Meet Our Team

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.