Over the week of November 11th, Dickinson welcomed back Amy Nauiokas ‘94 to campus as a part of the new Burgess Institute’s Executive in Residence Program. Over her stay at Dickinson, Nauiokas taught classes, hosted a movie showing, was the keynote speaker at the Ethics Symposium, and mentored students in one-on-one sessions.
Nauiokas, who is a class of ‘94 alumni, is the founder of both Anthemis Group and Archer Gray. According to Nauiokas, Anthemis Group is “an investment platform which invests in growth stage companies.” Some companies Anthemis has invested in include Betterment and Currency Clover.
Her other business, Archer Gray, is a production company which produced such movies as Can You Forgive Me, Nightbitch, and Lost Girls. Nauiokas also served on the Dickinson Board of Trustees for 20 years.
For her return to campus, Nauiokas said she was “thrilled” to come back, especially since her return was under a less formal setting than being a trustee, and she also commented on how she “felt [she] needed” to return and engage with the students and curriculums, rather than just higher-ups at the college.
As an Executive in Residence, Nauiokas said she felt like the program was the “best opportunity for what a Dickinson education might provide.” Currently, she has taught two investment classes, two philosophy of data classes, a women’s and gender studies class, a film studies class, and a profiles in leadership class. Throughout the classes, Nauiokas brought her experience to the room, whether that was discussing complicated women in her films, or a friction-forward approach in the profiles in leadership class.
Nauiokas is the second person to ever be an Executive in Residence through the newly founded Burgess Institute for the Global Economy. Professor Steve Riccio heads this organization and brought in the Executive in Residence to give students a new “perspective and enthusiasm” and to make sure that students know that “it’s okay… [to] not have the answers.”
Riccio hopes that, by bringing in alumni with majors that do not necessarily align with their current jobs, he can ensure the Burgess Institute is, in his words, an “opportunity for all students with all majors to get experience in the workplace.”
Riccio designed the Burgess Institute to focus on teaching all students skills such as financial literacy, leadership, AI usage, and public speaking. He wants students of all majors to know, “[the Burgess Institute] is for you.” This was another one of his motivators on bringing in Executives in Residence.
There will be four Executives in Residence a year through the Burgess Institute, with two per semester. Each Executive in Residence stays at the Paz Center, and will similarly participate in the college culture and in classes throughout their time here.
