Financial Symposium 2016

Ike Ukazu is a Senior studying Finance at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. As a part of Professor John Lopez's Personal Financial Planning Course, Ike has taken the lessons from the course and taught numerous money management seminars around the University of Houston to increase financial literacy in his student body. Before studying at the University of Houston, Ike served for 4 years in the Marine Corps, obtaining the rank of Sergeant. He now interns at Northwestern Mutual and aspires to become a financial advisor in the Houston metropolitan area after graduation.

Frank Kelley serves as the associate dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. He has been with the University of Houston since 1987 and the Bauer College since 1992, and taught college English for ten years prior to his work in educational administration. His office oversees advising and administrative affairs for over 5,000 undergraduate business majors and minors, and outreach programs such as the Program for Financial Literacy and college access programs.

Jacqueline Walker is currently the Financial Literacy Counselor at the University of Houston. Having worked in the financial industry for over eighteen years, Jacqueline has a special interest in working with students in financial education. As a Financial Literacy Counselor, Jacqueline strives to help all students develop financial plans that will help them be successful during college and beyond. After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration, Jacqueline earned her Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) certification in 2015. Jacqueline is a member of the Association for Financial Planning, Counseling and Education.

Sherrie Young serves as the Executive Director of the Credit Coalition, a HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency, whose membership includes Houston area financial institutions, community organizations, community leaders and other related businesses and organizations. She is the Credit Coalition’s lead instructor and foreclosure intervention, credit, homebuyer and reverse mortgage counselor. Aside from counseling and conducting Credit Coalition classes, Sherrie participates in many community events to help spread the word about financial education, Individual Development Accounts, free VITA site tax preparation assistance, and other programs that can help families build and retain their assets. She is the Chair of the Counseling Committee of the Greater Houston Housing Coalition and Co-Chair of the Counseling Committee of the Texas Foreclosure prevention Task Force. Sherrie is a certified homebuyer education provider under the Texas Statewide Homebuyer Education Program and a HUD Certified Reverse Mortgage Counselor. She completed her Accredited Financial Counselor Certification in 2007 and holds NCHEC Certifications in Housing Counseling, Pre-purchase Homeownership Education and Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling.

Susan is the Economic Education Coordinator for the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Her work focuses on professional development for high school and college educators throughout the district. Innovative programs including Freedom Riders, Student Board of Directors, History Through an Economic Lens, and 100 Teens have been the hallmark of her work at the Houston Fed. Susan has a MA in Education and a BS in Economics. Prior to coming to the Bank, she taught AP Economics at Kingwood High School. While at Kingwood she was recognized as Teacher of the Year, served as District Coordinator for AP Economics and sponsored the Model United Nations, UIL Current Issues and Events, and UIL Social Studies Teams.

Since his undergraduate days at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business, John Lopez has had an interest in personal finance savings, money management, investing, and making smart decisions when it came to money. Upon graduation, he attended Texas A&M where he earned an MBA in Finance. He entered "Corporate America" and worked for several major international firms (learn more at LinkedIn). Later in life he continued his education in personal finance by attending Rice University’s Certified Financial Planner Program and then successfully completing the CFP Certification Exam. After early retirement and a two-year sabbatical to travel and explore, he began teaching Financial Planning at Bauer. He is passionate about teaching students the fundamentals needed to become financially secure and ultimately financially independent.

Donald Bowers, a native Houstonian, received his bachelors’ degree from Rice University in 1991. He joined the Federal Reserve Bank in 1990 as a Research Assistant and joined the Bank’s Management Development Program in 1991. In 2004, he was promoted to Assistant Vice President. He currently serves as secretary to the Houston Branch Board of Directors and maintains responsibility of the Bank’s human resources, public affairs, law enforcement, and business continuity functions. Donald and his wife, Shawn, are the proud parents of two outstanding young men. Their older son is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and is a newly commissioned Ensign in the United States Navy. Their younger son is a student at Texas State University. Donald is a member of the Rice University Alumni Board, and has served on the board of the Houston Area Urban League. He is also active with Greater Houston Partnership, World Affairs Council of Houston, Center for Houston’s Future, Youth About Business, Discovery Youth Foundation and the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation. Donald and his family are members of the Fifth Ward Church of Christ. Donald earned an M.B.A. from Sam Houston State University with a concentration in Banking and Finance. He is also a senior fellow member of the 29th Class of American Leadership Forum Houston Gulf Coast Chapter.

Dr. Guez is a graduate of The Ecole Superieure de Commerce, Rouen, France. He obtained his MBA and Ph.D. from Penn State University. Dr. Guez joined the Faculty of the University of Houston in 1976 to establish the International Finance Program. He also taught in the Executive Development Program.

After several years of teaching, Dr. Guez joined the business community and obtained valuable experience in the fields of International Banking (First International Bank in Houston), Oil Field Supplies (Trouvay & Cauvin), Investment Real Estate (Grubb & Ellis), and Brokerage and Portfolio Management (Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter and Banc One Securities). Dr. Guez was also an Auditor with KPMG in Paris, France.

Dr. Guez served as an adjunct faculty at the Bauer College of Business for several years while working in the Brokerage Industry. He joined the Bauer College of Business full time in 2002 and contributed to setting up the Cougar Fund. He is currently the NASDAQ Executive Professor of Finance, and Director of the Commercial Banking Program in the Bauer College of Business. He teaches Commercial Banking, Financial Markets, Financial Systems and Principles of Financial Management in the Honors Program. Dr. Guez has developed the Commercial Banking Certificate for undergraduate students. This Certificate is supported by an Advisory Board comprising twenty three Banks operating in the Houston market.

As an Analyst/Junior Planner, Chelsea's responsibilities include equity research, proforma investment plans, preparation of client presentations, reviewing client statements and holdings, and portfolio rebalancing. Prior to joining Goodman Financial in 2014, Chelsea interned with Advisors Ahead where she observed and contributed to the daily business of an established financial advisor in Houston.

Suzanne was Mosaic’s first intern when she joined the firm in May 2014 and became a full-time employee upon graduating from college in 2015. She is charged with both providing client management services as well as a host of administrative duties. She is a native of College Station who moved to Houston to attend college. Suzanne graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.B.A. from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston with a double major in finance and management.

Kayla joined Mosaic Advisors as a financial planning associate in July 2014. Her duties are integral to the development of client financial plans as she is involved in all areas of cash flow and expense analysis as well as stress-testing a variety of plan recommendations. Born in Portland, Oregon, Kayla moved to Texas in 2001. She graduated in 2014 from the University of Houston with a B.B.A. in finance.

Prior to joining the University of Houston faculty in 2002, Professor George served on the faculties of Ohio State University, the University of Iowa, and Northwestern University as a visitor. Professor George's teaching interests include equity and fixed-income investment management, project valuation and corporate finance. He has won several awards for excellence in teaching in MBA and Executive MBA programs.

Professor George has done research in the areas of market microstructure, asset pricing and behavioral finance. His publications have appeared in leading academic journals among them the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Financial Intermediation, and the Journal of Financial Markets. Professor George has been winner and runner-up of the Best Paper Prize from the Journal of Financial Intermediation, and nominated for the Smith-Breeden Prize for the best paper on Investments in the Journal of Finance.

Professor George is currently the C.T. Bauer Professor of Finance and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. He also serves as the Director of the AIM Center for Investment Management at the Bauer College, and as instructor for the securities analysis course that manages the Cougar Investment Fund. He co-developed the Graduate Certificate in Financial Services Management, and has also taught in Bauer's Executive MBA program. Professor George has consulted with companies in designing and delivering educational programs in areas such as project valuation, hedging, and performance evaluation.

Amanda Ware is the Finance and Management Information Systems Career Development Specialist at the Rockwell Career Center in the Bauer College of Business. Prior to this role, she was a Career Counselor at the University of Houston Downtown. She has also worked as an academic advisor at UH in the Health and Human Performance Department and as a Career Counseling Intern at Texas State University where she coached students through the major and career selection process.

Amanda is a current member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the National Career Development Association, and the Houston Licensed Professional Counselor Association. She has presented on a variety of career topics including professionalism, networking, resume writing, and salary negotiations.

Amanda received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in Counseling from St. Edwards University.