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Future Proof Your Career

Date: February 15, 2024

Location: Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom

*** Register HERE ***

As you prepare for your career journey and envision your professional trajectory, UC Merced is with you every step of the way.

Please join fellow Bobcats and a dynamic group of community and business leaders for a very special career event for UC Merced students, UC Merced alumni, UC Merced staff, and Valley residents seeking to advance their professional trajectory. UC Merced’s Master of Management (MM) program has designed an exceptional afternoon of professional networking, career path insight, and panel conversations with business and community leaders from The Valley and across the State. This free, on-campus event is your opportunity to meet ad engage with dynamic senior leaders from the Bay Area startup ecosystem, technology industry, Venture Capital sector, Community organizations, and leaders of UC Merced’s Management of Innovation, Sustainability and Technology (MIST) graduate group.

This exciting, high profile program will include:

2:00pm - 2:45pm Networking Time: Connect with like-minded individuals, share experiences, and expand your professional network.

2:45pm - 3:00pm Program Presentation: Gain in-depth insights into the Gallo M.M. and other related program through a comprehensive presentation that outlines how our curriculum perfectly aligns with the needs and expectations of today's business leaders and hiring managers.

3:10pm - 4:30pm Panel Conversation: Delve into the future of careers with a thought-provoking discussion themed around "Careers of the Future." Engage with influential business leaders and UC Regents as they share invaluable insights. A Q&A session will follow, providing you with the opportunity to interact with panelists and campus leaders.

4:30pm - 5:00pm Closing / Additional Networking: Continue the conversation and make lasting connections with both attendees and speakers.

Your future begins here, at UC Merced's Gallo M.M. Program event. Save the date and be prepared to chart a course for success!

 

   LeRoy Westerling
   Professor and Department Chair, Management of Complex Systems
   Director of the Master of Management Program
   https://www.linkedin.com/in/leroy-westerling-221521a

 

 

 

Dr. LeRoy Westerling is Professor and Chair of Management of Complex Systems at UC Merced, Director of the MIST Master of Management professional program, and founding Chair of the University Council of the UC Disaster Resilience Network. His research interests include applied climatology and seasonal forecasting for wildfire management, climate change impacts on wildfire and related aspects of mountain hydrology, paleo reconstructions of climate-wildfire interactions, simulation of extreme events, and risk communication. He is coordinating development of data, models, scenarios and simulations for fire, vegetation, carbon, and smoke emissions for California’s 5th State Climate Assessment. Dr. Westerling holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. He has published extensively on wildfire and climate in the western United States.

Register for the Event

Learn More about the E&J Gallo Master of Management Program

Learn More about the Data Science and Analytics B.A. Degree Program

 

Panelist Information and Biography

 

   Cynthia So Schroeder
   UC Regent Emeritus
   Venture Advisor & Former EBay Community Executive
   https://www.linkedin.com/in/cschroeder/

 

 

 

Cynthia So Schroeder is a marketing executive and startup advisor. Most recently, she served as a venture advisor and VP, Marketing and New Business at Next 10 Ventures, a venture group focused on the global Creator economy and ecosystem. For over 20 years, Cynthia has worked in internet commerce, technology and management consulting in the US, Asia, and Europe, ranging from Fortune 500 clients to internet startups. Previously, she led eBay’s Global Community Development and Engagement group, and managed corporate acquisitions and divestments for eBay Inc. Cynthia received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. from UCLA.

Cynthia is passionate about educational opportunities, especially for first-generation students. She is a Regent Emerita at the University of California’s Board of Regents, and currently serves on boards at U.C. Berkeley Library, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Historical Society. Cynthia is a past Cal Alumni Association President and served on CAA’s Board of Directors and UC Berkeley Foundation. Ms. Schroeder has also served on several Bay Area non-profit and Trustee boards focused on K- 8 education including the San Francisco Friends School and the Presidio Knolls School.

 

   Darek DeFreece
   UC Regent Emeritus
   Founder & Executive Director, Berkeley Space Center
   https://www.linkedin.com/in/defreece/

 

 

 

Darek DeFreece is the founder and executive director of Berkeley Space Center, a new home for aerospace and deep tech research and innovation at NASA Ames in Silicon Valley in partnership between UC Berkeley and NASA. He has been an attorney and capital markets executive for more than 25 years at various global financial, venture and investment management firms. He separately advises a number of startup companies and venture capital firms. He received his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and his juris doctorate from Boston College Law School.

Darek has served on the boards of numerous educational and non-profit organizations, including as a regent of the University of California, the president of the Cal Alumni Association, and trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation. Currently, he is a member of the finance committee for the Trevor Project, a national non-profit focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth and chair of the Pacfic Boychoir Academy in Oakland, California. He lives in Oakland with his husband Alan and their two sons, Jacob and Riley.

   Mark Ornellas
   UC Regent Emeritus
   https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ornellas-bb217540

 

 

 

 

A long time ambassor for the UC system and leader in the central valley busines community, Mark Ornellas is a UC Berkeley graduate and a UC Regent Emeritus. He is based in Stockton, California. While on the board of Regents, Mark served on the Investment Committe and the Buildings & Grounds Committe. During his term on the Regents, Mark as also served as President of the Alumni Associations of hr University of California (AAUC). In his role as AAUC President, Mark advised UC Merced prior to its 2005 opening in regard to establishing its alumni relations programs.

As a local leader here in the Valley, Mark serves on the board of directors of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce 1989-1992. For the Stockton Bar Association, Mark has served as chair of (i) the business law section and (ii) the estate planning and probate section. I served as president of the Stockton Estate Planning Council, which is a voluntary membership group made up of CPAs, attorneys, insurance brokers, and bank trust officers who meet 5 times a year to network and hear outside speakers.

Mark is currently serving a two-year term as Chair of the Board of Directors of the O’Connor Woods Housing Corporation, a nonprofit which operates a continuing care facility for senior citizens. OCW was founded in 1989 and is the leading continuing care facility in this region. “Continuing care” means it is a community that offers independent living arrangements for seniors, who may move into assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing units as they age.