Young Alumni Board
Overview and Mission
The Virginia Tech Department of Chemical Engineering Young Alumni Board (YAB) was established in the Spring of 2023 to support the Chemical Engineering department’s leadership and external advisory board in efforts to improve student outcomes and to foster and sustain alumni engagement.
In these endeavors, the YAB’s purpose is to advocate for the needs of current students and alumni and to propose and/or implement related programming both on and off campus.
Membership and Obligations
The YAB will consist of 8-12 alumni representatives having graduated from the department within the last ~10 years. In selecting members, priority will be given to fostering diversity across graduating years and career paths.
Members are expected to participate in 3-4 conference calls per year with department leadership and additional subcommittee calls as-needed.
Structure and Operations
The board is currently composed of two subcommittees charged with improving (1) Student Recruitment and (2) Alumni Engagement. Members of each subcommittee are independently responsible for developing and enacting initiatives and engaging with relevant parties in the Chemical Engineering department. Each subcommittee is expected to update the full YAB on their efforts and progress at each meeting and as-needed.
The board is chaired by one member who is responsible for organizing and leading full board meetings, ensuring efforts stay on-pace, and communicating with department leadership. The chair will also represent the YAB’s interests as an observing member on the external advisory board. Any member may report on behalf of the YAB if the chairperson is unavailable.
Current Members and Affiliations
- Sarah Christen (T. Rowe Price)
- Ian Davis (Jensen Hughes)
- Bobby Hollingsworth (Harvard)
- Taylor Holt (Johnson & Johnson)
- Alexandra Marnot (Georgia Tech)
- Adair Maynard (UVA Darden)
- Jim Owens (MIT)
- Mackenzie Roach (DuPont)