Southwest Region Alumni Profiles

Southern California

David Amuda (Thacher School, ’90)

David serves as the Plant Materials Manager at Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP), a Johnson & Johnson company, located in Irvine, CA. ASP is a manufacturer and marketer of terminal sterilization equipment and high-level disinfectants used by the healthcare industry. Prior to his promotion at ASP, David was an Advanced Subcontracts Manager at Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company. He worked identifying new suppliers, negotiating long-term agreements, and managing a global supply base. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, David held various operations and sales positions at Schlumberger and Eaton Corporation.

Born and raised in South Los Angeles, David completed his secondary education at Thacher School, located in the Ojai Valley of Ventura County. After Thacher, David matriculated to Santa Clara University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After a few years in the workforce, David relocated from California to pursue graduate studies at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business, where he completed a Master’s in Business Administration. At Kenan-Flagler, David was a Consortium of Graduate Study in Management (CGSM) Fellow, a Richard Jenrette Fellow, a Beta Gamma Sigma member, and a Dean’s Scholar. In addition to the post-secondary degrees, David has earned professional certifications in purchasing management (C.P.M. from Institute of Supply Management), production & inventory management (CPIM from APICS), quality auditing (CQA from ASQ), and manufacturing engineering (UCLA Extension).

David’s passion for travel has led him on adventures in all 50 states and 22 countries across five continents.

Meshia Casey (Winward School, ’03)

Meshia Casey graduated from Wright State University with her Masters in Educational Leadership. She received her undergraduate degree from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Ms. Casey is currently an ESL Curriculum Specialist in Abu Dhabi. She is also an active Board member of YSTEM. Y-STEM, Inc. is a non-profit organization for youth development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in Atlanta, GA. Currently, Casey is developing her nonprofit BetterSweet, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of young women. She is also finishing her first book set for release in 2012.

Steven Graciano (New Canaan, ’93)

A seasoned sports business professional with vast experience in the U.S. Hispanic market, Steven Graciano currently serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications for FOX Deportes. In the past three years, he has successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive and strategic marketing plan for FOX Deportes to reach a segmented U.S. Hispanic sports audience, which has helped increase advertising sales revenue and distribution.

Steven has contributed to a number of projects to help FOX Deportes grow and succeed and has played an important part in mapping the future of cable and telecommunications. As part of NewsCorp’s Creating the Future program, he was selected as a leader identified to work on special industry related projects helping shape the future of the company. He was also selected by Multichannel News for their 2009 prestigious 40 Under 40 feature.

He has established a proven track record of success in different areas of the sports business world ranging from developing international consumer promotions, forging strategic league-level marketing partnerships and delivering unique sports content to U.S. Hispanic audiences for FOX Deportes and previously for ESPN International and The National Basketball Association (NBA). He developed the NBA’s Hispanic Marketing program, which was used by NBA marketing partners to reach Hispanic NBA fans across the nation.

Steven has shaped--and will continue to shape--how the television industry markets sports to an ever-growing U.S. Hispanic audience. He is recognized in the industry for his vision, commitment and passion in providing sports fans across the nation with the most relevant content by anticipating the needs of the marketplace and reaching the audience in an unprecedented way. He has also established a notable career of community involvement, including serving on the Board of Directors for A Better Chance Inc. of New Canaan, CT. Steven currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife Malia and daughter Madison. He earned an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA from Cornell University.

Hardia Madden (Claremont, '71)

Hardia Madden is Emerson’s Western Region Manager for Wireless Technology. He is responsible for growing the business from $5,000,000 to $25,000,000 over the next few years. Prior to joining the Emerson team two years ago, Hardia was a Business Development Consultant using 30 years of experience to assist small to medium sized businesses and start-ups in growing their business with emphasis on strategic sales, marketing and product development.

Hardia has 20 years of experience with five Fortune 500 companies, learning best industry practices in sales, marketing, management, and product development with Flextronics, Honeywell, TI, ABB, and Rockwell Automation.

His career product portfolio includes hi-end electronic components, process automation control systems, software and services, electronic manufacturing services, off shore sourcing solutions, and numerous other industrial and consumer products. He has been involved in nearly every major industry such as refining, chemical, telecommunications, automotive, aerospace, DOD, education, retail, food, energy, textile, pulp and paper, biotech, computer, and others.

This provided him a wealth of knowledge of how products are designed, applied, manufactured, marketed, and sold. He has helped develop, market, and sell products and services ranging in cost from $4,000,000 to $20,000,000 dollars.

Hardia has a Bio-Medical Engineering degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As an engineer, he has insight on how to apply the business principles that he learned across a wide spectrum of industries. During his Fortune 500 career, Hardia found that he was most motivated when working with his company to develop new products to help his clients achieve their business goals. He found great pride in being the first to introduce new ideas to help solve old problems and meet new challenges.

Rhonda Trotter (The Hotchkiss School, ’79)

Rhonda R. Trotter is an experienced trial lawyer who works with large-and-medium-sized businesses around the country in a variety of commercial disputes. She regularly prosecutes and defends high-stakes trademark, false advertising, and copyright lawsuits and has extensive experience representing entertainment, new media, e-commerce and other Internet-based companies. Ms. Trotter’s trial experience also includes employment and commercial contract disputes.

Ms. Trotter has tried several cases to verdict as “first chair,” including a January 2011 jury trial in which she obtained on behalf of the owner of the FreeCreditReport.com a seven-figure cybersquatting verdict.

Judge Victor L. Wright (Deerfield Academy, ‘84)

Victor was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Compton, attending Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and Willowbrook Junior High Schools. In 1981, he took advantage of an opportunity to attend boarding school. At 15 years old--with the support of family, friends and teachers, Victor went to Deerfield Academy, located in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, where he spent most of the next three years.