New Hires in the Carson College of Business

September 1, 2016 justin.hope

	Sara Ackerson is a new academic and student success advisor in the Carson Center for Student Success. She comes to the Pullman campus after serving as an academic advisor in the Carson College of Business at WSU Vancouver for two years. Sara brings over eight years of advising experience to the college. She is the current technology chair for NACADA Region 8, a standing member of the NACADA Professional Development Committee, and on the directorate for the ACPA Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education.
	Stephen Baldridge is the new chef de cuisine in the School of Hospitality Business Management. He has recently moved from Texas, where he was teaching at the Art Institute of Austin. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, he has over 10 years of restaurant and catering experience and received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his M.S. from the University of Arkansas.
	Kasi Balmforth is the new fiscal specialist for the college. She is a new employee at WSU and previously worked at the University of Alaska, Anchorage where she earned a dual degree in accounting and small business administration. Originally from the Lewis-Clark Valley, she is excited to be back in the area and to work with the many faculty and staff throughout the college.
	Jessica Billings (’09 Agric., Human & Nat. Res. Sci.) is a new development coordinator in the Office of Development. She worked for Ruffalo Noel Levitz for the past three years, serving as a senior manager for fundraising services. Her responsibilities include management of the annual giving program, small events, reporting and discovery/assessment visits.
	Suzi Billington is the new director of the Carson Center for Student Success. She will oversee the center’s operations. She most recently served the University of Idaho as director for the Career Center and the Academic Support and Access Programs office. She received the 2015 Leadership in Career Development Award from the Idaho Career Development Association for her work in enhancing career development resources and services to the students and alumni of the University of Idaho. She earned her M.S. in business education from the University of Idaho in 1995.
	Danielle Buckner is a new career advisor in the Carson Center for Student Success. She is excited to assist business students in career planning and professional development and is currently the Carson College ambassadors’ advisor. Previously, she was a graduate assistant in the Career Development Center at Western Illinois University while earning her master’s degree in college student personnel.
	BJ Carlson (’14 Economics) is the new assistant to the senior associate dean and personnel coordinator in the Dean’s Office. She is a proud member of the WSU Quarter Century Club, having previously worked in the Budget Office and Conferences and Institutes. She specialized in international development while earning her degree.
	Michelle Carter is a new assistant professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. She previously served on the faculty of the University of Washington in Seattle. She holds a PhD in management information systems from Clemson University. Her current research investigates the involvement of information technologies in identity, humanness, and social change. She is based at WSU North Puget Sound at Everett, where she will helping to deliver the new undergraduate program in data analytics.
	Jessica Cassleman is the new assistant dean of international programs in the Carson Center for Student Success. She will build upon the college’s existing strengths in international programs, including the undergraduate international business program that is consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally by U.S. News and World Report. Cassleman was formerly the assistant dean in the WSU Honors College for the last 16 years and worked closely with international programs for over 20 years. She was a pioneer of faculty-led trips, which are a hallmark of the Carson College’s study abroad program. A native of Chile, she has taught at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago and Universidad Austral in Valdivia, Chile, as well as Central Michigan University, the University of Illinois, and WSU.
	Ming Chen is an associate professor of hospitality business management and was a professor of finance at the National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan before joining the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management in 2015. Chen’s current areas of teaching are hospitality operational analysis, financial management, revenue management, and travel and tourism.
	Robert (Rob) Crossler is a new assistant professor in the department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. He teaches undergraduate students in the area of data management. His research focuses on individual information security and privacy behaviors. He earned his doctorate in information systems from Virginia Tech.
	Scott Eckstein is the new clinical assistant professor and senior-living-executive-in-residence for the hospitality business management program at WSU North Puget Sound at Everett. He will teach Introduction to Senior Living Management and begin developing it for online delivery. Additionally, he will develop a new online certificate program targeting senior housing industry professionals and associations, among other responsibilities. He earned an MBA from The Leonard N. Stern School of Business and is a veteran management executive with extensive experience in the senior living industry. He also is an international senior living and real estate consultant with Active Living International, LLC.
	Ashley Gale is a new academic coordinator at WSU Vancouver. She has over seven years of experience advising business students and extensive experience coordinating student retention and recruitment efforts. She is very motivated to help undergraduate students navigate their higher education experience, and to prepare for life after graduation. She previously worked at Arizona State University as a retention manager.
	Hannah Finkas-Ganders (’09 Gen. Studies, Soc. Sci.) is a new development coordinator in the Office of Development. She serves as the board relations manager for the Carson College National Board of Advisors and assists with stewardship, assessment, and discovery visits. She recently returned to the Palouse after a three-year absence.
	Alex Germer is the new administrative assistant for the Department of Finance and Management Science. She provides support in purchasing, class scheduling, and travel and assists students with enrollment. She previously worked in the WSU Graduate School and is excited to work with the faculty, staff, and students in the Carson College.
	Kunter Gunasti is a new assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and International Business and teaches courses on decision making and public policy. His research focuses on consumer behavior issues with strategic marketing implications such as branding, numerical processing, decision making, gift giving, inference making, and country of origin effects. His work has appeared in premier academic journals and he has received various recognition including AMA Best Paper, Advena World Outstanding Speaker, Uconn Teaching Excellence, and Thomas Kinnear Best Article. Prior to coming to WSU, he was an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Connecticut. He earned his PhD in marketing from Penn State University, his MBA from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University and his B.S. in engineering from Istanbul Technical University.
	Lisa Hall is the new chief financial officer for the college. She has over 15 years of financial and management experience, with a record of innovation, process improvement, and leadership in financial reporting. For the past four years, she was the manager of financial and office services at Clearwater Power Company in Lewiston. Prior to that, she was the financial manager at Public Health-Idaho North Central District. She earned her MBA from Idaho State University, and she is also a certified public accountant licensed in Washington state. She also has taught not-for-profit and governmental accounting at the University of Idaho.
	Rhonda Hammond is a new assistant professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management at WSU Tri-Cities. She received her PhD in hospitality administration from Texas Tech University where she taught beverage management courses in the Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management program while serving the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute. She most recently comes from the Hospitality Innovation program at the University of Arkansas where she taught undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of beverage management and marketing, and food and beverage pairing. Her culinary arts background and wine research, particularly regarding underserved market segments, furthers her interest in defining the art of hospitality.
	Joe Harris Jr. (’02 MBA), a new adjunct professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems and Entrepreneurship, received his J.D. from Gonzaga University. He is the vice president at Digilent, which was recently acquired by National Instruments. He has worked in the high-tech industry for 15+ years and is a Fulbright Fellow to Albania, where he worked with micro-business development issues.
	Kathleen Harris is a new assistant professor in the Department of Accounting where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in auditing. Her research interests include corporate governance, audit quality, and the audit process. She earned her doctorate in accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to entering academia, she worked for Deloitte and Touché, LLP, in Denver, Colorado.
	Brandon Holbrook (’10 MBA) is a new clinical assistant professor in the Department of Accounting. His primary teaching responsibilities are undergraduate managerial and tax courses. He earned a J.D. from the University of Idaho and received an LL.M. in taxation from the New York University School of Law and worked in the New York office of Ernst & Young in their transfer pricing department.
	Paulette House is the new assistant director for academic and student success and oversees the academic advising team in the Carson Center for Student Success. She is a first generation college student and earned her B.S. in natural resource management and her M.S. in public administration. Her background includes a unique interface with students, families, and administration as well as working with high risk student populations, teaching, and developing science-based curricula for schools and hands-on science centers in Idaho, Washington, and Alaska. Most recently, she was the assistant director for college recruitment at the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
	Andrea Julian joined the WSU-Vancouver Carson College of Business in August 2015 as the academic assistant. She brings seven years of administrative experience to the position. Previously, she worked for Duke University in North Carolina.
	Leslee Kimbleton is a new academic advisor in the Carson Center for Student Success. She received her B.A. in English at The Ohio State University and went on to graduate work at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, all while working with various student success programs. She is excited to be a part of the ever-growing Carson Center.
	Tallie Kuraspediani (’12 Communications) is the new program and community engagement coordinator for the Carson College of Business at WSU-Vancouver. She assists with the Business Growth Mentor Analysis Program, marketing coordination for the college’s many offerings and events, connecting businesses in the community with students for internships, mentorships, and more. She previously worked for the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association.
	Amrita Lahiri is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. Her research examines entrepreneurial firms with a focus on strategic management of resources and innovation. Her recent research has investigated ways in which a start-up’s past influences its future strategy and performance trajectory. She will teach strategic management and entrepreneurship courses. She earned her doctorate in strategic management at the University of Washington.
	Nik Nikolov is a new assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and International Business. He teaches in the area of marketing and international business. His research interests include the intersection of marketing and firm performance, CSR, and innovation. His recent work focuses on institutional investors’ impact on marketing and innovation policies in publicly traded firms. He earned his doctorate degree in marketing from the University of Georgia in 2016.
	Kelly Pratt is a new academic and student success advisor in the Carson Center for Student Success. She graduated from Gonzaga University with a focus in political science and philosophy and brings a variety of non-profit and higher-education skills. Most recently, she was an operations manager for the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras and an education consultant in New Orleans. Previously, she was a program manager at the University of Notre Dame in Pre-College Programs and a senior academic and career advisor at Tulane University in New Orleans.
	Leanne Ralstin is a new career advisor in the Carson Center for Student Success. She is a certified global career development facilitator with over 10 years of experience in career advising. Her education also includes an M.S. in English from the University of Idaho and a B.A. in business and English from Lewis-Clark State College. She also recently earned her global career development facilitator certification, specialized training that allows her to help individuals or groups make informed decisions about their career development. She enjoys helping students develop and achieve career goals.
	Mario Reyes is a new clinical professor in the Department of Finance and Management Science. He mentors the Cougar Investment Fund and teaches corporate finance and investments. His research focuses on the behavior of financial markets. He comes to the Carson College of Business from the University of Idaho College of Business and Economics, where he served in various capacities for over 31 years. Reyes retired from the University of Idaho in June 2016 as dean emeritus and professor emeritus of finance.
	Jenni Sandstrom is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management where she teaches hospitality leadership and lodging-related classes. Her research focuses on hotel general manager leadership, hotel culture, and hospitality education. She has published papers in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and ICHRIE Research Reports. She is pursuing a PhD in hospitality and tourism with the goals of contributing an operational focus to hospitality research and educating future hoteliers. Prior to coming to WSU, she earned an MBA from the University of Portland and a B.A. in communication from the University of Washington.
	Rohny Saylors is a new assistant professor of entrepreneurship. His research is focused on entrepreneurial storytelling processes and methods. He will teach the capstone small business consulting course associated with the Business Growth Mentor and Analysis Program and help start the entrepreneurship program at WSU-Vancouver. Saylors has published in Organizational Research Methods and Human Relations.
	Ben Warnick is a new assistant professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. His research focuses on passion and motivation in entrepreneurship, including entrepreneurs who found businesses related to their hobbies or passions. He earned his doctorate in entrepreneurship and strategic management from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.