Let's DU Breakfast - Twin Cities

Start your day with Drake at Let's DU Breakfast. Join us for breakfast and a guest panel with three Drake alums that share their experiences in the data analytics field.

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When: October 29, 7:30 a.m. Networking Breakfast, 8 a.m. Panel Begins
Where: Edina Country Club - 5100 Wooddale Ave, Edina
Cost: $20 (young alumni); $25 (standard rate)
Moderator: Daniel J. Connolly, Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration at Drake University

About the Panel

Marisa Nelson, BN'06, VP of Digital Analytics Strategy & Marketing Technology at U.S. Bank

Marisa, BN'06, is the vice president of Digital Analytics Strategy & Marketing Technology at U.S. Bank. She graduated in 2006 from Drake University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She joined a start-up marketing agency where she was exposed to all aspects of marketing and found her passion for digital marketing. After a few years she moved to U.S. Bank so she could focus 100% on digital and try out the big company feel. It was clearly a fit as 11 years later she's still with the bank and loving every minute of it. Her expertise spans across the digital channels and she currently leads an agile team of both data and marketing analysts who are reinventing how U.S. Bank runs their digital advertising.

Mike Crow, BN’09, Owner of Provider CFO

Mike Crow, BN'09, is the owner of Provider CFO. He graduated from Drake in 2009 with a degree in Finance and earned an MBA from the University of Iowa in 2014. He spent 10 years with John Deere, ultimately leaving in 2019 as the North American Aftermarket Sales Analyst. Mike was a test user for PowerBI and Tableau at Deere, helping define scope, use case, and standardize tools across functions. In 2015 Mike purchased two assisted living homes specializing in high acuity custom care. Today his assisted living operation has 130 employees, 10 locations, and $9.5 million in sales. Mike lives in Plymouth, Minnesota with his wife, two kids (five and two), and puppy.

Jeff Knudsen, AS’96, Director of Data Analytics & Evaluation at College Possible

After graduating from Drake University in 1996, Jeffrey Knudsen completed his graduate training at the Claremont Colleges and is currently serving as the Director of Data Analytics and Evaluation at College Possible. He has nearly 20 years’ experience designing and conducting research and evaluation studies in various settings, with deep knowledge of nonprofits and community based organizations and multiple content areas including K-12 education, post-secondary education, education reform and public health. As a part of his current role, Jeffrey is charged with identifying viable use cases where predictive analytic techniques can be applied, work that has opened up vibrant conversations around the promises and pitfalls of predictive analytics in mission-driven organizations.

Questions? Contact Amelia Klatt, assistant director, Alumni Relations, amelia.klatt@drake.edu or 515-271-3378.

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