Alumni & Friends
Alumni of Color Network Weekend
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Celebrate the connections that build community.
Join us September 6-7, 2024 for the fourth annual Alumni of Color Network Weekend, an annual tradition that celebrates the accomplishments of Fisher College of Business alumni and the diverse perspectives and experiences that unite all of us. This year's event includes speaker and panel discussions, professional development opportunities, a celebration of Alumni of Color Network Weekend award recipients and is a great way to kick off an Ohio State football weekend!
Fisher proudly fosters a diverse, supportive and inclusive learning environment. This event is open to all regardless of race or ethnicity. All are welcome!
2024 Alumni of Color Award Winners
The Alumni of Color Awards provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and positive impacts of the diverse leaders we are proud to call Fisher alumni.
The Alumni of Color Legacy Award recognizes Fisher alumni of color who have achieved excellence and recognition in their professional careers and have provided extraordinary service to their alma mater and their respective Black, Hispanic, Latinx and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities.
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As the CEO of Walker and Company Brands, the makers of Bevel, Damon leads an innovative team dedicated to making health and beauty simple for people of color through solution-oriented products made with Black and Brown people in mind.
As the CIO of Procter & Gamble’s Global Beauty business, he leads the IT and digital capabilities for a portfolio of brands including Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, SK-II, Secret and Old Spice. This includes driving digital and data strategy for all P&G Beauty brands and all end-to-end IT needs including AI, innovation and productivity opportunities.
Throughout his career, Damon has gained a broad depth of IT experiences including: leading DevOps for P&G’s sales, marketing, brand systems, initiative management and business intelligence systems; implementing P&G’s first ever global email system; leading the IT strategy for the coffee business; running P&G’s end user computing platforms and serving as the P&G India CIO.
Damon has been recognized in CIO Magazine India’s CIO 100 Winners in 2012, given the Professional Achievement Award by the Fisher College of Business in 2019 and been a member of Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) since 2015.
Damon holds a BSBA from Ohio State and currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Karyn and two daughters.
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Evangelina earned a BSBA in finance in 2000 from Ohio State and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati in 2020. She is a financial systems analyst at Constellation Insurance. (previously Ohio National Financial Services) where her previous roles in investment accounting included investments operations, leading financial transformation projects, creating straight-through process improvements and new system implementation and deployment.
Before joining Ohio National Financial Services Evangelina worked in the investment department at the State Teachers Retirement Systems in Columbus, Ohio. She enjoys supporting her husband, Thomas Giron, with his small business and cheering on her two sons, Max and Thomas, during their sporting events.
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Eric is a human resources manager at LG Chem Ohio Petrochemical, Inc. based in Ravenna, Ohio.
He held several HR leadership positions at Visteon Corporation, Eaton Corporation, Transtar Industries and Stanley Black & Decker before joining LG Chem in March 2023. Eric’s prior HR experiences in different industries has been instrumental in setting up LG Chem’s new manufacturing site in Ravenna for future growth and success.
Eric, a Hawaii native, holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Hawaii at Manoa, an MBA from The Ohio State University and a MEd from The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. As a graduate assistant at Fisher’s and Corporate and Community Outreach, Eric partnered with other students to create the Asian Business Student Association.
Eric has also served as a board member at the United Way of Portage County, Ohio and as a committee chair and den leader with Cub Scout Pack 3280.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys spending time with his family, wife, Holly, and two children, Reina and Kenton, traveling, building small projects with LEGO, and supporting the Ohio State football team.
The Alumni of Color Emerging Leader Award celebrates Fisher alumni of color of the last 15 years who have made early yet meaningful contributions to their profession and their alma mater, and their respective Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities.
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Malia Funk is a founding member and Vice President of Willistown Capital, a private investment firm dedicated to partnering with businesses with a strong service ethos and vibrant culture. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, promoting diversity and inclusion, and advancing women's health.
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Devin has worked at Google for the past six years in a variety of roles across People Operations, currently serving as the head of hiring equity for the Cloud, YouTube, Marketing, Data Science, Canada and LatAm Recruiting teams. She and her team work to ensure that equity, intentionality and accountability is built into every stage of the hiring process. Devin is also a co-lead of the NYC Chapter of the Black Googler Network.
Outside of work, Devin is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and she also sits on the boards of the Buckeye Leadership Fellows, AIMbassadors and CREATE for Education. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and loves live music, art, and finding new ways to build community.
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Kevin D. Hollis of Lansing, MI, attended J.W. Sexton High School. He was a three-sport athlete and graduated as one of the top high school students in the state of Michigan. Kevin earned a full ride football scholarship to Tennessee State University (TSU) and graduated Magna Cum Laude in the spring of 2004.
After graduation, Kevin launched Brothers For Life, Inc., a 501(c)3 organization created to empower inner city youth to pursue academic excellence and be leaders in the community. Kevin attended The Ohio State University’s College of Medicine and Fisher College of Business. Dr. Hollis completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Dr. Hollis is currently a practicing anesthesiologist, CFO and co-founder of Anesthesiology Consultants of North Carolina in Greensboro.
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Josh lives with passion, purpose and joy, striving to help others do the same. Grateful for the values instilled by his parents and grandparents, he leads his family, community and clients with these principles.
An accounting and finance leader, Josh began his career at Ernst and Young in Cleveland after graduating from The Ohio State University. In 2020, he joined The Siegfried Group, enhancing his skills and serving clients strategically. Now, as the Leadership Advisor and Associate Director, The Siegfried Group, he delivers innovative solutions through Talent Delivery Services.
In the community, Josh mentors others, enhancing their leadership capabilities. His involvement in his local church and organizations like Siegfried Youth Leadership, Junior Achievement, ALPFA and the Fisher College of Business Alumni Association reflects his dedication to empowering others and fostering growth in his community.
The Thaddeus Spratlen Alumni of Color Distinguished Educator Award honors an educator who continues in the trailblazing footsteps of Dr. Spratlen, achieving great impact within academia and/or higher education.
Upon William’s retirement in 2020, the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington established the William Bradford Professorship, to be awarded to a faculty member concerned with diversity.
William served as the dean of the Foster School of Business and the Kirby Cramer Chair from 1994 to 1999 and was awarded the Endowed Professorship in Business and Economic Development in 2000 as a professor of finance and business economics , a position he held until retirement. His other roles included faculty director at the Consulting and Business Development Center and of the Minority Business Executive Program.
In 2020, with Alfred Osborne, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, he established the Bradford-Osborne Award, the first national recognition of scholarly research on businesses owned by people of color.
William holds a BA in economics from Howard University and an MBA in finance and PhD in finance and economics from Ohio State.
He serves as a consultant to numerous firms and conducts international lectureships in corporate finance and entrepreneurship in the UK, Indonesia, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, South Korea, Canada, China and South Africa and serves on the board of directors and board of advisors of the Commerce Bank in Seattle, Washington.
William has authored or co-authored three books and more than 75 articles on finance during his career and was inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame in 2013.
Schedule of Events
Young Alumni & Student Luncheon
The Blackwell Inn, Overmyer Ballroom, 2110 Tuttle Park Place
Friday, September 6 | 11:30-1:30 p.m.
Join us for a networking and panel discussion with this year’s Emerging Leader Award recipients, Malia Funk (BSBA ’17), Devin A. Graham (BSBA ’10) and Kevin Hollis (MBA ’12). These esteemed alumni will talk about their early career success and their continuing support of their alma mater through their time, talent and resources.
Aubrey Yuzer is an innovation leader for Abbott Laboratories, overseeing product and clinical innovation for the Ensure and Protality brands. She has worked in brand management and innovation for some of America’s leading food companies, including Wendy’s, Danone and Domino's. Aubrey is also a devoted diversity and inclusion workplace advocate, having co-founded, led and fundraised for multiple employee resource groups in her career. This work led to her winning Danone’s coveted Culture Award in 2017.
Aubrey earned her bachelor’s degree in music from The Ohio State University and returned to Ohio State for her MBA after working in nonprofit arts. She and her wife are happy to be living in Columbus again, reconnecting with the family, friends and university they love.
Professional Headshots
The Blackwell Inn, 2100 Tuttle Park Place
Friday, September 6 | 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Are you looking for a new job, seeking a promotion or wanting to make new professional connections to expand your business? Having an updated, professional headshot for your LinkedIn profile will help you stand out in today’s competitive job market. Stop by and get your photo taken at no cost.
An Evening of Celebration
Longaberger Alumni House, 2200 Olentangy River Road
Friday, September 6 | 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Join us for the premier event of the weekend! Celebrate and recognize accomplished alumni of color who have achieved excellence in their professional careers while providing extraordinary service to their alma mater and their Black, Hispanic, Latinx and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American communities with the presentation of the Alumni of Color Emerging Leader Awards, Alumni of Color Legacy Awards and the Thaddeus Spratlen Alumni of Color Distinguished Educator Award.
Chris is the chief financial officer of Nationwide Financial Corporate Solutions organization, which is a portfolio of businesses that offer a unique and broad range of financial products and solutions. The businesses, in various stages of maturity, serve small, medium and large companies, as well as the top brokers and intermediaries who work in those markets. Prior to this role, Chris was vice president in Finance at Nationwide, responsible for various centralized operations. Chris began his career with Nationwide in 2010 and spent 10 years in the Controllership department. In 2018, he led the investments accounting team as vice president, Investments Controller.
Prior to joining Nationwide, Chris worked in the audit practice at the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Columbus office, primarily focused on investment management clients.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from The Ohio State University and is a certified public accountant. He is a board member of the Ohio Society of CPAs, the Ohio CPA Foundation and the Mount Carmel Foundation.
Chris and his wife, Nicole reside in Columbus, Ohio with their two children, Ifueko and Isaac.
Pre-Game at Fisher
The Blackwell Inn, 2100 Tuttle Park Place
Saturday, September 7 | 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Enjoy a delicious buffet, music by the Buckeye Tailgaters and, when scheduling permits, an appearance by Ohio State's Spirit Squad. Pre-Game at Fisher starts three hours prior to kickoff in the Overmyer Ballroom at The Blackwell Inn, located on Fisher’s campus just steps away from Ohio Stadium. Guests for Alumni of Color Network Weekend have the opportunity to register for Pre-Game when registering.
Ohio State does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or protected veteran status, or any other bases under the law, in its education program or activity, which includes employment.
Contact Alumni Relations
We would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or let us know how you would like to be involved with the college.
Fisher College of Business
Office of Advancement
Fisher Hall
2100 Neil Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43210
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2100 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210