Bernard Jones
President
Bernard graduated from SEAS with a dual Systems Engineering focus in Information Systems and Manufacturing Systems, with a Minor in Mathematics in 2001. While at Penn, Bernard served as the President of the Formula-1 SAE, a Directory of Specialty Music at WQHS, a Board Member of STAAR in the office of Student Health, and on the Student Dining Advisory Board. After Penn, now as a Technical Director at Lockheed Martin, he leads the integration of Aegis Software with frequent trips to Norway, for the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Dawn Becket
Vice President
Dawn graduated with a BSE in Computer Science in 1991. While at Penn, Dawn served as President of SWE, as well as member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Hexagon Engineering Societies. She worked for several years as a technical consultant before returning to Wharton for an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management in 1996. She has since worked in the fields of product management, new product development, and advertising. Dawn has served on the Alumni Board's Student Engagement committee as the primary liaison with Penn's AWE (Advancing Women in Engineering), as judge for Senior Design competition, and she also currently works with the Penn Admissions Alumni Interview program.
Lyle Brunhofer
Vice President
Lyle graduated with a BSE and MSE in Bioegineering in 2014. While a student at Penn, Lyle was deeply involved with volunteering and giving back to the greater Philadelphia community – becoming an active brother of Penn's coed service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, and later taking on various board positions during his membership. He was also a board member of the Biomedical Engineering Society and a brother of the Engineering Honor Society Tau Beta Pi. Lyle is currently working at Accenture within the Life Sciences industry. Past experiences have involved CRM implementations, both on a local and global scale, exposing him to a variety of platforms, such as Salesforce.com and Veeva. Functional and technical integration design work has also permeated through the various roles, adding a level of practical knowledge to complement project management acumen.
Jeffrey Ng
Vice President
Jeffrey graduated with a BSE in Systems Engineering in 2016. While at Penn, he focused his volunteer efforts in STEM education as President of Penn Science Across Ages, which engages elementary school students in Philadelphia School District with weekly interactive science lessons, and as part of the Penn FLL steering committee, which organizes robotics competitions for middle school students in the Southeast PA region. Jeffrey currently works as a cybersecurity consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Jonathan Lombardo
Secretary
Jon graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Systems Science and Engineering in 2003 and from Villanova University School of Law with a JD in 2012. Prior to law school, Jon worked for approximately six years as a systems engineer at L-3 Communications. Jon currently is an Associate at Baker & Hostetler LLP in Philadelphia, PA. Jon is a registered Patent Attorney and his practice focuses on the prosecution of a wide range of patent applications, litigation, licensing, and intellectual property portfolio management.
Yijie Hu
Treasurer
Yijie graduated with an MSE in Telecommunications at Penn and completed an MBA at Philadelphia University. While at Penn, she worked with Ronald E. McNair Post baccalaureate Achievement Program to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. After Penn, Yijie worked as an IT consultant before venturing into financial service. From 2013-2017, she worked in a middle market M&A investment bank in Philadelphia. Yijie now is part of the corporate development at Ashfield Healthcare, a global life science and healthcare services company. She also co-founded Plas.md, Inc., a health and wellness start-up making immersive exercise applications.
Jay Olman
Past President (2019-2022)
Jay graduated with a BSE in mechanical engineering in 2008. He is currently a marketing analytics associate director at Kepler Group, a digital marketing agency that takes a data-driven approach to online advertising. Prior to Jay's current role, he honed his analytics skills at RJMetrics and entrepreneurial mindset inventing consumer products with another startup company. Jay remains an active participant in the Penn alumni community and is an especially close follower of Penn basketball.
Sevile Mannickarottu
Past President (2016-2019)
Sevile graduated with a BSE in Electrical Engineering. While at Penn, Sevile served as Co-President of Penn's IEEE student group, a member of the Hexagon Engineering Society, a peer advisor, and also spent a year as a DJ for Penn's Student run radio station. He worked for several years as a design engineer before returning to Penn where he currently works for Penn Engineering, managing the Bioengineering Instructional Laboratories. Sevile has served on the Engineering Alumni Society Board for several years where he has organized several alumni panels for students, student-alumni mixers, and alumni networking events.
Matt Quale
Past President (2013-2016)
Matt received a BSE degree in Chemical Engineering in 1998 and began working in Process Research for Mobil Oil Corporation in Paulsboro, NJ. Then in 2000, he went to work for Rodel, a company based in Newark, DE that provides consumables for the semiconductor industry. In 2005, after Rohm and Haas bought Rodel, Matt transferred to the corporate research facility in Spring House, PA where he managed two Process Development groups in the Specialty Materials Division. Matt completed his MBA at Villanova University and became the Global Process Automation Technology Leader for Dow Coating Materials in 2009. Matt is now a Business Development Manager in Dow's Ventures and Business Development group.
Farnia Fresnel
Past President (2010-2013)
Farnia graduated with a BSE in Systems Science Engineering and completed an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business. While at Penn, Farnia was a mentor with the University City Mentoring Program and chapter historian and activities co-chair on the board of the National Society of Black Engineers. She received the Raymond Pace Alexander award for achievement upon graduation. Farnia has served the alumni board as a Director, member of the Yarnall Award selection committee, a judge for the Senior Design competition, a mentor, and as the facilitator and panelist for the alumni career panel. She is currently the Sponsorship Co-Chair for the 2013 Penn Spectrum Diversity Conference and Founder of The Lenserf Group, a business consultancy and coaching (Lenserf Coaching) firm.
Harris Romanoff
Past President (2007-2010)
Harris graduated with a BSE in Electrical Engineering in 1998. In his senior year, he was awarded First Prizes in the Electrical Engineering senior design competition, the overall Penn Senior Design Competition, and the Harold Berger Award. As an undergraduate, Harris was Vice President of Penn's IEEE student group, a member of the GRASP robotics lab, and a member of the Hexagon Engineering Society. While on the Board, Harris has served as Chairperson of the Undergraduate Committee, Chairperson of the Alumni Society Mentoring program, Chairperson of several annual event committees and is a past Director and Vice President of the Board. Harris is currently the Vice President of Product Management at The Neat Company, which sells integrated software hardware solutions that transform static, paper-based data into easy-to-use digital information. Harris received the Young Alumni Award of Merit in 2010.
Timothy J. Carlsen
Past President (2004-2007)
Tim graduated with a BSE in SSE in 1992, and received an MSE from the University of Notre Dame in 1993. While a student at PENN, Tim was the President of the Hexagon Engineering Society, skied on the PENN ski team, participated in the William Penn Scholars program, tutored freshmen engineering students, and received the David S. Fine Memorial Award in Civil Engineering at time of graduation. Tim has served as the Chairman of the D. Robert Yarnall Award nominating committee, Chairman of the Alumni Society Mentoring program, Chairman of the Senior Design Competition and is a past Director and Vice President of the Board. Tim currently works for Affiliated Engineering Laboratories in Edison, New Jersey as a consulting forensic engineer, specializing in civil, environmental and structural engineering matters. Tim received the Young Alumni Award of Merit in 2007.
Mickey Kaufman
Past President (2001-2004)
Mickey graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1970 and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1971. Went on to earn an MBA in 1972 and a JD in 1975. He is in his 25th year with Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, NJ, where he is currently Vice President - Law for the Vision Care Franchise and Assistant General Counsel.
Brad Abrams
Past President (1998-2001)
Brad graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. Having worked for years in building products wholesale distribution, he now manages product strategy and vendor relations for Philadelphia based Sonepar Management, USA. Sonepar is the world's largest privately-held electrical distributor and since 1998 has grown in the US to operate 16 regional companies with over 450 stores. While at Penn, Brad was the President of Penn's first Solar Powered Race Team that successfully competed in the 1990 GM/DOE Sunrayce from Florida to Michigan. Brad and his family live in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Walt Korn
Past President (1995-1998)
Walt graduated with a BSEE in 1957 and an MSEE in 1968. Registered Professional Engineer and Certified Manufacturing Engineer retired from GE/Lockheed Martin Aerospace. Now an independent consultant working in the areas of Manufacturing and Facilities Management.
Eric Benshetler
Past President (1993-1995)
Eric graduated with a BSE in CSE in 1977 and an MSE in CIS in August 1977. Earned an MBA in International Business at Temple University in 1986. Also involved at Penn as co-president of the Class of 1977, member of the Alumni Class Leadership Council, and an interviewer for the Secondary School Committee. Works as a software development manager at Unisys Corporation in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where he's also on the Penn relationship team.
Dick Fallows
Past President (1990-1993)
Dick graduated with a BSME in 1951 and with GEE in 1967. Retired from the Unisys Corporation as Staff Engineer in Secure Communications. Other major experience as Engineering Manager in Air Traffic Control System Design with Unisys.
Marion Hubing
Past President (1986-1987)
Ms. Hubing received her BS in chemical engineering in 1964 from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating magna cum laude with awards from the American Institute of Chemists, the American Society for Testing Materials, and Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society. She was the first female from Penn to become a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society. She was also the first female to be elected president of the Engineering Alumni Society for the University of Pennsylvania. She worked as a chemical engineer for Rohm and Haas and Sun Oil Company for over twenty years. Ms. Hubing received her JD, magna cum laude, in 1990 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her honors include the Order of the Coif and membership on the Moot Court Board. She is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is admitted to appear before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Association of Alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dick Mulford
Past President (1965-1967)
Dick worked at the Philadelphia Electric Company in a range of capacities from 1952 to 1991.He has been the Executive Director, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia since 1991. Dick graduated the Tuck Executive Program at Dartmouth College in 1985 in addition to receiving an MSME in 1957 and a BSME in 1952 from Penn.
Robert Berkovits
Director
Bob earned his BSEE from Penn in 1961 and an MS Systems Eng. from Boston U. in 1977. Most of his career was with Northrop Grumman and GTE Sylvania in systems and hardware EMI/EMC. Bob is a Life Senior member of the IEEE and is currently the EMC chapter chair of the Baltimore Section Bob has held that position for several years in the Boston and Long Island IEEE. He is an active member in the IEEE product safety and EMB societies and also in the Chesapeake chapter of INCOSE. At Penn, Bob was the program chair of the AIEE-IRE student branch. He was also a member of the Amateur Radio Club - W3ABT.
Jim Brennan
Director
Jim graduated from Penn in 1970 with a BSCE degree. He also holds a M.S. in transportation engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Wharton School. Jim was an engineer and planner for highway and transit projects in the Boston area for 6 years. He was employed by Conrail for 20 years, where he held a variety of positions in finance, marketing and business development. Subsequent to Conrail’s sale, he was CFO of a small technology company for 3 years. Afterwards, he shifted into the education industry and directed $1 million annual giving campaign at a private school in the Philadelphia area for 9 years.He is currently a private trader of equity and index options.
Lauren Hedvat
Director
Lauren G. Hedvat, ENG'05, C'06, GEN'07 earned her MSE and BSE in Systems Engineering and BA in Economics from Penn. Since finishing her dual degree and graduate programs in 2007, she worked in investment banking in New York City until last fall and is currently a Director in Capital Markets at Angel Oak Capital. In addition to serving on the Penn Engineering Alumni Board, Lauren also serves as Vice President for the Class of 2005, has co-chaired her 5th and 10th reunions, is a member of the Penn ACLC, and co-chairs a NYC interview committee for prospective Penn students. For her Penn 5th year reunion, she led her class to a record-breaking attendance ultimately earning her and her co-chair the David N. Tyre Class Communications Award. While an undergraduate, Lauren served as President for two years of the Kite and Key Society. She also held positions on the executive boards of the Engineering Student Activities Council, Engineering Peer Advising Council, and the Society of Women Engineers. She was active as a resident and graduate advisor for Fisher Hassenfeld College House and participated in the College House Alumni Ambassador program. Her leadership while at Penn earned her both the Penn Alumni Student Award of Merit and the William A. Levy Service and Scholarship Award her senior year. Outside of work and Penn related activities, Lauren serves on the Board of Trustees of her high school, Newark Academy, where she also was honored as a recipient of the Woman of Distinction award in 2011.
Ramsey Kraya
Associate Director
Ramsey held a Bachelors and Masters degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Delaware before heading to Penn where he earned an MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 2006 and 2011. While at Penn, he served as a Director for the Penn Biotech Group.He is currently a Research Faculty Member in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins University where he has been since 2012. Currently, he works on developing novel nano-sized implants for cortical and peripheral nerve stimulation.
Paul McLaughlin
Director
Paul McLaughlin is the Director of System Architecture for Honeywell Process Solutions, leading a global Architecture team . Paul holds a Master of Science in Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania for Computer and Information Science (1986), and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Delaware in Mathematics and Computer Science (1980). Paul has over 30 years of experience in industrial automation working at both Honeywell Process Solutions and Leeds and Northrup. His experience includes both senior architecture and design projects, as well as departmental management of a 125 person design center. Paul's significant design projects include lead HPS architect for ExperionPKS(tm), lead HPS architect for OneWireless(tm) , lead architect for Honeywell's PlantScape Hybrid Control and SCADA System, and various TDC-3000 designs. Paul has been awarded over 30 patents. He is 6Sigma Green Belt Certified and Rational Unified Process Trained.
Jason Rifkin
Director
Jason Rifkin, Esq. joined Delcath in June 2007. He was named Vice President Clinical Operations and Secretary of Delcath in December 2008 and was recently named Vice President of Commercial Programs. Prior to joining Delcath, from 2006 to 2007, Jason practiced law at Fox Rothschild LLP, where he was an Associate in the Corporate Department - Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Group. There, Mr. Rifkin worked extensively on intellectual property matters, including domestic and international patent applications and regulatory and licensing issues. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Rifkin practiced at a boutique litigation firm in New York City, Goldstein & Weinstein, where he served as trial and appellate counsel in a wide array of cases in both federal and state courts. Prior to that, Mr. Rifkin worked for the Legal Aid Society. Mr. Rifkin holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Craig Schorr
Associate Director
Craig graduated from M&T, BSE in SSE and BSEcon (Finance), in 1990 and received an MBA from Stanford in 1998. At Penn Craig received the Weiss Award, the Applied Science Prize and was the Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Graduate. Fond Penn memories include Delta Sigma Pi, Men’s Gymnastics, the UPenn Student Federal Credit Union, Tau Beta Pi, Hexagon, Beta Gamma Sigma, Mortar Board… and meeting his wife, Sueann, C’91. After Penn, Craig served in combat onboard submarines during the first Gulf War. Now a Captain in the Navy Reserve, he commands the Space and Naval Warfare Systems’ Reserve Program, focusing on the design, acquisition and sustainment of Navy computer, communication, and networking systems. In his civilian career, Craig is a Director with AB, a global asset management firm. He is a CFA charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner. An Eagle Scout, he serves youth as a Cubmaster with the Boy Scouts of America.
Heather Keil Stern
Associate Director
Heather graduated with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering in 2006. While at Penn, she was a member of the Engineering Peer Advisory Council, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Hexagon Senior Society. She was awarded the 2006 John Couloucoundis Prize (Honorable Mention) for the presentation of her senior design project. Since graduating, Heather has worked as a consultant for a number of government clients, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.