Alumni & Friends News
![Mark Duhon portrait](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-09/Mark-Featured-Image-Collage%202X%20150px-Edited-2.jpg?VersionId=0n3nTUTFzbHmaEhn6ZZNB8Et5GJ9.6o_&itok=IAa6UFV8)
August 25, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Generating generational impact: Mark Duhon
Alumnus Mark Duhon (BSBA ’88) is putting his business degree to work leading a Chicago nonprofit organization that is successfully bridging the economic and educational gap for first-generation college students.
August 5, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Going global and going places: Rachel Hartley (BSBA ’19)
As an undergraduate student, Rachel Hartley (BSBA ’19) made sure global experiences were integral to her education at Fisher. Now, lessons learned from those experiences are continuing to pay off for her in the global software industry.
![Alumni Spotlight: Bill Curry](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/amt-ba13c89d512420f3ee8140494d5ac02fa21ce7b8-Curry3-e1594815507464.jpg?VersionId=2ThNEC8jEXgxjjmDRQnm2qy7mUW4M1Mu&itok=Y7fQmuRG)
July 15, 2021
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University
Alumni Spotlight: Bill Curry
During his professional career that has now spanned more than 12 years, Bill Curry (BSBA '08) has had the opportunity to work with countless individuals and families navigating them through financial opportunities that have set them up for security well into the future.
![Headshots of Hariz Faesol and Adam Othman](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-07/DLA%20Alumni%20graphic%201.png?VersionId=UZ3Wb4wa9PIzArg.aGE745KQ0AYbbekV&itok=BzSkVAxw)
July 15, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Leadership lessons sticking with DLA alumni
Two graduates of the Dean's Leadership Academy share how the program has impacted their development as business professionals.
July 13, 2021
The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
OhioHealth names new chief diversity and inclusion officer
Meet Aisha Allen (BSBA '99, EMBA '14), OhioHealth’s new vice president of culture, engagement and inclusion/chief diversity and inclusion officer, and learn about the more than 20 years of experience she brings to the new role.
![Group of smiling Project THRIVE students show off their Buckeye branded attire](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-07/IMG_3119_0.jpg?VersionId=3QIPQ6S2RuXqBxmQtQWlchU6geVxV3xu&itok=YPd0uni5)
July 7, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Fisher teaming with Deloitte Foundation to support diverse students
A scholarship fund created by alumni affiliated with Deloitte, as well as the Deloitte Foundation is helping to advance diverse undergraduate and graduate accounting students and programming at Fisher.
![Tribevest group investing platform brings on Harlem Globetrotter](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/670d45ad-cf40-41fe-b731-80f2891d5d4b-ceo_tribevest_rh_102.jpg?VersionId=xQEqCJhzRYC_qchmIYCEANqQe60BxRtz&itok=eI2xNAdS)
June 18, 2021
The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
Tribevest group investing platform brings on Harlem Globetrotter
An idea hatched among friends sparked Travis Smith (BSBA '99) to consider a new way to build wealth while helping anyone build a portfolio. The idea? Tribevest, a Columbus-based group-investment platform that launched in 2018 to help groups of investors create their own limited liability company (LLC), open a bank account, interact, vote and invest all within 48 hours.
![Weaving artistry & enterprise](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/Amber%2520Hammond_Social764x400.jpeg?VersionId=QzAjXzb0TrVelrl4xS_bJZWhrckEDZze&itok=Y8Ka4QhU)
June 17, 2021
The Ohio State University Alumni Association
The Ohio State University Alumni Association
Weaving artistry & enterprise
Women of the Wayuu culture in La Guajira, Colombia, have an advocate with a head for business, a heart for service and a love of fashion. The benefits sparked by Amber Hammond (BSBA '15) are rippling out within their community.
![Josh Meyer in tuxedo, walks with his wife, in wedding dress across a suspension bridge in the mountains on their wedding day](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-05/Photo%2012-1-17%2C%204%2000%2028%20pm.jpg?VersionId=nQkmmvMhtfY6zwsZ8N_hdRIwRNUFuYtA&itok=TAxSszJ9)
June 7, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Josh Meyer: Daring to leap
As a student, Josh Meyer (BSBA ’13) completed a global internship experience at a small company in Australia. Eight years later, he was promoted to CEO. What’s his secret? Kaizen.
![Martin family spell out O-H-I-O in shadow.](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-05/O-H-I-O%20edited%202.jpg?VersionId=IttSeQXVYwbhElEUapGYNxzgghmjuznX&itok=60M3T_Ep)
June 4, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Sarah and Bryan Martin: Back to where it all began
Sarah and Bryan Martin dispel an accounting myth, dispense advice to Fisher students and reflect on the impact Fisher’s Accounting Honors program had on their personal and professional lives.
![Cole Williams on a path with two dogs](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-05/Pic%204.jpg?VersionId=jwRoYDKx1iTha2MV5VnToAA8CS2OqO83&itok=Qiq8ZuYf)
May 25, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Cole Williams: Soaring to new heights
Cole Williams (BSBA ’18) holds his Fisher experience close to his heart. Coming from a small high school with a graduating class of only 28 students,
![Grace Figliomeni portrait](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-05/Grace2-Edited-rf.jpg?VersionId=HZU2VGLW9qxxT3BchzIay6recvVTqAVw&itok=NkFXYodm)
May 20, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Discovering a new direction: Grace Figliomeni
Fisher helped Grace Figliomeni find her future in business by showing her how she could combine her passions and create an entirely new direction for her career. She credits scholarship support for giving her access to Fisher’s programs and learning opportunities that shaped her degree and her future.
![Photo of a S'wich Social sandwich](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-04/Swich%20social.jpeg?VersionId=AlmihaZ9Xor6exS7LuxWAi2hKLwgGf6Y&itok=PekmOxN-)
April 23, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
Ohio State graduates open S'wich Social, selling ice cream, cookies in Italian Village
Sean Whited (MBA '19) and Addison Brown (MBA '20) met in Fisher's MBA for Working Professionals program, where they hatched a plan for made-to-order ice cream sandwiches. The idea has given way to S’wich Social, which opened in March at 869 N. 4th St., and is built around customizable combinations of two beloved tastes – ice cream and cookies.
![New initiative aims to boost sales for Black-owned businesses by $1 million](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/greendsc7948%2A1200xx4800-2700-0-253.jpg?VersionId=SWSso1YgzntKEWasvXDIPfLYW.NXO0hy&itok=d5iEMpu2)
April 19, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
New initiative aims to boost sales for Black-owned businesses by $1 million
A new initiative aims to generate $1 million in increased sales to Columbus-area Black-owned businesses, including one owned and operated by Renard Green (MBA '06).
April 19, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
'This is my calling' – Harley Blakeman's motivation behind startup Honest Jobs
Harley Blakeman (BSBA '17) discusses the creation of Honest Jobs and its pivot from job-hunt training services to a full tech platform that matches candidates with criminal records with employers.
![Elicia Azali headhsot wearing white suit jacket](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-04/Azali_Elicia.jpg?VersionId=_g58OVUbSqq9bQDjEdwt6.PI25EypaIW&itok=zy0k76YP)
April 9, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Being a Buckeye means 'everything'
Receiving the 2021 Pace Setters Executive Award gave Elicia Azali (BSBA ’05) an opportunity to reflect on the way Ohio State and Fisher impacted the story of her personal and professional growth.
![Melinda Whittington](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-03/Untitled-1_0.jpg?VersionId=HrCQJpg98n80e4Fy0xNMrnSZybvW14Bx&itok=1-xl4saB)
March 15, 2021
Forbes
Forbes
No time to recline: La-Z-Boy’s CFO on the demands facing finance leaders In 2021
As Melinda Whittington (BSBA ’89) transitions from CFO at La-Z-Boy Inc. to become the company’s next CEO, learn how her experience as a top finance officer shaped her outlook on issues including social responsibility, the COVID-19 pandemic and ethics.
![Harley Blakeman](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-03/blakeman%20biz%20first.jpg?VersionId=YvbQp9gdRigPjEdp8sPIpe8K_gPcvna0&itok=tykGkabd)
March 12, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
Startup helping people land jobs after prison raises $1.2M after pandemic pivot, TechStars
Harley Blakeman (BSBA '17), founder and CEO of Honest Jobs in Columbus, founded the job-matching service two years ago in Columbus, and through the pandemic rebuilt the technology and shifted its target market to state agencies from individual employers.
![1963 Women's Student Government Association group photo](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-03/WSGA%201963%20Makio.jpg?VersionId=x7zl4BzYY1TgALZV5wZaFvgzFugMUNZQ&itok=2lpgU0c_)
March 8, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Barbie Tootle: Six decades of time and change
Part of Ohio State for 60 years, Barbie Tootle has watched as our society and Ohio State underwent a cultural revolution. As a freshman in what was then the College of Commerce, she had no female professors and few women in her class. Today, with the second woman leading Ohio State as its president, Barbie recognizes how far the institution has progressed.
![William Bradford, Thaddeus Spratlen, Michael Verchot at Foster School Consulting and Business Development Center](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-02/feature%20photo.jpg?VersionId=gSiG6.A7.U4Cv_JzNXpp.vDGBQ3Di4So&itok=dY84lQNu)
February 15, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Teacher, advocate and pioneer: Thaddeus Spratlen’s trailblazing legacy
Thaddeus Spratlen (BSBA ’56, MA ’57, PhD ’62) built his career teaching business students and engaging the business community to help create, enhance and sustain the marketplace for underrepresented communities. Read more about the lasting impact this trailblazing alumnus continues to make.
February 8, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
An entrepreneurial spirit that transcends borders
Amber Hammond (BSBA ’15) knows an entrepreneur’s motivation can strike from the most unexpected places — an idea developed over a cup of coffee with a friend and scribbled on a paper napkin; a well-planned digital presentation for a class; or as Hammond knows, it can come from a seed planted following a global experience that uncovers a whole new world through the eyes of a different culture.
![See John Travolta, Martha Stewart and more celebrities in Scotts Miracle-Gro's first-ever Super Bowl ad](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/20210201_Scotts-MarthaStewart_3x2.jpg?VersionId=0Y5L.6dAWHlN2Cj8Fz_JpEqrBPHpMjFV&itok=Khc289bP)
February 2, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
See John Travolta, Martha Stewart and more celebrities in Scotts Miracle-Gro's first-ever Super Bowl ad
John Sass (MBA '05), Scotts' vice president of advertising at Scotts Miracle-Gro, details the company's strategy behind its Super Bowl ad this year.
![Gerlach Hall on Fisher's campus](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-01/Fisher%20Campus%20Gerlach_06.jpeg?VersionId=YSRcDqGEY2ueCfWpI6F1afmkMz4mo3nF&itok=cL3higoy)
January 19, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Mentorship pair highlight the value of connections and global networks
Two Fisher alumni share their story of connecting through a college program, and across an ocean, as mentor and mentee.
![There's a Better Way Podcast: Terry Kayobotsi (MBOE '17, EMBA '19)](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/artworks-iybvg9ym3iWYaozu-T170vQ-t500x500_2.jpg?VersionId=C93mb2IYGbPlSY5GNoqLdcoF7T4drAjt&itok=QOVcjwRG)
January 13, 2021
Fisher College of Business
Fisher College of Business
There's a Better Way Podcast: Terry Kayobotsi (MBOE '17, EMBA '19)
As part of the “There’s a Better Way” podcast, Laurie Spadaro, director of the Master of Business Operational Excellence, program sat down with Terry Kayobotsi (MBOE '17, EMBA '19), technology analyst with Nationwide Insurance. Hear why Terry chose to pursue not only his MBOE but also an EMBA, and how his Fisher experience has had an impact in his professional career.
![Lisa Ingram](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files.fisher.osu.edu/public/styles/16x9/public/2021-01/dsc8276-ingram_1200xx4932-2773-0-963.jpg?VersionId=8sbgjr8WSO8w78O3sql2qdkd7dYop6Bt&itok=NbMTcrcG)
January 11, 2021
Columbus Business First
Columbus Business First
Fourth-generation leader takes over White Castle board
Lisa Ingram (MBA '00), CEO and president of White Castle, was named head of its board of directors. Ingram, a fourth-generation family member in the business, takes over for her father, Bill Ingram, who is retiring.