Elizabeth Basnight is the Assistant Director of Business Programs at NCGrowth. Since 2013 she has worked across North and South Carolina to help hundreds of businesses and communities create equitable opportunities through applied research and technical assistance. Elizabeth is from Eastern North Carolina and loves connecting with people in the more rural parts of the state. As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill she was part of the NC Fellows Program and received funding to run a surf camp for girls in Nicaragua. She has worked on a risk-reduction program for drug users in Cambodia and for Planned Parenthood in Chapel Hill. Her desire to engage students and her drive to support entrepreneurship education led her back to UNC where she served as internship director for the Minor in Entrepreneurship. She has years experience with small-scale farming and running an agritourism business in Saxapahaw, NC. In her free time she goes back to her hometown of Morehead City and travels internationally to remote surfing destinations.

Sekou Bermiss is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His research explores how human capital impacts firm performance, survival, and growth. He also examines organizational dynamics related to political ideology, status, and diversity. His research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, and Research in Organizational Behavior. He has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Africa Journal of Management.

He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY), and a M.S. and Ph.D in Management and Organizations from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Diana Berry is the International Trade Compliance & Logistics Supervisor at Harsco Rail, a global supplier for railway track maintenance and engineering leader in the industry. In her current role, she manages the import/export process ensuring compliance with U.S. and international government laws and regulations, and oversees the processes necessary to distribute products in the global supply chain efficiently and with high level of technical complexity. Prior to joining Harsco Rail, she worked in a variety of logistic roles at United Parcel Service.

Berry received her bachelor of science in industrial engineering in her native country of Colombia and her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler. During her time as a MBA@UNC student, she led the Women of MBA@UNC student group and was an active student ambassador for the program.

Berry is a distinguished toastmaster serving the organization in leadership roles for over 10 years and is the annual conference program chair for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers based in Atlanta. She is president of her local chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and enjoys mentoring aspiring women in business and engineering. She lives in Aiken, South Carolina, and enjoys teaching Zumba in her community.

Brent Callinicos is an experienced financial and technology executive. He was the first CFO at Uber Technologies from 2013-15. Callinicos served as VP, Treasurer, and Chief Accountant at Google from 2007-13, where he was also responsible for Tax, Internal Audit, and M&A finance. He also ran Google’s Green Energy investing and Google Financial Services. From 1992–07 he served in a variety of increasingly senior roles at Microsoft including Corporate VP and Divisional CFO for Microsoft’s Platforms and Services Division. He also ran Worldwide Licensing and Pricing and Microsoft Financing. He was Microsoft’s Treasurer from 2000–04. While at Microsoft, Callinicos sat on the Council of Economic Advisors for two Washington State Governors. Prior to Microsoft, he worked at the Walt Disney Company and Procter & Gamble.

He is on the board of three public companies, one private company, and two academic institutions. He also has half a dozen advisory roles and is an active angel investor, with an emphasis on technology platforms and green tech. He earned his BSBA ('87) and MBA ('89) from UNC Kenan-Flagler, which awarded him the MBA Alumni Merit Award in 2004. He gave the commencement address for Kenan-Flagler in 2016. He is a CPA.

• PVH (NYSE): since 2014 (member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee)
• Baidu (NASDAQ): since 2015 (Chair of the Audit Committee)
• Rubicon Technologies (NYSE): since 2015 (Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee).
• Acorns (Private): since 2022 (member of the Audit Committee).
• Mayfield Senior (Private school in LA): Board of Trustees and the Chair of the Finance Committee for his UNC daughter’s old High School.
• UNC Kenan-Flagler: Chair of the Innovation Committee.

Nate Challen is the general manager of Sanofi Consumer Healthcare in Canada, based in Montreal, Quebec. He has been with Sanofi since 2011, serving first in brand management and innovation roles based in Chattanooga, Tennessee and then as the global head of consumer and customer experience based in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to Sanofi, Challen worked for Johnson & Johnson, joining them after receiving his MBA from Kenan-Flagler in 2008.

From 1999 to 2006, he worked in high tech startups including Ancestry.com in Provo, Utah and AnchorPoint in Boston, Massachusetts and as the webmaster for platinum recording artists Vertical Horizon. He also holds a BS in computer science from Johns Hopkins University. Challen is married and has four children.

Sandra Chandler has 20+ years of experience in education and strategic partner engagement. She has industry expertise in Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare and Education. Sandra currently serves as the Senior Associate Director, Employer Engagement & Recruiting at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and has been a member of the Career & Leadership team since 2018. She has primary responsibility for designing and implementing employer strategy seeking opportunity to engage with our FT MBA students in the Energy, Healthcare and the Technology sectors. She also leads efforts related to Employer Engagement for students seeking just-in-time hiring opportunities. This population includes those MBA students conducting an off-campus search within any of our MBA Programs (FT, Evening, Weekend, @UNC & Charlotte). Sandra also works collaboratively with the Kenan-Flagler Alumni Community to support those seeking to hire our talented students or engage with employers as a job seeker. She is experienced in developing and executing market research and leading teams aligned to organizational goals and mission and able to manage and grow an active portfolio of prospects.

Sandra is a Certified Veteran Career Strategist and currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the North Carolina Technology Association (NC Tech) and is actively pursuing her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at NC State with an anticipated graduation date of December 2023.

Prior to the transition to UNC Chapel Hill, Sandra spent eight years with the national education nonprofit organization, New Teacher Center, focused on ending the predictability of educational inequity in public education for systemically underserved students by focusing on accelerating educator effectiveness and remains an advocate for education as an important part of enhancing economic mobility for students and families. She has also served as an Adjunct Faculty Member delivering Human Resource Development courses at Durham Technical Community College and has four years of experience on the Undergraduate Admissions team at Duke University.

Dr. Chirino-Klevans’ is an expert in the use of Virtual Reality simulations for global business and skills development. She is the recipient of two awards for Serious Play and Campus Innovation in the use of Virtual Reality for Leadership. She co-developed leadership simulations and decision-support systems for managers using artificial intelligence. She is a consultant for major global organizations around the world in the design, implementation and evaluation of technology mediated corporate talent management and development programs. Her latest book is called “Cases on Global Leadership” focusing on leadership practices in global organizations. She has been recipient of several teaching awards for her work in the classroom and mentoring students.

Dr. Chirino-Klevans is a former Assistant Dean of Executive Education at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and founding member of Duke Corporate Education (DukeCE). She is a guest faculty at the International School of Management in Paris.

She holds a PhD in Psychology, a Master’ in Psychology, a Master’s in Business Administration and her undergraduate degree is in Psychology. She also has a specialization in Instructional Design focusing on integration of technology in training and development. A former elite gymnasts and All-American in gymnastics, she brings her expertise in sports to the classroom by designing high impact and transformative learning experiences aimed at developing competencies for teaching and learning in multicultural and global environments.

She is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

A faculty member since 1985, Conrad is an award-winning instructor who has taught in the Undergraduate Business, MAC, MBA and PhD programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Conrad served as senior associate dean for academic affairs from 2011-2016, overseeing the work of the faculty and academic programs during the time when MBA@UNC and the Master of Accounting online format were launched. She also served two terms as area chair of finance, from 1995-1998 and 2000-2003.

She is widely recognized for her research on investments and finance, with a focus on asset pricing, capital markets, institutional investing and portfolio management.

She received a doctorate and MBA in finance and economics from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Butler University.

Dr. Bill Faulkner has spent over 20 years as a leadership educator and higher-education administrator leading his own teams of professional and graduate-level staff along with coaching and inspiring hundreds of emerging influencers. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Saint Andrews University and holds both an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in education from the University of Georgia. Currently, he serves as the career and leadership coach for UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Executive MBA students. He is also credentialed as a certified Gallup Strengths Coach, DISC Personality Profile Consultant, and Designing Your Life Coach.

James H. Johnson Jr. is the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of strategy and entrepreneurship in the Kenan-Flagler Business School and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center in the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include community and economic development, the effects of demographic changes on the U.S. workplace, interethnic minority conflict in advanced industrial societies, poverty and public policy in urban America, and workforce diversity issues. He has published more than 100 scholarly research articles and three research monographs and has co-edited four theme issues of scholarly journals on these and related topics. Currently he is researching strategies to combat hyper-segregation, persistent and concentrated poverty, and gentrification-induced residential and economic dislocations in U.S. cities. He also currently works with gentrifying cities to develop roadmaps for inclusive and equitable economic development that creates shared prosperity. Fast Company profiled him in “Hopes and Dreams.” He received his PhD from Michigan State University, his MS from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his BS from North Carolina Central University.

As an undergraduate at UNC, Jim learned how to create and grow companies. After successfully selling a business that he started in college he is an active consultant and investor in numerous early startup ventures. Jim has an MBA from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Masters in Management from George Washington University.

Jim is Professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, teaching Entrepreneurship to undergraduate students and was one of the founders of Launch Chapel Hill, and 1789 Venture Lab.

Over the past 30+ years, Jim has wandered through the remotest villages on the planet, across every single one of the world’s 193 United Nations recognized countries, and last year went to space, and to the very bottom of the Earth, in a submarine to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Megan most recently served as the Director of Career Coaching, working to coordinate and implement world-class coaching, programming, and relationship building across the MBA programs. Before coming to UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2017, she spent time as a career transition trainer for the U.S. Department of Labor as a government contractor helping over 1,800 active-duty military-service members successfully transition to civilian employment. Megan earned her M.Ed. in higher education from Arizona State University and her B.A. in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University.

Noemi Morillo-Vasquez has over 14 years of experience in higher education across career services and admissions, cultivating relationships with corporate partners, and leading recruitment and hiring strategies. Passionate about access, equality and inclusion in the workplace, Noemi has also led several organizational initiatives in the diversity, equity and inclusion space.

Noemi joined UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2012. She previously spent almost six years as an integral member of the Employer Engagement & Recruiting (EE&R) team. In addition to heading MBA recruiting and hiring relationships for a portfolio of core employer partners within the consulting, marketing and real estate sectors (including Deloitte, Greystar Real Estate Partners, and Procter & Gamble Company), Noemi worked collaboratively across key stakeholders to strategically navigate recruiting challenges, identify opportunities and effectively meet hiring goals. In her most recent role as associate director of admissions and diversity programs in the Business School’s Master of Accounting (MAC) program, Noemi served as a champion for the MAC program, working to build relationships with prospective candidates and recruiting top talent. Leading the holistic strategy for the MAC program’s signature early access and diversity pipeline initiatives, she specifically focused on working with corporate sponsors, connecting with underrepresented populations and enhancing programming that ensured broad awareness of the MAC program.

Noemi is originally from Bronx, New York, and earned her BA in political science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to joining UNC Kenan-Flagler, Noemi served in variety of roles co-leading employer outreach and campus recruiting efforts at Fordham Law School in New York City. She received her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in December 2021. Residing in Durham, Noemi enjoys serving within her community, spending time at her favorite local coffee shops and short trips (making lasting memories) with her family.

Megan currently coaches UNC Kenan-Flagler alumni and students in the online MBA program for the Career & Leadership team. She founded an independent coaching and consulting practice and has over 18 years of leadership experience at universities across the nation. Megan is an ICF-certified coach and combines that with her Gallup Certified Strengths Coach certification to help others understand and leverage their unique talent profile.

Megan most recently served as the Director of Career Coaching, working to coordinate and implement world-class coaching, programming, and relationship building across the MBA programs. Before coming to UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2017, she spent time as a career transition trainer for the U.S. Department of Labor as a government contractor helping over 1,800 active-duty military-service members successfully transition to civilian employment. Megan earned her M.Ed. in higher education from Arizona State University and her B.A. in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University.

Jacob Sagi has taught real estate finance and capital market classes at KFBS since 2013. His expertise also spans financial economics and microeconomic theory. Prior to joining KFBS, Prof. Sagi served on the faculty at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt (five years) and at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley (seven years). His current research interests include investment risk and return in commercial real estate assets and their associated securities markets.

As part of the Career & Leadership coaching team at UNC Kenan-Flagler since 2012, Elizabeth Wallencheck, has 30+ years of career-management experience including 12 years as a consultant for a global career-transition firm where she delivered coaching and training services, including executive-level programs. Prior to that, Elizabeth spent 13 years in career development within higher education, serving as assistant director, career services, at a large public university in Ohio. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she earned a Master of Science in Counseling from the State University of New York at Albany.