Meet the FEMBA Staff

The FEMBA Program Staff was ranked #1 in responsiveness to Student Concerns amongst 86 other part-time MBA Programs (Educational Benchmarking Survey, graduating class of 2007)! 

Read more in the latest edition of the Merage Magazine - p.30

We encourage you to learn more about the people behind the scenes.

	Tony Hansford Title: Assistant Dean, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: Full-Time MBA and B.A. in Sociology, University of California, Irvine Professional Background: Prior to Merage, Tony worked for several years in real estate consulting. He was first employed at Merage as the Associate Director of Admissions, moved up to Director in 2003, and was promoted in 2006 to Executive Director. In 2008, Tony was promoted to Assistant Dean of the FEMBA Program.
	Coni Zingarelli Title: Associate Director, Student Affairs, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: MBA, The Paul Merage School of Business (2008), B.A. Social & Behavioral Sciences at Pennsylvania State University Previous Professional Background: Coni worked in the hospitality industry for over 10 years specializing in event sales, marketing and operations.  She worked in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles prior to relocating to Orange County and the Merage School of Business. Why Did You Choose to Work at Merage: I joined the FEMBA team as Associate Director of Student Affairs shortly after graduating in 2008. I wanted to be a part of the team that provides a superior level of service to all students and also to give back to the Merage School for all that I gained personally and professionally from the program.
	Melanie Coburn Title: Assistant Director, Admissions, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: B.A. in Literature and Rhetoric, Binghamton University; M.A. in English, Binghamton University; MBA, Merrick School of Business - University of Baltimore Previous Professional Background: Melanie began her career as an  Admissions Counselor at Long Island University - C.W. Post Campus in  2003.  She was responsible for guiding freshmen through the application process.  She was promoted to Senior Admissions Counselor in 2004.  After 2 years at LIU, Melanie accepted a position at the University of Baltimore.  She was responsible for the recruitment and enrollment of freshman and transfer students.  She worked at UB for 3 years as an Admissions Counselor, then Assistant Director, and then Acting Associate Director of Admissions. Why Did You Choose to Work at Merage: I just recently moved to California and wanted to live and work in a thriving community.  I also wanted to broaden my career by working with graduate students as well share my experience as an MBA student who was fully employed.
	Sofia Trinidad Title: Program Manager, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: B.A., Criminology, Law & Society with a Minor in Psychology & Social Behavior from University of California, Irvine Previous Professional Background: Palo Verde Graduate Housing, UCI Professional Highlights: Seeing my first class, FEMBA '07, through the entire MBA process from admissions all the way through graduation.   Why Did You Choose to Work at Merage: I chose to work at Merage because I enjoy working with graduate students.
	Aubrey Reavis Title: Program Advisor, Admissions, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior, Business Management Minor, University of California, Irvine Professional Highlights: Immediately out of college, Aubrey did Executive Recruiting for McDermott & Bull.  Most recently, she worked for Equinox Fitness in Newport Beach - opening the club, training and recruiting staff, and handling membership sales. Why Did You Choose to Work at Merage: I moved into this role through a Merage alum.  I enjoyed my experience working for the school as an undergraduate minor, and wanted to be more involved at the graduate level.
	Eunice Lee Title: Program Advisor, Student Affairs, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: B.A. in Economics with a Minor in Management, University of California, Irvine Professional Highlights: I spent the past several years exploring the different industries out there in the working world - from real estate/escrow services, publishing ad distributing of free consumer publications, restaurant operations, to wedding planning.
	My Banh Title: Admissions and Recruiting Coordinator, Fully Employed MBA Program Academic Background: B.S. and B.A. Biology and Sociology, double major - University of California, Irvine Professional Background: I previously worked for UC Irvine's IT department and then became a dental assistant.  I am so happy to be back at UC Irvine and part of a great team!