Meet the Mentors

Wondering who will be providing feedback on your weekly progress reports or running the next panel discussion? Read below to find out!

Bud Gibson

Bud Gibson is Director of the Center for Digital Engagement and its Digital Summer Clinic. He founded the Center and Clinic in 2015. He also founded EMU’s Digital Marketing Workshop, soon to be in its tenth running. In addition to directing the center and the clinic, Bud is a professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business. Prior to coming to EMU, Bud was a professor at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Bud has prior professional experience at Deloitte Consulting, Arthur D. Little, and Catholic Relief Services. Bud has a BS from Georgetown University, an MBA from the Wharton School, and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Bud has lived and worked in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Jorel McCree

Jorel is an account manager at Pinterest and a proud EMU grad.

Prior to Pinterest, Jorel was an account manager at iProspect (Dentsu Aegis Network) specializing in paid social and search strategies for multiple GM brands.

When he is not working, you can find him hanging out with family, volunteering, or binging a new series on Netflix.

Ian Sherk

Ian started his marketing career just over a decade ago as an assistant at EMU’s digital marketing program. Since then he has managed performance advertising campaigns across various verticals including automotive, B2B SAAS, and tax services. Eight years ago, Ian joined a strong performing start-up of about a half dozen people and has seen Career Now Brands grow to a team of over 160 people. Career Now Brands delivers recruitment marketing for high-volume employers including Amazon, Walmart, Domino’s, Adidas, The Gap Inc, and hundreds of others. During his tenure, he launched the marketing department, and with that scaled a variety of teams within it. He is currently the VP of Media Strategy and drives innovation in compliant cross-channel marketing.

Dr. Sufian Qrunfleh

Dr. Sufian Qrunfleh is an Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management in the Marketing Department at Eastern Michigan University. He earned his Ph.D. in Manufacturing Management from The University of Toledo in Ohio. He routinely teaches operations management, supply chain management, and operations planning and scheduling in supply chain at both the undergraduate and MBA levels.

Dr. Qrunfleh research interests include supply chain management, information technology, and the alignment of the two. His work has been published in several conference proceedings as well as in academic journals. He has published in the International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Information Systems Management, Supply Chain Management: An international Journal, International Journal of Business Information Systems, and the Journal of Computer Information Systems. He is a member of the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) and The Association for Operations Management (APICS).

Kim Barker

Dr. Barker received her Ph.D. in Organizational Development from Benedictine University and has been a Full-Time Lecturer at EMU since 2017. Prior to coming to Eastern, she spent five years in Human Resources and over 15 years in Hospital Administration. She is the recipient of the Beryl Institute Scholar Grant and is Vice President of the Board for the International Society for Organization Development and Change (ISODC). Her research interests include Global Organization Development, Cultural Competence and Dilemma Reconciliation, Conflict Resolution, Gender Equality in Organizations, Change and Compassionate-Lean-Humble Leadership.

Dr. Barker’s goal is to convey her passion as a Scholar-Practitioner to her students by getting them excited about best practices that will transform their work and life.