Our Team

Meet the team bringing you this year's conference.

 

Ali Collins is Co-Chair of the Women in Power Conference. A second-year Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, Ali is passionate about empowering women in politics, and she aspires to help close the gender gap in local, state and national politics through data-driven campaign strategy. Briefly before the Kennedy School, Ali was a part of the research team at SKDKnickerbocker, a strategic communications firm specializing in political and advocacy-based PR, located in Washington, DC. Prior to SKDK, Ali worked as a Research Analyst at the Minnesota Population Center, an interdisciplinary cooperative for demographic research. A native of Minnesota, Ali earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish Studies at the University of Minnesota.

ALI Collins

Conference Co-Chair

Bar Peled is Co-Chair of the Women in Power Conference. A second year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, Bar also leads the Israel Caucus and focuses her studies on the impact of technology on social and political processes. Bar graduated with a joint degree in Law and History from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is a certified lawyer with a background in commercial litigation and class actions. Bar has years of experience in strategy and media planning across the private, public and non-profit sectors. Among others, she previously served as spokesperson for the leader of the Israeli opposition and Chairwoman of the Labor party, MK Shelly Yacimovich.  Bar also had the honor of working with several women candidates on their first political campaigns, all now Members of Parliament in Israel and true feminist allies.

BAR PELED

Conference Co-Chair

Marie Perrot is Co-Chair of the Women in Power Conference and a second year Master in Public Policy student and Program on Education Policy and Governance Fellow. As a strong proponent of equal treatment in the workplace and beyond, Marie is honored to organize the Kennedy School’s first conference focused on women’s issues. Prior to joining HKS, she spent two years as a Research Assistant at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C., and one year as a Match Corps member at Match Community Day Public Charter School in Boston tutoring small groups of Kindergarten and Preschool students. Marie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Child Development from Tufts University.

Marie Perrot

Conference Co-Chair

Catia is the Fundraising Director for the Women in Power Concentrator. Catia is a Social and Urban Policy concentrator at HKS.  She previously worked at the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance, as well as the Government Performance Lab.

CATia Sharp

Fundraising Director

Jenina Soto is the Marketing Lead for the 2018 Women in Power Conference. She is currently pursuing an MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school, she spent five years in finance at Goldman Sachs, and most recently spent her summer interning at both the Office of Management and Budget and the FinTech startup, United Income. Alongside working in NYC, she was very active in several nonprofits, including serving on the board of directors of the United Women in Business Foundation and as a mentor through programs such as America Needs You and iMentor. Jenina received a B.S. in business administration and management from Boston University. For fun, she enjoys running and has completed five marathons, through which she has raised over $10,000 for nonprofits including the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Jenina Soto

Marketing Director

Camilla Taufic is the Event Lead for the 2018 Women in Power Conference and the Creative Director of the Women’s Policy Journal of Harvard. Camilla is a first-year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. After graduating from Rhodes College with a BA in International Relations, Camilla moved to DC, where she began working for an international development organization. For the last four years, Camilla has lived between DC and Turkey, working on Syria crisis response programs. Following graduation, Camilla hopes to work on human and emotional security initiatives that proactively reduce the effects of trauma caused by conflict or disaster. In this role, Camilla will be a strong advocate for the needs of women during crises.

Camilla Taufic

Event Planning Director

Aneliese Palmer is the Workshops Lead for the 2018 Women in Power Conference. She is a Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to enrolling at HKS, Aneliese designed and managed community and artist engagement programs at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. She founded Alaska Laughs, an organization that provides soft skill workshops through comedy and storytelling to Anchorage teenagers. Prior to working in the arts, Aneliese was a program specialist for the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. She earned a BA in Comparative Religion from Harvard College. She is a comedian and cartoonist in her free time.

AneLiESE Palmer

Workshop Development Lead

Amy Zhou is co-chair of the Women in Power Professional Interest Council, and a member of the conference coordination committee. Amy is a second-year Masters in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, and also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Women’s Policy Journal of Harvard. Prior to coming to Harvard, Amy was a digital analytics consultant to clients in the private and public sectors. Her undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering and her background prior to consulting was in the aerospace industry. Amy hopes to work in international climate policy after graduation, and wishes to continue advocating for women’s rights throughout the rest of her career.

AMy Zhou

Workshop Development Lead

Malini is passionate about enabling educated women to stay in the workforce through a combination of research, advocacy, and infrastructure creation, and helped launch The Foundation for Working Women in India. She is excited to be co-leading the Women in Technology panel because it gives students and professionals the opportunity to discuss how technology can empower women, and vice versa.

A second-year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Chair of the Business & Government Professional Interest Council, Malini’s focus is on building consensus on issues at the business-government intersection in emerging markets. She is particularly interested in understanding how stakeholder collaboration can enable policymaking for unpredictable emerging technologies.

Before the Kennedy School, Malini worked as a consultant in the India practice of the Albright Stonebridge Group in New Delhi and Washington DC, helping multinational companies and non-governmental organizations assess political risk, identify opportunities for investment and expansion, and collaborate with the government.

In her free time, Malini enjoys writing and playing board games.

Malini Bose

Content Co-Lead

Tess Byars co-leads the “Power of Women in Politics” panel. She is a second-year Master in Public Policy degree candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she is also the co-chair of the HKS Electoral Politics Professional Interest Council. Before enrolling at Harvard, Tess worked at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, a private foundation in Washington, D.C., where she managed a grant portfolio on U.S. children’s health policy and supported initiatives to protect safety net programs for low-income children and families. After graduation, Tess hopes to work in electoral politics and champion reforms that equalize access to and participation in our democracy. Tess received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University.

Tess ByArs

Content Co-Lead

Sarah Canny is co-chair of the Women in Power Professional Interest Council and a co-lead of the “Power of Women in Politics” panel. She is a second-year Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School, concentrating in Democracy, Politics, and Institutions. Sarah is passionate about empowering women with negotiation and leadership skills. After graduation, she hopes to work in electoral politics and encourage more women to run for elected office. Prior to coming to Harvard, Sarah worked in higher education and government relations as an advocate for greater access to college counseling and post-secondary education opportunities. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Rochester.

Sarah Canny

Content Co-Lead

Chloe Cotton is on the Fundraising Team for the Women in Power Conference. She is a second-year joint-degree student at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. At HKS, Chloe is involved with the Gender Policy Union and the Kennedy Senate Simulation. At HLS, she is an Article Editor for the Harvard Law and Policy Review, serves on the Domestic Policy Committee of the Women’s Law Association, and is a student advocate with the Tenant Advocacy Project. She will be interning with the Campaign Legal Center this summer and spent last summer with the Center for Secure and Modern Elections. Prior to enrolling in graduate school, Chloe was Program Specialist with the Denali Commission, a federal agency which funds rural development projects in Alaska. She also served as the In-State Finance Director on Senator Mark Begich’s 2014 re-election campaign. Chloe received her undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College.

Chloe Cotton

Fundraising Coordinator

Lillka Cuttaree, a former Senior Director of the Mauritius Board of Investment and Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office has a long experience of public/private partnerships, strong project management skills and a sound understanding of the service sector in emerging markets. In 2011, she founded the KIP Center for Leadership, an executive education center to shape talents and ideas within the business community in the region.  

A passionate promoter of girls and women rights, Lillka is a Fellow of the Vital Voices Leadership Network (USA) and has created the Mauritius Lean In circle. She has launched over the past years a number of national initiatives to empower and promote gender diversity differently in Mauritius.

Lillka is fully bilingual French/English, holds a degree in Political Sciences and an MBA from Sciences Po Paris as well as a Master in Economics and Industrial Strategy from Universite Paris-Dauphine (France). She is currently a  MC/MPA  candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, a recent speaker on domestic violence and women rights at the Harvard Conference on Human Rights (January 2018) and will continue to pursue her advocacy role on women rights at an international level.  

Lillka Cuttaree

Event Planning Team

Liz is a content co-lead for the Women in Power Conference. She is a second year Master in Public Policy candidate concentrating on business and government policy, and the practices of management, leadership, and decision-making. Prior to attending HKS, Liz served in the New York City Mayor's Office of Sustainability, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. She is committed to working across sectors to improve the sustainability and livability of communities around the world.

Liz Hanson

Content Co-Lead

Rachel is Content Co-Lead for the Women in Power International Development panel and hosts the conference’s Organizational Design Workshop. She recently graduated from HKS with a Masters in Public Administration (MPA). Broadly speaking, Rachel’s work sits at the intersection of International Development, Behavioral Economics, Program Evaluation and Gender Equity. Over the past decade and a half, she has traveled extensively to Southeast Asia and Africa working on poverty alleviation, gender equity and economic development initiatives, including a multiyear microfinance project with Nobel Laureates Grameen Bank; education and human rights advocacy in Southeast Asia as President of Seeds of Change Consulting; and through her work as Chair of UUSC’s Economic Justice Department. Presently, Rachel is a Global Research and Training Manager with MIT’s Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and a Harvard Research Fellow in Residence with initiatives across HKS, HBS and HSPH. Past research fellowship projects include Organizational Design curriculum development and gender equity research on behalf of the Australian government (PI: Iris Bohnet, HBS/HKS); a MacArthur Foundation project on the Behavioral Insights for Corruption Control on behalf of the Nigerian government (PI: Brigette Madrian, HKS). Her current research centers on removing financial barriers for vulnerable mothers and infants in the NICU, with the aim of improving health outcomes (PI: Margaret McConnell, HSPH).

Rae Hathaway

Content Co-Lead

Martha Lee is co-chair of the “Movers and Shakers: Feminism in Pop Culture" panel. In this capacity, Martha hopes to highlight voices that are challenging the ways that we discuss feminism and women’s issues. She is a first year Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School concentrating in International and Global Affairs. Martha is also on the leadership team of the Women in Power Professional Interest Council and serves at the Managing Editor for the Women’s Policy Journal of Harvard. Prior to HKS, she managed a nutrition program for at-risk children and adolescent mothers in Managua, Nicaragua, for an international development non-profit.  Martha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Diplomatic History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Martha Lee

Content Co-Lead

Dai is honored to co-chair of the Women in Technology panel, which aims to explore the relationship between technological and social progress across multiple dimensions of technology. Prior to enrolling at HKS as a MPP student, Dai taught English in…

Dai is honored to co-chair of the Women in Technology panel, which aims to explore the relationship between technological and social progress across multiple dimensions of technology. Prior to enrolling at HKS as a MPP student, Dai taught English in Azerbaijan as a Peace Corps volunteer and in South Africa as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Upon returning to New York City, she designed and developed paper and digital English Language Arts curriculum for K-5 students as well as dashboard assessment tools for teachers. She then moved to Shanghai to develop Augmented Reality software and hardware. In August 2018, Dai will enroll in MIT System Design and Management masters program. She is passionate about interdisciplinary systems design for technology and empowerment. Dai is a proud member of the Women of Dartmouth alumni group and co-founded the WoD Rocky Mountains chapter.

DAI LIN

Content Co-Lead

Shaniqua McClendon is currently a Master in Public Policy Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she is president of the Black Student Union. Prior to coming to the Kennedy School, she served as Legislative Director for Congresswoman Alma S. Adams in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hailing from the State of North Carolina, Shaniqua is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications and a B.S. in Business Administration. While at UNC Chapel Hill, she developed a deep interest in using education policy to create economic parity and eliminate wealth disparities for disadvantaged communities. This eventually led her to the nation’s capital where she interned at the White House in the Office of Presidential Correspondence. Upon finishing her internship, Shaniqua began her career on Capitol Hill working in various capacities for former Senator Kay Hagan, advising on policy issues ranging from education and telecommunications to transportation. During Shaniqua’s time on Capitol Hill she made it a point to connect rising staffers with resources and opportunities to enhance their professional development.

Shaniqua McClendon

Content Co-Lead

Charlotte McEwen

Content Co-Lead

Aleksandra is a co-chair of the “New Age Feminism” panel. Currently in her second year at the MPP program of Harvard Kennedy School, she is passionate about women’s empowerment and seeks to translate gender issues into everyday language and practice. Aleksandra believes that the new age of feminism should be integrated into the way of life of women, rather than communicated as a sideline phenomenon.

Prior to HKS, she was an economic policy officer at the Office of the President of Bulgaria, and was actively engaged with projects in the non-for-profit sector in the country. Aleks holds degrees from Sofia University and University College London, and has lived and worked in Russia, Chile, and Kenya.

Aleks Milcheva

Content Co-Lead

Grace is the Women In Power Conference's Fundraising Coordinator and a first year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Kennedy School. Prior to the Kennedy School, Grace served as a staffer in the U.S. Senate working on technology and telecommunications policy, a topic she continues to study at Harvard. Grace's work focuses on closing the digital divide and ensuring that all Americans have access to high quality and affordable internet service.

Grace Ogilby

Fundraising Coordinator

Elizabeth Patton is a member of the Event Planning Team for the 2018 Women in Power Conference.  She is a first year Master of Public Policy candidate focusing on American K-12 education policy.  Prior to HKS, Elizabeth worked as a teacher and school administrator in a Boston high school.  In addition to her interest in American K-12 education and teacher quality, Elizabeth is passionate about empowering women, especially new mothers, to advocate for themselves and their families in professional settings.  Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from Harvard University.

Elizabeth Patton

Event Planning Team

Claire is an international relations professional focused on global peace and security issues. As a diplomat with over 13 years in the Australian foreign service, her field experience includes postings to Argentina, Afghanistan and a recent deployment as deputy chief of mission at the Australian Embassy in Iraq. As a MPA student at Harvard Kennedy School, Claire concentrates on Middle East policy, gender equality and women’s leadership in foreign and national security policy.

CLaire Rochecouste

Event Planning Team

Ana Maria is a second-year Master of Public Administration student at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her passion is to generate social impact through innovative solutions that favor inclusive sustainable development in developing countries. In recent years, she focused on generating this impact through a deep understanding of human and social cognitive and emotional tendencies, integrating neoclassical economic theory and psychology to improve the decision making of economic agents.

She has six years of work experience working on design of sustainable agricultural and climate change mitigation policies in South America. In her last job, she worked as research coordinator of a South-South collaboration between governments and research institutions in South America, Africa and Asia. She began her career as a research assistant at the Center of Studies of Economic Development at the Faculty of Economics of Universidad de los Andes.

Ana Maria studied economics and has a Master of economics at the Universidad de los Andes. She has lived and worked in Bogotá, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. She speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese and Italian.

Ana Rojas Mendez

Content Co-Lead

Emily Rutter is proud to serve on the Events Team for the inaugural Women in Power Conference at the Kennedy School. Originally from Buffalo, NY, she is currently pursuing a Master in Public Policy degree and is interested in improving organizational effectiveness with policies that close the gender gap and generate pathways for more women in power. Before graduate school, Emily worked at Harvard to create inclusive communities and events. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (mind/brain/behavior) from Harvard College.

Emily Rutter

Event Planning Team

Alexandra Schmitt is co-chair of the “Women in National Security: Increasing Representation and Leadership” panel. She is a first year Master of Public Policy candidate concentrating in International and Global Affairs. Prior to HKS, she was the Washington Advocacy Coordinator at Human Rights Watch, where she advocated for stronger human rights conditions in US foreign policy and focused on women, peace, and security and atrocities prevention policies. Alex is determined to create more space in international security for women’s contributions and perspectives on rights and security issues. Alex has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Grinnell College in Iowa.

Alex Schmitt

Content Co-Lead

Friederike Strub is part of the conference’s Marketing team, Professional-Development Co-Chair of the WIP PIC and Co-Chair of the International Development PIC. She’s a first-year Master in Public Policy candidate aspiring to a career in international development that puts women’s economic and political empowerment front and center. She’s especially interested in building women’s entrepreneurship and agency through education. Friederike has worked in public sector consulting, the German foreign service as well as women’s human rights advocacy, and has been an active volunteer in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom for several years. A German native, Friederike graduated from the University of Konstanz, where she focused on gender equality policy and spent an exciting semester doing Middle Eastern studies in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Friederike Strub

Marketing Team

Frances was a Private Wealth Management banker at UBS in Hong Kong. She was also freelance journalist for Wall Street Journal and South China Morning Post. She has passion for women's development, media and entrepreneurship. 

Frances will pursue a joint degree program both at the Harvard Kennedy School and Tuck Business School of Dartmouth. 

Frances has degree a BBA (Hons) in Finance from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Frances Tan

Marketing Team

Gabrielle Tarini is co-chair of the “Women in National Security: Increasing Representation and Leadership” panel. She is a first year Master in Public Policy student at the Kennedy School and a student research assistant at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She is committed to improving the gender balance within the national security community and promoting the visibility and impact of women in the field.

Prior to the Kennedy School, she was a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Washington, D.C., and a fellow at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea. Gabrielle earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Boston College.

Gabby Tarini

Content Co-Lead

Abigail Zhao is Coordinator for the fundraising team for the Women in Power Conference and a first year Master in Public Policy student. She believes in equal access to opportunities for both men and women and is committed to bring gender equality to especially under-resourced communities.

Before HKS, she spent two years working at an education NGO in China where she helped promote education equality for kids of different genders and different backgrounds. She also worked as a Research Analyst at a think tank based in Beijing, where she did research on social policy issues. Abigail earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from University of California, Los Angeles.

Abigail Zhao

Fundraising Coordinator