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Devyn Bachman (Mktg’11)

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Devyn Bachman (Mktg’11) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/15/2024 - 00:00

By Anna Bedell (Mktg’25) , Student Writer

Chief Operating Officer, John Burns Research and Consulting

Devyn Bachman has been known as many things—a dedicated college student, NBA dancer, radio show host, and real estate professional. As she progresses in her career, she now wants to be known as a leader.

"At the end of the day, I just want to make an impact,” she said. “I want to leave this world a better, smarter, more informed place, and hopefully grow and help some people along the way.”

The Ultimate Balance

Bachman was born and raised in Colorado. An avid dancer, she joined the ��Ƶ dance team her first year and then made the dance team for the Denver Nuggets a year after. She had the opportunity to travel all over the world with the Nuggets, including to China, Taiwan and Indonesia.

Along with being a full-time student and professional dancer, she was also a co-host for a Denver morning show on HOT 107.1, a member of the sorority Chi Omega, and interned in commercial real estate.

“I got really good at time management, because I had to be a full time student, have internships, and dance for an NBA team all at the same time,” she said. “Needless to say, I was pretty exhausted.”

Though she focused mainly on marketing while at Leeds, she decided to give real estate a try and fell in love with the industry. “It's an extremely dynamic career field, no day is ever the same. The people are interesting and vibrant.”

Bachman graduated with a degree in marketing and a certificate in real estate. She was also engaged to her college boyfriend, who was starting his career as a goaltender in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, and the pair moved down to Texas.

Rising the Ranks

Coming out of the Great Recession, Bachman struggled to find a job in commercial real estate. Then, eventually, she got a job interview with the Pulte Group, a publicly-traded home builder, where she landed her first job in strategic marketing.

A few years later, her husband was getting ready to move to upstate New York to play for a new NHL team. Bachman left her job at Pulte with plans to go back to school for an MBA, but a new opportunity came up with John Burns Research and Consulting for a remote position. Now, she’s been with the company for almost nine years.

Bachman has always been one to hit the ground running, and continues that momentum throughout her career.

“I’m not scared of a challenge. As a leader, you learn to bring a solution rather than a problem.”

Devyn Bachman (Mktg’11)
Chief Operating Officer, John Burns Research and Consulting

“I came in and I worked my tail off, and I did everything that needed to be done and some stuff that didn't,” she said. “But one thing I always did was do my job and then ask, ‘How can we be better? What should we be doing differently?’”

Bachman moved through many responsibilities and roles—from launching products, redoing John Burns’ purpose statement, and even changing the name of the company from John Burns Real Estate Consulting to John Burns Research and Consulting. Now, she’s fully focused on the operations side of the company as the Chief Operating Officer.

Though there’s always challenges—from the operations side of business, working full-time remotely, and raising two young children—she thinks that it’s important to face them head on.

“I’m not scared of a challenge,” Bachman said. “As a leader, you learn to bring a solution rather than a problem.”

Her work has paid off. Bachman has been recognized as a top professional in her field, earning spots on the Pro Builder Media 40 under 40 list and the Business Insider’s Rising Stars of Real Estate list.

She’s not stopping there, however. Bachman likes to have big, hairy, audacious goals—the next one on her list is to give a TED Talk.

“You have to have drive,” she said. “You have to have just this inner drive that's like, ‘I will stop at nothing to accomplish things.’ But it's not that I will stop at nothing and hurt people or damage relationships along the way.”

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Gordon Trafton (TRMG’77)

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 19:49:35 +0000

Gordon Trafton (TRMG’77) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/29/2024 - 12:49

Anna Bedell (Mktg’25) , Student Writer

Chair Emeritus, Leeds Advisory Board

Mentorship matters.

After a transformative mentorship experience of his own, Gordon Trafton was inspired to give back to the Leeds community. Now, as the Leeds Mentoring Programs celebrates their 15th anniversary, he’s been able to see the impact that this program has had on thousands of students.

“Fifteen years ago, the value of mentoring was not well understood in higher education,” he said. “There is now a better understanding and value of how mentoring can assist students in navigating their junior and senior years as they prepare for their job search and eventually, their career.”

Trafton attended the Leeds School of Business in 1974 and graduated with a degree in transportation management. Since then, he’s had a successful career in the railway industry and retired in 2010 after working as the Senior VP of Strategic Acquisitions and Integration at Canadian National Railroads.

He thanks his mentor, Jerry Foster, for helping him get his first job at Burlington Northern, and decided that he wanted to help Leeds students with the same opportunities of mentorship.

“Having a mentoring relationship with someone they can trust and who has experience in life and the business world can provide them additional support throughout their time at Leeds and prepare them for the future ahead,” he said.

Creating Connections

In 2009, the Professional Mentorship Program at Leeds was established to provide students with business professionals to help them become leaders in their careers. Trafton has been at the forefront of the mentoring effort, participating in the program himself and donating $500,000 in 2012 to help expand it. Since then, he’s been able to see the program grow and evolve over time. In recent years, he has seen a trend of continuing mentorship relationships, even after the mentee graduates.

Today, the Leeds Mentoring Programs partner with more than 1,400 students and over 1,000 professional mentors. In total, there have been more than 8,000 partnerships in the programs.

“While I believe the mentoring program has already become part of the fabric and identity of a Leeds education, I’d like to see the day when every student at Leeds is enrolled in mentoring."

Gordon Trafton (TRMG’77)
Chair Emeritus, Leeds Advisory Board

“Leeds has grown to become a national and world-recognized program,” Trafton said. “Seeing former students who have benefited from the mentoring program come back and mentor students at Leeds today, however, that’s a true measure of success.”

Trafton continues to pay it forward, both at Leeds and throughout the transportation industry. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for CPKC and Pacific National, and is on the Leeds Advisory Board. Even with the success of the mentoring program now, he strives to continue its progress.

“While I believe the mentoring program has already become part of the fabric and identity of a Leeds education, I’d like to see the day when every student at Leeds is enrolled in mentoring.”

After a transformative mentorship experience of his own, Gordon Trafton was inspired to give back to the Leeds community.

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John Helmers (MBA’07)

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 16:53:59 +0000

John Helmers (MBA’07) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/16/2024 - 09:53

Walker Cherry , Student Writer (Edited by Anneli Gray)

Director of Graduate Career Management, Leeds School of Business

At heart, John Helmers is an explorer who actively pursues the path less traveled. As director of the Graduate Career Management office at Leeds, he encourages students to do the same.

After graduating from Miami University of Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, he watched his friends take jobs at Midwestern corporate accounting and consulting firms. But he knew that wasn’t for him. Instead, he moved to Breckenridge, Colorado, where he worked as a hotel bellman and notched over 110 days on the slopes.

“My time in Breck was a formative part of my career because I got to do what I loved every day,” he says. From that point on, he vowed to pursue his passions and settle for nothing less.

After several years in a professional role with a ski tour operator, he decided the best way to set himself up for a fulfilling future was to get an MBA. With a focus on marketing and entrepreneurship, he graduated from Leeds in 2007.

“I came to ��Ƶ because I knew I would never regret investing in myself. I knew the MBA would open a whole lot of doors for me—and it did,” he says. His degree allowed him to gain valuable marketing experience at IBM and at PhoCusWright Inc, a travel industry market research company. He gained something else, too: a lust for traveling.

To date, Helmers has set foot on all seven continents and has visited 49 states. His favorite travel experience was in Antarctica in 2008, where he spent ten days on a Russian icebreaker traversing the “nauseating” Drake Passage, with a reputation of having caused over 800 shipwrecks.

Life lessons inform career callings

He hopes that his resolve to make life an adventure shows students that a tenacious mindset can lead to great achievements, especially in your career.

At the helm of the career advising team, Helmers teaches graduate students how to make meaningful connections in life and business. But he also inspires them to lean into their strengths and passions, as he has. He encourages them to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit of openness and exploration, emphasizing that the best way to succeed is by being yourself.

“It’s really rewarding to connect with people, and it’s really about investing in relationships.”

John Helmers (MBA’07)

His impact extends well beyond students. The MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA) is the global leader and premier provider of education and expertise for the support and development of people in the MBA career management and employment professions.

As a volunteer, he held multiple roles, served two terms on the Board of Directors, and recently completed a 3-year term as president of the organization, where he was able to represent both Leeds and the board at the annual conferences in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

”Our industry and association are unbelievably willing to share best practices and innovations with one another, which means I’m able to bring ideas and practices from top MBA programs around the world to support Leeds students,” he says.

A man of many talents

Colleagues call Helmers “the mayor of Leeds,” citing his keen aptitude for making meaningful connections wherever he goes.

“It’s really rewarding to connect with people, and it’s really about investing in relationships,” he says. He has maintained personal connections with more than 16 years of Leeds MBA graduates.

Not only is he the mayor, but he’s also the office instigator, as evidenced by his legendary, impromptu staff dance parties. And he’s an avid cycler. He’s ridden his bike to work every day—in rain or snow or sweltering heat—for 14 years. After work, he pedals up to Sunrise Amphitheater or hikes Mt. Sanitas.

It’s one of the best ways, he believes, to keep the adventure alive.

John Helmers actively pursues the path less traveled. As director of the Graduate Career Management office at Leeds, he encourages students to do the same.

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Aryana Y. Nakhai (MBA’24)

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 21:05:12 +0000

Aryana Y. Nakhai (MBA’24) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/01/2024 - 14:05

Anna Bedell (Mktg’25) , Student Writer

Renewable Development Finance, Invenergy LLC

Aryana Nakhai always had her heart set on a career as an engineer. At the University of Pittsburgh, she received both a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering, with a concentration in power and renewable energy driven by her passion for clean energy.

Nakhai, a Pennsylvania native, came to Colorado after graduation to be a research engineer at her dream company, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden.

Fusing two fields

Once settled into her new role, she realized a business degree would help enhance and accelerate her career in ways a PhD could not. So she enrolled in Leeds’ Hybrid MBA program to acquire an interdisciplinary skill set that will propel her career as a leader in the renewable energy industry.

“In my opinion, MBA degrees are designed for engineers,” Nakhai says. “Most engineers aren’t required to take any business classes as part of their undergraduate curriculum. But how can an engineer build, develop and try to sell an idea if they have no business background?”

Set to graduate this May, her emerging skill set is already helping her make a larger impact at work, where her knowledge of finance is helping her see an entirely different side of the industry. It comes in handy in her new role in renewable development finance at Invenergy, where she actively supports project development by managing financial models that contribute to the contracting, financing and development of solar farms, wind farms and battery storage facilities.

“I'm trained to think as an engineer and problem-solve,” Nakhai says. “The MBA program is helping me be more well-rounded and think about problems from different perspectives.”

“How can an engineer build, develop and try to sell an idea if they have no business background?"

Aryana Y. Nakhai (MBA’24)

Navigating a work-study balance

It’s not easy working full-time while being a student. Nakhai will log off her work computer and start working on school assignments, scheduling group calls at night if necessary. While managing both school and work can be stressful, she says that the Hybrid MBA program makes balancing both possible.

“I’m already so busy as it is; school just feels like another part of my day-to-day life,” Nakhai says. “It’s definitely doable, and everyone in the program is in the same boat.”

An advantage of the program is all the networking available to students. She’s connected with Sheila Duffy, the executive director of the Burridge Center for Finance, who has helped her navigate an unfamiliar industry and has provided her with valuable opportunities at Leeds.

Last fall, she was invited to speak on the Leeds Student Excellence Panel about her experience as an MBA student and is currently serving on the committee board for the Green Finance Summit, hosted by the Burridge Center this March.

“I just love being a student,” Nakhai said. “I am the type of person who is always trying to learn, and I think there really is no limit to education.”

As for her future, Nakhai wants to continue focusing on how she can merge both her technical and finance backgrounds to support the clean energy transition. Influenced by the incredible mentors she’s met through the program, a personal goal of hers is to become a strong leader and a strong mentor.

“I don't think there's anything I would have done differently. I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be right now in strategically positioning myself for an impactful career in clean energy.”

Aryana Nakhai always had her heart set on a career as an engineer. Now she's building an interdisciplinary skill set that will propel her career as a leader in the renewable energy industry.

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Grace Trahan (Fin’23)

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:35:18 +0000

Grace Trahan (Fin’23) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/19/2024 - 10:35

Anna Bedell (Mktg’25)

Private Equity Analyst, Five Elms Capital

At Leeds, it’s uncommon for a student to graduate a semester early, yet alone a year early. But Grace Trahan took it as a personal challenge.

Trahan started her college journey in 2021 and managed to graduate in only two-and-a-half years—where saving money and post-grad travel were just a few of her motivations. Not only did she achieve her goal, but she surpassed expectations, graduating with high distinction, heavy involvement in the Leeds community and a full-time job offer after graduation.

Doing it All

Originally from Denver, Trahan chose to attend ��Ƶ Boulder for its combination of academic excellence and proximity to her family. The allure of ��Ƶ Boulder's program, coupled with the opportunity to be a part of the Leeds community, influenced her decision to contribute actively to various groups.

Excited by ��Ƶ Boulder's academic offerings and the tight-knit Leeds community, she got involved immediately, joining the Leeds Scholars Program, Business and Engineering Women in Technology Program, Leeds Student Government, Leeds Investment and Trading Group, Scholars of Finance and Leeds Consulting Group.

“When I started college, I was advised to join various groups, Trahan said. “Through this, not only did I meet incredible friends, but also gained a well-rounded picture of Leeds.”

While working various jobs throughout the school year, Trahan managed the demands of her off-campus jobs while carrying an average course load of 18 credits per semester, racking up enough credits to tack on a minor she hadn’t planned on getting. “I was only one credit away from a math minor, so I just thought, ‘may as well get it,’” Trahan said.

Along with her finance degree and math minor, she also graduated with the quantitative finance certificate. This intense program requires students to complete classes in math, economics, finance and computer programming.

Trahan's coursework laid a solid foundation for securing internships with Independent Financial, Bridgewater Associates, and Five Elms Capital. Each experience proved to be unique, offering diverse exposure to various facets of the finance industry.

“Moving on to new adventures is thrilling, but there's a nostalgic sweetness of bidding farewell to those college years.”

Grace Trahan (Fin‘23)

Although her early graduation was impressive, it did involve trade-offs—from late nights at the business building to the challenge of remaining focused through her coursework. She would’ve liked to do another major if she’d had the time, but looking back, she doesn’t regret the choices she made.

"When I chose Leeds, I never could've envisioned the incredible array of experiences and opportunities that awaited me; I'm truly grateful for the moments that have sculpted my academic and professional path," she said.

Time for a Rest

All of Trahan’s work paid off. Before she starts her new job at Five Elms Capital in Kansas City, Missouri, as a Private Equity Analyst in August, she has some much-needed fun to attend to: a visit to Japan this February followed by a 3-month European adventure to visit her twin sister, who is attending a university in Milan, Italy. On the top of her travel list is France, Germany, and Austria.

She says that all these changes are exciting, but also a little bittersweet.

"I genuinely cherished my time as a college student, relishing the excitement of new classes each semester that guaranteed variety,” Trahan said. “Moving on to new adventures is thrilling, but there's a nostalgic sweetness of bidding farewell to those college years.”

After graduating a year early, Grace Trahan is off to explore the world.

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Adelyn Dozier (Entr’26)

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:25:09 +0000

Adelyn Dozier (Entr’26) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/15/2023 - 10:25

Caley Kadlecek , Student Writer

Just weeks before her freshman year of high school, Adelyn Dozier’s family moved from Texas to Colorado. Like any other teenager, the prospect of having to build a new community of friends at a new school in an unfamiliar state weighed heavily on her. Then came a second blow.

Shortly after starting school, Adelyn was diagnosed with severe rapid-onset scoliosis, a condition characterized by the accelerated development of an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. It caused immense pain and discomfort, forcing her to undergo a complete spinal fusion–the insertion of multiple rods and metal screws into the vertebrae of her spine to keep it straight.

Adelyn recalls her slow recovery after the surgery: “It was like learning how to walk again.” But eventually, with her family's love and support, she was able to overcome the mental and physical hardships she endured.

By the time she graduated high school, the obstacles had shaped her into someone who knew how to face life’s challenges head-on–so much so, she decided to postpone college and help others overcome theirs.

“I think I got to learn the importance of having everything stripped away from me and feeling a lot more fulfilled in my life when I’m just serving others. I’ve always believed that the more you can give love, the more you’ll receive,” she says.

She embarked on a service trip to help people in Guatemala, South Africa and Ecuador. She provided support in a myriad of ways: helping students in a classroom, preparing food behind a counter, and offering emotional support to those who needed it most.

“I feel much more confident knowing you can just take a risk and then learn as you go.”

Adelyn Dozier (Entr’26)

Today, Adelyn is studying Strategy and Entrepreneurship in her second year at Leeds. It’s something she’s always been drawn to; growing up, she watched her parents open their own coffee shop. Root House Coffee proved to be a steep learning curve for her parents, who had to learn everything along the way with no prior business experience. But Adelyn learned with them.

Now, she dreams of starting a business called Root for Each Other. She doesn’t know what kind of business it’ll be yet, but she hopes it’ll be one that will fill others' lives with joy. “I want to bring purpose into whatever business I have and share my story through it,” she says.

When it comes to business, and life, she’s learned that some risks are worth taking.

She tells the story of how her team won their final case competition in her Communications Strategy class. As the opening speaker for her group, she did so well that two of her professors recommended she speak at Leeds Launch Day, an orientation for incoming students.

Her first instinct was to reject the offer. How could she get up and speak in front of so many people? But she’d overcome challenges that scared her before, so she decided to take the risk.

Every life lesson she’d ever learned came back to her that day, giving her the courage and confidence she’d been cultivating for so long–from when she was forced to rebuild her life in a new town to when she battled and triumphed over her health crisis.

She stepped up to the podium, and she nailed her speech.

When it comes to business, and life, Adelyn Dozier has learned that some risks are worth taking.

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Jackie Lombardi (OpsMgmt’18)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 23:05:13 +0000

Jackie Lombardi (OpsMgmt’18) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/30/2023 - 16:05

Mia Armbruster

Senior Associate, RMI

Jackie Lombardi was curious about sustainability and ethics when she started at Leeds. By the time she graduated, her curiosity had transformed into a passion to make a positive change in the world.

While pursuing an emphasis in Operations Management, one of her classes, Sustainable Operations, became a transformative experience that defined her career. Looking for ways to pursue her passion for sustainability, Jackie decided to join the CESR Fellows at the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR), becoming the president of the program in her senior year. She treasured working within a community of individuals with similar values and forging connections with mentors who could help her navigate her career journey.

"There are so many resources offered at Leeds, both within and beyond the community. I really benefited from taking advantage of those valuable opportunities,” she says.

Her mentors cheered her on academically and encouraged her to take advantage of every opportunity to explore her passion. They also helped her reflect on her values and determine how she wanted to live her life both personally and professionally. With this foundation Jackie carried her desire to make a difference into her career, where she works as a Senior Associate at RMI (formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute), a global nonprofit focused on transforming the global energy system to secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all.

“Whenever I run into a challenge, one of the first things I do is reach out to a peer or an experienced mentor and talk through it. Mentors can help you look at the problem in a way you haven’t considered before.”

Jackie Lombardi (OpsMgmt’18)

As part of the Urban Transformation team, Jackie works directly with cities and local governments on local climate action. She provides technical support to sustainability leaders and staff on topics ranging from renewable energy projects to transportation infrastructure. Currently, she’s working on a federal grant to support historically disadvantaged communities across the country advance local transportation and mobility projects. She still checks in with her mentors, who guide her and share their wisdom to help her do her best work for communities in need. They’ve also helped instill confidence for managing new challenges as she expands her understanding of the industry.

She encourages Leeds students to establish connections along the way who will be a resource long after graduation.

Jackie Lombardi turned her curiosity about sustainability into a passion to make a positive change in the world.

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Sloan Hurley (Fin, Mgmt’25)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:32:04 +0000

Sloan Hurley (Fin, Mgmt’25) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/03/2023 - 08:32

Mia Armbruster , Student Writer

Ralphie Handler

While she studies hard during the week, Sloan Hurley runs hard on the weekend with the rest of the Ralphie handlers (a.k.a., ‘Ralphie Runners’)—the students who lead ��Ƶ Boulder’s mascot, Ralphie the Buffalo, around the football field before each home game.

Monday through Friday, Sloan is a third-year student majoring in finance and management with a focus on social responsibility and sustainability. She transferred to the Leeds School of Business last year and quickly started looking for her place within the community.

“I know I have something to offer and a voice to be shared,” she says.

She decided to join the Leeds Young Alumni Mentor program to connect with professionals who share her passion for making a positive impact. She also joined Alpha Kappa Psi, a student-run business fraternity—where she stumbled across some students who stood out from the B-school crowd, wearing cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats. She learned they were Ralphie Handlers and felt instantly drawn to them. Soon after the chance encounter, she decided to try out.

“I put my foot in the door and pave a way for myself.”

Sloan Hurley (Fin’25)

Having always been active—she was a kicker on her high school football team—Sloan figured she might have a shot, even though she hadn’t trained like the other hopefuls. Nonetheless, she showed up at tryouts determined and ready to pass each physical test.

It was harder than she anticipated: At one point she found herself struggling with the lifting exercises, an area in which she had no experience. But this only made her train harder, she recalls, pushing herself ever closer to the goal she knew she was capable of achieving. In the end, she was right; she became one of 14 handlers on the team.

She’s quick to point out that it isn’t just a team, it’s a family: a support system that inspires each member to reach their full potential. And it’s not the only family she’s found. At Leeds, she’s a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and explains that they work not only to help each other grow but to grow together as a collective to make a positive impact on the school.

On finding her place, Sloan says she never hesitates to try something new, whether it’s keeping up with a racing buffalo or putting herself out there in a new community.

“I put my foot in the door and pave a way for myself.” She makes it clear that anything is possible.

Photos courtesy of University of Colorado Athletics.

Sloan Hurley studies hard during the week and runs hard on the weekend as a Ralphie handler.

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Jessica Yan (InfoAn'19)

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:14:24 +0000

Jessica Yan (InfoAn'19) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/19/2023 - 15:14

Program Associate, Pivotal Ventures

Jessica Yan doesn’t aspire to be the smartest person in the room—which is why she recently surrounded herself with 151 of some of the smartest people in the world, who were chosen for the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars program. Through this program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, she completed a master’s in Global Affairs.

The program is committed to preparing the next generation of global leaders. Yan lived and worked with other scholars who shared a similar passion for collaborating and solving problems across borders. She described it as a transformative experience—they ate meals together, cried together and traveled together.

“There really isn’t one mold for Schwarzman Scholars—we come from all around the world and from all different kinds of fields,” Yan said. “But what is common among us is our zeal for the mission that we're on and our desire to be a part of a global community.”

Yan has traveled across the world and done amazing things with her career in the past few years—which she says is partly because of a ��Ƶ Boulder scholarship she received her junior year. The Tang Family Foundation Scholarship allowed Yan to travel to China for four weeks and helped inspire an interest in international issues.

“This is one of the reasons that sparked my interest and going abroad to do Schwarzman Scholars—it also really inspired my interest in international issues and how those intersect with the kinds of domestic issues that I’ve already been working on as related to gender and race,” she said.

“Women are so incredible—how much better could the world be if women and women of color could actually reach their full potential?”

Jessica Yan (InfoAn‘19)

Despite her aversion to being singled out, Yan graduated from the program first in her class. Now, she wants to use that momentum and what she’s learned to make a greater impact in gender and racial justice work.

“The question is, how can I carry that work onwards from what I learned, and I think it starts with the kind of social impact work that I'm doing now and ultimately being able to give those opportunities to other people as well,” she said.

A Calling to Justice

She knew she wanted to pursue a career in social justice since she was young. As an Asian-American in a lower-income family, her personal experiences with oppression shed light on inequalities and inspired her to help be a part of the change.

Upon graduating from Leeds in 2019 with an emphasis in Information Analytics and Leadership, Yan got a job at Redstone Strategy Group as a philanthropic strategy consultant for large foundations, where she worked for gender and racial justice. She now works for Pivotal Ventures, a company founded by Melinda French Gates on a mission to bring more opportunity and equality to people in the U.S.

Her journey into these positions hasn’t been easy—there have always been challenges that come with being the “first and only” in many spaces, where feelings of intimidation made her question if she actually belonged at the companies she was with. Over the years, she’s learned the value her life experiences can add to the equity-focused work she’s pursuing.

“The reason I do this work is because I want to rewrite a previous narrative and show that strong women are right,” she said. “Women are so incredible—how much better could the world be if women and women of color could actually reach their full potential?”

“As I continue to progress in my career and take the baton from many leaders who are ahead of me, I only hope that future generations continue to advance this work as well,” she said.

As for more personal goals, Yan wants to be a role model for her younger self.

“When I was younger, I never knew of many women and Asian women that were leaders,” she said. “In the future, I hope I can be somebody who embodies confidence. Someone with integrity who makes decisions that make the world a better place.”

After graduating from Leeds and the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars program, Jessica Yan wants to use what she’s learned to make a greater impact in gender and racial justice work.

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Christina Kan (PhD’15)

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Christina Kan (PhD’15) Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/05/2023 - 00:00

Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Connecticut School of Business

Before Christina Kan completed her doctorate in marketing at the Leeds School of Business, she spent long days marketing residential real estate in Vancouver, British Columbia. She worked in one of the most lucrative housing markets in North America, but after three years in the industry, she craved a career change.

After applying to several PhD programs in the U.S., she landed at Leeds, where the high caliber of faculty members eager to share their knowledge drew her in.

“They are prolific researchers and thought leaders in their fields—and they place a lot of emphasis on mentoring their PhD students,” she explained.

Kan immediately benefitted from that research leadership. The first academic conference she attended was the Boulder Summer Conference on Consumer Financial Decision Making, hosted annually by Leeds and its Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making. She connected with the research being presented and decided to study the topic herself.

In the years since, she’s examined how people budget for their finances and how they make decisions under resource constraints. She also investigates the mental processes underlying consumer perceptions of price and sales promotion information.

The Leeds Impact

During her time in the PhD program, Kan benefitted from the rigorous coursework and opportunities for collaboration but noted it was the faculty support that most differentiated Leeds.

“The thing that really does stand out to me as uniquely valuable about the marketing PhD program at Leeds is the extent to which the faculty support their students from day one through to graduation, and beyond,” she said. “I’m now eight years out, and I still feel like ��Ƶ Boulder is very much my academic home.”

“I’m now eight years out, and I still feel like ��Ƶ Boulder is very much my academic home.”

Christina Kan (PhD’15)

In a way, it is—she continues to work with Leeds’ Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and collaborate with faculty members. Most recently, she and Professor Donald Lichtenstein co-authored a study published in the Journal of Marketing evaluating how a sales promotion on one product influences the sales of other non-promoted products within a display.

She’s also carrying on the ethos of the Leeds PhD program. Now an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Connecticut School of Business, she finds it very meaningful to work with doctoral students.

“I think this really stems from the mentorship I received at Leeds,” she said. “I’m honored now to find a way to pay it forward.”

After benefitting from faculty support in the Leeds PhD program, Christina Kan is now paying it forward.

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