Prospective Student Advising Team

The Center's Prospective Student Advising Team is a valuable resource to prospective students interested in the Haas School of Business and the Center for Responsible Business. Members of the team are available to share their experiences at Haas and answer questions about the Center, as well as questions regarding corporate social responsibility and business education.

If you are a prospective student interested in learning more about the Center, please contact any of our seven advisors below to arrange a time to discuss life as an MBA at Haas.

Kevin Casey
Haas MBA 2009
email: kevin_casey@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Kevin Casey built a small apparel manufacturer named 3rdborn Clothing into a global apparel brand. He entered the apparel business during 2000 while researching economic development and entrepreneurism as a Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia. After returning to New York City, Kevin founded his own company, Kevin Casey & Associates LLC with the goal of connecting designers and manufacturers from Asia to the distribution and capital needed to build a sustainable business. 3rdborn Clothing currently sells to over 300 clients across Japan, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Socially and environmentally responsible practices are founding principles for his business. Profits are shared with manufacturing partners. Also, as 3rdborn Clothing is a member of One Percent for the Planet, one percent of all revenues are donated to environmental organizations. Kevin has a B.A. from Fordham University and plans to launch a new branded venture while at Haas.

Interests: Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital

Omar Garriott
Haas MBA 2009
email: omar_garriott@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Omar brings a background in education, nonprofit and social marketing to the Haas community. After teaching third grade in Washington, D.C. through Teach for America, he spent three years in a variety of roles at a leading national nonprofit, College Summit, which increases the college enrollment rate of low-income students. These experiences illuminated Omar’s true passion— tapping business and market principles in service to self-sustaining social change. Omar spent the year prior to Haas seeing this work from another lens, in the health and social marketing group at global PR firm Porter Novelli. He hopes to leverage his experience in social change organizations and direct service to someday (soon) launch a social enterprise of his own. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Omar is active at Haas in the student government as its VP of Community, and in the Global Social Venture Competition as Co-Chair of Development. He also serves as a board member of the Craigslist Foundation through the Berkeley Board Fellows program.

Interests: Social Entrepreneurship, Education, Public Policy, Nonprofit, and Corporate Social Responsibility

Melissa Higbie
Haas MBA 2009
email: melissa_higbie@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Melissa Higbie comes to Haas from the medical device industry where she worked with early-stage firms and experienced the process of medical device commercialization from raising venture funds through company acquisition. Her roles have included market research, branding, and marketing strategy. Melissa is interested in international development, believing strongly in small business growth as a catalyst for change. Her experiences traveling to more than 21 countries have fostered her interest in the potential of entrepreneurship to deliver healthcare solutions in developing countries. Melissa received her bachelor’s degree in Economics with honors from the University of Pittsburgh and is now pursing her MBA/MPH dual degree at Haas. This year, she is co-chair of the 2008 Global Social Venture Competition. She is also a Blum Fellow and will be in Uganda this summer working on the “Bodas for Life” project. An avid rock climber, Melissa excels at mixing business and academic travel with the discovery of new and exciting rock climbing locations.

Interests: Health Care, Entrepreneurship, International Development, Marketing Strategy

Mira Inbar
Haas MBA 2009
email: mira_inbar@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Mira Inbar is a first-year MBA at Haas and Co-President of the Net Impact Club. After receiving her degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College, Mira worked on reforestation projects with Quechuan communities in the Peruvian Andes. She then joined the nonprofit, Forest Trends, where she focused on ecosystem service markets, including carbon offset projects that have positive social benefits. While at Forest Trends, Mira designed, developed and managed a major international initiative to develop conservation programs at new mines and oil & gas projects throughout Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Mira speaks Spanish and Hebrew and loves to run, bake, and build tables.

Interests: Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Responsibility, Economic / Community Development, Environment, International Development, Marketing, and Social Enterprise / Entrepreneurship

Pin Kwok
Haas MBA 2009
email: pin_kwok@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Prior to attending Haas, Pin held various roles in Citigroup – consulting, process reengineering, strategic planning and compliance – and has worked in New York and Singapore, with consulting experiences in most countries in Asia. While at Citigroup, she was co-chair of one of the NY branches of the Women’s Council and mentored youths in the community through multiple mentoring programs in Citigroup. It was through her banking experience that she saw how powerful the movement of money was, and wanted to use it to create social impact. Pin hopes to start out at a CSR Consulting firm, thereafter moving on to create CSR programs in large multinationals around the world, hoping to focus on empowering communities in developing countries to better their lives.

Interests: Corporate Social Responsibility Consulting, Social Venture Capital, Social Impact Assessment, and Microfinance

Silvia Lacayo
Haas MBA 2009
email: silvia_lacayo@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: For five years, Silvia Lacayo worked at natural food companies dedicated to quality organic foods. While at Howler Products, Silvia coordinated efforts to prepare the organic desserts manufacturer for emerging co-packing opportunities. She saw both growth and sustainability reflected in dozens of new jobs for local residents. Later, while at WholeSoy & Co., Silvia observed how the elimination of plastic lids from single-serving yogurt containers not only reduced environmental impact but also made the soy company an industry leader. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Mass Communications from UC Berkeley. Silvia seeks to continue to offer quality natural products while engaging in sustainable practices.

Interests: Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Enterprise / Entrepreneurship, International Development, Operations, and Consumer Goods / Brand Management

Mike Lee
Haas MBA 2009
email: mike_lee@haas.berkeley.edu

Mike Lee is a first-year MBA and the Co-President of the Haas Net Impact Club and Principal of the HSRI fund. Prior to Haas, Mike spent two years as a social sector consultant at LaFrance Associates where he managed social impact evaluation projects for nonprofit, public sector, and philanthropic clients. He has also worked at Ashoka, a global social venture fund, and is an alumnus of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, year-long leadership training program. Michael graduated from magna cum laude from Harvard University with an interdisciplinary degree in Social Studies .

Megan Ryskamp
Haas MBA 2009
email: megan_ryskamp@haas.berkeley.edu

Bio: Megan Ryskamp worked in the Strategic Partnerships group of Cisco Systems Corporate Affairs to grow and support the Cisco Networking Academy – an online technology education program – in emerging economies and least developed countries. While at Cisco, she developed public-private partnerships with agencies of the the United Nations, US government, educational institutions, and NGOs. For two years she managed the program’s Africa operations, and more recently focused on building partnerships in the Latin America region. Prior to her work experience, Megan graduated from Stanford University with a BA in International Relations and Spanish. While at Haas, she plans to pursue her interests in technology, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, and international business. Ultimately Megan hopes to help companies design sustainable, strategic corporate social responsibility initiatives that demonstrate return on investment and have a positive impact on the community.