Northwestern University Alumni

McDonnell studied industrial engineering and computer science at the McCormick School of Engineering; she also has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to Menlo Group, she held leadership roles at AT&T, Electronic Arts, McKinsey, Limelife, Mplayer, and Xfire. She has worked on teams that have built groundbreaking software products and services, acquired millions of customers, raised significant venture capital, and had multiple IPO and acquisition exits.

McDonnell lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, a tech lawyer. Their three children are also Northwestern Wildcats. She has spoken at Northwestern alumni events on entrepreneurship, innovation, and tech product management. In addition, McDonnell enjoys mentoring student entrepreneurs and interviewing prospective Northwestern students.

From 2009 to 2011, Irving was vice president for global government affairs for the Hewlett-Packard Company. Prior to founding the Irving Group in 1999, he spent seven years as US assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information as well as administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. In that role, he was a principal advisor to the president, vice president, and secretary of commerce on telecommunications and information-technology issues. He also was one of the principal architects of and advocates for the Clinton Administration’s telecommunications and Internet policies, and served as a point person for the administration’s successful efforts to overhaul federal telecommunications law.

For his work in promoting policies and developing programs that ensured access to advanced telecommunications and information technologies, Irving was named one of the 50 most influential persons in the “Year of the Internet” by Newsweek magazine in 1994. He was elected to the Internet Hall of Fame in 2019. Irving currently serves as chair of the PBS board of directors and as a member of the boards of directors for Education Networks of America, the Texas Tribune, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and The Second City.

Irving is a graduate of Stanford University School of Law, where he was elected president of his graduating class. He serves on Stanford’s board of visitors and is a member of the Stanford Associates, the university’s honorary organization for alumni volunteer service.

Named one of Advertising Age’s “40 Under 40” marketing stars in 2014, Personette received the Next Generation of Women in Communications from NYWICI and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement. She sits on the nonprofit boards of the Hackensack Meridian Riverview Hopsital Board, Modern Marketing Association and All In Together. Personette is a previous board member of She Runs It and the Reisenbach Foundation, a former delegate for 30% Club, and a two-time Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. From 2016 to 2021, she served as a corporate director for Build-A-Bear Workshop. A proud wife and mother of two, she served as an NULC New York Regional Board member, a supporter of the Regional Campaign Committee for We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, and a co-chair for her 5th, 10th, and 15th Reunion.

Pink earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in linguistics from Weinberg College and a JD from Yale Law School. Earlier in his career, he worked in politics and government, including serving from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. Pink’s books include

Pink and his wife are active supporters of Weinberg College’s Arch Scholars program. They live in Washington, DC, and have three children: two recent college graduates and a second-year student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

A graduate of Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, Suarez-Davis earned an MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in 1999. She most recently served as vice president, snacks marketing at the Kellogg Company, where she directed marketing strategy, brand development, and integrated communications for all Kellogg’s Snacks brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, and Keebler. While at the Kellogg Company, Suarez-Davis also served as vice president, frozen foods marketing and innovation and senior director, Pringles global marketing; led the marketing integration for the Pringles brand following the acquisition from P&G; and received the first Marketing Making a Difference Award and the W. K. Kellogg Commercial Excellence award. Prior to joining the Kellogg Company, Suarez-Davis worked at Johnson & Johnson in the consumer products division. Suarez-Davis believes in leading through inspiring teams to make a difference. In recognition of her marketing innovation and performance, Brand Innovators named Suarez-Davis one of the Top 50 Women Brand Marketers in 2015.

Suarez-Davis and her husband, Jon ’97, have two sons. Prior to joining the NAA Board, her service to Northwestern had been at the grassroots level; as a board member, she has enjoyed deepening her relationship with the University.

Vahl Dean serves as chair of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) District V 2024 annual conference. She has been involved with CASE since 2015, first as a member of the scholarship committee, and held several conference committee positions before becoming part of the conference leadership. Vahl Dean earned her master of science in college student personnel administration and completed coursework toward a PhD in higher education administration at Illinois State. She lives in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago with her husband, Kevin, and has four stepchildren.

At Edwards Lifesciences, Paret’s team is leading the digital evolution of physician training, including launching CathlabVR, virtual reality proficiency-based progression training. His team won the inaugural "Patient First" Award for COVID tele proctoring in 2020. Previously, he spent more than 10 years in marketing roles where he worked at the intersection of product marketing, global supply chain, R&D, regulatory affairs, and portfolio strategy.

Paret relocated to Southern California from Chicago in 2013 after receiving his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management. Prior to his move, he served on the board of directors for Heartland Human Care Services, the Heartland Health Outreach Board, and the Cradle Associates Board for The Cradle adoption agency.

Paret previously served as president of the Kellogg Alumni Club of Orange County, chief marketing officer for the Kellogg Alumni Club of Los Angeles, and president of the Northwestern University Club of Orange County. He and his husband, Keith, enjoy transforming their Long Beach forever home with their poodle mix, Mame.

Priestley’s love of creativity and discovery fuels his research, which applies principles of physics, chemistry, and engineering to nanoscale processing and characterization of polymers and soft matter, with a particular emphasis on thin films, colloids, and nanocomposites. His contributions to the field of polymer physics and chemistry earned him the 2023 Carl S. Marvel Award for Creative Polymer Chemistry.

Priestley’s other honors include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, among others. He has been selected for the Root 100 list of most influential African Americans and was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Scientist in 2018.

Priestley has cofounded three companies to translate his research into real-world applications, including AquaPao, a solar water purification technique that he developed with Princeton postdoctoral research associate Xiaohui Xu. This innovation earned the duo a spot on Newsweek’s list of America’s Greatest Disruptors.

At Northwestern, Priestley earned his MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering. A member of the Black Graduate Student Association, he also participated in numerous outreach activities and service events to enhance diversity and inclusion within the McCormick School of Engineering. Priestley remains committed to these issues today and engages regularly with McCormick to enhance diversity and inclusion in the STEM fields.

Riordan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with a BS in honors chemistry and a minor in the Glynn Family Honors Program. She worked with Professor Emily Tsui designing a synthesis scheme for trigonal pyramidal sulfur radicals for use in all-radical batteries.

Riordan has served as service chair of the Graduate Student Association since 2022 and is currently copresident. She also is involved with the Science Policy Outreach Taskforce as diplomacy chair. In her free time, Riordan enjoys running along the lakefront and baking new recipes to share with her labmates.

Seth began her career co-founding Norwest Industries Ltd., an international apparel manufacturing and trading company which is now PDS Multinational business. She also worked as an analyst on the Equity Capital Markets group at Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong.

In 2007, Seth founded Casa Forma Limited, an award-winning international property development, architectural, and luxury interior design business. In addition, she founded and currently manages Soham For Kids, an international charitable foundation focused on educational initiatives in India and Bangladesh. Seth recently founded Avantguard, a positive luxury accessories and athleisure brand. Seth received her MBA in 2006 from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. She currently lives between Hong Kong and London with her husband and three children: Alif, Ayat, and Aria.

Singh graduated cum laude from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences with a dual major in mathematical methods in the social sciences and economics. She went on to earn her master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Singh lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, Ameet, and their two boys. She has been actively engaged in several volunteer roles with Northwestern, including as an applicant interviewer for Northwestern Alumni Admissions Council, a panelist for the Weinberg College Career Summit, and most recently, a member of the DC Regional Alumni Board. As a member of the NAA Board, she looks forward to extending her service to the broader Northwestern alumni community.

Solis Doyle began her career working on Richard Daley’s campaign for Mayor of Chicago. In 1991, she was among the first to join then-Governor Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. She served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton throughout that campaign and two terms in the White House, going on to become chief of staff to the First Lady’s first Senate campaign and manager for Senator Clinton’s political operations, PAC, and 2006 re-election campaign. In 2007, Solis Doyle led Senator Clinton’s first race for the White House, becoming the first Latina to manage a presidential campaign. During the 2008 general election, Solis Doyle joined the Obama for America campaign as chief of staff for Vice Presidential operations. She later managed day-to-day operations for Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden and served as an advisor to the Obama-Biden campaign during the 2012 presidential election.

Solis Doyle is currently a partner at the Brunswick Group, a global strategic advisory firm. In addition, she works with Hispanic service organizations across the United States. Hispanic magazine honored Solis Doyle with the Latinas of Excellence Award, and Hispanic Business magazine named her one of America’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics. Solis Doyle received her BA in communication from Northwestern. She resides in Washington, DC, with her husband and two children.