Episodes
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Becky Wai (’26) Chief Strategy Officer, VSee Praveen Gangaraju (’26) Architectural Sales and Strategic Accounts, Automatic Openings Does success always mean winning versus losing? C-suite leader Becky Wai (’26), a student in UCLA Anderson’s Executive MBA program, says her first successes came through personal responsibility, not competitive wins at work. As chief strategy officer at AI-first digital health platform VSee, she brings global health equity to scale by cultivating collaboration within her team and sharing the success of achieving goals. In a conversation hosted by her classmate Pra
Jordan Hutkin-Schwartz (’26) Associate Director, Chancellor’s Society, UCLA Salo Steinvortz (’26), Marketing Manager, Aquent Studios UCLA Anderson’s Fully Employed MBA students juggle their studies alongside full-time jobs and personal responsibilities. When Jordan Hutkin-Schwartz (’26) entered the program, she added maternity to her list of simultaneous goals. Jordan’s early career experience in entertainment was followed by a hard pivot to the nonprofit sector and, finally, to higher education. Comparing notes with fellow FEMBA student Salo Steinvortz (’26), Jordan talked about how she learn
Ishan Asokan, M.D. M.Sc. (’26) Clinical Hospitalist, Providence St. Joseph Health John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow Salo Steinvortz (’26), Marketing Manager, Aquent Studios Dr. Ishan Asokan (’26) is a clinical hospitalist at Providence St. Joseph Health and a former assistant professor at UCLA Health. His career has encompassed HIV prevention, and LGBTQ advocacy across India, East Africa, Thailand and Jordan. After Ishan earned several advanced degrees, including an M.D., he briefly thought he was finished with his education. In his first year out of medical school, he began to feel like he
Alexa Tralla (’26) Staff Product Marketing Manager, Illumina Praveen Gangaraju (’26) Architectural Sales and Strategic Accounts, Automatic Openings Strategic program manager Alexa Tralla (EMBA ’26) works at the intersection of science, strategy and commercialization. She’s helped launch some of the biggest global platforms, driving go-to-market success across teams and markets. She’s built her career turning complex ideas into real-world impact. Alexa enrolled in UCLA Anderson’s Executive MBA program with the goal of moving into executive leadership within the life sciences space. “I wanted to
Erin Hiley (B.A. ’98, ’26) Chief Legal Officer, American Specialty Health Host: Praveen Gangaraju (’26) Celebrate 2026 Drive Time Co-Leader UCLA Anderson executive MBA alumna and double Bruin Erin Hiley (B.A. ’98, ’26) is chief legal officer at American Specialty Health. Introducing her in conversation, classmate Praveen Gangaraju (’26) said, “She is someone who brings together law, leadership and a strong sense of purpose in a very grounded way.” Like many people, Hiley began her career with some uncertainty. She noticed that although we marvel at entrepreneurs’ and executives’ successes foll
Irma Márquez Trapero (’26) Chief Executive Officer, LatinoLEAD Host: Alexa Tralla (’26) Strategic Program Manager | Go-to-Market and Launch Excellence In her youth, UCLA Anderson executive MBA alumna Irma Márquez Trapero (’26) was “undocumented,” so she never had the chance to travel abroad. Through Anderson’s global immersion program, she traveled in 2026 to Thailand for experiential learning, which she considers “a dream come true.” As founder and CEO of Minnesota-based LatinoLEAD, Irma advocates for policies to advance collective community power. A Mexico-born former DACA (deferred action)
Joel Rubin (’26) Vice President of Content, Lubetzky Family Foundation Host: Alexa Tralla (’26) Strategic Program Manager | Go-to-Market and Launch Excellence Entertainment industry programmer and developer Joel Rubin (’26) found himself at a career crossroads, frustrated with his job search. Although he was highly qualified in his field, he found that many positions he was interested in required an MBA. Joel was persuaded a UCLA Anderson graduate education would help him focus and advance, but, as a fine arts major in college, he was daunted by what he expected to be rigorous math, statistics
EMBA Council Co-Presidents Marisa Lue (’26) Staff Program Manager – Technical, Illumina Vishnu Singh (B.A. ’08, ’26) Associate Counsel, Access Information Management Host: Praveen Gangaraju (’26) Celebrate 2026 Drive Time Co-Leader Just Here for the Conversations Marisa Lue (’26) and Vishnu Singh (B.A. ’08, ’26) shared responsibility as co-presidents of UCLA Anderson’s student-led EMBA Council. In a conversation with classmate Praveen Gangaraju (’26), they talked about the immeasurable value of the Anderson executive MBA. As EMBA Council co-presidents, they made it a point to connect early wit
Jonathan Liu, M.D., FACP (’26) Physician Executive | Investor | Becker’s Under 40 | Ex-Amazon | Scaling Healthtech and AI Host: Becky Wai (’26) CSO | Pragmatic Visionary | Healthtech Executive | Impact-Driven Health Equity Dr. Jonathan Liu (EMBA ’26) is on a personal mission to alleviate suffering on a grand scale. Liu was named among Becker’s 100 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 in 2025. He’s a fellow of the American College of Physicians, former principal medical director for Amazon Global Benefits Health & Wellness, and a graduate of UCLA Anderson’s Executive MBA program. As a child, he witnesse
Alex Rayis (’26) Senior VDC Manager, Gilbane Building Company Host: Salo Steinvortz (’26) Marketing Manager | Product, Brand Strategy and Customer Insights | Father Alex Rayis (’26) once took a 2-week college hiatus to tour as a DJ. He would close the bars at 3:00 a.m. after his gig, then show up to work at his construction job. Originally from Ohio, Alex studied architectural engineering at the University of Cincinnati and, outside of school and work, he’s always DJ-ed and produced music. But he’s also spent the last decade as senior manager at Gilbane Building Company, building his career in
Featuring: Bill Auxier ('26) Master Distiller | Serial Entrepreneur Host: Salo Steinvortz (’26) Marketing Manager | Product, Brand Strategy and Customer Insights | Father What happens when a chemical engineer walks into a nuclear power plant, looks around at the mountains of paperwork, and thinks, “Absolutely not”? UCLA Anderson FEMBA graduate Bill Auxier (’26) followed his instincts to leave one of the most regulated industries imaginable for one of the most personally hands-on: craft spirits. It’s a dream and a plan he’s had since 2012. “I had a nuclear engineering internship my junior year
Featuring: Frankie Coelho (’26) VP of Inclusive Excellence, FEMBA Council | VPG Strategist Host: Salo Steinvortz (’26) Marketing Manager | Product, Brand Strategy and Customer Insights | Father Frankie Coelho is an intrapreneur and entrepreneur focused on inclusive leadership, innovation and the future of food and beverage. As a UCLA Anderson Fully Employed MBA student, they served as vice president of inclusive excellence on Anderson’s FEMBA Council, working to foster belonging, leadership development and community impact. Frankie is especially passionate about the CPG space, with a strong in
Featuring: Logan Wood (’26) Senior Product Manager, InMarket Host: Salo Steinvortz (’26) Marketing Manager | Product, Brand Strategy and Customer Insights | Father Logan Wood (’26) is a senior product manager at InMarket. His entire career has been in tech so far, starting off in data analytics and engineering, then moving into product. But, he told UCLA Anderson fully employed MBA classmate Salo Steinvortz (’26), “I’m also an MMA fighter, which kind of shaped my mindset around my career and was also a catalyst for applying to business school.” Working full-time, training twice a day and going
Drive Change: Five years later. Leading after Anderson. Building the classroom experience of Anderson for the next 20 years. And running Tenacity Artistic Productions and fulfilling his childhood dreams of Storytelling to make the world work for everyone. From earning a JD, to earning an MBA, to being an entrepreneur on two continents, Perry is an inspiration in your network. Featuring: Perry Poussard Esq. ('21) More episodes here anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/fully-employed-mba/culture/femba-drive-time-podcast
Share Success: Incredible. Get your tissues because there SO much love in Barbara’s story: following her heart with Google from Brazil to LA, going through FEMBA (secretly!?!) with her husband Victor, falling in love with LA, taking the leap of faith to leave the juggernaut of Google to fly into the world of LA28 after an Anderson class that changed her life. Barbara’s story is 100% a telling of what makes America a destination for talent from around the world. We are lucky to have her (and Victor...!)...and their doggy! Featuring: Barbara Alves ('26) with Salo Steinvortz ('26) More episodes h
Anika Sharin (’20) has commuted from the Bay Area to L.A. for three years because she chose UCLA Anderson over UC Berkeley. She keeps her base up north because she was hired by fellow alumnus Paul Badawi (’00), who founded the Silicon Valley-based company Sight Sciences. “The way we talk about sharing success at Anderson,” says Sharin, “he is really doing that.” Now, as she prepares to graduate, Sharin reflects on her Anderson SuperSaturday admission interview experience, launching her own health care startup, being a powerful woman in tech and FEMBA puppies (of course). Featuring: Anika Shari
Even the assistant dean and CFO of the UCLA School of Law had to overcome his fear of public speaking. Double Bruin and alumni board member Steve Yu is an active mentor and tireless advocate of higher education, yet he says doing the dishes is crucial to staying productive. The winner of the UCLA alumni network’s 2017 Volunteer of the Year Award proves he’s just like us. Hosted by Dylan Stafford, assistant dean and director of admissions of UCLA Anderson's Fully Employed MBA program (FEMBA), the Drive Time podcast features interviews with FEMBA alumni, current students, faculty and administrat
Get to know Brent Pressentin and, 30 minutes later, you might be managing your money better than you were before. Despite the peripatetic nature of his early career, the self-described Cheese Head says, “Planning is a consistent theme in my life,” something he learned to value at 23 working for E&J Gallo. Post-college, he test-drove the carbon-fiber Trek bike Lance Armstrong rode in his fifth Tour de France, got his feet wet in internet security and chased the girl of his dreams to Washington, D.C. But He found his “why” in wealth management when he earned his MBA from UCLA Anderson — which he
Ashley Merrill (’15) launched her sleepwear business, Lunya, one month after starting business school in Anderson’s FEMBA Flex program — and a few weeks after finding out she was pregnant. She initially couldn’t picture how she’d manage all of it at once. “Confidence was one of the gifts of business school,” she says. “It wasn’t like I went to accounting class and that was the gift, it was feeling like I could wrap my head around business terminology, basic structures of business and leadership.” Now she is “reinventing sleepwear for the modern woman,” including some very recognizable figures.
Located in San Diego and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in rowing, Susan now works for a medical research company that is working on a coronavirus vaccine. Hosted by Dylan Stafford, Assistant Dean of Admissions of the Fully-Employed MBA (FEMBA) program, the Drive Time Podcast features interviews with current students, faculty, and administrators from the UCLA Anderson as they discuss leadership, work-life balance, entrepreneurship, career development, and more. More episodes here: https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/fully-employed-mba/admissions/assistant-deans-advice/drive-time-podcasts
Why does a U.S. Marine Corps veteran earn an MBA from UCLA Anderson? And what can his military training teach the rest of us about dealing with COVID-19? Joel Searls reflects on these topics as well as his decision to reinvent himself as an associate producer of a feature-length Hollywood movie, Running with the Devil (2019), starring Nicholas Cage and Laurence Fishburne. Featuring: Joel Searls (’17), Investment Banking Associate, McCafferty & Company Hosted by Dylan Stafford, assistant dean and director of admissions of UCLA Anderson's Fully Employed MBA program (FEMBA), the Drive Time podcas
Growing up in China, Sophie Gao dreamed of an American experience. Her father made sacrifices to pursue becoming a medical doctor, and Sophie followed his work-hard example to get herself to the U.S. for college and career. She completed her Anderson MBA while living and working in Arizona and, distance notwithstanding, served as a FEMBA Council member and tutor. She was an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion student representative and, in 2020, she co-founded the nonprofit Humans of Wuhan to educate people and diminish racism. Through on-campus recruiting, she landed a new job at Amazon she’ll st
Recent graduate of the class of 2020 Rob Busalacchi, Investment Banking Associate at Barclays talks about his experience going through the Fully-Employed MBA (FEMBA) program as a former Marine. 00:00 Intro 03:15 Family Background 09:05 Undergrad Experience at Marquette University 11:00 Becoming a Marine/Military Experience 19:35 Deciding on an MBA & Grad School 26:00 Choosing Anderson 30:00 Being “Rough around the Edges” 33:10 Focusing on Finance 36:35 Anderson Student Clubs Highlight 43:50 Adjusting Study Habits 45:05 Finance Academic Internship 50:40 Barclays IB Internship 56:00
A decade after earning her Anderson MBA, double Bruin Kate Greenberg (B.A. ’04, ’10) has led a remarkable career. When she was an undergraduate, the communications job she does now for the Washington Nationals’ charitable arm didn’t exist. She’s gone from managing PR for high-profile companies like Disney to shaping the communication strategies of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and she is now immersed in the #NATS4GOOD community response fund. Perks along the way have included seeing her name inscribed on a Nationals 2019 World Series championship ring and meeting President Barack
Recent graduate of the class of 2020 Dominique Kagele, Global Product Strategy— Heme/Onc, Integrated Insights Leader talks about her experience going through the Fully-Employed MBA (FEMBA) program as a working mother. 00:00 – Intro 05:35 – Family and Growing Up in Reno, Nevada 08:15 – Undergraduate Experience at University of Nevada-Reno 10:00 – The Road to a Ph.D. 12:23 – Post-Doc Experience 12:45 – Choosing Between Academia & Industry 13:35 – Working at Pharmaceutical company GSK Deciding to get an MBA for a better understanding of how a business works. 14:01 – Choosing UCLA Anderson
