November 04, 2015

Business college honors ‘Emerging Saluki Leaders’

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Business has announced the winners of its inaugural Emerging Saluki Leader Award. 

The award, created through the efforts of the college’s External Advisory Boards, honors alumni who have graduated within the last 15 years and who already have outstanding accomplishments within their businesses or industries, communities, or within the government or military sectors. Jennifer Olson from the Management Board and Ron Weinstroer from the Dean’s Board chaired the committee that selected 11 rising stars as the first honorees. 

The 2015 Emerging Saluki Leaders, along with a few details about them and their accomplishments, are: 

  • Matt Arnold, a 2000 finance graduate from Columbia with a minor in accounting. Arnold is an equity analyst in the research department of Edward Jones, a company he has worked for since 2000, and has earned the chartered financial analyst designation. He has been featured in a variety of print, television and radio media including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg Television and National Public Radio.
  • Austin Goins, a resident of Chicago who earned her bachelor’s degree in advertising in 2008 and went on to complete her MBA in 2010. While a student, she was vice president of the Graduate Business Association and a graduate assistant at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. She is currently an account supervisor at FCB Global in Chicago, specializing in digital marketing for international clients. She has held a number of professional positions and is active on the marketing department’s external advisory board. She developed the “Run for Their Lives” 5K Event to benefit the Cache Creek Animal Rescue and serves as race director and race promotor.
  • Casey Jackson, a 2004 management graduate from Aviston. He is a technology professional and entrepreneur, currently employed as a technology engineer/infrastructure manager by Benjamin F. Edwards and Co. He and a business partner have filed for a patent on an invention they call a “Bunker Table,” a game that combines elements of shuffleboard, curling and chess, and they are now in the early stages of marketing and promotions efforts for the product.
  • Jamel Jackson, a Chicago native and double alumnus who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1998 and his MBA in 2000 from SIU. He is the senior pricing manager in the Foodservice Division at Tyson Foods. Prior to his nine-year Tyson employment, he worked as a senior financial analyst for Computer Sciences Corp. and as a program control analyst for Northrop Grumman Corp. As a graduate student, he was treasurer of the Black Graduate Student Association, a staff accountant and he tutored fellow students. He is a member if Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and involved in a variety of community service activities including Salvation Army food drives and providing clothing to the homeless.
  • Allison Niendiek, a 2008 marketing graduate with a history minor from Teutopolis, now residing in LeClaire, Iowa. She is a future product marketing manager with John Deer Harvester Worldwide Product development, working with strategic marketing efforts in Europe and South America to develop solutions engineered to meet customers’ crop harvest needs. As an SIU student she was active in Alpha Kappa Psi, the American Marketing Association, the College of Business Student Council and was a Saluki Ambassador. She also earned an international business certificate from Ecole de Management in Grenoble, France.
  • Robyn Phelan of Chicago and formerly of Bridgeview, earned dual degrees in marketing and speech communication in 2011, with a specialization in public relations. Shortly after graduation, she began an internship in Las Vegas at the inaugural Digital World Expo, organized by fellow College of Business alumni. During a four-year stay in Las Vegas she was a leading digital advertiser for a variety of brands including Cirque Du Soleil LOVE, the Mirage and Palms Cason Resort. She returned to Chicago earlier this year as social marketing manager for Walgreens, overseeing the paid social, content and community management teams.
  • Dana Robinson, an Elizabethtown native who earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2003 and her master of accountancy, specializing in taxation, in December 2004. She is a CPA and began her career with Kemper CPA Group in Harrisburg before graduation, becoming a partner in 2011 and partner-in-charge in 2013. She chairs the firm’s recruiting and retention committee and in September 2014 was appointed regional administrative partner for the Southern Illinois/Paducah, Ky. region. She is active with the accountancy school’s board of advisers, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. She also volunteers with various organizations including the boards of the Christian Community Compassion Center and Workforce and the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southeastern Illinois College.
  • Jeff Rose, of Carbondale, earned his degree in finance in 2001. A certified financial planner professional, he is the CEO and founder of Alliance Wealth Management LLC, an investment advisory firm. A nine-year Army National Guard member and combat veteran, he served 17 months in Iraq.  Rose founded GoodFinancialCents.com, recognized by Kiplinger’s as one of their Top 10 finance blogs to read, and is the author of “Soldier of Finance,” a book that combines information from Rose’s military background with financial planning know-how. The editor of LifeInsurancebyJeff.com, Rose also writes for U.S. News and World Report, Investopedia and MarketWatch and has been featured in major media including The Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and USA Today.
  • Joel W. Sambursky, a Carbondale native who earned his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2005 and his master’s in business administration in 2007. Previously the youngest executive director in the history of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, a position he held while still a student, Sambursky is a financial adviser for LPL Financial and founded Liberty Wealth Management in 2012. As SIU’s quarterback from 2002-2005, he led the Salukis to three straight conference championship and NCAA national playoff appearances, played in 49 consecutive games and set numerous records, becoming the first player to be voted “Toughest Saluki” four consecutive years. He is a member of the SIU Board of Trustees, previous board member for Carbondale Community Arts and past president of the board of directors for the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce.
  • Dan Wilcoxen, a 2001 accountancy graduate from Springfield who completed his master’s degree in accountancy in 2007 at the University of Illinois at Springfield while working full-time as an audit associate at McGladrey LLP. A CPA, he is currently the chief financial officer of United Community Bank and its holding company, United Community Bancorp. Inc., a four-bank holding company with nearly $1.8 billion in assets. An avid sports fan, he enjoys coaching and helping with his children’s sports activities.
  • Matthew S. Wood, a Waco, Texas, native who completed his doctorate in business administration in 2009. Wood is an assistant professor in entrepreneurship at Baylor University and previously served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Prior to his teaching career, Wood was the third-generation owner and president of a growing commercial printing firm. He teaches strategic management and entrepreneurship and his research focuses on understanding how entrepreneurs and investors make decisions that precede business opportunity actions. He has more than two-dozen publications to his credit, including numerous articles in top journals in the field. His research and expertise has been featured in a variety of print media including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. 

Jason Greene, College of Business interim dean and Henry J. Rehn Professor of Finance, presented the emerging Saluki Leader Awards during a College of Business homecoming weekend reception at Morris Library on Oct. 24.