Stamford Campus , March 26, 2019.

 

The annual Alumni Networking Panel, co-organized by Stamford Campus Economics Faculty, CLAS Alumni Relations, and UConn Foundation, was held March 26, 2019.  The panelists, all UConn alumni, shared stories about their UConn education to the contribution to their career paths.  Mr. Bianchi (majored in Economics) shared that he arrived as a UConn freshman majoring in pre-med, and his class in Principles of Macroeconomics with Professor Polly Allen  forever changed his career path, and the skills learned in the Econometrics course taught by Professor Subhash Ray sparked a lifelong interest in quantitative analysis.  Mr. Regan  (majored in Economics) shared that his major choice was inspired by Professor Derek Johnson’s Principles of Microeconomics course, and the socratic teaching style in Professor Paul Tomolonis’s course in International Economics.  Ms. Daley, and Ms. Pierre-Lpuis (Public Policy and Psychology majors) shared that from their courses in statistics and computer programming they developed skills core to their successful career paths.  Professor Harmon served as panel moderator.

 

The Panelists:

Mr. Jeffrey Bianchi	Jeffrey Bianchi is the head of the growth team and serves as a portfolio manager at Voya Investment Management for the large cap growth and mid cap growth strategies. When Jeff joined the firm he spent a year as a quantitative analyst before moving to the fundamental equity team where he then worked as an analyst covering the health care, technology industrials sectors for the large cap growth strategies. He joined the large cap growth portfolio management team in 2000,  was named a portfolio manager on the mid cap growth strategy in 2005 and was named a portfolio manager on the strategy in 2008. Jeff received a BA in economics, a BS in finance, and an MA in economics from the University of Connecticut and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation
Ms. Heather Daly	Heather Daly is the Director of Economic Education Programs in Outreach & Education at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2015, Heather was the Senior Director of Executive MBA Admissions at New York University Stern School of Business. Before her 9-year tenure in MBA admissions at NYU Stern, Heather spent nearly a decade with Lucent Technologies (currently Nokia Bell Labs), where she lead the Network Solutions Strategy & Planning group, and had progressive experience in product management, competitive intelligence, and product marketing. Heather earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University
Ms. Kelly Pierre-Louis	With nearly 2 decades of Marketing and Strategic Development experience, Kelly T. Pierre-Louis is a leading force as a serial entrepreneur and Marketing Executive. Her passion for changing narratives and shifting the misconceptions within the communities & demographics she has an affinity for is evident in the work that she has created and implemented within her senior leadership roles at several global media and tech companies. Her specializations include Audience Development & Growth, Consumer Engagement & Retention and Brand Optimization within the digital, mobile, tech and multi-media spaces.  A graduate of the University of Connecticut and Iona College, this former college professor runs her businesses as a Marketing & Digital Strategist for some of today’s top media and tech brands while she serves as Founder of the With Distinction Foundation – a 501 (c)(3) organization,  as well the management firm Neelleven Group, LLC which produces Connecticut’s fastest growing business event – The “In Real Life” Conference (#IRLCONN).
Mr. Matthew Regan	Matthew Regan graduated from UConn in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Business Fundamentals. He currently works for The Benefit Practice, a consulting firm that implements and administers company sponsored retirement plans. As a Defined Contribution Analyst, he works directly with employers, and acts as a resource to answer any questions about the parameters or operations of the firm’s Defined Contribution Retirement Plan, such as a 401(k) Plan. His position also requires the collection of client employee data in order to preform IRS non-discrimination testing, calculate annual contribution amounts, and to prepare required government filing and participant disclosure forms. This is to ensure that each client’s retirement plan complies with current regulations while satisfying the client’s goals.  While an undergraduate at UConn, Matt worked part time for the Department of Dining Services at McMahon Dining Hall, beginning as a general student employee until eventually progressing to Student Manager. He also worked with Professor Harmon as a research assistant. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and bass with his friends.
Moderator: Oskar Harmon	Professor Harmon has been in the role of associate professor of economics at UConn since 1994.  He offered the first course of Principles of Economics in an online format at UConn in 2004. He has served as co-manager of the UConn Stamford FED Challenge Team since 2016.   He was a recipient of the UConn Grillo Teaching Award 2012, and the UConn Chancellor’s Information Technology Award 2000