Wright State faculty, staff and alumni named to annual Forty Under 40 list

Kunal Swani, associate professor of marketing.

Wright State University is well-represented once again on this year’s Forty Under 40 list published by the Dayton Business Journal.

Winners with Wright State connections include a marketing faculty member, a staff member who runs her own community organization and 10 alumni. The annual Forty Under 40 list honors the region’s brightest young professionals.

The honorees include Kunal Swani, associate professor of marketing, and Ashley Browning, project manager for the Substance Abuse Resources and Disability Issues (SARDI) Program in the Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Swani joined the Wright State Raj Soin College of Business in 2014 and was promoted to his current title in 2018. He teaches courses on such topics as marketing research, integrated marketing communications, and viral and social media marketing. Swani received a 2018 Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence: Early Career Achievement.

He serves as an associate editor of the business-to-business research track for the Journal of Business Research. He is also an editorial board member for Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal of Marketing Analytics.

Swani received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Pune University, his M.B.A. from Hofstra University and his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Ashley Browning, project manager for the Substance Abuse Resources and Disability Issues (SARDI) Program and founder of SoLoved.

Browning oversees a grant program in the Department of Population and Health Sciences that educates college students about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. She is pursuing a certificate in nonprofit administration from the Wright State School of Public and International Affairs.

Browning is the founder of SoLoved, a project-based organization that assists different populations through community outreach with monthly initiatives. Her work included organizing a community effort to collect and distribute everything from school supplies to toys to food and hygiene products for survivors of the 2019 Memorial Day tornados.

She received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Kentucky State University, her master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Kentucky and a certificate in chemical dependency from Union College.

Alumni named to the 2020 Forty Under 40 list:

Zachary Beck, chief development officer, Sinclair Foundation, Sinclair Community College
Bachelor’s in financial services, 2013; Master of Business Administration, 2016; Raj Soin College of Business

Samantha Elder, director of strategic initiatives and communication, Montgomery County ADAMHS
Bachelor’s in political science and communication, 2011; College of Liberal Arts

Ivy Glover, community development specialist, Wright-Patt Credit Union
Bachelor’s in public relations, 2004; College of Liberal Arts

Matthew Jessup, CEO, Jessup Wealth Management
Bachelor’s in financial services, 2004; Raj Soin College of Business

John Kopilchack, director of development at Synergy and Mills Development
Bachelor’s in marketing, 2009; Raj Soin College of Business

Melissa McCarthy, grants development coordinator, Sinclair Community College
Bachelor of Arts, 2012; Master of Public Administration, 2015; College of Liberal Arts

Brandon Meyer, director of admissions, Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School
Associate degree in business, 2008; Lake Campus

Lesley Ott, chief operating officer, James Investment Research Inc.
Bachelor’s in finance, 2004; Master of Business Administration, 2011; Raj Soin College of Business

Amanda Ricci, director of corporate access services, Premier Health
Bachelor’s in education leadership and administration, 2006; College of Education and Human Services

Jenny Wariboko, founder and chief medical officer, First Priority Urgent Care
Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency; Boonshoft School of Medicine