2012 Career Panel

The following professionals have graciously agreed to take part in the 2012 Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference Career Panel. All working in different areas of industry and the mathematical sciences, these knowledgeable professionals will be available to share information about their background, their work, and their experiences, and to answer any questions our attendees may have about careers in mathematics. The career panel is always one of the highlights of the conference for aspiring undergraduates eager to hear about the varied career opportunities available to them after graduation, and this year's panel promises live up to that expectation!

Richard Belko Actuary, Blue Shield of California (Formerly employed by Aetna, Inc.)

Richard Belko was born and raised in the metropolis of Turlock California and received a B.S. in Mathematics from California State University Stanislaus in 1993. Richard continued his education at the University of California Davis, and received a Masters in Statistics in 1997 and went on to pursue an actuarial career. He has focused his entire actuarial career in healthcare working for Arthur Andersen, Aetna Inc., and is currently working for Blue Shield of California. Richard has performed many functions within his healthcare role over the years, and for the past two years has been heavily involved with National Health Care Reform. Outside of work, Richard enjoys spending time with his family, pairing a great red wine, and camping in the mountains.

Adarsh Chhajed Financial Analyst, AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah (Formerly employed by Foster Farms)

Adarsh Chhajed, CFA Level II Candidate, graduated from University of Madras, Chennai with Bachelors of Arts in Economics in 2001 & Masters of Commerce in 2003. He also graduated with an MBA-Finance from California State University, Fresno in 2005. In recent years, he worked for Foster Farms as a Manager - A/R & Pricing & lived in Turlock and currently working with AAA NCNU as a Financial Analyst in Bay Area. Although not a Math major, performs quantitative and statistical analysis to understand the financial trends of an organization.

During his leisure time he enjoys playing tennis and reading books.

Amanda Nugent Statistician, E&J Gallo Winery

Amanda Nugent graduated from California State University, Stanislaus in 2005 with a BS in Mathematics and a minor in Business Administration. Knowing that she wanted to work in a business environment, she began working at E&J Gallo Winery in the Consumer & Product Insights department as an associate statistician. After working for 3 years, she decided to go back to school to earn her MS in Statistics from California State University, East Bay in 2011 while working full time. She continues to work as a statistician at Gallo, working mostly in product research and efficiency.

Suneel Sundar Information Security, VISA (Formerly employed by Pacific Gas & Electric, Fortify Software, Institute for Defense Analyses, United States Department of Defense)

Suneel Sundar did not excel in mathematics at Beyer High School in Modesto, California. Thankfully he participated in summer math programs through CSU Stanislaus from age 10 until he went to college at UC San Diego. Math in San Diego led to math at UCLA (M.A.) led to employment as a research mathematician with the National Security Agency. Since NSA, Suneel has worked in information security for utility and financial services giants. The details of Suneel's professional Markov chain will be revealed.