LeBow Graduates Receive 2022 Drexel Alumni Awards
Six members of the LeBow community were recognized by Drexel’s Alumni Board of Governors as winners of the 2022 Drexel Alumni Awards. Their individual awards reflect a range of professional achievements, community service and commitment to their alma mater.
Brandon Cisneros, BS marketing ’22 — Outstanding Student Award
As a student, Cisneros founded the first Prospanica university chapter in the Northeastern region, which won the 2020 University Chapter of the Year Award. He was involved in a number of organizations, including Latinos for a United Campus; LeBow BRIDGE; Drexel Student Ambassadors; Drexel University Bienvenidos; ¡HOLA! Drexel; the LeBow Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee; the Drexel Anti-Racism Task Force; and the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Raj L. Gupta, MBA business administration ’72 — Golden Dragon Society Award
From 1999 to 2009, Gupta served as chairman and CEO of Rohm & Haas, a worldwide producer of specialty chemicals. He is chairman of the board at Avantor Inc. and a senior advisor with the private-equity firm New Mountain Capital. At Drexel, Gupta was a member of the LeBow Corporate Governance Advisory Council, the LeBow Leadership Circle, the LeBow Dean’s Advisory Board, and was a Drexel trustee from 2001 to 2007. Through his family foundation, Ujala, he launched the Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute in 2018. He received the A.J. Drexel Paul Service to Alma Mater Award, was named the Business Leader of the Year, and was inducted into Drexel’s Alumni Hall of Fame, the Drexel 100.
Paul K. Johnson, BS business administration ’92, MBA ’07 — A.J. Drexel Paul Service to Alma Mater Award
In his more than two decades volunteering for Drexel, Johnson was instrumental in establishing the Young Alumni Association and was named Drexel’s Young Alumnus of the Year. He has also served on the LeBow Alumni Council and was a member of the Drexel University Alumni Association Board of Governors. As a board member, Johnson served on the Community Service Committee and chaired its Grants Committee. Johnson firmly believes in the power of sports to enrich the lives of young people, and has created, managed and coached a series of youth baseball teams in his community, including the Philly Area Black Sox.
Hazem Maragah, PhD, associate professor of decision sciences and MIS — Special Distinction Award
Maragah joined the faculty of LeBow College of Business in 1989. He is also the recipient of the LeBow College 2001 Outstanding Service Award, and he received the 2000 Award for Outstanding Service to the University. A steadfast Drexel Athletics fan, The Hazem Maragah Suite in the Daskalakis Athletic Center is named in his honor.
L. Jeff Shafer II, BS business administration ’12 — Recent Alumni Emerging Leader Award
Shafer is a CPA who works as a real estate law associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City and authored “Black Excellence: 20 Stories about Rising from Ordinary to Extraordinary.” He has worked with organizations like the Black Law Student Association at the University of Pennsylvania, National Association of Black Accountants, Abundant Life Fellowship and Drexel, to encourage and support young people — particularly Black boys and girls.
Karla Trotman, Executive MBA ’15 — Harriet E. Worrell Society Award
In addition to her role as CEO and owner of Electro Soft — which creates electronics manufacturing solutions for clients in aviation, rail, transit, OEM and defense —Trotman is a member of numerous boards and organizations. At Drexel, she was the president of the LeBow Executive MBA Alumni Council and is a member of the Drexel Alumni Board of Governors. In addition, Trotman has served on the steering committee for the Drexel Black Alumni Council, and she shares her professional insight and expertise as a speaker for alumni career services programs and classes within the LeBow College of Business.
