John is currently a Sr. Bioanalytical Research Scientist for Cargill’s Global Food Research Group. Prior to Cargill, John completed a 2-year Post-Doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

John received his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Mississippi. Currently, he is pursuing an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis in consulting and strategy. In addition to serving as a student leader at Carlson, John is also active in the community. He is co-founder of the Twin Cities Black Employee Network, an active member of NBMBAA-TC, board member of Sabathani Community Center, volunteer of Big Brothers Big Sisters and nationally active member of his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. 

Program:  Part-Time MBA, May 2010.   Emphasis in Consulting and Entrepreneurship

Contact:  satum002@umn.edu

Cherise is currently the Owner of Rachel Reese and Associates, LLC. Rachel Reese and Associates is a consulting firm established to provide professional human resources consulting to organizations and career consulting to professionals.  RRA provide clients with innovative HR solutions and superior career counseling.

Prior to Rachel Reese and Associates, LLC, Cherise was the Senior US Diversity Consultant with Cargill, Inc.  At Cargill, Ms. Vincent was responsible for diversity recruitment/retention strategies and initiatives throughout the organization within the US as well as implementing a business unit diversity scorecard for over 70 business units to track diversity progress within the business units globally.  Cherise was also responsible for community partnerships within the Hispanic, Asian, African-American, and GLBT communities.  

Cherise received her B.A. in Speech Communications from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and is currently pursuing her Executive MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  Currently, Ms. Vincent is an active member of the Twin Cities Human Resource Association, National Resume Writers Association, National and Twin Cities Black MBA Association, National Association of African-Americans in Human Resources (VP of Membership), Black Graduate Business Student Association (VP of Communications and PR), National Association of Women MBA’s (Director of Community Relations), and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
 

Program:  Executive MBA, May 2010. 

Contact:  vinc0023@umn.edu

Jayme is a May 2010 full-time MBA candidate with emphases in marketing and general management.  Prior to attending the Carlson School, Jayme worked for General Electric partnering with cross-functional teams to price R&D contracts, performing strategic industry evaluations, operational and financial reviews, and valuation analyses.

Program: Full-Time MBA, May 2010.  Emphases in Marketing and General Management

Contact: schne879@umn.edu

Ben is currently the Funding Team Supervisor at the settlement division of Rels, which specializes in divesting distressed assets for secondary market investors on behalf of Wells Fargo NA. Prior to joining Rels, Ben worked as an Underwriter at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and as a Credit Risk Analyst at Best Buy Inc.

Ben received his BS in Finance from Metropolitan States University in MN and is currently pursuing his MBA at the Carlson School of Management. Ben is a member of the Carlson Student Ambassadors and Ventures Plus associations and is interested in entrepreneurial activities particularly in emerging economies. Through different affiliations Ben volunteers his spare time towards church events and activities that enhance educational opportunities for the underprivileged through mentoring and coordinating fundraisers. Currently, he is working with the SHESA-MN group to create an endowment fund to help with providing improved opportunities for the underprivileged in underdeveloped countries

Program: Part-Time MBA, December 2009.  Emphases in Finance and Strategic Management.

David is currently employed at ECMC (Education Credit Management Corporation) in the Bankruptcy Department‘s Closed Case Unit. The work is primarily servicing accounts of student loan debtors specifically those in an active bankruptcy case.

David received his BS in Biology at the University of Minnesota at the College of Biological Sciences. Currently, he is pursuing an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in the part-time program.

Program: Part-Time MBA, May 2011.  

LaReisha is currently the owner of Impetus Designs, LLC, a marketing and design firm that works with organizations to promote their event, product, or service through the development of promotional/marketing materials and/or marketing strategies. Some of her past clients include the NAACP, the University of St. Thomas, the Assembly of Architects, the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce, and Kraus Anderson Construction Company. Prior to starting Impetus Designs, LaReisha worked for Hoffman Enclosures in various Marketing and Marketing Communications roles.

LaReisha earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis in Psychology and the Sociology of Law, Criminology and Deviance. Currently, she is pursuing an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis in Marketing. In addition to serving as a student leader at Carlson, LaReisha is also active in the community. She is a board member for KMOJ radio/the Center for Communication and Development; she is Co-chair of the Leadership and Education Committee of the Greater Twin Cities United Way Emerging Leaders Program; and she is a long-time volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters. She is also a member of the National and Twin Cities Black MBA Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 

Program: Part-Time MBA, May 2010.  Emphasis in Marketing.

Contact: sugg0003@umn.edu

As Cargill’s Director of Community Involvement, Tomme Beevas supports corporate-sponsored employee and retiree engagement programs including Cargill’s annual $11.5 million United Way campaign, 280 global Cargill Cares Councils, various volunteer recognition awards programs and the natural disaster relief fund.

Prior to joining Cargill, Tomme lived in Washington, DC where he managed the President’s Volunteer Service Award program at the Points of Light Foundation. He’s an experienced fundraiser, with widespread knowledge of community development practices to recover and strengthen underserved communities. His knack for creating non-profit, corporate, and government partnerships served him well in Washington. He has also worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the Center for Corporate Citizenship and Business Strengthening America, a peer-to-peer business campaign, which came out of President George W. Bush’s 2002 Call to Service.

Tomme holds two bachelors from the University of South Florida, one in Political Science and the other in Economics. He also considers himself an expert on free trade and has studied in Spain and his native homeland of Jamaica. Tomme has successfully coupled his interests in world affairs, traveling and serving his community into creating a very rewarding career path. He currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Dara, a book publisher.

Program: Executive MBA, May 2010.