Executive Degree Program Contact

Paul Almeida

Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education

Paul Almeida is senior associate dean for executive education at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, focusing on strategy, academics, public relations, and business development. He also is associate professor of strategy and international business, and co-director of the Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA program. Almeida’s research examines innovation, knowledge management, alliances, and informal collaborations across firms and countries, and has been published in several leading journals. Almeida has conducted executive education and corporate seminars with numerous organizations in the United States and around the world, including Microsoft, Gucci, Rolls Royce, IBM, Samsung, Sprint, the World Bank, OPIC, the US Chamber of Commerce, AREVA, National Public Radio and the Social Security Administration. He received a Ph.D. and a master’s degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India.

Melissa Trotta

Associate Dean for Executive Program Management

Melissa Trotta oversees program management and delivery of the Executive MBA Program, the Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA Program and the Executive Masters in Leadership Program. Trotta previously served as Associate Dean for Program Initiatives and Engagement at the McDonough School, advancing internal and external strategic priorities for the business school, and as the founding Assistant Dean of the School’s MBA Evening Program. Trotta has also applied her expertise at other higher education institutions, including Harvard’s Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Melissa earned a B.A. in Communications, summa cum laude, and received an M.A. in Higher Education Administration, with distinction, both from Boston College. Trotta is currently a doctoral student in Higher Education Management at the University of Pennsylvania.

  Elie Farhat

Assistant Dean for Executive Outreach

Elie Farhat is responsible for the recruiting and outreach efforts for our executive degrees and open-enrollment certificate programs.  Previously, Farhat served as the Director of Graduate Programs at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.  He was responsible for all recruiting activities pertaining to their Executive and Corporate MBA programs as well as operational implementation and service delivery. Farhat holds a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

George Liebensfeld

Director of Academic Affairs for Executive Education

George Liebensfeld’s overriding goal is to build faculty resources for degree and non-degree executive education and hence ensure that teaching in Georgetown’s Executive Education programs is of the highest quality.  He has an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Georgetown. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Korea in 1996, and has worked and lived in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Sara Dolan

Associate Director, Executive Degree Programs

Sara Dolan joined Georgetown in 2008 to lead the operational components of the Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA Program, a joint Executive MBA program offered by ESADE Business School and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Before joining Georgetown, Dolan was the Associate Director of Admissions at ESADE Business School. Her areas of expertise include international program management, recruitment and admissions strategies as well as marketing. Dolan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Saint Louis University with a double major in Marketing and International Business. She is fluent in Spanish and has a significant amount of international experience having lived and worked in Barcelona, Spain for eight years.

Behnaz Hadjiesmaeiloo

Assistant Director, Executive Degree Programs

Behnaz Hadjiesmaeiloo takes a lead role in executing various aspects of program logistics for the EMBA, GEMBA, and EML Programs. Before joining the Office of Executive Education, Hadjiesmaeiloo worked with the McDonough School of Business in Full-Time MBA Admissions. She has also worked with the Corporate Executive Board to recruit over 20 legal teams into their network, and has further experience in the non-profit sector through her work with the National Iranian American Council. Hadjiesmaeiloo has traveled extensively throughout the world and has studied in Paris, France at Sciences-Politque. She holds a B.A. degree in International Relations and Political Science from The George Washington University.

Kirsten Sands

Admissions Officer, Executive Degree Programs

Kirsten Sands serves as an Admissions Officer for Executive Degree Programs. Her primary responsibilities include helping prospective candidates through the application and admissions process. Prior to her current role, Sands served as Executive Assistant to the Founder/CEO of a DC nonprofit organization and has lived in Ghana as a volunteer program coordinator. She is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from Susquehanna University.

Nicole Marcheterre

Assistant Director of Program Development, Executive Degree Programs

Nicole Marcheterre manages the development of new executive degree programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, which allows the school to expand into new geographic markets and areas of focus. In that role, Marcheterre will have responsibilities including: extensive client and partner interaction, program planning including support for online and in-person curriculum development, assisting with the documentation and approvals processes for new programs, supporting the marketing and admissions for new executive degree programs, and preparing for each new program’s launch. Prior to her current role Marcheterre served as an Office Program Support Generalist at the University of Vermont’s Human Resources Department. She is a native of Vermont and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Johnson State College.