Jude Mabone

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business

“A dynamic, sports-obsessed, impact-driven marketer who moonlights as a DJ and pageant aficionado.”

Hometown: Southampton, PA

Fun fact about yourself: Holds the title of Miss District of Columbia 2023

Undergraduate School and Degree: American University, B.A. International Studies

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Seward & Kissel, LLP – Marketing Assistant

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Nike, Inc. Beaverton, OR

Where will you be working after graduation? Nike, Inc. – Marketing Vanguard Program Associate

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Keynote Speaker and Ambassador, American Heart Association; VP of Prospective Students, Black Business Students Association; VP of Communications, Business Leaders for Diverse Abilities; President, Section 3; “The Ross Bus” tailgate DJ; Dean’s List

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am proud to have served as the co-VP of Prospective Students for the Black Business Students Association. The strength of Ross is in its diversity, so getting to help Black prospective students better understand what we do here has been special. It’s rewarding every time I get an “I got in!” text from a student, and in this role, I’ve really been able to live out my value of lifting as I climb.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Service is at the core of who I am. It’s a value that was instilled in me by my parents, who are both enlisted Navy veterans. At my pre-MBA job at Seward & Kissel, LLP, I was very open about my experience living with heart disease to my coworkers. I’m so proud to have bridged the gap between my personal passion for the work of the American Heart Association (AHA) and my former workplace by helping establish support of the AHA as one of the firm’s philanthropic endeavors. Each year, Seward & Kissel runs or walks a 5K in honor of survivors, like me, and helps raise funds for critical medical research. This initiative has continued even after I’ve moved on from my role there, and I think that’s a testament to the character of the people at the firm, but also of what magic can happen when you’re not afraid to bring your whole self into the work.

Why did you choose this business school? You can learn a lot from the case method, but there’s nothing like having to actually try something. Action-based learning is what ultimately tipped the scales for me and made me choose Ross. It’s very difficult not to grow when you are having to get out of your comfort zone and try (and sometimes fail) at things. This includes the Multidisciplinary Action Projects to simulations embedded in courses like Strategic Marketing Planning and the myriad of learning opportunities facilitated by the Sanger Leadership Center. Through these, I’ve had my fair share of trials-and-errors at Ross that have given me the confidence and hands-on experience to know that no matter what comes my way in my career post-MBA I can and will be able to handle it.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? John Branch is a Ross legend. He teaches the marketing core class here. He’s witty, engaging, and provides a lot of his own insight from his professional experience that turns the terminology and strategies into practical application.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Power and Prestige taught by Michael Jensen. The world is full of rankings, both explicit and implicit, and this course teaches how individuals and organizations can climb up those rankings. Professor Jensen is masterful in how he goes about reinforcing the concepts, and the entire class is rooted in research and cases. He challenges his students to confront their own biases and work through them to come out better prepared to lead diverse teams and be a more inclusive and self-aware leader.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Sports culture runs deep at the University of Michigan, and that includes in our MBA program. We have a club ice hockey team, and every year they play our rivals, the Michigan Law School. I love that game because the MBAs get really into it, and afterwards, we celebrate what we hope will be a big win. It’s fun to discover what talents my classmates have, and seeing them out on the ice is the next best thing to watching the UofM team play.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? There are so many opportunities at Ross that it’s easy to get very siloed. What’s incredible about the University of Michigan is that we have many highly-ranked programs full of bright minds, so a lot can be learned from people in other programs, too. I took one class outside of Ross, but I wish I had taken a few more because getting to hear how people in other fields think and see the world helped broaden my aperture. I think not doing more of that was a missed opportunity.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? As part of the Leadership Crisis Challenge here at Michigan Ross, we had a fictitious case where an autonomous vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian. Playing the role of a C-suite executive working through the nuance of that situation was something that will stay with me for a long time. This case, where I had to practice balancing empathy and a company’s reputation, was a much-needed reminder to remember humanity. Often times in business school, we are so fixated on the bottom line that we forget that there are human consequences to every choice we make. This case reminded me to remember humanity and to carry empathy with me always.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Ann Arbor is a special place because the University of Michigan is the primary reason people are here. Since we are not a major city, we aren’t competing for people’s attention when it comes to school events. As a result, people tend to be very intentional about being here and really prioritize community, which has made everything from game days to study sessions that much sweeter and helped us go from strangers to friends so quickly.

What business leader do you admire most? Emma Grede is my favorite business leader. She’s dynamic, entrepreneurial, strategic, and still keeps her values at the forefront of all that she does. She flies under the radar but is a total role model for me as a Black woman in an executive position. Emma’s story of being raised by a single mother and having the audacity and scrappiness to transcend what was statistically expected for her serves as a reminder to me that the only true limitations in life are the ones we place on ourselves. I respect how she has always been committed to inclusivity and shares the same value that I have of “lifting as you climb,” which she lives out through her work as the Chairperson of the 15 Percent Pledge.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? I took Strategic Marketing Planning with Professor Yesim Orhun this year, and it really helped me figure out how to leverage AI as a tool. In that class, we ran a strategic marketing simulation over five weeks and learned how to prompt AI to act as an expert and provide insights. I feel more confident using AI to inform decision-making than ever before. We don’t need to fear AI taking our jobs, we need to learn how to work with the technology to be more efficient and make better decisions, and that’s what this class gave me a chance to do.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I’m such a huge fan of Blake Bengston. He asks great questions in class, is a terrific person, and is someone I know will have a successful venture one day. Whatever he’s starting in a few years, I’ll be the first in line to fund.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? Become the CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and serve on the board of the American Heart Association. I am obsessed with the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I view them as one of the most important sports moments in the world and a powerful mechanism for cross-cultural communication and peace-building. My undergraduate degree is in international studies, and as a former collegiate athlete, sports are an integral part of my life. The interaction of these two passions is naturally the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and my north star is getting to lead Team USA in the future.

I’m passionate about joining the board of directors for the American Heart Association someday because that’s an organization I’m actively involved with and personally connected to. I was diagnosed with heart disease after surviving six heart attacks as a teenager, so it’s important to me to give back to an organization that played a critical role in my survival by funding important medical research that led to my diagnosis. Service isn’t a buzzword, it’s a core value of who I am, and as I move up in my career, my hope is to continue to prioritize positions that allow me to do good and make the world better. For me, the American Heart Association feels like an important place where I could do just that.

What made Jude such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Jude is refreshing in the MBA classroom because of how openly she shares her challenges and struggles. By speaking honestly about difficult moments, she creates connection, confidence, and trust with those around her. It takes courage to speak up in ways that could be perceived as weakness, but Jude understands that sharing is a source of strength. In fact, research supports this idea, including recent work by Harvard professor Leslie John in her book Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing—which immediately made me think of Jude.”

Samantha Keppler
Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations

(Keppler was also a P&Q 40 under 40 professor in 2025)

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2026

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