Alumni Spotlight

Ella Andrew (’18) graduated with an Economics and Psychology double major and a minor in Theater. Ella is interested in the intersection between Psychology and Economics, and decided to major after taking Dr. McFalls’s Intermediate Microeconomics class where she was first introduced to the concept of Behavioral Economics. It was truly the faculty of the Economics department that encouraged her to major, from classes with Dr. Heckelman, Dr. McFall and Dr. MacDonald or “Prof MacD” as he asked to be called. With an additional interest in the arts, Ella studied away in New York City for Fall 2016 and explored the businesses behind arts organizations. On campus Ella was a tour guide, a Student Adviser, involved in the theater organization and a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Lilly Gaeto (’18) graduated with an Economics major and a Political Science minor. She initially took the Introduction to Economics course with Dr. Heckelman to fulfill a divisional requirement, but she quickly discovered her passion for the subject. She became fascinated with the way economic policy can affect politics and government operations. Taking Intermediate Macroeconomics with Dr. Mazumder reinforced her decision to pursue a degree as well as a career in Economics. Lilly was also a member of the Wake Forest Fed Challenge Team, when it was in its second year at Wake Forest. The team’s season begins in October and involves researching and presenting policy recommendations to judges as if they were the Federal Open Market Committee. Lilly also worked on an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Mazumder. The project focused on the reliability of market and labor predictions made by members of the FOMC in public speeches. Beyond her study of Economics, Lilly was a member of the Student Advising Leadership Council, served as an Ambassador in Admissions, was the Scholarship Chair of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, and was involved in RUF campus ministry. She spent a summer studying comparative politics throughout Europe with the Wake Forest EuroTour while simultaneously cheering on the Chicago Cubs!

Hunter Hale (’18) graduated with a double major in Mathematical Statistics and Economics. He began to consider studying economics prior to coming to Wake Forest and discovered a deeper interest for it after taking an introductory course with Dr Heckelman and Intermediate Macroeconomics with Dr. Wood. Soon after taking courses at Wake Forest he began to enjoy the wide-ranging application of economics and put them into practice outside of the classroom. As a member of one of Wake Forest’s COMAP teams, he introduced an economic perspective that, combined with his teammates’ science backgrounds, helped them earn the distinction of meritorious winner for their model of water scarcity. He also participated as a member of Wake Forest’s Fed Challenge Team where he and his teammates examined monetary policy in further depth. Due to his experiences within and outside of the classroom, he is particularly interested in monetary policy, environmental economics, and the economics of healthcare. After graduation, Hunter plans to pursue graduate studies in statistics, and later, a career as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry or in a field of economic analysis.

Brandon Hawkins (’18) graduated with a double major in Economics and Philosophy. Her interest in social justice issues motivated her to study economics. She figured that a solid foundation in the field would give her the tools to excel at an NGO or government organization where she could work to promote greater social justice. Taking Econometrics with Dr. Griffith solidified Brandon’s desire to major in economics because it showed Brandon the applicable nature of economics. During the summer of 2016, Brandon interned at the Akilah Institute. The Akilah Institute is an NGO that provides women in Rwanda with access to higher education so they can become financially independent and spur the growth of the Rwandan economy. Brandon spent her summer working in their Development office located in Brooklyn, NY. After her incredible experience with the Akilah Institute, Brandon spent her Junior year abroad studying Economics and Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Beyond her interest in Economics, Brandon was a fundraising co-chair for DESK, a community service event, a Young Life leader, and a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority.

Jack Laughlin (Fall ’17) graduated with an Economics major, and German minor. After beginning Wake Forest as a pre-med student, he shifted his focus to economics after an impactful semester abroad in Vienna. Upon his return, Jack started the major with Dr. Whaples, whose teaching, character, and daily quizzes encouraged him to continue learning about global markets. In a combination of his love for living abroad and economics, Jack attended the London School of Economics for the summer of 2016, where he both survived Micro I & Macro I and lived through the Brexit referendum. Currently, Jack is a summer analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he works in Asset Management in New York City. On campus, Jack was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, a student carillonneur, and a leader in Dining Dilemmas, a medical ethics discussion seminar.

Rachel Molitor (’18) graduated with a double major in Economics and Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She knew she wanted to pursue economics at Wake after having too much fun studying for AP Macro and Micro in high school. Even though she is a premedical student, she continues to enjoy her economics classes most of all. On campus, she was a member of the Wake Forest Dance Company, public speaking chair in Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and a peer tutor through the campus Learning Assistance Center. She also worked as a research assistant in the Gerontology Department at Wake Forest Baptist Health, volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and performed physiology research in the Wake Forest Biology Department. Rachel spent a summer studying abroad in Tours, France. She enjoys finding excuses to discuss application of economics to daily life and overuses the phrase “this is why economists should run the world”. She is currently an Associate Consultant at Allscripts, and plans to attend medical school a couple years after graduation to become a hand surgeon or geriatrician.

Thomas Poston (’18) graduated with a double major in Economics and Politics & International Affairs with a minor in Environmental Studies. He chose to study Economics to improve his understanding of and ability to make smart and effective policy – particularly energy and environmental policy, for which he has exceptional enthusiasm. He witnessed the importance of economics to this field firsthand during his internship with the Environmental Defense Fund. Thomas also has a strong interest in international relations, which drove him to spend a semester in Strasbourg, France, studying European economic policy and interning at the Council of Europe. Dr. Dalton’s International Trade class further convinced him that IR and economics are inextricable. Outside of his studies, Thomas was a President’s Aide and co-captain of the Center for Leadership and Character’s Ethics and Leadership Debate Team. He also enjoyed performing spoken-word poetry and singing in the Wake Forest concert choir.

Shazia Siddiqui (’18) graduated with a Mathematical Economics major with a minor in Psychology. She knew she wanted to pursue a degree in economics after seeing how the subject could explain the intricacies of the world in classes with Dr. Griffith and Dr. Flanagan, and studying math gave her a more concrete understanding of these ideas. Her passion for the subject led her to be a founding member of the Women in Economics Club, of which she was President. She was also a research assistant on the Jury Sunshine Project, which uses economic theory to understand the jury selection process. On campus, she was the Executive Vice President of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and was a PREPARE facilitator. She is currently in the process of applying to law school.

Vicky Wu (‘18) graduated with a double major in English and Economics. She’s always been drawn to economic theories and market trends with the conservation and allocation of scarce resources. Her interest was further solidified through Dr. Flanagan’s Intermediate Microeconomics class along with Dr. Richardson’s course on Economic Growth and Development. Her desire to explore diverse economic fields that overlap with the current campus climate led to the development of Women in Economics Club, of which she was Vice President, and her role as a research assistant on a project that analyzes convicted criminal trials in districts across Minnesota. Vicky is currently a marketing and account management intern in London for Mystery, Ltd, a design agency that specializes in the food and beverage industry. On campus, she was the new member coordinator for Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and the secretary/treasurer for Order of Omega, a Greek honor society.

Nick Adams (’15) graduated with a double major in Economics and Politics and International Affairs. He chose to major in Economics because of its applicability in all aspects of life and after reading the Freakonomics series, which Nick found interesting due to its peculiar way of solving problems and explaining phenomena. His decision was only reinforced by the great professors he came to know during his time, specifically Professor Griffith, Professor McFall, Professor Flanagan and Professor Burkett who all encouraged Nick to explore his passion for economics through his childhood passions of baseball and law. Outside of Economics, Nick was an executive for the Club Baseball Team, a Resident Advisor and Middle School baseball coach in Winston-Salem. In June 2015, Nick started his career with an apprenticeship at Atlantic Merchant Capital Investors and is excited to begin his work in the Fall of 2015 at Nuvasive in southern California.

Misa Batcheller (’15) graduated with a B.A. in Economics and minors in Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise and Psychology. She decided to major in economics due to the versatility of the major in the job market as well as the strong analytical background it provides. She has already begun to see the value of her decision to major in the field of economics. Her economics classes at Wake Forest have provided her with high exposure to excel, the ability to perform in-depth research and analysis, and advanced critical thinking skills, that have proven to be marketable in the job search process. Following graduation, she will be working as an analyst for the economics group at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, NC, where she will be reporting and analyzing market trends.

Anthony Bleyer, Jr (’15): Originally, I chose to major in Economics with the hope of pursuing a career in finance. However, I quickly learned that Economics addresses so many issues other than stocks and bonds. As I worked through the requirements for a major in economics, health care became my passion. I saw a real need for health care workers with tools to not only treat patients but also to assist in delivering care and developing effective policy. As a result, my lifelong goal is to deliver high quality care not only through patient care but also through the development of sound policy on the regional, national, and international levels. I will be attending Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the fall and will be continuing my research on issues where healthcare and economics intersect, specifically the lack of living kidney donors and the effects of irregular access to general care.

Meg Green (’15): Like many Economics majors at Wake Forest, I received my first dose of Economics in an Intro course with Dr. McFall. As an already-declared Political Science major with a minor in Latin American Studies, my economics professors encouraged me to view political and social situations with more of an analytical eye— considering decision-making as a multifaceted interaction between parties that could be predicted and understood through economic theory and models. Utilizing the skills obtained in Dr. Burkett’s Microeconomics course, Dr. Dalton’s International Trade and Macroeconomics courses, Dr. Griffith’s Econometrics, and Dr. McFall’s Principles course, I was able to fuse my interests into one academic package that has been both exciting and invaluable. After graduation, I will be attending the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. as a candidate for the Masters of International Economics and Finance where I hope to deepen my quantitative knowledge of economics and econometrics to study Social Movements and International Trade relations in/with Latin American countries.

Katie Herron (’15) graduated with a double major in economics and psychology. She first became interested in economics after taking Professor McFall’s intro course, and her Macroeconomics course with Professor Dalton solidified her appreciation of the subject. One of the highlights of her academic career was being able to do research for Dr. John Dalton over multiple semesters, which helped her learn from an incredible mentor beyond the classroom. She has studied abroad in India, worked as a tech recruiter at a startup in Los Angeles, served as the philanthropy chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon Honors Society. She is currently working for Deloitte Consulting in Washington D.C. as a strategy and operations analyst. In the next five years, she hopes to attend graduate school for either business or economics.

Kelsey Mullin (’15) was a double major in economics and Spanish. She first became interested in economics while taking Dr. Whaples’ 150 class and realized she looked forward to taking the daily quizzes. Kelsey studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain where she became interested in global business. She wrote her thesis with the support of Dr. Griffith and Dr. Whaples in collaboration with the advancement office to study donation trends of young Wake Forest alumni and their likelihood to give back to their alma mater. She is working for EY in their International Tax department in Atlanta. She is extremely grateful for the encouragement and assistance of the economics department during her four years at Wake and looks forward to using what she has learned in the real world.

Corina Wixon (’15) graduated with a B.S. in Economics and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise. Initially attracted to Economics by the diversity of topics, she chose to pursue the major after enjoying Dr. Griffith’s Econometrics class. Throughout her time at Wake Forest, classes such as Dr. Hammond’s Chicago Economics, Dr. Dalton’s Economics of Health and Medicine and Dr. Griffith’s Economics of Higher Education continued to be the most enjoyed courses. Culminating in a senior year thesis, Economics was her most rewarding college experience, thanks to the dedicated and talented faculty. Corina is pursuing a career in Healthcare business. She begins at Patientco, a startup firm dedicated to hospital efficiency through improved patient interactions. She hopes that through this career path, she can combine her love of economics, her penchant for healthcare and her entrepreneurship background.

Andrew Allyn (’14) graduated with a double major in Economics & Politics and International Affairs. After graduation Andrew started working in commercial real estate. HIs first job was with CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data and analytics firm. He then pivoted to commercial real estate development with Kane Realty Group in Raleigh. After Kane Reality, Andrew moved to New York and started to work in real estate private equity investing at Glenmont Capital Management. He received a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and joined the Extell Development Company in New York where he is currently employed.

Carlos Barrios (’14) worked as an investment banking analyst at Seale & Associates in Washington, DC, from June 2014-Nov 2015 working on cross-border M&A mandates. He then joined CWCapital (Jan 2016-Jul 2019) to focus on Real Estate Finance as part of the Asset Management and Valuations teams. He underwrote CMBS B-Pieces as well as managed high yield distressed assets. In July 2019, Carlos joined global investment mgmt firm KKR in the Real Estate Credit team.

Jordan Garside (’14) graduated with a double major in Economics and Religion with a minor in History. He is currently pursuing a masters in the management program in the Business School. “I decided to major in Economics after I took Econ 150 with Professor McFall. He not only made the material enjoyable and easy to understand, but he also helped me see the value of an education in Economics. A deeper understanding of Econ has enabled me to better understand the world around me – whether it be complex policies issues or simply just trying to understand human decision-making. In retrospect, I am confident that I could not have chosen a better subject to study, and the primary reason for that is the great faculty that comprise the Econ Department. When I am not studying, I am most likely doing some activity related to football. Being a student-athlete has made my experience at Wake unbelievably rewarding, and I am extremely thankful to have had that opportunity. For my career, I anticipate myself entering into public service or working for a non-profit organization, and given these career aspirations, I am confident that my degree in Econ will prove to be invaluable.”

Sammy Bandy (’13) graduated with a BA in Economics and went on to complete a Global MBA at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH. He and a couple of classmates have taken on a global venture clothing company called “DRAGO allure”. They have a unique brand that is founded on efforts to help various social causes, currently children’s education. Drago allure (www.dragoallure.com) acts as a channel for social change while being an intellectual and fashionable brand. Their goal is to have a positive impact on communities across the world. 20% of proceeds from products they sell is used to make positive contributions to underserved primary schools around the world. Their contributions are tangible items that schools need and have requested. To date they have given clothes, educational games, toys, and school supplies.

Wilkie Barrack (’13) chose to major in Mathematical Economics because of his great experiences in Intro to Economics with Dr. Whaples and Calculus I with Dr, Robinson of the math department. Despite being unsure of what type of profession he wanted to pursue at the time of his major declaration, Wilkie was confident that the interdepartmental major would help him develop critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for many different professional careers. After an internship with a Financial Advisor following his sophomore year, Wilkie decided to pursue a career in the financial sector. Wilkie’s favorite classes were those that helped him develop a better understanding of the relationship between macroeconomics and financial markets, such as Professor Mazumder’s International Finance class and Professor Wood’s Financial Markets class. Wilkie also thoroughly enjoyed the elective classes that prompted him to think creatively, such as Professor McFall’s Law and Economics. Wilkie currently works as a Credit Analyst with Wells Fargo in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Andrew Callahan (’13) majored in Economics for its diverse utility and value in today’s job market. While attending Wake, Andrew participated in two rigorous summer internships with financial firms in New York with the goal of joining the financial sector. However, after attending Professor Heckelman’s Public Choice Economics Class and his experience serving as the President of the Interfraternity Council, Andrew changed direction and moved to Washington D.C. soon after graduation. He felt strongly motivated by a passion for politics and public policy and began an internship for a Member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now a Legislative Aide, Andrew’s Economics degree from Wake has prepared him to manage an extensive legislative portfolio comprised of commerce, labor, healthcare, and justice policy issues. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys golf, basketball, and hiking.

Cait Dourney (’13) graduated magna cum laude with honors in economics. Among her favorite courses at Wake were international trade with Professor Dalton and intro to economics with Professor McFall. After graduation, Cait moved to Boston and worked as an investment specialist in portfolio management at the Bank of New York Mellon. She currently works as an analyst at Fidelity Investments as part of the Asset Allocation Research Team (AART). AART conducts economic, fundamental, and quantitative research to develop asset allocation recommendations for Fidelity’s portfolio managers and investment teams. The team analyzes macroeconomic and financial market trends in order to generate investment ideas over tactical, cyclical, and secular time horizons.

Andrew Ellis (’13) majored in Economics because Dr. McFall showed his intro class how relevant the subject was to everyday life by drawing economic connections to Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” as well as salaries in the NBA. Overall, the subject taught Andrew how to think critically about the world and has driven him to the field of education. Andrew is currently teaching 7th grade math and social studies in Texas through Teach for America and he hopes to get a masters in economics or public policy to continue studying ways we can improve the public education system. At Wake, Andrew studied abroad in Nepal, worked for Residence Life and Housing, and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

Mary Beth Harbour (’13) chose a major in Economics because of its value and versatility in the job market. As a sophomore declaring a major, she was not sure what type of career she wanted to pursue after graduation, but felt strongly that a major in Economics would open the door to many different opportunities. Her favorite classes were classes that challenged her, like Microeconomics II with Dr. Chen, or classes that used economic theory to analyze current issues, like The Economics of Higher Education with Dr. Griffith and The Economics of Health & Medicine with Dr. Lawlor. As a student at Wake Forest, Mary Beth served as a resident advisor and a member of the German Honors Society. Mary Beth currently works as an implementation analyst at Allscripts, a healthcare IT company, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Janna Raley (’13) graduated with a major in Economics and a minor in Environmental Studies. She now works for BBC Research & Consulting in Denver, Colorado where she does natural resource economics consulting. The economic department’s diverse course offerings and opportunities, including completing an honors thesis, allowed Janna to integrate her major and minor, and ultimately find a job directly related to both.

Amanda Satterwhite (’13) chose a major in Economics after a couple of intro courses demonstrated to her the value of the subject in understanding politics and international affairs, an area she was keenly interested in. Among her favorite courses in the department were American Economic History with Dr. MacDonald, International Finance with Dr. Mazumder, and working on a senior honors thesis with Dr. Griffith, Dr. Heckelman and Dr. Garces, who patiently helped her understand the value of statistical analysis in studying the growth of developing nations. Currently, Amanda is working in Tanzania as a Project Coordinator with 2Seeds Network, overseeing an agricultural development project to promote food and income security for rural Tanzanians. Upon her return to the U.S. she hopes to continue working in the arena of international development, perhaps with a government contractor.

Sang-Hyuk Kwon (’12) After graduating with a double major in Economics and English with a minor in Philosophy, I briefly interned Yuanta Securities’ M&A team, after which I began my mandatory service in the Korean Army. I passed a competitive examination to join as an interpreter, during which I applied and was selected to join the Korean contingent as one of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)’s peacekeepers. A civil war broke out during my deployment, but I was able to return home safely and be honorably discharged. Post-Army, I interned at Accenture Strategy, worked as a Junior Analyst at Samsung Securities’ M&A team, and received an offer to work as an analyst at Crescendo Equity Partners, a Korean private equity firm with Peter Thiel’s backing. Due to my strong desire to pursue a career helping private sectors develop in frontier markets, I will be leaving Crescendo to start school at MIT Sloan’s Master of Finance program. My long-term goals involve working for the IFC or the Acumen Fund and advising or executing investments with the purpose of fomenting development.

Bryan Edwards (’11) graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Economics with Honors and German. He chose to major in Economics because of the diverse curriculum provided by the department as well as the attractiveness of the degree in the job market. His decision was only reinforced by the great professors he came to know during his time, specifically Professor Griffith and Professor Mazumder. Outside of Economics, Bryan was the President of the Entrepreneurship Society and a member of the Board of Investigators and Advisors. In July 2011, Bryan started his career with General Electric as a member of their Financial Management Program (FMP), where he spent time in Atlanta, upstate New York, and Augsburg, Germany. In January 2014 Bryan moved to New York City to join Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Operations practice as a management consultant.

Jeff Strecansky (’11) graduated with a B.S. in Economics and minors in Global Trade & Commerce Studies and Psychology. He decided to major in economics after enjoying Intro to Econ with Dr. Perry Patterson and due to the versatility of the degree in the job market based on its development of an analytical skillset that is beneficial across all areas of business. His interest was also piqued by the diverse range of classes the major offered, including Dr. Griffith’s Economics of Labor Markets and Dr. Dalton’s International Trade. Jeff began his career in Washington, D.C. as a Strategy and Operations Analyst with Deloitte Consulting, a management consulting firm. In the summer of 2014, he left Deloitte to join McCarthy Capital, an Omaha-based private equity firm focused on growth equity. Outside of work, he enjoys golf, boxing, and occasional attempts at karaoke.

Vanessa Van (’11) graduated with a double major in Economics and Political Science. She enjoyed the analytical nature of both subjects and her background has provided a strong foundation for success in the field of management consulting. Vanessa focuses on technology enablement in the technology, media, and telecommunications industry. She is currently a manager at KPMG Advisory.

Garrett Edel (’10) graduated in Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Mathematical Economics. As a Math-Econ major, he especially enjoyed the challenging major-specific classes such as Optimization Theory and the Seminar in Mathematical Economics. Outside of the department, he was a tutor at the Wake Forest Writing Center, held leadership positions in his fraternity, and studied abroad in Cork, Ireland. After graduation, he started working at Bain & Company — a management consulting firm — in the Atlanta office as an Associate Consultant. In the summer of 2013, he left Bain as a Senior Associate Consultant to join Babiators – a startup making children’s products – as the VP of Special Projects and Analysis. In his spare time he’s often reading or playing fingerstyle acoustic guitar.

Rob Frackelton (’08) Since graduating Rob has taught in two independent schools and currently teaches Economics at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, FL. He teaches Principles of Economics, Honors Macroeconomics and Honors Microeconomics.

Bennett Stulting Chiles (’07) graduated Wake Forest with majors in Mathematical Economics and Art History. She has worked in both strategy consulting (Dean & Company) and financial services (Wells Fargo), and also served for a year in the AmeriCorps program with Habitat for Humanity. She is currently in the second year of a Ph.D. program in Strategy at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and plans to pursue a career in teaching and research in the business school setting.

Peter Demoise (’07) graduated with a major in Economics and a minor in International Studies. He is currently Director of Investor Relations at Bank of America in New York City.

Erin (Moseley) Istvan (’06) is a mathematical economics graduate and previous winner of the Prize for Excellence in Economics. Her degree in economics provided a strong foundation for success in the fields of finance and business. Following Wake Forest graduation, she joined Wachovia Corporation (now Wells Fargo) where she worked in corporate development and loan restructuring roles. In 2010, she pursued her MBA from Harvard Business School and joined investment banking firm Lincoln International thereafter. She currently works for Chicago-based Madison Capital Funding, which provides financing to middle market private equity-backed firms.

Chris Gottfried (’04) graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2009 with a JD and MBA. Currently he is a manager at KPMG, working as a consultant in the Financial Risk Management group, focusing on regulatory and operational risk for large financial institutions. He also maintains a small, part-time law practice that primarily serves minority owned businesses and individuals with limited access to affordable legal services. He and his wife, also a Wake alum, live in Winston-Salem with their four year old daughter.

Amy Sweeney (’99) is the Director of the Division of Regulation for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy. She joined Fossil Energy in 2015 after nearly 14 years with DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) where she most recently led a team that produced the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report and other monthly and annual statistics on U.S. natural gas supply and demand. Prior to her time at EIA, Amy worked in statistical areas of the U.S. Department of Commerce including the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. In FE, Amy’s role is to lead a multidisciplinary team charged with regulating the import and export of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), under the Natural Gas Act. Amy is married to a fellow Wake Forest alum, Sean Sweeney (JD ‘99). Amy and Sean have two daughters in elementary school.

Shannon Bothwell (’98) attended the Yale Law School immediately after leaving Wake Forest, and returned home to South Florida to practice law in 2001. Her career so far has been quite varied – she has worked at multiple large, international law firms, a federally chartered bank, and as a business principal in a startup business facilitating financing for green retrofits of existing buildings. She has also had the privilege of serving six years on the university’s Alumni Council.

David Frisvold (’98) After graduating with a major in Mathematical Economics, he briefly worked for the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and New York. He then earned a PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in 2006, completed a fellowship at the University of Michigan, and was an economics professor at Emory University. He is now an economics professor at the University of Iowa and his research interests include health economics and the economics of education. His experiences at Wake and the opportunities to take classes from dedicated instructors who are passionate about economics have had a persistent influence on the classes that he teaches today.

Matthew Coleman (’97) graduated with a B.A. in Economics and went on to Yale Law School to get his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) which he completed in 2000. Matthew has be worked at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP from 2000 – 2005 and was the Senior Vice President at D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. from 2005 to 2012. Currently Matthew is the a Partner, COO of TPG Real Estate, President of TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:TRTX)

Christopher Delhey (’85) Following graduation from Wake Forest Christopher pursued a career as a reinsurance broker and was trained in London. He has worked in the reinsurance field in Chicago since 1986 and is currently a Senior Managing Director at Aon Benfield, the world’s largest reinsurance brokerage firm. Beyond the day to day work and consultation Christopher does for his clients, he is also a member of Aon Benfield’s new business/sales team and is the leader of the Mutual Insurance Company Practice Group.

Bill Evans (’83) While at Wake, Bill majored in Economics and minored in Moorhouse, taking five classes from former Wake Forest economics professor, John Moorhouse. During his junior year he served as research assistant for Professor Moorhouse and Professor Dan Hammond and in his senior year he wrote an honors thesis under the supervision of Professor Claire Hammond. From these two activities he found a love for research and as a result, entered the PhD program at Duke University, from which he graduated in 1987. After working 20 years as a faculty member at the University of Maryland, in 2007, he joined the Department of Economics at Notre Dame as the university’s first Keough-Hesburgh Professor. This professorship was designed to attract leading scholars to Notre Dame to contribute to both the academic life as well as the Catholic mission of the university. In 2012, Bill co-founded the Lab for Economic Opportunities (www.leo.nd.edu) that attempts to find research-driven poverty solutions. He and his wife, Eileen, have three boys, Conor (24), Brendan (21) and Patrick (17). He is quite pleased that Notre Dame has joined the ACC so he can once again see Wake basketball in person.

Karen Kirwan (’83) After getting her Masters in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Karen started working for a small boutique economics consulting firm in Washington, DC. The consulting firm was bought out by Ernst & Young to jump start their transfer pricing practice. After 26 years with EY’s transfer pricing practice, Karen is joining the IRS as a Transfer Pricing Senior Advisor.

Keith Sherman (’75) graduated with a major in economics and has since worked in commercial banking.

Elmore R. Alexander (’74) has been Dean and Professor of Management in the Louis Ricciardi College of Business at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts for the past two years. Previously, he was business school dean and professor at Marist College and Philadelphia U. Earlier in his career, he held faculty and administrative positions at Johns Hopkins U., American U. and the University of Memphis.

Elmore has recently served as president of two regional organizations for business school deans. In 2015-16, he is president of the Northeast Business Deans’ Association; and he was president of the Mid-Atlantic Association for Colleges of Business Administration in 2014-2105.

Elmore is married to Pamela Carlson Alexander (B.A., Psychology, 1974), a Senior Researcher at Outcome Referrals, Inc., a firm that develops evidence based practice models for counseling, psychotherapy, and social welfare. She specializes in research on family violence. The Alexanders’ son, Eric, and daughter-in-law, Anna Williams, are doctoral students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will be looking for faculty positions at small liberal arts colleges in the next couple of years.