New York club president Joe DeBono ‘97, left, with outgoing club president Dan Williams ’99
	Kellogg School alums gathered in August at the New York club’s all-MBA happy hour

New York

Personal and corporate philanthropy group presents 'What is Your Giving Strategy?’

Kellogg alumni invited Stanford GSB alumni to join them for a cocktail reception at the Union Club to meet Robert H. Niehaus, chairman of the board of Student Sponsor Partners and chairman of Greenhill Capital Partners. Greenhill & Co. had just completed an IPO. Niehaus shared his thoughts on the skills and traits common to running a successful private equity group and a nonprofit corporation. He said for a nonprofit to be successful, a succinct mission statement that members and constituents all support is necessary. He noted that Student Sponsor Partners pays for 1,600 at-risk students to attend alternative schools in New York City each year, and that the majority of sponsors are MBAs from schools such as Kellogg and Stanford. Special thanks to Joe DeBono '97 for planning this event, and an especially big “thank you” to Student Sponsor Partners (www.sspnyc.org) for its financial sponsorship of the event, which was free to KACNY members.

Real estate group presents 'The Insider’s Guide to Buying an Apartment and Selecting a Mortgage’

Attorney Patricia Warburg Cliff, senior vice president of the Corcoran Group, hosted this seminar for Kellogg alumni in an intimate atmosphere that allowed participants to ask detailed questions about buying and investing in NYC real estate. Specific topics included bidding wars and the difference between condos and co-ops. Joe DeBono '97 of MBA Mortgages answered mortgage and financing questions. Thanks to Patricia Warburg Cliff andJoe DeBono '97 for planning this event.

Military leadership and veterans’ business strategy group hosts U.N. deputy director of peacekeeping operations

Kellogg Veterans welcomed U.S. Army Col. Tim Cornett, who is deputy chief of the Military Planning Service, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations, during this joint event with the Union Club’s Governors Series. Cornett provided a brief overview of current U.N. peacekeeping around the globe, focusing on central Africa, his special area of interest. He also discussed U.N. peacekeeping strategy, the planning behind a peacekeeping mission and his service in the Balkans. What made the event truly special was the number of decorated senior vets from the Korean War who attended. Special thanks to Joe DeBono '97.

Military leadership and veterans’ business strategy group hosts U.S. Navy Capt. David Marquet

Kellogg vets enjoyed a fireside chat with Capt. Marquet, who is commander of Submarine Group Three and a Council on Foreign Relations military fellow. Capt. Marquet discussed the history and achievements of the U.S. submarine force from inception to the present during a talk featuring a slide show of past and current submarines in action (awesome!). Marquet also discussed his experiences delivering humanitarian aid to Moldova, Armenia and Georgia. An especially interesting part of the conversation was the comparison of leadership challenges in the floating industrial environment of a submarine to those in corporate America. Special thanks to Joe DeBono '97 for planning this event.

KACNY hosts 7th multischool MBA happy hour

Kellogg alumni once again gathered to enjoy food and conversation at this popular event, which included alumni from several top business schools. Special thanks to Dan Williams '99 for organizing this occasion.

Open board meeting

KACNY kicked off fall with an open board meeting chaired by new president Joe DeBono '97. The meeting was followed by a wine and cheese reception for Roger W. (Whit) Shepard, new Kellogg School dean for alumni relations and development, as well as Kellogg staff members Anne Brockseker and Stephanie Freeth '02. Whit articulated some of the goals for both of the departments he oversees, which include an increased focus on the school’s alumni and additional resources to go toward its alumni clubs.

During the meeting, Jim Palos '89 of the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board announced that KACNY had been selected Alumni Club of the Year, eliciting a grand round of applause. As the meeting progressed, the club recognized Leonard Chan '00 for his sustained superior performance as the club’s treasurer and Dan Williams '99 for his outstanding leadership of KACNY over the last three years.

Another exciting announcement came with the news that Kevin Goldstein '92, KACNY ambassador at large, is training to climb Mount Everest and likely will be the first Kellogg School alum to do so. Kevin plans to plant the Kellogg flag where no Kellogg alum has heretofore dared venture!

Throughout the meeting many alumni stepped up to volunteer and proffer great ideas that might result in future programming. Jeneane Kee '99 volunteered to co-chair KACNY’s Black Tie Dinner. Those who are interested in helping should contact Jeneane at 212.957.1332 or Jkee1@aol.com. Amy Louise Goldberg '90 of Leslie Kavanagh Associates stepped forward to co-chair KACNY’s Family Focused Events Group. If you are interested in participating in or helping with family focused events, please contact Amy Louise at 212.661.0670, ext. 17, or alg26ny@lycos.com. Catherine Vaughn '02 of the Blackstone Group volunteered to co-chair KACNY’s Wall Street Group. If you are interested in participating or helping Catherine, please contact her at 212.583.5269 or catherine_e_vaughn@hotmail.com. Lastly, Rebeca Castellon '04 will co-chair the Charity Auction Ball this spring. If you are interested in attending or helping, please contact Rebeca at 773.412.3366 or rcastellon2004@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

The Kellogg Alumni Club of New York is grateful to Whit and his team for showing their support by traveling from Evanston to New York City for the meeting. A special thanks to all those who attended and to Joe DeBono '97 for hosting the meeting at JPMorganChase Mortgages.

Community service events and projects: KACNY New York Cares Day

On Oct. 23, KACNY put together a team for New York Cares Day. The team painted murals of the Seven Wonders of the World, gardened and cleaned a New York City Public School in Hell’s Kitchen. Thanks to Irene Tarkov '02 and Joe DeBono '97 for serving as team captains.

MBA Corps Team

Ben Tisdell '03 and Joe DeBono '97, along with other Kellogg School graduates, are leading a KACNY MBA Corps consulting team for a New York City firefighters’ organization. The goal is to help develop a variety of branding opportunities to create revenue streams for the group’s scholarship fund. Other volunteer opportunities include consulting to and mentoring microlenders and community development corporations in Harlem and Long Island City, and small businesses/entrepreneurs in the Bronx and Brooklyn, in conjunction with the Clinton Foundation and the congressional offices of U.S. Reps Charles Rangel and Nydia Velazquez. Time remains to join a team or start a new team. If you’re interested in volunteering for any of these projects, please contact Joe DeBono at 917.579.6612 or joe@mbacorps.org.

A personal note from the club president

K2K is the lodestone that will guide KACNY’s activities during my tenure as club president. K2K is KACNY’s mission: that Kellogg alumni should hire, help and buy from other Kellogg alumni. Take the call. This is the power of being a member of one of the world’s most exclusive clubs --- Kellogg alumni.

As a relationship platform, KACNY has two key functions. One is to assist alumni in growing their businesses and careers. To this end, we are creating CEO and entrepreneur support groups that will allow Kellogg alumni to market their goods and services to club members. We will enhance our programming to create events that are beneficial to alumni in multiple industries and across various functions.

The second key function is to support alumni in their quest for personal and social growth. Here too we are investing in creative programming to meet the diverse needs of the demographic groups that we identify when we particularize our membership in the Tri-State Area.

We need your assistance to achieve these goals. Please support the club in two ways. First, update your contact information on the Kellogg Alumni Web site through the PowerUp! portal. The KACNY network is only as good as our database. Go to http://alumni.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.htm and click “profile update” at the top of the page. If you need help, call 847.467.ALUM (2586).

Second, volunteer. I will soon post a list of KACNY volunteer opportunities on the KACNY Web site (kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/clubs/kacny). The alumni club is an affinity group business like any other, except that it is run by Kellogg alumni volunteers for Kellogg alumni. The club has tremendous momentum. The Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board just voted us the top domestic alumni club. Help us take it to the next level!

Why volunteer? Why even have an alumni club? Your Kellogg diploma is a stock certificate. Its value is derived from the education, as well as the network, that it represents. By increasing the value of the Kellogg alumni network, we increase the value of your diploma.

What is the lifetime value of a Kellogg diploma? While that answer is difficult to determine, what is certain is that your participation will increase its value. Look at your relationship with Kellogg as two years in Evanston and a lifetime as an alum.

Warm regards, Joe