Professional Degree Programs - Clubs and Organizations
Clubs & Organizations
Gain and share valuable insights while developing invaluable relationships.
Make an Impact
Students play an active role in shaping extracurricular life in our Professional Degree MBA Programs. As an executive and part-time format student, you will join a dynamic learning community in which relationships matter and learning stretches beyond the four walls of the classroom. Our student clubs are a compelling example of our students' investment in their educational experience.
Student Organizations
Several student organizations at Darden are organized and led by Professional Degree MBA students. These student groups are targeted to meet the needs of the working professional and are designed to enhance a student's academic, social, cultural, and professional lives.
Below is a listing of the current Professional Degree student organizations.
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Black Professional MBA Association
- Steven Daley, Co-President Part-Time MBA
- Cedric Thomas, Co-President Part-Time MBA
- Sean Webber, Co-President Executive MBA
The Black Professional MBA Association chartered in 2017, is dedicated to recruiting Black business students and its membership's professional and academic advancement. In addition to its professional and academic goals, Black Professional MBAs host social outings throughout the year to foster relationships within the groups' membership and the Darden community at large.
Mission Statement:
We support the advancement of prospective and current Black students in their endeavors to become intentional and transformational leaders through academic and professional initiatives. We bring diversity in thought to forge equity and inclusion within the Darden community and beyond.
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Darden Executive MBA Fund (DEF)
- Haley O'Brien
- Sean Webber
- Keerti Mehta
- Annmarie McCormick
- Hayden Breedlove
- Catherine Strand
- Haley Merritt
- Sivasish Sindiri
- Stewart Neifert
- Rashidah Lawson
- James Abraham
- Patrick Cashin
- Joseph Gehling
The Darden Executive Fund (DEF) is an independent study providing Professional Degree students with hands-on experience researching, pitching, and directly managing a portfolio of active investments in publicly traded assets. General membership is known as the Investment Club.
Students in the course research, prepare and pitch a stock to the fund's leadership team for investment consideration. Other students are also welcome to pitch stocks to the team, participate in all stock pitch sessions, and attend all DEF-sponsored events.
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Professional MBA Consulting Club
- Aman Dar, President
- Jason Carrier, Vice President
The Professional MBA Consulting Club at UVA is established for the expressed purpose of:
- It brings fellow students interested in careers in consulting together to provide a peer-enabled, transformational learning experience in preparing professional degree students for the management consulting interview process and successful careers in this industry.
- Collaborating with other CIOs and departments to host career-focused events on grounds.
- Providing opportunities for recruiting and networking with key industry stakeholders, experts, and target firms.
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Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club, Professional Degree Programs
- Maxwell Godwin, President
- Eugene Cho, VP, Ventures
- Holden Hershey, VP, ETA
We will foster an inclusive culture that supports established and aspiring entrepreneurs across executive and part-time MBA classes, facilitate communication and relationships with Charlottesville and D.C. entrepreneurial ecosystem, and provide a platform for Darden entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, and best practices and connect resources in Charlottesville and D.C.
The Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club aims to support Darden students in growing or developing new business endeavors by providing a supportive and inclusive platform from which Darden entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, learn best practices, and connect with resources to begin or continue their business journeys. Through cooperation with Darden students, faculty, and alumni in Charlottesville, DC, and beyond, the club intends to facilitate the expansion of professional networks to best serve its members’ entrepreneurial goals.
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Healthcare Alliance
- Louis Chapman, Co-President Part-Time MBA
- Alexander Degann, Co-President Executive MBA
The Darden Healthcare Alliance (HCA) provides co-curricular opportunities for Professional Degree students looking to build and grow within today’s healthcare ecosystem. We seek to help inspire responsible leadership through transformational learning experiences beyond the walls of the classroom through a host of networking events, speaker series, and social events to help us foster a vibrant community of healthcare-minded peers, open to all students, under the distinct leadership and direction of those working at the front-lines of healthcare delivery.
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Network of Executive Women (NEW)
- Sarah Sowden, President
- Cara Hewitt, Executive Vice President
- Katie Housel, VP, Finance
- Stephanie Massucco, VP, Communications
- Stephanie Kehl, VP, Programming
The Network for Executive Women (NEW) is an organization dedicated to the professional development and advancement of females in Darden's Executive MBA Program. NEW empowers women to reach their full career potential whether that is a C-suite position or another leadership position; we aim to see more women leaders. According to a 2019 McKinsey & Company Report “Women in the Workplace,” only 21% of C-Suite Executives are women. Together we can change this statistic one “rung” at a time.
NEW’s goals include:
- Connecting female students and alumni through professional development, career support, and networking opportunities;
- Creating an inclusive community and a sense of belonging among women in the Darden EMBA program;
- Advocating for an understanding of issues of gender equality specifically related to women executives;
- Expanding the pipeline of female applicants into the Darden EMBA program; and,
- Inspiring females to reach their fullest potential as leaders in business.
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Darden Military Association, Professional Formats
- Scott Timmester, President
- John (Shane) Bowling, VP Executive MBA
- David Kim, VP Part-Time MBA
The Darden Military Association, Professional Formats serves the Professional Degree community as an affinity group by leveraging former and current military experiences to enhance career opportunities and foster camaraderie within the entire Darden Community.
In addition to supporting veterans in Professional Degree Programs, the organization's programming touches upon various veteran-related topics, including advising others on what it means to hire and work with a vet.
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Darden Professional Degree Energy Club
- Ryan Mowrey, President
- Aaron Benevides, VP Comms
- Shannon Cole, VP Budget
- Lydia Jabs, VP of Events
- Sean Gallagher, Co-VP Careers
- Scott Worley, Co-VP Careers
- Natalie Houghtalen, Member at Large
The Darden Professional Degree Energy Club (PDEC) is a collaborative network among professional degree students, Darden alumni, faculty, and industry employers. Our goal is to empower our members to become responsible leaders who integrate financial, environmental, and social considerations into their professional lives within the energy sector.
The Darden Professional Degree Energy Club aims to provide the following:- Creating pathways to careers in energy
- Educating members on the energy industry and regulatory environment
- Connecting members with alumni
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Darden Technology Club for Professional MBA Students
- Imran Bell, Founder & President
- Russell Kunze, Leadership Board
- Elizabeth Cahan, Leadership Board
- To create opportunities for members to learn about the technology industry and explore various MBA roles within technology companies.
- To grow the Darden footprint in the DC metropolitan area by engaging with technology companies to organize site visits, hosting professional or social events, and inviting guest speakers and alumni to share their insights and experiences.
- To establish recruiting pipelines specifically for the Darden professional degree program and increase the program’s visibility among technology companies.
- To facilitate networking between part-time students, executive students, and alumni within technology industries.
- To collaborate with the Darden Career Center and other Darden clubs and organizations to provide focused advice and resources to students interested in technology-related careers.
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Professional Programs Pride at Darden
- Chris Mai, President
- Jordan Gladman – VP Ops
- Paul Bosquet – VP Finance
- Julia Szalwinski – VP Comms / Historian
Professional Programs Pride at Darden is a student club that is advancing awareness and understanding of LGBTQ+ issues across a diverse corporate landscape at the senior and executive level. Our mission is to equip and empower senior leaders to support a diverse and inclusive culture within their organizations. We are an inclusive Darden community, comprised of executive-level professionals aiming to connect LGBTQ+ EMBA and Allies; and strengthen ties between the UVA central grounds & Darden Professional Programs, Residential community, Part-Time program, Alumni, prospective students, Darden Executive Education and Lifelong Learning, Employers, and relevant LGBTQ+ organizations in the Washington, D.C. area and greater eastern seaboard.
Professional Programs Pride Goals:
- Cultivating lasting relationships between LGBTQ+ professional degree program students and alumni through strategic networking events.
- Collaboration by creating interactive workshops of identifying opportunities and creating action plans for establishing more inclusive professional communities for our members’ employer organizations and beyond.
- Create thought provoking events, like speaker series with thought leaders in the LGBTQ+ and DEI space, that covers the gamut of topics related to the LGBTQ+ experience and how Allies play an essential part to this experience.
- Establishing strategic partnerships with greater Washington DC and National LGBTQ+ nonprofits that align with UVA’s 2030 vision and Darden’s Worldwide Strategy, to understand their needs and potentially create exceptional talent pipelines for incoming students to UVA and Darden Business School.
- Galvanize a network of LGBTQ+ and Allies to represent the highest caliber of inclusive and responsible leaders in worldwide business.
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Emerging Organizations / Interest Groups
Though not yet official and formally organized as a CIO at UVA, several organizations are emerging or are maintaining interest group status, including:
- Darden Finance Club, Professional Degrees
- Contact: Greg Rapke, President
- Darden Running Club, Professional Degrees
- Darden Finance Club, Professional Degrees
Executive MBA Student Association
The Executive MBA Student Association (ESA) serves as the leadership board for all Executive MBA students. The mission of ESA is to foster a sense of community and culture within the student body and serve as a liaison between the students, faculty, and program.
- President: Dylan Kenney
- Executive Vice President: Haley O'Brien
- VP, Career: Russell Kunze
- VP, Clubs: Kyle Ivester
- VP, Communications: Jimmy Anthony
- VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Chris Mai
- VP, Networking and Engagement: Madeline Peterson
- VP, Resilience: Amanda Freitag-Thomas
- VP, Outreach: Erin Drury
- VP, Social: Evan Waghelstein
To contact the ESA Board, please email ESABoard@darden.virginia.edu.