Kathy Bader Courtney (BBA97)
Chief Operating Officer, Greenstate Credit Union

Q1: What are you reading?
Think Again by Adam Grant and Unique Abilities by Catherine Nomura and Julia Waller. A couple more recent favorites are Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir and Nudge by Richard Thaler.

Q2: Who is inspiring you?
Adam Grant and Brené Brown—even better when they are together. I’m also a big Cy Wakeman fan.

Q3: What is the best part of your day?
Coming home to my dog Charlie and my husband John, who is excited to see me but with not quite as much enthusiasm as Charlie.

Isaac Oberlin (BBA17)
Tippie Young Alumni Board member
Incoming Investment Banking Associate, Houlihan Lokey (July 2022)

Q1: What are you reading?
Currently, I am reading a book by Loran Nordgren called The Human Element. It is about ways to best introduce new ideas and innovation to the world and overcoming frictions in life/business.

Q2: Who is inspiring you?
My new father-in-law, Honorable William P. Kelly (Polk County District Court Judge), has inspired me since we met. He is an all-American man and a great role model. Most recently, I was especially inspired by a case that he navigated that was extremely testing. His ability to analyze the  law and come to a decision with grace and empathy for the betterment of the Polk County community, Iowa, and the United States was amazing to watch. I hope to be able to grow into being an influential and generous leader like him in my own career and family life.

Q3: What is the best part of your day?
I love to go to Orangetheory Fitness in the mornings with my wife Katie (Kelly) Oberlin (BA17). In addition, I am currently an MBA student, so most of my day is spent in class and meeting up with fellow classmates for group projects, to network, and hang out. I love getting to meet so many unique, successful, and driven future business leaders.

Art Durnev
Henry B. Tippie Research Fellow, Tippie College of Business

Q1: What are you reading?
I spend much more time learning from YouTube videos than from reading actual books, but currently, I am reading Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature. I try to apply evolutionary puzzles to my research in finance.

Q2: Who is inspiring you?
My spouse, finance professor Amrita Nain.

Q3: What is the best part of your day?
I work on my research every night from 2 a.m. until 4 a.m. This is the most productive part of my day.