Young Alumni Board

Nipuna Ambanpola

Nipuna Ambanpola is the Founder & Executive Director of IVolunteer International Inc., a 501(c)3 tech-nonprofit in the United States with impact worldwide. Nipuna is employed full-time as the Research & Public Service Manager at the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia. Nipuna graduated with a BS in Economics (2019) from Georgia Southern University and obtained a Masters of Public Administration (2021) and a Masters in Business Analytics (2022) from the University of Georgia. 

While at Georgia Southern, Nipuna served as the Student Government Association President (2017-18) and worked collaboratively during the Armstrong-Georgia Southern consolidation. Nipuna founded the Rotaract Club, Student-Alumni Association, and the Resident Student Association. Nipuna was the founding District Rotaract Representative to the Rotary District 6920. In 2018, Nipuna was presented the Nick Mamalakis Outstanding Eagle Award and the Outstanding Leadership Award for his service to the community. Nipuna is a Paul Harris Fellow, Will Watt Fellow, a Rotary Youth-All Star, a TEDx Speaker, and a Civil Society Youth Representative serving in the Youth Steering Committee at the United Nations Department for Global Communications. 

Nipuna enjoys meeting new people, volunteering, and exploring communities and cultures with his life partner Karen.

Courtney Wilkins Ashley, MKTG 2011

Courtney Ashley graduated from Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business in 2011 with a BS in Business Marketing with an emphasis in Sales and Sales Management. While at Georgia Southern University, she pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Spring 2011. Courtney was an I.N.S.P.I.R.E Leadership Consultant on campus and was employed as Facility Manager for Campus Recreation and Intramurals (CRI/RAC). A native of Screven, Georgia, (by way of Jesup, Georgia), Courtney was recently selected in Wayne County’s 2022 Top 40 under 40 Young Professionals. Courtney was a member of the Leadership Wayne Class of 2019 and Georgia Economic Development Class of 2019. Courtney is the author of Be Positive on Purpose book and hopes to inspire others to create and maintain positive cultures everywhere they go. Courtney is a “Budget Buddy” Facilitator and enjoys partnering with women shelters and organizations to provide financial classes and resources. Courtney has over 10 years of experience in SAP and has worked  Accounting and Customer Service for manufacturing companies. She is currently the Payroll Tax Team Lead for EpiUse Inc. North America.

Courtney enjoys traveling with her husband (Jonathan) and their two children (Ethan and Miss Cori). In her spare time, she enjoys singing, football and DIY projects.

David Attaway, ACCT 2009, MAcc 2010

Audit Director, Symphona

David Attaway is an audit director at Symphona, in their Dublin, GA office. He is originally from McRae, GA.

David graduated with a BBA in Accounting in December 2009, and Masters of Accountancy in December 2010. While at Georgia Southern, he was in the Southern Pride Marching Band for two years. He adds that the Parker College of Business is the only reason he is where he is today. David’s advisor, Lowell Mooney, Ph.D., professor of accounting and director of graduate programs and the MBA program, provided valuable guidance and encouraged him to consider a career in accounting. In addition, he and his family are avid Eagle football and baseball fans, taking in as many games as possible during their respective seasons.

Outside of work, music and family are his passions. David volunteers as Treasurer of the Dublin-Laurens Arts Council, and is the drummer for the worship team at Liberty Church in Dublin. He and his family enjoy traveling together and making new memories with his wife (Kristen) and children (Connor and Charlotte).

Katie McGrath Bachmann, MKTG 2014

Katie Bachmann (MKTG, 2014) graduated summa cum laude. While at Georgia Southern University, she was named Top Marketing Scholar in Spring 2014. Katie was a leader of the Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity, secretary of the American Marketing Association and a Pi Chi on the Panhellenic Council. She was in various honor societies including Beta Gamma Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and Order of Omega.Katie joined UBS Financial Services Inc. in 2014 and is First Vice President – Wealth Management, Financial Advisor. A Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Chartered Special Needs Consultant®, she has earned the Series 7 and Series 66 security licenses as well as Health, Life, Long-Term Care, Variable Life and Variable Annuity insurance licenses. Dedicated to professional proficiency, Katie is a member of Financial Planning Association of Georgia and Academy of Special Needs Planners. She volunteers as an American Cancer Society National Professional Advisor and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Legacy Advisor.

Akeala Brown, FINC 2005, MBA 2013

Vice President of Operations & Risk Management, CORE Credit Union 

Akeala Brown, a Double Eagle, graduated from Georgia Southern University with a BBA in Finance in 2005 and an MBA in 2013. She is currently the Vice President of Operations & Risk Management at CORE Credit Union, where she oversees daily operations and manages the credit union’s regulatory requirements as the BSA Compliance Officer. She is responsible for the Audit, Enterprise Risk Management, and Vendor Management functions, and oversees and manages relationships with regulatory agencies, external auditors, and related third parties. Since joining the company, she has held various positions in operations and accounting. Prior to her current role, she most recently served as Controller.  

Akeala has over 15 years of experience in the credit union industry. She is a member of the CUNA Finance Council, League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU) Compliance Council, and also serves on her organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Outside of work, Akeala enjoys a good Netflix binge and spending time with her husband, Jeffery, and their two children Kamille and Karter.

Dane Browner

Global Head of Recruiting Strategy and Sourcing, eBay

Dane Browner is the Global Head of Recruiting Strategy and Sourcing at eBay. Dane has worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies covering markets around the world. He’s a well experienced recruiting leader who has a strong background in diversity & inclusion, organizational structure, leadership, and branding. Dane received his BBA from Georgia Southern in marketing with an emphasis in sales and sales management. He enjoys traveling, music, sports, and is a firm believer that every day is a good day.

D’Angelo Charlton, MAcc 2012

Senior Manager, Wipfli

D’Angelo Charlton is a senior manager in Wipfli’s audit practice, serving construction, commercial real estate, hospitality and various forms financial institutions. Since joining the firm in January 2013, he has leveraged his experience to manage and execute audits, reviews, internal audits and agreed-upon procedures and provides a wide range of technical accounting services.

D’Angelo graduated from Georgia Southern with his MAcc in the Fall of 2012 and is usually on campus as apart of recruiting efforts for his firm or assisting with recruiting international students from his place of birth, The Bahamas. D’Angelo also serves as a member of Chris 180’s Emerging Leaders Network and the founding treasurer of Atlanta Smart Academy.

Callie Gordon Cramer, ACCT 2007, MAcc 2007

Vice President of Finance, NavCare

Callie Gordon Cramer, CPA (ACCT & MAcc, 2007) began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Atlanta, where she learned invaluable skills that carry over into the world of corporate accounting.  After three years with PwC, Callie moved to Augusta, where she joined NavCare (formerly CareSouth) and has remained with the company ever since, climbing up the corporate ladder.  Currently she is the VP of Finance, where she and her team produce the monthly financials and analysis.  When she is not crunching numbers, Callie is always on the go with her husband (Lance) and daughters (Peyton & Madison).  Callie loves to shop local, volunteer with the family, attempt to be creative on her Cricut, and use Excel for all personal and professional projects.  In addition to the young alumni board, Callie is co-chair of the Greater Augusta Eagle Alumni network.

Matt W. Donaldson, FINC 2013

Vice President, Durden Banking Company, Inc.

A native of Twin City, Georgia, Matt Donaldson graduated from Georgia Southern University, with a BBA in Finance in May 2013. Before attending Georgia Southern, Matt attended East Georgia State College and graduated Cum Laude with an Associates in Science in Business Administration. Along with Georgia Southern and East Georgia, Matt is a graduate of Georgia Banking School at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. Also, Matt completed his studies at the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in May 2019. Professionally, Matt is Vice President of Durden Banking Company, Inc. in Twin City. As for public service, Matt was elected to the City Commission of the City of Twin City in 2015, and he was elected Mayor of Twin City in 2019. In 2021, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Matt to serve on the Georgia Board of Education to represent the 12^th Congressional District.

Trent Doty,  CFP®, CDFA®, LIT 2013

Trent Doty is a Senior Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in Savannah, GA, and is the host of the podcast, Make Money Make Cents.

Following graduation in 2013, Trent started his professional career with Saddle Creek Logistics Services in Atlanta, GA where he spent three and a half years in the logistics industry. Trent then decided to make a career change and became a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Atlanta, GA, where he began building his practice. After a couple years with Edward Jones, Trent joined Wells Fargo Advisors in the Statesboro/Savannah area.

Trent is a Statesboro, GA native and graduated with a BBA in Logistics in December 2013. During his time at Georgia Southern, Trent was involved with many different student organizations including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, GATA Club, and he was a member of the men’s soccer team. Trent loves spending time with his wife, Fowler, and their dog, Gus, in their home in Savannah, GA. In his spare time, he enjoys going fishing, attending sporting events, playing pickleball, and doing woodworking.

Cindy Evans, IS 2012

Cindy Evans graduated from Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business in 2012 with a BBA in Information Systems concentrated in ERP with SAP and a minor in Math.

Currently, Cindy is a Design Lead at Manhattan Associates where she designs Supply Chain Software for some of America’s biggest retailers. She is a board member of many committees at Manhattan Associates including the Women’s Initiative Network and the Professional Services Advisory Board. She has been awarded the Manhattan Associates President’s Club award as well as being honored as a member of the class of 2021 Georgia Southern’s 40 Under 40.

At Manhattan Associates, through Parker College of Business Young Alumni Board, or through her professional network, she enjoys mentoring strong professionals early in their careers. She has a passion for process innovation, knowledge sharing, and data privacy. 

You can find her cooking up new and exciting dishes at home or reading all genres of books. Cindy, her husband Daniel, and her pup Ally, live in Decatur, GA.

Christopher “Chris” Ford

Senior Contracting Officer for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southern Region (R4) 

Chris earned his undergraduate degrees (08) in Business Administration (BBA) and Fine Arts (BFA) with a concentration in Marketing Management and Graphic Design respectively, from the Georgia Southern University. He later earned a Master’s in Policy and Public Administration from Northwestern University in Chicago. 

He has over a decade of procurement experience and civil service, beginning his career with the US Army Mission Installation Contracting Command and serving in the USDA Forest Service before coming to EPA. My favorite part of what I do is problem solving. Each acquisition is like a puzzle; and the puzzle pieces are the interdisciplinary skills needed to complete the project. As a Contracting Officer I manage a team consisting of the contractor, engineers, budget officer, technical expert, and other subject matter experts on each project. I get to be a project manager, mediator, facilitator, and business advisor all in one.

Chris currently serves on the Georgia Southern University Network of Black Alumni Board of Directors as the Mentoring and Networking Chairman. He is also a proud member of the Lawrenceville Duluth Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and a small group leader with his local church.  Chris was recognized as a member of the Georgia Southern University Class of 2021 40 under 40 Award and the Atlanta Federal Executive Board Leadership Government 2020 cohort. 

In his spare-time, he enjoys watching movies and playing with his three kids Aiden (11), Alyssa (8), and baby Carter. Chris and his wife Camille are big fans of comic books, cartoons, and attend the San-Diego Comic Con every year.

Brittany Haught, MKTG 2014, MBA 2015

Brittany Haught graduated from the Parker College of Business with a BBA in Marketing in 2014 and an MBA in 2015, making her a proud Double Eagle. She is currently an Associate Media Manager for The Home Depot working on the Retail Media team. Prior to The Home Depot, she worked at digital advertising agencies working for clients from car dealerships to retail to consumer goods. Brittany’s favorite part about the digital advertising space is the ever-evolving landscape of the digital world with consumer privacy changes, platform optimizations, and changing consumer shopping trends. 

Outside of work, Brittany enjoys spending time with her husband, Steven (also a Double Eagle), her daughter, Parker, and their dog. Brittany currently serves as the Chair of the Marketing Committee for the Young Alumni Board. During the fall, she enjoys cheering on her Eagles at Paulson Stadium! Brittany also volunteers every Sunday with North Point Community Church in Waumba Land.

Brit Lanier, ACCT 2011, MAcc 2012

Advisor on Energy & Infrastructure Transaction, Alvarez & Marsal

Brit Lanier graduated from Georgia Southern in 2011 with a BBA in accounting and 2012 from the MAcc program with a concentration in forensic accounting. During his time on campus, Brit was involved in numerous student organizations, including Southern Ambassadors, Greek Life, and Habitat for Humanity. 

Brit began his career at EY in Houston focusing on public upstream oil & gas companies. He then transitioned into equity research at a boutique investment firm covering the energy sector. After a few years in Houston, Brit moved back to Atlanta and began working in the Strategy & Transactions group at EY before moving to his current role at Alvarez & Marsal, where he sits on the Energy & Infrastructure Transaction Advisory team. During his spare time, Brit enjoys playing golf, going to Braves games, and cheering on the Eagle football team. 

Tim Lavoie, LOGT 2011

Tim Lavoie graduated Cum Laude from Georgia Southern in 2011 with a BBA in logistics and a minor in marketing. While attending GS, Tim was a member of the President’s list, Dean’s List, was a HOPE scholar, recipient of the 2010 Atlanta Transportation Club Scholarship, a member of Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society, Golden Key national honor society, Phi Eta Sigma national honor society, a founding member of the GS Student Eagle Club and spent three years in the Southern Pride Marching Band. Tim was also the Vice-President of the Georgia Southern Logistics Association (GSLA) and developed the annual Logistics Roundtable event bringing in potential employers to meet with current logistics students.

Tim currently works as director of strategic accounts at C.H. Robinson, a Fortune 500 supply chain company. Outside of work, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter around Roswell where they live. He also enjoys traveling to GS football games in Statesboro and on the road as well as playing golf. Tim has previously been a member of the Young Supporters Board of the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta.

Jerome McKinnon, MKTG 2011

Intelligence Specialist, United States Dept of the Air Force

A Georgia Native, I grew up in the small town of Glenwood, GA. Growing up I was no stranger to hard work, but this did not detract from being involved with extra curricular activities. I learned to be an all around skilled person possessing basic IT skills, with some minor mechanical, and electrical skills. I took all of this knowledge with me when I began attending Georgia Southern University, graduating in 2011 with a BBA in Marketing. 

Post college I struggled to find work that fulfilled me, working in market research, then sales, I finally decided to join the United Stated Air Force in 2013. There I discovered a fulfilling challenge becoming a Non-Communications Signals Intelligence Analyst (1N2X1A). Serving from 2013 to 2019 the Air Force presented several challenges that culminated in me separating and becoming a civilian again, but continuing in the same career field to this day.

Currently I’m back working with his 1st active duty squadron providing intelligence support and building mission data for foreign partner nations of the US. This initial post as an active duty member provided me with the necessary mentors and now coworkers that truly showed me what a rewarding challenge Electronic Warfare (EW) can be and has morphed into a passion for me. I’m is currently pursuing a 2nd bachelors in Electrical Engineering and plans to see where this career choice takes me. I live in Florida, near Eglin AFB.

Meghan Campbell Murray, IS 2008

Consultative Business Analyst, LexisNexis Risk

Meghan Murray graduated with a BBA in Information Systems with an emphasis on E-Commerce in 2008.  Since that time she has gained valuable knowledge working for technology companies relating to radio, news media, mobile and web applications, digital advertising, and higher education accreditation software.

Meghan is currently the Consultative Business Analyst for the Firco Insight product at LexisNexis Risk, which provides Tier 1 Banks with advanced filtering intelligence and risk scoring for optimal account screening. She enjoys spending time with family including her husband (Tim) and son (Nathan), playing video games, and cooking.

Jesse Nkemka

LaMario Primas

David Schott, MBA 2016, DrPH 2016

Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives

David Schott graduated in May 2016 with a Doctorate of Public Health and Master of Business Administration. While at Georgia Southern, he served as president of the Graduate Student Organization and published a textbook on supply chain management. Two years after graduation, he was named to the 2018 Georgia Southern University 40 under 40.

After graduation, David continued his training in healthcare administration and is now a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He enjoys mentoring future healthcare leaders and routinely partners with Georgia Southern University as well as other universities to provide on-site internships to students. David lives in Valdosta, Georgia, where he serves the regional health system as chief operating officer.

Trey Scrudder, FINC 2009, MBA 2011

Manager, Financial Risk Management, EY

Currently serves as the Chair of the Parker College of Business Young Alumni Board.  Manage credit risk engagements within EY’s Financial Risk Management consulting group with clients consisting primarily of regional and GSIB banks.  Projects focus on credit review, gap assessments to supervisory expectations, policy drafting, operating model transformations, and other credit risk management topics.  

Career began at a local bank auditing firm, Steve H. Powell & Company, as a Financial Institution Specialist and later the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston as a safety and soundness examiner.  Also chosen to work on several emergency lending facilities created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Main Street Lending Program, Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, and Payroll Protection Program Liquidity Facility.  

Georgia Southern Double Eagle obtained through a Finance degree (2009) and MBA (2011).

Brooke Sims, ACCT 2014, MAcc 2016

Manager, Ernst & Young, LLP (EY), Forensic & Integrity Services (Forensics)

Brooke is a Manager in EY’s Forensics practice. She interned with EY in Summer 2016 and began her full-time employment in April 2017. Her experience includes working with clients and their outside legal counsel within the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries in matters pertaining to government investigations into off-label marketing and kickback practices, regulatory and compliance investigations, litigation support and damage analyses, Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs)/Independent Review Organizations (IROs), compliance monitoring, and insurance and federal claims services. 

Brooke graduated from Georgia Southern University with a BBA in Accounting and minor in Fraud Examination in December 2014, and a MAcc in December 2016. While at Southern, she was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, Accounting Association, Residence Hall Association, and National Society of Leadership and Success. She also volunteered with Beta Alpha Psi and Statesboro High School with its Junior Achievement program. Today, Brooke is a licensed Certified Public Accountant; a member of the American Society of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners; and a volunteer with Junior Achievement on EY’s annual Connect Day.

Zach Sines, IS 2008

TA Technology Manager, North Highland

Zach has been a recruiter for over 13 years, hiring talent for organizations like Manhattan Associates, Home Depot, Cox, Travelport, and others while leading teams and helping mentor junior recruiters to reach their potential. Currently, he works for North Highland, where he is a Manager, Sr. Recruiter supporting their Process & BA, Technology, and Data & Analytics teams.  He graduated from Georgia Southern in 2008 with a BBA in Information Systems while also working for the University as a software developer and IT support technician.  He is also a certified DDI Facilitator, a Certified Scrum Master, the Chair of the Young Alumni Board, and most of the clothes he owns has a Georgia Southern emblem or theme.

He loves spending time with his wife, Liz, his family who live in Metro Atlanta, his 3 cats (Pablo, Summer, and Wolfie) and 2 dogs (Sammie and Pickles).  In his spare time he plays a lot of video games, does wood working in his garage, and enjoys spending time in Downtown Decatur and Oakhurst.

Hannah Steed, MGMT 2012

Hannah Steed graduated from Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business in 2012 with a BBA in Management Administration.

Currently, Hannah is the Change Management Specialist in the IT Digital Transformation Office for Milliken & Co. She is responsible for Change Management for projects within the IT group, ensuring that user impact is reduced, project timeline is reduced and rollouts are successful. She runs the Mentorship program for New Hires for the IT Team and recently rolled out successful changes with that program. 

Hannah is a Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (2022). She holds a Green Belt (2020) and Black Belt (2022) in Six Sigma Methodology. She has been nominated for Georgia Southern University’s 40 Under 40 Class four years running.

Hannah has 9 years experience in Manufacturing holding roles in Product and Process Improvement, Production and Project Management at Milliken & Co. Longleaf Plant in Sylvania, GA. She held responsibility for Quality, Costing, New Product Development, Process Reliability, Focused Improvement Projects, Green Belt Education, and determining the best Capital Expense Projects for the plant. 

Hannah has a passion for problem solving, designing new best practices and developing new products as well as the development of people through training, coaching and mentorship. Serving on the Young Alumni Board has expanded her mentorship to include Parker College of Business Scholars which she is very passionate about. 

Her free time is spent with her husband, dogs and cats or off bowling at a tournament. Around the holidays you can find her painting personalized acrylic paintings for friends and family.

Kyle Striecher

Clay Turner, MKTG 2009

Account Executive, Dell Technologies 

Clay Turner is a native of Metro Atlanta and a 2009 Graduate of Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors in Marketing. During his tenure at Georgia Southern, Clay was involved with many different student organizations including the Student Government Association, Southern Ambassadors, Inspire Leadership Consultants, and a member of the leadership team of First Baptist Statesboro college ministry. As a senior, Clay represented Georgia Southern at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, placing 16th nationally.

Upon graduation Clay began his career with the Tom James Company Atlanta office. His experience with Tom James span from clientele development, sales leadership, and talent acquisition.  After 11 years Clay shifted professional directions, and joined Dell Technologies as an Account Executive serving commercial customers in Georgia. 

Clay married his college sweetheart, Rachael Turner, in 2010 and they have three boys, Brooks, Smith, and Tatum. Clay and Rachael live in Dunwoody with their border collie Tux.

Will Vining, SCM 2009

Will is currently the Director of Supply Chain at Veritiv Corporation, a Fortune 500 Packaging company headquartered in Atlanta, GA.  In his role, Will has responsibility for Veritiv’s global delivery network in addition to their Indirect procurement organization and Supply Chain Sustainability strategy.  

Will graduated from Georgia Southern in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain and went on to get an MBA in global business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  After a short stint living in Savannah, Will has lived in Atlanta for the last 10 years working in a variety of Supply Chain roles at Veritiv.  

Will lives in Dunwoody, GA with his wife Jennifer (a Double Eagle!) and their 3 awesome daughters.  You can find Will and his family enjoying any Atlanta sporting event, hiking, or doing anything to keep their young family active.

Tyler Wainwright