Leavey School of Business - Santa Clara University

Inter-Network Council (INC) » Toastmasters » About Us

Mission Statement

The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

How does it work?

SCUMBA Toastmasters provides an environment that is friendly and supportive that allows you to build confidence with each speaking assignment of our self-paced program. Completing each speech is very rewarding and you’ll love the applause! Constructive feedback and advice is the heart of the Toastmasters program. Each time you give a prepared speech, an evaluator will point out strengths and suggest improvements. At first you’ll be applauded for your effort… later you’ll be applauded for your skill.

Visit Us

Meet our friendly Toastmasters every Friday at 6 p.m. in Lucas Hall, Room # 306. Light refreshments will be served and there is no fee to attend the meetings.

Leadership Team

Kiran Sirupa, President

Kiran is an SCU MBA'07 Alumni. He currently works in the Product Marketing division at Security Technologies at Cisco Systems. Kiran joined the Toastmasters program two years ago and served in various leadership roles as Area Governor where he served six Toastmasters clubs in Santa Clara. Kiran recently completed his 'Competent Communicator' award. Kiran enjoys reading motivational books, his favorite - 'Why some positive thinkers get powerful results by Norman Vincent Peale'. He enjoys watching cricket and college football.

Kailash Kothari, Treasurer

Kailash is an evening MBA student in Santa Clara University (starting Fall 2011). He currently develops web content management software at Autonomy (soon to be a part of HP). He has architected various components of the product that helps companies organize vast amounts of content in a meaningful manner and apply marketing strategies to manage their online presence. Previously he worked at Intuit where he helped develop e-commerce applications to sell QuickBooks Payroll software and manage customer relationships. He has volunteered with bay area non profits in various capacities. He served as the Grants Officer at Foundation For Excellence to help raise funds for needy students in India. He has worked with One Brick for various natural habitat restoration projects in the bay area and with JCNC to organize events that help kids develop strong values via artistic expression. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, rafting, rock climbing and camping.

Udaynag Pisipati, Vice President of Events

Udaynag Pisipati is a Part time MBA student at Leavey School of Business. He is currently working as an Audio Engineer at CETECOM Inc. Born in a small town in the southern part of India; he pursued his Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering in India. He has a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, with emphasis on Digital Signal Processing. In his current role as an Audio Engineer, he gained hands-on experience in audio qualification of wireless telecommunication devices. He is also involved in various telecommunication standard bodies in North America, working towards development of acoustic interfaces for evaluating audio quality on wireless devices. His personal interests include travelling, playing tennis and spending time with family and friends.

Sridhar Guntapalli, Vice President of Marketing

Sridhar is a current MBA student. He currently works at Cisco Systems as a Senior Manager of IT. Sridhar is passionate about leadership and communication development.

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