Avrey Callis

Yale School of Management

“An all-gas, curiosity-driven engine of new ideas that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Fun fact about yourself: I’ve visited all 30 MLB ballparks

Undergraduate School and Degree: BA in Philosophy and International Affairs (Emphasis in Ethics, Law, Politics), University of Nevada Reno

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Senior International Trade Manager, Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Investment Banking Summer Associate, Citigroup

Where will you be working after graduation? Senior Advisor, Department of War

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Economic Development Club (Co-President); Finance Club (Director); Schmidt Program on AI, Emerging Technology, and National Power; Dean’s Scholar (Paolo Zannoni Scholarship recipient, Boswell Family Alumni Fund Scholarship recipient); Forte MBA Fellow

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of my work on the Economic Development Symposium this year, where I collaborated with an incredible group of peers to bring together speakers deeply connected to the evolving landscape of local economic development. It was meaningful to help start and continue conversations at the intersection of business and the public sector.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Prior to SOM, I’m most proud of leading a trade mission to Canada, where I oversaw its development and execution from the ground up. It required a significant amount of work and gave me the opportunity to learn deeply through execution, making it especially rewarding and solidifying my interest in the critical minerals ecosystem.

Why did you choose this business school? Yale SOM is building true future leaders. The program is unmatched due to the breadth of coursework across the broader university ecosystem, which was incredibly important to me. Taking classes at the Jackson School of Global Affairs, the Law School, and the School of the Environment has shaped my worldview and made me a more competitive candidate for the next stage of my career. Honestly, from the first time I visited, I knew Yale was different.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Peter Schott was my favorite, as his Macroeconomics course introduced an important framework for understanding an ever-changing world and what it means for other parts of the economy. It fundamentally shifted how I think about policy and real-world implications.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? The Nonprofit Management course with Professor Judith Chevalier was my favorite SOM course because it offered a thorough look at the distinct management considerations and strategies required in the nonprofit sector. I enjoyed the guest speakers, who brought incredible, on-the-ground insights that made it feel both practical and inspiring.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? There are so many, but honestly our formals have become my favorite. They capture the spirit of the community in such a fun and memorable way. Getting dressed up, dancing, and laughing together reflects how strong and lasting the relationships are here, and how much fun I have with the friends I’ve made.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Honestly nothing – I pushed myself to try new things, took as many classes as I could, picked up part-time work to learn and explore, and met some incredible people. I guess I wish I spent more time in office hours getting to know the faculty better!

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? I think many others would agree that the MET case study was awesome because it discussed a unique restructuring problem for such an iconic institution. Not only was it taught really well in the classroom, but we also had the former President and CEO of the MET Daniel Weiss (an SOM alum who also took a ton of greater university classes!) come speak with our class about the case – just amazing!

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I love how close and walkable everything was! It made grabbing coffee with peers, skateboarding to class, and going out for dinner with friends easy and very fun! Especially coming from a city where I needed to drive everywhere, this was a nice change of environment.

What business leader do you admire most? I admire Jane Fraser for her ability to lead a complex transformation at Citigroup. Her leadership reflects both strategic clarity on the bank’s future and discipline on execution, positioning Citi to operate more efficiently and compete more effectively.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? While not at the business school directly, I participated in the Schmidt Program on AI, Emerging Tech, and National Power with the Jackson school, a year-long course that examines important considerations for AI’s intersection with everything from humanity to national security. My biggest takeaway is that AI is going to become far more of a physical problem than we may realize now. From upstream bottlenecks in critical mineral supply chains that feed into data center infrastructure and electricity generation, to end-use applications like humanoid robotics that signal a shift toward embodied AI, the entire ecosystem is increasingly grounded in the physical world. As AI scales, so too will the need for massive buildout across industrial capacity, making the future of AI as much about infrastructure and resources as it is about the models themselves.

On the business school side, I had a really impactful session in the Founders Practicum that offered key insights into vibe coding and developing new applications. While vibe coding was something I had already started exploring as a way to learn and experiment, this session helped me understand how to use it more intentionally to scale the impact of what I was building for the venture I was working on.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Evan Gresser – someone I got to know well during recruiting for investment banking, as we both came from non-traditional backgrounds. Having taken classes and even traveled together, I’ve seen firsthand his rare level of grit and self-determination, which I find deeply motivating. Honestly, admiration feels too light of a word for someone who works so hard and cares so deeply about doing good quality work and learning as much as possible.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? The first is to write more throughout my career, using it as a way to share ideas and engage with other perspectives. I would love to someday publish something that helps people think more deeply about complex issues based on my professional journey and what I’ve learned. The second is to have a career that keeps me close to the ground through traveling and meeting people across different regions and cultures, overall learning directly from how industries and communities operate. I want my work to be shaped by real-world exposure and lived experience.

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