Students

Ruben Abramov

Nationality: Armenian  CU e-mail: RVA9@cornell.edu

Prior to joining the MMH program and Cornell University, Ruben spent nearly two years on the west shore of Cayuga Lake working at Sheldrake Point, where he had the opportunity to experience every dynamic of a Finger Lakes winery. Before his ultimate promotion to sales and marketing manager, Ruben began in the tasting room—where he developed a true passion for wine and service, as well as an in-depth understanding of wine consumers. From back-of-house participation in the bottling process and label creation, to front line sales and distribution across New York state, as well as brand advertisement and facilitation, his experience in the numerous moving parts of a vineyard and winery was crucial in understanding the product he was in charge of selling. A natural problem solver, he is interested in the creative process—from concept creation to product development—his goals are to build upon his consumer marketing experience, focusing his studies on marketing and operations. Earning his B.A. in Sociology from the University at Buffalo, Ruben credits his studies and multicultural upbringing for shaping his cultural awareness and creative ability, which will be pivotal in achieving his end goals of hospitality technology entrepreneurship.

 

Emily Ambrose

E-mail: ea366@cornell.edu Nationality: American

Emily Ambrose first fell in love with the charms and idiosyncrasies of hospitality while working for the Inns of Aurora, a collection of boutique inns, restaurants, and shops. Emily attended Wells College, graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2011. Upon graduation, she began employment with the Inns of Aurora, luckily located right down the street from her alma mater. During her tenure there, she filled numerous roles, including guest services, night auditor, marketing associate, events coordinator, most recently serving as the event sales manager. Emily is passionate and curious about agritourism, the farm to table movement, and the relationship between small farms and the hospitality and food and beverage industries. After completing the MMH program, Emily hopes to return to her native state of Maine, where she would like to pursue a career combining her loves for food and beverage and marketing.

 

Andrew Beres

Andrew brings to Cornell a decade of restaurant experience. Prior to joining the Master of Management in Hospitality program, he was a Captain at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s three Michelin-starred flagship restaurant in New York City. Before his tenure at Jean Georges, Andrew worked his way through the ranks at a number of other restaurants in NYC, where he was fortunate to earn positions of increasing responsibility, from waiter and bartender to manager and sommelier. These restaurants encompass the wide range of dining experiences that the city offers, and honed Andrew’s knowledge of food, wine, service, management, and operations. Andrew holds a bachelor of arts in French and Francophone Studies from Columbia University. He is pursuing a self-directed concentration in the MMH program, which will allow him to explore multi-unit restaurant operations with a focus on sustainability.

Joe Bylebyl

Before coming to Johnson, Joe Bylebyl attended Colby College where he majored in Middle Eastern Studies and Government.  He then spent the next four years working as a business consultant with IBM.  There he led a number of engagements with the federal government helping them work through a wide range of problems.  While his career has been focused in consulting, Joe has always maintained a passion for food. He studied cooking in Florence, regularly enjoys hosting dinner parties, and constantly seeks out new restaurants and food scenes.  Currently Joe is focused on brand management, but his long-term goal is to pursue a career in the food industry, opening restaurants in NYC.

Charlene Chen

Charlene is a graduate student in the Master of Management in Hospitality program (MMH), graduating in May of 2016 with a minor in Real Estate. Prior to joining the MMH program, Charlene worked in the Westin Nanjing as the Revenue Manager. And as the only staff in the revenue management function and the youngest manager of the hotel, she collaborated with sales, finance and operations team to successfully make the hotel achieve the highest RevPAR index since it’s opening. Before that, Charlene was a Starwood China Corporate Revenue Management Trainee and International Sales Coordinator Intern in the Hilton Shanghai Regional Office. As to the consulting and research experience, she has been working for Tianyuan Hospitality Advisory Services Company implementing hotel operational consulting projects. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Zhejiang University, majoring in tourism management and minoring in innovation design. With various professional experience in China, Charlene hope to pursue a career in revenue management or business analytic position in consulting companies, hotels or restaurants in U.S..

 

Kuan-Lin (Gary) Chen

MMH 16 E-mail: kc852@cornell.edu Nationality: Taiwan

Graduating from the department of food science gave Kuan-Lin Chen decent and basic vision of entering into Food & Beverage industry. To further acquire knowledge about this industry, he engaged in several different jobs while he was an undergraduate, such as waiter, warehouse management specialist, delivery specialist and purchasing assistant. Following in that, Kuan-Lin Chen acted as a procurement manager, working for three years in a private company owning five restaurants in Taiwan. He was responsible for the logistics system of these restaurants and the cost of the ingredients as well as materials. Now, Kuan-Lin Chen is a member of the great family–School of Hotel Administration of Cornell University–and desires to concentrate on the SelfDirected, pursuing restaurant management and operation management related experiences, skills and knowledge.

 

Siyi Chen

Siyi Chen is currently a second semester senior at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. She is working towards her Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration, with a minor in Real Estate. Siyi fell in love with hospitality industry when she first worked as a Food and Beverage Trainee in a Hotel Restaurant in China back in high school. After entering college, Siyi soon discovered her interest in quantitative sides of the hospitality industry and developed a strong interest in revenue management. Since freshman year, Siyi has interned with the Room Department at the Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen, China, the Distribution Team at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, as well as the Sales Team at the corporate office of the Leading Hotels of the World in New York City, where she was not only able to sharpen her communication and data analysis skills but was also able to observe hotel revenue management from different functional and cultural perspectives.

In junior year, Siyi took a gap semester and worked as a Consulting Intern at Horwath HTL in Beijing, China. She participated in several asset management and feasibility study projects and found herself enjoying business development and strategic planning. After graduation, Siyi wants to pursue a career in either revenue management or hospitality consulting where she could explore data driven decision making in the hospitality industry.

 

Grace Churchill

Grace is a current senior in the School of Hotel Administration originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration with a concentration in Information Systems Management.

This previous summer Grace worked as the Sales and Convention Services Intern at the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau where she worked closely with the Sales and Convention Services Departments on the day to day operations.  Previously she managed a Bed & Breakfast in Ithaca, NY where she gained a strong understanding of all the different aspects that go into the operations of a small-scale hospitality unit.

Additionally Grace has been a teaching assistant for the course Business Computing for 5 semesters, recently being appointed lead teaching assistant for the course.

After graduation, Grace hopes to work in information systems geared toward hospitality.

 

Zach Demuth

Zach is a graduate student in the Master of Management in Hospitality program, class of 2016. After earning his Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration from Boston University in 2011, Zach worked in a variety of revenue management roles for Marriott International. Most recently, he was a Director of Revenue Management for The Ritz-Carlton where he led the revenue strategy for multiple hotels throughout the Caribbean and Mexico.  His particular focus was on The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun where he developed strategies that resulted in a room revenue growth of fifty-percent during his three years in the region. Zach has a passion for luxury hotels and his strengths lie in his ability to think strategically and come up with solutions to complex problems.

 

Yihong GU (Yvonne)

E-mail: yg369@cornell.edu Nationality: Chinese

Yvonne generated her passion and enthusiasm for hospitality industry from Hawaii. Post her hospitality program at the University of Hawaii, she earned her position as management trainee at the Makena Beach and Golf Resort on Maui. Fully exposed to Hawaiian host culture and immersed in the true Aloha spirit, she harnessed her cross- cultural communication potential while working with associates from different countries and backgrounds, as well as serving internationally diversified guests. Afterwards, she worked in the flagship Hyatt hotel in Shanghai (Grand Hyatt) for three years and rose through the ranks to become the sales and marketing manager. She was responsible for managing and developing international accounts as well as public relations and marketing campaigns. Upon completion of the MMH program at Cornell University, Yvonne is looking to go back to Hawaii and continue sales and marketing for Hawaii, resorts and activities.

 

Qinghaiyan He

Nationality: Chinese

After earning his management bachelor’s degree at East China Normal University, Qing served Junzhan Hotel—a 4-Star nation-owned hotel as a salesman, making phone calls to potential guests, marketing latest promotion, and arranging conferences. This is not his first time to be involved in Tourism industry. During undergraduate years, Qing spent half a year interning at room service department of China World Hotel, learning to inspect the sanitary and compiling the working reports and profiles. Back to 2012, Qing joined Walt Disney World International College Program to help make magic. He was a cast member at Epoct’s F&B department, taking charge of outdoor food sales and at Seas-Nemo with Friend attraction, operating vehicles of Nemo tour and hosting comedy shows “Turtle Talk with Crush”. Qing is currently an MMH student at Cornell University and he hopes to leverage his past experience, academic knowledge and social network to pursue his dream at Hotel Revenue Management.

 

Yan Huang

Prior to joining the MMH program, Yan worked as the reservation manager of the Westin Beijing Chaoyang, where she started her hospitality career as a corporate management trainee in revenue management. In her role, Yan oversaw the daily operation of hotel reservations, developed potential associates, providing data analysis and participating in pricing decisions. She developed analytic skills, leadership skills, and is a good team player. Now Yan is looking for a switch in career. With little knowledge in food & beverage, she developed a strong interest in food and culinary. Her goal is to do a start-up in breakfast delivery back in China. Coming to Cornell means a fresh start in her exploration. She will pursue a self-directed concentration focusing on entrepreneurship and food and beverage management.

 

NaYeon Kim

Nathan Klebanow

Nathan is in the process of completing his MMH degree and will graduate in May 2016. His hospitality career began in 2004 when he served as a line cook at a small bistro. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 2007, he completed a restaurant management training program, and has since worked in different management positions at a number of restaurants ranging from casual to fine dining concepts. While working as a beverage manager, he discovered a passion for wine and successfully passed the Certified Sommelier Exam in 2013. While he maintains a strong interest in the food, beverage, and service side of the business, his focus in recent years has been on financial operations. Instituting operational changes to increase profitability became a new challenge, and helped Nathan gain a different perspective on the industry. Most recently he served as the general manager of Strip House steakhouse, one of New York City’s highest Zagat-rated steakhouses, and during his tenure was able to institute front and back-of-house operations changes that increased both revenue and profitability. He intends to spend his time at Cornell focusing on revenue management and restaurant development. After graduation Nathan hopes to work for a technology-based restaurant solutions company.

 

Joe Klee

Joe studied economics and political science while at Rutgers University and the University of Vermont.  After completing school, Joe moved to NYC where he learned valuable sales and customer service experience while working as an account manager at AT&T.  Later he worked as a program manager at LivePerson where he managed several large clients including Ford, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.  Through this he gained additional management, marketing, customer service and analytical skills.

Alongside his career, Joe continues to pursue his personal hobby of residential property management, where he’s managed rental properties including a one hundred year old Victorian-style home that he recently helped to renovate.

By undertaking the MMH program, Joe is following his true passion for hospitality with a particular focus in revenue management and marketing.  When not studying his other interests include swimming, kayaking, skiing and travel.

 

Alexis Lewis

Alexis earned her Bachelor of Arts from New York University, majoring in Media and Marketing Studies. After graduation, Alexis worked in the Entertainment Marketing Department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a major international talent and sports agency. While at CAA Alexis was appointed to the Chipotle Mexican Grill account and helped develop Chipotle’s entertainment-marketing platform through the production of major chef-driven food festivals, animated short films, VIP rewards programs and other initiatives. After her work with Chipotle, Alexis was inspired to root her career in Hospitality.

Alexis is now a second year MBA student at Johnson pursuing a concentration in Hospitality. She recently competed her summer internship at Sprout LA, an innovative restaurant collaboration in Los Angeles, working in both marketing and restaurant operations. Alexis is excited to pursue restaurant operations after graduation and eventually restaurant development and entrepreneurship.

 

Yiwei Lian

Prior to joining the MMH program, Yiwei was assistant to an executive chef. After joining the food and beverage department, Yiwei found the happiness working in the hotel industry.
Yiwei’s first job was as a financial analyst and most of her internship and externship experiences during her undergraduate degree were involved in financial corporates and futures brokerage companies. Her bachelor degree is in business administration and her major is e-business. She learned combined and comprehensive courses related to economics, finance, programming, data mining, management, and e-marketing.
Yiwei was determined to join the MMH program, and utilizing what she gained from her undergraduate and working experience, she will equip herself with the MMH program to develop her career in operations and revenues management.

 

Zhongzhe Liu

Zhongzhe Liu has great passions for hospitality industry, that’s why after graduating from University of International Relations ( Beijing) with his B.A. in public administration, he went to work for Grand Hyatt Guangzhou. Being a front desk agent at Grand Hyatt, Zhongzhe provided authentic services with professional standards to every guest he met. He also went through aspects of front office management while helping the manager. A year later, he entered the marketing and investment department of a local construction company. The work experience enlarged his prospective and raised his interest for properties development. During MMH, Zhongzhe will concentrate his studies on operation and revenue management. After graduation, he wants to start his career in operation of luxury hotels. And in a longer term, he dreams to build up his own hotel.  Besides hotels, Zhongzhe is interested in foods, paintings and architecture, he appreciates the visual beauty in our everyday life.

 

Victoria Mackay

Victoria joins Cornell’s Hotel School Master’s program with a background in investment banking and management consulting. With 10 years working experience in London and Zurich, Victoria has experience leading complex change programs across the full business delivery cycle with global teams. She has an in depth understanding of the front to bank operations of financial services businesses and will leverage these experiences to assist in her transition in to the hospitality industry. Victoria is focussing on revenue management and operations during her degree.

 

Gabrielle Maurer

 

 

Shruti Mehta

Nationality : India  Email : sm2554@cornell.edu

Prior to joining the MMH program, Shruti has pursued a diverse career, holding a variety of positions across multiple industries. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, she worked in several Chartered Accountancy firms specializing in taxation and audit. She worked her way to the position of associate manager, where she managed recruiting and client accounts. With over four years of experience in the commerce industry, Shruti decided to transition to Food & Beverage. She went on to attain an Associate’s degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from the Culinary Institute of America.  Shruti discovered her passion for the hotel industry while working in pastry at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Miami. By combining her past experience and passion for hospitality with the knowledge she hopes to gain from this program, Shruti plans to develop a career in operations consulting and go on to open her own patisseries in India.

 

Justin Meselsohn

Justin Meselsohn is a Senior in The Hotel School with a concentration in food and beverage management. Justin is the current Marketing Director for Hotel Ezra Cornell and sat on the board of directors for HEC 90 as the food and beverage service director. Justin is also the current student manager of Taverna Banfi in the Statler Hotel.

Growing up along the Jersey Shore, Justin has catered hundreds of events from private dinner parties to weddings of hundreds, which is where he fell in love with the art of service. His passion for hospitality only grew as he began working in restaurants learning more about cuisine, beverages, and fine dining service.

Justin spent his past summer working at a luxury hotel in Tuscany. There he worked with the property and their administrative offices to improve operations and discover new ways to market the hotel to potential guests. In addition Justin worked as an assistant manager at a fine dining restaurant on the Jersey Shore, where he was responsible for their media marketing and floor staff.

After graduation Justin is looking to pursue a career that fulfills his passions for hospitality, food, and wine.

 

Decker Nielsen

My name is Decker Nielsen, and I am a senior in the School of Hotel Administration concentrating in beverage management. I’m taking Restaurant Revenue Management because I see myself in and out of the restaurant industry as an aspiring sommelier and entrepreneur.

Kathryn Sabol – Teaching Assistant

Kathryn Sabol is a senior working towards her Bachelor’s in Hotel Administration from Chicago, IL.

Kathryn has a strong background in food & beverage, with a focus on operations. For two years Kathryn has worked at a yacht club in Boothbay Harbor, ME, where she learned the importance of revenue management in their dining room. The first year she worked as a club management intern and this previous summer she was promoted and worked as the dining room manager. After graduation, Kathryn hopes to continue pursuing management positions in food & beverage operations.

 

Jacob Schaffer

Jacob Schaffer is a senior at the School of Hotel Administration from Los Angeles, California. Jacob is passionate about food and cooking, which has lead him to pursue a career in the restaurant industry. He began working in hospitality in high school at an upscale cupcake bakery called Big Sugar Bakeshop, and has since held many positions across different operations. After his freshman year of college, Jacob worked at the Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, in the Pool and Cabana Restaurant department. The following year, Jacob worked at La Fonda Del Sol with Patina Restaurant Group in New York City, where he served as a rotational operations intern. Most recently, Jacob worked at Carbone New York with Major Food Group as a restaurant management intern. While at Cornell, Jacob works at Taverna Banfi at the Statler Hotel, where he takes an active management role as a student supervisor. After graduation, Jacob hopes to continue to work in the upscale restaurant industry.

Ryan Woolley

Ryan Woolley is a senior in the School of Hotel administration. Prior to Cornell, Ryan received his AOS degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. In 2015, Ryan started a mobile barbecue stand, Pelican Barbecue, with a fellow student, serving the greater Ithaca area. Ryan previously worked at several Union Square Hospitality Group restaurants, including North End Grill, The Modern, and Gramercy Tavern.

 

Xiaohui (Ivy) Yu

Email: xy74@cornell.edu Nationality: Chinese

Xiaohui is a senior at the hotel school and is going to graduate in January 2016. She transferred into Cornell from Colorado State University (CSU) as a junior. During her first two years of college life at CSU, she took 20 credits, worked as a Student Campus Officer in Campus Police Department and as a Guest Relation and Event Associate at the University Events Office, and volunteered to be the Teaching Assistant for the second-year Chinese class per semester. After getting into Cornell, she explored the areas she were interested in doing via internships and externships, including Revenue Management and Sales at Holiday Inn Express Brooklyn, Hotel Operations at JW Marriott Shanghai, and Restaurant Operations at local restaurants. With all the experience she had so far, she found that she was more interested in data related projects. Therefore, she will pursue a career in Revenue Management after graduation.

 

Li (Julie) Zhou

I am from Beijing, China and currently study as the Master of Industrial Labor Relations at Cornell University. I have been working for years at a key university and a global company in related to Human Resource function before I came to the US. My career will still focus on human resources as I am an expert in both recruitment and compensation. But I am personally interested in cooking and dreaming of having my own restaurant one day in the US.

 

Remi Zimmerman

Remi Zimmerman is a senior at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, originally from Los Angeles, California. Remi will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration and a concentration in Foodservice Management. Remi spent her last semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy, learning about hospitality practices in Europe.

Currently, Remi serves as Dean’s Assistant for the School of Hotel Administration, and the Lead Teaching Assistant for the Food Service Management course. Additionally, Remi is a Cornell Hotel School Ambassador and gives tours to prospective students and parents.

Remi’s has strengthened her skills in multiple areas of hospitality by working in TV production for the Food Network, hotel operations for the Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills, real estate finance for Windsor Capital Group, and restaurant operations for the Studio Restaurant at the Montage Resort. Upon graduation, Remi hopes to pursue a career in Restaurant Consulting.