Alumni Profiles

When she was 10, Shirley Padmore Mensah survived a coup in her native Liberia. Due to that and encouragement from her father, Mensah studied at Washington University’s School of Law eventually becoming a judge in Missouri with a deep appreciation of the rule of law.

Esther Shin, AB ’94, MSW ’98, president of Urban Strategies, Inc., is striving to revitalize St. Louis’ Near North Side with help from community partners and a $29.5 million federal grant.

As a student, Kurt Summers, BSBA ’00, was interested in business and public service. Throughout his career he has married those two interests. He did so most recently in 2014, when he became the treasurer for the City of Chicago.

Already in the No. 2 spot in the insurance broker company AON-COFCO, Qing “Clare” Wu had achieved what most people dream of. Still, she didn’t want to miss an opportunity to improve her business skills, so she enrolled in Washington University and Fudan University’s joint executive MBA program. While there, she inspired her classmates to take up running, and after graduation gained the top spot at AON.

After earning her degree in Washington University and Fudan University’s joint Executive MBA program, Jo Feng EMBA ’11, began taking on new challenges, such as working in the United States and racing across the Gobi Desert. Unlocking her potential led her to become general manager of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca China.

Alumna Rebecca Rothney founded Pack For a Purpose, which allows travelers to easily leave behind much-needed donations when they travel abroad.

With a PhD in business, you might not expect Chris Boerner, AB ’93,  to be fighting cancer. Yet as head of international markets at Bristol-Myers Squibb, he works to bring life-saving immuno-oncology cancer drugs to international markets. In his free time, Boerner participates in two bike rides that raise more than $1 million annually for cancer research.

Joyce Trimuel, EMBA ’16, has always seen her career advancement as a chance to help others. Now, as the diversity and inclusion officer for CNA, she’s making its corporate culture more inclusive.

In Chicago, Steven Collens, AB ’93, was instrumental in starting 1871 and MATTER, co-working spaces for tech and health-care startups, respectively.

Paul Pariser, AB ’76, is reshaping Manhattan with his real estate development and investment firm, Taconic Investment Partners.