Our Team

Kemi Akindude

President

Kemi Akindude is a dynamic, purpose-driven leader with a heart for community building. She graduated Prelaw with her BA from Syracuse University, then went on to obtain her JD from Washington University in St. Louis Law. Specializing in the nexus of education, law, and policy, she earned her MSc. in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. During her academic tenure, she served as a research assistant at Research for Action, a prominent educational nonprofit. Additionally, she contributed her skills as an alumni engagement coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania, enriching her understanding of education dynamics and alumni relations.

After working in South Korea for two years, she returned to her hometown in 2020 with a renewed focus on community engagement. Motivated by a steadfast commitment to this end, she launched a nonpartisan congressional campaign. Post-election, Kemi was offered a position as Director of Development for a NYC-based nonprofit, where she currently serves on the Board. While there, she successfully managed grant writing initiatives and cultivated strategic partnerships with multi-million-dollar companies, such as CitiBike. She also served as a legal consultant during this time for local businesses and organizations. Motivated by the critical challenges facing minority-led organizations, particularly in terms of limited resources and access, Kemi decided to pursue her MBA at Simon Business School to deepen her expertise and effectiveness in addressing these pressing issues. At present, Kemi remains committed to her people-centered philosophy at Simon as a Consortium Fellow and Forte Fellow., She has also been honored as the recipient of the Spring 2024 Simon Community Builder award.

In her free time, Kemi loves learning languages, and speaks fluent Yoruba, conversational Korean, and is developing proficiency in Russian. Kemi also loves dressmaking, laser tag, and Indian movies.

Kemi is committed to utilizing her expertise and background to enhance the impact of Simon Vision Consulting within the Rochester community.

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Julian Edelman

Engagement Director

Julian Edelman is a Polish American hailing from New York City. He is a highly driven individual with an uncompromising standard of excellence and a passion for solving business problems with innovative approaches. With a diverse set of experience in the Asset Management, FinTech, Real Estate and Precious Metals Trading & Refining industries he has a diverse set of professional experience to draw on. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Bard College and is currently pursuing an MBA with a concentration in Strategy, Technology & Operations.

His professional experience with small businesses and fortune 500 firms gives him a perspective of the differences in the challenges small and large businesses face. The scale and resource constraints of small & large businesses often cause their own unique challenges that require tailored solutions.

In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading fiction, jogging, and camping. As a lifelong learner he is always interested in connecting disparate information from various sources to solve problems in unique ways.

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Cristi Dragan

Marketing Director

With an innate passion for innovation and community service, as well as a relentless curiosity, Cristi is set to drive the marketing strategy within our dynamic team.

Having immersed himself in the world of digital marketing prior to his Simon journey, he brings invaluable experience from diverse organizations, honing his strategic acumen and creative social media strategy. Over the past few years, Cristi has collaborated with enterprises spanning a diverse range of scales, encompassing startups and well-established global brands across seven countries worldwide. His efforts have focused on assisting these entities in deep dives into customer needs and behaviors and effectively bringing their offerings to market. With his proficiency in crafting customer-centric marketing campaigns and eye for purposeful storytelling he is planning to bring Vision Consulting to new audiences and to share the stories of our profound impact in and beyond the Rochester community.

At Simon, Cristi plans to pursue a career in product management within the technology space. Equipped with a unique skill set and an analytical mindset, Cristi is set to thrive and deliver substantial value to Vision Consulting Club and the Rochester community.

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Eric Schulman

Managing Director

Eric is a motivated, strategic thinker and analytical problem-solver, whose fascination with complex puzzles extends beyond leisure into his professional ethos. Originating from a unique academic background in Human Biology and Business Administration, he had learned early on to navigate through complexities, be it in the biological or business realms. This dual perspective equipped him with an unparalleled analytical lens, allowing him to dissect, understand, and innovate within the intricate tapestry of the business landscape.

His professional journey has been characterized by a series of roles where strategic planning, client relationship management, and team leadership converged to drive growth and operational excellence. At Bloomberg Industry Group, Eric’s approach to client engagement and sales strategy optimization led to significant savings for clients and increased retention rates, underscoring the importance of aligning business solutions with client needs effectively.

Transitioning to Compassionate Care Advisors, as Sales Manager, Eric played a pivotal role in redefining sales and digital marketing strategies for a SAAS solution within the medical industry. By leveraging SEO insights and innovative outreach techniques, he led his team to achieve remarkable multi-year growth, significantly increasing new business revenue. This phase of Eric’s career highlighted the transformative power of digital strategies and the importance of adaptive leadership.

As Eric pursues further academic excellence through an MBA with a concentration in Strategy, his journey is about deepening his strategic insights and enhancing hsi capability to lead and innovate. This pursuit is driven by a commitment to not just achieve business success but to foster growth, learning, and positive impacts for both his professional and personal communities.

Beyond the confines of the business world, his passions include visiting museums, engaging in philanthropy, particularly in pediatric research, and indulging in coin collecting and DIY home improvement projects. These interests reflect his broader pursuit of continuous learning, exploration, and contributing meaningfully to the world around him.

In every facet of his life, Eric strives to embody the qualities of patience, detail-oriented focus, and strategic vision. His journey is one of connecting dots, solving puzzles, and creating pathways to success—not just for himself but for those around him.

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Eujin Kim

Managing Director

Eujin is deeply passionate about leveraging data-driven strategies to drive impactful results. With a concentration in digital marketing and analytics for her Bachelor of Science and currently pursuing a STEM-designated MBA focusing on product and brand management, she possesses a strong foundation in marketing.
Her professional journey includes collaborating with a portfolio of beauty clients to develop and execute paid advertisement strategies, as well as managing budgets to orchestrate and launch global campaigns within the media/entertainment industry. Eujin excels in working with cross-functional stakeholders to inform strategic decisions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
Motivated by her desire to continue building her skill set, fostering leadership, and giving back to the community that has supported her throughout her professional and academic journey, Eujin actively engages in extracurricular leadership roles as well as serves as an event ambassador for prospective students at the University of Rochester.
Eujin’s commitment to personal and professional growth, coupled with her passion for community engagement, led her to join SVC. Through this involvement, she seeks to contribute to both professional and social causes while gaining valuable experience and making a positive impact.

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Meghna Tetambe

Managing Director

Meghna Tetambe is a result-oriented, inquisitive, and ambitious strategist who is passionate about solving complex business problems through a creative, analytical, and divergent approach.

Currently, Meghna is pursuing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Strategy Consulting, Pricing and Leadership at Simon Business School and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, Business & Sociology.

Prior to business school, Meghna worked in law and policy. Her experience includes working at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Albany Law School managing immigration and domestic violence legal clinics for the school’s Justice Center. In her legal career, she has worked with over 350 clients from all walks of life providing legal assistance relating to criminal, civil and immigration cases. Meghna has worked closely with law students, community stakeholders and faculty to broaden the scope and range of pro bono legal consultation programs to increase awareness and visibility of Albany Law School’s initiatives. It was through these interactions, success stories and challenges that she seeks to advance her career in consulting and project management in the fintech space after business school.

Meghna has been an integral member of Vision Consulting since her first semester at Simon. During Fall 2023, she served as a Project Manager for a locally founded co-working studio primarily focused towards working women. She continued her consulting work into the Spring 2024 semester, by accepting a role as a Strategy Consultant for an immigration law firm based in Washington D.C while also taking on the role as a Project Manager Mentor. Meghna looks forward to offering strategy based and analytics driven innovative business solutions to Vision’s initiatives and fostering long-lasting partnerships with the Rochester area business community.

Additionally, Meghna has been serving as an executive board member of Niskayuna Community Action Program (N-CAP), a community coalition focused on substance use prevention by youth, in her hometown since 2018. She also serves on the Simon Business School Academic Integrity hearing panel.

Outside of her academic and professional interests, you can find Meghna on the tennis court as she previously competed at state and collegiate levels and looks forward to pursuing tennis as a lifelong sport.

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Shabnam Popal

Managing Director

Shabnam is a data-driven, forward-thinking, and multifaceted business leader with a passion for the healthcare and retail industries. She graduated with her B.S. in Bio-Psychology at the University of California Davis and is currently pursuing a STEM-Designated MBA at Simon Business School focusing on Brand and Product Management. Her academic foundation has equipped her with a unique blend of skills essential for navigating complex business landscapes.

She has a demonstrated record of excellence developing innovative solutions and supporting growth goals at multiple Fortune 500 companies. Her tenure as a Project Manager III at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS exemplifies her ability to lead cross-functional teams effectively, driving innovation and operational efficiency. Notably, her contributions led to a significant enhancement in productivity and the streamlining of critical processes, underscoring her commitment to driving tangible results.

Shabnam's commitment to continuous learning and professional development is evidenced by her pursuit of extracurriculars at Simon Business School. In addition to her role as a Managing Director for Simon Vision Consulting, Shabnam currently serves as a Consortium Liaison, Benet Career Peer, MBA Admissions Ambassador, and Events Ambassador.

Aspiring to leverage her multifaceted skill set and strategic foresight, Shabnam is poised to excel in the role of Managing Director at Simon Vision Consulting. With a proven track record of delivering transformative solutions and fostering collaborative partnerships, she is well-positioned to lead the organization towards sustained growth, innovation, and impact in the dynamic landscape of management consulting.

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Wayne France

Executive Director of Experiential Learning

Wayne France is the Executive Director of Experiential Learning at the Simon School and is an alumnus of both the University of Rochester and the Simon School.

Wayne has leadership experience in manufacturing and banking, where he has been asked to create and manage new products, conduct due diligence on acquisitions, and institute process changes.

Wayne has been with the Simon School for three years and in this role he enjoys engaging with Vision Consulting Teams to help manage their project-based learning and reflection.

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