Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Awards 2023 Alumni Medallions

Brett Loper, MBA, ’95 CLAS
Executive Vice President, Global Government Affairs, American Express

Brett Loper, MBA, is the Executive Vice President, Global Government Affairs, for American Express. In this role, he coordinates the company’s engagement strategy with policy makers in the United States and countries around the globe. His team is also responsible for coordinating the relationship between Amex and the supervisory teams of its US regulators.

Before joining American Express, Loper held the position of Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). As Deputy Chief of Staff, he led a team of 10 foreign and domestic policy experts and served as chief legislative strategist to the speaker. Loper also served in a variety of capacities in the White House and U.S. Congress, including positions with the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Majority Leader’s Office, and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Loper received his bachelor's degree in Economics from Villanova University, where he has served as an adjunct professor, and his MBA from George Washington University. He holds board positions with the Congressional Institute and the Public Policy Advisory Council at Villanova. He and his wife, Ginger, live in Arlington, Virginia with their three daughters, Grace, Kate and Sarah Clayton.

Louis Manon, MBA, ’97 CLAS
Certified Financial Planner™, Lincoln Investment LLC

Louis Manon, MBA, is an entrepreneur and Certified Financial Planner™ working for an independent broker/dealer, Lincoln Investment LLC. In 2000, Manon and a high school friend started their own business helping high school athletes and their parents enhance their effectiveness in the college sports recruiting process. The company, Skillshow Inc., was an early adopter of sharing sports skills videos online with search engine technology. After over four years of modest success, he decided to enter the financial services industry. Manon has been in the financial services industry for 17 years in various roles including compliance advisor, email surveillance trainer, annuity specialist, supervising principal, and now financial advisor/planner. He holds his series 7, 66, 24 securities licenses as well as state insurance licenses in more than 15 states.

Manon is passionate about financial literacy and economic empowerment. To this end, Manon volunteers annually with Junior Achievement to help teach elementary school students basic financial principles. He also typically seeks at least one other annual volunteer opportunity, and in the past, he has volunteered his services to the Haverford College Fellows, University of Pennsylvania Fellows, and Harcum College’s Upward Bound program. Manon is also the current chair of the Villanova University Black Alumni network and has served in this capacity since 2016.

Manon received his BA from Villanova University and his MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife Erica Hawthorne-Manon of nine years and two-year-old dog named Peabo Pendergrass Bentley Wu the III.

Latesha D. Beasley, MPA ’14
Vice President, Operations, Girard College

Latesha D. Beasley has deep professional roots in the nonprofit and educational sectors, where she has advocated for social justice and sustainable change throughout her career. Currently, Beasley is the Vice President, Operations at Girard College.

Beasley most recently served as the Chief of Staff for North10 Philadelphia, a community development and neighborhood revitalization organization that aims to improve the lives of those in the Hunting Park and East Tioga neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. In addition to overseeing the strategic direction of North 10, she served as the Senior Director of Operations and Special Projects for the organization’s Lenfest Center.

Prior to joining North 10, Beasley worked as a Recruiting and Staffing Manager for the Camden City School District. In that role, she supported family school staffing, diversity initiatives and compensation research to position the district as a competitive employer and national model for urban education. Beasley was also the district’s Innovation Manager, serving as a liaison to New Jersey’s only Renaissance (district-charter hybrid) schools. She provided strategic support for multi-million-dollar construction projects and operationalized major district initiatives, such as a city-wide enrollment process.

As a champion for children, Beasley also aided the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Camden County as Interim Executive Director, where she was responsible for increasing the visibility of the program to ensure its sustainability. Under her leadership, the program grew its educational advocacy initiative to advocate for abused neglected children in out-of-home placement and increased the percentage of young people who would receive a CASA volunteer.

Beasley holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a master's degree in Public Administration from Villanova University.

Beasley lives in New Jersey with her husband Mylan and her curious and active daughter Myla Grace.

Brendan Carchidi ’17 CLAS
Associate Expert and Junior Professional Officer, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism

Brendan Carchidi is an international public servant and researcher with a passion for gender equality, human rights and conflict resolution. He currently serves as an Associate Expert and Junior Professional Officer at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism where he works to promote the integration of human rights into counter-terrorism policy initiatives and programming. Prior to joining the United Nations, he held various positions across international and local non-governmental organizations in Iraq, Jordan, the Middle East and North Africa with a focus on promoting social cohesion and reintegration.

Carchidi is the recipient of multiple awards from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Royal Sultanate of Oman. Awards include the Fulbright Scholarship in Research/Open Study to Jordan, the David L. Boren Scholarship, and the Critical Language Scholarship, in addition to various grants for international research and community engagement. His writings have been published by scholarly outlets, with his most recent work appearing in the Routledge Handbook on Women in the Middle East by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Carchidi graduated cum laude from Villanova University’s Honors Program in 2017 with a BA in Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Arab and Islamic Studies and French and Francophone Studies. He is fluent in Arabic and French with a working proficiency in Italian.

Noor Shaik, MD, PhD, '14 CLAS
Neurology resident-physician, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Noor Shaik, MD, PhD, is a neurology resident-physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Villanova University with bachelor's degrees in Biology, Chemistry and Arab and Islamic Studies, Shaik went on to continue her studies at Thomas Jefferson University. While working towards her MD/PhD degrees, Shaik was recognized at regional and international conferences for her thesis project on the role of platelets in stroke-related infections. She was also involved in the development and testing of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

Aside from her academic career, Shaik is a passionate champion for those who are underserved. At Villanova, she participated in events including Hunger and Homelessness Awareness, Special Olympics, Rays of Sunshine and more. Shaik continued this work post-graduation, and her efforts culminated in Breath for Humanity, a relief effort she started with her family. Thousands of pounds of medical supplies were collected and sent to hospitals in India during the COVID-19 Delta wave, garnering media attention at the regional, national and even international level by outlets such as The Washington Post and CBS3 Philly.

Breath for Humanity has since helped collect and send supplies to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona, Ukraine in response to the war, and Turkey to aid with recovery after the earthquakes. The group has also focused on local activities such as helping Afghan refugees in Philadelphia, coordinating a back-to-school supply drive for Title I elementary schools, and organizing a holiday toy drive for hospitalized children.

In recognition of her service work, Shaik was honored with the Algernon Brashear Jackson Student Award by Thomas Jefferson University and Person of the Year by Bensalem’s Rotary Club in her hometown. She hopes to continue combining her academic pursuits while serving others through her current role in the medical field.