Our People

Ryan Mullins - Executive Director

Professor Mullins oversees the overall strategy and growth of SIP. In this role, he helps curate and support all sales program offerings to provide value to students, faculty, industry and all Clemson stakeholders.

Mullins is also an award-winning author, professor and consultant focused on helping organizational leaders improve sales performance. Mullins seeks out industry collaboration and has conducted research and consulting projects with Fortune 500 companies, providing analysis, recommendations, coaching and training interventions. This real-world engagement has helped Mullins be recognized as a noted researcher and insightful speaker to sales organizations and enabled the delivery of innovative teaching in SIP courses.

Carter McElveen - Director of Operations

After eight years in sales with Eli Lilly, Carter returned to Clemson to teach in 2011. As Operations Director for SIP, McElveen coordinates our corporate partner program. She plans and executes engagements alongside our SIP Program Manager for Engagement. McElveen also teaches our Introduction to Professional Selling and Capstone Selling Courses. Her students are very involved with hands-on learning, including selling for the Elevate Sales Conference and the Tiger Paw Classic Golf Tournament.

McElveen was named an Alumni Master Teacher in 2016 and a part of the 2020 President's Leadership Institute Cohort. She currently advises the Blue Key Honor Society, is a Delta Sigma Pi Faculty Initiate and is the president of the Fort Hill Clemson Club, the local Clemson Alumni group. Carter and her husband, Andy ('03), live in Clemson with their two children, Nora Lynn (9) and Willis (4).

David Sturkey - Director of Development

Charleen Fitzgerald - SIP Student Services Coordinator

Charleen Fitzgerald earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Clemson University in 1997. She joined Clemson University's Department of Marketing as a Student Services Program Coordinator in 2015. Most recently, in January 2025, she started a new role as Signature Programs Operations Manager for the Powers College of Business. Fitzgerald was awarded Team Player of the Year for the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business in 2017, received the Staff Award for Student Service for the College in 2020-2021 and the Staff Excellence Award in 2023-2024. She will assist in student engagement, event logistics, alumni/partner relations, curriculum support and various other roles.

Lisa Beeler - SIP Research Faculty

Beeler is the SIP Director of Development, which focuses on developing students outside of the classroom via sales coaching, student workshops and sales competitions. She is an accomplished sales consultant and researcher who has published in the top academic sales journals in the field and continues to conduct research with companies nationally. Before becoming an academic, she was Director of Marketing and Sales for a B2B International parking company in Atlanta, GA. All of this experience informs the application-based learning approach she uses in her classroom to prepare SIP students to be great salespeople, valuable co-workers and good citizens. When she isn't involved in all things sales, you can find her throwing themed parties, camping or on the soccer field.

Kristen Dean - Adjunct Professor

When Professor Dean saw the opportunity to merge her real-world experiences with the classroom for students at Clemson, Dean knew that teaching in the SIP would be a rewarding experience. Through her teaching in Professional Selling and Healthcare Selling courses, Dean merges her real-world leadership, marketing and pharmaceutical sales experience to deliver an insightful curriculum.

After earning her Bachelor of Science and master's degree from the University of South Carolina, Dean spent time in real estate before beginning her pharmaceutical sales career with Merck in 2006. In 2009, she continued her medical sales leadership and marketing career with Eli Lilly, where she is currently the executive director of immunology customer strategy. Dean enjoys traveling and attending her oldest daughter's softball games and golf matches at Daniel High School, watching her youngest in competitive cheer and cheering on football and basketball teams at Daniel High School.

Alec Pappas - SIP Research Faculty

Alec Pappas is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Clemson University. His research interests include marketing strategy, sales and intraorganizational social networks. Pappas graduated in 2021 from Florida State University with his Ph.D. in marketing and began his academic career at Washington State University.

Prior to academia, Pappas worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a mortgage closer at Wells Fargo. He then moved to his hometown in Boca Raton, Florida, and worked as an account manager at MotionPoint. At MotionPoint, Pappas developed a robust knowledge of website construction and design while he managed relationships with approximately 50 Fortune 1000 companies. In his free time, Pappas enjoys photography, reading, coding and remaining physically active with exercise and sports.

Maggie Cobb - Engagement Liaison

Maggie Cobb is a senior Clemson student from Spartanburg, South Carolina. She will graduate in May 2026 with a B.S. in marketing. As the engagement liaison, Cobb is responsible for planning, organizing and hosting all SIP events, everything from competitive showcases to social and ceremonial gatherings, ensuring every experience is impactful and well-executed. Cobb serves as the primary point of contact for all SIP members, maintaining clear and consistent communication in order to regularly keep them informed, involved and connected. Outside of this program, Cobb continues to stay involved with her sorority, Delta Delta Delta.

Daniela Demas - External Outreach Liaison

Equipped with her passion for uniting people, Daniela Demas is a senior biological sciences student from Greenville, South Carolina. Pursuing her B.S. degree while gaining her Sales Certificate, she will graduate in 2026, where she will begin her journey on elevating the relationship between sales and medicine. However, she is already lighting this path by promoting the interrelations between the Sales Innovation Program and the "real sales world." Connecting students with industry mentors, taking care of alumni and designing the newsletter for engagement, she believes true fulfillment of leadership lies in giving back. Outside of SIP, Demas is a sorority member of Zeta Tau Alpha, a Clemson Dancer and an advocate for Minorities in Medicine.

Zach Goetz - Ascent Liaison

Zach Goetz is a senior Clemson student from Greenville, SC. Goetz will graduate with a B.S. in health science with a minor in business administration and his Orthopaedic Medical Device Product Specialist Certificate in May 2026. As the ascent liaison, Goetz is responsible for providing guidance and support to future SIP students in the Ascent Track of the J. Daniels and Nancy Garrison Sales Innovation Program. Outside of this program, Goetz works in the Clemson Makerspace, conducts orthopaedic research on total joint replacement implants and serves as co-founder of the Clemson BioTechnology Society.

Anna Maresca - Recruitment Liaison

Anna Maresca is a senior at Clemson from Aldie, Virginia. She will graduate in 2026 with a B.S. in health science and a minor in business administration. She will also receive her Orthopaedic Medical Device Product Specialist Certificate through the SIP Curriculum. In her role as vice president of recruitment, she leads strategic outreach and plans events to recruit top student talent into the Sales Innovation Program. She also serves as president of the Sales Club, where she drives student engagement campuswide with guest speakers and workshops. Outside of the Sales Innovation Program, Maresca spends her time as a Clemson University tour guide and an Alpha Chi Omega sorority member.

Amanda Meyer - Marketing Liaison

Amanda Meyer is a senior Clemson student from Dacula, Georgia. She will graduate in 2026 as a double major with a B.S. in marketing and a B.S. in management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. As the marketing liaison for Clemson's Sales Innovation Program, she manages social media presence to promote the program and boost student involvement. She creates, edits and publishes all content across platforms. Meyer is also responsible for helping build strong relationships between students and corporate partners through strategic engagement. Outside of the program, Meyer is involved with service groups and several athletic teams.