Flex 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 since 2012, beginning her career as the Admissions Coordinator for the Executive MBA Programs office. She has worked as Program Manager for our Executive MBA students and currently is working in Admissions and recruiting assisting the Flex MBA and EMBA students throughout their admissions process. She has over 10 years work experience in private enterprise as well as the non-profit sector in entertainment and healthcare. She managed her family's graphic design business until 2008 when she decided to return to school to complete her studies and earned her bachelor's degree in 2011. She currently serves as the President in her Toastmasters Club. Kristin is an organizer by heart and is actively involved in planning events and is the Chairman over a nationwide conference for her church.

Taylor Martini serves as the Senior Director of Program Services for the Full-Time MBA, Flex 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.

Amber Tadokoro is the Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator for EMBA and Flex MBA programs. Amber joined UCI Merage School in November 2019. She works closely with the EMBA/Flex 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 the EMBA/Flex 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 the 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 UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business Specialty Masters Programs: Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc), Master of Finance (MFin), Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA), and Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE). In his role, Burt manages the development and implementation of annual recruiting goals and provides strategic oversight for the admissions process in consultation with the Assistant Dean of Specialty Masters Programs and Academic Directors.

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.

Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn