More than 100 George Washington University guests enjoyed food and wine pairings featuring award-winning wines from Selby Winery, owned by Susie Selby, M.B.A. ’ 84, while mingling in the two-story space of Forgery Bar, a PlumpJack Group property owned by John and Ann Marie Conover, parents of GW senior Madeline Conover.
Prospective School of Business students also attended the Nov. 1 event, sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations, to meet with GW representatives and alumni.
GW has an active alumni network in the Bay Area. More than 5,700 alumni and 580 current parents live in the region, and hundreds of students from the Bay Area attend GW.
In his university update, GW President Steven Knapp noted the appointments of Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II as the new dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, Sanjit Sethi as the new director of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, and RaShall M. Brackney as the new chief of the GW Police Department.
He also discussed the opening of the Milken Institute School of Public Health, Science and Engineering Hall and the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Dr. Knapp announced that the university’s major philanthropic campaign, Making History: The Campaign for GW, has raised more than $810 million.
“[The campaign] is going to enable us to continue to support our students, to continue to bring in talented faculty and leaders and help support everything we do so we can continue to be a university that truly makes history,” Dr. Knapp said. “And an important way we [can continue] is connecting with communities like our very strong community here in the Bay Area.”
Mr. Conover, Ms. Selby, GWAA Board of Directors member Aaron Deer, M.B.A. ’00, M.A. ’00, and Matt Manfra, associate vice president for alumni relations, also gave remarks. Special guests included GW Board of Trustees member and Bay Area resident Art B. Wong, M.D. '67; and School of Business Dean Linda Livingstone, who served as a panelist the following day on a GW-hosted “master class” titled “Leadership in the Disruptive Century” before the start of the 2015 Fortune Global Forum.
The afternoon of food and wine was made possible by the support of the Conovers and Ms. Selby.
Ms. Conover said she and her husband are inspired to support the university because of the “amazing experience” of their daughter, Madeline. Now a senior at GW, the younger Ms. Conover has studied abroad for a semester at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and interned with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton Campaign.
“As a parent, you want your children to find their own calling and passion,” said Ms. Conover. “Madeline has been incredibly fulfilled, happy and challenged at GW. Her experience has been well rounded, and she has made great friendships. We want to be supportive of her and the university that has been so wonderful for her.”
Ms. Selby’s experience as an M.B.A. student in the School of Business was “instrumental” to her success as a business owner. Ms. Selby’s passion for wine making was inspired by her father, and after his death in 1997, she used her GW business training to open Selby Winery without partners or investors.
“GW gave me the confidence to decide to stay in the industry and do it by myself,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful to the university.”
A member of the School of Business Board of Advisors, Ms. Selby said she is “honored” to stay involved with the university and help students who are interested in entrepreneurship. “I believe in giving back because the school gave so much to me,” she said. “I’m a West Coast cheerleader for GW.”
Mr. Manfra said the work of “superb” GW volunteer leaders helps make alumni programming like the San Francisco reception possible. “GW's strong alumni networks around the world do an outstanding job of connecting their local alumni to GW,” he said. “No matter where you live, you can still stay connected to your alma mater.”