time.
Marketing
Alexandra Hesse
Marketing Communications Manager
Alexandra joined Berkeley Executive Education in December 2017. Before joining ExecEd, she obtained her Master’s in Education and taught middle school science as a Teach for America corps member. After two years of teaching in New York, she continued her teaching career at one of Shanghai's top international schools. Passionate about education management, Alexandra then went on to earn a Master’s in Business Management at Peking University HSBC Business School (北京大学汇丰商学院) in Shenzhen, China.
Alexandra has spent the past five years teaching and studying in three of China’s major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. She is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese and is always looking for volunteer opportunities where she can use her Chinese language and cultural fluency in the Bay Area.
In her free time, Alexandra loves running and training for road races. She ran her 29th half marathon this fall. She also enjoys hiking, baking, improv theater classes, blogging, and spending time with her friends and family.
Anj Gonyea
Digital Marketing Strategist
Anj brings her deep interest in marketing and global business to the Marketing and Business Development team.
Anj graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BS in Business Administration and a focus on Marketing. Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, she lived in London where she worked for Thomson Reuters as a marketing coordinator in the Financial & Risk sector while obtaining her Master's in Global Business.
Jennifer Arvai
Associate Director of Customer Experience Marketing
Jennifer provides the highest quality customer service to program participants that are looking to redefine the future of business. She is dedicated to a customer-centric approach and facilitating a smooth and productive customer journey. Jennifer also directs our Certificate for Business Excellence, a mark of distinction for participants that complete programs from each of our four academic pillars.
Prior to joining Berkeley Executive Education, Jennifer worked as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a Senior Admissions Representative for Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.
Jennifer received her BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Lisa Ryan
Vice President, Marketing
Lisa is a senior brand and marketing strategist dedicated to enabling organizations to realize their growth potential in market. With more than 20 years in sales and marketing, she is tenacious in applying insights driven strategies to heighten engagement, build business and create the ultimate end to end branded experience. Lisa is passionate about purpose and thrilled to be part of an organization that is committed to redefining the future of business.
Lisa leads open enrollment programs in Executive Education with responsibility for development, marketing, and eCommerce. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Of Management. Beyond work, Lisa is an avid runner, hiker, traveler and mom.
Program Services
Ally DeArman
Senior Program Manager
Ally DeArman comes to Berkeley Executive Education with more than a decade of event management and organizational leadership experience. Her love for logistics and program planning keep her striving to produce the highest quality experiences for international leaders looking to change the status quo.
Prior to joining ExecEd, Ally served as Director of the Food Craft Institute, an educational nonprofit for small businesses in the food sector, and also ran a large outdoor food festival for 9 consecutive years. She recently joined the Board of Directors for West Oakland’s new Community Foods Market, a mission-driven social enterprise bringing healthy food options into an underserved neighborhood. Ally has spent all her life in California and currently resides in Oakland.
Bryanna Cacioppo
Associate Program Manager
Bryanna is a Bay Area native with a passion for customer service. She began her career in hospitality, working from front desk to sales coordinating. From there she moved on to become a Sales Manager for a hospitality company located in the East Bay, and oversaw all sales activities for 6 hotel properties.
Bryanna is a highly motivated and driven individual who thrives under pressure. Since joining BEE in October 2019, she has found a new love for higher education and continues to bring enthusiasm and a positive attitude to every program she assists with.
Clemence Schomberg
Senior Program Manager
Clemence brings over 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Having grown up in France, Canada, and the United States, she is fluent in 4 languages and highly adaptable across cultures. Clemence worked for 3 years as a Sign Language teacher and is an advocate of the Deaf community. Her previous role at INSEAD inspired her to develop her expertise in the Executive Education sector, which led her to join our team at Berkeley.
Clemence is a solution oriented collaborator who prides herself in her attention to detail and her exceptional customer service. She holds a Master’s degree in communications from the University of Québec in Montréal.
Courtney Willing
Associate Director, Program Operations
Courtney has over 10 years of exemplary program development, talent recruiting, and event coordination experience. She is motivated by outstanding customer service and producing high-quality programs at Berkeley Executive Education.
Courtney worked as Director of Programs with Youth UpRising prior to Berkeley Executive Education. She holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters from San Francisco State University.
Jacqueline Ma
Senior Program Manager
Jacqueline received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley, but has always had a passion for event planning. She began her career as the Senior Events Assistant with the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley during her undergraduate studies. After graduating, she gained administrative and customer service experience from Laney College working in both student services and instruction, while also coordinating weddings on the side.
Before joining ExecEd, Jacqueline was the Facility and Event Coordinator at Preservation Park, an office park of restored Victorian homes in Downtown Oakland, managing public space rentals and assisting with the coordination of around 400 events annually. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, arts and crafts, and traveling.
Jennifer Bui
Associate Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Jenn began her career at ExecEd as a Program Management Assistant in May 2016 before transitioning to her role as a coordinator on the program management and marketing teams.
Originally from San Jose, CA, she started her undergrad as a student in San Diego and transferred to UC Berkeley where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Policy.
In her free time, Jenn enjoys cooking, doing pilates, and going to local festivals.
Manpreet Chahal
Program Manager
Manpreet comes to Berkeley Executive Education with 10 years of international experience in event and project management. Born in the United Kingdom she completed her undergraduate degree in International Business and Globalization from De Montfort University. She moved to the US in 2017 where she later entered the field of Executive Education at Berkeley. Currently as a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs for clients, participants and faculty with exceptional customer service and attention to detail.
In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Marose Eddy
Senior Program Manager, Online Partnerships
Marose Eddy brings over 15 years of experience in events management and customer engagement with background in talent recruitment. As a Program Manager, she manages the smooth execution and delivery of executive programs and provides hands-on support to clients, participants and faculty.
Previously she worked in INSEAD, Singapore, as a Program Advisor where she advised top global executives in identifying suitable programs to complement their professional needs.
Originally from the Philippines, she spent 8 years in Singapore before permanently relocating to the United States. She enjoys being a mom to her 4-year old daughter and a 9-month old son.
Tabassum Shaikh
Associate Program Manager
Tabassum joined the Program Management team at Berkeley Executive Education in October 2019. She is a San Francisco native and has been managing programs within non-profits for the past six years. Developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything she does, both professionally and personally. Since joining, Tabassum has successfully assisted with delivering 16 programs, providing high-touch & hands-on customer service. Prior to joining ExecEd, Tabassum was working at the YMCA of San Francisco as an Assistant Site Director. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and photography.
Digital Initiatives
Ashim Shanker
Instructional Designer
Ashim Shanker is an instructional designer with Berkeley Exec Ed. Bringing over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, curriculum development, qualitative research, and instructional design, Ashim began his foray into education in 2003 when he moved to Tokyo, Japan. While there, he taught in a variety of settings ranging from international high school classrooms to executive board rooms.
After completing his Master's degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University, Ashim contributed to educational research publications in collaboration with UNICEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He also contributed to a collection of educational case studies profiled in a book published by Harvard’s Global Education Innovation Initiative.
In his free time, Ashim is an active writer. He has authored 3 absurdist fiction novels and a book of short stories and poems. Ashim currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts with his spouse and a guitar he affectionately refers to as ‘Poochie.’
Julie Shackleton
Vice President, Digital Initiatives
Julie Shackleton brings to Berkeley Exec Ed nearly 10 years of experience in online education. A recovering lawyer, she taught law at several universities in Paris before moving back home to design, produce, and deliver in-person and online diploma programs at the Law Society of Ireland. In 2014, Julie moved to Boston where she managed legal and policy issues for Harvard Business School’s HBX (now HBS Online).
Julie holds an LL.B and an LL.M in International Business Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is licensed as a Solicitor in Ireland and an Attorney in the state of New York. She specialized, academically and professionally, in data privacy law and stays current by supervising graduate students working towards an LL.M Advanced Legal Practice.