Stern DC Newsletter - The Capital News
September, 2003
In This Issue:
Message from the President of Stern DC Alumni
Alumni Profile
New Career Center for Working Professionals
SWAP
Message from the President of Stern DC Alumni
I hope this note finds you well and enjoying what remains of our wetter-than-usual Washington summer. We'll keep this SternDC update brief so you can concentrate on the return to your post-summer routine. For those of you unable to attend the SternDC picnic in July, we hope to have pictures posted shortly. Coordinated in a Herculean effort by SternDC's Brad Cheng and Stephanie Rackley-Abraham of the nascent local NYU alumni group, the picnic was a huge success with almost fifty people attending. Alumni of all ages came out to enjoy the tremendous weather and the chance to network.
SternDC's activities, after a brief hiatus during the heat of August, will be starting again this month with our next happy hour at the Rockbottom Brewery in Bethesda on Thursday, September 25th. Our tentative fall activity calendar is included below for your reference.
In closing, I'd like to inform you of the very minor technical changes taking place over the next few weeks:
Keep an eye on www.SternDC.org Andy Heifetz, a local alumnus and entrepreneur (see www.avollution.com for more about his IT consultancy) has graciously offered to not only host our website, but also update the site look and structure. We're hoping to roll out a new D.C.-themed site shortly that will allow you see at glance planned activities, contact information, event archives, and more. We're anticipating that SternDC.org will be the destination for people searching for relevant local alumni information, bolstering what is currently offered in SWAP.
As we're moving to the new domain, we will also be migrating our email service. Currently, all of you receive our email and contact us through a Yahoo! - based domain. Our goal is to consolidate all communications through the SternDC.org domain, so watch for this change and please alter any spam filters you might have in place.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions you might have.
All the best,
Seth Balsam
Chair, SternDC
Stern '97
Name: Richard Johnson-Firth
Education: 1990 BA
Economics, University of Sheffield, England
1994 Chartered Accountant, England and Wales
1998 Certified Public Accountant, Connecticut
2001 MBA in Finance, Stern School of Business,
Current Position: Audit Supervisor, Capital One
Career Highlights:
I started my career working as a Chartered Accountant in England.
After three years I moved to the US and qualified as a CPA, working
for KPMG. In 1997, I entered a management development program at
Dexter Corporation in Connecticut. There, I worked on acquisitions
and divestitures for the company and traveled extensively throughout
Europe. After Dexter was itself acquired, I moved to John Hancock in
Boston to join their internal audit function and to pursue my MBA. I
attended Stern through the Executive MBA program, while working full
time for John Hancock. In April 2002, I accepted a position at
Capital One in Tysons Corner, auditing their Capital Markets group.
Family:
I have been married to my wife Lisa for 13 years (I married very
young)! Lisa is the Director of Legal Services at
Tahirih Justice Center in Falls
Church, a non-profit organization which represents women and
children who have suffered human rights violations. We have a
beautiful two-year old daughter, Abigail and we live in Manassas,
Virginia with our two dogs. I am the youngest of three children. My
brother, David and sister, Susan still live in England, as do my
parents and grandmother.
Hobby/Passion:
Hobbies are few and far between these days as Abigail consumes most
of my non-working time. When I do get time to myself, I enjoy
playing golf and watching the
Boston Red Sox and
their annual struggles against the Evil Empire. As you can
imagine, being a Red Sox fan at Stern was not easy.
How long have you lived in the
DC metro area:
We moved here in April 2002 to start our new positions. It's a
totally new area for the both of us and we love it here. Apart from
being a long way from our families, the DC area is perfect (okay,
the commute could be better and house prices cheaper).
Tell us about more about Capital
One and your role as an Audit Supervisor at Capital One?
I evaluate controls and risk mitigation in the Capital Markets and
Treasury operations. The job is a perfect fit for me as it allows me
to combine my finance skills with my auditing background. Capital
One is a young dynamic company and has enjoyed tremendous growth
over the past eight years, increasing its credit card accounts from
5 million to 50 million in that time. This has resulted in the need
for increased controls and corporate governance, keeping me fully
occupied.
NEW CAREER CENTER FOR WORKING PROFESSIONALS NYU
Stern recently expanded its career development services by establishing a new Career Center for Working Professionals (CCWP). Designed to meet the unique needs of working professionals, the CCWP, an extension of the Office of Career Development (COD), initially has focused on developing and rolling out services and programs to part-time MBA students. Beginning in September 2003, the CCWP will offer its complete set of services to MBA alumni, as well as to eligible EMBA students.
This expansion of services to our alumni population is a direct response to the needs and interests of that community and has been built, in part, on the career services initiatives launched this year by our Alumni Affairs Office and the Alumni Council, stated Dean Thomas F. Cooley. We are excited about offering this new service and trust that it will be a valuable resource in helping to achieve lifelong career goals.
The CCWP will offer one-on-one career counseling, including assessments and mock interviews, workshops, networking events, panel discussions, job postings and resume referral services. Those using the Center also will benefit from access to year-round workshop and job development services throughout their careers. The CCWP will offer these workshops and services during convenient evening and Saturday hours.
Through the CCWP, Stern will be better equipped to deliver customized career development tools and services more closely aligned with the distinctive needs and aspirations of our experienced professionals, said Gary Fraser, MBA 92 and Assistant Dean of the Office of Career Development. Dean Fraser was recently named Administrator of the Year by the graduating Class of 2003.
Lizzette Hernandez, most recently a Vice President and Senior Human Resources Generalist at JPMorgan Chase, was hired in May 2003 as Director of the CCWP. In addition to Ms. Hernandez, the CCWP includes two associate directors, Meryl Schardin and Allyson Moore. Ms. Schardin previously served as a Recruiter and Human Resources Generalist at Enron Europe Limited. Ms. Moore, the team's newest addition, managed university relations at Unilever U.S. and Warner-Lambert.
Jennifer Caleco, a longtime OCD staff member, is the new Team Coordinator. For more information about the CCWP and upcoming events, contact ccwp@stern.nyu.edu or call the Office of Career Development at (212) 998-0623.
SWAP - Stern Worldwide Alumni Platform
SWAP is the password protected, online directory of Stern alumni. SWAP's advanced search tool allows you to locate other alumni by name, class year, company, industry and/or location. SWAP also provides resume uploading capabilities so that you can securely post your resume online and browse the resumes of other alumni. In addition, SWAP provides you with a permanent e-mail forwarding address so that alumni, friends and potential employers can always contact you. SWAP is only as strong as your commitment to participate, so sign up today to start utilizing this powerful networking tool.
Visit SWAP at http://www.stern.nyu.edu/Alumni
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