Dividend
The official online magazine of the Carson College of Business
College
The Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living (GCISL) at the Carson College was a featured program in WSU’s award-winning “Here We Go” marketing campaign.
Watch the video showcasing GCISL work.
Students
Shay Boyd (’26 Mktg.) was one of WSU’s Top Ten Seniors for 2025, recognizing her academic excellence, leadership, and service to the community. A US Air Force ROTC cadet, peer mentor, and active volunteer, Boyd has supported numerous community service projects and more than 120 military-affiliated students through the WSU’s Veteran Student Support Services program. Read more about Boyd’s accomplishments on WSU Insider.
Left to right: Jiyoon Han, PhD Director Chuck Munson, and Josh GrovesJosh Groves, a marketing student, won the college’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition’s top $1,500 prize plus $500 for the People’s Choice Award for his presentation “Caped Capsules Vs. Sinister Syrups.” Jiyoon (Jennifer) Han, a hospitality and tourism management student, won the $500 Runner Up Award for her presentation “The Future of Farm-to-Table: Investigating Consumer Responses to Vertical Farming Cues in Foodservice Operations.”
Congratulations to all competitors as well as the top winners of the Spring Sales Competition. Student competitors stepped up to the challenge of selling commercial insurance based on the case provided by Marsh McLennan:
Amirhossein Moadab, a PhD student studying operations management, received the 2025 Worthy, DePauw & Wang Service Leadership Award from the WSU Graduate and Professional Student Association. The award recognizes graduate students who demonstrate exceptional leadership and advocacy in service of their peers across the university community.
Mariam Hilda Ola, a PhD student in accounting, won second place and $500 in the business, communications, and political sciences category of the WSU GPSA Research Exposition and Academic Showcase.
Weikun Xu, a PhD student in operations and management science, received the 2025 Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Award from the WSU Graduate and Professional Student Association. The award recognizes TAs who go above and beyond in their instructional duties, demonstrating strong commitment to student success inside and outside the classroom.
Yingwei (Wayne) Xu and PhD Program Director Chuck MunsonYingwei (Wayne) Xu, a PhD student and instructor in the School of Hospitality Business Management, received two awards from the WSU Graduate and Professional Student Association: third place in the business, communications, and political sciences category at the 2025 GPSA Research Exposition and Academic Showcase, and the Graduate Student Instructor Excellence Award for his extensive teaching contributions.
Alumni
Eric Benevich (’88 Intl. Busi.) was appointed to the board of directors for aTyr Pharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company in San Diego. Benevich was chief commercial officer at biopharmaceutical company Neurocrine Biosciences in San Diego since 2015.
Anusha Bose (’25 Mgmt., Mgmt. Info. Sys., Mktg.) received the 2025 WSU Chancellor’s Award for Leadership recognizing exceptional leadership and service to the university. Bose has held a variety of leadership roles, including ASWSU pro tempore, freshman delegate, and Carson College student ambassador, and she has served as a leadership coordinator for the Cougs Lead Program.
Stephanie Burke (’15 Accounting) is chief accounting officer for VGXI, a contract developer and manufacturer specializing in biopharmaceuticals. Burke started at the company in 2015 and held multiple leadership roles in accounting, finance, and materials.
Jason Butcherite (’12 Hosp. Busi. Mgmt.) is now director of Dining Services at WSU Pullman. He had been associate director of residential dining at WSU since 2022.
After several years at Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards, Jack Costa (’02 Wine & Bev. Busi. Mgmt.) is the new digital marketing manager for the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association. He also started his own marketing agency, Wine Heretics, offering wineries, breweries, and food and beverage businesses a variety of digital marketing services.
The Interior Design Society awarded Tanna (Pulse) Edler (’88 Busi. Admin.) best website and best social media presence for Tanna by Design in the 2024 Designer of the Year competition. This is her eighteenth DOTY Award from IDS, one of the nation’s largest independent design organizations. She is the only interior designer in Washington with this distinction.
Marq Evans (’03 Mktg.) was featured in WSU Magazine’s “Collecting the Diamond Kings” an article detailing his new documentary film The Diamond King. The film focuses on the history of baseball and features artist Dick Perez who created the Diamond Kings baseball trading cards Evans collected as a child.
Spencer Fee (’19 Hosp. Busi. Mgmt.) has taken a new role at Microsoft as a modern work solution sales specialist within the small, medium enterprises and channel organization.
Dave Flynn (’03 Mktg.), writer and founder of the Win With Flynn, a business strategy and fulfillment resource, published a volume, Passing Notes to Strangers: Crafting Messages that Connect, in Business and in Life, that presents advice aimed at professionals in sales and marketing.
Isaac Fontaine (’97 Busi.) was inducted to the 2024 class of the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame. Fontaine was the all-time men’s scoring leader and remains the career leader in three-point shooting in men’s basketball at WSU.
Wes Henricksen (’03 Intl. Busi.), associate professor of law at Barry University, has published a new book In Fraud We Trust: How Leaders in Politics, Business, and Media Profit from Lies—and How to Stop Them that examines large-scale fraud that goes beyond financial profit, including political gain, prevention of justice, and falsification of history. The book is available at the University Press of Kansas.
Evan Howard (’23 Mgmt. Info. Sys.), a technology assurance audit associate for KPMG, was featured in WSU Magazine’s “Keeping Coug after College,” an article highlighting WSU graduates and ways for them to stay involved with WSU. Howard earned his business degree through Global Campus. He uses Coug Connect, a new platform from the WSU Alumni Association, to network with other Cougs.
Paris Kemmer (’22 Mktg., Mgmt.) has taken a new role as communications project manager on the strategic marketing and communications team at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Julianna Marler (’94 Busi. Admin.) is WSU Vancouver’s 2024 Notable Alumni Award recipient. Marler is the first woman CEO at the Port of Vancouver and previously worked as chief financial and administrative officer for the port and as manager of procurement services for the City of Vancouver.
Kristin Minetti (’15 MBA), a business instructor, was selected as a Hanft Executive Lecturer in Business at California State University, Chico. She supports the mission of the College of Business, mentors faculty peers, enhances interdisciplinary teaching collaboration, and maintains strong engagement with industry and donor partners. The role also emphasizes the integration of real-world business experience into curriculum.
Nam Nguyen (’20 Busi. Admin., Eng. ) was named a Schwarzman Scholar. The fellowship supports a one-year, fully funded master’s degree program in global affairs at Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Nguyen also received the 2025 Outstanding Recent Graduate award from The Johns Hopkins University. The award recognizes alumni who, within less than 10 years of graduation, have demonstrated exceptional professional achievement and service to their communities.
Hazelmae Overturf (’20 EMBA) was featured in a recent issue of Insights Magazine, published by Inclusiv, for her leadership as chief impact officer at Kauai Federal Credit Union and her role in cofounding Hawaiian, Asian, Pacific Islander Credit Union Professionals.
Micah Piippo (’08 Finance), CEO of Movar US, a business consulting and services firm, published a new book with coauthor Greg Lawton. The Critical Path Career: How to Advance in Construction Scheduling features strategies for earning raises, securing promotions, and excelling in interviews in the field of construction scheduling.
Douglas Poole (’90 Accounting), a former finance professional who’s now a third-generation farmer in Mansfield, Washington, is featured in WSU Magazine’s “A Brave New Approach,” an article detailing Poole’s experience with regenerative agriculture. For years Poole has partnered with WSU researchers and other institutions, hosting one of the nation’s longest-running test plots using biosolids to nourish the soil.
Alexandra Sauceda (’24 Mktg.), is a new associate social media specialist at Nintendo in Redmond, Washington. After graduating, Sauceda worked as a brand marketing intern at Stanley and a freelance marketer for Custom House Fine Clothing.
Jake Schlosser (’08 Busi. Admin., ’10 MBA) is the vice president of human resources at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman. Schlosser has worked at SEL since 2004, starting as a human resources intern while studying at WSU. Most recently, he served as senior manufacturing director at Schweitzer.
Heather Stegner (’24 EMBA) was promoted to chief operating officer for the American Wood Council. She has worked for the nonprofit council for more than 11 years leading national communication strategies and public relations initiatives.
Alexander Stuart (’23 Accounting, Mgmt. Info. Sys.) started a new position as senior consultant at Deloitte in Seattle. He previously worked as an information technology assurance analyst at Deloitte after graduating from WSU.
Shane Sullivan (’20 EMBA) is vice president of operations at SKYTRAC Systems, an aerospace satellite communications and intelligent connectivity company. Sullivan is a retired US Navy commander with 300-plus carrier landings and 4,000-plus flight hours.
Alums Kyla Butts (’25 Mgmt. Info. Sys.) and Nabaa Wali (’25 Mgmt. Info. Sys.) were both awarded the Harrison Rising Leadership Award by the Society for Information Management’s Portland, Oregon chapter. The award recognizes emerging talent in technology and leadership within the SIM Portland community.
Ryan Wright (’09 PhD ) started a new position as the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth professor at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce. Wright also serves as the associate dean for strategic initiatives, focusing on AI research and academics.
Faculty/Staff
Associate Professor Mark Beattie was named a Fulbright Specialist and is developing a project with Tashkent University of Science and Technology in Uzbekistan. The Fulbright Specialist program pairs highly qualified US academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise.
Roberto Bello, associate professor of marketing and international business, received a Best Track Paper Award in Brand and Marketing at the 2025 Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference for his paper titled “Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A Comparative Study on Grading Methods and the Technology Acceptance Model.” His recently published book, The Unmanageable Marketing Manager, was released in August.
Hospitality Professor Christina Chi received the 2025 WSU GPSA Excellence Award for Academic Advisor of the Year honoring faculty who demonstrate outstanding commitment to graduate and professional students across the WSU community.
Dipra Jha, associate professor of hospitality (career track), earned the 2025 Raphael Kavanaugh Champion of Education award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) recognizing exceptional commitment to hospitality and tourism education.
Read WSU Insider feature.
Read WSU Insider feature.
Finance Professor Mario Reyes was appointed chair of the Department of Finance and Management Science, effective August 16. Reyes brings extensive leadership experience to the role, having previously served as a department chair, associate dean, and interim director of the School of Hospitality Business Management.
Carson College faculty Hana Johnson (Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship), Jacob Jaggi (Accounting), and Xinchang Wang (Finance and Management Science) have been granted tenure and promoted to associate professor, Mark Beattie (Hospitality Business Management), and Mesut Cicek (Marketing and International Business) were also promoted to associate professor (career track). Professor promotions include Jeremy Beus (Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship), and Kristine Kuhn (Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship). Mauricio Featherman (Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship) was also promoted to professor (career track).