Alumni Rising Star Award

The McCombs School of Business is pleased to present two young alumni with the Rising Star Award. This year’s honorees will be acknowledged at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Established in 2004-05, this award is presented to alumni no further than ten years from graduation who have been successful professionally and have helped strengthen the McCombs Alumni Network. These are graduates who have presented themselves as consummate professionals and dedicated business people. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!

The 2008-09 selection committee members were Nikki Hanley, Rick Harsch, Cindy Highlander, Kevin Judice, Don Maranca, Neal Meadows, Kathleen Motheral, Anne Robillard, Rohan Singal, and Amanda Yates.

2008-09 Honorees:

Gregory H. Johnson, BS ’84
(Air Force Academy), MBA ’05
Colonel (Ret), USAF
Astronaut, NASA

A retired Colonel from the United States Air Force and NASA Astronaut, Gregory H. Johnson is Chief of the Astronaut Safety Branch and has been a primary player spanning all phases of astronaut safety. Johnson is assigned to pilot of one of the final shuttle missions, STS-134, to deliver the last module to the Space Station in July 2010. He piloted the STS-123 Endeavour flight in March of 2008, a sixteen-day flight and among the longest shuttle missions to date. As a member of the investigative team for the 2003 Columbia accident, Johnson aided in the discovery of the potential for foam debris to inflict critical damage on shuttles during ascent.

Johnson earned his MBA from the McCombs School of Business in 2005. He was selected for Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, graduating in December 1994. Johnson received a Guggenheim Fellowship to earn his MS in flight structures engineering at Columbia University in 1985. He graduated with a BS in aeronautical engineering with honors from the Air Force Academy in 1984.

Through his decorated career in the Air Force, Johnson has garnered thirteen medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew 34 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm and 27 in Operation Southern Watch. Johnson regularly speaks at schools and professional organizations across the country.

“Greg’s career as an Air Force Officer, a pilot, an astronaut, and now a NASA executive, reflects his commitment to excellence and to his organization’s mission,” said David Jemison, Professor of Management at McCombs. “While an Executive MBA student Greg brought out the best in his classmates through his quiet leadership, his dedication to everyone’s success, and his ever present smile.”


M. Christina Clayton, BBA ’02, MBA ’06 (University of Oxford)
Associate
Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.

An Associate for Booz Allen Hamilton’s Organization and Strategy Team, Christina Clayton works with clients to address complex organizational challenges, providing support with business process reengineering, organization design, strategic communication, human capital and change management. Clayton currently supports the Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force Acquisitions. Prior to her graduate studies, Clayton worked as a Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Kay Granger in the United States House of Representatives. In 2004, she was selected to travel to China with a Congressional Delegation focused on healthcare and education issues.

Clayton graduated with an MBA from the University of Oxford Said School of Business in 2006. She graduated with a BBA from the McCombs School of Business in 2002. Clayton is a certified Project Management Professional and is currently pursuing a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.

Clayton remains actively involved in pro-bono consulting work for non-profits such as the Wesley Housing Development Corporation of Virginia and the Arlington Academy of Hope. In 2008, Clayton volunteered for the Costa Rica Orphanage Mission Project, traveling to a small village outside San Jose to help build a housing campus for orphans.

“I always knew Christina would turn out to be a fine consultant,” said Michael W. Brandl, Senior Lecturer in Finance at McCombs. “It is nice to see that she is now spreading her knowledge and insight to people and firms around the world! Christina is a living example of the University’s motto ‘what starts here changes the world.’”

 

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