SPS Alumni Council

MS Fundraising & Grantmaking
President, Sara Pandolfi & Company

Sara Pandolfi leads her own social impact firm, Sara Pandolfi & Company, working with nonprofit organizations, foundations, companies, and philanthropists, connecting a community of voices for change. She specializes in nonprofit development, corporate and community partnerships, crisis relief management, marketing, and strategic planning.

Pandolfi leverages her relationships in the corporate world and her extensive network in the arts and hospitality industries to positively impact populations in need and improve bottom-line business results.

Her clients include causes related to conflict resolution and peacemaking, education and career development, healthcare, social services, and women’s rights organizations.

While at NYU SPS Sara served as the president of the NYU Fundraising Student Association. She also is the recipient of the 2015 NYU SPS Bart Lawson Alumni Award for Public Service.

Sara holds degrees from the NYU School of Professional Studies George H. Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising (MS), Columbia University School of Social Work (MSW) and California State University, Northridge Department of Journalism (BA).

MS Global Affairs
Project Manager & Senior Intelligence Analyst, Maxar Technologies

Amelia M. Wolf is a project manager and senior intelligence analyst at Maxar Technologies, a geospatial intelligence company. She has eight years of experience in the intelligence community and national security field. Formerly, she was a research analyst at CENTRA Technology, a research associate in the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations, and communications coordinator and writer at the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect. She also was previously an adjunct assistant professor at St. John’s University.

Wolf also is a security fellow with the Truman National Security Project, an advisory council member for the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs’ Carnegie New Leaders (CNL) program, a member of Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s (INSA) Diversity with Inclusion Steering Committee, and an IE Business School corporate mentor. From 2016-2019, she helped found and served as president of the CNL DC Chapter. She also founded a network of NYU Center for Global Affairs alumni in Washington, DC and was recently appointed an inaugural member of the NYU School of Professional Studies Alumni Board.

Wolf was a recipient of a Recognition Award for Outstanding Work from the US Government in 2019 and a 2020 nominee for a Director of National Intelligence Award. She has published articles in outlets including Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and Defense One. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. Wolf earned a BA from Loyola University Maryland and an MS in global affairs from the NYU School of Professional Studies, Center for Global Affairs, where she specialized in international law and human rights.

MS Publishing
Senior Director, Audience Growth and Partnerships, CNBC

Seth Harris joined CNBC in 2014 and oversees the CNBC Pro subscription business in addition to serving as senior director of audience growth and partnerships. Prior to CNBC, Harris was employed in strategy and corporate development at The Associated Press and in business development at Hachette Filipacchi Media, where he worked on such brands as Elle and Car and Driver. Harris began his career as a journalist and editor for Nielsen Business. He is a graduate of the NYU School of Professional Studies MS in Publishing: Digital and Print Media program, for which he currently teaches as an adjunct professor.

AA Liberal Arts
Award-Winning Author and Filmmaker, SAG-AFTRA Actor, Student at Harvard University

Kody Christiansen was born in a small suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, but his dreams were always big. His life has taken him to New York, Hollywood, and back again, in a series of struggles, addiction, heartbreak, homelessness and eventually redemption, sobriety and inspiration. He won multiple awards for his first memoir Hollywood Heartbreak | New York Dreams, which received rave reviews. He has made world headlines, and hopes to continue to encourage others through engaging talks and creative works. Christiansen is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and has appeared in multiple movies and television shows. He graduated from the NYU School of Professional Studies Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies in 2020 as the president of the NYU SPS Undergraduate Student Council. He was among the top in his class and garnered the Student Leader of the Year award. Christiansen is currently pursuing the next phase of his academic career at Harvard University, and continues his mission as a student leader focused on student rights and community service. His personal motto: "Stay Strong and Dream Big."

MA Graphic Communication Management and Technology
Creative Manager, Fluor Corporation

Joe Gilpin Jr., graduated the Graphic Communications Management and Technology program of the NYU School of Professional Studies in 2012, and held the position of the of student liaison from 2014-2016. Gilpin was an NYU SPS Division of Programs in Business chapter board member from the board’s inception in 2014 through 2017. He currently serves as the creative manager for Fluor Corporation and has been in the graphic arts field for over 14 years. In his previous role at Skanska USA Civil, Gilpin played a proactive role in growing the business by helping to win over $2.7 billion worth of work. Prior to his employment at Skanska, he was employed by the American Management Association, where he contributed to a number of teams and to the overall growth of the organization. While at AMA, Gilpin earned several certificates in soft skills such as public speaking, leadership training, and project management. He also earned several certificates in motion graphics, web and HTML design, mobile web responsiveness, and character animation. Gilpin started working directly in the graphics field after he completed his undergraduate studies at St. John’s University, and has been thriving ever since. He is passionate about the arts, mentoring, community service, and the development of students. He is enrolled as a mentor in the iMentoring organization and has mentored urban high school youth for over a year and half. In addition, he volunteers as a motivational/instructional and public speaker for many youth-empowering organizations, including Operation Enterprise and Exploring NY.

MS Human Resources Management & Development
Lead Associate, Global Mergers & Acquisitions, Willis Towers Watson  

Leena Menghani is the lead associate, Global Mergers & Acquisitions at Willis Towers Watson, based in New York City. She assists clients across a broad range of transactional issues, in connection with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and spin-offs, focusing on overall project management and coordination within the context of corporate transactions.

Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, she spent several years working in human capital consulting for Ernst & Young and eClerx Pvt., where she was responsible for design and implementation of recruitment, talent management, employee benefits, change management & communication, and executive compensation offerings across numerous countries and geographies.

She earned an MBA from Christ University, India and a master’s in human resources management and development from the NYU School of Professional Studies, where she also served as president of the SPS Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).

MS Real Estate
Senior Director, Streamline Realty Funding, LLC

Thomas Miller has over 20 years of experience in the acquisition, financing, asset management, and disposition of commercial real estate, with a total dollar value exceeding $3.6 billion. He currently serves as senior director of Origination, Transaction and Asset Management at Streamline Realty Funding. Prior to joining Streamline, he was a director at Terra Capital Partners, a New York City-based real estate investment manager that deploys capital with a credit focus across property types, markets, and securities. Miller’s background in working with institutional investors to raise funds and deploy capital began at Bear, Stearns & Co., where he was an investment banker until 2002 in both the Private Equity and the Real Estate, Gaming, & Lodging Groups. Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from Brown University; a Master of Science in real estate from the NYU School of Professional Studies, Schack Institute of Real Estate; and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In addition, he received the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.

BS Real Estate, MS Real Estate
Director of Real Estate, Risk Management, & Administrative Support Services,
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Alex S. Patterson is the director of Director of Real Estate, Risk Management and Administrative Support Services at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the preeminent law firm founded on a handshake in 1965. In this role, Patterson leads the firm’s day-to-day real estate, operations, and risk management activities. This includes, but is not limited to, oversight of the firm’s space utilization, leasing, construction, travel, insurance, sustainability, and business continuity efforts.

For over a decade, Patterson has worked with leading institutions to shape and streamline their operations. A thoughtful, team-oriented, and decisive leader, his leadership style is defined by utilizing strong communication skills to create and achieve both practical and agreeable solutions.

Patterson earned a BS in real estate (Honors) and an MS in real estate development from the NYU School of Professional Studies, Schack Institute of Real Estate.

MS Hospitality Industry Studies
SVP Investments, HEI Hotels & Resorts

Steen Petri is a seasoned hospitality industry professional with over $3B of hotel real estate capital transaction experience.

He currently serves as senior vice president, Investments, HEI Hotels & Resorts and has been with HEI since 2008. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s business development team and oversees all aspects of transactional underwriting, financing, contract negotiations, due diligence, and deal execution. He is instrumental in the firm’s deal sourcing for acquisitions and third-party management agreements through an extensive network of institutional capital partners, brokers, and other stakeholders.

Prior to HEI, Petri was the director of Acquisitions & Development at the Waterford Hotel Group, where his responsibilities included land acquisition sourcing, securing entitlements, and underwriting for ground-up hotel development projects and capital transactions.

Previously, he spent over 10 years in hospitality operations, leading management teams at assets including W Hotel Union Square NYC, The Lotos Club in NYC, and the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado.

Petri earned a master’s in hospitality industry studies with a focus in hotel development & asset management from the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, and served as president of the NYU SPS Tisch Center Alumni Society. He holds a bachelor’s in hotel & restaurant management from the University of New Haven, Connecticut.

BS Hotel & Tourism Management
Director of Operations / Partner, Cote Korean Steakhouse

Amy Zhou grew up in Shanghai, where she began her hospitality career working in restaurants in high school. Bitten by the wine bug, she devoured wine books after school until she earned her first position as a sommelier at just 20 years of age. She later became a certified sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers at 23. She moved to New York City in 2011 to pursue a BS in Hospitality Management at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. Upon graduation she was hired by BR Guest Hospitality. She eventually became the youngest GM in the group, before joining Cote, where she is currently general manager/partner. This is where she met Victoria James and Cynthia Cheng. Alongside these two women, Zhou is a co-founder of Wine Empowered, a 501c3 non-profit that offers tuition-free wine education to women and minorities. Wine Empowered’s mission is to diversify leadership in the hospitality industry by empowering these underrepresented groups with knowledge and access. People who know her call her “Grandma Zhou.” She loves a good book, a great nap, and any and all farmer’s markets.

BS Sports Management
Manager, Football Communications & Marketing, National Football League

Melissa Menta is the manager of Football Communications & Marketing Strategy at the National Football League. In this role, she works with current and former players to elevate their brand, create platforms for them to tell their stories, and provide opportunities for them to succeed off the field. Menta believes that the partnership between the League and the players is one of the most important pieces of NFL Football—this partnership is the foundation of the business. To support this, Menta has launched and oversees the NFL player podcast series, develops concepts for broadcast features (including NFL 100 Generations, NFL Way to Play, and Life After Football), and hosts events to celebrate players at all levels. She graduated from the NYU School of Professional Studies, Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport in 2016, and was a two-year captain and four-year letter winner for the NYU women’s varsity soccer team.

MS Sports Business
Brand Marketing Senior Manager, PepsiCo

Josh Page a senior manager of Brand Marketing in the North Division of PBNA, leading the development of all marketing programs and campaigns for New York City across the entire PepsiCo beverage portfolio.

Prior to his joining PepsiCo, Page spent 13 years as a sports marketer working at agencies, teams, and leagues, creating and executing marketing campaigns for his clients on both a national and local market level. He has extensive experience developing and activating marketing programs that utilize all forms of media, with a heavy focus in experiential marketing around events including the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, College Football National Championship, and the NHL Winter Classic.

Page is a life-long New Yorker and lives in Scarsdale with wife and infant son. When not in the office, you can likely find him skiing, golfing, planning his family’s next vacation, and looking for the next opportunity to try a new food or restaurant. Page is a graduate of the NYU School of Professional Studies Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport.

MS Tourism & Travel Management
Lecturer, NYU Shanghai & Shanghai University of Business and Economics

Jiayi Du graduated from the NYU School of Professional Studies, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality with an MS in Travel and Tourism Management. She is the founder of the NYU Alumni Club in Shanghai, and has served as a member of the Club’s leadership since 2013. She works at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and also is an adjunct professor at NYU Shanghai. Her teaching and academic interests concentrate in the areas of social media and digital marketing. Boosting international education development in Shanghai is her long-term career pursuit.