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Your Alumni Board

Members of the board are elected by the alumni and meet throughout the year to establish, in collaboration with the dean and UC San Diego Alumni, the goals and objectives for the school. The board assists the staff in the implementation of programs for more than 4,200 alumni worldwide annually.

Alumni Board President's Message

Dear fellow GPS alumni and current students,

As business, government and nonprofit leaders seek to navigate a rapidly changing geopolitical and technoeconomic environment, the value of the GPS degree and the thought leadership of GPS faculty and alumni couldn’t be more clear. The GPS Alumni Board plays a pivotal role in connecting alumni across classes, geographies, and industries, and in connecting our alumni with faculty and current students. The GPS Alumni Board is excited to continue our long tradition of supporting GPS, the dean and all of you — our alumni community.

Last year under the leadership of David Noel ’14, the Alumni Board played a critical and timely role in connecting alumni navigating their professional careers amidst shifting geopolitical sands, in collecting alumni feedback on how GPS can support them through their lifelong careers, and in connecting GPS program staff and students with alumni to strengthen our diverse and far-reaching community. I’d like to thank David for his strong leadership and commitment to serving the GPS community.

I’d also like to congratulate our new officers: Charlie Vest, who will serve as Vice President, and Gwen Guzman Rose, who will serve as Secretary. We appreciate your service!

Our focus this year will build on last year’s successful efforts. We will continue to provide support to Dean Freund’s Strategic Plan, while building communication channels with faculty and staff, and creating more touchpoints between the alumni community and the GPS career center, GPS executive education program, and the GPS admissions team.

We also encourage everyone to stay connected to GPS by signing up for the school’s newsletter, joining GPS’s new Career and Professional Development new dedicated online platform, participating in Career Center Alumni Virtual Office Hours, enrolling in UC San Diego Extension courses, and joining the GPS LinkedIn group and UC San Diego Alumni network to connect with fellow GPS alums.

Please reach out if you have ideas or questions, or if you just want to plug back into GPS!

Thank you all for your continued support of GPS. Regardless of where in the world you are and how long it has or has not been, we welcome you to connect back with your GPS community!

Mark Higgins ‘04
President, GPS Alumni Board

Board members

  • Isabella Cai ’14, Y Montessori (San Diego)

    Isabella Cai ’14, Y Montessori (San Diego)

    Isabella Cai is the founder and CEO of Y Montessori, a startup dedicated to revolutionizing educational solutions, supporting the holistic development of children by fostering seamless partnerships between schools and homes. Before founding Y Montessori in October 2023, Isabella spent over seven years at Qualcomm, where she held various roles in project management and data analysis.

    Cai began her career as a management trainee at Johnson & Johnson, where she gained a profound understanding of cross-functional cooperation by rotating through multiple departments. In 2012, she left Johnson & Johnson to attend the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), focusing her studies on international management and international relations. She received a Master of Politics and International Affairs degree from GPS in 2014.

    After graduating, she joined the Open Mobile Alliance, where she led the “Go-To China’s Business Plan” program, successfully increasing market awareness and building a robust member profile in the Greater China region. She also attended Y Combinator’s Startup School in June 2022, further honing her entrepreneurial skills. Cai is grateful for the support and assistance received from GPS and its alumni network throughout her career. She aims to bring her diverse experiences in the nonprofit, private and startup sectors to the GPS Alumni Board, serving both alumni and current students.
  • Andrés Gentry '07, Morgan Stanley (Sunnyvale)

    Andrés Gentry '07, Morgan Stanley (Sunnyvale)

    Andrés Gentry is a due diligence and compliance professional who is currently a consultant at Morgan Stanley. He previously worked at FTI Consulting in a series of positions with escalating responsibility, finishing as a managing director in the firm's global risk and investigations practice. He first joined FTI immediately after graduating from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, working primarily in its Hong Kong office until being transferred to its Shanghai office in 2009. He left FTI for four years to help establish and develop the forensics service practice at Grant Thornton Shanghai before returning to FTI's Shanghai office, where he managed a team that assisted clients with a wide range of investigatory matters. After almost 20 years outside of the U.S., he returned in 2019 and took a work sabbatical to spend time with his family and travel across the country. In 2021, he joined Morgan Stanley, where he continues to work on compliance matters.
  • Gwendolyne Guzman Rose ’18, IELTS USA (San Diego)

    Gwendolyne Guzman Rose ’18, IELTS USA (San Diego)

    Gwendolyne Guzman Rose has worked in international higher education for the last 17 years specializing in international relations and business development. She oversees recruiting students and establishing collaborations with universities and companies from all over the world into a portfolio of visiting student programs. She has traveled to over 60 countries for work, and she has lived and studied abroad in Spain and Thailand. Guzman Rose sits on the board of directors for Study California, an association established by the U.S. Commercial Services to promote California higher education globally. Currently, she is Director of Business Development and Outreach, IELTS USA. She has been a member of various international education associations such as NAFSA: Association for International Educators, the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Asia Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE). Guzman Rose received her bachelor’s degree in public relations with a minor in Spanish from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
  • Mark Higgins '04, Mana Pacific (San Francisco Bay Area)

    Mark Higgins '04, Mana Pacific (San Francisco Bay Area)

    Mark Higgins has spent his career focused on accelerating the global transition to carbon-free energy. He is currently the CEO of Mana Pacific, a company deploying renewable energy projects across Pacific Island communities. Prior to his current role, he was the President and CCO of Redflow, where he led North American operations and ran global business development, marketing and product development efforts. Mark also served as the COO and a board member of Strategen, a consultancy advising regulators, renewable energy developers, utilities and companies on how to accelerate adoption of technologies that enable a clean grid. He previously served as the chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, was on the board of the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council, and held numerous other roles in venture capital, private equity, project development and regulatory affairs. He is also currently a volunteer for the Surfrider Foundation’s San Mateo chapter and was previously on the board of City Slicker Farms, an urban farm in Oakland, California.
  • Chenyu (Isabelle) Ho '07, InComm Payments (Shanghai/ Taipei)

    Chenyu (Isabelle) Ho '07, InComm Payments (Shanghai/ Taipei)

    Isabelle Ho is currently working as an APAC business development director with InComm Payments. She has dedicated her time to the financial and consultancy sectors since graduating from GPS in 2007. Her job gave her opportunities to work with teams and partners from different countries including the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the UK. She credits what she learned at GPS with helping her better take on the challenges across regions. Due to work, she has been living and working between Shanghai and Taipei for the past 15 years. She is also an active member of both the Taipei and Shanghai Triton alumni clubs.
  • Jana Hopkins, MIA ’17, California Public Utilities Commission (San Francisco)

    Jana Hopkins, MIA ’17, California Public Utilities Commission (San Francisco)

    Jana Hopkins works in consumer protection and utility enforcement in the energy, water, telecommunications and passenger transportation industries, and she also develops policy and initiatives to advocate for equitable resources for Californians. Prior to her service for the state, she worked as a process excellence manager at Encore Capital Group in San Diego, and she taught English in Takasaki, Japan, for two years as part of the Japan Exchange Teaching Programme. In addition to serving on the GPS Alumni Board, Jana is also a board member of the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association.

    She holds a Master’s in International Affairs with Japan and China regional focuses from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, and dual bachelor’s degrees — one in sociology, the other in Chinese language and literature, with a Japanese minor — from UC Berkeley. Her current hobbies are practicing Japanese floral arranging (ikebana), learning languages (currently Korean) and planning for her next trip abroad.
  • Christie Carmelle Lopez ‘05, Deloitte (Los Angeles)

    Christie Carmelle Lopez ‘05, Deloitte (Los Angeles)

    Christie Carmelle Lopez is an author and higher education consultant and manager for Deloitte. She has worked in government and higher education for two decades.

    A former U.S. diplomat, Lopez holds a master’s degree in international relations from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, as well as an MBA in international business from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. She spent years living abroad while working as a foreign service officer at the U.S. Embassy in London. When she returned to California, Lopez earned a degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and served as an adjunct faculty member teaching global business operations, international relations and negotiations, and business ethics.

    Lopez is a lifelong learner and loves sharing her knowledge through writing. She recently published a book on personal effectiveness for students and adult learners. Over the past 20 years, she has written for various print and online newspapers, magazines and journals, including The Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
  • Teddy Martinez ’19, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) (San Diego)

    Teddy Martinez ’19, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) (San Diego)

    Teddy Martinez brings expertise in public policy, research and economics to his role at the San Diego Workforce Partnership, where he focuses on aligning data, policy and partnerships to drive systems-level change and advance equitable economic outcomes.

    Prior to joining SDWP, Martinez served as the manager of research at the San Diego Regional EDC, leading research and strategic initiatives designed to build a more inclusive regional economy. In this role, he tracked jobs, talent and affordability trends to equip decision-makers with insights that informed new investments and policies related to housing, childcare and business growth. Earlier in his career, Martinez held policy and communications roles in the California State Legislature and at the City of San Diego, contributing to legislative and budgetary initiatives that improved the lives of communities across the state.
  • David Noel ’14, JPMorgan Chase (Dallas/Houston)

    David Noel ’14, JPMorgan Chase (Dallas/Houston)

    David Noel is a Vice President of Digital Product Strategy at JPMorgan Chase where he helps the bank to develop, pilot and market new digital products and financial technology partnerships. He was previously the founder of WorldSprout, an education technology platform connecting middle and high school students with international cultures. He also co-founded Red Phoenix Entertainment, a sports agency that secured Chinese, Japanese and Korean corporate endorsements for professional sports teams.

    Noel was previously an operational excellence manager and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and the Banc of California, where he led operational efficiency programs. At GPS, Noel led Export Access Global Consulting and the Environmental Policy Business Forum. He previously lived and taught English in Liaoning, China. He earned his master’s from GPS with a regional focus on China and his bachelor’s in economics from UC Santa Barbara.
  • Anne Shiraishi ‘11, HXE Partners (New York City)

    Anne Shiraishi ‘11, HXE Partners (New York City)

    Anne Shiraishi has more than a decade of experience in ESG and sustainability management, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications across various industries. She is currently a senior director at HXE Partners, a Morrow Sodali company, helping corporate and investor clients develop, manage and integrate sustainability best practices within their organizations, as well as earn recognition for their efforts through effective communication and disclosure.

    Prior to joining HXE Partners, Shiraishi led brand and communications at an emerging enterprise software solution for ESG data and reporting, represented institutional investors at a shareholder engagement services firm, and led stakeholder engagement projects as part of PwC's Charitable Foundation and Corporate Responsibility teams.

    Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of British Columbia, a master’s degree in international management and environmental policy from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and an MBA from HEC Montréal. She is a SASB Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential Holder.
  • Hrishikesh (Hrishi) Somani ’16, Tealbox Digital, Evum (Ahmedabad, India)

    Hrishikesh (Hrishi) Somani ’16, Tealbox Digital, Evum (Ahmedabad, India)

    Hrishikesh (Hrishi) Somani is the co-founder and Director of Operations at Tealbox Digital LLC, a performance marketing and data analytics company with offices in Austin, Texas, and Indore, India. He works with various healthcare and software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Thailand, Singapore and the EU. His company helps businesses build robust data infrastructure to capture and report their marketing data accurately, and then helps them run paid media campaigns across various digital platforms. He has been building Tealbox for over five years, before which he worked at Nielsen as a quantitative analyst in their Ho Chi Minh City office under David Levitch, a fellow GPS alumnus.

    After his year-and-a-half stint in Vietnam, he returned home to India to build Tealbox. He is also the co-founder of EVUM, a healthy snacking e-commerce brand that focuses on Tier 1 cities in India. Similarly, Hrishi is in the process of building a creative production house in India that will cater to the digital creative production needs of international businesses.

    At GPS, Hrishi led the Export Access Global Consulting club, and he finished his Master of International Affairs program with a regional focus on Southeast Asia.
  • Charlie Vest ’19, Rhodium Group (New York City)

    Charlie Vest ’19, Rhodium Group (New York City)

    Charlie Vest is an associate director for corporate advisory at Rhodium Group, an independent research and advisory firm, where he contributes to the firm’s research on China’s economy, U.S. tech and economic policy toward China, and cross-strait relations. Vest is a nonresident research fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research. He previously worked in China as a researcher for the China Energy Storage Alliance, a Beijing-based clean-energy trade association.

    He holds a master’s degree in Chinese Economic and Political Affairs from GPS and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Colorado State University, with exchanges at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Past presidents

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    Past Presidents

    We would like to acknowledge and thank the past presidents for their service.

    Rebecca Eyre, MPIA '90 (1991 – 1993)
    Mark Spalding, MPIA '92 (1993 – 1996)
    Mike Stankiewicz, MPIA '94 (1996 – 1998)
    Heather Shepard, MPIA '95 (1998 – 2000)
    Jennifer Kellogg, MPIA '93 (2000 – 2002)
    Melissa Dennis, MPIA '97 (2002 – 2004)
    David Freitas, MPIA '97 (2004 – 2006)
    Matt Hill, MPIA '04 (2006 – 2008)
    Ben Bahney, MPIA '06 (2008 – 2009)
    Anne Craib, MPIA '93 (2009 – 2010)
    Brooke Partridge, MPIA '91 (2010 – 2013)
    Jeff Rector, MPIA '97 (2013 – 2016)
    Aaron Jacobson, MPIA ’08 (2016 – 2018)
    Blake Tye, MPIA '10 (2018 – 2020)
    Liliana Pao, MPIA '02 (2020 – 2021)
    Jessica Megill, MPIA '10 (2021 – 2022)
    Jason Kim, MAS-IA '12 (2022 – 2023)
    Peter Moritzburke, '96 (2023 – 2024)