Team

President

Samantha Simon

Samantha Simon is a second-year FT MBA student at USC Marshall School of Business. Prior to joining The Trojan Family, Samantha earned her degree from Scripps College where she fell in love with the entertainment industry as a way of telling stories and communicating about social impact on a global scale.

After college, Samantha moved to New York City where she worked for four years at Allied Global Marketing, an entertainment/lifestyle agency. There, she led the marketing and publicity campaigns for film studio clients including Paramount Pictures, Amazon Studios, Netflix, and Disney. She later transitioned to American Express where she worked on a marketing team that fostered the ongoing partnership between Amex and Amazon.

Missing the entertainment industry and eager to learn more about the quantitative side of the business landscape, Samantha enrolled at Marshall and threw herself into the community. In her first year, she served as the Chief of Staff for BEA, as the Community AVP for the Marshall Graduate Student Association, and as a Marshall Leadership Fellow. In her free time, Samantha enjoys devouring film and TV, bobbing around to live music, and traveling with her MBA cohort.

This summer, Samantha will be interning at Roku focusing on Business Strategy for their devices team.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-mea-simon/

Email: samantha.simon.2024@Marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I once tossed the coin at a Seahawks Game!

Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs)

Molly Schoppert

EVP, Entrepreneurship & Emerging Tech

Molly Schoppert is an MBA candidate and Forte Fellow. Prior to USC, she leveraged her marketing skills at Oracle and PwC. In parallel, she also worked on several music festivals including Stagecoach and Coachella. She is passionate about the intersection of emerging technology and entertainment so it is only fitting that this Summer Molly will be a strategy intern at TikTok. .

Email: molly.schoppert.2024@marshall.usc.edu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyschoppert

Fun Fact: Growing up, I had a pet Boa Constrictor named Ronaldo.

Peter Johnson

EVP, External Relations

Originally from Tampa, Florida, Peter completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia, with a major in Media Entrepreneurship through the Echols Scholar program. Prior to business school, he worked in strategy consulting for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, helping to develop their human capital onboarding program and automate their processes for the future of national defense. A lifelong cinephile, Peter plans to make a career out of his passion for film and television, a goal which has brought him to Los Angeles and USC Marshall's MBA Program. This spring, he has been working as a film producer with graduate students at the School of Cinematic Arts, and this summer he will be interning at BBC Studios on the Strategy and Business Development team.

In the future, Peter plans to establish an independent film production house that offers industry access and filmmaking opportunities to visionary creatives from non-traditional university film programs. Outside of Marshall, you can find Peter surfing the Southern California coastline or headed to a showing at the downtown Alamo Drafthouse.

Email: peter.johnson.2024@marshall.usc.edu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-h-johnson/

Fun Fact: While on a solo hike through the Dominican Republic's rainforests, I was hunted by a roaming pack of feral dogs!

Laura Márquez

EVP, Membership

Laura Márquez is an MBA candidate and Forté Fellow at USC Marshall. Originally from Bethesda, MD, Laura earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Emory University. Prior to coming to business school, she worked in political campaigns and fundraising. After five years in politics, Laura is eager to leverage her skillset and expertise to pivot into a career in Marketing or Corporate Social Responsibility in the Film and Television industry. This summer, she will be interning at Paramount on the Strategic Planning and Business Development team. Outside of the classroom, you can find Laura at the beach, in a hot yoga class, or catching a comedy show at Largo at the Coronet or The Elysian Theater.

Email: laura.marquez.2024@marshall.usc.edu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquez-laura-p/

Fun Fact: In 2017, I was interviewed by Georgia Public Radio about conspiracy theories! My theory? Jimmy Carter rose to power with help from the Dixie Mafia, a Southern crime syndicate.

Recruiting

Grant Friedheim

VP of Recruiting

Grant hails from Scotland, Texas, and Japan, with a background in organizational management and international consultation. Prior to his MBA at USC, he lead a multinational workforce of over 100 people, operating alongside the Japanese government to drive cultural and education initiatives across the prefecture of Niigata. He has a B.S. in Radio, Television, & Film as well as a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He dreams of merging his love of film with his international background..

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-friedheim-84a077a3

Email: grant.friedheim.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: Worked at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic.

Vi Nguyen

VP of Recruiting

Vi is an MBA candidate pursuing a career in marketing at the intersection of entertainment, lifestyle, and tech. She is obsessed with culture and storytelling, and has worked a variety of roles ranging from brand manager at a talent agency, to working as a managing editor for lifestyle publications covering the realms of music, food & cocktails, and film & TV. As a publicist, she was lucky to have worked behind the scenes at music festivals such as Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, and Wonderfruit - Thailand. She most recently interned at Dolby on their brand marketing team, working on the music & podcast category. Vi is passionate about advocating for better representation in entertainment and the broader creator landscape and firmly believes in paying it forward.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vixnguyen/

Email: vi.nguyen.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: USC is the 12th school I've attended in life! I moved to the U.S. from Australia when I was 15.

Alumni Engagement & External Relations

Christina Ingraldi

VP of Alumni Engagement & External Relations

Christina Ingraldi an MBA candidate, Consortium and Forté Fellow at USC Marshall. She is a proud, curly-haired Puerto Rican/Italian woman originally from Westchester, NY. Christina earned her undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to business school, she worked in consulting and corporate strategy. After five years in the corporate world, Christina is excited to leverage her expertise to pivot into a career in the Film and Television industry. She is eager to bridge her creative and strategic skillset and pursue roles in Producing or Content Strategy space. Her dream is to be a television showrunner/producer. This spring, she is interning in Business Development and Strategic Planning at Madison Wells Media, an independent entertainment company that partners with creatives to bring overlooked stories and storytellers to life. This summer, she will be interning at Roku as a Strategic Content Delivery intern for The Roku Channel. Outside of the classroom, you can find Christina hiking, salsa dancing, playing board games, or watching an obscene amount of television (give me your fantasy, YA, adventure, spy, or comedy recs)!

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-ingraldi/

Email: christina.ingraldi.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I'm on a quest to visit all 50 states. I've been to 33 so far!

Kyle Zarriello

VP of Alumni Engagement & External Relations

Kyle was born and raised in Long Island, NY before moving to Boston to attend Boston College where he studied marketing, management, and film. While at Boston College, Kyle started to work for film festivals in the Northeast helping studio executives develop relationships with show runners and promoting the festivals via digital marketing. Upon graduating, he worked in SaaS technology as a marketing strategist. During this time, Kyle worked freelance with production company Buffalo 8 as a marketing consultant. While at USC, Kyle continued his work at Buffalo 8 as a Distribution and Content Strategy intern in the Fall and hopes to work in Media and Entertainment upon graduating. Beyond his professional life, Kyle loves to surf, go to the movies, ski, and attend concerts. Hit him up to chat about movies, music, fashion, art, the NY Rangers, bagels, or any comedians you've seen!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-zarriello/

Email: kyle.zarriello.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I swam on the Varsity swim team at Boston College!

Sports

Nate Wathan

VP of Sports

Nate, a naturally curious person, graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in Anthropology hoping to better understand how people engage with the world. After college, he explored the intersection of culture and food, from spice shops to fine dining, and then transitioned into education, teaching high school English and math. While working in education, Nate saw how connecting sports to the learning process increased student engagement and was generally just more fun to talk about. As such, he decided to go back to school and explore the intersection of business and sports! Nate will be serving as Vice President of Sports for the Business of Entertainment Association (BEA), the President of Marshall Soccer Club (MSC), and Vice President of Technology & Digital for the MBA Sports Business Alliances (MBA SBA). Nate is an avid Liverpool supporter (for better or worse), and he can usually be found in the supporters section of BMO Stadium on weekends cheering on Angel City FC and LAFC. He looks forward to helping Marshall students interested in the sports industry or just wanting to talk about last night's game!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntwathen/

Email: nate.wathen.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: Awarded Most Inquisitive for his soccer team when he was 12, combining his two favorite things: asking questions and playing soccer.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Chris Liang

VP of DEI

Originally from Taiwan, Chris moved to the US for his Bachelors at the University of Washington before pursuing a career in his lifelong passion: Film & TV. Though Chris started out his career in film development, he has since expanded his resume through roles in production and marketing, and has even acted as extras on various sets. Intrigued by the business aspect of the industry, Chris chose to pursue an MBA at USC Marshall in hopes of one day marrying his creative pursuits with his growing business repertoire as a Film Producer. When not watching a film, Chris can be found catching a Lakers game at Crypto.com (sigh) Arena, feasting on Korean BBQ with a party of 30, and dancing to the latest K-pop routines in front of his occasionally-cleaned bathroom mirror. His favorite auteurs include: Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson, Ang Lee, Denis Villeneuve, Guillermo del Toro, Bong Joon-Ho, and the newly Oscar-crowed Daniels.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopherliang0507/

Email: christopher.liang.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I can devour 40 dumplings in one go!

Education & Case Competitions

Shaina Raskin

VP of Education & Case Competitions

Shaina Raskin is in the full time program in the Class of 2024. Prior to her MBA, Shaina was a Director of Marketing for a cybersecurity company. Her ultimate goal is to work in corporate strategy in entertainment helping organizations adopt the future of technology while ensuring that the inspirational stories we know and love are not lost. This summer, Shaina will be interning in consulting at EY Parthenon in the Los Angeles office. Shaina loves to bake, travel, and her favorite movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shainaraskin/

Email: shaina.raskin.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: Shaina is a former collegiate golfer.

Elizabeth Cameron

VP of Education & Case Competitions

Elizabeth Cameron is a filmmaker and avid skier raised between Hamilton, MA and Incline Village, NV. Room and Board, the short documentary she wrote and directed, premiered at the Mammoth Film Festival in March 2023, and her prior credits include Previsualization and VFX Production roles on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Free Guy (2021), and Carnival Row Season 2 (2023). Elizabeth holds a B.A. in Mathematics with a minor in Comparative Literature from Northwestern University. She is now an MBA candidate at USC Marshall, focusing on entrepreneurship and the business of entertainment.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-cameron1/

Email: elizabeth.cameron.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I started college at St Andrews in Scotland before transferring back stateside.

Community

Del McSpadden

VP of Community

Del is a full-time MBA Student at USC Marshall. He also completed an undergrad degree in marketing and management at Belmont University, where he was a member of the track and field team as well. Prior to Marshall in business development for PepsiCo. At Marshall, Del is a Marshall Ambassador, EVP for Black Graduate Business Leaders and VP of partnerships for Marshall Pride. Post MBA he plans to begin his career in strategy consulting where he can leverage his expanded business acumen to find creative solutions to complex problems. He will be interning at EY Parthenon as a strategy consultant this summer.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/del-mcspadden/

Email: delfon.mcspadden.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I completed against olympians in undergrad.

Abuoma (Aby) Nwadike

VP of Community

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Abuoma is a Forte Fellow at USC Marshall class of 2024. Her expertise lies in entertainment having worked in Film and Music in Nigeria prior to going Marshall. She has also mostly worked at tech startups so possesses the agility and initiative necessary to excel in that space. Abuoma is particularly interested in the intersection of entertainment and tech and will be interning at Google over the summer. In her free time, you can find her watching K-drama, cooking and listening to Afrobeats.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abuoma-nwadike/

Email: abuoma.nwadike.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I've hiked a Volcano once!

Music

Will Clark

VP of Music

Will Clark is an MBA candidate at USC Marshall, Class of 2024. Prior to his MBA, Will worked for 5 years in the entertainment industry, first in film finance at Legendary Entertainment, and then in film development at Columbia Pictures. Will also writes, produces, and releases electronic music under the alias Wilt Claybourne. Will aims to move into the Music Industry in a partnerships or strategy role.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkwilliam/

Email: william.clark.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I can walk on my hands!

Zac Schwartz

VP of Music

Zac is an MBA candidate in the USC Marshall class of 2024. He is a project manager and data analyst, passionate about enabling entertainment firms to support their clients in maximizing their outreach and diversifying their revenue streams. By using data to uncover new opportunities, innovate novel pathways, and restructure compensation models, Zac seeks to help artists, athletes and creators of all types take advantage of the increasing confluence of entertainment and technology. He is excited and honored to continue his studies as a member of the full time MBA class of 2024 at The University of Southern California - Marshall, to hone his skills in pursuit of opportunities to continue to positively impact artists and the many other professionals comprising the entertainment ecosystem.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharybschwartz/

Email: zachary.schwartz.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I have a 17 year old cat and a 30 year old turtle.

Marketing & Public Relations

Malavika Vadali

VP of Marketing & PR

Originally an east coast girlie, Malavika earned her undergrad from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Management Information Systems. Prior to joining USC Marshall, she worked in cybersecurity at Deutsche Bank where she was apart of the North Americas team running various risk assessment initiatives. Not only will Malavika be serving as Vice President of Marketing and PR in The Business of Entertainment Association (BEA), but also will be serving as Co-President of Marshall Gives Back (MGB). Post-MBA, she hopes to work in brand partnership marketing within the entertainment space. In her spare time she likes to workout, watch movies, come up with Bollywood fusion dances, hangout with friends, and loves to throw a good party. She loves making new friends in and out of school, so feel free to say hi!

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/malavikavadali

Email: malavika.vadali.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I met Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Holland, and Blake Lively at various movie premieres!

Finance & Strategy

Ilayda Sekercioglu

VP of Finance and Strategy

Ilayda Sekercioglu (she/her) is an MBA Candidate and Forté Fellow at USC Marshall, Class of 2024. Prior to her MBA, Ilayda worked as a Global Client Executive at Gallagher - the 3rd largest risk management consulting firm in the world - where she specialized in commerical property and casualty services for global companies. Her clients were multinational middle market and Fortune 500 companies from tech, entertainment, industrials, healthcare, CPGs, and aerospace. While there, she generated global opportunities for her company, assisted clients with their M&A activities, advised on their global operations, led marketing efforts (including negotiating, overseeing, closing and implementing deals) for her multinational clients. She was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey before heading to the school across the town to pursue B.S. in Biochemistry. In her free time, Ilayda enjoys hanging out with friends, discovering new restaurants, going to concerts, going on hikes, playing video games, dancing, binging crime/thriller content and supporting local LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC businesses.

Ilayda is passionate about creating an inclusive and equitable landscape for individual progress in business and society. Her ultimate goal is to use her diverse brokerage and consulting experience to build a successful career in entertainment as a fierce advocate for artists globally and help them build their own empires.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ilaydasekercioglu

Email: ilayda.sekercioglu.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: I like going down rabbit hole of theoretical physics on YouTube.

Conferences

Claudia Barrán Gervaz

VP of Conferences

Claudia is producer from Montevideo, Uruguay. She holds a BA in Cinema Studies from NYU Tisch and has worked as a film and television producer for National Lampoon, ESHAP TV, as well as her own independent production company. She most recently launched Adapt Entertainment, a company that created an AI neural rendering process to synchronize dubbed films. She is currently pursuing an MBA at USC and plans to continue championing international content on a global scale.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-barran/

Email: claudia.barrangervaz.2024@marshall.usc.edu

Fun Fact: AMC A-List Aficionado