Spreading the Gospel of Equipment Finance Participation in ELFA’s Guest Lecture Program (GLP) picked up steam throughout 2015 and is on tap to expand in 2016. A growing number of member volunteers have been traveling to their local colleges, universities and fi nance groups to deliver the 30-minute presentation, which is designed to increase awareness of equipment fi nance and attract new talent to the industry. Here’s a snapshot look at recent GLP presentations: ALAN SIKORA , CEO of First American Equipment Finance, delivered the GLP to the Fi-nance and Economics Council at the University of Rochester in October. Approximately 20 undergraduate students were in attendance. MARTIN KLOTZMAN , Sales and Marketing Associate at Ivory Consulting Corporation, and BRAD HARMON , CIO at Allegiant Partners, presented the GLP to students in the Financial Analysis Management Education program at San Francisco State in November. “Th ey were a very engaging audience of about 30 undergrad fi nance students who asked thoughtful questions about the industry, our career paths and how they could get involved,” reported Klotzman. He invited the students to join ELFA’s “Generation Next” LinkedIn Group, established by the Emerging Talent Advisory Council to help young professionals connect with their peers in the industry at www. linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=8371318 . NATE GIBBONS , Vice President at First American Equipment Finance, presented the GLP to 50 undergraduate fi nance students in two in-termediate fi nancial management classes at St. John Fisher College in November. MARK SCARDIGLI, Vice President at Marlin Leasing, shared feedback from his successful GLP presentation to a Small Business Lending class of about 25 MBA students at Rutgers University in December. “It was well received and I got about 15 questions at the end—it was a very engaging group,” he reported. Two member volunteers from MB Financial Bank— BRIAN GRIFFIN , Senior Vice President of Lease Banking, and DAVID BECK , Vice President of Lease Banking—delivered the GLP to 40 undergraduates in the Money & Banking 320 fi nance course at DePaul University in Novem-ber. “Th e professor did a good job augmenting our presentation to the students by interjecting topics from their coursework into our presentation,” said Griffi n. “We Scardigli at Rutgers got some good feedback from students, including some we will be meeting with University one-on-one in the coming weeks.” Visit the Guest Lecture Program website at www.elfaonline.org/GLP to download the presenta-tion, get answers to frequently asked questions and read about others who have delivered the lecture. Questions? Please contact Alexa Carnibella at acarnibella@elfaonline.org. ■ Guest Lecture Program Hits the Road Sikora at the University of Rochester Klotzman and Harmon at San Francisco State EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 45