EMBA Admissions Committee
Applications from both the East and West programs are evaluated by the same Admissions Committee. Please contact us with any questions.
The Executive MBA Admissions Committee
- Peggy Bishop Lane
Vice Dean - Catherine Molony
Director, MBA Program for Executives, Philadelphia,
and Director of Admissions, MBA Program for Executives - Bernadette Birt
Executive Director, Wharton MBA Program for Executives, San Francisco, and Chief Operating Officer, Wharton | San Francisco - Katherine Lilygren
Director, Admissions, Wharton MBA Program for Executives, San Francisco - Diane Sharp
Director, Marketing and Associate Director, Admissions - Barbara Nelles Craft
Marketing and Admissions, San Francisco - Laura Nash
Admissions Counselor - Sherry Kim
Admissions Counselor - Maia Hughes
Admissions Counselor - Anna Skender
Admissions Counselor
Peggy Bishop Lane is Vice Dean of the Wharton MBA Program for Executives and Adjunct Professor of Accounting. Based in Philadelphia, Professor Lane oversees both the Philadelphia and San Francisco programs. Before joining the MBA Program for Executives, she directed the academic experience for the full-time MBA Program as Deputy Vice Dean of Academic Affairs for 11 years. Professor Lane teaches Financial Accounting to first-year MBA and Executive MBA students. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including “Tough, but we’ll thank you in five years.” Previously, Professor Lane was a member of the faculty at New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she was awarded the Eli Kushel Accounting Education Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her research interests include firms’ incentives to use accounting accruals to manage their financial reports, particularly in the financial services industry, which stems from her experience as an officer and analyst for First RepublicBank (now part of Bank America). Professor Lane earned her PhD from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Christian University. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Graduate Management Admissions Council.
Bernadette Birt is Executive Director of the Wharton MBA Program for Executives, West, and Chief Operating Officer of Wharton | San Francisco. She has been with the program since September 2010. Prior to joining Wharton, Bernadette spent 20 years at Northwestern University, 16 of those years with the Kellogg School Executive MBA Program. Bernadette’s role grew with EMBA domestic and joint program expansion and encompassed responsibilities for admissions, operations, student affairs, budget & finance, and alumni affairs. Bernadette’s most recent position at Kellogg was Director, Domestic Executive MBA Programs. Bernadette graduated from Northwestern University with a BS in General Studies and a major in Organization Behavior and did graduate coursework in Learning and Organizational Change through the School of Education & Social Policy at Northwestern University. She is based in San Francisco.
Katherine Lilygren is the Director of Admissions of the Wharton MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco. She joined Wharton in 2011 and is responsible for marketing and admissions of the San Francisco program. Katherine has extensive experience working in Executive MBA Programs. Prior to joining Wharton, she was the Executive Director of the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program from 2009-2011, and she spent five years as the Director of the Executive MBA Program at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Katherine graduated from UCLA Anderson with a Master’s in Business Administration and has her BS in Business Administration from University of Southern California. She is based in San Francisco.
Diane Sharp has been with Wharton's MBA Program for Executives since September 1998, serving both admissions and marketing roles. She began her career in human resources and recruiting in the insurance industry. She transitioned to education and worked in Admissions for Wharton's full-time MBA Program from 1989 to 1991. Diane received a BA in French and Economics from the University of Nebraska and a Master of International Business degree in Human Resources from the University of South Carolina. Diane is based in Philadelphia.
Barbara Nelles Craft joined the Admissions Committee in January 2002. She has served as Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine and Director of the Executive MBA Program at the Erivan K. Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Barbara holds a BS degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MS degree from Saint Joseph's University. Barbara is based in Southern California and does marketing and admissions work for the MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco.
Laura Nash joined the Admissions Committee in the Spring of 2009. She received her BS in Nursing from The University of Texas at Austin. She has worked as both a staff nurse and a case manager in neonatal intensive care, working with complex cardiac and surgical patients. While at Primary Children's Medical Center, she served on the interviewing committee. Laura is based in Philadelphia.
Sherry Kim joined the Admissions Committee in the Fall of 2011. Prior to joining Wharton, Sherry spent five years working at one of the Big Four accounting firms in both the Audit and Advisory practices. She also spent two years as a Finance Manager at a Top 5 television broadcasting network in Los Angeles. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and is a licensed CPA in the State of California. Sherry is based in Philadelphia.
Maia Hughes joined the Admissions Committee in the Fall of 2011. She worked as a Project Manager for an insurance software supplier and later as a Risk Management and Insurance Technology Consultant. She holds the CPCU and ARM designations from the Insurance Institute of America. She received her BA in Government/International Relations from the College of William & Mary and a Master of International Business degree from the University of South Carolina. Maia is based in Philadelphia.
Anna Skender joined the Admissions Committee in the Fall of 2012. Prior to joining Wharton, Anna spent six years in international recruitment working at a leading global foundation, an international aid government agency, and an executive search firm. She received her AB in Psychology and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Anna is based in Philadelphia.
