First Generation Harvard Alumni

A little bit about the First Generation Harvard Alumni Board's Leadership

Harold S. Lewis, Co-President

Harold S. Lewis recently concluded 30+ years of multi-faceted work in the private and public sector holding leadership positions in and advising clients within industries such as utilities, digital and traditional media, higher education, telecommunications, and financial services. Most of his career was in Management Consulting with firms such as Accenture, ScottMadden Inc., and Huron where Harold helped his clients excel. Harold also worked in the media and communications industry with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspapers, The Weather Channel Companies, and Cox Interactive Media along with several high-tech/Internet focused start-ups. Harold is a Generational African-American and first-generation college graduate earning his AB in Economics from Harvard in 1985 and also has a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Personally, Harold is married to a fellow first-generation college graduate, Dr. Mia Wright, Harvard Class of 1987, and they live in Westchester County, NY. Together, they have three adult children living in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Chicago.

 

Layla Ramirez, Co-President

Layla A. Ramirez is a first-generation Harvard Business School '17 and Smith College '09 alumna. She leads Diversity, Equity, Inclusion &; Belonging (DEIB) efforts at Justworks, a high-growth HR Tech company that enables entrepreneurs to work fearlessly and grow their businesses with confidence. Layla previously held similar roles at Amazon Web Service, Netflix and Danaher Corporation. As a seasoned business professional, Layla has over 10 years of experience working in a multitude of cultural contexts throughout Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. Her functional expertise includes strategy, operations, business development and inclusion, diversity and equity. Previously she served as a board member for The Bexel Initiative, a community development platform that emphasizes investment management and entrepreneurship to expand opportunities within underserved communities, and has held board positions in non-profit organizations in the college readiness, college access and mentoring field, focusing on governance, growth, stakeholder engagement, and organizational management.

 

Erica Scott-PUOPOLO, Co-Treasurer

Erica Scott-Puopolo AB '06 is experienced in philanthropy, political campaigns, and strategic communications. Erica is a first generation graduate on one side of her family and the second of only two college graduates on the other side. She holds an AB from Harvard, MA from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy graduate certificate. She was a Community Fellow at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice at Boston University. In 2019, Erica was a candidate for Mayor of Fall River, MA. In college, Erica was a proud participant in a low income student focus group that led to the development of the groundbreaking Harvard Financial Aid Initiative. Erica is active in the Harvard alumni community as an alumni interviewer of applicants, a mentor to first generation low income students, an alumni marshal at Commencement and Convocation, and a member of her class reunion committees. She co-founded the Native American Alumni at Harvard University shared interest group. 

 

Nicole Jarmula, Co-Treasurer

Nicole Jarmula is a Software Development Engineer at Amazon. She is a first-generation Harvard alumna who received her A.B. in Computer Science with a secondary in Mind/Brain Behavior in 2021. Nicole is currently located in Chicago, IL. She hopes to bridge the gap for FGLI students at Harvard to help them better navigate the challenges specific to their Harvard experience and help them feel ready for the world after Harvard. 

 

Glenn Moramarco, Co-Secretary

Glenn Moramarco is a first-generation Harvard College graduate who recently retired from a 35-year career in law and public service. He served as a Senior Attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice, where he worked in the Democracy Program, focusing on issues including campaign finance reform, ballot access, and judicial independence. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, serving in the General Crimes, Organized Crime, and Appeals Divisions. Most recently, Glenn served as the Assistant Attorney General In-Charge of Special Litigation for the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, where he supervised litigation challenging various federal actions during the administration of President Trump. He received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1981, a B.Phil. from Balliol College, Oxford in 1983, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1986. 

 

Paola Ortiz, Co-Secretary

Paola Ortiz is a first-generation college graduate. She completed her Master of Education degree with a specialization in Human Development & Psychology in 2008 from HGSE. Paola currently serves as the Executive Director of Clinical Services for Merakey, a non-profit provider of developmental, behavioral health, and education services. In this role, she oversees a clinical team across the state of California. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with individuals throughout the lifespan, ranging from one year old to 70 years old. Paola dedicates her evenings to teaching Psychology as an adjunct professor. Additionally, she has been an admissions interviewer for Harvard since 2013. Paola's professional journey has been marked by her diverse experiences in both non-profit and startup business environments. In each leadership role she has undertaken, Paola has focused on improving opportunities and outcomes for marginalized populations, including first-generation, low-income, and special education students. She looks forward to bringing her extensive experience and unwavering commitment to equity to the FGHA board. 

 

Sadé Abraham, Director-At-Large

Sadé Abraham serves as an Academic Coach for the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the Harvard University Academic Resource Center. Sade recently completed her second master’s in cognitive neuroscience through the Harvard Graduate School of Education Mind Brain and Education program. Her research explores toxic stress, trauma, and adversity through the lens of neurocognition and education. Sadé began her professional tenure at Harvard serving as the founding director of “FYRE”, a pre-orientation program that supports first-gen low-income students and has served as Interim Assistant Director at the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. Prior to Harvard, Sade spent seven years working in university leadership including three years in Abu Dhabi and Dubai as an instructor, academic advisor, and founding member of the first residential college program in the Middle East at New York University Abu Dhabi.

 

James Bedford, Co-Chair, Alumni Affairs

James Bedford is a consultant in Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) education and social impact practices, currently pursuing the Schwarzman scholarship in Beijing, China. James founded and directed BCG’s national first-generation, low-income (FGLI) recruiting and mentoring and affiliation networks, directs programming and fundraising for FGLI students as a board member of the Roosevelt Foundation, supported Adams House in reshaping FGLI resources, and works with various classical music organizations to expand FGLI access and affordability. James co-founded the FGLI preorientation program, FYRE, during his time at the College along with various classes in the stem cell and computer science departments. James will return to Harvard for his MBA in 2023. 

 

Kelly Heuer, Co-Chair, Alumni Affairs

Kelly Heuer has worked in higher education for more than fifteen years, first as a researcher and professor and now as Vice President of Learning Experience at edX, a global education platform. She is a first-generation graduate of Harvard, earning an AB in philosophy ('07, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), where she was a John Harvard Scholar and community health volunteer. She also holds degrees in philosophy from Georgetown (MA '09, PhD '13, with distinction), where she was a University Scholar and co-founder of a sustained innovation lab focused on practical ethics: Ethics Lab. As a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown, Kelly helped launch the university's first massive open online course (MOOC) in bioethics. 

 

Timothy Maurer, Co-Chair, Alumni Affairs

Tim Maurer is a senior fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2021-2023, he served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Senior Counselor for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, and as Director for Technology and Democracy at the White House National Security Council. Tim was a member of the Biden-Harris National Security and Foreign Policy transition team. Before joining the U.S. government, he was director of Carnegie’s Cyber Policy Initiative. In 2018, Cambridge University Press published his book ‘Cyber Mercenaries: The State, Hackers, and Power,’ a comprehensive analysis examining proxy relationships between states and hackers. Prior to his work at various think tanks, Tim spent several years working with refugees and in the humanitarian field, including with the United Nations in Rwanda, Geneva, and New York. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School and holds a PhD and bachelor degree in political science from the Free University Berlin. 

 

Laurence Strybel, Co-Chair, Alumni Affairs

Larry Stybel is a licensed psychologist, co-founder of two companies, monthly contributor on leadership at Psychology Today, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at a private equity fund. His expertise revolves around being a partner to help client companies “insert success into leadership succession.” Larry has been on the Board of a venture-backed tech company in the HRTech space and a member of the Board of Directors of the New England Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He was the President of the Boston Human Resources Association. Larry is the co-author of Navigating the Waterfall, a book about career management and job search in the 21st Century, and his work has been published by California Management Review, Directorship, Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review. 

Hannah Chauvin, Co-Chair, Communications

Hannah Chauvin is a proud educational leader who currently serves districts and families as an academic program specialist, child advocate, and project manager. As a first generation college student herself, she has used her lived experience to support students and families to not only build necessary academic skills, but to develop the additional soft skills needed for collegiate success after high school graduation. She completed her Master’s in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2021, focusing her studies on supporting school systems to implement tools and strategies to ensure that all students have the resources and learning environments necessary to be successful each year. Prior to completing her master’s program, Hannah served over a decade as a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator in public K-12 schools and nonprofits. 

 

Shazmin Hirji, Co-Chair, Communications

Shazmin Hirji is a senior product developer for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and received her AB in Government from Harvard College. She has 10 years of combined experience as a corporate innovator and public policy shaper experienced in emerging technologies, advanced sciences, telecommunications, IT procurement reform, and economic development. Together with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, she has built public-private partnerships from the ground up, with proven success in creating smart cities, enabling advanced wireless networking, piloting next-generation technologies, and supporting tech startups across the United States and in Afghanistan. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

 

Tori Simeoni, Co-Chair, Communications

Tori Simeoni is a strategist who works with CEOs and senior leadership teams to define their focus and drive success. She helps brands in culture-leading categories including technology, food, fashion, beauty, luxury and media. As a strategy director her role is to deliver analytical rigor and creative inspiration in equal measure. Tori has a degree in Psychology from Harvard University where her studies focused on understanding what enables humans and organizations to flourish. A proud first generation Harvard College graduate, she has attended inter-school conferences for first generation students and served several times as an FGHA mentor. 

 

Benjamin Casillas, Co-Chair, Student Affairs

Benjamín Casillas is a 2021 graduate of Harvard College and a Consulting Analyst at Accenture’s Chicago office. During his time at the College, he served as the Co-President, Treasurer & SEAS Liason of the Harvard SEAS chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Vice President of Fuerza Latina, and Historian of the Latino Men’s Collective (LMC). Outside of work he has mentored students through a variety of programs and holds a continued interest in helping FLGI students succeed both inside and outside of the undergraduate experience. 

 

Yordanka Valdes Delionado, Co-Chair, Student Affairs

Yordanka Valdes Delionado is currently an Assistant Professor at Florida International University College of Law where she teaches various courses on legal research, legal writing, and appellate advocacy. She mentors FIU law students and graduates and recently participated in Harvard Law School's inaugural 1L Mentorship program. She is also a co-chair of the Miami Chapter of Harvard Law School's Women's Alliance. She is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida and was a member of the commercial litigation team at Hunton & Williams LLP (now Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP) in Miami, Florida. She received her J.D. degree from Harvard Law School where she was the Managing Editor of the Latino Law Review. Upon graduation, she served as a Harvard Law School Samuel J. Heyman Fellow for Public Service. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Miami. She was born in Camagüey, Cuba, and is a first-generation graduate. 

 

Leslie Jimenez, Co-Chair, Student Affairs

Leslie Jiménez is currently the Director of Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Cambridge Public Schools. Prior to this role, Leslie served in diverse leadership roles in both the charter and district sectors across the K-12 spectrum, including as a high school science teacher, parent workshop coordinator, founding instructional lead teacher at a middle school, school administrator at an elementary school, and a central office director. In each of these leadership roles, Leslie focused on improving the opportunities and outcomes for traditionally underserved student populations, including first-generation, low-income, English Learners, Latinx, African American, and Special Education students. Leslie is a proud first-generation Mexican American from Compton, California and holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in Education Policy and Administration from Loyola Marymount University. Most recently, she received her Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where she also served as a teaching fellow, field advisor, member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Equity and Diversity and the Reimagining Integration Diverse and Equitable Schools (RIDES) program. While at HGSE, she also helped support the launch of the Next-Gen Initiative, a role she continues to serve today. 

 

Anne Odera, Co-Chair, Student Affairs

Anne B. Odera is a cross-cultural specialist in alternative and emergency education, specifically in areas of quality, access and equity. A thought leader in advocacy and programmatic strategies for Inclusive Education in the context of displacement, with a focus on women/girls and engaging youth and communities. Anne is a fellow of The American Association of University Women (AAUW), an International Fellowship award for research to women with demonstrated commitment to advancement issues on the education of women and girls. She is also a fellow of Peace Education Organization (PEO), an International scholarship for selected women, who have used education to foster world peace and understanding.