Leadership Team

Melissa Clinton

AAMBAA Board title: Academic Chair
Hometown: Pomona, CA
Undergraduate school: UCLA
Wharton Concentration/Major: Real Estate and Finance
Summer internship experience: CBRE Global Investors Managed Accounts Group, working on acquisitions and asset management
Future Career Interests: Real Estate Investing and Urban Renewal
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? It's taken the power of the Wharton network to another degree. It's a level of support and camaraderie that I'd liken to family. It's reminded me of all the advice and help I've received that have played a role in my success to date and reminded me to continue to pay it forward.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Securities; Private Real Estate Developer

Ryan Clinton

AAMBAA Board title: Alumni Relations
Hometown: Upland, CA
Undergraduate school: West Point
Wharton Concentration/Major: Finance/Statistics
Summer internship experience: Summer 2011 - Citi Mergers & Acquisitions - New York, NY; Summer 2012
Goldman, Sachs & Co. TMT - San Francisco, CA Future Career Interests: Corporate Finance or Corporate Development at an Aerospace and Defense firm
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA has provided a great network/community of individuals available to answer questions and provide guidance.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Following graduation from West Point in 2005 I was commissioned as an Infantry Lieutenant in the Army. I spent the next five years leading service members in a host of different capacities in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I finished my military career in 2010 at the rank of Captain.

Fana Gibson

AAMBAA Board title: Digital Communications & Social Media Chair (1st year Rep)
Hometown: San Fernando, Trinidad & Tobago
Undergraduate school: Howard University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Strategic Management
Future Career Interests: Management Consulting and Technology
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? With AAMBAA I am part of an amazing group of individuals who provide support, advice and clarity to help me navigate the sometimes overwhelming obstacle course that is Wharton. They have my best interest at heart and are like a surrogate family to me.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Business Development and Strategy - Office of Chairman & CEO EMEA, UBS London

Brian Hill

AAMBAA Board title: CFO
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Undergraduate school: University of Cincinnati
Wharton Concentration/Major: Management
Summer internship experience: Consumer & Retail Investment Banking - Credit Suisse
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA has provided an unmatched network of current students and alumni. This network has exposed me to different facets of business and has provided very strong friendships. AAMBAA has helped me navigate through Wharton and has been instrumental in my success thus far.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Financial Analyst Rotational Program – Macy’s Inc.

Curtis Johnson

AAMBAA Board title: 1st Year Social Chair
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Undergraduate school: Hampton
Wharton Concentration/Major: Marketing
Future Career Interests: Brand Management at CPG Firm
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Digital Media Manager at NAACP

Khalilah Karim

AAMBAA Board title: External Vice President
Hometown: Washington, DC
Undergraduate school: Stanford University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Finance; Multinational Management
Summer internship experience: International Finance Corporation (IFC) - Financial Markets division
Future Career Interests: International development with a focus on infrastructure finance
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? Being part of AAMBAA has greatly influenced my time at Wharton. It has been a forum for personal and academic support, and has allowed me to make meaningful connections with external organizations. I now look forward to giving back to AAMBAA as a future alumnus.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): International development with USAID; Public Sector Consulting with Accenture Development Partnerships

Kizzy Maitland

AAMBAA title: Sponsorship Chair
Hometown: Newberry, SC
Undergraduate school: Howard University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Strategic Management
Summer internship experience: Google – Large Customer Sales, Healthcare MBA Intern
Future Career Interests: Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Organizational and Business Development
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA has provided me with an amazing community, helpful resources, and tremendous leadership opportunities that have all contributed to a more rich and rewarding total Wharton experience.
Work experience (pre-Wharton):
Avon Products, Inc – Associate Brand Manager, Personal Care 2010-2011; Head of Diversity & Inclusion 2008 – 2010
Bristol Myers Squibb – Manager, Diversity and Work/Life and HR Business Partner

Ariana Nobles

AAMBAA Board title: 100 Series Co-Chair
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Undergraduate school: Brown University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Organization Effectiveness
Summer internship experience: Google – Large Customer Sales, Chicago
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? “My first Wharton experience was meeting the incredibly welcoming and supportive AAMBAA community at AAMBAA 101.   It was a wonderful way to start my Wharton career and AAMBAA remains today as one of my strongest social and professional networks.”
Future Career Interests: Technology and Retail
Work experience (pre-Wharton): National Basketball Association (NBA), Global Merchandising Group, NY, NY 2006 - 2010
NBA China, International Merchandising Group, Shanghai, China 2010-2011

Etzerson "Ettie" Philitas

AAMBAA Board Title: President
Hometown: New York, NY
Undergraduate College: Princeton University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Finance
Summer internship experience: Credit Suisse - Leveraged Finance Origination & Restructuring
Future career interests? Investment Banking
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA has influenced my Wharton experience in three major ways. First, the club has allowed me to build a robust network of diverse and achieved individuals. Secondly, AAMBAA has given me access to professional development and recruitment resources which have enabled me to transition into investment banking. Last, AAMBAA has allowed me to take on a leadership position which has given me the opportunity to serve my peers and strengthen the legacy of Wharton's black MBA community.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Analyst, Deutsche Bank PWM; Princeton-in-Africa Fellow, African Leadership Academy; Analyst, Boxwood Strategic Advisors.

Prior to Wharton, Ettie Philitas worked as an analyst with Deutsche Bank's Private Wealth Management group in New York City. After Wharton, Ettie was awarded a Princeton-in-Africa Fellowship to work with African Leadership Academy, an education venture in Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon returning from South Africa, Ettie worked with Boxwood Strategic Advisors, where he restructured debt for private clients and closely-held family companies.

Erinn Smart

AAMBAA Board title: Technology Chair
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Undergraduate school: Barnard College
Wharton Concentration/Major: Strategic Management
Summer internship experience: Google – New Business Development
Future Career Interests: Technology
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? From my first day at Wharton, AAMBAA has been a community that has positively shaped my MBA experience. Everyone in AAMBAA is willing to give themselves to the community and provide tremendous resources. I know that AAMBAA is a community that I can always rely on in my future personal and professional endeavors.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Financial Sales - Lord Abbett LLC; Business Development – Polin8 LLC

Kwame Webb

AAMBAA Board Title: Community Service Chair
Hometown: Washington, DC
Undergraduate College: The College of William and Mary
Wharton Concentration/Major: Management/Finance
Summer internship experience: Summer Associate, Clearlake Capital ($600mm distressed debt and special situations private equity fund)
Future career interests? Equity Investment Management
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? Prior to Wharton, I have never had a similar opportunity in life to be surrounded by so many accomplished, motivated and generous individuals. In AAMBAA, we have done rigorous interview preparation, study sessions, long-term career strategizing and simply had fun. Spending time with this group has made my Wharton experience more fulfilling and given my confidence that I have made friends for life.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Investment Analyst, Vice President, T. Rowe Price

Rachel Williams

AAMBAA Board title: Digital Media & Communications Chair
Hometown: Bethesda, MD
Undergraduate College: Brown University
Wharton Concentration/Major: Business Analytics
Summer internship experience: Google's GeoCommerce Group - Austin, TX.
Future interests: After graduation I plan to return to the technology industry, ideally in the role of product / marketing manager. Although I also have an interest in consumer analytics / insights and marketing research, I am looking for a position that gives me an opportunity to drive both short-term strategy and long-term vision, and ultimately allows me to contribute to the greater tech community.
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA has been an invaluable resource for me here at Wharton starting on day one. Upon arriving on campus, I have found AAMBAA members to be both exceedingly bright and incredibly passionate about sharing resources and knowledge to help others succeed. I have always had a passion for helping people, and AAMBAA has created an environment and a community where it is much easier to identify and connect with other students with similar backgrounds such that knowledge sharing is far more effective. As an organization AAMBAA has given me opportunities to enhance my leadership experience, network and build key relationships while helping future MBAs redefine their career paths.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Prior to Wharton, I worked in finance for five years at Delon Hampton & Associates, a minority-owned engineering consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. In 2008 I opened an ACN Telecommunications franchise to pursue direct marketing, sales and business development initiatives within the energy, home services and telecommunications industries.

Kalefe Wright

AAMBAA Board title: 100 Series Co-Chair
Hometown: Weston, FL
Undergraduate college: Morehouse College
Wharton Concentration/Major: Entrepreneurship, Marketing
Summer internship experience: Started a healthy Caribbean food company called Twice Spiced.
Future career interests: Health & Wellness Products and Services; Preventive Healthcare Strategy
How has AAMBAA influenced your Wharton experience? AAMBAA provides a stellar community through which I have created deep friendships, fostered business ideas, and experienced personal growth through involvement and leadership of formal and informal activities. AAMBAA is a tight-knit group whose members support one another and challenge each other to achieve personal and professional excellence. It is surely a foundation for me at Wharton.
Work experience (pre-Wharton): Robert Baird & Co: VP, Fixed Income Sales
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch: Associate, Mortgage-Backed Securities Sales