National Association of Women MBAs (WMBA)
The National Association of Women MBA's is dedicated to enhancing the personal and professional development of graduate business women and promoting professional and social networking opportunities.
The WMBA is active in various aspects of the MBA Community. Throughout the year, many events are held to promote a supportive environment among the women of the Smeal MBA program. Some of their activities include:
- Meet and greet reception to welcome the women of the first year class
- Potluck dinner to kick off the school year
- Winery tour and tasting at the Mount Nittany Winery
- Officer elections
- Career Workshops with the Undergraduate Women in Business
- Welcome reception to greet women candidates for the MBA program during MBA Visitation Weekend
- Farewell dinner
- Past Corporate Speakers: Karen Quintos, vice president of Americas Customers Experience and SMB Operations Organizations of Dell Americas Contact Centers; Joan Amble, executive vice president and corporate comptroller for American Express; Martha B. Jordan, partner of the Los Angeles office of Latham and Watkins and former chair of Los Angeles Finance and Real Estate Department; and Liz Zlatkus, senior vice president of Hartford Life Insurance Company.
- Members attend the National Association of Women MBAs Conference and Career Fair to work toward finding a permanent position after graduation. for more information on this conference, go to the NAWMBA Web site.
Previous Events
Class of 2011 Welcome Reception
On September 17, 2009 the WMBA members of the Class of 2010 with the staff from 220 got together on the 3rd floor terrace of the Business Building to welcome the Class of 2011 into the program. The round of introductions from everyone was followed by what the WMBA is for and what events it hosted each year. It was the perfect day outside to enjoy the sun while getting to know such wonderful women!
WMBA election dinner
On the 23rd Jan 2009, the current WMBA officers and WMBA members welcomed the new WMBA board. While enjoying umpteen laughs and a scrumptious dinner at India Pavilion, the members elected the new board as follows: President Tamara Tyree; VP Communications Kaushal Shah; VP International Affairs Sara Paige; VP Finance Aditi Gupta; VP Alum Relations Sneha Sundaram; and VP Recruitement Rebecca Lankin. Congratulations to the new board!!!
MBAAand WMBA present Cricket Clinic Oct 24th
Cricket is a religion in India and 15 out of 102 first year MBA students are from India. MBAA and WMBA hosted a cricket clinic and a friendly cricket tournament to help the Indian students share their passion for cricket with other MBA students. What better way to interact with the fellow MBA students outside the classroom than over a friendly game of cricket on a nice fall day.
WMBA hosted the M&T sponsored Tailgate
WMBA cohosted the M&T sponsored Temple game tailgate with MBAA on Sep 20th. The food and the cookout (thank you volunteers) was a big hit. The most talked about things besides our splendid win in the game, were the Edible Arrangement Bouquets..chocolate covered strawberries...yummm
Association Night
As is the tradition, every year on Association night the WMBA along with other student run organizations pitches itself to the incoming class in effort to interest the student body. This year we had a splendid reception, as most of the female members of the incoming class (75%) joined the WMBA on the association night itself. This year we even had a few brave men join us, we hope to keep them coming.
Class of 2010 Welcome Reception
The WMBA officers gathered with staff and the members of the class of 2009 to welcome the ladies of the incoming class (2010). There were some icebreaker games organized by the WMBA and amongst the fun and games, the officers, staff and the students of both classes got a chance to get to know one another. The event ended with a Q&A session with topics ranging from women in business to events within the WMBA.
Visitation Weekend
We welcomed our new batch of prospective students on March 27, 2008. The ladies had a slight advantage over the men as they enjoyed the luxurious, delicious chocolate fountain as part of the NAWMBA association meet-and-greet. 220 and the current MBA students put together a fun weekend for the prospective students with events like the association reception, tours of the Smeal Building, as well as tours of Penn State's campus.
Women in the Workplace
A group of Smeal MBAs spent a couple of hours discussing the context of "Women in the Workplace." Despite the female context of the session, a few brave male students contributed greatly to the session as well as Smeal MBA faculty and staff. Co-sponsored by the WMBA an Minority MBA organizations, the session was facilitated by Peggy Lorah from Penn State's Student Affairs Department.
2008 WMBA Elections Night
We elected our new vice president of communications on January 24, 2008. The election night was a big hit, with splendid decor and a great Indian sit down dinner, courtesy of the WMBA team of 2008. Marcela, WMBA president 2008, welcomed the new board members and Amy, our president for 2009, enthused us all with her energy and excitement for the year ahead.
Officer Bios
Tamara Tyree, President
Prior to joining Smeal, Tamara spent seven years as a recruiter in the financial services industry. She earned a BA in communication and political science from The University of Arizona. At Smeal, Tamara plans to focus on product & market development to launch a career in marketing. Tamara is focused on community involvement and development and has been involved in the Junior League of Phoenix prior to Business School.
Rebecca Lankin, VP of Recruitment
Rebecca is from Philadelphia, PA. For her undergraduate degree, she studied International Affairs, International Economics and Communication at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Before returning to her studies, Rebecca worked as Client Services Manager at a branch of Raymond James Financial Services in Glenside, PA. She looks forward to working with any past, present and future WMBA members. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys cooking, nature walks, handcrafts, dancing, and learning about other's cultures.
At Smeal Rebecca is focusing on Supply Chain and Strategic Management.
Kaushal Shah, VP Communications
Kaushal obtained her undergraduate degree in computer engineer from Sardar Patel University, India. Prior to joining Smeal, she underwent a rotational leadership program as a management trainee at Rishabh Software, a firm that provides solutions for Information technology, Business process outsourcing and Engineering services.
Aditi Gupta, Vice President, Finance
Aditi Gupta comes from Delhi, India. After completing her engineering in Computer Science from Delhi, she worked with Sapient for two years as a system developer and later as a business analyst. At Smeal, Aditi wants to focus on Supply Chain and Corporate Finance, besides making most of the international exposure and diverse experience. She enjoys dancing, cooking and watching ‘out and out masala’ Bollywood movies.
Sneha Sundaram, VP of Corporate and Alumni Relations
Sneha is originally from Mumbai, India and moved to Pennsylvania in Fall 2008 to begin the MBA program. Sneha graduated from Mumbai University, India with a Bachelors degree in Instrumentation Engineering. Prior to Smeal, Sneha worked as a Project Engineer at Emerson Process Management for around three years, where she worked on global projects across Asia Pacific, North America and Middle East. She is passionate about exploring new cultures and loves traveling, dancing and reading.
Sneha is committed to the cause of the NAWMBA and is also a member of the National Leadership Board of NAWMBA as the Regional VP of Membership and Chapter Development.
Here at Smeal, Sneha is pursuing her MBA in Marketing, Strategic Leadership and Supply Chain Management.
Sara Paige, Vice President, International Affairs
Sara is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Arizona. Previous to joining Smeal, she worked in business development at an international insurance company, forming contracts with doctors and hospitals in over 28 countries. Sara plans to focus on marketing and strategic leadership. She enjoys reading, cooking, and of course, traveling!
