51在线

Class of 2023

Brian D. Adams
Southern University and A&M College
As chief audit executive for the Southern University System, Brian D. Adams is responsible for financial, operational and compliance audits for five campuses which comprise the system, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Throughout his career, he has worked in internal audit, finance and accounting, regulatory affairs and business development for companies in the electric utilities, computer and newspaper industries.

He describes himself as a life-long learner who is always looking to bridge gaps between theory and practical application. Through the DBA, Adams hopes to transition to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is eager to apply his learnings and research in the doctoral experience at USF to his current place of employment.

Adams earned an MBA with a concentration in management from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in accounting from Southern University and A&M College.

Paige Bridges
University of Virginia
Paige Bridges is the director of communications and marketing for the University of Virginia鈥檚 School of Education and Human Development. She is responsible for leading strategic planning to promote over 80 online and on-grounds degree programs, research centers and the work of over 140 faculty through owned, earned and paid media strategies.

Before joining UVA, she was the director of brand marketing for the education technology company 2U and was responsible for developing data-driven marketing strategies for online master and doctoral programs with USC and Pepperdine University. Prior to working in higher education, she spent more than 20 years of leadership experience working in the corporate and nonprofit sectors for brands including L鈥橭real, American Express, World Wildlife Fund and the National Geographic Society. Bridges and her husband recently moved to a 55-acre farm in southwest Virginia.

She earned a master鈥檚 degree in digital communication from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA in marketing from Georgetown University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology from Columbia University.

James Cole
Leon County Schools
As director of transportation for the Leon County School District, James Cole does more than make sure the buses are on time. He is a versatile professional with proven success to drive results and implement cost-efficient programs. He is an innovative leader with the ability to analyze and manage operational problems and apply sound recommendations for long-term solutions.

As director, Cole administers, manages, and coordinates the districtwide operation of the transportation department. He monitors expenditures and conducts tasks related to the preparation of the annual budget as well as develops multi-year strategic and operational plans. He is involved in labor relations and is responsible for the daily operations of the entire department. Prior to his current position, Cole served as project manager and business process re-engineering analyst with Urban Partnership Bank in Chicago.

Cole earned an MBA and a Master of Public Health degree from 51在线 A&M University and a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Business Administration from DeVry University.

Kimberly Cubre
California State University, Fresno
As the executive assistant to the vice president of university advancement at Fresno State University, Kimberly Cubre provide seamless, strategic support across six departments with more than 80 team members. She serves as the department鈥檚 chief liaison and manages the scheduling, meeting logistics and facilitation, strategic planning, budget support and some HR functions. Additionally, she facilitates campus-wide projects such as honorary doctorates, president鈥檚 medals and building naming processes.

She has been an executive assistant for more than a decade in banking, health care and higher education. Her favorite position prior to Fresno State was working at McKesson Corporation as an account manager overseeing accounts receivables for physician-owned medical practices. In that role, she worked heavily in data analytics and client dashboards. She is passionate about her career as an executive assistant because it offers her a chance to serve others.

Cubre earned a master鈥檚 degree in education, administration and leadership and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration, both from California State University, Fresno.

Dick 鈥淩ichard鈥� Davis
Gartner, Inc.
Richard Davis, a former business solutions architect with Cisco Systems, is a dynamic leader with more than 15 years of proven excellence driving business growth through technology. He designs business vision and strategy by collaborating with executive leadership and multifunctional teams, formulating long-term strategic priorities and plans related to organic and inorganic growth.

He has established a reputation as a transformational leader, who is driven by challenge, undeterred by obstacles and committed to furthering standards of excellence. His expertise encompasses all aspects of network security products, revenue-building initiatives and business development strategies. Among his strengths: an ability to build consensus among executive teams and stakeholders to promote transparency and influence positive change.

Davis earned an Executive MBA from the University of Nebraska and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mass communication from Southern University A&M. He was named Innovator of the Year (2010) through AIM Institute and was on the 40 Under 40 list of the Midland鈥檚 Business Journal in 2010. 

Hayley Dunford
Omnis Bookkeeping & Business Solutions
Hayley Dunford got a broker鈥檚 license at 22 and started her first business at 23. Over the course of her career, she has owned or co-owned five companies that focused on finance, auto transport, realty and woodworking. She founded Omnis Bookkeeping & Business Solutions in 2017. She manages a team of three employees, oversees the work of contractors and assists more than 75 companies across the nation with their accounting needs.

Dunford also is owner of Auto Transport on Demand, an auto-transport brokerage company founded in 2016 and is the broker/owner of Realty Center International, a real estate brokerage based in Sarasota. Prior to these roles, she was a real estate analyst for Bealls. At 28, she feels her breadth of experience in the corporate world has prepared her for the demands of a doctoral experience and its networking opportunities. The key to achieving long-term success, she says, lies in developing strong relationships.

She earned a master鈥檚 degree in accountancy from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration from the University of 51在线.

Kelly Fay
Northrop Grumman
Though a cost account manager with Northrop Grumman, Kelly Fay is also a technical writer and editor, and an employee-resource-group chapter lead. During her time in the U.S. Navy where she served as acquisition and production manager. In her current role, she employs Lean Six Sigma and property management methodologies to monitor and manage costs, schedule and scope of projects across all phases of development and collaborates with senior management and off-site program managers in the delivery of project strategy, goals, priorities and planning.

In her most recent role in the Navy, Fay led a fast-paced operation of six recruiters canvassing 10 different schools to meet or exceed recruitment standards, while coordinating training. She analyzed information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess applicants鈥� abilities, needs and eligibility for the service.

Fay earned a master鈥檚 degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communication disorders from the University of Rhode Island. 

Daniel Gilham
Farther Finance
As managing director of advisor strategy at Farther Finance, a digital family office, Daniel Gilham conducts complex financial analysis, using his experience in mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management, tax, estate and risk management theories for the best possible outcomes. He is responsible for succession planning strategies for business owners and entrepreneurs. He is heavily involved in the planning and analysis of concentrated, illiquid positions to help individuals achieve their goals.

He spent nine years with AOL leading the company into new markets. He was responsible for managing teams and product rollout around the globe and throughout the United States. He was part of a group that summited Mt. Rainier while raising $57,000 for Tiny Hope Children鈥檚 Home in Jamaica.

Gilham received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in interdisciplinary studies concentrating on business and computational science from Liberty University. He earned the certified financial planner designation from the University of Miami. He serves on the GrowFL and the University of North 51在线 Economics Advisory Board.

Matthew Grace
By Night Studios
Matthew Grace is a partner at By Night Studios, a developer and publisher of role-playing games, including one of the most recognizable products in the industry, The World of Darkness, Mind鈥檚 Eye Theatre, a live-action, role-playing game, now more than 27 years-old. He also serves as the director of marketing research and innovation, identifying insights that shape future strategies. He also is an analyst at Gordon Food Service, the 22nd largest privately held company in the United States.

He focuses on the creation of strategy through data analysis and his innovative approach has stimulated competitive advantages in the role-playing game industry. Among his accomplishments at By Night Studios: The creation of a multi-channel survey program that reaches tens of thousands of customers, to drive smarter publication and merchandising decisions. His design of an influencer support and promotion program collaborates with key social media influencers unique to the gaming industry to promote sales of By Night Studios鈥� merchandise and book publications.

Grace received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mathematics from the 51在线.

Vince Hafeli
Ajax Paving Industries of 51在线
Vince Hafeli is president of Ajax Paving Industries of 51在线, located in southwest 51在线, where he oversees operations for the organization that employs more than 450 workers. He is responsible for the overall process and sets the company's direction.

His plan is not to use his doctorate to advance his career, but rather to enhance his knowledge and skills in research and interviewing. His research will analyze suicide within the construction industry. His post-doctoral plans involve suicide education and awareness training within this industry to promote a more stable workforce. One of the benefits of the program, he says, is to create opportunities aimed at reducing suicide in this industry. He looks forward to completing this program and making an impact in educating executive leaders within the industry as a first step toward open and honest discussions about mental health issues as they relate to suicide.

Hafeli earned an MBA from Webster University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in management from Phoenix University.

Jason Maniecki
All-Pro Realty of Tampa Bay
Jason Maniecki is the president and 鈥渉ead coach鈥� for All Pro Realty, a subsidiary of Keller Williams Realty. He is a highly driven, results-oriented business leader and real estate consultant with more than 20 years鈥� experience in the real estate industry. All Pro Realty provided residential sales and property management services in the Tampa Bay area and in 2018, the company expanded to add full-service residential property rental and management.

As founder of the company, Maniecki envisions and manages its direction, creates budget projections and oversees all media and web design. He provides guidance and assists sellers in marketing and selling properties for the right price and best terms as well as providing guidance for buyers in purchasing properties. He oversees the day-to-day operations and team leaders. He is a former defense tackle of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-98.

Maniecki received a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Wisconsin. He has been a licensed real estate agent since 1999 and a licensed real estate broker since 2002.

Shanker Menon
Menon International
Shanker Menon is the CEO of Menon International, a management consulting firm, but he is also an academic. He has served as associate professor of management at the Dhofar University in Oman and the American University of RAK near Dubai. He teaches strategic management, leadership, and business analytics.

His life鈥檚 journey has been a constant push to improve himself and to achieve the goals that he believes will help in becoming the person he wants to be, both intellectually and ethically. He has been involved in numerous projects in which his skills of collaboration were needed to succeed, including his involvement with a University of Quebec project to establish a new MBA program in China. His research interests include the development of new businesses especially in the areas of talent management and consultancy. He is involved in the nonprofit Cathedral Arts Project.

Menon earned a PhD from USF with a concentration in organizational psychology management, an MBA from Mysore University specializing in management, a master鈥檚 degree in specialized managerial economics and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University.

Tammie Nelson
Shyft Partners
Tammie Nelson is a strategic leader with an instinctive curiosity for making sense of complex and ambiguous subject matters. From military systems to corporate America鈥檚 various technologies, she has developed a deep understanding of the intersection of business and IT. She has 20 years鈥� experience in designing and integrating systems and for the past eight years has coached Agile, both as practices for teams and as leadership behaviors for executives. She is the co-founder of Shyft Partners LLC, a consultancy focused on transformations, innovation, turnaround efforts and post-acquisition integrations. As an agilist, she enjoys working on the edge of chaos where opportunities are limitless, and experimentation is a source of innovation.

Previously, she served as director of Cybersecurity and Enterprise Systems Programs with Sonic and director of the Enterprise Program Office for Inspire Brands. She is a U.S Navy veteran.

Nelson earned a master鈥檚 degree in management information systems and accountancy and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in liberal studies from the University of Oklahoma.

Corry Retzloff
University of Texas, Arlington
After retiring from military service as a logistics officer, Corry Retzloff spent his second career in the aerospace industry and teaching. For four years, he was an assistant professor at Henderson State University and now is a visiting lecturer at the University of Texas, Arlington, teaching in UT鈥檚 College of Business and the Goolsby Leadership Academy, where he imparts organizational leadership and project management skills to students.

He is a life-long learner who started his career in the U.S. Navy and received an undergraduate degree in the back of the C-130 aircraft. He went on to receive a commission from the U.S. Army as a logistics officer and later obtained an MBA. Upon retirement, Retzloff entered the aerospace industry as a certified project manager aiding in the creation of the IMO, which oversees the $3.2 billion merger of Wesco Air and Pattonair.

Retzloff earned an MBA with a concentration in management from Henderson State University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in management from Touro College.

Jill Schiefelbein
The Dynamic Communicator
As president of The Dynamic Communicator, Jill Schiefelbein delivers communications strategies through keynote speaking, training, virtual events and consulting, all designed to increase sales, improve leadership and navigate decision-making for clients. She is a 鈥渞ecovering academic,鈥� serving on the business communications faculty at Arizona State University for more than a decade. She has co-written a textbook titled 鈥淏usiness and Professional Communication in the Global Workplace.鈥�

She is the former director of online programs, building up the first formal office of online education at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State.  She is an Ironman competitor, an avid crochet artist and bourbon cocktail enthusiast. She has the endurance to see the long game, the ability to decipher patterns and turn them into tangible results and the appetite for finding ways to improve  situations and savor the success.

Schiefelbein earned a master鈥檚 degree and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communications and a baccalaureate certificate in multimedia writing and technical communication, all from Arizona State University.