Sanae Halprin ’91
Sanae Halprin ’91 is sommelier for BARMASA and Shaboo at Aria Resort & Casino in CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nev. She has served as sommelier at some of Las Vegas’ finest venues including Bellagio’s Sensi, Todd English’s Olives and Jasmine. Sanae is also a certified Kikisake-shi (saké sommelier), and hopes her industry expertise will eventually take her around the globe to learn about new cultures, food and wine.

Memorable JWU personality Francis [Koon Fah] Wong ’89 a very energetic, kind, big-hearted guy from Singapore. We met in the International Club and we’re still friends after 21 years.

Defining moment When I passed the Advanced Sommelier exam on the first attempt in October 2009.

Career advice for new alumni Nothing is made easy. You can get a result only when you work hard on it.

Heroes My parents who believed in me and sent me to the U.S. as an exchange student when I was only 15. Virginia Philip ’89, a female master sommelier at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

Favorite industry websites www.guildsomm.com, www.mastersommeliers.org, www.winespectator.com

James Fisher, MBA ’96
James Fisher, MBA ’96 is an assistant vice president of State Street Investors Services in Boston, Mass. As senior manager of risk oversight with 15 years of experience in financial services, he provides support for clients with $147 billion in assets under management. Before joining State Street, James monitored fund trade for MFS Investments, developing and enforcing trading rules on mutual funds held in 401K retirement portfolios. He built relationships with more than 60 mutual fund companies to ensure that the actions of a few individuals would not adversely affect investors.

Most important ingredient in life The key ingredients are perseverance, focus, optimism, laughter and love.

Impact of campus involvement Being a resident assistant (RA) helped me develop my people skills — more than any class, seminar or experience. The ability to understand all sides of an issue, identify the key players, recognize the emotion of an issue, and come up with a solution is invaluable.

Career statisfaction I am satisfied with my current role, but my drive, will and ambition push me to exceed the career goals I set for myself after graduation from JWU.

What brought you to JWU The curriculum allowed me to take classes in my major my first year and being a thousand miles away from home allowed me to grow as a person.

Career advice for young alumni Be flexible. Whatever you do, do it well and give your all. You can learn something from even the worst job.

Dana E. Herbert ’00
Dana Herbert ’00 is the owner and pastry chef of Desserts by Dana in Bear, Del. Known for his creative wedding cakes, sugar sculptures and custom cakes, Dana has been featured on WEtv’s “Wedding Cake Wars” and TLC’s “Ultimate Cake Off.” Desserts by Dana was selected for the 2008 and 2009 Best of Bear Awards in the Wedding Supplies category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA). He is also the author of the “Sweet and Savory Union Cookbook.”

Lessons from JWU Life is truly what you make of it. If you practice like a champion then you will play like a champion ... It is up to us to choose to be great.

Best advice You can achieve anything you want in life. It’s a matter of how bad do you want it and are you willing to sacrifice to get it

Source of career passion My desire is totally unquenchable. I am always pushing, watching every TV show, looking through every magazine, taking classes, teaching classes ... I’m like a computer. Even when it looks like it’s in sleep mode, it’s continually calculating and downloading something.

Defining moment In 2006 when I was the pastry chef in charge of the National American Culinary Federation (ACF) Convention in Philadelphia ... I had to clearly motivate my staff and exceed many expectations ... I felt like I had arrived and was pressing forward.

J. Hugh McEvoy ’78, CEC, CRC, CdR
J. Hugh McEvoy ’78, CEC, CRC, CdR. is owner and president of Chicago Research Chefs LLC. J has a long record of success in conceiving new culinary products and prototypes, and bringing them to a global market. He teaches at Kendall College as an adjunct culinary professor. He is a syndicated weekly columnist for StreetWise newspaper writing on trends, food, nutrition and fitness, and food editor for Prepared Foods magazine, a nationally published trade monthly on the food and beverage industry. Recently, J co-authored a children’s book, “What Color is a Pickle Pie?”

What brought you to JWU My mother was a professional chef. Working with her in pro kitchens from a very early age gave me a love of the culinary business. By the 10th grade I knew where I was headed ... to J&W.

Memorable JWU experience One of my first-year “home room” classmates was Emeril [Lagasse] ’78. He and I wrecked quite a few recipes together that first year. His drive and determination were contagious.

Outsider, rebel, entrepreneur or team player I have always been an innovator. Then I became an entrepreneur. Because of that, I have sometimes been called a rebel. Defining moment I created a job as “research chef” long before there were any research chefs.

Hero My mother. She worked full time as a professional chef until she was 72.

Favorite quote “A little butter never killed anyone!” — Julia Child said it to me.