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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 3,700 alumni worldwide annually.

Alumni Board President Message

Dear GPS Fellow Alumni and Current Degree Candidates,

This is an important year for the GPS Alumni Board as we expand the board size and execute the important work of supporting Dean Caroline Freund’s Strategic Plan.

At the end of last year, several long-time members retired from the board and now contribute as emeritus members. Thank you to outgoing president Jason Kim ’12, Darcy Cook ’91, and Liliana Pao ’12 for your service! To meet our board membership target, we are adding seven new members, more than doubling the board size. These new members bring new energy and unique backgrounds to the work at hand, and I am grateful for the time and resources they are dedicating.

Following the first year of Dean Freund’s Strategic Plan, which spans from 2022-2027, we have focused the Board’s Strategy Support Plan on specific goals:

  • Affirm GPS’s position as a top international affairs and public policy school
  • Be recognized for specific areas of excellence and our unique competitive advantage
  • Attract the best in class and a more diverse student body
  • Expand active stakeholders' support of GPS
  • Ensure a prominent position in the UC San Diego system worthy of additional investment

The board has defined fundraising, career workshop hosting, admissions support, social media and other goals that are spearheaded by individual members. The board has always had a unique structure and role within the GPS community, and that is especially true this year with the added goals to support the Strategic Plan. Please sign up to receive the school newsletter to stay up to date on all of our progress. I also encourage you to participate in the Triton Table Talks career development series, consider UC San Diego Extension courses, and join the GPS LinkedIn group and UC San Diego’s Tritons Connect to stay connected to GPS and your classmates after graduation.

As alumni board members, we serve as a central conduit between the GPS alumni community and the school. Feel free to reach out to me or other board members with your ideas and feedback. Also, I invite you to consider joining the board next year (2024-25) as a way to help GPS to meet its goals and to reconnect with our community.

Best regards,
Peter Moritzburke ’96
GPS Alumni Board President

Board members

  • Marianne Batista '15, ByteDance/TikTok (San Francisco)

    Marianne Batista '15, ByteDance/TikTok (San Francisco)

    Marianne Batista is a political scientist working for a fair and safe internet. As a policy manager at ByteDance/TikTok, Batista develops and implements guidelines for user-generated content on topics like fake news, hate speech and youth safety, always striving to provide a healthy platform where people can freely express their creativity and diversity. She received accolades for her work for the 2022 Brazilian general elections, where she led the strategy for detection of misinformation and coordinated the efforts to ensure the highest quality human moderation of election-related content. At ByteDance/TikTok, Batista also supports the development of new products and collaborates with global and local teams responding to media and government demands.

    Born and raised in Brazil, Batista’s background is a mix of academia, international business and technology. She was a teaching and research assistant for economics and political science courses at UC San Diego and the University of Pittsburgh. She helped hundreds of Argentinian companies enter the Brazilian market, and she provided expert guidance on product operations for Indeed.com in Portuguese-speaking countries.

    At the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, Batista focused on international politics and economics in Latin America. She received the Joseph Grunwald Award for her work with the Latin American Student Organization, and she also volunteered with the San Diego World Affairs Council.
  • Eeshita Chib ‘22, Harbor Research (Denver/Long Beach)

    Eeshita Chib ‘22, Harbor Research (Denver/Long Beach)

    Eeshita Chib is currently a strategy associate at Harbor Research, where her role encompasses an understanding of emerging technologies, markets and business characteristics. Her focus also extends to the management and organizational challenges companies face when adopting and developing digital and smart systems. She holds a master's degree in international affairs, with dual specialization in international politics and management and a focus on Southeast Asia, from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy . She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Delhi University.
  • 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, UC San Diego Extension International Programs

    Gwendolyne Guzman Rose ’18, UC San Diego Extension International Programs

    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 currently sits on the board of directors for Study California, an association established by the U.S. Commercial Services to promote California higher education globally. 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, Redflow (Oakland)

    Mark Higgins '04, Redflow (Oakland)

    Mark Higgins has spent his career focused on accelerating the global transition to carbon-free energy. He is currently the president and chief commercial officer of Redflow, where he oversees the company's North American operations and runs the global business development, marketing and product development teams. Prior to his role at Redflow, Mark was the chief operations officer 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.
  • 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 is the senior manager of research at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC). In this role, he works with and through companies in San Diego’s key industries, contributing to research and strategic initiatives related to inclusive economic development.

    Martinez was chosen as a Senate Fellow in 2013 and has seven years of public policy experience in California state and local government. Martinez received his bachelor’s degree in communication from California State University, Monterey Bay. He earned his master’s degree in international relations, with a regional focus on Latin America, at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Martinez is also a board member for Chicano Federation of San Diego County and has served as a student mentor at Reality Changers, which supports first generation college students.
  • Peter Moritzburke ’96, AEP Energy (San Francisco)

    Peter Moritzburke ’96, AEP Energy (San Francisco)

    Peter F. Moritzburke has worked in traditional and renewable power development, water resources, and energy market and strategy consulting for over 25 years. Currently Peter is helping convert AEP’s power coal and natural gas-fired power plant fleet to renewable energy. Prior to AEP, Peter founded MEC Development, an energy consultancy, and Aguanaut, a groundwater desalination startup. Until April 2017, as Vice President at E.ON North America, Peter was responsible for solar and energy storage project development, strategy, and policy. Prior to joining E.ON he worked with SunPower's Utility and Power Plants group on projects in North America and Latin America. Previously as VP, Operations with BESST, a water services startup, Peter developed new technologies and services for groundwater monitoring and production, managed startup company operations, and co-invented six technology patents. With Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA, now part of IHS) he managed power and natural gas research and consulting services for western North America. Peter holds a master's degree in International Business Management (GPS) and bachelor's degree in International Relations (UC Davis), is proficient in Spanish and has worked and studied in Mexico and Spain.
  • 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.
  • Kevin Trepa ’05, Oregon Tool (Portland)

    Kevin Trepa ’05, Oregon Tool (Portland)

    Kevin Trepa is currently the chief supply chain officer at Oregon Tool. Prior to this role, he was the chief information office and senior vice president for Blount International’s global supply chain. Further, Trepa led the Global Sales team for five years at Leupold & Stevens and was the vice president of the global supply chain at Sony Electronics. He also served for 24 years in the United States Marine Corps in both the active and reserve components. Trepa served as Chief of Current Operations for General Petraeus in Baghdad in 2007. He retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel in 2009.

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)