2022 Fall CEI Newsletter
‍CEI Newsletter | Fall 2022 Edition ‍Click here to view it online ‍ |
It is hard to believe that Fall is already in full swing with a multitude of regularly scheduled sports events, etc. Some really cold weather has seeped in, and the holiday season is fast approaching.
As we did in previous email communications, we are again thrilled to inform you that several of our CELP alumni/colleagues reached major milestones in their career. Please join us in congratulating our fellow CELP Alumni on achieving a significant milestone in their respective careers. Sincerely, |
‍Congratulations to our CELP colleagues on their new roles! Please join us in congratulating our colleagues for achieving a significant milestone in their respective careers.
Liz Benson is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Growth Strategy for Kofax, a California-based intelligent automation software company. In her role, she defines the company’s vision, growth goals and execution strategies and has global responsibility for Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Customer Experience, and Ecosystem. She previously led the Conversational Artificial Intelligence practice for Deloitte across the federal, state, and local government and higher education markets. Liz is passionate about advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace and spent the last decade engaging in the Pan-Asian business community in the DMV area serving on the Ascend GW Chapter Executive Board, CEI, and CELP PMO, and Inspiring Across Generations Conference. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Steven, children Kinsley and Jack, dog Duchess, and cat Mitten.
Rik Khurana, a Cohort 3 alumni, has been promoted to VP of Software Engineering, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Rik provides technical and thought leadership on several strategic initiatives including Technical Transformation, Product Modernization, Cloud Migration, Agile Transformation and DevOps. Leading a team of 400+ full stack developers, domain architects, agile coaches and scrum masters provides engineering leadership on diverse technologies and tools. Rik also develops and implements the technology strategy, process automation and human capital capable of supporting a scalable, functional, and reliable suite of products with a focus on innovation, emerging technologies and making recommendations on the strategic use of technology to achieve business results. Prior to joining FEPOC, Rik served as Sr Director of Product and Delivery for the CareFirst FEP Local, where he was responsible for developing departmental technology vision and roadmap, overseeing technology operations, and providing thought leadership for business transformation activities. His expertise as an innovator led the development of several new products using cutting edge technologies including Cloud, Salesforce, Hadoop, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation and Web Development technologies. Rik earned an MBA in IT Strategic Management from the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and a Bachelor of Engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering. Additionally, Rik holds several technical certifications.
Jason Lee, a Cohort 4 alumni, has taken a position as Vice President of Finance at Columbia Capital.  Jason oversees the entire financial reporting function for the venture capital and private debt strategies. Prior to joining Columbia Capital, Jason was a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Asset and Wealth Management audit practice in Washington, D.C. where he served clients in the venture capital, private equity, business development company, and not-for-profit endowment space. Jason is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Jason received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary and received his Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Virginia. Â
Adi Eswarapragada, a Cohort 4 alumni, has been admitted as Principal at PwC. Adi has over 24 years of experience in transforming organizations globally. He serves clients across the United States and focuses on Finance and Billing transformations. As a Partner in the firm, he leads the Software and Digital segment for Oracle Cloud enabled transformations. He is very passionate about developing talent and building diverse teams. He is married with two children and loves trail walking. Â Â
Michele Sipes, a Cohort 4 alumni, has been admitted as Principal at Deloitte and Touche LLP within Cyber and Strategic Risk Services. Michele has over 19 years of experience in cybersecurity serving both government and commercial clients. She leads large scale cybersecurity programs focused on developing and implementing cybersecurity strategies, providing security & privacy guidance for large modernization programs, and driving security engineering and architecture activities at scale. Michele is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion and is actively involved in mentoring and sponsoring women, as well as Asian American practitioners in the workplace. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Brian, daughter Haley, and dog Snickers. She loves traveling all over the world, trying new restaurants, and attempting new recipes. |
‍Summer 2022 Recap
The annual Ascend National Convention welcomed thousands of corporate executives, professionals, and academicians from around the country for 2.5 days of career enrichment and networking in the “happiest place on Earth,” Disneyland. Upcoming Events
CELP Reunion/Networking Happy Hour Join us for a CELP Reunion full of networking and reconnecting with current and new colleagues! The event brings together CELP graduates/alums from Cohorts 1 through 4 and current as well as new CELP mentors. Event Details:
Inspiring Across Generations Conference The 11th Annual Inspiring Across Generations (IAG) Conference in the Greater Washington DC Area, is scheduled for Nov. 5th, 2022. This year's IAG conference will explore the connection between belonging and purpose; finding both for yourself as well as helping others find their place. Event Details:
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