General Manager
Catering Director
Emrah Ulcay
Starbucks & Creese Café Manager
Citizen of Turkey. Came to US 8 years ago. Have BA in Finance, trying to finish up Assoc. in Communications. Have been in food business for 7 years. Managed a diner in Jersey for 5 years. Was a managing partner for Donato’s Pizzeria Restaurant which is an Ohio based restaurant chain. Drexel is the first campus service experience. Big PHILLIES fan. Have season tickets for Phillies for the last five years. (Don’t have any tickets for sale!)
Believe in 100% customer satisfaction with no exception. Always think beyond the moment. Always try to do the best possible.
Carolyn Mealing
Carolyn Mealing joined Drexel in 2000 as a Supervisor and moved into a Retail Manager position in 2006. Carolyn oversees both Ross Commons and Northside Market. Carolyn has enjoyed a 15 year career in Food Service. She is extremely excited about the new renovations taking place at the Northside Market, and can’t wait for her customers to experience the new atmosphere and menu.
Jeff Durham 
Catering Manager
Jeff has his BA from University of North Carolina Wilmingtion. He has three years of private and public campus catering experience and one year of luxury hotel convention sales experience.
Jeff loves working for higher education and espically for campus dining. He is looking forward to developing a solid relationship with his clients to enhance their overall catering experience.
He is currently living in University City and in his spare time likes to go to the gym and shore fish when he can.
Tom Sparano
Production Manager
Tom has been here at Drexel for 6 years as the production manager. He has worked in university dining at various schools for over 18 years. He is a graduate of Widener University’s School of Hotel/Restaurant Management.
Tom is up to the challenge when it comes to new cuisine menu items, special diets and specialty meals. Our doors are always open for comments or suggestions.
Tom’s wife and four children keep him busy in his off time. He enjoys baseball, football and Jimmy Buffett music.
James VanWright
Asst Production Manager
James was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. He is currently obtaining his M.B.A. in marketing and enjoys movies and sports. James loves the industry he is working in, and is passionate about making the dining service at Drexel University a sensational experience for all of its participants!
Marie Faherty
Resident District Manager
Marie has worked with Drexel Dining Services in several different managerial capacities since coming to the University in December 1998. She initially held the position of Director of Marketing and Retail Operations, and June 2000, assumed the role of General Manager. Marie was promoted to the Resident District Manager in February 2006.
During her tenure at Drexel, Marie has enjoyed many rewarding experiences. She is very proud to lead the talented, diversified team assembled at Drexel.
Marie received her Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Hotel, Restaurant Management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and her Master’s Degree in Marketing from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Marie and her husband, Mike, reside in Center City Philadelphia. She enjoys the city’s varied culture and cuisine. Marie is an active member of the Sodexo Women’s Network Group (WiNG) and the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF).
Malcolm Wicker
Dining Center Service Manager
Dianne Bryant
Food & Facilities Safety
Dianne Bryant is long time Philadelphia metro area resident and Business School graduate. She worked for many years at the Bureau of Employment Security for the State of Pennsylvania. She then joined Sodexo at Drexel University in 1997 as an Administrative Assistant and was quickly promoted to her current position of Food and Physical Safety Coordinator. Dianne understands and embraces the fact that as Sodexo employees, we are in a customer satisfaction driven business and pushes herself to meet and exceed her customer’s needs on daily basis.
Pulkit Vigg
Director of Retail Operations
Food!, Food!, and Food! that is what drives him. Vigg hails from the Indian sub-continent and is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Vigg has recently joined the Drexel Dining team and his sole purpose is to keep retail dining ahead of the market trends and to bring the Drexel community the newest and best ideas in food. Vigg lives in New Jersey with his wife and is expecting their first child this Spring.
Robert “Bob” Jackson
Executive Chef
Bob is a native of South Jersey. Chef Bob is just starting his career with Sodexo, but has many years of experience in the food business including high end catering and restaurant management. Bob’s sole mission at Drexel is to enhance the everyday dining experience and take it to a whole new level. Bob selects the freshest ingredients, and researches the latest recipes to make campus dining even more enjoyable.