Happy Birthday! | Duke's Fuqua School of Business

We asked the alumni below celebrating a birthday today, June 18, "Where are you now?" Here's what they said...

Tamar Ariel MBA ‘17

I live in Washington, D.C., with my husband, Mak, and one year old daughter, Daniela. I am a manager in Deloitte Consulting's Government and Public Services practice. Since Covid, we spend a lot of time hiking (really walking...) through D.C., VA, and MD parks. Looking forward to seeing my Fuqua friends when there is a widely available vaccine.

Robert Bash MHA ‘73

I graduated in 1973 with a MHA, entered with the class of 1970, and in between spent three years, one month and 20 days in the Army, which included getting married. My entire career has been in Hospital Administration, and I retired from Hospital Administration in January 2013 as well as from my hobby of Flight Instruction in 2019. We now live in Alexandria, Louisiana, for the past 13 years (in addition to eight years in the 90’s) near our oldest daughter. I still volunteer with Rotary, Chamber, Salvation Army, and church. My wife and I celebrated 51 years of marriage, and we have two grown girls and one granddaughter.

John Calkins ’87, MBA ‘89

Now in my 25th year in the LA area, I'm currently in my 4th as CEO of a consumer digital movie service, ROW8. (We have licenses for films from all the major studios, generally ahead of their availabilities on Netflix, Disney+, etc.—check it out!) I started ROW8 following senior roles at AMC Entertainment, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros., which provided just enough insight to ensure that I would underestimate how hard this would be. On the home front, our oldest is just out of high school (Columbia-bound!), and our 6-year-old twins, all girls, so far seem to be moving steadily along in the same general direction. Cheers, all—stay safe out there!

Steven Ellmann MBA ‘20

I graduated just a few weeks ago in May and have been hanging out in Durham enjoying the summer and looking forward to a move to Chicago later this year.

Misa Fujimura-Fanselow MBA ‘12

I am based in downtown Manhattan where my husband (Nicolas Maya MBA '12) and I have been in quarantine and have been social distancing ourselves since early March. It's been a tough couple of months for New York, but we are grateful for our health. We are also expecting our first baby in July and excited to get some Duke baby gear!

Zack Kollias MBA ‘93

I’m currently living in Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, OH. I am the SVP U.S. Franchise Operations for 5,500 Wendy’s restaurants. My oldest son, Tommy, works for Duke in Operations for the Athletic Department, and my youngest, Kris, is a rising third year at UVA, studying architecture. I’m still married to Margaret, whom I met while a student at Fuqua—25 years and counting. Frosty’s on me any time you want.

Dave Lawrence MBA '11

I am still living in Miami (FL) with my wife, Cassia, and son, Dominic (6). I am the President of Apogee Leadership, an authorized licensee of Crestcom International. Crestcom is a 30-year old global leadership development organization focused on developing managers into leaders. I work with 30+ companies in South Florida to develop their executive teams. I am proud to be the Fuqua Board Member for the Duke Board of South Florida. I continue to hit the waves whenever it's windy to kitesurf.

Nancy Mayer MBA ‘82

I am still living in Durham, NC. I have been married to my husband, David, for 41 years. My two sons, 34 and 36, are both married to wonderful spouses and live in the RTP area. One of them has given me two wonderful granddaughters, ages 1 and 5. I also got a JD from NCCU in 2006. After retiring from the USEPA after 34 years, I am now practicing law on a part time basis. While my sons do not like to admit I attended Duke, I still manage to participate in alumni events.

Megan Mulligan MBA ‘13

I live with my husband in NYC and we are expecting our first child (future Dukie!) in August. I have been with Bright Health since November 2019 pursuing my dream career of moving the U.S. health care system from volume to value.

Sebastian Otero Barba MBA ‘03

I live in Chicago, Illinois enjoying the city (though, not the weather), and I'm still dedicating time to my passion for polo. After Duke I've had the opportunity to work in different pharmaceutical and device companies. I'm currently working in strategic marketing, leading large initiatives for Medline Industries. Now I'm focused on contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic response, given that Medline is an important supplier of hospital services and products; many of that education, services, and products are needed during the pandemic. Wishing everyone the best in these times. Stay safe.

Andrea Parks MBA ’01, MD ‘01

Hello everyone! I'm here in the Atlanta area practicing OBGYN full time and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic at home and in the health care system. I'm still homeschooling my four kids (13, 11, 11, and 7) and as a Black family in America, we are spending a lot of time explaining and educating and discussing our role as citizens in our community. I still enjoy writing my blog (www.ajourneytowholeness.com), and I've started a YouTube channel called For This Moment Now (you can search for Dr. Andrea Christian Parks). I'm building a physician coaching business starting with weight loss this year, so life is busy but so very good!

Todd Pittman MBA ‘95

The 25 years since graduating Fuqua have flown by. After nearly two decades serving as the Chief Financial Officer for a variety of businesses (public and private), I was afforded the opportunity to become the Chief Executive Officer at Anexinet Corp. It has been an exciting 18 months with the sale of the business from one PE firm to another and now navigating the challenges associated with continuing to seek growth in this uncertain and changing environment. Fuqua taught me, change brings opportunity. I remain happily married to Kim living in the Philadelphia area and will be launching our youngest off to college this Fall.

Luisa Rubino MBA ‘01

I am living in Milan, Italy, in the region of Lombardy. We have been very hardly hit by SARS-COV2, and have been shut down for over 2 months, but since early May things are slowly going back to normal. My family and close friends have not be touched by this experience, and I am thankful. Also, I have been working from home all the time, and this is something I am very thankful for too. All my thoughts and encouragement to those in other areas that are being hardly hit by the pandemic. Next year is my 20 year reunion, hope things will normalize further and that I can come to celebrate in Durham.

Sarika Sangwan MBA ’06, MEM ‘07

I live just outside NYC and work for Pinterest as the Global Head of Marketing and Strategy for the Financial Services sector. In addition to getting paid to spend time on Pinterest (a dream come true), I'm also concurrently perfecting my skills as a babysitter for my 2-year-old son (Taj), a 5th grade teacher for my daughter (Simrin), a house cleaner, landscaper, chef, and so much more!

Brady Thomas MBA ‘06

I am currently AVP of Marine Underwriting for the Eastern Region of CNA Financial. In this role, I oversee the underwriting of fine art and marine insurance. I enjoy being a husband to my wife, Emily, and a father to my son, Brady IV, in Wayne, PA, where I currently reside.

Dave Zuidema MBA ‘80

My wife and I live in Maryland enjoying time with our two adult kids, their spouses, and our 6 grandchildren. After leaving Duke, I spent a number of years in consulting and then fleet management in various functional areas. 5 years ago, I made a career shift and am now the North American Director for Customer Experience at Danfoss, a global manufacturer of hydraulic controls, computer drives, cooling and heating products. Stay healthy and safe, everyone, during these unprecedented times of Covid-19.