Sunday, April 10, 2022
Velda Powers
We are pleased to introduce the following candidates for the Club's Board of Directors
The current Board of Directors has vetted and approved the following Wharton alumni to comprise the 2022 slate of new Directors. All dues-paying members of the Wharton Club of Chicago will have received an email with a link to approve or reject the slate as a whole. The deadline for voting is April 30, 2022, 7:00 pm CT. Please direct questions to Velda Powers at [email protected].
Andy Arboleda, WG’12 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
Previous board experience includes Purses for Nurses, a 501c3, helping form the NP, set the vision, organize the company’s books, and founding documents. From a professional standpoint, I have been in operating roles as well as advisory roles for companies across the U.S. and in Colombia. I have helped recruit board members, develop business plans, fundraise, and execute strategic, financial, and operating objectives. Hobbies and interests that might come in handy include computer programing, meditation, and enjoying live music shows.
Vision
I’d like to help develop a coffee chat program for alumni or “speed” networking (ideally in person) and help create events that welcome newcomers to Chicago (river tour (day or night), improv shows, or sporting events that could be coordinated).
Gianluca Falco, WG’20 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
- Financial management and control from my current work experience at J.P. Morgan
- Data management and reporting from current and previous work experience
- Community engagement and events planning from my leadership role with The Italian Club at Wharton
Vision
- I’d love to contribute to the WCC with the organization of various social events with the goal of strengthening the Wharton community in Chicago and make the Club a point of reference for all new graduates in the city.
- To engage people with different interests, we should explore different types of events, from large social gatherings to small group dinners. We should also plan for events targeted to specific demographics (ex. Young Alumni or Alumni working in specific industries, etc.). It would be great to have some career-focused events where people could share their professional experiences and learn about others.
- The Club should also create an online community for alumni to meet and communicate virtually. We should think about the most effective tool to engage with the young alumni community and build our presence on social media as well (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.).
Kay Jackson, WG’09 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
My career is in Marketing, and I have expertise in customer retention, launching new concepts and developing/executing communication strategies including outreach channels and messaging. I know how to use insights to position concepts or ideas to customers and drive their engagement. I also have project management skills that I’ve acquired through my professional experience working on large cross-functional projects and previously in strategy consulting.
Vision
As a recent transplant to Chicago, I am passionate about connecting to Wharton alumni and bringing people together. Personally, I have experienced the strength of the Wharton bond many times both socially and professionally and I would love to have a role in increasing the connection and engagement that WACC members feel with each other and with Wharton overall. A specific idea to achieve this is facilitating smaller group connections via neighborhoods, professional industries, or personal interests/hobbies. And I am sure I would develop even more ideas as I meet more alumni and learn more about what they want from the club.
Serena Lal, WG’07 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
I have had a 20-year long career in tech that spans B2B software, digital media, and retail tech. Today, I am no longer in the corporate world and am a certified life coach. My corporate-related skills are in sales, business development, and digital advertising. Recently I was COO and cofounder of a tech startup in Chicago. I’ve been a judge for the Wharton Venture competition since graduating and today I am an angel investor and limited partner to women founders and fund managers. I am also currently on the board of a new non-profit in Chicago, Collective Initiatives, which serves historically disadvantaged communities through business training and services. I have some fundraising experience. I’ve been a yogi for over 15 years and have a daily meditation practice as well.
Vision
My work today focuses on helping people in the corporate, startup, and non-profit worlds find more meaning and fulfillment in what they do. I do this as a life coach which means I help them find their truest essential self by chipping away at the cultural and social learnings that are not serving them. I do this through whole-brain tools that are cognitive, emotional, somatic, and even spiritual in nature. I would love to bring what I do more broadly to the Wharton Chicago community through content, workshops or 1:1. Or even just help the community answer their questions around “What is a coach? Do I even need one and if so what type?” This is a unique time because the stillness we experienced during the pandemic allowed many of us to examine our lives and to demand more purpose, joy, and fulfillment from it.
Parina Lalchandani, WG’21 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
Background: I have worked as a Growth Strategy consultant at EY-Parthenon for four of the last six years (MBA exclusive). During my MBA, I interned as a private equity investor at Aldrich Capital Partners. Prior to that, I earned an AB from the University of Chicago. I hold various experiences that would be beneficial to WCC.
- Event planning: Every year, I organize my office’s ~200-person “Sell Night” for new recruits. I manage a budget of $40,000, book and negotiate with venues, coordinate transit and accommodation, pull together presentation materials and agendas, and communicate with firm employees, as well as new employee recruits.
- Public speaking: In my current role as a consultant, I manage teams of ~3-5 people, and present in a variety of settings, including client workshops with Fortune-50 C-level clients. During undergrad, I competed at National Model United Nations conferences, earning 1st and 3rd place awards at the American and Harvard conferences, respectively.
- Board development: I lead various internal initiatives at my firm. I oversee Wharton MBA recruiting, UChicago undergrad recruiting, and our office Onboarding committee, organizing campus events, outreach, interviews, and candidate “sell” on top of client work. In undergrad, I was a VP of Professional on the board of my business fraternity, organizing 50+ professional events over two years.
Vision
Socially, I would like to contribute to building the alumni community, with an emphasis on newer alumni and integrating them into previous alumni networks. I graduated from my MBA last June and have had a difficult time meeting other Wharton alumni organically. As a start, I organized a group text for my class alumni in Chicago (14 members) and have begun meeting with them over dinner. I’d love to join the board to further cultivate the overall Wharton Chicago alumni community. Some ideas I have are monthly Loop dinners/happy hours, treks/events to visit establishments founded by Wharton alumni, a virtual book club to discuss topical business books of interest, potential hikes (Starved Rock, Indiana Dunes), and a virtual Philly cheesesteak cooking class. I’d also like to contribute to this community philanthropically, which I know is a key pillar of the alumni club. At my workplace, I am currently organizing a volunteer event at PAWS Chicago. Other events/places we could volunteer at include the Greater Chicago Food Depository and a Lake Michigan cleanup / picnic. As I am relatively recently out of the MBA, I anticipate learning from others in a professional capacity. Over time, I hope to contribute professionally as well.
Tulsi Mehta, W’13 (Undergraduate)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
Combining my professional background in consulting (public speaking, road mapping, digital strategy) and my experience in event planning, I can offer a lot to the Wharton Club. During undergrad, I planned large-scale events as both a Cohort President (yearly Halloween trip to Eastern State Penitentiary for all WUG) and a Wharton Ambassador (responsible for the luncheon for accepted Wharton students) – events that required communication, coordination, and attention to detail. I would love to get back to that and combine it with my love for all things Chicago. Visiting a new place, or trying a new activity, can bring Wharton alumni together to bond and network. You never know when a social or professional connection can come in handy!
Vision
After multiple years of Zoom wellness sessions and happy hours, people are excited for in-person events and socialization again. I would like to use this opportune moment to further the Wharton engagement with the club: both with Young Alumni that spent their Junior and Senior years in pandemic times, and more established alumni that are looking to get out and be active again. This can be established through many different types of activities: social events centered around food/drinks, activities that explore unique aspects of Chicago’s neighborhoods (e.g., Chicago Magic Lounge, Museum Jazz Nights), or educational seminars on timely topics.
Dylan Wolin, WEMBA’05 (Executive MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
I have board of directors’ experience through my service on the board of the Mary Meyer School and the Astor-Banks Condominium Association, as well as my work with the board of AAR CORP., where I am the Treasurer and head of strategic and corporate development. I think I can bring unique perspective to the board and alumni base as a function of the diversity of my work experience, which includes large corporate management, mid-size corporate leadership, bulge bracket investment banking, boutique investment banking and consulting. I also have industry expertise in Aerospace & Defense, and I have community engagement experience through my participation in the Latin School of Chicago’s partnership with the Uptown neighborhood. Finally, I am a lifelong hockey player and fan, and continue to play throughout the Chicago area should that ever be relevant to the Club.
Vision
The Wharton alumni base and network has been a great help to me over time and I am interested in trying to give back to it in whatever way I can. I would be pleased to support calendar and/or database management, or anything else. Specifically, I previously lived in New York and still receive the Wharton Club of NY’s communications promoting “Take the Call” from other alumni, and while I know that concept exists at the WCC too, I would welcome the opportunity to further promote and facilitate it in Chicago.
Wells Ye, WG’98 (MBA)
Special Skills, Qualifications & Previous Board Experience
People management, recruiting, entrepreneur, startup.
Vision
To help the Club grow, to have a stronger sense of community, and to add more value to Club members.
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