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GSM Student Association Online MBA (GSMSA OMBA)

The Graduate School of Management's Student Association Online MBA (GSMSA OMBA) represents the Online MBA student voice and enriches their collective journey.

Meet Our Board

	Ian Johansson Co-President Ian is a MBA candidate with the Summer 2020 Cohort. He was born and raised in Northern California. Ian attended UC Davis, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science. After graduating, Ian joined a community-based health plan called Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC). In his 10 years at PHC, he worked his way up from an entry level position to the Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs. Ian helped coordinate several programmatic and geographic expansions, helping PHC grow to serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries in 14 counties. After a brief stint in Honolulu, Hawaii, Ian accepted his current position of Chief Compliance Officer at the Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM). As a member of HPSM’s leadership team, Ian contributes to the organization’s strategic planning, plan-wide communication efforts and oversees HPSM’s compliance program. Ian recently moved from San Francisco to the East Bay, and along with his wife, eagerly awaits the birth of his first child in the Summer of 2021. Connect on LinkedIn
	Meredith Roberts Co-President Meredith Roberts is a second year MBA student. She serves on the Women in Leadership Online Board as Vice President, is a Student Ambassador, Keller Pathway Fellow and 2021 Big Bang participant. She is currently consulting in the energy sector and working to grow her own business. She was previously the Director of External Relations at Sierra Energy, a waste to energy technology startup based in Davis. Roberts earned her B.S. in Entomology at UC Davis and has been in the environmental field for over 15 years, working in business development, strategic planning, communications and fundraising for both private industry and the nonprofit sector. Roberts’ interests and research include strategy, technology management and organizational behavior. She is active in her local business community and serves on the Davis Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Committee where she was chair in 2018–20. Outside of her time working and in school, Meredith can be found on ski and hiking trails or at home in her garden.
	Axel Lopez Co-Vice President Axel is an MBA candidate with the Fall 2020 Cohort. He was born in Mexico City, Mexico and raised in Davis, CA. Axel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Chicana/o Studies from University of California, Los Angeles. His experience comes from 15 years of leadership roles in retail sales and operations. He specialized in leading high-performing teams, training and development, and creating sales strategies that deliver performance results. Currently, Axel is Head of Operations for a social media/tech company. Post-graduation, he hopes to continue a career in marketing/innovation and focus on strengthening diversity and inclusion in the workplace. On his days off, you will find Axel at the dog park, exploring new recipes, listening to podcasts or hunting for a new graphic novel to read.
	Matvari Maharaj Co-Vice President Matvari is an MBA candidate with the Summer 2020 Cohort. She was born and raised in Redwood City, CA. Matvari holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a minor in Project Management and International Studies from California State University, Chico. Her experience is compiled from two industries: education and agriculture. Matvari worked as a substitute teacher for K-12 schools across two districts. She also worked as a project coordinator for an organic rice company leading new product development projects from idea to launch. Post-graduation, Matvari hopes to pursue a career in strategic financial planning for a technology-based company or create a successful podcast brand. On her days off, you will find Matvari hanging out with her dog, listening to podcasts, reading a book or coming up with a new macrame pattern.
	Abby Flores Director of Student Services Abby is a MBA candidate with the Spring 2020 Cohort. She was born in Los Angeles and raised in San Jose. Abby attended Cal State East Bay, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. After graduating, Abby joined an IT consulting firm in the peninsula. Since then, she has worked in the construction industry in Project Accounting and General Accounting functions. More recently, she has worked her way up to an Accounting Manager role leading a new accounting software implementation. She lives in Hayward with her husband, two kids and two dogs. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and tries to squeeze in Crossfit workouts. Connect on LinkedIn
	Brittany Woodard Director of Student Services Brittany is a MBA candidate with the Fall 2019 Cohort. She was born in Sacramento, California, and raised within greater Sacramento as well. She attended Cal Polytechnic State University (SLO) and graduated as a student athlete with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2013. After graduating, Brittany moved to the Bay Area where she worked at Oracle Corporation as an inside sales representative. After a few years, she moved back to her hometown to be closer to family. Recently, she has taken an interest in Community Outreach within Sacramento. She currently works at Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as a Community Engagement Representative who collaborates with non-profits and determines how SMUD can best support their community outreach. Brittany is also the Founder of Empowering Youth through Hoops, a safe haven for young kids to learn fundamental basketball skills that are transferable on and off the court. She hopes to continue this venture and support disadvantaged communities within Sacramento. Connect on LinkedIn
	Sarah Mudgett Fall 2019 Cohort Representative Sarah is a MBA candidate with the Fall 2019 Cohort. She was born and raised in Los Gatos, CA. Sarah attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness. After graduating, Sarah moved back to the Bay Area and started a career in sales. She has a diverse background in sales including medical device, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and biopharmaceuticals. She currently sits on the board of directors for the Pacific Autism Center for Education in Santa Clara, CA and spent time working on different committees for the Junior League of San Jose. She lives in San Jose, CA with her husband Neal and two young children. In the limited free time she does have, she enjoys traveling, seeing family and friends, entertaining at their home, and having a glass of wine.
	Dean Seago Winter 2020 Cohort Representative
	TBD Spring 2020 Cohort Representative
	Rachel White Summer 2020 Cohort Representative
	Prashant Ladole Summer 2020 Cohort Representative
	Nilanjan Mukherjee Fall 2020 Cohort Representative Nilanjan is an MBA candidate with the Fall 2020 Cohort. He was born and raised in the city of joy, Kolkata, India. He is a research enthusiast, bio-engineer, scientist, and an entrepreneur. He is the recipient of the prestigious KVPY fellowship from Government of India through which his entire undergraduate and graduate education was funded. He was granted the fellowship through his innovative idea of generating electricity through household kitchen waste (Mircobial Fuel Cell). This had a great potential in helping rural India. Nilanjan completed a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal in 2014, majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry. After his graduation, he continued his research training at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as Junior Research Fellow. In 2015, he moved to the United States to pursue his Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) program at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Following his graduation in 2017, he moved from Chicago to the San Francisco bay area to begin his research at his dream institute, Stanford University, with the School of Medicine. Apart from his scientific research and entrepreneurial interest, Nilanjan is an avid music enthusiast, live theater performer, soccer player, and loves to cook! He is highly efficient in cooking a complete 5 course meal! Connect on LinkedIn
	Raffi Tashjian Fall 2020 Cohort Representative Raffi Tashjian is an MBA candidate in the Fall 2020 Cohort. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He received his bachelor’s degree in management from California State University, Northridge. Since graduation, he has been employed at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, where he has worked his way up to management and has gained experience in sales and marketing. In the future, he plans on pursuing a marketing career in the tech industry. During his free time, he enjoys traveling, concerts, and sporting events.
	Ella Carter Winter 2021 Cohort Representative Ella Carter is an MBA candidate in the Winter 2021 cohort. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama she moved to California in 2014 to attend undergrad at UC Santa Cruz and later transferred to UC Davis where she graduated with a degree in Food Science and Technology. She started working in breweries both in Alabama and California, but took an internship with E&J Gallo after graduating from Davis in June 2019 as a research enologist in Healdsburg, California. Since then, she has been working in research and development as a Technologist for just over a year in Modesto. Ella now lives in Lodi, California with her partner and precious rescue pup, Max.
	Stanley Leung Winter 2021 Cohort Representative Stanley Leung is an MBA candidate in the Winter 2021 cohort. Raised in San Francisco, CA and moved to San Diego, CA to attend undergrad at UC San Diego where he graduated with a degree in Bioengineering: Bioinformatics. He started working in various research institutes like the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, but took on a full time offer with Illumina, Inc after graduating from UCSD in Winter 2013 as a Software Engineer in Test and ultimately improving health by unlocking the power of the genome. Since then, he has been working in software development as a Sr. Manager for just over eight years in San Diego. Stanley got married to his beautiful wife, Sally, in 2018. Stanley loves to travel with his wife and has a goal of collecting postcards along with stamped postage sent from all major cities in the world one day. Outside of work, Stanley loves all major sports and can help you analyze and give his insights in regards to any teams for the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB sectors.