Staff

Professor Hubbard is a specialist in public finance, managerial information and incentive problems in corporate finance, and financial markets and institutions. He has written more than 90 articles and books on corporate finance, investment decisions, banking, energy economics and public policy, including two textbooks, and has co-authored Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise: Five Steps to a Better Health Care System. In a recent book, Tax Policy and Multinational Corporations, he argues that U.S. tax policy significantly affects financing and investment decisions of multinational corporations. Hubbard has applied his research interests in business (as a consultant on taxation and corporate finance to many corporations), in government (as deputy assistant of the U.S. Treasury Department and as a consultant to the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and many government agencies) and in academia (in faculty collaboration or visiting appointments at Columbia, University of Chicago and Harvard).

With deep belief in the power of intercultural education and the transformative options and opportunities it affords, Joshua has spent over 25 years in higher education committed to leading, building, and managing organizations and centers of excellence devoted to international learning and exchange.

As managing director of global programs and initiatives at Columbia Business School’s Chazen Institute for Global Business and Columbia University’s Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, Joshua oversees a wide array of curricular, extra-curricular, research, and industry outreach programs and initiatives. In this capacity he is responsible for strategic planning, innovative program design and development, capacity building, project management, and operations.

Concurrently and prior to these positions, Joshua oversaw Columbia University’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, where he developed educational and outreach programs to increase and promote the nation's capacity for international understanding and competitiveness.

As senior associate director of Columbia Business School’s Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Joshua spearheaded research programs and public forums promoting knowledge and understanding of Japanese business and economics in an international context. At Columbia University’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Study Center, he fostered and managed collaboration on Asia Pacific policy research, exchanges, and joint conferences to help establish an emerging region-wide network of personal and institutional relationships for all member economies in the Asia Pacific region.

Joshua holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College, an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus on contemporary Japanese history from the University of Kansas, and is pursuing an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration at Teachers College.

He has traveled to nearly 35 countries and lived and taught English in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.

Jennifer Tromba Morisco is the director of global travel and risk management for the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business at Columbia Business School. Jennifer collaborates with students, faculty, and administrators to further globalize the Business School by developing the Chazen Institute’s active agenda of programs. 

In this role she oversees the Institute’s global travel initiatives. These include Global Immersion Program and block week classes; Global Consulting Projects and the Chazen Institute Travel Fund, which provides need based travel funds for students participating in Chazen travel opportunities. She also works on the Jerome Chazen Case Series, which seeks to increase global cases into the Business School curriculum. 

Prior to joining the Chazen Institute in 2003 she was at Time Inc., doing marketing for the international editions of Time Magazine and Asiaweek.  Jennifer holds an MBA from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University and BS/BA degrees from the University at Albany.

Caitlin O'Donnell is the Associate Director of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business.  She has been passionate about international education and travel ever since she studied abroad in London in 2005.  She graduated from Siena College in 2007 with a B.S. in Marketing and International Education.  From there she went on to work for a technology focused investment bank before heading back into education and receiving her Ed.M in Planning, Policy, and Administration for Higher Education from Boston University while running academic programs for their Economics Department.  She recently completed her Certificate in Business Excellence from Columbia Business School's Execute Education program.

She joined the Chazen Institute team in 2010 running student programs focusing on student programs and currently runs the Institute’s exchange partnership programs and blockweek classes.  She enjoys working with students and being in the business school environment that allows her to continue to develop new global learning opportunities.

In her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, tennis, planning trips, and trying new foods while traveling the world.  

Betsy Wiesendanger is a lover of words, music, art, and ideas. Her past experience includes editorial positions at Consumers Union and Time Inc. (where she oversaw corporate publications for Citigroup, Unilever, and United Parcel Service). In what little free time she had, she studied English literature at Hunter College (favorite books: Middlemarch and To the Lighthouse) As a freelance writer, her work appeared in the New York Times, Money.com, and on National Public Radio.

She joined the Chazen Institute in 2010 as an editor and now oversees communication strategy. She earned an MS in Strategic Communications from Columbia University in 2015.

She has recently developed a passion for drawing and is an active member of New York Urban Sketchers. In addition, she enjoys practicing the piano and mastering new classical repertoire.

Melissa Spooner is the Associate Director of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business. She manages the Chazen Global Study Tours; the Bridging the American Divides course; and our student focused events (Global Spotlight series and Traveling While series). She loves collaborating with students to create their dream trips,  as well as guiding future business leaders to better understand how everything is connected in our globalized world. 

 

Melissa inherited her passion for travel from her grandparents. At her grandparent's house was a map of the world covered with colorful pins displaying their adventures. Having visited 40+ countries and lived in 3, Melissa's map is becoming quite full!  Originally intending to be an international lawyer, she studied Criminal Justice as an undergraduate at Northeastern University in Boston. Three years of living in Japan on the JET Program shifted her focus. After graduating with her MA in International Education, she joined the Chazen Institute team in 2018.

 

In her free time, Melissa enjoys many different outdoor sports: skiing, white water kayaking, and hiking. You can also usually find her climbing at The Cliffs LIC or bouldering at The Cliffs Harlem.

Zina Sockwell has been passionate about language learning and cultural immersion since childhood, growing up in a diverse immigrant community in Newark, New Jersey. Since then she’s learned Spanish, French, Portuguese, and (a little) Korean, studied abroad in Madrid, and tried to cook dishes from cuisines around the world.

A Lion at heart, she graduated from Columbia College with a BA in Sociology. After college, she moved to the Bay Area to work for Intuit, where she developed a passion for entrepreneurship (and the empowerment of entrepreneurs!). She has since moved back to New York and is combining her love of cross-cultural learning with her passion for entrepreneurship.

Zina manages the Chazen Language Program (through which she learned Spanish years ago!); the Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America (ECLA) and in Africa (EC-Africa) programs; the Bridging the American Divide course; CBS’s partnership with USIU in Kenya; and doctoral and faculty research grants.

In her free time, she loves to continue studying languages, cook all different kinds of food, and hone her amateur painting skills.

Ryan Hata is the (Events) Program Manager at the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business. He joined the Institute after completing his degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College in May of 2019. In his role, he plans events for the China Business Initiative (CBI) and the Indian Business Initiative (IBI). Some events include the Lulu Chow Wang Senior Visiting Scholars Program, the Sir Gordon Wu Distinguished Speaker Forum, the N.T. Wang Distinguished Lecture, and the Khemka Speaker Forum. He will also manage the Institute’s visiting scholars program.

Ryan has always been passionate about helping international individuals. Prior to joining the Chazen Institute, he worked at Barnard College with the International Student Services team and taught English in Tottori, Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

Additionally, Ryan holds a B.A. in Communications from Loyola Marymount University, an M.A. in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University, and an M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Originally hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, Ryan is an avid hiker, beach-goer, and swimmer. He also enjoys traveling and experiencing new cultures. When not outdoors, you can find Ryan enjoying his time watching sporting events.

Anaida Fahradyan graduated from Wilson College with a B.A. in Business Management and History/Political Science with a minor in Spanish, earning the highest distinction. Her Honors thesis focused on the Armenian refugee resettlement during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. She co-authored an article on “Decolonizing the Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia” with Dr. Ela Rossmiller, published in the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies newsletter. Additionally, she conducted research on Third Committee resolutions at the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations.
Originally from Armenia, Anaida's passion for international education blossomed during her US Department of State Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) experience in Kansas in 2017-2018. The year after, she was selected as an active FLEX alumna to participate in the Workshop for Youth Leaders in English Teaching held in Ukraine. After the workshop, she adeptly applied her English teaching expertise to create language learning opportunities for remote villages in Armenia. Fluent in English, Armenian, Russian, and Spanish, Anaida's passion for cultures drives her to learn Italian and Bahasa Indonesia as well.
Throughout her undergraduate years, Anaida actively served Wilson College as the Government Association officer for Academic Affairs, officer for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, senior class president, and president of Muhibbah Intercultural Club. She also contributed to the college community as a peer teacher, subject tutor, aide to the President’s Office, resident assistant, and director of the Campus Activities Board, fostering an inclusive atmosphere.
An accomplished scholar, Anaida is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, and led Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society as the Wilson circle president. She is a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Lucy Bremmer Global Citizenship Award, the Marel Harlow Cheng Memorial Prize in International Studies, the Josef Michael Kellinger Foreign Language Award in Spanish, and the William P. Van Looy Business Prize.
In her free time, Anaida enjoys playing the piano, traveling, practicing Armenian traditional and lyrical dance, and volunteering.