Meet Our Team
George A Tralka
Chief Executive Officer & Hiking Instructor
georgetralka@harmoniallc.com
703-456-7888
A collection of work and life experiences has made George Tralka the person that he is today. His earliest work came from self-promoting himself as a young boy in the lawn-care business--the ability to create his own hours and work without supervision, was the entrepreneurship bug that he needed. When Tralka got his first taste in retail he began to learn the value of quality customer service. Tralka has been employed in restaurants for over fifteen years; with all price points, but his specialty is serving and bartending in fine dining. From dishwashing to corporate training, George is confident that his skills give him the ability to provide guests with a unique and unforgettable experience in his establishment. In addition tofine dining, Tralka has worked in both residential and commercial buildings as a low-voltage electrician--and his immersion in this field has helped him become familiar in many other trades--which has enabled him to become a self-proclaimed handyman. In his spare time Tralka likes to use the website Meet-Up as a way to experiment with his nature side. These experiences have taught Tralka how to survive in nature and now he wants to do the same for others. Tralka hopes with the launch of Harmonia he will provide others with a similar experience and help them realize their passions.
Currently, Tralka is finishing his degree at George Mason University as a Theater major with a Business minor. Acting has become a passion of his, and he has been hired for multiple professional jobs. Performance has brought to the surface a creative side to him that he never knew existed, and he now hopes to use this with his new company.
Thanh Nguyen
Chief Financial Officer
thanhnguyen@harmoniallc.com
703-456-7899
Thanh is the Chief Financial Officer at Harmonia LLC. She manages company's cash flows and tax forms.
In a family owned jewelry shop in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Thanh Nguyen learned about entrepreneurship and management. Every day, Thanh spent her free time assisting her father in shining, sorting, labeling, and counting jewelries for plating process and helping her mother receive orders from customers, pack orders, and calculate transactions. At the age of sixteen Thanh came to California by herself to study as an international student. This unique experience has forged Thanh into an independent and mature individual. In her freshman year, Thanh started working as a Training and Certification instructor for Mason’s Information Technology Unit. Thanh interned at Keller Williams Realty, in which she made promotion videos and flyers for various properties and programs. By the end of sophomore year, Thanh taught herself many Microsoft programs and became a Microsoft Office 2010 Master through being certified in Access, Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint by Microsoft. In Fall 2013, Thanh participated in Mason’s London Abroad Program in which she worked as a Management Intern at Best Western Burns Hotel in London. Now Thanh is back at Mason, continuing her study and teaching Microsoft Office programs, WordPress, and thesis formatting to Mason’s students, faculty, and staff. She hopes her proficiency with technology and her background in management will help keep Harmonia organized.
Thanh will be graduating from George Mason University with a bachelor in Global Affairs, with a concentration in Global Economy & Management, along with two other minors: Entrepreneurship Practice and Tourism & Event Management.
Kady Munden
Sales Coordinator
kadymunden@harmoniallc.com
703-456-7777
As a child Kady Munden loved when her father used to take her to his sewing machine shop. This experience and encounters with her father’s customers made her realize that she too wanted to own her own business one day. Munden began to attend George Mason University in the fall of 2012 where she joined two organizations. One of the organizations she joined was Relay For Life, the campus’s largest fundraising event. Munden worked with this committee in order to plan and implement the final event. Munden also joined a Greek Organization that same fall called Alpha Xi Delta, where she first started on the philanthropy committee and then was elected as the Membership Vice President. In both positions Kady was responsible for planning and hosting events for the chapter and the community around.
In January of 2013, Munden started work at a retail company called Madewell as a sales associate. Munden has learned the skills of time-management and event planning through her work experiences and plans to continue to expand her knowledge background. Munden hopes to graduate George Mason University with a Bachelor’s in Tourism and Events Management with a concentration in Hospitality Management and a minor in Business by May of 2016. She hopes to take her background in events management in order to provide Harmonia with unique, but cost-efficient events.
Aisha Raiss-Elfenni
Marketing Coordinator
aisha@harmoniallc.com
703-456-5555
Aisha Raiss-Elfenni used to count down the days until she would be fourteen and legally allowed to work. Raiss-Elfenni applied at a local Maggie Moo’s where she learned to work in a fast passed environment while providing excellent customer service. This experience made Raiss-Elfenni want to push further into the hospitality industry and the following year she was hired to Toys-R-Us where she moved her way up the line and began to train employees for their own success with the company.Raiss-Elfenni was contacted by a restaurant she had never heard of before, Silverado. It was part of a small chain of restaurants in Northern Virginia, called the Great American Restaurants. So she went in for a couple of interviews and fell in love with the place.
Raiss-Elfenni was soon made a coach amongst the other hostesses and was the leader of the shift. She was responsible for training the new girls and developing them into great hostesses.
Aisha loved Silverado so it was a bittersweet feeling when she decided she needed a job where she could grow, she did not see herself working in a restaurant for the rest of her life. She decided to try something different, the hotel industry. A friend referred her to the Comfort Inn, where she was offered a front desk position. The experience was similar to working in a restaurant, but involved a lot more responsibility. She learned quickly and realized she could see herself working in the hospitality industry for many years. Raiss-Elfenni made it her goal to grow her way into human resources. In just four months she has already been promoted into the sales department as the Sales Coordinator. Raiss-Elfenni will use these skills to keep Harmonia on a budget and keep our costs down and our revenue high.
Shelby Galvin
Marketing & Sustainability Coordinator
aisha@harmoniallc.com
703-456-4444
It was love at first bite. As a little girl, Shelby Galvin used to follow her grandmother around the kitchen as she cooked, baked and prepared meals for her family. Her grandmother’s love for delectable delights was passed on to her granddaughter and soon Shelby was concocting confections of her own. Shelby is well known by friends and family for her holiday baskets full of cookies, pastries and homemade chocolate treats.
As Galvin grew older, she began to pursue her passion for culinary. Galvin shadowed 5-star chefs at L’Auberge Chez Francois and now that she attends George Mason, she has holstered a position as an intern for Dining Services at George Mason University. Her main focus with this internship is to create sustainability for the campus. Galvin is responsible for interpreting invoices to track the universities sustainable purchasing and also collaborate with dining management and local vendors to incorporate more sustainable dining options on campus.
Galvin is currently studying Environmental and Sustainability Studies at George Mason University and hopes to concentrate in Environmental Economics to go forward prepared to be a leader in business sustainability. While maintaining her internship and her studies, Galvin also holds a job as a Program Assistant at The Ridge study hall. As a PA, Galvin coordinates events and activities and promotes community and academic programs. Galvin hopes to use these planning skills to not only find unique events that Harmonia can hosts, but also to help keep the company as sustainable as possible.
Taylor Reffett
Baking Instructor
taylorreffett@harmoniallc.com
703-456-3333
Can bread be a passion? It is for Taylor Reffett, a production manager at Great Harvest Bread Company, who is simultaneously taking a full course load as a managerial economics major at George Mason University. After interning at the Advanced Lung Disease Institute for two years, she found her passion in baking. She has worked at multiple establishments, including Bonjour la Parisienne and A la Carte Catering, providing her with varied experience in the food industry. Now at Great Harvest, she uses her statistics background to analyze sales and drive up profit while simultaneously managing a team of bakers. While she enjoys these aspects, producing the baked goods is her favorite part of her work. Early mornings are the norm for her—she generally arrives at work at 3 or 4 AM and as early as 11 PM the night before during the busy holiday season. These seemingly crazy hours enable her to monitor the products from start to finish, ensuring that they are of the highest quality. These skills will help Reffett to choose unique baking events for Harmonia’s clients as well as help the company keep the revenue high and the cost of production down.