We are committed to pushing the marketing conversation forward at Booth and cultivating new opportunities for engagement, enrichment, and growth for Booth students, alumni, and the general business community.
Kilts Center Leadership
Katie Claussen Bell, '23
Executive Director, Kilts Center for Marketing
As the Kilts Center’s executive director, Claussen Bell is responsible for the Center’s efforts to advance the study and practice of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and beyond. She leads efforts to support alumni and students interested in applying marketing skills to drive business growth. In addition, she ensures the success of the Center’s archive of consumer-related data available for academic research.
Prior to her role at Chicago Booth, Katie was a research analyst and project specialist at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago where she worked on a variety of social policy research projects focused on topics including community development, foster care, and juvenile recidivism. She launched her professional career at CNA Insurance, where she worked in corporate marketing and communications.
Katie is a 2023 graduate of the Evening MBA program at Chicago Booth. In addition, she holds a BA in sociology from Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, Indiana) and a master of arts in sociology from Loyola University Chicago.
Katie Claussen Bell, '23
Jean-Pierre Dubé
James M. Kilts Distinguished Service Professor of Marketing and Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar
Jean-Pierre Dubé
Arthur Middlebrooks
Clinical Professor of Marketing; Business Development for Research Data, Kilts Center for Marketing
Arthur MiddlebrooksKilts Center Staff
Samreen Imami
Director, Programs and Engagement
Samreen has a background in communications, management, and marketing, with expertise in imaging and design. She has taught courses in multimedia design and developed creative solutions throughout her career in industries such as marketing, tech, education, and healthcare. Before joining the Kilts Center, she managed a primary care clinic, where she enhanced patient relations and development.
Samreen Imami
Heather McGuire
Senior Associate Director, Data Center Operations
Heather has a long history with the University of Chicago, helping elevate research projects and communication efforts for Chapin Hall and the Research Computing Center before joining the Kilts Center team. Previously, she worked in the Provost Office at Valparaiso University, International Affairs, where she spearheaded the restructuring of the Confucius Institute, optimizing project and budget resource management.
Heather earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Western Governors University and her MBA degree from Valparaiso University.
Rebecca Covey
Associate Director, Marketing and Engagement
Rebecca has a background in communications and marketing, client services, and project management in the higher education sector, with past roles at Northwestern University, Imperial College London, and Chicago Booth. Before joining the Kilts Center, she was an Account Director for creative marketing and advertising agencies where she managed portfolios of global clients and national brands.
Rebecca earned her bachelor’s degree in Media and Communication Studies from Brighton University and her master of arts in Liberal Studies, History from Northwestern University.
Rebecca Covey
Flora Alvarado
Assistant Director, Kilts Center
Flora has a background in event planning and student engagement. Prior to joining the Kilts team, she worked with the residence life departments at Lewis University and Arizona State University. In her roles, she directed student leaders on managing new student housing orientation, conflict resolution, and monthly event planning and implementation. She also spearheaded event budgets, crisis management, diverse department collaboration, and event promotion.
Flora earned her bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Social Media Marketing followed by her master of arts in Organizational Leadership with a focus in Higher Education from Lewis University.
Riley Langefeld
Assistant Director, Data Center Operations
Riley has a background in communications, writing, and political work. He also has experience as a law clerk and an academic research analyst. Before joining the Kilts Center, he worked as a beat journalist and news editor at a daily newspaper, where he covered state and local government.
Riley Langefeld
Nancy Huang
Data Center Manager, Data Center Operations
Nancy has a background in data analysis and engineering. Before joining the Kilts Center team, she worked as a Senior Data Analyst at a homecare company, developing business metrics dashboards to enable data-driven insights for stakeholders.
Nancy earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from University of California, Berkeley.
Nancy Huang