Mentors & Staff
Each year, we invite a collective of academic teachers, active practitioners and community leaders to serve as mentors for our fellowship program. Some join us for a few hours, while others are a part of the whole week. Read about our core mentors below, or click here to read about mentors from past programs.
Elizabeth Walsh
Mentor
Gabriel Grant
Michaela Cisney
Program Director
Fellows
Emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, making a difference around the world.
Fellowship Alumni
Years of Byron Fellowship
Academic Fields Represented
Interested in Joining Our Community?
Find out more about becoming a Byron Fellow.
Natasha Goldstein
Natasha Goldstein (she/her) — Canada — is a two-time social entrepreneur, executive, consultant, and educator working with social enterprises at the intersection of growth, finance, and impact. She supports for-profit and non-profit mission-driven organizations as a...
Carl Williams
Carl Williams (he/him) — Schenectady, New York, USA — is a civic leader and public servant committed to rebuilding trust, participation, and shared ownership in local democracy. He has served as an elected member of the Schenectady City Council for the past four...
Mike Bekin
Mike Bekin (he/him) — United Kingdom & Brazil — is a sustainability entrepreneur and governance leader working at the intersection of forest stewardship, climate action, and business. Shaped by his upbringing in Brazil and by a lifelong relationship with nature,...
Tamara Jolly
Tamara Jolly (she/her) — Adirondack region, New York, USA — is an educator and community leader working at the intersection of environmental justice, education, and belonging. After more than fifteen years of teaching high school science in Baltimore, a period of...
Kusi Hornberger
Kusi Hornberger (he/him) — Washington DC, USA — is a senior leader in finance and investment strategy focused on how capital can be used responsibly to support long-term social and environmental outcomes. Over the past two decades, he has advised family offices,...
Jacob “Jazz” Smith
Jacob “Jazz” Smith (any pronouns) — Denver, Colorado, USA — is a community cultural organizer, executive leader, and storyteller working at the intersection of youth culture, mobility justice, and collective care. They most recently served as Executive Director of...
Ohoud Wafi
Ohoud Wafi (she/her) — Egypt — works at the intersection of poverty alleviation, gender justice, and community resilience. She serves as the founding Executive Director of the Elderly Care Fund under Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity, a national institution...
Alex Batsis
Alexander “Alex” Batsis (he/him) — Australia — is a lawyer, advisor, and community leader working at the intersection of law, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and social impact. He is a Senior Lawyer at LUNA Startup Studio, where he advises founders, venture-backed...
Carter Ingram
Jane “Carter” Ingram (she/her) — Washington DC, United States — is a nature and climate leader devoted to strengthening the relationships between people, land, water, and living systems. Her lifelong commitment to conservation began in childhood, shaped by witnessing...
Nicholas Okumu
Nicholas Okumu (he/him) — Nairobi, Kenya — is an orthopedic oncologist, educator, and health systems leader working to strengthen cancer care and surgical systems in Kenya. One of only two orthopedic oncologists serving the country, he leads the orthopedic oncology...
Stacey-Lee Williams
Stacey-Lee “Stacey” Williams (she/her) — Bermuda — is a community leader and educator committed to building cultures of belonging, truth-telling, and collective healing. She serves as Executive Director of Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) and holds...
Hatim Hussain
Hatim Hussain (he/him) — India — is a social entrepreneur whose career over the last decade has spanned the worlds of law, finance, and technology. His previous work building a financial inclusion startup received funding from organizations including Sequoia Capital,...
Michaela Ellingson
Michaela Ellingson (she/her) — Jackson, Wyoming, USA — is a movement educator, artist, and community builder focused on cultural change through transforming how women relate to their bodies. She serves as Junior Company Director at Dancers’ Workshop, where for over a...
Boris Henderson
Boris Henderson (he/him) — Charlotte, North Carolina, USA — is a community-centered leader whose work bridges finance, real estate, economic development, and institutional stewardship. After more than a decade in banking and commercial real estate finance, he made a...
Shirley Mburu
Shirley Mburu (she/her) — Kenya — is a researcher and strategist working to expand inclusive finance, climate innovation, and small- and medium-enterprise (SME)–led economic development across Africa. Over the past twelve years, she has led research, strategy, and...
Isabela Christo
Isabela Christo (she/her) — Atlanta, Georgia, USA & Brazil — is an entrepreneur and emerging leader from Brazil with experience across government, philanthropy, international organizations, and education. She previously founded and exited a consumer goods company...
Janet Xiao
Janet Xiao (she/her) is committed to helping purpose-driven teams and organizations thrive through relational care, clarity, and authenticity. Janet serves as the Operations Director at the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), an equally-governed...
Marina Christo
Marina Christo (she/her) is an entrepreneur from Brazil committed to transforming healthcare and creating a more inclusive future for women in tech. As the founder of Lina Saúde, she spent six years building one of Brazil’s most innovative health tech startups, driven...
Marcus Kornegay
Marcus Kornegay (he/him) is committed to transforming lives through affordable housing development and community empowerment. As an executive at Novant Health and the driving force behind Prosperity Alliance, he is dedicated to expanding homeownership opportunities as...
Molly Josephs
Molly Josephs (she/her) is committed to helping young people feel seen, heard, and empowered to express themselves authentically. As the founder of This Teenage Life (TTL), a youth dialogue and storytelling program, she has created a platform where teens transition...
Karina Nagin
Karina Nagin (she/her) is the Executive Director of Bridging Voice, a nonprofit that is committed to ensuring that people with ALS regain their voices and connections through assistive technology. Her work is driven by a deep passion for collaboration, advocacy, and...
Loris Adams
Loris Adams (she/her) is a dedicated educator and advocate for youth empowerment, diversity, equity, and ethical leadership. As the Head of DEI and Ethical Leadership at a girls' school in Washington, D.C., and a long-time leader in independent schools, she is...
Gerry Sikazwe
Gerry Sikazwe (he/him) is a Zambian social accountability activist, poet, and creative curator committed to using art as a catalyst for civic engagement and democratic change. Through protest poetry and advocacy-centered performances, he amplifies the voices of...
Mariah Hachmeister
Mariah Hachmeister (she/her) is committed to cultivating spaces where relationships, sustainability, and personal growth thrive. As the People Operations Manager at CompostNow, she fosters a workplace culture where individuals feel supported, valued, and connected,...
Kane Jackson
Kane Jackson (he/him) is committed to reshaping the financial industry into a force for collective good. As the founder of Maslow, an Australian social impact startup, he is working to transform consumer finance into the world’s largest collectively owned utility,...
Oluwapelumi Alesinloye-King
Oluwapelumi Alesinloye-King (she/her) is a passionate advocate for women's sexual and reproductive health, committed to breaking taboos and challenging societal norms. As a feminist, researcher, and holistic sexuality educator, she creates spaces for Black...
Gerald Hodges
Gerald Hodges (he/him) is a changemaker, builder, and connector dedicated to empowering individuals and transforming communities through education and entrepreneurship. Gerald has spent over 14 years leading initiatives in Liberia that support youth development,...
Truzaar Dordi
Truzaar Dordi (he/him) is a sustainability transitions scholar and changemaker committed to catalyzing systemic transformation. As an Assistant Professor and Director of Partnerships and Engagement at the University of York, UK, his work explores how networks of power...
Genevieve Patenaude
Geneviève Patenaude (she/her) is the CEO and co-founder of Earthblocks, where she works to build a more sustainable future for both nature and society by making it easier for companies to understand their environmental impact and risks. A former academic with a PhD...
Yash Garje
Yash Garje (he/him) is dedicated to transforming engineering education into an inclusive, interdisciplinary, and accessible space for all learners. Pursuing a Ph.D. at Purdue University, he is committed to designing informal education programs that integrate arts,...
Abubaker Sekatuka
Abubaker Sekatuka (he/him) is a dedicated advocate for youth empowerment and mental health, committed to creating inclusive opportunities for young people, particularly those with disabilities across Uganda and beyond. As the founder of Sharing Circles, he leads...
Maya Bullock
Maya is committed to making housing more affordable, and is passionate about ensuring that community voices are heard.
Jasmin Barco
Jasmin is committed to creating environments where individuals can embody their highest selves and co-create their ideal world.
John Kern
John is a co-founder of SOS Fund, which disrupts and dismantles predatory housing systems in Baltimore.
Andrea Martinie-Eiler
Andrea finds joy in sharing life with others and creating vibrant, intentional communities.
Benjamin Ray
Benjamin believes in the transformative power of music to create meaningful community and facilitate personal and communal healing.
Lové Lemon
Lové is deeply committed to bridging social justice and healing by ensuring that every person has access to community healing centers.
Braxton Allen
Braxton is an Operations Manager for CompostNow, where he draws from a diverse background in community outreach, urban farming, and AmeriCorps to drive the company’s mission of recycling food waste nutrients back into the soil.
Kai Cash
Kai envisions a world where human collaboration mirrors the symbiotic relationships in a rainforest, fostering support and growth across diverse communities.
Genesis Granados
Genesis fosters partnerships and guides advocacy efforts to address the public health impacts of air pollution and climate change.
Alejandro Baquero-Sierra
Aspiring to create more equitable and inclusive classrooms, Alejandro hopes to collaborate with educators and institutions to combat racism in schools and promote compassion and collaboration.
Yom Fox
Yom seeks to transform independent schools into environments where students can thrive and actively contribute to society.
Arpitha Peteru
Arpitha is committed to leveraging collaborative policy and governance to address complex challenges, especially at the intersection of emerging technologies, security, and harm mitigation.
Patrick Buggy
Patrick is a purpose-driven business leader focused on helping create a more flourishing world.
Eli Hernández
Eli is committed to creating communities where Black and Brown communities thrive together.
Eleanor Harry
Eleanor is committed to combatting child labour by harnessing the power of AI.
Kristine Lorenzo
Kristine finds joy in helping people expand their awareness of the natural world and ecological processes in everyday life.
Manuela McDonough
Manuela is committed to creating a world where mental health is not stigmatized.
Peter Kobak
Peter is a human rights advocate, community organizer, and local gov nerd.
Abigail Steinberg
Abigail is the executive director of the Eyeglasses Initiative of the Livelihood Impact Fund focused on providing reading glasses to 800 million people who need them.

























































