Vaishali Bansal — Senior Columnist
Vaishali is a sophomore from Pleasanton planning on double-majoring in Business Administration and Data Science. As a BRB columnist, she looks forward to exploring her interests in finance, entrepreneurship, and the complex relationship between business and community. She hopes to discover more about how businesses influence (and are influenced by) society. Outside of her work, Vaishali likes to spend her time rewatching Marvel films, trying new restaurants, dancing to her favorite Bollywood songs, and playing tennis with her friends.
Mauricio Chandler — Senior Columnist
Mauricio is a sophomore from Houston studying Political Economy with a focus on economic development. He is a senior columnist for the community column and is especially interested in how larger macroeconomic movements affect the individual lives of people. In his free time, Mauricio enjoys playing and watching basketball, listening to drill music, and thrift shopping.
Jessica is a junior from Shanghai with a major in Economics and minor in Demography. She has a special interest in statistical representations of people’s behavior, and is passionate about understanding society through data. As part of BRB, she hopes to write about business in elements of Chinese culture, including but not limited to lifestyles, entertainment, and online commerce. Outside of class, she enjoys classic rock, vintage fashion, and tours to museums and galleries.
Rohan is a freshman intending to major in Economics and Data Science. He loves reading and writing, and joined BRB to explore topics such as business, economics, and the relationship between corporate institutions and people. Additionally, he knows way too much about cars, F1, and other irrelevant topics, and in his free time he’s probably listening to hip-hop/RnB music (especially Drake & The Weeknd), hanging out with his friends, or reading random articles.
Mehek Kandru
Mehek is a sophomore studying Political Science and Economics. She joined BRB last semester as a columnist and writes pieces that focus on the intersection between business concepts and the societal structures within which they function. When she is not writing she loves to read fantasy novels, watch sci-fi movies, and listen to (any genre!) of music.
Shivali Chikkaswamy
Shivali Chikkaswamy is a sophomore from Washington, D.C., studying Economics and Public Health. Her academic interests lie in the intersection between business and the healthcare spectrum. In addition, Shivali is passionate about exploring current events through the lens of behavioral economics and enjoys writing about entrepreneurship and community development topics. Outside of her work, Shivali enjoys skiing, traveling, and thrifting.
Andrés Larios — Senior Columnist
Andrés is a sophomore from Panama City, Panama studying Economics and Data Science. He has been an economics columnist since Spring 2022 and enjoys writing about labor economics, economic development, and macro-finance. Andrés is interested in using empirical data to prove economic theory, and tries to apply this interest to his articles. A fun fact about Andrés is that he enjoys wearing crocs to any event, whether it be hiking or coffee chats.
Logan Carney — Senior Columnist
Logan is a junior from Little Rock, Arkansas majoring in Economics. He is currently serving as one of BRB’s Senior Columnists. In his free time, Logan enjoys watching and playing soccer, basketball, and golf.
Derrick is a sophomore from Toronto studying Economics and Computer Science. Derrick has interests in international trade, empirical data analysis, and emerging technology, their impact on innovation, and analysis of their funding streams. In his free time, Derrick reads up on international news, plays Overwatch, and attempts to learn more coding languages.
Vardaan is a freshman from Jakarta, Indonesia majoring in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research. His research interests in particular include behavioral economics and market anomalies, but he is also passionate about writing pieces reviewing factors that make an impact on the greater community. Aside from business journalism, his academic interests include Web3 innovations, AI, statistics, and finance. For leisure, he is an avid adrenaline junkie — scuba diving, long-distance running, motorsports, badminton, and football (soccer) are all up his alley.
Yewon is a freshman from Seoul, South Korea intending to major in Business Administration. Yewon is greatly interested in analyzing the shifting focus for corporations to prioritize social impact through ESG and SDG, in addition to studying startups that provide innovative solutions to social issues. As a columnist, Yewon is eager to develop insights into the evolving trends that are shaping corporates and consumer needs along with how technological innovation serves as a catalyst for economic growth.
Peter Patrikios
Peter is a junior from the Bay Area majoring in Business Administration and Political Science and minoring in German. He joined BRB as an economics columnist in Fall 2022. He is passionate about international affairs and economics and joined BRB in the hopes of writing articles about pressing current events that lay at the intersection of global politics and economics. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading Foreign Affairs Magazine, and spending time with his beloved Chow Chow.
Kabir Jain
Kabir is a junior from Simi Valley studying Business Administration and Data Science through the Global Management Program. Passionate about product management and law, he’s looking forward to cultivating his public speaking and writing skills through BRB. Additionally, Kabir enjoys dancing and traveling – he is part of a Bollywood Fusion Dance Team on campus called UCB Zahanat and studied abroad in London in the Fall semester of 2022. Kabir also values fitness as well as spending time with family and friends.
Suhani Ramchandra
Suhani is a freshman from North Carolina studying business administration and data science. She is interested in sustainability and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Suhani enjoys ice skating, playing the piano, and photography.
Felicia Mo — Senior Columnist
Felicia is a junior from Fremont, CA studying Economics and minoring in Public Policy and Data Science. She enjoys listening to podcasts (WSJ Money Briefing, NPR Politics, NYT The Daily) while cooking, which often results in her burning her orange chicken and setting off fire alarms. Her current life plan is to pursue tax law and use that as funding to publish her first creative novel.
Mark Roychowdhury — Senior Columnist
Mark is a freshman from Fullerton intending to major in Business Administration and minor in Data Science. With a strong passion for finance and data analytics, Mark loves to dive deep into the world of big data, constantly seeking to analyze its impact on elevating business strategy. Outside of the professional sphere, Mark loves going to the gym, listening to hip-hop, watching horror movies, and playing sports with friends.
Kaylee is a junior from Davis, California majoring in Business with a double minor in Spanish and Global Poverty. Passionate about tackling systemic poverty, she aspires to utilize her skills in business and consulting to bridge the gap between ethical business and profitability. Outside of class, she loves skiing, long distance running, backpacking, and traveling.
Alex Kim
Alex Kim is a sophomore studying economics and political science. He has a passion for understanding and writing about business trends in society and how economic policies piece together macroeconomic objectives. As a member of BRB, Alex hopes to expand his scope as a scholar in the field of business and gain a knowledgeable framework to support his very own business ventures.
Isabella Rose Fuller
Isabella Rose, a junior from San Diego, is studying Business Administration with a concentration in Global Management. Her academic interests center around promoting sustainable business practices and products, with the goal of creating lasting positive impacts and raising awareness. As a new columnist, she is excited to gain more insights on what financial literacy means across different topics. In her free time, Isabella Rose is an avid skincare enthusiast, who spends her free time either reading, going for a drive, watching Cal sports, or trying a new coffee shop.
Rebecca Ding
Rebecca is a freshman from Vancouver Canada, intending to major in Business Administration and Psychology with a minor in Music. In her time at Berkeley, Rebecca thrives in learning with humility and seeking solutions to problems, refining and contributing this skill to the school community and community-at-large. Through writing for the BRB, Rebecca hopes to explore and expand her knowledge and experience, capitalizing on the power of media to build a comprehensive network and make a true impact in the business sphere. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys singing/songwriting, eating out with friends, and discovering new perfumes, skincare, and fashion trends.
Laura Mansour
Laura is a freshman from Chicago intending to major in Political Science and minor in Journalism. Interested in the intersectionality of business and creative writing, Laura is excited to write for the financial literacy column in BRB. She has a passion for technical writing, education, and child welfare and intends to transfer these interests into the legal field upon graduation. Apart from her professional pursuits, you can often find Laura coaching youth recreational gymnastics, running on campus, or trying new cafes around Berkeley.
Aaron Jun Kit Wu — Senior Columnist
Aaron is a sophomore from Beijing, China pursuing a degree in Business Administration. His passions involve finding and building methods to invest money in ways that sustain value and wealth applicable to a large proportion of the population. He hopes that his research within the investing column can yield suitable methods for ordinary retail investors to begin growing their assets. Aaron is a start-up entrepreneur who aspires to continue his passion in the U.S. Outside of his work, Aaron enjoys skateboarding and working out.
Aditi Somayajula — Senior Columnist
Aditi is a junior from Fremont pursuing a degree in Computer Science. Her interests in investing, startups, and emerging markets inspired her to join BRB. As a senior columnist, she looks forward to writing articles about international economics and the investing landscape. Apart from business, Aditi is also passionate about technology and informatics and their ability to deepen our understanding of medicine and biology. In her free time, Aditi enjoys reading new books, hiking in the East Bay hills, and traveling.
Dillon Robinson
Dillon is a new investing columnist and has a strong interest in macroeconomics and mergers and acquisitions. He is currently a freshman studying Economics/ Business and is from Westchester, New York. In his free time, Dillon can be found playing squash, chess, and hanging out with friends.
Venkat Kandukuri
Venkat is a freshman from Hyderabad pursuing Economics and Computer Science at Berkeley. His career prospects are inclined towards data science and analytics. With an added focus to the finance sector, he consistently reads up about companies especially in the pharmaceutical and EV segments. In his free time, he loves to listen to music (rap and Indian), reads up on fighter planes, and is a movie and TV enthusiast.