Announcing the 2026 Youn Impact Scholars — here’s what they have to say

By Sachin Waikar

We’re proud to announce the newest cohort of Kellogg Youn Impact Scholars: alumni and graduating students who demonstrate exemplary commitment and impact across social and environmental domains. The most recently named group of 10 Scholars includes five “Impact Leaders” and five “Emerging Changemakers” chosen for their proven impact and vision to drive meaningful change. The cohort’s graduation years span from 2008 to 2026.

Each Impact Scholar joins an accomplished community of leaders representing commitment to meaningful, sustainable and global social change. This is the 13th year of the Kellogg Youn Impact Scholars, bringing the total number of Scholars to 130. The entire group meets in person every other year at Kellogg to discuss ideas and insights in conversation with current students and faculty. 

We connected with each 2026 Impact Scholar to understand the school’s role in shaping and supporting their vision of impact through resources including values, coursework, clubs and mentorship — and what being a Kellogg Leader means to them. 

Impact Leaders

Mariana Benavides ’10 MBA is director for global health initiatives at Eli Lilly and Company, where she cultivates multisectoral collaborations and shapes sustainable strategies to advance health equity and improve the quality of care for 30 million people living in limited resource settings. Her career spans pharmaceuticals, construction, consumer goods and sports marketing, including stints at PepsiCo and the Mexican Football Federation.  

“My vision of impact aligns with the school’s commitment to sustainability because strong, equitable health systems are a cornerstone of sustainable development. Much of my work has centered on building partnerships that expand access to quality care for chronic diseases while elevating the role of communities, youth, and frontline health workers.

“Lasting impact in health goes beyond delivering services — it requires strengthening local capacity, improving systems of care, and integrating innovation and technology to make those systems more efficient and responsive. This approach closely mirrors the sustainability ethos at Kellogg: investing in solutions that are collaborative, scalable, and built to endure.” 

Ben Chou ’20 JD-MBA is a program officer for the Democracy, Rights and Governance initiative at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where he helps design and implement a multi-year strategy to advance a thriving, resilient and pro-equity democracy in the United States. Previously he served as Program Officer for Civic Engagement at the Houston Endowment and Director of Innovation for the Harris County Elections Department, among other roles of impact.

“Democracy doesn’t sustain itself — someone has to fight for it. As COVID raged in Texas, many people were afraid to show up to the polls. So Harris County, where I served as director of innovation for the Elections Department, built drive-through voting —130,000 people used it. People were grateful that the government actually saw them and responded. 90% of local Democrats and 70% of Republicans supported it. Unfortunately, a year later it was made illegal.

“That moment taught me that popular solutions aren’t enough. Real sustainability means building a culture where Americans demand leaders who make democracy more accessible — and use their power at the ballot box to replace those who stand in the way. I'm committed to pursuing this vision.”

Temina Lalani-Shariff ’08 MBA currently serves as managing director — climate, health and development — at Global Health Visions, where she leads a global advisory portfolio supporting philanthropies and mission-driven organizations on strategy, grant-making and partnerships. Previously, she was regional director for South Asia at CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly funded agricultural research and innovation network. Earlier she held senior leadership roles at the International Rice Research Institute, Aga Khan University and the University of Calgary.  

“Kellogg equipped me with an entirely new grammar for understanding the world. With its cross-continental modules, I learned to read strategy, finance, and organizational dynamics not as abstract concepts but forces shaped by culture and context. This equipped me to move fluidly between boardrooms and the communities we serve.

“In international development, the gap between intent and outcome is so often a failure of communication across worlds. Kellogg gave me the architecture to bridge that divide. As climate change, food insecurity and global health crises become more urgent, we need leaders who can translate strategy and evidence into impact across sectors, geographies and power structures.”

Ashish Sinha ’23 MBA is deputy chief executive officer at the Institute for Responsive Government and Responsive Government Action, where he develops partnerships with election officials and allied organizations to advance secure election administration and strengthen public trust across all 50 U.S. states. He also sits on the board of the Voter Registration Project and previously served as the implementation director at the Center for Secure and Modern Elections.

“Kellogg helped prepare me for the rapid changes and needs which would impact my work in election administration and democracy. Electives like Phase Zero with Professors Craig Wortmann and David Schonthal taught me how to ignore the noise and fall in love with the problem.

“I have sought to bring both the product and ecosystem approaches of each elective into how I think about the ways we can strengthen democracy. As an example, those lessons helped me identify new partnerships and merger and acquisitions strategies with other nonprofits — leading to a stronger and more aligned ecosystem. I’m thankful for everything I gained at Kellogg.”

Chezare Warren ’24 MBA is a social scientist and tenured faculty member in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, maintaining a secondary appointment in Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. A former secondary mathematics teacher in Chicago, Warren’s research examines the social conditions that facilitate Black students’ well-being in education. He has authored and edited four books, with another forthcoming. 

“As a social scientist, my work centers on the interdisciplinary study of human experience in context. Daily, I strive to mobilize my learning in ways that make each of us more legible to one another. The Kellogg model of leadership confirms what I have long understood to be a fundamental dimension of transformation and social impact. That is, people over product, always.

“Impact is a function of influence, and influence is the result of consistently thoughtful, intelligent social interactions. The imperative is learning how to center the ‘we’ before the ‘me’ and to act locally by thinking globally.” 

Emerging Changemakers 

Hope Allen ’22 MBA works with the Sandberg Bernthal Goldberg Family Foundation, where she leads high-impact education, including scholarship programs serving 200+ scholars. Workforce initiatives she spearheads include Lean In Girls public-school pilots and Circles for Frontline Workers, a development program for hourly employees. Previously she worked at Boston Consulting Group, with a focus on developing workforce strategies for government and civic leaders.

“As a former teacher and school leader, I chose Kellogg because its collaborative model of leadership reflected the kind of leader I aspire to be. The school’s ethos — grounded in empathy, teamwork and a bias toward action — continues to shape my vision of impact. Kellogg reinforced my belief that the best solutions come from inclusive teams and ways of working.

“Across my work in education, consulting and social impact, I strive to bring diverse stakeholders together around shared goals. Whether designing programs for girls, frontline workers or high-potential students, I focus on listening first, synthesizing perspectives and translating strategy into practical execution.”

Bruno Tsunashima Enachev ’26 MBA will soon join the Bridgespan Group consultancy, where he previously interned. He aims to bridge global capital and local social solutions in Latin America, building the infrastructure to channel climate and education finance into the most effective NGOs. Previously, he worked as chief of staff at Brazilian education NGO Motriz and as a consultant at Bain & Company.

“Kellogg expanded my vision of social impact while fostering connections I will carry for a lifetime. Serving as president of the Education Club, director of the Social Impact Club and Board Fellow at Easterseals allowed me to meet like-minded peers and lead meaningful initiatives. Academically, completing my Social Impact pathway provided the knowledge required to understand this field’s challenges.

“During my MBA, I gained insights into board governance, impact investing quantification, federal energy policy and emerging markets. The guidance from professors who are leaders in the field supported my journey. These resources, along with support from the CMC and IPG, were key in securing my full-time role in the social impact sector. 

Richa Jatia ’26 MBA is the founder and CEO of Atmasantosh Foundation, a nonprofit that currently empowers over 4,500 underserved students in India through education-to-career pathways, mentorship and first-aid safety programs. The foundation’s flagship Patang Scholars Program combines financial aid with life-skills training, mentorship and career readiness — resulting in a 100% college graduation rate. She has also advised nonprofits and foundations as a strategy consultant at Wellspring Consulting.

“Mentorship from faculty at Kellogg has been the cornerstone of my MBA impact journey. Professor Megan Kashner's encouragement and investment in my growth gave me the confidence to keep building Atmasantosh Foundation. Through her support and Kellogg’s Impact Discovery Funding, I've built a network of leaders and practitioners I wouldn’t have reached on my own.

“Professor Allison Henry transformed how I think about governance and accountability. Through her teaching and the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program, I learned to ask sharper questions and lead with strategic empathy — skills I’m applying to Atmasantosh’s board structure. In Professor Sebastian Martin’s course, I built an AI agent to support student well-being at scale — proof that any Kellogg classroom can become a launchpad for mission-driven work.”

Nedra Lucas ’22 MBA is a program officer for the education program at Crown Family Philanthropies, focusing on reimagining a public school system that ensures all students have access to a joyful and rigorous learning environment — feeling seen, heard and supported on a path toward lifelong success. Previously, she worked as a project coordinator at Chicago Public Schools.

“As a funder, I use my position, privilege and access to resources to invest in the most promising solutions to transform education systems to better serve students furthest from opportunity. When cultivating a new relationship, I lead empathetically by acknowledging the power dynamic between funders and organizations and showing up authentically to create space for others to do the same. I strive to center those most impacted by the issues in my work, elevating their experiences, expertise and ideas for the benefit of the broader field. However, staying clear in my purpose and driving for an outcome larger than myself provides a clear North Star for every decision I make.”

Devin Rapson ’22 MBA is vice president of research and evaluation at IFF, a mission-driven lender and developer. He leads research, monitoring and evaluation, impact measurement and management, and organizational learning for high-impact community development investments. Previously, he was administrative lead for the Kellogg School of Management’s programs on social impact and sustainability, covering areas including nonprofit management, social enterprise and entrepreneurship, and sustainable finance.

“At Kellogg, I came to understand how economic opportunity, health equity and environmental sustainability are deeply connected. Progress in one depends on progress in the others. I also saw what becomes possible when innovators work across sectors.

“The challenges facing our communities are too complex for solitary action and meaningful progress requires collective effort. My work in community development reinforces that lesson every day: lasting change happens when institutions, capital and communities move together.” 

 

The Kellogg Youn Impact Scholars program is named after Andrew Youn ’06 MBA, co-founder of the One Acre Fund, a nonprofit supporting smallholder farmers in developing economies. The fund provides critical resources — financial, knowledge and network  — to help farmers grow, improve and expand their crops, enhancing their livelihoods and quality of life.