Class: 2009
Joel Steinhaus
Joel Steinhaus is an entrepreneur and non-profit leader. He is the former Head of Strategic Initiatives at WeWork and former Managing Director and Chief of Staff to the Chairman at Citigroup. Joel helped launch NBC News' Education Nation, a multi-media enterprise focused on engaging the public in a conversation about improving education in the U.S. He is Chairman of the hundred year-old non-profit New Yorkers for Parks and is a Trustee of uAspire, a national non-profit focused on college affordability. Joel is currently a member of the Economic Club of New York and a former term member at the Council of Foreign Relations. In 2014, he was named a David…
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John Hendra
John Hendra recently established his own consulting practice – JD Hendra Strategic Consulting – after retiring from a dynamic 32-year United Nations career as a development leader in both Headquarters and the field. He played a leading role in major UN change initiatives including: in the strategic design of the UN’s support for both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); helping to establish UN Women, the UN’s newest entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights; and as UN Resident Coordinator pioneering the “Delivering as One” Initiative in Vietnam for greater UN system-wide coherence and country level impact. JD Hendra Strategic Consulting provides strategic advice…
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Leslie Brown
Leslie Brown is Senior Advisor with the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI). OTI was created by executive order under Mayor Eric Adams consolidating all NYC tech agencies and offices, including NYC Cyber Command, 311, DOITT, Office of Data Analytics, and the Office of Information Privacy with a combined contract procurement portfolio of $6.4 billion. In this role Leslie preps the Chief Technology Officer and other principals for legislative hearings and other public-facing tech and innovation stakeholder domestic and international engagements. Leslie works to advance OTI’s legislative agenda in collaboration with internal subject matter leads and the NYC City Hall Intergovernmental Affairs team to foster knowledge sharing and engagement on shared…
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Unmesh Brahme
Unmesh Brahme is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of several leadership and strategy coaching firms, including Purpose Partners Worldwide and Coach Partners Worldwide. He is also Co-founder and Director of Transcend Leadership and TruePurpose. He works with clients globally as well as specific to the Asia Pacific region on building organizational and individual leadership quotient through a combination of purpose, mindfulness, and presence-based coaching interventions. Prior to these roles, Unmesh had successful senior management work experience in the social development, education, public-private partnerships, financial services, building purpose brands, social enterprise and investment management, start-ups mentoring, inclusive sustainability, strategy advisory, and co-creating compassionate emerging economies. His body of work has been…
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Zafar Sobhan
Zafar Sobhan is Founder and Editor of the Dhaka Tribune, a daily newspaper launched in 2013, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Tribune has already made its mark as the fastest growing English-language newspaper in the history of Bangladesh. Prior to this, Zafar spent seven years as a senior editor at The Daily Star and four years as the editor of Forum, a monthly long-form magazine. He has also worked as a corporate attorney in Manhattan and a New York City public school teacher. In addition, Zafar is Bangladesh's first columnist to be syndicated outside the country, and has written for The New York Times, the Guardian, TIME, YaleGlobal, EPW, Vice,…
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Maria Corina Machado
María Corina Machado is National Coordinator of Vente Venezuela, the party of freedom and a liberal political organization born in 2013 and of which she is a founding member. She was the Member of the National Assembly of Venezuela elected with the highest number of votes of all the candidates for that electoral contest (2010-2015) and is one of the main opposition leaders in the country. Since 2017, she is a founding member, along with Antonio Ledezma and Diego Arria, and accompanied by an extensive National Council, of the SoyVenezuela platform, an alliance of large sectors of the country, with international projection, committed to the rescue of the Republic and…
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Vusi Gumede
Vusi Gumede is a professor at the University of South Africa and at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute where he teaches courses on political economy and development. He was previously an associate professor at the University of Johannesburg and has lectured public policy at the School of Government at the University of Witwatersrand. Vusi has published two books on South Africa and edited several books focusing on Africa’s political economy of development, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters, editorials, and blogs. He is Editor-in-Chief for Africanus (Journal of Development Studies) and of Africa Insight and is a member of various academic editorial boards and committees. Vusi…
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Class of 2009
The 2009 World Fellows include a noted Chinese independent filmmaker, the editorial page editor of Russia’s most influential business daily, a Saudi Arabian foundation director and television personality, and an Indian corporate sustainability strategist for one of the largest international banks. “I am delighted that these extraordinary men and women have chosen to spend time at Yale,” said President Richard Levin. “We are certain that their leadership skills will be strengthened, and that the Yale community will benefit greatly from their presence on campus.” “Each of the 2009 Yale World Fellows has demonstrated an outstanding record of accomplishment and unlimited potential for future success,” said Program Director Michael Cappello, Professor of…
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