Jessica Ennis, EMBA ’20, set out to forge a career rooted in purpose. Now, that purpose has taken her all the way to the White House.

Jorge Richardson BS ’21 originally went to Maryland Smith to follow in his family footsteps, join a big investment bank and put in the years to climb up the ladder. During a summer at the World Bank, he was enamored at the Bank’s ability to catalyze massive sustainable development change through innovation & financing methods, piquing his interest in the climate space.

From selling crayons for change in elementary school to investing in the stock market in the 9th grade, Forbes 30 under 30 recipient Jeron Davis BS ‘15 has always had a passion for business. 

When we imagine researchers, we often think about the world of academia in which professors conduct research while taking on a teaching schedule. However, outside of academia, there are a variety of professional research scientists, like Maryland Smith alum Debdatta Sinha Roy, PhD ‘19, who use data to help companies find patterns in customer behavior and optimize future decisions. 

L. Audrey Awasom, ’18, is leading an uprising. Her goal? To see a society where every woman has access to good healthcare, affordable housing and sustainable employment. As founder and CEO of Noble Uprising, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves, educates and empowers impoverished women through socially responsible programs and business partnerships, the Montgomery County, Md.-native is laying the foundation within her community to help make her goal a reality.

For Loop CTO Ali Salhi, MS in Business Analytics ’18, Maryland Smith was a place to learn about the importance of learning through challenges.

He has invested almost 45 years teaching, earning eight academic degrees, including three doctorates, and publishing 35 books and more than 300 academic and practitioner-oriented articles. Yet, H. Kent Baker, MBA ’69, DBA ’72, MEd ’74, says it isn’t yet time for retirement – not, he says, until he can no longer take the stairs to his office at American University.

For Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala, Maryland Smith was a place to find his passion and adapt to life in a new country.

There are secrets to baking that also apply to being an entrepreneur. And five Maryland siblings are putting those secrets to work in their latest venture. The Dubbaneh brothers and sisters – Ronnie, Danny, Ronia, Johnny and Deanna – know that to be successful in baking, you have to take care in every step of the process, be patient, give it your time and attention, and love what you’re doing. It’s the same for starting a business.

Jennifer Felix ’92 has one goal in mind when it comes to leadership – helping everyone maximize their potential. As president and CEO of ASRC Federal – a Maryland-based government services subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by 13,000 Iñupiat shareholders – Felix has learned firsthand what it means to lead. It starts with empowering others and finding inspiration in every journey, she says.