Get to know Lukas Kremens, Assistant Professor of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, who teaches the elective course Alternative Investments – Hedge Funds and Private Equity. Please tell us a bit about your background. I am from Essen, Germany. I studied in London and Milan, then worked for one year in investment banking but quit the day the first bonus hit my account (that’s a thing; not necessarily for the first bonus, but bonus day is also resignation day) and ran back to the London School of Economics for a PhD. I moved to Seattle s ..read more

Get to know Alicia DeSantola, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization and Helen Moore Gerhardt Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Foster School of Business, who teaches the MBA elective course Entrepreneurial Strategy.   Please tell us a bit about your background. I have bicoastal roots—  I joined Foster in 2019 after completing my PhD at Harvard Business School, but prior to that I had spent eight years studying and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. My time embedded in the Silicon Valley and Boston entrepreneurial ecosystems sparked much of my interest in top ..read more

In this Foster MBA Association feature, the ex presidents of Foster Creative Zharen Gonzales and Ayush Kulkarni, shared details about the club, their involvement and tips for current and future leadership. Please tell us a bit about yourselves. Zharen – I’m from Baltimore, MD. Before Foster I worked in accounting. As you can imagine, this career path did not leave much room for being creative. In my spare time I indulged in travel, music, arts and crafts, and trying new recipes, but it did not quell my desire for more in my career. This led me to pursue business school so that I could change m ..read more

Get to know Mark Forehand, Chair of the Department of Marketing and International Business and Pigott Family Professor in Business Administration, who teaches the elective course Consumer Marketing and Brand Strategy.   Please tell us a bit about your background. I arrived at Foster from Stanford when grunge music was a thing and have been amazed by the growth of both Seattle and Foster in the intervening years. I have been very fortunate to get to know many of the leaders in the branding and advertising space in Seattle and have worked extensively with them. These collaborations have be ..read more

Get to know Foster’s Teaching Professor of Finance and Business Economics Debra Glassman, who teaches the core MBA course Analysis of Global Economic Conditions.   Please tell us a bit about your background. I am a native of Wisconsin.  My undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, and I got a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin (the “other UW”).    What excites you about your subject area and what are some of your research interests? I have taught a number of different courses, from international finance to international business.  In re ..read more

Get to know Jill Bamburg, instructor of Perspectives on ESG in Business, an environmental, social and governance (ESG) elective at the Foster School of Business. Please tell us a bit about your background. I am currently retired after three careers: one in small town and environmental journalism, one in marketing in the computer software business, and one in teaching in graduate business programs. I spent the last 15 years of my career at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI), the first MBA program in the country to focus on sustainability. I was one of the co-founders and a long-time admini ..read more

Get to know Christina Ting Fong, Michael G. Foster Endowed Professor of Management who shares her experience teaching at Foster over two decades. Please tell us a bit about yourself. I have been a faculty member for 20 years at Foster. It’s absolutely a joy to be a part of this community and it’s something I really appreciate and love. In my life outside of work, I am a mom, a wife, and a dog owner. My older son is 16 and is a sophomore in high school. My younger son is 13 and a middle schooler. My two dogs – Ramona and Emerson – are Foster famous. They come to Paccar often and they know and l ..read more

The Foster MBA Global Business Association (GBA) is a student organization that plays a vital role in the MBA community by promoting a deeper understanding of global business dynamics. As the only club within our MBA program that focuses exclusively on global business, the GBA serves as a platform for students to explore and engage with cross-border and cross-cultural business issues that are increasingly relevant in today’s interconnected world. In this feature, Cynthia Vargas, a graduate of the FTMBA Class of 2023 and ex-president of the Global Business Association shares her leadership jour ..read more

Get to know Doron Levit, Professor of Business Economics and Marion B. Ingersoll Professor of Finance at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, who teaches the elective course Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A).    Please tell us a bit about your background. I was born and raised in Israel, served four years in the military, studied computer science and economics in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and then earned a PhD in Finance at Stanford GSB. I spent 10 years at Wharton. I’m married to Sivan and have three boys, aged 14, 12, and 8. I like to cook and garde ..read more

Get to know Cate Goethals – Affiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. Cate pictured left Please tell us a bit about your background. I believe creativity thrives at the intersections of industries, professions, and cultures – and I like it best when I have my feet in different worlds. I have two passports, US and UK. My degrees outside of business (BA in Communications and MFA in Creative Writing) give me an additional perspective. I love art and literary fiction and The Arts and travel…but I also love business. M ..read more