Big Green Egg CEO and other Richmond grads honor their mentors
UR Now: Alumni
At the University of Richmond, our small, close-knit classes encourage interactions that create a learning environment beyond the lectures. Faculty and students inspire each other to think critically and engage in meaningful discussions. They are integral partners in research and support one another in making discoveries and sharing them with the world.
It’s no surprise that many Spiders count their professors among their most trusted mentors — even when they’ve long graduated and entered the workforce. A LinkedIn post from Big Green Egg CEO Dan Gertsacov about the professor who influenced his career trajectory reinforced this sentiment. Inspired by Gertsacov’s suggestion that everyone “take a minute to thank those who have helped you get to where you are today,” we’ve profiled him and two other alumni who have done just that.
Dan Gertsacov (Class of 1997)
Faculty mentor: Jonathan Wight, professor of economics
Dan Gertsacov credits Jonathan Wight with introducing him to the philosopher and economist Adam Smith, sparking a shared interest that has lasted for more than 30 years. One year, Wight invited Gertsacov, an economics major, to sit in on a faculty discussion group that analyzed Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and later supervised his honors thesis on enlightened capitalism.
The two kept in touch as Gertsacov’s career took him from earning a Fulbright Scholarship, to receiving an MBA from Harvard, to founding the international nonprofit Forum Empresa, and to holding leadership positions with Google, McDonald’s, and Big Green Egg. Gertsacov's endorsement of Wight’s book, Saving Adam Smith: A Tale of Wealth, Transformation, and Virtue, can be found on the jacket cover.
In Gertsacov's words:
He had a way of engaging with students, of sitting as an equal and inviting discussion more as a coach than as a teacher who tells you to listen and take notes.
He created space for me to participate in that faculty working group and to read that text. That’s not something many professors would accommodate. It influenced my thesis, my Fulbright, and my nonprofit. Now I’m the CEO of Big Green Egg and I'm trying to follow the tenets in The Theory of Moral Sentiments as I lead a purpose-driven company. It’s what I learned from Dr. Wight so many years ago.
Alec Greven (Class of 2021)
Alec Greven and his mentor Professor Jessica Flanigan co-authored a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Faculty mentor: Jessica Flanigan, professor of leadership studies and philosophy, politics, economics and law
As a leadership studies major, Alec Greven took two classes with Jessica Flanigan — Critical Thinking and Ethical Decision Making in Health Care — but it was their mutual interest in freedom of expression that laid the foundation for a deeper working relationship. They co-authored an article about free speech on college campuses published in the Public Affairs Quarterly journal and advocated for a speech policy that protected expression rights at Richmond. Flanigan later supervised Greven’s senior honors thesis on the moral foundations of free expression. Greven recently completed his second year at the University of Chicago Law School. Attending law school was a decision he made partly with Flanigan’s guidance.
In Greven’s words:
It was a wonderful experience to be listed as a co-author on a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. Professor Flanigan helped me hone a clear writing style, one that’s not just about interesting ideas but also about promoting those ideas in a rigorous fashion.
I accepted a Jepson Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford for a master’s degree in public policy. I discussed that experience with her and whether it made sense to pursue a Ph.D. or attend law school. She’s been wonderful about offering general career advice and support and answering questions about academia, including expectations and challenges.
She’s been a constant mentor and one of the most influential and impactful faculty members I’ve had at Richmond.
Helen Xia (Class of 2024)
Helen Xia spent a summer working in Professor Wade Downey's chemistry lab. She credits him with helping her refine her research and scientific writing skills.
Faculty mentor: Wade Downey, professor of chemistry
As an incoming Richmond Scholar interested in science and medicine, Helen Xia was assigned to Wade Downey as her advisor. Xia spent her first summer working in Downey’s chemistry lab. The following year, Downey encouraged her to apply for the Beckman Scholars program, which offers a 15-month mentored research experience. Once again, Xia was matched with Downey and spent the remainder of her time at Richmond working in his lab.
Downey not only helped Xia refine her research and scientific writing skills but also provided support and guidance as she expanded her post-graduate plans from medical school to M.D./Ph.D. programs. Xia is now pursuing this dual degree through the Perot Family Scholars Medical Scientist Training Program at UT Southwestern Medical School and UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
In Xia’s words:
Dr. Downey’s research focuses on innovating new methodologies from existing science. Conducting extensive chemistry research with him has nurtured my interest in the specific area of science that I want to pursue now. I’m an M.D./Ph.D. student, and I want to do research that is biologically relevant but still innovative. I want to create something new.
Through the Beckman Scholars program, I discovered how I can incorporate research into my future career — not just in medicine, but also in science, due to the program’s research-intensive nature. The experience of conducting high-level, rigorous research and the skills I learned with Dr. Downey have served me well in my career so far and nurtured my passion for science.