Penn State Alumni Association, Central Texas Chapter
Board of Directors 2021 - 2022
Marielle Balz, President
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Marielle is a 2013 graduate from Penn State. She has a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Business Law and Masters of Accounting degrees from Penn State. Marielle was born and raised in Central Pennsylvania (Mechanicsburg, PA) and chose to attend Penn State for the passionate alumni, school spirit, and opportunities that a big school has to offer.
While she was a student, you could probably find Marielle at the McCoy Natatorium pool or the Smeal Business Building. She was President of the Club Swim team and also a member of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and Masters of Accounting (MAcc) program. After graduation, Marielle lived in Manhattan for 5 years and worked for KPMG. In September 2018, Marielle transferred within KPMG from NYC to Austin as an Audit Manager. She currently works at a software company here in Austin in accounting. She fell in love with Austin for the small town vibe but vibrant work culture and was excited to see such a strong Penn State presence upon moving down to the area. Marielle has served as our chapter President since 2019. She is excited to continue to build our chapter's programming and grow our alumni engagement in the Central Texas area. |
MATHEW KAPELA, VICE PRESIDENT
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Mathew grew up in Pittsburgh and attended his dream school, Penn State, from 2007 - 2011. He graduated with a Supply Chain and Information Systems degree from the Smeal College of Business as well as an International Business minor. While at Penn State, he was also a member of the club track team and Kappa Sigma fraternity.
After graduating, Mathew started working at BP in their Procurement/Supply Chain group in small-town Louisiana (think of the Waterboy) and Houston. During his 5 years at BP he worked in their buying, materials management, contracts, category management and material planning groups. He was also heavily involved with the Penn State alumni chapter in Houston as a committee member. Then in 2016 Mathew accepted a job opportunity to work at SpaceX. At SpaceX he worked as a material planner at their Los Angeles headquarters. During that time he managed the inventory, ordering and building of the Life Support System assembly for their Dragon spaceship - regularly putting in 70 hours a week. After a couple years and being part of dozens of launches, it was time to move back to Texas. Mathew now works at Samsung at their Semiconductor facility in north Austin as a buyer and contract specialist. He has been a part of the Penn State alumni association board in Austin since 2018. Mathew is looking to continue making our game watch parties the best on west 6th! |
CHRISTOPHER NELSON, TREASURER
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Chris Nelson graduated from Penn State in 2005 with a BA in History after two fantastic years there enjoying all that PSU has to offer. He spent much of his time working at the student-run radio station The Lion 90.7 FM (WKPS) as a music director and DJ, and catching many Penn State football games...but not too many wins, sadly.
After graduation he headed back to his hometown of Syracuse, NY for a year, then found a better job market in Austin, TX and got into the field of education after moving down there in 2006. He is currently Special Education Administrator in Elgin ISD. Chris still enjoys sharing his love of Penn State and the Northeast with all down in Central Texas! Chris previously served as the PSUCenTex Vice President in 2015 and Secretary in 2016. |
RENWICK HARVEY, SECRETARY
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Renwick Harvey (Renny for short) is originally from the DC area, Maryland specifically. He chose to attend Penn State due to its rich history in academics, athletics and its school pride. He toured countless universities, however once Renny took a tour of Penn State, he knew he was home. In addition, the distance from home was perfect! During his tenure at Penn State, Renny majored in Political Science and was involved in THON and the Blue & White Society.
Renny landed in Austin by chance. He is allergic to cold weather and happen to have family moving to Austin. He jumped at the chance to move to a warmer climate. He blindly moved to Austin with a goal of living here for two years, before continuing his journey to L.A. Well, it’s been five years now and he's not going anywhere. Renny is so excited to serve as secretary for the Penn State Alumni Association Central Texas Chapter and welcome new chapter members to the good life that is Austin. |
NIKKI RAMIREZ, MARKETING CHAIR
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Nicole Ramirez (Nikki) is a 2013 graduate from Penn State University. She has a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Sociology. She is originally from Slippery Rock, a small town in Western Pennsylvania. After PSU, she received her M.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.
After graduation, she went on to pursue magazine journalism and worked as an Adjunct Professor for Penn State teaching English 420: Writing for the Web. Nicole now works in digital marketing and owns a company called NR Digital Consulting and hosts a podcast called Talk Digital To Me. She still writes as a contributor for publications such as Forbes and The Huffington Post and is an avid public speaker, including a recent TEDx Talk in 2018. Nicole is excited to come on as the Marketing Chair and help build alumni engagement and relationships in Central Texas. You can find her every weekend in blue and white at Parlor & Yard! |
ERIN SEELEY, COMMITTEE MEMBER
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Erin grew up in Grove City, PA. She is a 2000 Penn State graduate with a B.S. in Chemistry. In 2005, she earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University. She spent 9 years working at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN where she was the Treasurer and Scholarship Chair of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the PSU Alumni Association. She then spent 6 years in Morgantown, WV where she was involved in the Washington/Greene County Chapter and then helped to start a Greater Morgantown Area Chapter.
While at Penn State, Erin enjoyed swimming and diving at the Natatorium and had aspirations of becoming a cheerleader before being sidelined by a knee injury. She was heavily involved with the chemistry department as a TA for General Chemistry Lab and the Undergraduate Instrument Facility, a member of the Nittany Chemical Society, and participated in undergraduate research. Erin moved to Austin in February of 2020 as the Director of a new Research Core Lab at UT Austin. She is excited to get involved with Chapter and meet Penn Staters in the Austin area. |
SAMMIE POURSOLTAN, GAME DAY COORDINATOR
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Sammie Poursoltan is a 2013 Penn State graduate with a B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. Originally from Maryland, she fell in love with Penn State the moment she stepped on campus. While at college, Sammie was very involved with THON all four years as a member of various R&R and OPP committees. After graduation, she moved to Washington DC. In DC she became a member of the DC Diamonds Committee. DC Diamonds is a group of DC area PSU alumni who continue to raise money for THON. In 2020, their committee raised over $20,000 all FTK! After moving to Texas to be an Account Manager for a Tech start-up in Austin, Sammie is thrilled to be involved with the local Penn State community! |
Wanted: Capable, Passionate Leaders and Volunteers
Interested in developing new skills or building your professional network? Do you love all things Penn State and want to help bring folks together?
Whatever drives you, we'd love to have you be a part of the PSU Central Texas chapter!
If you have the interest in social media, event planning, or just a bit of time each month to contribute to our chapter, contact us and let us know. We'd love to work with you!
Interested in developing new skills or building your professional network? Do you love all things Penn State and want to help bring folks together?
Whatever drives you, we'd love to have you be a part of the PSU Central Texas chapter!
If you have the interest in social media, event planning, or just a bit of time each month to contribute to our chapter, contact us and let us know. We'd love to work with you!
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