Conference Organizers

Reaching Out is unique among national MBA conferences in that it is 100% student run and led. Every aspect of the conference, from selecting panelists and securing corporate sponsors to organizing the conference events is handled by a core group of student organizers. These students were selected by the Reaching Out Board to serve as the Steering Committee. Eager to extend some Southern hospitality to the LGBT MBA students around the world, a group of students from the The Johnson School at Cornell, Stern School of Businss, Columbia Business School, Darden School of Business and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came together after last year’s conference to put together a bid for Los Angeles. Now these students are working tirelessly to build the best conference possible so that all attendees can achieve new heights at Reaching Out 2010.

Lane Stilson, Chair. Lane is currently a first-year MBA student at NYU Stern. He grew up in Ferron, Utah, a community of 1,500 people three hours southeast of Salt Lake City. Lane received his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he concentrated in Communications with an emphasis in PR and a minor in Business Management. Lane has lived in San Francisco for the past four years before moving to NYC for business school. His professional background lies in consumer software. Experienced in non-profit organization, Lane coordinated more than 120 volunteers in Romania for two years. He is excited to serve as a team leader for our efforts to organize the 2010 ROMBA Conference.

Bukola Ekundayo, Marketing. Currently a first year MBA student at Cornell's Johnson School, Bukola is originally from New Jersey. She lived outside of Chicago for four years while attending Northwestern University, where she graduated a Political Science major with a concentration in international affairs. Her professional experience lies in management consulting, and she is currently pursuing brand management. Bukola will be assisting our team on the marketing side.

Mervyn Han, Marketing. Mervyn is a first-year MBA at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. Originally from Iowa, Mervyn is a former management consultant with expertise in retail and consumer products. He went to college at Harvard, concentrating in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and lived in San Francisco after college. At the 2009 ROMBA Conference, Mervyn organized and moderated a panel on Microfinance and International Development. He also has experience organizing a $100K annual fundraiser as a board member for a children's nonprofit in San Francisco's Chinatown. Mervyn will be lending his retail experience to a marketing role.

 Jared Rieger, Content. A first year MBA at Columbia, Jared is originally from Seattle, Washington. He went to college at Willamette University, double-majoring in Economics and Biochemistry. His post-collegiate work experience includes Deutsche Bank’s Global Prime Finance department in New York, and two years at Bloomberg LP, in the Analytics Department as a Fixed Income Specialist. Jared attended the 2007 Out for Undergraduate Business Conference and won the case competition that year. His team won third place in the 2009 ROMBA case competition as well. Jared looks forward to working on the content of the 2010 conference.

Orlie Benjamin, Content. Orlie is a first-year MBA at Ohio State University, where she is presently in her third year of a JD-MBA program. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she lived in Chicago for two years after college, where she worked for a large law firm. As a Research Assistant to a professor in the business school, she is currently helping to plan a national undergraduate business competition. In this role, Orlie is involved in writing the competition questions, and helping with the logistics of the event, experiences that will be relevant to planning the content of the 2010 ROMBA Conference. Orlie graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Art History and a Philosophy minor.

Adam Conderman, Sponsorship. Adam is a first-year MBA at Cornell’s Johnson School. He is a former Democratic political fundraiser from Florida. He lived overseas for a number of years before business school, spending time in such countries as Liberia, France, and Ecuador. Adam is currently pursuing a post-MBA career in marketing, but also maintains long-term interests in entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Jeremy Dent, Sponsorship. A first-year MBA student at NYU Stern, Jeremy previously worked at GE Capital in Underwriting and in Leveraged Finance, specifically with high-yield and leveraged loans. He is now pursuing a career in investment banking. Jeremy remains active in the LGBT community. He is a former co-chair of both the GE Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the GE LGBT Alliance. In business school as well, he is an officer in OutClass, NYU Stern’s LGBT student association. Jeremy won the 2009 ROMBA Wal-Mart Diversity Essay Competition.

Brian Casebolt, Sponsorship. A first-year MBA student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Brian is a self-proclaimed entrepreneur, health junkie, and political wonk. Brian owns his own company in Dallas-Fort Worth, catering to financial institutions' distressed assets. His primary post-MBA interests include for-profit social enterprise initiatives. Before business school, Brian managed and operated a non-profit in North Texas for 600 high schools, providing four-day leadership seminars for high school students, as well as forty-to-fifty speakers and panelists at each seminar, in much the same format as the ROMBA Conference. Brian maintains contact with non-profit LGBT-specific advocacy groups in Southern California and DC.

Matt Kidd, Finance/Logistics. Matt is a first year MBA student at NYU Stern. Originally from Tennessee, Matt attended Boston University for his bachelor’s degree. Prior to business school, Matt was an arts manager and theatrical consultant to New England performing arts organizations, Broadway producers, and National tours. He is also a former Board Member of the Greater Boston Business Council, Boston's GLBT Chamber of Commerce. Matt will be involved in the social networking aspect of the 2010 Conference.

Seth Gilmore, Content. Seth is a first year MBA student at Tuck. Originally from Northern California, Seth earned his degree in Philosophy at Denison University, in Ohio. After his undergraduate work, he worked for Tony Kushner ("Angels in America" playwright), and later as a general manager and technology manager at The New York Times for a number of years. At Dartmouth, Seth is focusing on E-ship and Consulting, and he is interested in Media as well. Seth attended the 2008 and 2009 ROMBA Conferences moderated the CSR panel at ROMBA 2009.