Dean's Advisory Board

The Honors College Thanks Ms. Riley for Her Service

gsehgal2 — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:59:02 +0000

The Honors College Thanks Ms. Riley for Her Service gsehgal2 Thu, 06/15/2023 - 17:59

The Honors College expresses its gratitude to Ms. Catherine Riley for her service on the Honors College Dean’s Advisory Board and for helping shape our university into what it is today. The Honors College would like to celebrate Ms. Catherine Riley’s journey and the impact she has had over the years.

Ms. Riley is the Vice President of Business Investment at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, one of the most successful local development programs in the US. She oversees strategic planning and project management for the agency’s three investment divisions: National Business Investment; International Business Investment; and Diversity Investment and Entrepreneurship Division programs.

Ms. Riley has had an impactful career, managing a team that generated over 90,000 new jobs in Fairfax County over the last decade. This includes headquarters relocations for companies such as Hilton Worldwide, CSC, SAIC, and Volkswagen Group of America. She also managed successful bids to win headquarters relocations for Intelsat and Northrop Grumman, as well as the Global Operations Center of Bechtel.

Before being promoted to Vice President in 2002, Ms. Riley was the Director for the International Division at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. She initiated the agency’s overseas investment program and opened its first foreign office in Tokyo, Japan. During her tenure as Director, she opened five more overseas offices and her team announced over 12,000 new jobs for Fairfax County.

Ms. Riley has also been active in various organizations. She was the President of the British American Business Association (BABA) from 2010-2012 and served on its Board of Directors for six years and its Executive Committee for three years. She also chaired the BABA Strategic Planning Committee. Additionally, she served on the Executive Committee of the British American Business Council and was its representative for the South East regional chapters.

Ms. Riley has also been involved with the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, serving on its Board of Directors for six years and its Executive Committee for three years. She has also served on its Transition Team and Nominating Committees.

Ms. Riley is a graduate of Leadership Fairfax and a member of both the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the International Economic Development Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and has completed additional training in real estate, management, and economic development.

As she departs from the board, we thank her for her time and commitment and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

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Dean's Advisory Board

Honors College

The Honors College Welcomes Julie Coons to the Dean's Advisory Board

Daniel Hyunbin Chung — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 19:29:41 +0000

The Honors College Welcomes Julie Coons to the Dean's Advisory Board Daniel Hyunbin Chung Tue, 04/04/2023 - 15:29

The Honors College welcomes Julie Coons to the Dean’s Advisory Board. Julie Coons is a transformative leader who delivers unprecedented revenue and profit growth through innovation, operational excellence, and cultural change. Ms. Coons graduated cum laude from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., with a B.A. in economics and Japanese language and literature. Ms. Coons is bringing a wealth of leadership experience with regional, national, and international organizations.

In September 2018 Ms. Coons was named President & CEO of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. From 2017-2018 Ms. Coons served as Chief Operating Officer of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. From 2008-2016, Ms. Coons served as CEO of the Electronic Retailing Association where she led a significant financial and brand transformation of the association. Prior to joining ERA, Ms. Coons served as president and CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland. Prior to the non-profit world, Ms. Coons led international business development for a number of telecommunications companies.

She has been an active member of numerous boards including Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, Connected DMV, Tysons Community Alliance, and a director of the Advisory Board of Marketsmith, Inc., a direct response marketing agency. She is an active member of the Economic Club of Washington, DC, the US Chamber’s Committee of 100 Chambers, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and American Society of Association Executives. She holds a CAE (certified association executive) professional credential. She was named one of the 2015 Trending 40 Association Leaders.

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Honors College

Dean's Advisory Board

The Honors College Welcomes Jeffrey Shen to the Dean's Advisory Committee

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:16:48 +0000

The Honors College Welcomes Jeffrey Shen to the Dean's Advisory Committee Wasiq Muhammad… Thu, 01/19/2023 - 17:16

The Honors College welcomes Jeffrey Shen to the Dean's Advisory Board. A Mason alumnus who was a Presidential Scholar, a predecessor program to the current Honors College University Scholars, Mr. Shen is giving back by bringing expertise, experience, and vision to the board.

Mr. Shen is the President at Red Team Consulting and brings 25 years of proven leadership and expertise in federal contracting, corporate strategy, and business development. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s corporate growth strategy while providing federal contracting expertise to the 200+ clients his company supports every year.

His career in management and consulting includes working with U.S. corporations, federal integrators, and U.S. government agencies in the areas of strategic growth, capture management, and acquisition planning.

Prior to Red Team Consulting, Mr. Shen delivered business strategy and technology solutions to the U.S. Federal Government and Fortune 500 companies worldwide on contracts totaling over $50 billion. He previously acted as Vice President of Sales for a small business where he increased company revenue by nearly 300% within two years and drove the recognized revenues of the company to $250M over a three-year period.

In addition to the George Mason University Honors College Advisory Board, Mr. Shen sits on the Dulles Advisory Board for Truist Bank. He has been a featured speaker at various summits and conferences in the past on topics such as Acquisition Strategy, Proposal and Capture Management, and Business Growth.

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Dean's Advisory Board

Honors College

University Scholars