A team of 12 dedicated individuals have come together to serve the Business Alumni Chapter this fiscal year.

Summer meetings yield ideas for innovative programs focused on leadership.

The enthusiastic group met several times over the summer to begin planning the coming fiscal year’s alumni program. The theme is leadership: “Lead in life, lead in community and lead by example.” The programming includes “Career Connections,” leadership lecture breakfasts, and a service and student engagement project.

Board members pictured left to right: Sammi Rosin, Dianne Cordova, Basit Hasan and Melany Michelena

Through a partnership with the College of Business Administration’s Career Management Services (CMS), the group will conduct a three-part series called “Career Connections.” It will provide alumni with valuable tools to leverage their network for career advancement. The first “Career Connection” event will feature guest speaker Paul Gregg, managing director of Boyden, a global search firm, who will speak about leveraging professional relationships through social networking. The talk will take place at 6:30 p.m. on September 10, 2009 at the Sports Exchange in Coral Gables.

The leadership lecture breakfasts will facilitate informative learning from distinguished speakers and experts on business leadership.

A core committee leads the service project: Johanna Salazar, Gloria Camacho, David Dominguez (BBA’04), Pedro Ramos, Yolanda Rodriguez (BS ’07), Oscar Grau (BBA ’03) and Rosa Rivera. The group welcomes additional business alumni who are passionate about giving back to the community. If you are interested in joining the service project, please e-mail Salazar at Johanna.salazar@aceneth.com.

Recognizing that building student leaders today will create a stronger alumni base for the future, the board regards involving senior students as an important initiative this year. As part of the initiative, the board will sponsor eight students to The Academy of Leaders, which teaches leadership competencies through educational seminars, experiential exercises and practical application.

The Business Alumni Chapter board members lead by example. If you are interested in joining the board, contact Michelle Joubert at 305.348.0397 or e-mail joubertm@fiu.edu.

Sign up today for membership and demonstrate that you are a leader.

The 2009-2010 Business Alumni Chapter Board taps young professionals from multiple industries.

President:

• Michael Fenton (BBA ’07), associate director, The Catholic Community Foundation in the Archdiocese of Miami, Inc.

President elect and event chair:

• Scarlette Carballo (BBA ’04), Sperry Van Ness/Doran Jason Group

Development chair:

• Gerardo Rodriguez-Albizu (BBA ’04), attorney, Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP

Student outreach chair:

• Dianne Cordova (BBA ’06), assistant director of student & chapter outreach programs, FIU

Career Management Services (CMS) liaisons:

• Dawn Lazar (BS ’06) assistant director of undergraduate programs, CMS, College of Business Administration, FIU

• Sammi Rosin, assistant director, CMS, College of Business Administration, FIU,

Leadership Breakfast Series chair:

• Basit Hasan (MIS ’01), Arena Group sales manager, The HEAT Group

Service project chairs:

• Gloria Camacho (BS ’05), social entrepreneur, Aceneth, LLC

• Johanna Salazar, social entrepreneur, Aceneth, LLC

Marketing chair:

• Melany Michelena (BBA’ 05), web site SEO & PPC consultant, Optimal Marketing Results

Membership chair:

• Roberto Zaldivar (MACC ’08, BBA’06), accountant, Sharfs Whitmer Kurtz & Jackson

Student liaison:

• Miguel Lugo, vice president of professional development, FIU-American Marketing Association