U-M Club of Greater Chicago: Know Your Board

Club Officers

Phillip Zinda, President  
Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration, 2005
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Career: PepsiCo/Gatorade, Brand Management
Favorite Michigan Memory: Any & all sporting events: from beating OSU in 2003 and rushing the field to front row season hockey tickets. And of course time with friends around campus, particularly at Dominick’s & The Brown Jug.
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Finding friendly alumni faces wherever you go – whether around Chicago or around the world.
Screen Shot 2022 08 29 At 5.41.57 PMMichelle Mirzoian, Vice President
Degree: Political Science, 2002; Masters of Business Administration, 2006Hometown: Troy, MichiganFavorite Part of Living in Chicago: The atmosphere on the streets the second Sunday of October for the Chicago Marathon each year. It just reminds me why I love this cityFavorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: There isn’t an airport I walk through or an international marathon I have run where I don’t have a someone yell out to me “Go Blue!” when wearing my Michigan apparel. The network that you become a part of as an alum spans states, countries and the world. Oh and Saturdays in Ann Arbor in the fall….there is literally nothing like it on the planet.
April.jpgApril Roberts, Vice President and Community Service Committee Chair
Degree: Graphic Design, History of Art, 2002Hometown: Grand Rapids, MichiganCareer: Senior Systems Applications Analyst, SterlingFavorite Michigan Memory: One of my favorite memories was before I was even a student. I attended SCEEP (Summer College Engineering Exposure Program) my 11th grade year. I had such a great time on campus interacting with students, professors and students from around the world that I made attending Michigan my top choice.Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: The camaraderie among alumni, I love hearing the warm welcome of GO BLUE from other people and alumni at the most random times.
Themistocles Frangos, Treasurer  
Degree: Mechanical Engineering, 2005
Hometown: East Lansing, Michigan
Career: Attorney, Solo Practitioner
Favorite Michigan Memories:
(1) The first football football game after September 11, 2001 with a culmination of emotions from the previous 11 days.
(2) As a Michigan Alum: watching Brock Mealer walk across the field at the home opener in 2010 after being giving a 1% chance to walk again.
(3) Bo Schembechler talking to us about Michigan football and life in a dimly lit and haze filled Michigan Stadium my freshman year.
IMG 7677Serena Rabie, Secretary  
Degree: Political Science and American Culture, 2013. Law School, 2017
Hometown: Lake Orion, MI
Career: Commercial Litigator
Favorite Michigan Memory: Denard Robinson to Roy Roundtree in the corner of the endzone to defeat Notre Dame in 2011. I have never seen such jubilation anywhere else in my entire life!
Jennifer DeGeus, Immediate Past President  
Degree: Biology, 1995
Hometown: Joliet, Illinois
Career: Lake Forest Pediatrics, Pediatrician
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: I love the camaraderie and connection that Michigan alumni have. There’s this immediate excitement that occurs when you encounter another Michigan alumnus. When I was in medical school, I had a surgeon high five me across the operating table when he found out that I went to Michigan, too!

Board of Directors

michael_c_website.jpgMichael Chropowicz, Board Member  
Degree: Political Science and Spanish, 2010
Hometown: Jackson, Michigan
Career: Attorney, Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP
Activities While at U-M: Michigan Marching Band
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: The sense of camaraderie among alumni. I love to walk down the street and hear “Go Blue!”
lyndsey.jpegLyndsey Housman, Marketing Committee Co-Chair  
Degree: Business Administration, 2016
Hometown: Weston, Florida
Career: IBM, Managing Consultant
Favorite Michigan Memory: Freshmen year NCAA Tournament Finals/March Madness run, 2016 Football Spring game in the Harbaugh box suite, walking in the Diag and around Ann Arbor on a nice fall or spring day, Campus Day singing the fight song for the first time and realizing that Michigan without a doubt was the right choice for me, Ross Global Initiatives study abroad summer in China & Hong Kong, Zingerman’s.
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: The deep bond Michigan creates among its alum anywhere you go!
shreyaShreya Koushik, Marketing Committee Co-Chair  
Degree(s): Economics and Psychology, 2020
Hometown: New Albany, OH
Career: Financial Analyst, Beam Dental
Favorite Part of Being an Alum: Saying “Go Blue” to people wherever I am; Going back to Ann Arbor to see friends and go to football games!
Favorite Michigan Memory: Making it to the Final Four and storming South U; Late nights in Law Library (sometimes).
Neil DiMarco, Board Member  
Degree: Pharmacy, 2001
Hometown: Troy, Michigan
Career: John H Stroger Hospital
Activities While at U-M: Phi Delta Chi Fraternity, Ultimate Frisbee, Intramural Sports
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: The awesome friends I’ve met and kept over the years.
J Cummings MichiganJason Cummings, Sports & Social Committee Member  
Degree: Engineering, 1999
Hometown: Battle Creek, Michigan
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: My favorite part of being an alum in Chicago is the breadth of the Michigan network. Our presence is far reaching and there are plenty of opportunities to find alum with common interests and aspirations. When Michigan alum get together in Chi-Town, it feels like home.
Dustin Tsap, Board Member  
Degree: Industrial and Operations Engineering, 2011
Hometown: Hong Kong
Career: Navigant Consulting, Healthcare Analytics
Activities While at U-M: Michigan Daily (Copy editor), Hong Kong Student Association, and Program in Entrepreneurship
JH-New_Bio_Photo.jpegJesse Hyde, Board Member  
Degree: History, 2003
Hometown: Chelsea, Michigan
Career: Lateral Link, Director
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Michigan is where I made my lifelong closest friends. We have stayed in touch over the years and Michigan sports and other alumni events continually bring us together.
Pamela_Johnson__second_from_right_.jpgPamela Johnson, Board Member  
Degree: Communications and Journalism, 1974
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Favorite Michigan Memory: Walks in the Arboretum.
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Meeting other Michigan alumni, and participating in Michigan Community Service days.
website_-_desiree.jpgDesiree Lauricella, Board Member  
Degree: Psychology and Women’s Studies, 2008
Hometown: Jackson, Michigan
Career: Law Office of Desiree L. Lauricella, LLC, Principal/Owner
Favorite Michigan Memory: My first dance marathon in 2005! I made tons of new friends during that 30-hour experience, and I learned about many different campus organizations who volunteered their time at the Marathon
Nikki Little, Marketing Committee  
Degree: Chemical Engineering, 2005
Hometown: Farmington Hills, Michigan
Career: Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery, LLP, Intellectual Property Litigator
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: The worldwide reach of the Michigan Alumni network. Anywhere you go in Michigan gear, you’re almost certainly guaranteed to hear a “Go Blue!” My husband and I even met Michigan alumni during our honeymoon halfway across the world.
Alan Moy, Board Member  
Degree: BBA, 2009
Hometown: Downers Grove, Illinois
Career: Viet Nom Nom, Co-Founder
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Like many, I am a huge Michigan sports super fan. Since college, I’ve loved traveling to watch Michigan play across the country in bowl games, March Madness and various road trips. Some of my best memories as an alum have come on these trips with friends and fellow alums, including my trips to Dallas for the Cowboys Classic, New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl, and Atlanta for the basketball team’s National Championship appearance in 2013 (we also made it to 5 different cities during that team’s regular season!).
Image0 2Zach Ozbun, Networking Committee Chair  
Degree(s): Economics, 2018
Hometown: DeWitt, MI
Career: Fixed Income Analyst at Neuberger Berman
Favorite Part of Chicago: Lakefront trail in the summer
Favorite Michigan Memory: Watching Jordan Poole’s buzzer beater against Houston at Skeeps
Christine Olson, Board Member
Degree: Economics, 1986
Hometown: Lake Barrington, IllinoisCareer: Senior IT Manager, Motorola MobilityFavorite Michigan Memory: Football Saturdays, hanging out with my sorority sisters, going to Dominic’s, the laid back vibe of spring term, Ann Arbor Art Fair.Favorite Part of Living in Chicago: I live in the suburbs, but I love Chicago for all it has to offer and the awesome lakefront and nothing beats our skyline. 
Jeffrey Piell, Board Member  
Degree: Economics/Political Science, 1988
Hometown: Southfield, Michigan
Career: Labor and Employment Law Partner, Quarles & Brady, LLC
Favorite Michigan Memory: Proposing on 909 Sybil Street. My wife and I still walk by it everytime we are in Ann Arbor.
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Pride and community. You cannot walk down the street in Chicago or suburbs without seeing someone wearing the maize and blue.
Kelly Finzer, Board Member
Degree: Masters, Higher Education, 2013
Hometown: Hicksville, OH
Career: Relationship Manager, LinkedIn
Favorite Michigan Memory: Grad School Reunion with my cohort this past summer! We went back to campus to be students and visited all of our favorites (Dominick’s, Ashley’s, Jolly Pumpkin, walked around campus, and Fraser’s) without any of the homework!
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: All of the friends that I’ve made since moving to Chicago. My cohort at Michigan was small (30 or so). Through the Michigan alumni network, I’ve made many new friends here in Chicago.
jacob.jpgJacob Molewyk, Suburban and Multicultural Committee Chair  
Degree: Civil Engineering, 2018
Hometown: Buffalo Grove, IL
Career: SE3 LLC, Staff Engineer
Activities While at U-M: American Society of Civil Engineers, Michigan Transportation Student Organization, New Life Church, Phi Alpha Kappa Christian Fraternity
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: Having access to an alumni network with a large and diverse talent pool, especially in an economically diverse city like Chicago where I can meet Michigan alumni representing almost any industry.
Patty Theokas, Board Member

 

Degree: Organizational Studies/Political Science 2008

Hometown: Grosse Pointe, Michigan

Activities While at U-M: Detroit Project, Relay for Life, Football Saturdays, and anything/everything Ann Arbor!

Elaine_Vong_2.jpgElaine Vong, Board Member  
Degree: Chemical Engineering, 1990
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Career: Consultant and Owner, Vong BioPharma Consultants
Activities While at U-M: Society of Women Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Favorite Michigan Memory: My first date with my husband at the Law Quad.
susan_w.jpgSusan Welsh, Board Member  
Degree: Political Science, 1995
Hometown: Chesterton, Indiana
Career: Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP
Favorite Michigan Memory: Meeting people from all over the country; attending hockey games; the summer art fairs; and living two blocks from Zingerman’s.
tania.jpgTania Yusaf, Board Member  
Degree: Economics & English Language and Literature, 2002
Hometown: Saginaw, MI
Career: Staff Attorney, Rush University Medical Center
Activities While at Michigan: Women’s Glee Club
Favorite Michigan Memory: Attending football games, pizza and breadsticks from Pizza House, Scorekeepers, Making life-long friends.
Favorite Part of Living in Chicago: The diversity, outdoor dining during the summer, neighborhood festivals in the summer.
IMG 4557Zoey Holmstrom, Board Member  
Degree(s): Communications Studies, 2018
Hometown: St. Joseph, MI
Career: Associate Director of Content Strategy at Northwestern and Freelance Sports Photographer at Zoey Holmstrom Photo
Activities While at Michigan: The Michigan Daily Photo Staff, UMTTR, Alpha Phi Omega, Michigan Association of Communication Studies
Favorite Michigan Memory: While I worked for the Michigan Daily, I traveled to Boston to photograph the Hockey Team’s win to advance onto the Elite Eight!
Favorite Part of Living in Chicago: I love being so close to Lake Michigan! I grew up across the pond being able to see the Chicago skyline from my small town in Michigan, so the lake has always felt like home.
Jose Miranda, Board Member  
Degree(s): History, 2014
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Career: Benefits Consultant at Cottingham & Butler
Favorite Michigan Memory: I love Fall in Ann Arbor; everything about it—the trees changing color, football season, the new school year, etc.
Favorite Part of Living in Chicago: The architecture.
Favorite Part of Being a Michigan Alum: I am just proud to represent what is arguably the best public university in the country.
Debbie Roberts, Membership Committee Member

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