Alumni Profile: Julia Pulzone ’84, MBA ’93, New Smith Alumni Chapter Head
Julia Pulzone ’84, MBA ’93, has seen the alumni involvement with the Smith School’s Alumni Chapter increase over the years. Today there are a significant number of very active alumni who serve as mentors or speakers and attend networking events. As the new president of the Smith Alumni Chapter Board, Pulzone hopes to see that number continue to rise. One of the Board’s main goals, she says, is to increase its visibility and encourage alumni involvement.
Pulzone has been a member of the Alumni Chapter Board for six years. During that time, she has served as a judge for case competitions and participated in events, but this is her first opportunity to serve in a more vision-oriented role. “When I was asked to serve as president, I thought it would be a good opportunity to give back to the school and to extend the work that has been done over the past several years,” says Pulzone. “The Board’s strategic goals are well defined, and we’re focused on the execution of those goals moving forward. We want to continue building on the foundation that has been laid in strengthening our alumni connections.”
What are their goals? To get out the word that the chapter exists, says Pulzone, and to create new programs that will bring in more alumni and encourage them to reconnect with the school. “It’s important to identify what programs alumni want,” says Pulzone. “Recently the Board assisted with the development of a major survey, the results of which will help us identify programs and events to develop for alumni.”
Pulzone, who spent 22 years working in senior financial management and is now a managing director at a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. GEF Management Corporation, has experience in operating young and growing ventures. “What attracted me to GEF was the opportunity to draw upon my existing skill base as a former CFO in supporting CEOs with the execution of their business plans,” says Pulzone. In her current position, she now takes a similar role with their technology portfolio companies. “I meet many entrepreneurs who have business plans and great ideas. To assist with the development and providing guidance to make their businesses commercially viable is interesting work.”
As president of the Smith Alumni Chapter Board, Pulzone will have the opportunity to apply her experience identifying viable ideas and designing sound business plans to the Smith School’s alumni outreach programs. She is pleased with the enthusiastic participation in the Smith School’s Alumni Mentor Program, and hopes to see more alumni reconnect in the coming years. She also expects to see some interesting new ideas come from the Board’s various committees.
“We’d like to give alumni a reason to continue building a relationship with the Smith School after graduation,” says Pulzone.