00

Ishani Chowdhury is contracting officer’s representative and senior IT project and program manager at the Food and Drug Administration. She is also a member of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s Commission on South Asian American Affairs and chairs its health subcommittee.

01

Kevin Sasz (MS) has been promoted to senior director in the tax practice of Rothstein Kass, a national professional services firm. Mosharraf Zaidi (MPA) has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a 2014 Young Global Leader for heading a global campaign to improve the quality of education for children in Pakistan.

02

Robert Poliseno (MBA) has been appointed senior VP and regional executive officer, mid-Atlantic region, for ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group.

03

The New Jersey office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP has promoted attorney Lennie Bersh (MBA), Intellectual Property and Technology, to the position ‘of counsel.’ Christian fiction author Theresa A. Campbell published her first novel, Are You There, God? (Urban Books, 2013), a coming-of-age tale about a young Jamaican woman’s struggles to establish herself. Born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies, Campbell hopes to inspire readers with her writing (see www.theresaacampbell.com). Gbubemi Okotieuro has been appointed to the position of Berkeley College VP for government relations. Previously he served as associate dean, Office of Government and External Relations, Medgar Evers College/CUNY. Desiree Peterkin-Bell (MPA) has been Philadelphia city representative since 2012, in addition to serving as Mayor Michael Nutter’s director of communications and strategic partnerships. Florida attorney Victor Semah, a member of international law firm Greenberg Traurig’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group, has been named shareholder.

04

Accountant Randy Page has opened a chain of five Liberty Tax Service offices in Brooklyn and the Poconos since 2008. He lives in Bushkill, Penn. Lenny Pridatko is the author of Columbia University in Pictures (Luminance), which was named a finalist as Photography Book of 2013 by ForeWord Reviews. His second book, 23 Post-Cards of Columbia (Luminance, 2014), is its companion paperback. Pridatko is the founder of Get-Shot-in-New York, which provides personalized photo shoot tours. Christopher F. Smith, a vice president and financial advisor in Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management office in Jericho, N.Y., was named to the firm’s Pacesetter’s Club, which recognizes advisors who, within their first five years of service, demonstrate the highest professional standards. He lives in Smithtown, N.Y., with his wife and two children. 

05

Samantha Stephens (’05), owner of eatery OatMeals in Greenwich Village, was named “Creative Oatmeal Officer” for Quaker Oats last September. As “COO” she participates in the brand’s marketing efforts. As spokesperson, Stephens served a few of her signature recipes to celebrities and attendees at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Utah last January. “Quaker is an iconic oatmeal brand, and our partnership is a perfect fit!” says the alumna.

06

Joel S. Bodner (MBA) is a senior wealth advisor at Fusion Family Wealth, where he works with clients on researching and managing investment opportunities. Natalie Madeira Cofield (MPA), president and CEO of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce in Austin, Tex., was recently named one of the Top 10 Black Innovators at the South By Southwest conference. Edrizio De La Cruz, who recently graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, is the co-founder and CEO of Regalii. The tech company allows immigrants to send a PIN code directly to cell phones of family in Latin America, where it can be redeemed to buy food and medicine or pay bills. Rachel Fester (MSEd) has been appointed associate vice president of institutional effectiveness at Berkeley College. She most recently served as executive director of assessment and planning for the College of Mount Saint Vincent and as associate research scholar at the Center for Institutional and Social Change, Columbia Law School, Columbia University. Fahri Ozturk has joined Massey Knakal Realty Services as a director of sales, focusing on New Jersey’s Hudson County. Previously he was an investments associate at Arsenal Real Estate Partners. Michael Yampol (MFE) and Srinivas Kannepalli (MFE ’14) took first and second places, respectively, out of 900 participants in the 1st Financial Engineering Quiz Competition organized by Hong Kong–based Risk Latte, a boutique financial engineering firm. Hosted on Facebook, the competition was liked by more than 8,000 students and professionals worldwide from the engineering, physical sciences, and banking and finance sectors. Says Yampol, “I was quite thrilled, but hardly surprised, to learn that another Baruch MFE student shared top honors!” The winners received a selection of books on quantitative finance. Yampol is an independent risk management consultant in NYC.

07

Nakia James-Jenkins (MPA) is one of six women who have purchased and remodeled the 200-year-old Gansevoort Mansion in Saratoga County, N.Y. It is currently run as a bed and breakfast in addition to hosting lectures and other events. James-Jenkins is director of HR for KIPP NYC, a charter school network. John Lisyanskiy, a legislative financial analyst for the New York City Council, was included in City Hall News’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars: The Next Generation of Political Leaders in New York.”

08

Abe Goldschmidt received a certificate in national security and counterterrorism law from Syracuse University’s Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. He works in the Miami office of the Florida State Attorney General. Sue-Ellen Guzman is a national account executive with Starlite Media LLC, which specializes in large-format, high-impact signs strategically placed in major retail shopping centers across the country. Maya Lupa (MSEd) is an enrollment management assistant at CUNY. Zoryana Matarelli (MBA) was selected as a Pfizer Global Health Fellow. Assigned to Accra, Ghana, since March, she is assessing that country’s pharmacy business model, regulatory environment, and supply chains. Matarelli has been with Pfizer in various roles since 2004.

09

William Ayers is the founder of Teeconomist, a t-shirt design website featuring exclusive designs available for purchase during 24-hour blocks, plus innovative interactive pricing (https://teeconomist.com). Doran Chan (MPA) is an eLearning assistant for Healthcare Chaplaincy, a leader in the research, education, and practice of palliative care. Baruch assistant swim team coach and swimming alumnus Brian Ramirez competed in the New York City Half Marathon in March. In November, men’s cross country coach Matt Soja placed 181st overall among more than 50,000 runners in the 2013 ING New York City Marathon.