MGSA.PM Executive Board

Taona Elchibegashvili

President

Taona was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, and graduated from Oregon with a BS in Chemical Engineering. She works as a Senior Process Engineer at a battery recycling facility and enjoys the dynamic nature of the manufacturing industry. Additionally, Taona actively champions the empowerment of women, leading a global steering committee at her workplace to foster personal and professional growth for others. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her pup, Dash, who looks like a real-life version of Scrappy Doo. Planning and organizing excursions with her friends and family are a source of genuine joy for Taona, As the MGSA.PM president, she's excited to connect people and make the 2023-2024 academic year unforgettable!

Alexis Chan

VP of Academics

Alexis grew up in Orange County, CA and moved to LA to complete her degree at USC. After graduating with a B.A. in International Relations, Global Business, Alexis earned a B.S. in Food and Nutrition through the University of Alabama (online). After a variety of commercialization and strategy roles at different food companies, she currently works as a program manager for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. She enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, pilates, and spending time with her pets. She's excited to bring positive changes to the PM program!

Pari Javaheri

VP of Alumni Relations

Pari is a third-year MBA.PM student with a background in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. Upon graduating from UCSD, Pari has worked in numerous roles in the Biopharmaceutical industry in an effort to improve patient outcomes in the long term. Today, she works for Novo Nordisk as a Global Sales Manager creating valuable connections with prospective customers and key stakeholders while supporting cross-functional groups including product management, R&D, and marketing for new product launches in-house. Outside of work hours, she is an avid traveler, pickleball enthusiast, and concert connoisseur! As VP of Alumni Relations, Pari intends to bridge the gap between Marshall alumni and the PM student body in an effort to create lasting relationships within the Trojan network!

Angelita Castro

VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Angelita was born and raised in southeast LA, (Maywood) and graduated from UCSB with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Professional Writing for Business Communication. Upon graduating she entered the Healthcare industry and has loved it since. Angelita is currently a Privacy Investigator at a local Health Plan based in Santa Barbara, CA. She has experience in developing and maintaining effective Privacy Programs. Upon graduating, Angelita plans to leverage her MBA degree to ascend into leadership roles within Healthcare Privacy or shift into a DEI Healthcare role.

As a LA native, USC was always her dream school. She describes her time at Marshall as life changing. As VP of DEI, she hopes to influence Marshall in becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all. Outside of her career and Marshall, Angelita enjoys spending time with her Goldendoodle Sol, outdoor cycling, hiking, and practicing yoga.

Brandon Rahman

Co-VP of Events

Brandon is a third-year MBA.PM student with a background in software engineering and product management. When Brandon is not studying for school or working, he enjoys natural wine tastings, managing his cat's (Chubber) social media, and spending time exploring Google Earth. As Co-VP of Events, Brandon is looking forward to planning unique and inclusive large-scale events for the entire MBA.PM program.

Melisa Kocarslan

Co-VP of Events

Melisa is a third-year MBA.PM student with a background in management and computer information systems. She currently works as a producer at 2K. Outside of the program, she spends an exuberant amount of time gaming, traveling, and staying active. As Co-VP of Events, Melisa is looking forward to planning exciting get-togethers and building up our sense of community.

Victor Garcia

VP of Finance

Born and raised in LA, Victor graduated from Cal State LA with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics. After graduating, he joined SoCalGas' accounting and finance rotational program, where he gained experience in various areas including cost accounting, regulatory reporting, budget planning for large-scale projects, and financial reporting. His most recent role has been in financial reporting, where he is responsible for consolidating the financial statements and preparing reports for the 10Q and 10K filings.

As a third-year MBA.PM student, Victor intends to leverage his extensive experience in accounting and finance in his current role. Looking ahead to his career after completing the MBA, he aims to continue his professional growth within his current company and transition into leadership positions. On a personal level, Victor plans to prioritize travel and explore different cuisines from around the globe.

Mariana Vaca

Co-VP of Marketing & Communications

Mariana is a third-year part-time MBA student with professional experience in public relations. Her career began at an agency working with consumer tech clients to bring products from Samsung and Hulu to audiences around the world. Currently, she finds herself in her fourth year at the Mouse House, Disney, where she works in corporate communications at the film studio, specializing in reputation management. Her extracurricular interests include traveling, volunteering, and spending as much time as she can with her MBA cohort.

Ryan Selewicz

Co-VP of Marketing & Communications

Ryan is a third-year MBA.PM student focused on entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. He began his career at Adobe with roles in IT and digital communications. More recently, Ryan has focused his career on marketing and technology roles at fast-growing start-up companies and he currently works as the VP of E-Commerce, managing stores for 8 consumer brands. In his free time, Ryan enjoys traveling, photography, and indoor cycling classes.

Shannon Zia

Co-VP of Merchandise

Born and raised in the 626 (East Los Angeles), Shannon graduated from UCSD with a degree in Mathematics-Economics and minored in Business and Psychology. After San Diego, she moved back to LA to start her career as a Financial Analyst at a local government agency called Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, specializing on projects and grants across Los Angeles County that focuses in the acquisition, preservation, and management of trails, wildlife habitat, and parkland. As an avid hiker, she managed financial statements on various projects across LA with an emphasis on revamping and maintaining vital improvements accessible for the public use. After 4 years of working there, she pivoted to the entertainment industry at Paramount Global as a Senior Financial Analyst during her first year as a MBA.PM student. At Marshall, Shannon is currently also a Student Ambassador for the PM Program and was VP of Merchandise from 2022-2023 is looking forward to reprising her role this year with Adrian. Outside of her career and school, Shannon also enjoys eating and Yelping (6 years of Elite!), going to the gym, shopping, and traveling.

Adrian Sun

Co-VP of Merchandise

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Adrian spent most of his early childhood in Beijing and Shanghai before emigrating with his family to California at 12. Adrian Graduated from UCSB with a major in biological science and started his Business Intelligence career in the financial service industry. After 5 years in Consumer Banking, and a year in Aerospace Manufacturing, Adrian is currently working as a Data Product Manager at Capital Group, in the Wealth Management industry.

Adrian is a big reader, speaks fluent mandarin, and used to play golf competitively. He has a passion for team building and is looking forward to another unforgettable year!

Courtney Sullivan

Co-VP of New Student Development

Courtney Sullivan is a Michigan native who attended Michigan State University for undergrad where she majored in Marketing and minored in Sales Leadership. Since undergrad she has worked at General Motors in a variety of positions ranging from consulting, to sales, to her current role as the Buick Regional Marketing Manager for the Western Region. Courtney spends her free time working out (currently training for her first triathlon), reading, snowboarding, and traveling. She is thrilled to be working with Ian as your co-VP's of New Student Development and make the PM program experience the best it can be!

Ian Garcia

Co-VP of New Student Development

Ian Garcia did his undergrad at San Francisco State University and majored in Broadcasting. He made his way back to Southern California after college and works as a Senior Project Manager at the Walt Disney Company. In his free time Ian enjoys watchmaking, 3D printing, working on cars, and hanging out with his dog, Winston. Ian is excited to be able to work with all the incoming Trojan PMers and make their first experiences with USC the best they can be!

Bhuvnesh Kumar

Co-VP of Professional Development

Bhuvnesh is a third year part-time MBA student with professional experience in the technology industry. Bhuvnesh graduated from University of California, Irvine and joined AppDynamics, part of Cisco. He has been with the company as an intern, software engineer and now as a Product Manager delivering high scale products that can make a difference around the world! He enjoys the technology world and enjoys bringing the business and tech worlds together! Outside of work and the program he enjoys singing, traveling to national parks and meeting all our amazing trojan family!

Devon Riesenbeck

Co-VP of Professional Development

Devon is a second year MBA.PM student with a background in Human Resources and Business Development. Currently, she works as a Human Resources Business Partner at Finder.com, a financial tech company where her goal is to create and execute a people strategy that helps the company achieve its goals. In her free time, Devon enjoys going on hikes, listening to Armchair Expert, and taking yoga classes. As Co VP of Professional Development, Devon is excited to help broaden the opportunities available for all PM Students. Fight On!

Bridget Slatkin

Co-VP of Philanthropy

Bridget Slatkin is a second-year MBA.PM student. She is an LA native, completing her undergraduate studies at Occidental College, where she majored in Economics with minors in Studio Art and Writing. Today, she runs a film music production company with her husband. At USC, she is pursuing a certificate in the business of entertainment along with her MBA. In her free time, Bridget enjoys horseback riding, and she even volunteers with Traveler on the field during games!

Amanda Schwartz

Co-VP of Philanthropy

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Amanda attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut to study creative writing and journalism, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Wesleyan Argus. After working in publishing and advertising for a few years, she pivoted to marketing in the tech world. She now works for construction software company Bluebeam as their Web Marketing Manager, where she leads web strategy and the site roadmap. As Co-VP of Philanthropy, Amanda is excited to build out more opportunities for everyone in the PM program to give back to the larger community. In her free time, Amanda enjoys searching for the best al pastor in LA, spending time (but not sleeping) outdoors and getting lost in a good book.