The Wharton School

Bonnie Bandeen (C’80, WG’85) and her husband Derek thought they had retirement figured out — until a life-changing diagnosis set them on a different path.

After Derek was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease in the world, two years into the couple’s retirement, Bonnie began managing aspects of her husband’s care and joined the board of the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

“Derek’s journey has taught us that people living with Parkinson’s need more than excellent doctors and medication,” writes Bonnie in an essay for Wharton Magazine. “They need community, access to mental-health support, and a place that adapts with them as the disease progresses.”

When they weren’t able to find such a place in New York City, they decided they would open one of their own. In 2024, they launched the Parkinson's Wellness Foundation, raising funds for NYC’s first dedicated fitness and holistic wellness space for the Parkinson’s community.

This past February, the Bandeen Center opened its doors, offering science-backed exercise classes designed to slow Parkinson’s progression. The facility includes state-of-the-art fitness studios, an on-site cafe, and flexible space for support groups and events, along with a growing wellness program that focuses on mental health, voice therapy, creative expression, and community-building.

“Our hope is that our resources develop alongside the evolving needs of our clients, so they are empowered to live their fullest lives,” writes Bonnie. “Less than three months in, the Bandeen Center has already become so much more than what we imagined — but then, so has our retirement.”

🎉 As the USA prepares to celebrate its Semiquincentennial, we’re celebrating our own anniversary on campus: the 145th anniversary of our founding by Joseph Wharton.

An industrialist, reformer, and philanthropist, Wharton founded the world’s first collegiate business school in 1881 through a gift to University of Pennsylvania. His vision marked a shift to a different model of learning, from trade-based instruction to academic business education – an approach later adopted around the world.

Nearly a century and a half later, we continue to carry forth his legacy by innovating to meet mounting global demand for new ideas, deeper insights, and transformative leadership.

On , we’re spotlighting Kenny Sandhu (WG’26), a father to three young children and a recent graduate of our MBA Program for Executives.

As a startup founder and CEO, Kenny was immediately drawn to our San Francisco cohort for its proximity to Silicon Valley and emphasis on innovation. Through support from family and careful planning, he and his wife were able to make his commute from Chicago to SF for class work for everyone.

“There was real concern about how we would manage everything,” he says. “But when I visited Wharton’s campus in San Francisco and experienced the supportive, collaborative community, it felt different. We knew it was the right fit and worth the commute.”

Classes taken on the San Francisco and Philadelphia campuses, Block Weeks, and Global Modular Courses (GMCs) allowed Kenny to build close relationships with students across all three cohorts.

The sense of connection extended to his role as a dad, as he joined an informal group of WEMBA parents who shared advice, updates, and encouragement. He made it a point to integrate his family into the experience whenever possible, attending events together and introducing them to classmates and their families.

“The growth, the knowledge, the people — it’s all worth it,” says Kenny. “Not just for me, but for my family and what we’re building together.”

In honor of and the country's semiquincentennial anniversary, Wharton Community Engagement and the Penn Museum partnered to host "Penn & Philly 250: A Celebration of Community, Culture, and Freedom."

Celebrating Philadelphia’s rich history and the vibrant communities whose voices keep its stories and heritage alive, the event featured highlights like:

🔹 Financial literacy resources and educational workshops led by faculty from the Center for Africana Studies in Penn Arts & Sciences and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

🔹 Free on-site health screenings through Penn Medicine's Mobile Mammography Van and other preventative care services

🔹 Live cultural performances and family-friendly activities

🔹 Free fresh vegetable distribution in partnership with Philabundance

🔹 A marketplace spotlighting locally-owned businesses and food trucks

Through the McNulty Leadership Program, and students can serve as Venture Fellows, helping coordinate and facilitate learning opportunities during Leadership Ventures around the world.

The experience not only tests Venture Fellows’ wilderness skills, but it also provides them with hands-on, team-based experiences “in the field," allowing them to step out of their comfort zone, exceed personal limitations, and experience leadership firsthand.

“As Venture Fellows, our duty is to create an environment that provides the conditions for students to grow long after the trip ends,” says Alan Li (W’28). “Over the course of a week, deep in the middle of nowhere, we have the privilege of shaping moments whose impact unfolds long after we’ve left.”

As CEO of The Knot Worldwide, Raina Moskowitz (W’05) leads one of the major players in the United States’ $100 billion wedding industry.

Previously the Chief Operating and Marketing Officer at Etsy, Raina has spent much of her career focused on how technology can bring people together. Now, she leads a platform that connects soon-to-be-married couples with the vendors who make their big day possible — from florists to DJs to hair and makeup artists.

“About two million couples get married in the U.S. each year, and the vast majority interact with our platform in some way,” says Raina. “We also have more than 200,000 wedding professionals on the platform in the U.S., most of them small-business owners. If we do an incredible job meeting their needs, everything flows from there.”

Earlier this year, recent Stephanie Skinner (W’26) made history as the first Wharton student to be crowned the winner of Miss Philadelphia Scholarship Organization in the title’s 105-year history. Next week, she’ll compete for the Miss Pennsylvania crown.

For Stephanie, competing in pageants is nothing new – she started when she was 13, drawn by pageantry’s combination of service, scholarship, and empowerment. “As I was growing up with an untraditional family background, pageantry gave me a voice through which to represent something larger than myself”, she wrote in an essay for Wharton Magazine.

However, in 2024 Stephanie made the life-changing decision to decline the title of Miss Teen USA, instead deciding to honor her prior commitment to participating in a Global Research & Internship Program through the University of Pennsylvania.

The decision, while hard, ultimately proved to be the right one to make for Stephanie, providing her with valuable career experience and the desire to pursue additional global learning opportunities, as well as ways to take her youth empowerment movement, Hands Of Hope, to other countries. It also opened the door for her to participate in the Miss America organization.

“When I was asked to take the title of Miss Teen USA, I feared that saying no to the culmination of years of hard work and the chance to represent young women from nontraditional family backgrounds would mean letting go of something bigger than myself,” she wrote. “Saying ‘no’ in that moment wasn’t turning away from a dream — it was a powerful ‘yes’ to everything I’ve built, everything I believe in, and everything I’m still becoming.”

⚽ As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off today, Peter Tomozawa (WG’93) is getting ready to bring the beautiful game to the Pacific Northwest as CEO of Seattle's organizing committee (FWC26Seattle).

Despite starting off on the traditional path of a business school graduate in banking, Peter has sprinted onto the field of sports. After a front-office role as President of Business Operations for Seattle Sounders FC and helping the Los Angeles Olympic Committee (LA28) win its 2028 bid, he is preparing the Emerald City for soccer’s premiere event.

Ahead of Seattle’s six matches beginning June 15 with a matchup between Belgium and Egypt, Peter spoke with Wharton Magazine about the simple business philosophy that has guided his career, the importance of building community, and his hopes for the legacy the tournament will leave behind in the city.

“Our charter is to maximize the benefit of hosting the World Cup for our community,” says Peter. “But in that process, we are also responsible for delivering the World Cup. And so there’s a coordination aspect, but there’s also a responsibility that we have taken on, which is to develop community legacy programs that will last well beyond the World Cup.”

orientation through the eyes of the Class of 2028. 🤳

We loved bringing together our Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Global cohorts on campus as they kicked off the two-year program.

📸: Courtesy of WEMBA 52