Meet the Team

Adrian Cario, Executive Director – Wharton San Francisco

Adrian Cario has led change in the creative and education sectors for over two decades. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Cario has been consistently recognized as being (far) ahead of the curve, pairing entrepreneurial vision with social excellent and non-profit practice. Cario began their career as an artist, designer, community organizer, and environmental scientist, holding several Executive Director and CEO roles over their tenure. Cario finds ease in ambiguity and believes joy and inspiration should not be reserved for the few, but readily accessible to all.

Honored with the Penn Models of Excellence Award, the Creative Loafing People to Watch Award, Georgia Tech Staff Entrepreneurship Award, Faces of Inclusive Excellence Award, and the Georgia Tech Excellence Award, Cario’s work continues to impact communities nationwide through their leadership in advancing positive change. A chef and gardener, in their ‘off’ hours, Cario applies that same curiosity and care to their work and team.

Email: cario@wharton.upenn.edu 

Lori Rosenkopf, Faculty Director, Vice Dean – Wharton San Francisco

Lori Rosenkopf is the Simon and Midge Palley Professor and Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph. D in Management of Organizations from Columbia University after working as a systems engineer for Eastman Kodak and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Prior to that, Lori earned her B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and her M.S in Operations Research from Stanford University.

Since joining the faculty in 1993, Lori has taught courses for undergraduates, MBAs, and doctoral students, as well as for executive education and online participants. She received the Hauck Award for distinguished teaching in the undergraduate program. Lori served two terms as the Vice Dean and Director of the Wharton Undergraduate Division from 2013-2019, where her accomplishments included introducing the new Wharton undergraduate curriculum, elevating alternative curricular and career pathways.

Lori’s research examines technological communities and social networks across several high-tech industries. She analyzes how and when knowledge may flow between technical professionals and between firms, mapping these flows in order to estimate when people, firms, and technologies are likely to learn, move, and succeed. Her research has been published in leading journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Management Science, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal. Lori has also served as a Senior Editor for the journal Organization Science and as a consultant for the National Academy of Sciences, and she has been elected a member of the Macro-Organizational Behavior Society and also to a term as the Chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management.

Email: vicedeanrosenkopf@wharton.upenn.edu

Dayne Peavy, Senior Manager of Client Services

Dayne is the Senior Manager of Client Services for Wharton San Francisco. Dayne works with the MBA Program for Executives and the Wharton Events team to coordinate all food service and associated labor for all classes and events held on campus. Dayne is a veteran of the United States Army, where his Military Trade was that of Petroleum Supply Specialist. He has nearly 35 years of experience in food services Management, including a host of accolades bestowed upon him from primary clients. Awards won: Founders Award, Platinum and Double Platinum HACCP, Client Vendor Awards: Baxter Healthcare (Los Angeles, CA) and Palo Alto Research Center Northern California.

Elizabeth (Liz) Stone, Administrative Assistant

Liz brings a variety of skill sets and expertise from 30 years of hospitality management. She has been a critical local partner for Wharton Executive Education since 2014, where she successfully delivered a record number of high-stakes open enrollment and custom programs. She attributes her successes to relationship building and customer service excellence. Liz consistently received top reviews from colleagues who rely on her for delivery. Liz currently resides in Sonoma County with her daughter and enjoys going to the beach, hiking in the local hills, and has been known to enjoy the fruits of the local wineries.

Jacalyn Swierstra, Event Operations Manager

Jacalyn serves as the Event Operations Manager at Wharton San Francisco, where she oversees the planning, coordination, and day-to-day operations that support events across campus. She brings a strong background in higher education events and hospitality, with experience in event logistics, systems, campus partnerships, and large-scale program coordination.

Keshia Stone, Program Coordinator

As program coordinator at Wharton San Francisco, Keshia works closely with our MBA Semester in San Francisco faculty and students. In addition to taking care of the MBA students, Keshia also works with Executive Education to provide a world-class experience for the participants and colleagues visiting domestically and internationally. She graduated with her AA in Behavioral Science in 2018. Keshia comes to us with 10+ years of experience in the service industry. She enjoys visiting local beaches or State National Parks and is an avid cinema lover.

Maria Lopez, Event Coordinator

I’m from Santa Ana, California, and recently graduated from UCLA in June 2023. I work to schedule, support, and run internal and external events on the WSF campus. I will be the first point of contact for all events run on campus and will be the onsite point of contact for the start of most events. I love hot wings, Spotify, journaling all my thoughts, my dog Marley, and collecting special editions of my favorite books. My favorite type of weather is overcast, which makes my move to San Francisco even more exciting.

Miles Inserra, Administrative Assistant

Miles, an administrative specialist at The Wharton School, is a San Francisco native with a background in audio. A highly organized and motivated individual who is adaptive to new styles and technologies, Miles has been an asset supporting both the Operations team and the Executive Education team. Beyond Wharton, he is dedicated to bringing back a lost era in music, using a computer and old-school sampling equipment to put his own spin on jazz and hip-hop.

Pooja S., Administrative Coordinator

Pooja partners with the operations, events and leadership team as well as the WEMBA team. When she’s not at Wharton, you can find Pooja practicing yoga or Pilates, going on long hikes or reading. Her favorite happy hours involve oysters, and her favorite bars are sushi bars. While Pooja has lived, traveled, or worked across three continents, she feels most at home unwinding at a spa.

Andrew Yang, Senior Systems Administrator

A member of the Wharton Computing team, Andrew is responsible for providing first-level IT and AV support to Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives, faculty, staff, and events.

Buz Rico, IT Director

Buz leads the WSF IT team, coordinating technology planning, IT resources, collaboration with Wharton Computing in Philadelphia, and local process improvements to ensure the successful delivery of all classes and events. Buz has over 35 years of technical management experience, including 22 years as Director of IT with the Federal Judiciary, and previously as Manager of Technical Services and Training for Honeywell.

Young Cho, Senior IT Support Specialist

Part of the Wharton SF IT team, he provides on-site support for programs at WSF along with virtual classes held at the MBA and higher level.

Irina Yuen, C’90, G’96, WG’96, Director of Venture Lab

An experienced executive in the media and technology and nonprofit arenas with 19 years of experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Silicon Valley, Irina is also an entrepreneur. She co-founded Minds Matter, a national nonprofit organization in the education space, and cohosts the Bay Area Ventures program on SiriusXM’s Business Radio.

Alla Feldman, Academic Operations Coordinator

As Academic Operations Coordinator, Alla provides administrative support for all Wharton Classes. She graduated from the Moscow University of Chemical Machine Building and worked as an equipment designer in the chemical industry. After her San Francisco company closed in 2005, she decided to start a new career in administrative work. She went back to college received her Office Technology Certificate, and has been with Wharton since 2007.

Fele Uperesa, Associate Director

Fele manages the student experience for the MBA Program for Executives class from early enrollment through graduation. As Class Manager, she is the first point of contact for students, faculty, and staff in San Francisco. Fele manages communications and scheduling in addition to student events. Her extensive experience in non-profit program management has served her well in this role. Fele is a researcher and scholar at heart. A Haas and McNair scholar, her thesis on the impact of trade policies on health in the Samoan Islands was published in the 2016 McNair Journal. She graduated from UC Berkeley with the highest honors and a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on trade policy and health.

Barbara Craft, Director of Admissions

Christiana Wu, Director Career Advising & Programming Wharton MBA Career Management

Christiana works with the Semester in San Francisco students both remotely and while they’re here in the Bay Area. Her focus is on helping them through all stages of their careers including thinking through target industries/functions as well as executing on those plans. In addition to her primary MBA student facing work, Christiana also spends her time offering on-site/virtual career coaching appointments to MBA alumni who are based in the SF area or considering a move to this region. To stay on the cusp of the latest technologies, she also focuses her time on building hiring relationships with companies in the Bay Area.

Prior to Wharton, Christiana has worked in MBA Career Services at Duke University and Pepperdine University in addition to having worked in corporate marketing roles at Visa, Schwab, and ABB Inc. She has a BA from Princeton University in East Asian Studies and an MBA from Duke University.

Kristine Nguyen, Regional Director, Major Gifts

Kristine partners with alumni and donors to match their engagement and philanthropic interests with Wharton, in support of our mission and brand. She has 10+ years of experience in higher education development. Kristine received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.