Executive MBA | Meet Our Team

Jessica serves as the Recruitment and Admissions Officer for our three MBA Programs. In this role, her primary focus is on recruitment and yield events, on and off campus, domestic and international.

Jessica graduated from UCI Paul Merage School of Business in 2020, earning a BA in Business Administration. After working in the mortgage industry after graduation, she returned to the Merage School in 2022 in the role of MBA Admissions Coordinator. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Jessica was a student assistant for the FEMBA & EMBA program office.

Jessica was born and raised in Southern California. She loves reading, visiting national parks, secondhand shopping, and iced coffee!

Melanie Coburn is a seasoned admissions, recruiting and marketing professional with expertise in recruiting business professionals into an MBA program. She has over 20 years of progressive management experience in higher education and has worked in many diverse work environments, including four different institutions across the country. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in Literature and Rhetoric as well as a master of arts degree in English from Binghamton University in New York and an MBA from University of Baltimore in Maryland. Most recently, she is the Sr. Director of Recruitment & Admissions for all MBA and Specialty Masters Programs at University of California, Irvine’s Merage School of Business.

Kristin Dalton has been with the Merage School of Business since 2012, beginning a second career now in Education as an Admissions Coordinator for the Executive MBA Program. Over the years, her positions have included EMBA Program Manager working with the students, Flex MBA student advisor, and Assistant Director, Admissions and Recruiting for Flex MBA and EMBA. Currently she leads the EMBA program's admissions and recruiting efforts. She has over 20 years work experience in private enterprise as well as the non-profit sector in entertainment and healthcare. She was also co-owner and operations manager for her family's graphic design business. Like the journey of many of her MBA students, she returned to school later in life to finish her bachelor's degree majoring in Human Development and then was motivated to complete a Masters in Management. She currently serves in leadership in her Toastmasters Club and is in leadership in her church community. Kristin is an organizer by heart and is often involved in planning small and large-scale, multi-day events.

Klara Farkas is the newest member of the EMBA team serving as the Senior Associate Director, EMBA Career Services. Her focus is providing tailored one-on-one coaching and delivering executive-level career management training. Providing expert guidance and empowerment necessary to assist EMBA students in attaining their professional career goals is her goal.

Klara came to UCI after founding and operating Klarity International, a communications consulting practice, working with leaders on sharpening their communication skills, a critical factor when advancing from managing to leading. She has worked with organizations such as Experian, Hyundai, Fluor, Prudential and others developing and leading seminars for mid to senior-level executives on honing Leadership Communication skills, Executive Presence and Leadership Influence. Previously, she spent over 10 years with Yum Brands as the former head of Global Marketing and Communications launching the Taco Bell brand in over a dozen countries worldwide.

Her passion for coaching people led her to become a Board Certified Coach (BCC) in 2015. Klara has coached both MBA and EMBA students at her alma mater, the Thunderbird School of Global Management and Cal State Fullerton. Klara has been a featured guest speaker at UCI’s Women’s Leadership Certificate program. She holds a Masters of Global Management from Thunderbird and a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from California State University. She is an avid world traveler (pre-Covid) and speaks both Hungarian and German.

Stephanie Leonard oversees Program Services for both the MBA for Executives Program, as well as the Fully Employed MBA Program. She is responsible for the organization, delivery, and management of the EMBA and FEMBA Program Service Offices, leading students from orientation, through graduation. Stephanie has been with UCI for over 10 years, previously serving as the Director of Student Affairs for the Program in Public Health, where she oversaw 1500+ students in the undergraduate, MPH and PhD programs. In this role she oversaw everything from admissions, to program services, to alumni and corporate engagement.

Prior to joining UCI, Stephanie worked at Bow River Capital, a private equity company located in Denver, as a Financial Analyst and as a Customer Service Manager for Chase Bank. Stephanie earned an MBA from the University of Denver, and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Taylor Martini serves as the Senior Director of Program Services for the Full-Time MBA, Fully Employed MBA, and Executive MBA Programs. He is responsible for the operations and academic services for MBA programs, focusing on strategic goals related to student experience and staff satisfaction.

Before moving into his current role, Taylor was the Executive Director of the Full-Time MBA Program for three years. He oversaw total operations of the Full-Time MBA Program including financial and strategic management, academic programming and supervision of the admissions and program services teams. Taylor supported the recruitment and admissions function of the program office for four years before transitioning into program leadership.

Taylor joined the Merage School in June 2015, soon after graduating from our Full-Time MBA Program. During his time in the program, Taylor secured multiple HR-focused internships which included stints at Tilly’s and PacSun. Prior to his MBA studies, Taylor spent three years as a loan officer in the mortgage industry.

Taylor was born and raised in Southern California and completed his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Chapman University.

Jennifer Risner is the MBA Programs Director for the MBA for Executives Program. As a Merage MBA herself, Jennifer enjoys assisting potential students with the next step in their business career, an MBA. Her expertise lies in providing a personal and responsive enrollment experience for admission candidates from diverse professional backgrounds.  

To the Merage School, Jennifer brings over 10 years of experience in admission. She has overseen strategic planning, process improvement and new program implementation, as well as the daily operation of all aspects of enrollment. Jennifer has implemented program improvements that resulted in increased enrollment through strategic communications, engagement of current students and alumni in admission processes, improving operational efficiencies and redeveloping admission committee procedures to include appropriate decision makers according to established best practices.  

Outside of education, Jennifer’s background includes over 10 years with The Walt Disney Company, working in aspects of management from guest relations to park operations. Together, her education and corporate knowledge provide her with the tools to assist executives along the journey of selecting Merage for their MBA.

Jennifer is a forever Anteater, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Civilizations from UCI followed one year later by another BA in Classics, then later an MBA from the Merage School. All were earned with honors, a standard to which Jennifer holds herself each and every day as she serves the Merage community.

Amber Tadokoro is the Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator for EMBA and FEMBA programs. Amber joined UCI Merage School in November 2019. She works closely with the EMBA/FEMBA admissions teams to coordinate and execute the marketing initiatives, streamlines recruiting efforts, organizes admissions events and manages various projects. Amber is the ‘Rock’ of the office and she will be the first person that people will see when they walk into EMBA/FEMBA office. She uses high-touch engagement with prospective and current students.

Amber is also an Anteater and earned her BA in Sociology from UCI. Amber has over 13 years of experience in banking and technology companies, with her most recent positions held at Quest Software and Dell as Data Analyst, Marketing Operations Analyst, and Social Media Marketing Specialist. As a Korean American, Amber is bilingual and fluent in English and Korean. 

Outside of work, Amber is passionate about helping women in need by helping them to get back to workforce or to schools and taking donations for professional clothing. But what she values the most is her family. To Amber, being a wife and a mother of two daughters are the most significant and paramount roles that she has ever had. She finds these roles as the most rewarding and gratifying.

Burt Alvaro Slusher is the Assistant Dean of MBA and Specialty Masters Programs at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. In this role, Burt oversees the School's current portfolio of graduate programs consisting of three MBA Programs (State-supported Full-Time MBA, and self-supporting Fully Employed MBA and Executive MBA) and four self-supporting Specialty Masters Programs (Master of Finance, Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Master of Professional Accountancy and Master of Science in Business Analytics). In addition, this role also oversees the Master of Science in Biotech Management program in tandem with leaders from the School of Biological Sciences. Burt also serves as part of the School’s senior leadership team.

Lisa Shulman is the Manager of MBA and Specialty Masters Programs, Strategic Initiatives. She manages all aspects of building graduate school pipelines, community initiatives, and supports current affinity groups with the focus of supporting our increasingly globally diverse graduate student population. She also works in creating partnerships with the Merage School and UCI community to ensure we have spaces for our diverse graduate student population.

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