Yuval Bar-Zemer
Yuval Bar-Zemer is a Los Angeles–based real estate developer, community leader, and political activist who has spent nearly four decades driving transformative change. After moving to Los Angeles 39 years ago and beginning his professional life as an electrician and builder, Yuval dedicated the first three decades of his career to real estate development—leading projects that reshaped neighborhoods and reimagined urban potential.
In the past fifteen years, Yuval has transitioned much of his energy and resources into philanthropic and civic initiatives. His work spans a wide spectrum of local and international causes, including community organizing, land use policy, homelessness, river ecological restoration, cycling infrastructure, contemporary art, archaeology, climate change, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, misinformation and disinformation, and the future of Israel as a democratic state.
Frustrated by the slow pace of change in the nonprofit sector, Yuval has recently shifted focus toward political action. He is currently a leading supporter of Yair Golan, the new leader of the Democrats in Israel. In the United States, he devotes much of his time to Gigafact, an innovative project aimed at combatting the disinformation epidemic on social media.
Yuval Bar-Zemer continues to combine decades of management experience with an unwavering commitment to social justice, civic integrity, and democratic values.
Kassim Bashir
Kassim Bashir, 31, is an Israeli Arab entrepreneur and a proud alumnus of the 50:50 Startups program. He is currently pursuing an MBA at Northeastern University and brings a strong background in software development and data science. Kassim is deeply passionate about building communities and creating spaces that bring people together through innovation.
Originally from Sakhnin, an Arab village in northern Israel, Kassim developed a deep appreciation for the power of connection and inclusivity. During his time with 50:50 Startups, he co-founded a venture called Jeeran, which means "neighbors" in Arabic. The mission of Jeeran is to help individuals who relocate to a new city build meaningful friendships and social bonds, easing their transition and enriching their lives.
Iky Salinas
The enduring conflict that has persisted for over almost a century between Israelis and Palestinians casts a profound shadow over the daily lives of all those who call that land home. For the past year and a half, we have borne witness to one of the most devastating escalations of violence in the entire history of the conflict, exacting a heavy toll on civilians from both sides. Possible solutions seem elusive in this protracted conflict, making it imperative to approach it from an academic standpoint, with the objective of providing activists and agents of peace with new insights to combat violence and advance the cause towards a peaceful reality.
I am Itzhak (Iky) Salinas, a Mexican-American-Israeli activist and analyst dedicated to the pursuit of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. I have a long history of professional and academic involvement in the field, I completed a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Haifa and a master's degree in nonprofit management from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I focused extensively on organizations engaged in peacebuilding. This academic training significantly enriched my path as an activist and peace practitioner, equipping me with valuable knowledge of organizational management, understanding in strategic planning, political acumen, and a deep grasp of the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding field.
In the professional field, I recently completed a three-year tenure at Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET), an organization committed to bringing Israeli and Palestinian youth together through computer science education. I have further experience in similar nonprofit organizations and have also acquired experience in political campaigning. Due to my familiarity with the field, I have come to realize that, although most peace-seeking organizations work with a lot of commitment, they generally lack sufficient evidence-based data and models to guide their efforts. There is a critical need for research that can have a significant impact on the necessary scale to effect real change.
I intend to conduct studies that will, in various ways, address one overall question: What impact do the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding CSOs have on the conflict? The research can delve into such questions as how can impact be measured effectively within the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding field? And how can we use impact measurement and other available tools to empower the field and improve its performance?
My goal is to utilize the analysis of the effectiveness of NGO peace interventions to help steer the field towards more impactful peacebuilding. This academic pursuit will involve a multidisciplinary study deriving concepts and research from fields such as NGO management, organizational behavior studies, conflict management and resolution, and international relations. Many tools to empower the peacebuilding field already exist, as researched by such scholars as Johan Galtung, Jody Hoffer Gittel, Michelle Gawerc, Cedric de Coning, Pamina Firchrow, Peter Frumkin, John Paul Lederach and more— some of whom are affiliated with UMB, such as Karen Ross and Jeffrey Pugh.
My approach encompasses three levels: the strategic, the impact, and the organizational. On the strategic level, the intent is to align the field towards a joint mission and to scale up impact on an aggregate level rather than through the individual organizations. At the impact level the emphasis lies on improving impact towards beneficiaries, communities, and partnerships through the strategic implementation of scaling-up strategies. The organizational level addresses internal challenges faced by organizations and the field, including organizational capacity, burnout, low compensation, underrepresentation of key stakeholders and more.
The aforementioned researchers have provided an array of tools that can be built upon and synthesized to create a holistic strategy to measure and improve impact in the field. On the strategic level, impact measurement could build off research from Firchrow and MacGinty, who through their Everyday Peace Indicators project have established guidelines towards creating real indicators that measure change while bridging between bottom-up and top-down indicators. This approach would give more agency over the peacebuilding process to those living in the region as opposed to international actors. Furthermore, the topic of partnerships has seen research conducted by Strichman, whose perspective on Adaptive Capacity highlights the importance of becoming learning organizations. Hoffer Gittel provides a similar understanding through the concept of Relational Coordination as it conceptualizes a framework for building partnerships within the field. One last aspect of research that is worth mentioning here is from De Coning, who emphasizes flexible, evolving impact measurement through iteration in evaluating the impact, allowing for this strategy to adapt to the changes in the field.
Partnerships can be seen from within and without, beyond the established process to create a centralized field and framework within it, it is important to establish partnerships with the stakeholders of the field as well. These stakeholders include the beneficiaries themselves and their communities, for which a model of establishing key characteristics in the selection process is provided by Pugh’s Catalytic Network Model. Beyond the beneficiaries, the practitioners should also be considered. Gawerc’s suggestions for how to sustain long term commitment by building an affective attachment to the field should be further investigated to turn practitioners into committed professionals.
My personal, academic and professional experience positions me as someone who can potentially contribute to the field of peacebuilding. My multinational background, as one who speaks 3 different languages and has adapted to 3 different cultures, has prepared me for cross cultural communication. My activism has enhanced my ability to undertake unique projects to further the peacebuilding community. Most recently this commitment materialized in my work as a political campaign manager to get the first Palestinian elected to the Jerusalem City Council. (Owing to the Gaza War, the initiative was postponed)
As daunting as the current escalation may appear, it signals a potential turning point for the peacebuilding field. I am steadfast in my belief that the research I aspire to undertake will serve as a cornerstone for a rejuvenated approach, paving the way for a tangible reality of peace. Echoing JFK's sentiment delivered at the UN in 1963, 'Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.' Despite the enduring challenges, I remain resolute in my commitment. I see this moment as an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing pursuit of peace in Israel and Palestine. I am eager to embark on this journey and be an active part of shaping a future where peace thrives and transforms lives.
In addition to my current work, I contributed to MEET’s USAID-funded Northern Innovators program (2020–2023). I have attached the program’s second-year Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) plan, which outlines key measurement tools and strategy. Of particular interest are the Results Framework and the Performance Monitoring Plan.
For insight into how USAID structures its measurement indicators, see Section 3.2 of the plan. The first three metrics in the performance indicators table were mandated by USAID, while the remaining were submitted by MEET as additional, self-defined indicators.
View the MEL plan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gGyCg8Bn7F_0UpS-8HkOuFPns-BspSdp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111033924517633597069&rtpof=true&sd=true
Haitong Du
I am a DPhil (PhD) student in International Relations at Balliol College, University of Oxford. I hold an MPhil in International Relations from Pembroke College, Oxford and a BA in International Relations (Phi Beta Kappa) from Tufts University. My current research focuses on how the rise of personalist leaders influences the international structure, particularly in the context of contemporary US-China relations. I explore how interactions between great powers have become increasingly informal, discretionary, and leader-driven in a world drifting away from institutional constraints. I maintain a secondary research interest in European diplomatic history from the 17th century onwards.
An active tutor across colleges within the University of Oxford, I have taught the following papers as part of the Final Honours School for degrees in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics, and History & Politics: International Relations (core paper), International Relations in the era of the Two World Wars, International Relations in the era of the Cold War, and Politics in China.
Whilst at Tufts, I enrolled in the 2019-20 Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC), focusing on the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. I have been professionally and personally indebted to the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), under the direction of Prof Abiodun Williams and Heather Barry. As I graduated from Tufts in 2022, I was connected to Prof Sherman Teichman, whose mentorship and intellectual generosity have continued to shape my thinking on international affairs, especially during this transformative era of global power realignment and democratic uncertainty.
You may reach me by emailing haitong.du [at] politics.ox.ac.uk.
Jay D. Blitzman
Hon. Jay D. Blitzman, (retired) served as the First Justice of the Massachusetts Middlesex Juvenile Court. Prior to his judicial appointment he was a public defender who was a co-founder and the first director of the Roxbury Youth Advocacy Project, an interdisciplinary public defender’s unit which was the template for the creation of the statewide Massachusetts Youth Advocacy Division. He was also a co-founder of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ). Since his judicial retirement, he has consulted for the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC) and served as the interim Executive Director of Massachusetts Advocates for Children. He now serves MAC as an Emeritus Policy Advisor. Jay consults on juvenile, criminal and child welfare issues, mentors attorneys, and holds teaching positions at Harvard Law School (Trial Advocacy), Northeastern Law School (Juvenile Law) and Boston College Law (The Cradle to Prison Pipeline), and New England Law Boston (Children and the Law). Jay is also on the faculty at the Center for Law, Brain &; Behavior focusing on late teen and emerging adult issues (CLBB- M.G.H. and Harvard Medical School). He also was an affiliate of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Jay writes and presents frequently on a wide array of issues related to advancing equity and deconstructing the cradle to prison pipeline. Recent articles include, Cheating The Evidence To Get To Best Interest (Family Court Review, Hofstra Law 2024), Let The Sunshine In (ABA Criminal Justice 2024), Let’s Follow The Science on Late Adolescence” (ABA Criminal Justice 2022), The State of Juvenile Justice 2018-2024 (ABA Criminal Justice), Shutting Down The School to Prison Pipeline (ABA Human Rights 2021, Open The Doors (Mass. L. Rev. 2021), Justice for Some: A Tale of Two Americas (Civic Right Institute Juvenile Justice Update 2020), and Deconstructing The School to Prison Pipeline (BBA Journal 2018). He was a co-author and editor of the MCLE Massachusetts Juvenile Court Bench Bar books.
Jay serves on the boards of directors of Discovering Justice, Massachusetts Mental Health Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Children’s Justice Act Task Force. He serves on the advisory boards of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ), UTEC, More Than Words (MTW), and Northeastern Law School’s Cradle to Prison and Salus Populi (Social Determinants of Public Health) initiatives. Jay is also a Massachusetts Advocates for Justice Fellow working with More Than Words (MTW). Honors include: the 2024 Massachusetts Psychological Association’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, the first recipient of CfJJ’s Youth Juvenile Justice Icon award in 2023, the 2019 ABA Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award recipient. Other recognition includes being the first person to receive the MBA Juvenile & Child Welfare Section Award, the 2023 Boston College Law School Holland Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lowell 100 award, the Judge Paul Chernoff Servants of Justice Award and the Rebecca Pries Adolescent Consultation Services Indispensable Friend Award. Massachusetts’ public defender system annually presents annually the Jay Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy.
Rachel Leven
Rachel was a first-generation leader of NIMEP, serving as a co-chair of the group and editor and chief of the journal for two years. She also traveled to Lebanon, Egypt, the West Bank, and Israel. In Egypt she discovered a passion for waste management and the people and communities who are often pushed by society to the margins, literally picking through trash.
After coming back from Egypt she wrote one of the first/few academic accounts of the Zabaleen and continued her work, bringing her research to India where as a Fulbright scholar she wrote "The Economics of Trash" for Foreign Affairs Magazine. More importantly, in a waste pit on the top of the mountain in the Himalayas, she met her future husband who she now lives with in Chicago with their four-year-old daughter.
After working at Foreign Affairs Magazine, as a Fulbright Scholar, and in the Chicago Mayor's Office (among other positions), Rachel is now a policy consultant. You can find out more about her work to support a healthier democracy in the US, reproductive health, and state and local government at rl-insights.com. Rachel holds a BA in International Relations from Tufts and a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University.
Peter Alegi
Peter Alegi is Professor of History at Michigan State University and the author of several books, including Laduma! Soccer, Politics & Society in South Africa and African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World’s Game. Currently, he is writing a book titled Afripod: How Scholarly Podcasting Is Changing African Studies. Alegi teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the history of South Africa, modern Africa, and global soccer. He has received teaching awards at MSU, including the Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, the ISS Teaching Excellence Award in the Social Sciences, and the Sullivan Teaching Excellence Award (twice). Alegi hosts the Africa Past and Present podcast (afripod.aodl.org) and convenes the Football Scholars Forum (footballscholars.org), an online book club. He is Book Series Editor for Michigan State University Press’s “African History and Culture” Series, and serves on the Boards of the International Journal of African Historical Studies, African Studies, and Sports Africa.
Mark Silk
Mark Silk graduated from Harvard College in 1972 and earned his Ph.D. in medieval history from Harvard University in 1982. After teaching at Harvard in the Department of History and Literature for three years, he became editor of the Boston Review. In 1987 he joined the staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he worked variously as a reporter, editorial writer and columnist. In 1996 he became the first director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life and in 1998 founding editor of Religion in the News, a magazine published by the Center that examines how the news media handle religious subject matter. In June 2005, he was also named director of the Trinity College Program on Public Values, comprising both the Greenberg Center and a new Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture.
Olivia Nielsen
Olivia Nielsen was born and raised in Paris by American parents and found her way into the housing sector somewhat unexpectedly—while working for CEMEX, a global cement company, during the Haiti earthquake response. What began as a crash course in post-disaster reconstruction turned into five years living in Haiti and the Caribbean, developing housing projects across Latin America.
After years focused on construction, Olivia decided that pouring cement was the easy part—and turned her attention to the harder challenges: land, policy, and housing finance. As a consultant for the World Bank, she has supported housing policy reforms in over 50 countries, from Papua New Guinea to the Central African Republic, helping governments design systems that make safe, affordable housing possible.
She is now a Principal at Miyamoto International, a global engineering firm specializing in resilience, where she leads the firm’s affordable housing policy practice. Olivia lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her family and animals, and travels frequently to support the development of housing systems that work for all.
Maya Jacobs
Maya Jacobs currently works at Internews where she serves as the Deputy Chief of Party (deputy director) for a $42.25 million global internet freedom program that focuses on gender and marginalized groups and supports local civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders to better prevent and respond to digital repression.
Maya previously oversaw management and fundraising for the Southeast Asia portfolio at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Programs in the portfolio focused on media literacy, information integrity, youth civic engagement, LGBTQI+ inclusion, electoral operations and management, cyber security, anti-corruption, civil society resilience, disability inclusion and women’s political participation. She also led the development of the organization’s Do No Harm and Safeguarding policies and led an LGBTQI+ working group to carry out IFES’s approach to LGBTQI+ inclusion.
Prior to IFES, Maya developed and implemented programs for Freedom House’s Asia team that focused on fundamental freedoms and democracy. She has consulted at Banyan Tree Foundation and the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict and previously worked at ICF International.
Maya holds an MA in international affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University and a BA in environmental studies from Connecticut College. Maya resides in the greater Boston area.
Ankita Kushwaha
Ankita Kushwaha is a lecturer at Sai University, Chennai, and a Ph.D. research scholar at Centre for Philosophy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She holds an M.Phil. from the University of Hyderabad and an M.A. from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has co-instructed courses such as Critical Thinking and Ethics at Sai University. She has also taught the Ethics course for Undergraduates at the Centre for Philosophy, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Kushwaha’s area of specialization lies in social-political philosophy, with a particular focus on the relationship between religion and the state in India. Her research aims to explore how to maintain peaceful coexistence in a diverse society like India and to analyze the justifications for the approaches taken towards religion in the country.
Kushwaha has published a book review of Neera Chandhoke’s book Rethinking Pluralism, Secularism and Tolerance: Anxieties of Coexistence, published in Perspectives: UCD Postgraduate Journal of Philosophy (Vol 9, pp. 361 365). She has also presented papers, Gandhi’s Idea of Truth & its Relation to Secularism, presented in the 94th Session of the Indian Philosophical Congress, “Beyond Neutrality: State and the Role of Religion,” at the International Conference for Multidisciplinary Trends in Social Sciences and Humanities, organized by Manipal University, Jaipur, and “Beyond Coexistence: An Exploration of Peace through Justice and Fraternity” on the Indian Philosophy Network Colloquium. She has also contributed a blog article, “Traditional vs Colonial: Navigating Dichotomies of Philosophy in India,” to the Indian Philosophy Network website.
Megha Kapoor
I am Megha Kapoor, a PhD research scholar at the University of Delhi and Lecturer at Sai University in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. I embarked on my academic journey at the University of Delhi, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. My passion for philosophical inquiry led me to continue my studies at the same university, completing a Master of Arts in Philosophy. I then pursued an M.Phil. in Philosophy at the University of Hyderabad, where I achieved a CGPA of 9.0. Currently, I am working towards a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Delhi, which I began in 2020. As I often say, I call myself a lover of philosophy, and this love has been the driving force behind my academic pursuits.
Throughout my journey, I’ve sought to expand my understanding and expertise through various certifications. I received a Post Graduate Certificate in Gandhian and Peace Studies from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in 2018, followed by a Certificate in Human Rights in 2019. In 2020, I completed a course in Religion, Conflict, and Peace from HarvardX, as well as a certificate in Death Penalty Law and Advocacy from the Capital Punishment Justice Project, Australia.
My academic work has allowed me to present papers at several esteemed conferences. I’ve shared my thoughts on topics such as “Rethinking Peace and Prosperity: A Gandhian Perspective” at the Indian Philosophical Congress, “Power, Responsibility, and Peace Post Covid-19 Era” at the Saint Damian Conference in Belgium, and “Beyond Coexistence: An Exploration of Peace through Justice and Fraternity” on the Indian Philosophy Network Colloquium. My research on “The Impact of Globalization on Peace” was presented at the International Conference on Peace and Conflict Resolution in Tehran, Iran.
In addition to my presentations, I have published papers and articles that reflect my philosophical inquiries. One such paper, titled “Ecological Solidarity: A Philosophical Analysis through Societal-Environmental Dialectic,” was published in the Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics. I also contributed to the Indian Philosophy Network with a blog post titled “Traditional vs Colonial: Navigating Dichotomies of Philosophy in India.” I believe in the conversation between discourses without boundaries, and this belief has guided much of my work.
My areas of expertise include the Social and Political Philosophy of India and the West, Peace Studies, Human Rights, Postmodern and Postcolonial philosophy, and Philosophy and Fiction.
Beyond academia, my heart lies in humanitarianism and philanthropy — the areas I aim to build my career. In 2013, I volunteered as a teacher at a Primary Government School in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, as part of the Igniting Young Minds project, where I helped provide life skills education to underprivileged children. I was also involved in The Mahābhārata Project, organizing webinars on “Yoga Consciousness in Mahābhārata and Bhagavadgītā.” Since 2022, I’ve been serving on the editorial team of The Mahābhārata Project, assisting in the publication of an edited volume.
I firmly believe that kindness and compassion are the primary precepts of life, and these values continue to guide both my academic endeavours and my broader aspirations.
Mitchell Pitts
I’m Mitchell Pitts, an MBA candidate at Boston University Questrom School of Business and a former U.S. Marine. My journey has been anything but traditional—I went from serving in the military and working in satellite communications to securing U.S. embassies abroad and now transitioning into the world of business. My passion lies at the intersection of global development, infrastructure, and strategic leadership, all driven by a desire to create meaningful impact.
During my time in South Sudan, I saw firsthand the effects of humanitarian crises, which reshaped my perspective on leadership and service. It wasn’t just about security—it was about finding ways to contribute, like organizing fundraisers for local orphanages and improving logistical systems to make operations more effective. In Vienna, I focused on modernizing security protocols, and in Bangkok, I managed financial operations while mentoring a team of Marines. Each experience reinforced my belief that leadership isn’t just about authority—it’s about adaptability, collaboration, and making decisions that improve people’s lives.
Now, at Questrom, I’m focused on applying these experiences to a future in infrastructure and global development, working alongside engineers and policymakers to build sustainable projects that enhance communities worldwide. I thrive in fast-paced, mission-driven environments and am always looking for opportunities to bring strategy and execution together to drive real change.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that I met Mitch through Remi, who befriended Baron—a large, regal dog I immediately nicknamed "The Aristocrat." His humans, Jeff and Elizabeth, became friendly with me, and I soon learned that Jeff often provided housing for people passing through the neighborhood. The first guest was a remarkable Iranian artist, who is now an MBA student at BU’s Questrom School of Business. As it turns out, we have much in common, including an unusual, non-traditional childhood. He grew up in many states and spent the last three and a half years living in South Sudan, Vienna, and Bangkok.
Our conversations have covered a wide range of topics, from Marine Corps concerns to the ideation of creating a new university. I am continually struck by his intellectual curiosity and career aspirations, which align closely with the core mission of the Institute of Global Leadership, spanning foreign service and humanitarian issues. Remarkably, he lives just 150 steps away from me—a serendipitous proximity that has fostered a relationship marked by productivity and stimulating discussions, ranging from sports to Wernher von Braun. His name is omnipresent in Huntsville, Alabama, including the mansion-turned-museum atop Monte Sano Mountain.
I enjoy learning from Mitch, and our occasional differences in opinion only serve to sharpen our thinking. His experiences are meaningful and diverse. As I write this, we are about to depart for Bangkok. He has already taken the initiative to redesign a website through a friend's connection, just one example of his resourcefulness. When I use the word "productive," I do so with full appreciation of the balance between meaningful work and the engaging conversations we have while collaborating.
Gavin Murphy
Gavin went to law school before starting his career in San Francisco after finishing engineering studies at Tufts. He spent 10 years in SF working as a lawyer and carving out time for running, climbing, and skiing. Gavin is an avid reader - focused mostly on nonfiction and the occasional mystery. Gavin now works as in house counsel for Brex, a fintech startup combining his engineering and legal background. Professionally he has focused on financial services regulation in the US as well as UK, EU, Canada, and Australia including previous stints at Square and several international law firms. Gavin currently lives in Washington DC with his wife, Madeline, and black lab, Hyde.
At Varo he launched a secured credit card for credit building and a payday alternative loan for the under banked in the US. At Square, Murphy launched small business loans in the U.K. and small business lines of credit in the US.
Welcoming the community to Truro! Bear sculpture courtesy of wonderful Gavin.
Jim Walsh
Dr. Jim Walsh is a Senior Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program (SSP). His research and writings focus on international security, and in particular, topics involving nuclear weapons. Dr. Walsh has testified before the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on topics relating to nuclear terrorism, Iran, and North Korea. He is one of the relatively small number of Americans who have travelled to both Iran and North Korea for talks with officials about nuclear issues.
His recent writing includes “The Implications of the JCPOA for Future Verification Arrangements (including the DPRK),” “The Digital Communications Revolution: Lessons for the Nuclear Policy Community,” and “Laser Enrichment and Proliferation: Assessing Future Risks.”
Dr. Walsh is the international security contributor to the National Public Radio's Here and Now, and his comments and analysis have appeared in the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and numerous other national and international news outlets. Before coming to MIT, Walsh was Executive Director of the Managing the Atom project at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a visiting scholar at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has taught at both Harvard University and MIT. Dr. Walsh received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gail Schechter
Since launching her career as a tenant organizer in 1984, Gail Schechter has been a local and national leader in fair, affordable, and intergenerational housing; investigation of housing discrimination complaints; housing development; and community organizing. Today Gail serves as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.), providing and championing intergenerational housing and support services for low-income seniors throughout the City of Chicago.
She is also a widely recognized thought leader in conceiving of and implementing creative grassroots strategies for just, beloved communities, most recently as the organizer of “The Justice Project: The March Continues” in Chicago’s northern suburbs, the Evanston-based racial equity focused Community Alliance for Better Government, and the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform, which won three citizen-led referendums in 2022 that break a nearly 60-year single-party monopoly on local government. In 2012, the Governor appointed her to fill the “affordable housing advocate” seat on the State Housing Appeals Board, the enforcement body of the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act which she helped to pass. Gail is also a co-founder of the Chicago-based Addie Wyatt Center for Nonviolence Training and the author of “We’re Gonna Open Up the Whole North Shore” in the anthology The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North (2016). She has a B.A. with honors in history from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Tufts University in Urban and Environmental Policy.
As to how I remember my time together with Sherman and IGL, I attach a letter that I wrote on that very topic 10 years ago! Feel free to take what you want from it. (And yes, I was a "valedictorian" for my Urban & Environmental Policy class at Tufts, in 1990).
Alina Shkolnikov
Alina Shkolnikov is a seasoned professional with a rich tapestry of experiences spanning diverse sectors and global landscapes. As the Chief Partnerships Officer at PollyLabs and a Faculty Lecturer at The New School, Alina brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep commitment to strategic innovation to her roles.
With a career marked by impactful contributions at organizations such as the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, HP, and PresenTense, Alina has honed her expertise in catalytic growth and social impact. Her journey from Ukraine to Israel, India, and the US has equipped her with a unique perspective that fuels her interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving.
Alina's academic background in communications and strategy, coupled with her practical experience, enables her to craft meticulously designed strategies that drive meaningful social and environmental change while ensuring financial sustainability.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Alina is dedicated to fostering dialogue and progress as the Chair of the Israeli Board of Seeds of Peace and a Board Member at Forum Devorah. With a steadfast commitment to making a positive difference in the world, Alina Shkolnikov is a driving force for innovation and collaboration in the pursuit of a better future for all.
Bar Pereg
Bar Pereg, CEO of PollyLabs, is a visionary leader driven by a passion for leveraging technology to address pressing global challenges and drive purpose-driven growth. With a diverse background spanning various industries and roles, Bar has witnessed firsthand the untapped potential of technology to drive positive change. This realization prompted the founding of PollyLabs, a groundbreaking think tank and centre studio focused on repurposing technology for good.
Throughout her career, Bar has worked with Fortune 500 executives, startups, governments, and NGOs, advising on growth strategy, technology integration, and social impact. With extensive global experience and a track record of leading diverse teams, Bar is dedicated to pioneering innovative solutions that promote equity and improve the human experience.
Bar holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she specialized in finance and sustainability. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Sociology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. With a deep understanding of business strategy, technology, and social dynamics, Bar is committed to driving meaningful change and shaping a more inclusive future for all.
Sameer Arshad Khatlani
Sameer Arshad Khatlani is a journalist with Hindustan Times, India’s second-biggest newspaper. He was a senior assistant editor with the Indian Express until June 2018.
Born and raised in Kashmir, Khatlani began his career with the now-defunct Bengaluru-based Vijay Times in 2005 as its national affairs correspondent. He joined the Times of India in 2007. Over the next nine years, Khatlani was part of the newspaper's national and international news-gathering team.
He has reported from Iraq and Pakistan, and covered elections and national disasters. Khatlani has a master's degree in history from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.
He is a fellow with the Hawaii-based American East-West Center and the author of The Other Side of the Divide, A Journey into the Heart of Pakistan, Penguin eBury Press, March 2020.
CB Bhattacharya
CB Bhattacharya is the H.J. Zoffer Chair in Sustainability and Ethics at the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. He is a world-renowned expert in business strategy innovation aimed at increasing both business and social value. His research and teaching focus specifically on how companies can use underleveraged “intangible assets” such as corporate identity, reputation, corporate social responsibility and sustainability to strengthen stakeholder relationships and drive business and societal value.
Prof. Bhattacharya has published over 100 articles and has over 45,000 citations per Google Scholar, placing him among the top 50 cited marketing academics per Google Scholar and the top 1% of marketing academics per a Stanford University study. His latest book entitled Small Actions Big Difference: Leveraging Corporate Sustainability to Drive Business and Societal Value was published by Routledge in 2019. He is co-author of the book Leveraging Corporate Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Maximizing Business and Social Value and co-editor of the book Global Challenges in Responsible Business, both published by Cambridge University Press. He has served on the Editorial Review Boards and served as Editor of special issues of many leading publications. Prof. Bhattacharya is the founder of the Center for Sustainable Business at Pitt as well as the ESMT Sustainable Business Roundtable, a forum with more than 25 multinational members, aimed at discussing opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming sustainability practices within organizations. In 2007, he started the Stakeholder Marketing Consortium with support from the Aspen Institute.
Prof. Bhattacharya is part of a select group of faculty members that have been named twice to Business Week’s Outstanding Faculty list. He is on the #thinklist of the University of Bath, a list of influential faculty thinkers on issues of responsible business. He has won several best paper awards, teaching awards and research prizes. He was also a finalist for the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award in 2007. In addition, he received the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award in 1995, the highest teaching award at Emory University.
He received his PhD in Marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1993, his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in 1984 and his Bachelors (with Honors in Economics) from St. Stephens College, Delhi in 1982. Before joining ESMT in 2009, he was the Everett W. Lord Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Marketing at the School of Management at Boston University. Before joining Boston University, he was on the faculty at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University. Prior to his PhD, he worked for three years as a Product Manager in Reckitt Benckiser plc.
Prof. Bhattacharya has conducted research and consulted for many organizations such as Allianz, AT&T, Bosch, Eli Lilly, E.ON, General Mills, Green Mountain Coffee, High Museum of Art, Hitachi Corporation, Procter & Gamble Company, Prudential Bank, Timberland and Unilever. As an expert in corporate responsibility and sustainability, he is often interviewed and quoted in publications such as Business Week, BBC, Forbes, Financial Times, Fortune, Newsweek, The New York Times and The Economist and on TV stations such as Times Now, CBS and PBS. He frequently delivers keynote speeches or brings in his insights as a panelist at company, industry, and academic conferences and conventions.