Alumni Advisory Board Celebrates 7 New Members

Coca-Cola Scholars are connected not only by a college scholarship, but also a shared desire to improve the world. Together, they make it happen, and the Coca-Cola Scholars Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) was created to help.

Formed by alumni in 2006, the AAB supports the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation’s mission to foster a network of socially conscious and service-minded leaders. A representative cross-section of the entire population of Coca-Cola Scholar alumni, they serve to increase the level of alumni engagement and foster a greater alumni investment in the Coca-Cola Scholars network.

Currently, 18 alumni serve on the AAB on a 3-year rotation, and in October they welcomed new members Cesar Aviles (2000), Eamon Bracht (2016 & SWALS), Krystal Kappeler (2009), Dr. Che Miller (1994), Joe Semsar (2005), Erica Tuggle (2001), and Rosanna Catalano Flury (1990).

The AAB and Foundation staff just concluded a successful Leadership Summit in September, where Coke Scholars and alumni from the very first class in 1989 to the newly selected in 2018 traveled to Atlanta to connect, learn and grow as visionary leaders. It was the third event of its kind for the group and spanned four days.

Other initiatives include Service Summits, which are local Scholar conferences focused on service; #CokeScholarPro professional development sessions, and casual #CokeScholarsDine gatherings across the country.

Learn more about the new members below!

 

Cesar Aviles, a 2000 Scholar, is a Senior Performance Consultant for Frontline Performance Group. He is passionate about developing front line staff and their belief to grow. In the consulting industry, there are many different ways to implement change. Yet, the most compelling formula is finding the intrinsic motivational elements every individual has to succeed. Ultimately, it is about helping each member of the team realize their full potential and belief.

Cesar has been blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Middle East and Latin America with different programs aimed at humanitarian relief and preservation of the environment. He has volunteered to work with organizations including: Habitat for Humanity, United Nations Youth Program, and the Toastmaster International organization. He serves the Coca-Cola Scholar’s Foundation as a Coach to first year students. He feels it is an honor and privilege to join the AAB and continue to serve in this amazing community of change leaders!!!

 

Eamon Bracht is a 2016 Coca-Cola Scholar and a 2017 Sandy Williams Alumni Legacy Scholar (SWALS).

Selected from nominations from their fellow class of Scholars, the Sandy Williams Alumni Legacy Scholarship is awarded to an active and passionate Coke Scholar who is an engaged and supportive alumnus, and embodies the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation’s mission as a socially conscious, service-minded change agent. SWALS recipients are true difference-makers with strong initiative and powerful, strong voices, with deep passions for creating, leading and administering their own initiatives to educate, enrich, and serve others.

Eamon is currently majoring in bioengineering and computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a strong believer in the power of youth to be catalysts for change and has started two nonprofits focused on empowering youth by improving health and educational outcomes in the US and abroad.

Eamon is also a deeply passionate researcher focusing on the role of data and software in bridging the gap between medicine and technology. His current areas of focus are the role of hemopoietic stem cells in liver fibrosis and developing a surgical robot to automate brain tumor ablation using lasers.

 

Rosanna Catalano Flury is an attorney, lobbyist, and 1990 Scholar. She is recognized as a senior leader within the post-secondary education arena throughout the State of Florida and enjoys exceptional relationships and access throughout Florida’s governmental, educational, and healthcare communities. She has extensive experience in Florida administrative law and compliance issues, state budgets, management, procurement, litigation, and strategic planning.

Rosanna has a diverse and unique background through her service as Executive Director of the Florida Elections Commission; Associate Dean at Florida State University’s College of Law; Assistant Attorney General; Board Counsel to professional regulatory boards including the Board of Medicine Credentials Committee, Board of Nursing, and Board of Dentistry; Assistant State Attorney; and television news producer. Throughout her twenty-year career, she has advocated on behalf of clients and organizations and made hundreds of presentations.

In her personal life she is the wife of a wonderful and very patient man and mother of two very awesome and spunky girls. Rosanna is an extrovert and is known for making friends everywhere she goes.

 

A 2009 Scholar and Colorado native, Krystal Kappeler is the Scholarship Programming Fellow at the Boettcher Foundation where she manages alumni engagement, Boettcher’s alumni board, and scholarship programming. Krystal also speaks as a guest lecturer, helping college students generate strategic business plans and improve negotiation tactics.

Prior to this, Krystal worked on financials and operations management at Welch Financial Planning in Boulder, CO, and developed strategic marketing and contracts with Coca-Cola Refreshments in southern California.

Krystal received a B.S. in business administration with a corporate finance concentration, and certificates in leadership and international business from Colorado State University. Having completed all M.A. in economics coursework at CSU, her thesis research examines the impact of philanthropy on the capitalist economy and stems from the direct impact she felt as a Coca-Cola Scholar and Boettcher Scholar.

When she is not sharing a Coke or SCUBA diving, Krystal teaches Hip-Hop Dance and Aqua Zumba to inspire individuals of all ages and abilities to lead an active lifestyle. Krystal serves the Coca-Cola Scholar’s Foundation as a Coach to first year students, and is very much looking forward to further serving her Coca-Cola family through the Alumni Advisory Board!

 

Dr. Che Miller is a general and vascular surgeon in Duncan, OK, and currently serves as Chief of Staff for Duncan Regional Hospital.

Dr. Miller is a 1994 Coca-Cola Scholar and attended the University of Oklahoma graduating with honors in Chemistry in 1998. In 2002, he graduated medical school at the University of Oklahoma and began Surgery Residency at the same institution. During his formal education, he held a variety of leadership positions ranging from President of his medical school class to Chair of the Oklahoma State Medical Association Student Section. During medical school he was selected as the Most Outstanding Medical Student by his peers.

Dr. Miller has conducted research in geochemistry, Parkinson’s disease, trauma, cardiovascular disease, vascular surgery, meteorology, and disaster management. He has authored ten abstracts, three peer reviewed journals, and has presented his research at dozens of meetings and conferences.

Dr. Miller has dedicated much of his time to philanthropy in the form of education and healthcare to eight nations on four continents. From ministry in a local bible school in Mexico to performing surgery in a mobile operating room in the rural Philippines, he devotes a block of time every year to missions. From this he has gained knowledge of the healthcare system across the world, studied four languages, and been recognized by the leaders of several countries including a Governor in Mindanao, Philippines, and the Minister of Health in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Dr. Miller married Leah Callicoat in 1995, and they have two children Ava (11) and Ruby (8). Dr. Miller serves on several foundation boards is a founding board member of the Beautiful Day Foundation. Learn more about his work with the Beautiful Day Foundation and how being a Coca-Cola Scholar has impacted his life.

 

Joe Semsar is a 2005 Scholar and was appointed Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs at the Department of Commerce in February of 2018. Prior to this role, Joe served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and the Acting Communications Director for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Prior to his federal service, Joe led organization transformation efforts for Deloitte Consulting, LLP. Some of his federal clients included the United States Air Force, the National Finance Center, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Prior to his work with Deloitte, Joe worked as a Teach For America staff member and corps member. As a Teach For America corps member in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Joe earned a Teacher of the Year award, successfully leading his students to some of the most math gains in the Baton Rouge school district.

Joe received his Master of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Clemson University. Joe serves on Clemson University’s Alumni Association Board of Directors, and is a past president of the Clemson University Young Alumni Council. Joe and his wife, Jenna, live in Washington, DC.

 

Erica Lynn Tuggle is a 2001 Scholar and has spent over ten years developing her marketing acumen across services and consumer packaged goods industries.

She began her career at American Express in product and program management for the Platinum and Centurion cards. She then helped build brands and marketing capabilities at General Mills, where she worked on leading food brands including Yoplait, specifically launching Yoplait Greek.

Erica joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2013 as Brand Manager, Sprite, where she developed consumer passion point and asset strategy, drove incidence growth with the launch of Sprite 6 Mix, and helped return the food service business to growth. Most recently, Erica led the innovation team for the Honest portfolio. In this role, she developed the Honest innovation strategy to grow the TM across multiple still categories. She also led her team to deliver the redesign of Honest Glass and expansion of Honest Sport as the fastest growing sports drink in the Natural Channel.

Erica earned her Master of Business Administration from the Harvard School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Outside of work, you can find her in the kitchen pursuing her passion for cooking and spending time with her husband, Nathan, and two beautiful children, Jordan (3) and Aria (8 months).