United Planet’s team works across the world – from Quito, Accra, Dar es Salaam, to our home office in Boston. Our multilingual, multinational, and global staff and our world class board of directors are integral to our success and mission to create a more United Planet.
Interested in joining our team? Work for Us.
Project Leader, Boston Consulting Group
Alen Amini is a management consultant with previous experience in education, government, small business, and nonprofit leadership.
Technical Program Manager, Google
Noah Broestl is a Technical Program Manager in Google Research where he supports the AI Residency, a program that brings diverse perspectives and backgrounds into the research community. He manages residents on the east coast of the US and across EMEA and supports their journey from academia into the next phase of their careers. Noah also works on several efforts across Google to increase interpretability in AI systems and to train teams on ethical decision-making. Prior to working in Google Research, he led counter-abuse efforts on Google Maps.
Noah is passionate about lifelong education and continues to pursue opportunities to learn new things. He is currently pursuing an MSt in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford where his research interests include AI ethics and data ethics, with a particular focus on the social effects of automated content moderation. Prior to his current studies, Noah received a BA in Liberal Arts with a minor in History and a BA in Sociology with an interdisciplinary certificate in Diversity in Law from Colorado State University. He also received a graduate certificate in Data Science through Harvard University Extension School.
Noah has traveled extensively and has spent time living abroad. During that time he developed a deep appreciation for the value of cross-cultural exchange and possibilities for global collaboration. He is excited to bring his experience to United Planet and help make a meaningful impact on the lives of people around the world.
Finance Chair, African Leaders Malaria Alliance
A public policy professional with experience in global and domestic enterprises, Tim Castano is the Finance Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance. He previously served as Executive Director of the Community Health Acceleration Partnership – an initiative hosted by the WHO Ambassador for Global Strategy – and as President of New Start New Jersey – the think tank founded by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy. He co-chaired Governor Murphy’s Government Technology and Innovation Transition Committee and is a gubernatorial appointee on the New Jersey Public Bank Implementation Board.
Tim held the position of Chief of Staff to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria, an entity created to help reach the ambitious humanitarian targets set at the turn of the century. The office’s efforts in the campaign to end deaths from malaria is featured in Alex Perry’s book, Lifeblood: How to Save the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time.
In addition, Tim worked as Special Advisor to the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As the Chairman’s primary representative within the agency, he focused on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and the restoration of the region’s critical infrastructure assets in the years following September 11th.
Tim also served as a policy advisor and speechwriter to New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and as the Assistant Director of the Policy Research Institute at Princeton University. He holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a
master’s degree in public policy from Rutgers University, where he was a Fellow of the Eagleton Institute of politics. He graduated with a B.A. in English and philosophy and a B.A.H. in honors from Villanova University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. Tim has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters and sits on the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Public
Health Institute.
Vice President, pSemi
Vikas Choudhary is an executive leader, board member, published author and a technical pioneer, known for crafting strategies for sustainable growth. Vikas executes on transformation strategies through partnering with CEO, board, and executives and through building a highly talented and resilient organization. Vikas will further bring to bear this 3 decades of deep expertise in P/L management, product launches, M&A, negotiation skills and global business acumen in mobile, Wireless Infrastructure, e-Mobility, Industrial Automation and IoT market segment. This has resulted in repeated success of several 1B+ TAM product launches at Microchip, Analog Devices, St-Microelectronics and pSemi (a Murata Company).
Vikas is on multiple boards and contributes with strategic governance insights and thought leadership and participation with CEO, board, and executives with hands-on contribution. Vikas is also seed investor in startups that have theses for transforming lives for those around and led by founders who have fire-n-belly.
Vikas has lived and worked across 3 continents/ 5 countries and has travelled to more than 25 countries. Vikas has a master’s in electrical engineering from UCLA , MBA from Kellogg School of Management and has 5 patents, 1 book and multiple publications to his name. Vikas, is an impatient learner and practices curiosity in his spare time while living in San Diego.
Chief Executive Officer, Kinzie Realty, Inc.
Charles F. Clarke III is the founding partner of Kinzie Realty Corp, a redeveloper of low to moderate income apartment communities in the Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan area. Mr. Clarke holds a B.A. degree from Hobart & William Smith Colleges and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as his real estate brokerage license. Mr. Clarke is a board member of Verado Energy Inc. and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Old People’s Home of the City of Chicago. In addition to his family, business, and philanthropic pursuits, he is an occasional but enthusiastic architecture student.
An avid traveler and student of cultures, Mr. Clarke found his passion for cultural understanding as a young man while participating in an overseas volunteer effort similar to United Planet’s Quest Program.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Vital Ideas Consulting Group
Achim Dettweiler is the Chief Executive Officer of Vital Ideas Consulting Group, a boutique consulting company he founded after a career in marketing leadership positions in the technology sector. Achim spends his time between consulting with major technology companies on strategic marketing projects and (increasingly so) applies his skills, experience and time to causes he’s passionate about.
Achim has held leadership positions in the tech sector in the US and Europe for the last three decades. With a knack for solving highly unstructured strategic business problems, he led product marketing for billion-dollar divisions at Microsoft and managed large groundbreaking e-Business programs at Intel. Achim received his degree from München University of Applied Sciences and continues to strive to be a lifelong learner.
As a globe-trotter with a heart full of wanderlust and a suitcase full of experiences, Achim has called Germany, Finland and the US home. He now lives in the Seattle area with his wife, their two kids, and two labs. He enjoys traveling in the US and abroad, reading everything from spy novels to the latest political news, and spending time outdoors with his family, friends, and dogs.
Mergers & Acquisitions Director, Davies Group
Daniel Garcia is Brazilian by birth, but also holds Portuguese and British citizenships. He spent a great part of his career advising a wide range of industries in cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions across Latin America, until he moved to the UK in 2014 to attend a masters degree in Strategy and Innovation at Oxford University. In 2016, co-founded an Edtech start-up (Pinboard), which gained recognition and became an integral part of the renowned Oxford University Innovation Centre through its start-up incubator program. Daniel’s experience spans into Private Equity, Venture Capital and Growth Capital leading on transactions and investments in the UK, Continental Europe, US and Asia. Currently, a member of the Corporate Development team at Davies Group in London, a private equity-backed multi-award-winning specialist professional services and technology business.
Principal, Nonprofit Strategic Solutions.
Ritchie Geisel is a graduate of Princeton University, who then earned an MBA from Stanford Business School.
Geisel has served in executive, fundraising, and consulting roles in the education, human services, and animal welfare fields, including 28 years as CEO of 5 nonprofit service organizations. AbilityFirst, which Geisel led from 1998 to 2004, was profiled in a half-hour PBS documentary in 2001 as part of the Visionary series. In 2013, he received one of 4 Nonprofit Leadership Impact awards from the Los Angeles Center for Nonprofit Management. Geisel also served as volunteer Board Chair and chief executive officer of Heaven on Earth Society for Animals from 2004-2019.
Now semi-retired, Geisel currently serves on two nonprofit boards, (International Veterinary Outreach as well as United Planet, and is an executive partner with the William & Mary Mason School of Business.
International Leadership Recruiting Director, Meta.
Elif Gürtekin is a global HR leader with a track record of working with blue-chip organizations to help them identify, attract, recruit and retain talent, holding multiple roles in leading their organizational transformation. Elif operated in global environments in the past decade giving her great exposure and experience with leading cross-cultural teams. She joined Meta in 2022 as Leadership Recruiting Director to drive their recruiting strategy across EMEA and APAC.
Elif has been part of NGOs from a young age and helped establish United Planet’s first program in Turkey back in 2006. She’s super excited to be re-joining UP as a board member and continue to serve its mission to unite the world through cross-cultural understanding she deeply believes and cares about.
Elif holds a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Middle East Technical University and has a double major in sociology and psychology. She also continues to use her voice for gender equality on multiple platforms and is raising her 7-year-old boy to be a feminist.
Executive & Leadership Coach, Katy Hansell Strategic Advisory.
Katy Hansell is an expert executive and leadership coach and strategic advisor with two decades of business advisory experience and a decade of professional coaching experience. Katy has worked with hundreds of individuals from Fortune 500 and global multinational corporate C-Suite executive teams and Boards, not-for-profit and NGO service organizations, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, artists and creators, and next-generation leaders in development.
Her focus is on empowering leaders to unlock high performance and create breakthrough innovation, foster diversity, and deliver massive impact. She is considered an expert on careers, the evolving global talent market, and values-based leadership. Her prior professional experience includes roles as a global strategy management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), commercial banker with The Northern Trust Company, and Director of Strategy at Bayer AG.
Katy cares deeply about being part of the solution and believes in the power and ripple effect of United Planet’s mission of creating global citizens, built one relationship at a time. She is passionate about working towards equal access to affordable education and training individuals to be self-reliant with growth mindsets and digital skill sets. She holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and a B.A. from Duke University cum laude with Distinction in Economics. She is the proud mother of three sons ages 24, 23 and 19 and a few rescue cats.
Philanthropy & Investment Professional
Andrew Landry has over a decade of experience in strategic leadership, highlighted by guiding business transformation and change management with a focus on identifying paths to improved operational efficiency, coaching and growing high-performing teams, and driving long-term relationships with clients, donors, partners, and vendors within a variety of sectors and industries.
Senior sports, entertainment and government affairs executive.
Tracey Lesetar-Smith is a longtime senior sports, entertainment, and government affairs executive with over 20 years of experience. She is the former General Counsel and Senior Vice
President of NASCAR, having overseen all legal operations for the league and its many subsidiaries during its historic merger, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented and critical growth in the sport’s diversity, equity, and inclusion.
During her years at NASCAR, she also helmed the company’s Government Affairs team, which was responsible for shepherding NASCAR’s critical relationships with public officials at the local, state, and federal levels in all areas where NASCAR holds races and was a critical part of returning NASCAR to racing during the global pandemic.
Prior to NASCAR, she was General Counsel and Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Bellator MMA. Lesetar-Smith was the first and only woman to ever serve as General Counsel for a mixed martial arts promoter in the history of the sport and shepherded the league through its critical growth phase and global expansion.
Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Promethos Capital
Ivka Kalus-Bystricky is an accomplished investment executive with extensive experience managing global and international equity portfolios of up to $2 billion for retail and institutional clients at large financial institutions, including Putnam and State Street, as well as at boutiques like Boston Advisors and Pax World. Her expertise includes all aspects of fund management, including fundamental and macro analysis, stock selection, sector and regional allocation, risk management, portfolio optimization, cash management, and reporting. She has experience launching new investment product strategies, both active and indexed, and has significant expertise in sustainable investing (ESG and SRI) and genderlens investing. Ivka also has considerable experience as a management consultant to large corporations in the US, Europe and Latin America, including three years spent in Prague working on projects to privatize state-owned Czech companies. Currently, she is Senior Vice President at Boston Advisors, where she is responsible for international investment strategies and is lead portfolio manager of the Knights of Columbus International Fund.
Ivka is an experienced and effective communicator, and is very comfortable speaking at public events, as well as writing business plans, topical white papers, and quarterly and annual reports. Ivka’s global investment and consulting expertise is enhanced by her experience living and working around the world and her ability to communicate effectively in English, French, German, Spanish, and Czech. She is a graduate of Harvard University with a BA in Biology, has a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and has an MBA from INSEAD. Ivka has served on the board of the International School of Boston, and is currently a board member of the New England Women’s Leadership Institute.
Co-Founder, LiveMore
Neil Persaud brings over 20 years of leadership experience on the international stage. His expertise lies in guiding organizations toward success and fostering connections among team members. Co-founding LiveMore, an organization dedicated to enhancing employee engagement and experience, reflects Neil’s commitment to creating positive and collaborative work environments. LiveMore specifically focuses on elevating the employee experience and engagement within organizations. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree in leadership and innovation at NYU, Neil is dedicated to deepening his understanding of effective leadership in a global context.
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Creative, Starz.
Stacey Politi is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at STARZ, a Lionsgate Company. Stacey leads a team of 90 marketers and creatives through strategy development, effective execution, and post-mortem analysis.
Stacey has an extensive background in marketing at various media companies. Most recently she served as the Senior Vice President/Head of Marketing at First Look Media where Stacey set the overarching marketing strategy and efforts across the for-profit and non-profit operations.
Stacey is a first-generation American and the proud daughter of a HIAS refugee.
President and Founder, United Planet
Dave Santulli is the President and founder of United Planet. Mr. Santulli lived in Tokyo, Japan for nine years as the CEO of a Tokyo-based trading company. Mr. Santulli holds a Master’s of International Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, attended St. Louis University’s International Business and Spanish Language program in Madrid, Spain, and graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Santulli has also been a teacher in U.S. public schools and a certified accountant and financial consultant for Price Waterhouse.
In addition to living in various parts of the world for a significant portion of his life, Mr. Santulli has traveled to over 100 nations and has studied Spanish, Japanese, and Russian. Mr. Santulli created the concept of Relational Diplomacy as a practical method to improve intercultural relations. Relational Diplomacy is the theory that peace-building and improved intercultural relations can occur by creating a vast and intricate web of interpersonal relationships and friendships. Relational Diplomacy is instrumental to his work at United Planet.
Chief Executive Officer, American Power Ventures
John Seker is the Chief Executive Officer of American Power Ventures, a power and infrastructure development company and strategic advisor, where he has overall responsibility for the company’s strategic vision and financing arrangements. The firm advises the boards of businesses in the energy sector, helping set strategic direction and acting as a change agent to help them implement those strategies. John has led the development, advisory, and/or financing of over $6 billion of energy projects, working with major organizations that include Hess Corporation, Rolls-Royce plc, Talen Energy, General Electric, and Siemens Corporation.
Throughout his career, John has approached his work passionately with a strong ethos of social and environmental responsibility. He has served on community environmental committees and energy steering committees, working closely with civic leaders to ensure transparency, environmental justice, and benefits for all stakeholders. He has also been an active participant in helping set energy policy in his home state of New Jersey, including the provision of testimony in legislative proceedings concerning energy matters. John earned his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and his master’s degree from Columbia University.
Chief Executive Officer, CollegeFindMe
Esin Sile, PhD is a results-focused economist, executive and entrepreneur. Esin sits on two boards to advice on strategic plans and effective execution. She is also an Adjunct Faculty at Boston College. As the Chief Executive Officer of CollegeFindMe, a student-centric education technology platform, Esin successfully made CollegeFindMe one of the widely used applications in college admissions. An advocate for educational equity, Esin made sure that CollegeFindMe is an accessible tool to underserved students. Prior, Esin co-founded MindBridgePartners, an innovative and data-driven consulting firm in Boston. Under Esin’s leadership, MindBridgePartners became profitable within six months and engaged clients globally. Previously, Esin was a successful economic consultant for over 10 years at The World Bank, Analysis Group, and Maguire Associates. Esin published numerous papers, including at The World Bank. Esin presented in several conferences on issues including college admissions trends, disruptive innovation in education and the effects of education on sustainable growth. In 2020, Esin was the recipient of the bronze Stevie Award for the Female Executive in Consumer Products and Boston Women Leaders’ Female Leadership in EdTech Award. Esin received a BA in International Relations from Bilkent University, an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, an MA and PhD in Economics from Brown University and a PhD in Economics from Georgetown University. In her spare time, Esin enjoys pilates, running, snowboarding, drumming, and working on her book draft.
Managing Partner, Total Impact Advisors
John A. Simon is a founder and Managing Partner of Total Impact Advisors (TIA), a merchant bank for the impact investing sector. TIA raises capital for and advises enterprises and investors seeking to create positive social impacts as well as strong financial returns. The firm has partners in Washington, New York, San Francisco, Monaco, and Geneva and has worked in sectors as diverse as rural development, clean technology/ renewable energy, global health, and capital market development.
Prior to starting Total Impact Advisors, Ambassador Simon was a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, where he co-authored More than Money, a report on impact investing as a development tool. Previously, Ambassador Simon held a variety of posts in the US federal government, including serving most recently as the United States Ambassador to the African Union and the Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). At OPIC, Ambassador Simon championed the Agency’s involvement in the social impact investment marketplace. Ambassador Simon led the Agency’s effort to develop a series of social development funds for Africa, which resulted in the creation of four private equity funds focused on achieving extraordinary social results as well as strong financial performance.
Ambassador Simon also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Relief, Stabilization, and Development for the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House, the first to hold this post. During his tenure at the NSC, Ambassador Simon oversaw the implementation of groundbreaking development initiatives, including the Millennium Challenge Account, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, and the President’s Malaria Initiative. He was also responsible for coordinating the U.S. government response to international humanitarian disasters, such as the 2005 South Asia Earthquake. From 2002 to 2003, Ambassador Simon was Deputy Assistant Administrator at the United States Agency for International Development, overseeing the agency’s development information and evaluation units. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Business Finance and Strategic Planning at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Executive Office for Administration and Finance in several capacities, including Deputy Director for Research and Development. Ambassador Simon received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.
Former Executive Vice President and Director of Academic Programs, IES Abroad.
Michael Steinberg retired at the end of 2018 as the Executive Vice President and Director of Academic Programs at IES Abroad, a leading national consortium in international education for undergraduate students after a career of 41 years in International Education.
At IES Abroad, he took the lead in establishing new study Centers at more than 30 sites across the world. He was honored for his work in international Education by the Forum for Education Abroad with the Peter Wollitzer Advocacy Award where he served as a founding member of the Forum’s Council, and by NAFSA with the Education Abroad Leadership Award.
Since retirement, he has been a Board member of a number of not-for-profit organizations. He is also active as a consultant with the Forum on Education Abroad, and as a volunteer consultant at the Council of International Programs in Chicago.
Retired Director of Sales Operations, Microsoft.
Jill Tracy has extensive experience living and working internationally in both corporate and non-profit. Jill recently retired from a 21-year career at Microsoft, where she was responsible for multi-billion-dollar revenue goals in a variety of global leadership roles including Director of Sales Operations, Director of Marketing, and leader of the Microsoft-Dell partnership. She was a keynote speaker at numerous
Microsoft and global industry events.
Early in life, Jill spent a year in Brazil as a Rotary Exchange Student, which inspired her passion for international sustainable development and global understanding. Jill served in the United States Peace Corps in rural Paraguay for three years, where she worked with farm families and local schools and learned to speak the indigenous language of Guaraní. After her Peace Corps service, Jill founded a
startup business focused on organic production and exportation of Stevia.
Jill holds a BA with Honors in Communications and Spanish from Marquette University; studied at the Spanish-American Institute in Seville, Spain; holds an MBA with Honors from Arizona State University Thunderbird School of International Management; and is pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Change at Antioch University. Jill is an active volunteer in her community, serving as a Girl Scout troop leader for the past 10 years. She is a member of the International Leadership Association, Women in Technology Network, and Rotary International. Jill is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and Guaraní, and speaks basic Arabic, Japanese, and Italian.
Former Academic Superintendent for K-8/Middle School, Boston Public Schools
Domenic Amara recently retired as the Academic Superintendent for K-8/Middle School for the Boston Public Schools. Before being appointed superintendent in 2011, Amara served as the Principal of the Warren-Prescott School for 21 years. Throughout his years in education, he advocated for new policies, collaborated with parents, built local partnerships, expanded programming, and found new funding sources.
Not only has Dr. Amara worked tirelessly to improve education in the Boston Public Schools, but he recently established a sister school program in Quito, Ecuador in the hopes of providing teachers and students with knowledge of diverse cultures to help foster collaborative solutions to current world challenges.
Luciana Aquino-Hagedorn is an angel investor and Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investing (Columbia University), where she focuses her research on the theory and practice of impact and sustainable investments. Before that she was a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP where she was a co-leader of the Impact and Responsible Investing practice. She focused her practice on advising asset managers and institutional investors in direct investing, fund formation, joint ventures, incentive compensation and investments, including sustainable timber and agriculture. Ms. Aquino-Hagedorn is fluent in Spanish and has extensive experience in cross-border investments involving assets in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Prior to rejoining Goodwin in 2015, Ms. Aquino-Hagedorn was Senior Vice President of Natural Resources at Harvard Management Company (HMC) where she was involved in all legal aspects of HMC’s global forestry and agriculture portfolio. Prior to joining HMC Ms. Aquino-Hagedorn was an associate in Goodwin’s Boston office, where she counseled clients on fund formation, transactional and regulatory matters. She also previously worked as a foreign associate for Linklaters in New York City and began her legal career at Le Pera & Lessa in Buenos Aires. Ms. Aquino-Hagedorn holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, an LL.M. from Columbia Law School and a law degree (abogada) from the Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer, Africa Development and Investment (ADI)
Marshall Bizure is a Boston based social entrepreneur, a John Maxwell Internationally Certified Public Speaker, Youth Leadership Coach and Obama Foundation Fellow. A Harvard University (HKS) graduate, Marshall talks about Cognitive biases regarding race, gender, social and economic diversities, deconstruction of prejudice and stereotypes. He is the author of two upcoming inspirational books, Good Morning Harvard, (How to write Winning Graduate Essays) and Footprints of Compassion, (How to Leave a Legacy at Every stage of Your Life).
Marshall is a co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of Africa Development and Investment (ADI), a multinational public benefit corporation with interests on climate change, infrastructure and human capacity development. ADI is exclusively focused on supporting African institutions sustainably deliver key development projects aimed at building resilient economies for the next generation. Through strategic partnerships with Climate and Development Knowledge Centre (CDKN), South, South North (SSN) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), ADI successfully supported Zambia’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the 2015 agreement on climate change by developing Mitigation and Adaptation strategies. A global response to the decisions adopted at the 19th and 20th sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Marshall also founded International Student Network, (ISN), a global network of progressive students who are eager to reconstruct a more inclusive and tolerant world. Through ISN, students are assigned to mentors through the leverage of technology and social media. Marshall also uses his difficult upbringing to inspire hopeless young leaders and encourage them in transitioning from serial complainers to global solution providers. Marshall strongly believes in the power of empowered, informed and inspired young leaders in recreating a united planet full of love, compassion and diligence. Marshall earned his MBA from National University of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe) in 2010 and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and now transitioning into his PhD studies.
For the past 10 years Marshall inspired over 5000 children in difficult circumstances, including orphans, sexual victims and refugees in college admissions in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa, Rwanda and Burundi. From hopelessness to global influencers, hundreds former war refugees, orphans and victims of political violence youths who were groomed by Marshall have successfully graduated from colleges like Harvard, Yale, Morehouse, Spellman and Oxford and most returned to contribute for Africa’s development. Marshall was part of the initial team which worked with Zimbabwean Billionaire and Philanthropist, Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa grow their hugely impactful philanthropic movement through Higher Life Foundation and Econet Wireless, starting in Zimbabwe (Harare, Mashonaland East and Matebeleland Regions) to Burundi and Rwanda. Marshall became the first Higher Life Foundation Leader the East Africa leader. Marshall is enthusiastic about seeing more young people’s voices being heard in policy formulation and development. Marshall strongly believes “empowered youths have a role to play in global peace and security”.
Vice President, Sales and Marketing, The Innovation Group
Eric Bradlee is currently Vice President for Sales and Marketing at The Innovation Group, a global provider of software and services to the property and casualty insurance industry. He has served in a number of positions at Innovation Group and predecessor companies over the last 20 years.
Prior to joining Innovation Group, Mr. Bradlee spent 28 years in progressively responsible positions in a number of major US banking institutions, including Executive Vice President of City Trust and Senior Vice President of Shawmut Bank.
Mr. Bradlee has complimented his work experience with service to his community and to a number of non-profit institutions. He has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee in the Town of Winchester and as a board member at the Winchester Hospital, The Children’s Museum, Harvard Student Agencies, Project Place, and Jobs for Youth. Mr. Bradlee earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Harvard University and a degree in Commercial Banking from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.
Independent Senior Consultant
Reem N. Bsaiso is an Independent Senior Consultant focusing on policy, public reform, governance, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), assessment and evaluation, global summits organization, water, energy, and environmental projects.
Reem was the Chief Executive Officer of World Links Arab Region (WLAR), an international non-profit dedicated to developing ICT and 21st century skills among Arab youth, promoting policy environments in developing countries, and spreading World Links programs in developing countries.
Ms. Bsaiso also served as an Institutional Capacity-Building Specialist for a CDM International-USAID project in Jordan. She worked as the Program Manager of the Jordanian-American Commission for Educational Exchange and as the Executive Director of the Jordan Europe Business Association. She has also held contracts as an independent consultant with the Prime Ministry and the Ministries of Information & Communication Technology and Education.
Senior Specialist, World Bank
Susana Carrillo is an International Development Executive. She is a Senior Specialist at the World Bank and has worked in different capacities as a Senior Governance Specialist, and recently, as a Senior Specialist working on South-South partnerships. She led the preparation for and co-authored the flagship report on Brazil-Sub-Saharan Africa relations to support the implementation of the World Bank Strategy in Africa. She previously held management positions with the United Nations Development Program in The Gambia, Guatemala, and New York. She has worked with more than 15 countries in Central America, South America, and Africa.
Susana has an Executive Global Masters of Arts (GMAP) from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; and a Masters in Development from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, University of Geneva. She has recently participated in the Executive Management Program “BRICS ON BRICS: Converging the World’s Emerging New Powers.” Fundação Dom Cabral (Brazil); Moscow School of Management, SKOLKOVO (Russia); Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (India); and the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (China). She is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.
Education Sector Manager, The Boston Consulting Group
As Sector Manager for The Boston Consulting Group’s education practice area, Addie is responsible for the sector’s organization and growth. Prior to BCG, she was an independent strategy, management, development and operations consultant to the nonprofit sector, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development for the nonprofit architecture firm MASS Design Group, and Director of Corporate Partnerships for the venture philanthropy fund, New Profit. Prior to receiving her Master’s in International Relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts, she worked in private-practice immigration law. In addition to United Planet, she also serves on the Advancement Council of The Fletcher School, the Alumni Council of Tufts, and Chairs the Boston Chapter of the Fletcher Alumni Club. She also attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, is an avid skier and traveler, and is a proud native of midcoast Maine.
Chief Executive Officer, NewOak Capital
Dr. Ron D’Vari is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of NewOak Capital. He has 28 years of combined experience in fixed income, engineering design optimization, and academics. Prior to joining NewOak in August 2008, Dr. D’Vari was Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance CDO at BlackRock and a member of several key BlackRock committees (Fixed Income Business Management, Alternatives, and New Products Committees). Prior to BlackRock’s acquisition of State Street Research (SSR), Dr. D’Vari served for 12 years in various capacities in SSR’s Fixed Income Department, which led to heading the MBS/ABS/CMBS Portfolio Management and serving as Director of Research. Dr. D’Vari was on the Bond Policy Committee that managed $27 billion of fixed income assets. Dr. D’Vari also established and led the firm’s Structured Finance CDO business and Quantitative Research team.
Concurrent with his SSR position, Dr. D’Vari was an adjunct professor at Brandeis University in the International Business School and a professor at the Harvard University Extension Program. Prior to joining SSR, Dr. D’Vari served as Senior Principal Engineer and Scientist with McDonnell Douglas; Adjunct Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles; and Adjunct Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. Dr. D’Vari serves as the Chairman of the Board at Agire Mortgage Corporation/EdgeMAC, a mortgage due diligence and advisory firm. In addition, Dr. D’Vari serves on the Advisory Boards of the American Securitization Forum and Fixed Income Forum. Dr. D’Vari has been on the Board of the Boston Security Analyst Society and a member of its Education Committee.
Dr. D’Vari holds M.B.A., Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Senior Vice President of Marketing, Distinctive Apparel, Inc.
Michael Dowd is a senior executive with over 35 years of experience building integrated direct marketing systems, improving operations, and building high performing teams. Currently, Michael is Senior Vice President of Marketing for Distinctive Apparel, Inc., a privately held direct marketer of apparel and manages major brands such as Chadwicks of Boston, metrostyle, and Territory Ahead.
Most recently, Michael was Vice President of Multi-Channel Marketing at Orvis, a privately held direct marketer of men’s and women’s apparel and sporting goods. In addition, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer at Grand Circle Corporation, an international tour operator serving retired Americans. Michael’ s entrepreneurial activities include co-founding Bizstarters.com, the leading website for entrepreneurs over 50; co-founding Life Change Arts, Inc., a developer of tools to guide major life changes; and co-founding BC Professional Services, a software developer and medical transcription business.
Michael has served on many for-profit and non-profit boards, including VBT, Discovering What’s Next, Heading Home, The Joy of Music, Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra, and Worcester Community Mental Health Center. Michael holds an M.B.A. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.
Professor, Universidad de los Andes
Former United Planet Country Coordinator, Chile
Paul Fischer is a high school teacher and university professor in Santiago, Chile. Mr. Fischer has operated his own trade-related business in Chile and worked for the U.S. Foreign & Commercial Service at the American Embassy in Santiago.
Mr. Fischer has a B.A. degree from Duke University and an M.A. degree in History from the University of Denver. Mr. Fischer also spent several years in Africa with the Peace Corps. He currently lives in the Lo Barnechea sector of Santiago with his wife and their three children.
VP of Sales, Modern Campus
Andy Gould is a versatile leader, entrepreneur, and mentor with over a decade of experience building EdTech companies. Andy was responsible for creating and growing revenue at Presence, a co-curricular engagement and learning SaaS, until acquisition by The Riverside Company. Working cross-functionally over Strategy, Product, and Sales, Andy now owns the success of the engagement products within Modern Campus, one of the fastest-growing EdTech platforms.
Passionate about creating greater access to opportunities for development, Andy chairs the board of SailFuture, an innovative child welfare agency in St Petersburg, Florida. Through residential, mental health, sailing, and vocational training, as well at the SailFuture Academy, they strive to create alternate pathways to success for young people.
Andy advises and mentors startups internationally, finding joy and taking pride in sharing his gritty, in-the-trenches experience in building businesses and solving difficult problems. He enjoys exercising his mechanical and technical aptitude in his free time through his hobbies in landscape architecture, renovation, and boating.
Co-founder, Global Woods Consulting
Dr. Ed Gragert served as Executive Director of the Global Campaign for Education-US, a broad-based coalition of U.S. development organizations including non-governmental organizations, teachers’ unions, foundations, faith-based groups, and think tanks dedicated to ensuring universal access to quality education worldwide.
For more than 20 years, Ed served as Executive Director with iEARN-USA. At iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), he pioneered the use of virtual exchanges with technology and teacher professional development to facilitate online educational project work on the K-12 level. From 1979-90, he was the Executive Director of ICYE-US, an international youth exchange program with both high school and community service volunteer exchanges among 30 countries. ICYE currently provides year-long service exchanges through United Planet’s Quest program.
Ed received his B.A. in Japanese political science from the University of Washington and his M.A. in Korean History from Columbia University. His Ph.D. at Columbia was in Japanese History, focusing on landownership changes brought about by the Japanese colonial administration in Korea in the early 20th century.
Ed spent a gap year in Seoul, Korea through ICYE.
Executive Director, The Dubai Initiative, Harvard University
Co-Founder, Harvard Arab Alumni Association
Ashraf Hegazy grew up internationally as the son of a senior Egyptian diplomat. Mr. Hegazy graduated from Harvard College in 1996 with a psychology degree focused on leadership traits. He went on to work in the financial services industry, and then in management and strategy consulting and technology project management. In 2001, he founded his own consulting firm, providing end-to-end business and technology services to the non-profit sector, with a focus on Arab-American community and political organizations. He also co-founded the Harvard Arab Alumni Association in 2001 to build an active network of Arab leaders educated at Harvard.
Mr. Hegazy graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2009 with a mid-career masters degree in Public Administration. He was the head teaching assistant for the Kennedy School’s flagship course, Adaptive Leadership. He was awarded a Lucius N. Littauer Fellowship for “exemplary academic achievement, public service and potential for future leadership,” and a Presidential Management Fellowship. His research interests lie in the fields of adaptive leadership and negotiation frameworks in the Middle East.
Interim CEO and Executive Director of ASCD & former CEO of AVID
Sandy is the interim CEO and Executive Director of ASCD. Having served as a member of the board of directors for 4 years, Sandy was appointed to lead the organization through this change in leadership. Sandy will guide ASCD’s leadership team in the mission to become that trusted partner to education in providing resources and services that help develop transformational learning communities.
Previously, Sandy served as Chief Executive Officer of AVID Center, a national education non-profit focused on closing the opportunity gap and preparing all students for college and careers. AVID has a more than 40-year record of positive impact on educators and students. Sandy is very proud that during her leadership at AVID, student impact grew to more than two million students per year.
As an educator, Sandy has been involved as a teacher, a school counselor, and all levels of school and district leadership. As Superintendent of Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Oregon she led the implementation of a districtwide strategic plan with an accountability system for all schools and departments. Prior to Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Sandy served five years as superintendent for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System in Clarksville, Tennessee. In addition, she previously served as superintendent for Mapleton Public Schools in Colorado. She also served as the executive director of learning services in Westminster, Colorado; principal of an elementary and alternative middle school; staff development coordinator; elementary school counselor; and teacher.
Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, Asia-Pacific Academic
Dr. Kristine Lalley currently serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships for Asia-Pacific Academic, a global education organization dedicated to facilitating a variety of educational opportunities for college and university students, faculty, and staff.
Kristine has dedicated her career to supporting the learning and development needs of tens of thousands of college and university students and was one of the early pioneers of global education for STEM students in the U.S., starting as part of the College of Engineering at Penn State University in their efforts to provide global experiential programs including internships and cooperative education.
From there, Kristine became the founding Director of International Engineering Initiatives for the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, where she built a diverse array of global experiential programs alongside faculty and administrators, often inspired by topics of global significance, such as climate change, social justice, renewable energy, and the varied effects of technological innovation.
Kristine also has extensive experience in academic advising, teaching and learning, course development, student and academic affairs, and crisis management in education abroad.
She is passionate about high impact practices in higher education – where students can engage in challenging experiences such as project-based learning, field work, internships, and global community engagement. Her scholarship focuses on processes of learning in global education, and she is committed to helping others create high impact practices for their own students.
Executive Director, Teen Challenge of Southern California
Henry Lozano is a non-profit executive and grassroots organizer. On September 11, 2007, President George W. Bush asked Henry to step into the job of Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of USA Freedom Corps. In this role, he advanced the “Call to Service” initiative launched by President George W. Bush in his 2002 State of the Union address. President George W. Bush created USA Freedom Corps to build on the countless acts of service, sacrifice, and generosity that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks. As Director of USA Freedom Corps, Henry Lozano worked cooperatively to orchestrate and coordinate agencies such as the Peace Corps, Citizen Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Points of Light Foundation and to recruit, mobilize, and encourage all Americans to engage in public service. He also oversaw the creation of the volunteer.gov website (which recently evolved into serve.gov, the “central hub” for service and volunteer coordination under President Obama). President Bill Clinton appointed Henry to the Advisory Commission on Drug-free Communities in 1998 and he was appointed as Co-Chair of the Commission by President George W. Bush in 2001.
Henry Lozano was recognized by the White House as “a leader for his service to our nation.” He has worked over the course of his career to ensure that people of all walks of life understand the value of volunteerism. On September 11, 2007, the date of Lozano’s appointment, Stephen Goldsmith, Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, said, “Henry Lozano has devoted his life to grassroots action and citizen problem-solving.”
Henry Lozano is of Native American and Hispanic ancestry; he often speaks about how his family heritage and the importance of the traditional values have helped guide and encourage him to promote service and volunteerism in the U.S. and around the world. Henry currently serves as the Executive Director of Teen Challenge of Southern California. In 2005, Mr. Lozano was awarded the President’s Call to Service Award in recognition of his lifetime of service.
International Education Executive
Andrew Macdonald in an international education executive who is driven by his mission of creating a better world through education. He has held senior executive positions in leading education organizations including Renaissance Learning, Kaplan Virtual Education, and Wilson Language Training in the areas of international education, literacy improvement, formative and summative assessment, and online learning. Andrew has cross-functional experience in marketing, business development, logistics, HR, IT, academic services, finance, professional development, and customer service.
Most recently, he was the Chief Schools Officer for the International Baccalaureate a global non-profit education foundation where he was responsible for the support of over 6000 schools in 150 countries. He is now the Executive Director of the Friendship Ambassador Foundation a non-profit organization focused on Youth Leadership, Global Education and Cultural Exchange.
Andrew is lifelong learner and holds Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University in Boston, MA; an M.B.A in International Business Administration from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He currently resides in Massachusetts with his wife and three sons.
Professor
Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández is a historian, university professor, author, consultant, and public speaker, whose fields of expertise include Latin America, the Caribbean, education, and Latino/Hispanic politics, culture, and society.
His is a Pegasus Professor in the History Department of the University of Central Florida. He is also a national syndicated weekly columnist with Creators and Principal at Cultural Translations, a consulting firm.
Dr. Martínez-Fernández is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for History Eduction. Previously, he served as trustee of the College Board (2009-2015) and in numerous professional, editorial, and community boards, among them the Cuban Studies journal, the South Atlantic Humanities Center, Hispanic Young Professionals, the Community Advisory Board of WMFE (Central Florida’s NPR and PBS stations), and the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Central Florida.
Principal and Co-Founder, Global Career Center
Kate Moore is an international educator energized by our changing world of work and how we connect campuses, communities, and companies across the globe. She built the Global Career Center (GCC) to partner with universities and colleges throughout the world, employers from a wide range of industries, and learners of all ages to connect employability and education through collaborative program development, comprehensive services delivery, and curated experiential education. Kate has decades of experience directly related to global internships and applied learning, including work within higher education, nonprofit management, workforce recruitment, government relations and civic engagement.
Director of Global eCommerce, Staples
Chandhu Nair is an eCommerce and internet technology executive with over 12 years of experience in the retail and logistics space. Currently, Chandhu is the Director of Global eCommerce for Staples. He is based in Boston, where he is responsible for product management and customer experience across various online assets, pricing, and end-to-end order delivery experience. Chandhu has been with Staples since 2007 and has held a variety of related positions. Prior to joining Staples, Chandhu worked as a consultant, leading various eCommerce and supply chain programs in US and Asia Pacific region.
Chandhu also works closely with the technology startup community and acts in a mentor/advisor capacity to various startups. Currently, Chandhu is a Mentor/Judge for MassChallenge, a Boston-based startup accelerator program for US, UK, and Israel-based startups.
Chandhu holds an ALM Master’s degree in General Management and Operations from Harvard University(HES) and a BE degree in Information Technology from Bharathiar University, India.
Professor of Nursing Population Health and Systems Cooperative Unit, University of Minnesota
Director, Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership
Daniel J. Pesut, Ph.D., R.N., PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, is a professor of nursing in the Nursing Population Health and Systems Cooperative Unit of the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota and is Director of the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership. He holds the Katherine R. and C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership. Dr. Pesut is internationally known for his work in nursing education, including creative teaching learning methods, self-regulation of health status, clinical reasoning, futures thinking, executive coaching, and leadership development in the health professions.
Dr. Pesut earned a Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, and a B.S. in Nursing from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. He has completed Certificates in Management Development from Harvard Institute for Higher Education, Core Mediation Skills Training from the International Association of Dispute Resolution (IARD), and Integral Studies from Fielding Graduate University. He is a certified Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara coach. He is past President (2003-2005) of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Plexus Institute – an organization with the mission to foster the health of individuals, families, communities, organizations, and our natural environment by helping people use concepts emerging from the new science of complexity. He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a board-certified clinical nurse specialist in adult psychiatric mental health nursing.
Dr. Pesut is the recipient of many awards, including an Army Commendation Award while on active duty (1975-1978) in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps; the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International Edith Moore Copeland Founder’s Award for Creativity; The American Assembly for Men in Nursing Luther Christman Award; Distinguished Alumni Awards from Northern Illinois University School of Nursing-College of Health and Human Services; and a number of other distinguished alumni, teaching, mentoring, and leadership awards. Dr. Pesut is a popular author, speaker, coach, and consultant, and is known for his ability to inspire and support people as they develop creative ideas and design innovative practices with a desired future in mind.
Professor, University of Lausanne
Dr. Jeffrey Petty has 20 years of experience working with entrepreneurial organizations, ranging from start-ups to multi-national corporations, as well as non-profit and governmental organizations. He has worked in strategic advisory and venture capital throughout Australia, Asia, Europe and the U.S.A. and has assisted a wide range of media and technology companies. Dr. Petty holds an M.B.A. in International Management from Thunderbird, as well as a doctorate in Management from the University of Lausanne.
President, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mr. Scibetta is President of Pacira Pharmceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company that markets EXPAREL®, a non narcotic, long acting, locally delivered pain therapy to treat post-surgical pain, and manufactures for marketing partners DepoCyte, a sustained-release liposomal formulation of the chemotherapeutic agent cytarabine for the treatment of lymphomatous meningitis. EXPAREL and DepoCyte are manufactured using Pacira’s proprietary multi vesicular liposome technology called DepoFoam®. Mr. Scibetta is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and tactical execution of the company’s Customer and Patient Solutions (CPS) group, comprised of its customer-facing resources, and overseeing the company’s Science Center Campus activities, which include commercial manufacturing, tech transfer, and R&D. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Head of Technical Operations. Mr. Scibetta led the company’s 2011 IPO and subsequent debt and equity financings as Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Scibetta has more than 25 years of financial executive and investment banking experience serving public and private healthcare and life sciences companies. Prior to joining Pacira, Mr. Scibetta served as CFO of Bioenvision Inc., an international biotechnology company that developed and commercialized products for hematological and solid tumor cancers. In 2007, Mr. Scibetta was instrumental in completing the $345 million sale of Bioenvision to Genzyme Corporation. Mr. Scibetta consulted to Genzyme from the time of the sale in 2007 until he joined Pacira. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Scibetta was Executive Vice President and CFO of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to 2001, Mr. Scibetta spent over a decade in investment banking where he was responsible for sourcing and executing transactions for a broad base of public and private healthcare and life sciences companies.
Mr. Scibetta currently serves as Chairman of the audit committee of Matinas BioPharma. Mr. Scibetta has prior Board experience with life sciences companies Nephros Inc., Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, and Labopharm Inc.
Mr. Scibetta received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He also completed the Harvard Business School executive education program “Leadership & Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology.” Mr. Scibetta was named the 2013 CFO of the Year by njbiz.com.
Tokyo Chapter organizer, Harvard Business School Online
As Harvard Business School Online Tokyo Chapter organizer, Emi led the Tokyo Chapter in winning the third-annual Harvard Business School Online Community Challenge Global Competition project, partnered with United Planet. In addition, Emi is also an SDGs Partnership Business Consultant, the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council member, Member of the Jury Committee of the Global Media & Information Literacy Awards 2021 for UNESCO, Global WINConference 2021 Speaker, European Commission #EUvsVirus Hackathon 2020 event Jury, and International House of Japan, Nitobe Leadership Fellow.
President, MIKI HOUSE Americas, Inc.
Yoshi is the founder and President of the American Division of MIKI HOUSE, an upscale Japanese clothing brand for children. MIKI HOUSE runs over 250 shops in major cities around the world, including Paris, Milan, New York, Istanbul, Kiev, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. Based in New York, he leads the global expansion of the brand while managing both American and Italian operations of the company.
Yoshi received his B.A. degree in Law from the University of Tokyo. He graduated from the Boston University School of Management and completed his M.B.A. and M.S. in Information Systems.
Head of Performance Marketing, Large Customer Sales, Google, Inc.
Seth van der Swaagh is the Head of Performance Marketing for Google’s Performance Sales team in Boston. He oversees a variety of efforts aimed at bringing the best performance marketing solutions to direct response advertisers across multiple industries. Seth is primarily responsible for business strategy and executive level sales engagement.
Seth has been with Google since 2004, holding a variety of advertising sales related positions. He was the Head of Industry for a Telecom Industry sales team, National Industry Manager for Google’s mid-market Consumer Packaged Goods team, head of Direct Sales for Google’s Northeast Retail vertical, and Senior Account Strategist for the Business and Industrial Markets vertical.
Prior to Google, Seth handled business development and recruiting efforts for the IT Convergence, an ERP software consulting firm in San Francisco. Prior to that, he taught in the Connecticut Public School system, and also lived and worked in Mexico, teaching humanities at the Instituto Technológico de Monterrey in Hermosillo, Sonora. He has traveled and lived abroad in multiple countries including Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Switzerland, France, and England.
Seth is a graduate of Brown University, with a B.A. in International Relations. He holds both an M.B.A. and an M.S. degree from Boston University.
Having lived and worked overseas and having achieved fluency in Spanish, Seth is a lifelong proponent of cross-cultural immersion as the best path to a deeper understanding and appreciation of others. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to help United Planet continue leading the way in its efforts to building a community beyond borders via relational diplomacy.
Principal Consultant and Coach, Cascade Leadership
Shannon Wallis has more than 20 years of experience delivering real impact by driving transformational change, strategic planning, and leadership development at organizations as diverse as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Price Waterhouse, Universal Studios, Federal Express, and Grameen Foundation.
Prior to founding Arrow Leadership Strategies and Cascade Leadership, Shannon was the Global Director of High Potential Leadership Development for Microsoft. In her role, she was responsible for the development of top-tier talent and the chief architect of an award-winning leadership program recognized by Fortune, Leadership Excellence, Best Practice Institute, Workforce Magazine, and others.
At Microsoft, Shannon’s team was a pioneer in International Service Program initiatives that marry executive development with corporate social responsibility. Under her leadership, Microsoft launched the award-winning Front Lines executive development experience, designed to not only inspire and stretch Microsoft leaders, but also support their partners and customers working in international development to address and solve important strategic challenges.
Shannon currently directs Cascade Leadership, a consultancy dedicated to enabling transformational change in both private and social enterprises. She is recognized for her ability to design and implement leading-edge and integrated leadership development experiences adopted in multiple cultures.
Shannon holds an M.B.A. with concentration in Health Services Management from Duke University and a B.S. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
Shannon Wallis has more than 20 years of experience delivering real impact by driving transformational change, strategic planning, and leadership development at organizations as diverse as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Price Waterhouse, Universal Studios, Federal Express, and Grameen Foundation.
Prior to founding Arrow Leadership Strategies and Cascade Leadership, Shannon was the Global Director of High Potential Leadership Development for Microsoft. In her role, she was responsible for the development of top-tier talent and the chief architect of an award-winning leadership program recognized by Fortune, Leadership Excellence, Best Practice Institute, Workforce Magazine, and others.
At Microsoft, Shannon’s team was a pioneer in International Service Program initiatives that marry executive development with corporate social responsibility. Under her leadership, Microsoft launched the award-winning Front Lines executive development experience, designed to not only inspire and stretch Microsoft leaders, but also support their partners and customers working in international development to address and solve important strategic challenges.
Shannon currently directs Cascade Leadership, a consultancy dedicated to enabling transformational change in both private and social enterprises. She is recognized for her ability to design and implement leading-edge and integrated leadership development experiences adopted in multiple cultures.
Shannon holds an M.B.A. with concentration in Health Services Management from Duke University and a B.S. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
Professor of Higher Education, College of Education and Human Development, UMASS Boston
Senior Associate, New England Resource Center for Higher Education
Dr. Giles is one of the leading experts on service-learning. He teaches courses in teaching and learning, curriculum, and communication and collaboration. He has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles on service-learning research. His research interests include community development, civic participation, the scholarship of engagement, campus/community partnerships, internships, and service learning.
Dr. Giles is also a Senior Associate with the New England Resource Center for Higher Education at UMass Boston.
Sabo Emeritus Professor of Citizenship and Learning, Augsburg College
Garry Hesser is the Sabo Professor of Citizenship and Learning at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he teaches courses in Sociology, Community, Urban Sociology, Urban Planning, Religion and Society, Leadership, and Community-Based Research. He chaired the Metro-Urban Studies program for thirty years and was a Visiting Professor in Planning and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota (Humphrey School of Public Affairs). In 2004, he was named the Carnegie-CASE Professor of the Year (Minnesota) and in 2002 was named the Distinguished Sociologist of Minnesota by the Sociologists of Minnesota. Garry received Campus Compact’s Thomas Ehrlich Award in 1998 and was named a Pioneer by NSEE in 2001.
Garry’s Ph.D. is from the University of Notre Dame, following a B.A. from Phillips University and a M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (NYC). He was president of the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) and the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). As a member of the NSEE-Campus Compact-AAHE Consulting Corps, he has led workshops on experiential education and service-learning on over sixty campuses and at professional meetings. He is the author of Experiential Education as a Liberating Art; “Principles of Good Practice in Service-Learning”; “Examining Communities and Urban Change”; “Benefits and Educational Outcomes of Internships”; and co-editor of Cultivating the Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology.
Professor Emerita, Fitchburg State University
Mary A. King, Ed.D. is Professor Emerita, Fitchburg State University (MA) where she was faculty in the Behavioral Sciences. An educator and psychologist by training, she held graduate and undergraduate faculty appointments; chaired/coordinated academic programs; and was point person in developing new academic programs and certificates. Mary served for many years as the Field Placement Coordinator (academic internships) for the Department’s multiple academic and advanced certificate programs. She also supervised graduate and undergraduate interns in professional studies and liberal arts programs and instructed coursework in Human Service Education, Criminal Justice, and Counseling (Mental Health; School Counseling). She created as well as instructed the service-learning component in the Leadership Honors Academy.
Mary brought to her work in academia experience as an elementary teacher, probation officer for juveniles, and clinical counselor, supervising interns in each position. She holds degrees in Education, Criminal justice, and Counseling and Consulting Psychology and is licensed (MA) in Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Social work. She volunteers with the Hypersomnia Foundation.
Mary has served and held officer positions on local, regional, and national Boards, including the New England Organization of Human Services (Education) and the National Organization of Human Services (Education), where she was recognized with the McNeer and Klubok Awards. Most recently, she served on the Board of the National Society of Experiential Education (NSEE) in the roles of Vice President and Chair of the Professional Development Committee. She was a founder and overseer of and instructor in the Experiential Education Academy (EEA). Mary was point person on multiple NSEE initiatives, including the NSEE Guiding Principles of Ethical Practice. She is the recipient of recognitions, including the Michael Steuerman Award and that of NSEE Distinguished Scholar.
Her recent publications include “Ensuring Quality in Experiential Education” (in Strengthening Experiential Education: A New Era [NSEE, 2013] and co-author of “The Successful Internship: Personal, Professional, and Civic Development in Experiential Learning” (4e, CENGAGE 2014), “Stages of an Internship Revisited: Facilitating Learning and Development through Engagement” (JHS, 2013), and “Towards a Pedagogy of Internships” (In Press, JALHE, 2015).
Headmaster & Global Educator
Darren Nicholas has an impressive fifteen years of school leadership and nearly three decades of experience in global education, having worked in schools in the United Kingdom, USA, Japan and Italy. He graduated from the University of Exeter with an Honors degree in History and later gained a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Management. After working in Japan and different schools in the south of England he became Headteacher at an ethnically diverse school in the UK, where he drove strong academic achievement and gained an ‘outstanding’ rating for the school from the Office for Standards in Education. Most recently he has been Headmaster at the British International School of Boston and the International School of Milan, where he pushed academic standards and opportunities, increased the schools reputations and made links with some of the world’s best institutions and global companies, while ensuring every student loved coming to school each day. Darren has also given global presentations on twenty first century education and a TEDx talk on empowering others.
Director Emeritus, Bing Overseas Studies Program South Africa, Stanford University
Tim Stanton is Director Emeritus of Stanford University’s Bing Overseas Studies Program in Cape Town, South Africa. The program blends coursework with service-learning and community-based partnership research in Western Cape townships and informal communities. Students are introduced to the people, history, politics, and culture of post-apartheid South Africa by working in partnership with local community leaders, activists, and development professionals.
At Stanford, prior to joining Overseas Studies, Tim was Visiting Senior Fellow at the John Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities, a community-based research program in the School of Education. Before this, he founded and directed the Scholarly Concentration in Community Health and Public Service at the School of Medicine. He helped found and served as Associate Director and Director of the Haas Center for Public Service from 1985-1999. During this time, Tim received his Ph.D. in Human and Organization Systems from Fielding Graduate University. He has taught in African Studies, American Studies, Education, Medicine, Public Policy, and Urban Studies.
As Engaged Scholar for Campus Compact, Tim helped organize and coordinate a national US initiative on community engagement and research universities, The Research Universities Civic Engagement Network (TRUCEN). He has published numerous articles on service-learning and engaged scholarship, including a book, Service-Learning: A Movement’s Pioneers Reflect on its Origins, Practice, and Future.
