THE BRIEF News from the UNLV Executive MBA Program
SPRING 2021
Read All About It
Welcome Cohort 20!
This June we welcomed our newest EMBA cohort. They experienced a full five days of Leadership and Team Effectiveness class while getting to know their fellow cohort members.

Stay tuned for a special edition of The Brief when we include the biography for each of these extraordinary students who represent the true spirit of a UNLV Rebel: different, daring and diverse.
  • Christian Bishop
  • Jose Bobadilla
  • April Chapman
  • Chris Funches
  • Michael Haeseker
  • Matthew Kaplan
  • Vanessa Leon
  • Paul Russell
  • Scott Scherr
  • Joy Valle
Alumni Update

How the EMBA Helped Stacey Bledsoe Embrace Her Entrepreneurial Side

The “career ceiling” is something many people don’t see coming, but Stacey Bledsoe did. Though she’d risen to a director position in Nevada’s gaming industry and launched a separate dog boutique business on her own, she knew her bachelor’s degree in marketing would only take her so far, and despite her success, she was getting closer to the ceiling. 

Read about how the EMBA helped this entrepreneur become more well-rounded in areas of business she wanted to strengthen.

Student Spotlight

Meet the Military Veterans of Cohort 19

From finance professionals to entertainment and gaming executives, Cohort 19 is among the most diverse in the history of UNLV’s Executive MBA program.

This cohort is also notable for including four students with extensive military backgrounds: Michael Bos, Steven Junior, Germain Williamson and Tyler Wistisen.

Read about how their collective experience helped prepare them for the challenges of the EMBA; and how though they have different backgrounds, they arrived at UNLV with a shared, irreplaceable bond.

Faculty Feature

“It’s Numbers, But It’s Not Calculus” – An Interview with Dr. Robert Cornell

Though he’s been teaching for nearly 20 years, Dr. Robert Cornell is still capable of being surprised, and impressed.

“I’ve taught executive programs before, but the caliber of bios in EMBA Cohort 19 is not what I anticipated,” he explains. “This group can ask really interesting, insightful questions that cause me to pause and say, ‘I haven’t thought of that before.’”

A veteran of academics and the accounting discipline, Dr. Cornell teaches EMBA 711 – Managerial Accounting as part of UNLV’s Executive MBA program. It’s his first experience teaching in the program after several years as Chair of the University’s accounting department – “The EMBA was an opportunity to get back in the classroom with a different set of students,” he says -- and he’s eager to talk numbers with the EMBA cohorts.

Special Feature

Finding Ways to Make it Work - An Interview with EMBA Program Manager Carissa Marquez

Successful people don’t fold under pressure, they perform, and many don’t even stop to think about the stress or the stakes when they’re in the moment. It’s only after some time has passed that they acknowledge the weight that’s been lifted off their shoulders.

That’s what 2020 was like for Carissa Marquez. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Nevada and a state of emergency forced UNLV’s Executive MBA students out of the classroom and online, Carissa had to make the most of a near-impossible situation: How do you recreate an in-person classroom experience using video -conferencing?

Read about how seeing things in a different light resulted in solutions that serve the students best long-term.

On The Move
  • Raza Ali - Cohort 11 - Director - Cloud and Automation - West, Technologent
  • Suzanne Bishop - Cohort 14 - Program Manager, Varian
  • Rick Darnold - Cohort 13 - Head of Business Optimization, Province, LLC
  • Dianna Klein - Cohort 15 - Director of Business Operations & G-FORCE ONE (B-727) Pilot, Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G)
  • Kyle Knapper - Cohort 15 - Regional Finance Manager, Keolis Transit America, Inc
  • Andrew Lanzino - Cohort 14 - Chief of Staff to the CEO, MGM Resorts International
  • Allen Marino - Cohort 5 - Staff Vice President, Medical Director, IngenioRx at Anthem, Inc.
  • Paul Pippin - Cohort 6 - Sr. Global Hospitality Consultant, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Eric Prall - Cohort 16 - Medical Director, Southern Nevada Chiropractic - Accepted into Boyd School of Law
  • Christy Theisen - Cohort 17 - Director-Market Leader Southwest Region, Jensen Hughes
  • Chris Wolsey - Cohort 10 - VP of Warehousing and Logistics, Better Body Foods and Nutrition
EMBA & UNLV Alumni Events




EMBA Notes
Cohort 19 Seeks Support For Their Community Project

Cohort 19 is looking for donations to help support their community project of building a therapeutic garden and library for veterans recovering from drug, alcohol and gambling addiction. Contact Susil Sivaraman - [email protected] for more details or to donate.
Cohort 15 Members Open Marco's Pizza Franchise

A few members of Cohort 15 recently opened a Marco's Pizza franchise location at 5900 West Charleston, Suite 110, Las Vegas, Nevada. Congratulations Ray Fyler, Andrew Kerzmann and partners!
Cohort 14's Stacey Bledsoe Opens a Beauty Bar in Downtown Summerlin

Stacey Bledsoe of Cohort 14 recently opened a Sparkles Beauty Bar at 2130 Park Centre Dr #110, Las Vegas, Nevada. Congratulations Stacey Bledsoe!
EMBA Photos
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's
Karla Vazquez
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's Jennifer Salgado & Christopher Melton
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's
Adam Calig
Happy Birthday to Cohort 19's
Chase McCormick
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's
Janet Cristobal
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's
Eddie Nieves
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's
Noah Aslam
Happy birthday to Professor John Baur & Cohort 19's Keith Robertson
Happy birthday to Cohort 19's Alexandra Nikolich
Happy birthday to Cohort 20's
Matt Kaplan
Group meeting = Good Times for Cohort 19's
Karla Vazquez, Christopher Melton,
Noah Aslam and Jennifer Turner