Our Graduates. Their Stories.
Wherever there is a need for leaders – be it the boardroom, classroom or corporate office – you will find our DBA graduates. They are CEOs, VPs, professors, chief technology officers, and business consultants.
Read on to learn how four of them are using their DBA training to serve as effective leaders, critical thinkers, researchers and decision makers.
鈥業鈥檓 passionate about delivering measurable contributions to a family鈥檚 confidence and contentedness.鈥�
After beginning his career as an insurance and litigation analyst, Darren McGraw decided to apply his financial risk knowledge more broadly, leading to the launch of his own financial planning firm.
Today, as president of Mechelsen Private Client, a wealth risk advisory firm, he guides behaviors that de-risk successful families against unfortunate events, lawsuits, and unscrupulous people. He is also the founder of Risk Frameworks, a software that helps financial advisors counsel families to improve cybersecurity behaviors.
“I’m passionate about being part of a group of advisors who commit themselves fully to ensuring that the families who trust them receive expert guidance and unwavering integrity,” he says. “I take pride in earning that trust through action, consistently delivering thoughtful, ethical and client-centered advice.”
鈥業 love challenges. I need challenges. That鈥檚 just who I am.鈥�
Tony Kelly overcame a poor upbringing in Detroit, survived the rigors of military training, and at one point in his life was assigned the unenviable task of potentially turning a key to launch nuclear ICBMs. “Fortunately, I never had to do that job, which is a good thing,” he quips.
Today, as a realtor who cofounded and co-owns a Keller Williams franchise in Lake Oswego, Oregon, he is doing his part to close the wealth gap disparity in the state’s real estate landscape.
“The No. 1 wealth generator in the country is real estate, and it’s really because of the concomitant effect of having that generational wealth that just keeps passing on,” he says. “Being able to participate in efforts to improve the disparity around that drives me, not just for people of color, but for everyone.”
鈥楨ver since I was a child, I鈥檝e always tried to sell things.鈥�
Marlon Ware became fascinated with the concept of business at a young age. While other children in his neighborhood were outside playing games and goofing off, Ware fondly remembers organizing and launching his very first business: a lemonade stand.
He eventually outgrew the lemonade stand, but he’s never lost his passion for business. He’s now the assistant dean and an assistant professor in the College of Business at Azusa Pacific University, where enjoys passing on the knowledge he’s learned over the years to aspiring entrepreneurs and business people.
“No matter what organization you are affiliated with – whether it is large or small, nonprofit or not, public or private – they are guaranteed to have a business section,” he says. “It is absolutely necessary to have business management, because our world runs on business. We are one of the greatest countries in the world because we have strong business management. I want to be a part of that.”
鈥業t鈥檚 making an effort to better the community we live in.鈥�
Through her experiences, Sarah Cooley has seen firsthand the damage a business or corporation can do simply through its daily business activities. Today, as vice president of marketing, e-commerce and corporate responsibility at Orchard & Vineyard Supply – a McMinnville, Oregon-based company regarded worldwide as a leader in orchard, vineyard and hops supplies – she is getting the opportunity to be part of the solution.
Cooley is responsible for overseeing the building and maintaining of the company’s website, marketing efforts and merchandising opportunities for an outfit with 16 retail locations nationwide, 36 outside sales reps, two E-commerce sites, and three owned subsidiary companies.
“Throughout my last few roles at other companies, I aimed to increase their social responsibility and sustainability, in which the efforts were often met with hesitation to adopt those practices,” she says. “There is a misunderstanding that the efforts aren’t worth it for the company or don’t matter to consumers. I wanted to change that. I wanted to show that it’s not a gimmicky thing to make you feel good; it’s doing what’s right.”