2020-2021 Administrative Fellowship Program
Robert Bueno is a Compensation Officer for the Central Administration Office of Human Resources. Robert has worked at Harvard University for the past seven years and is currently responsible for administering compensation programs throughout the university. Robert is responsible for advising schools and units on classifications, market analyses, and compliance with state and federal laws. Robert graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor with a B.A. in Economics.
Vernica M. Downey is Metadata Librarian at Houghton Library. In this role, she works closely with colleagues in the library and beyond on projects to create and enhance bibliographic and archival data and provides technical expertise and support for workflow automation and collection analysis. Having held positions at the Harvard Law School Library and the Harvard-Yenching Library, she has 20 years of experience in Harvard’s libraries. Vernica received an M.S. in Library and Information Science with a concentration in archives management from Simmons University (formerly Simmons College) and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of South Carolina. She is a 2006 American Library Association Spectrum Scholar.
Bryan Fleurjuste is an Endpoint Systems Engineer for the Information Technology department of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Bryan has been with HKS IT for eight years. In his current position, Bryan serves as a technical lead in schoolwide IT projects to improve and align supporting technologies to a unified Harvard vision, creating more secure research, teaching, and learning environments. In a previous role as a Lab Systems Analyst, Bryan was responsible for managing lab and classroom computing environments. He worked closely with HKS IT Operations to improve the overall student user experience of technology. Bryan also served for three years as a Desktop Support Engineer, where his role expanded to include faculty and staff computer support. He reconfigured computers for a more streamlined deployment process. Bryan is a graduate of Boston University with a B.A. in Biology.
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2020-2021 Administrative Fellowship Program
Melody Forbes began her development career at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is currently an Associate Director of Development Research in the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development at Harvard Medical School. Her work involves identifying strategic philanthropic partnerships and alumni engagement opportunities. Melody is co-chair of the Community Engagement Subcommittee for the Joint Committee on the Status of Women at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She oversees a diverse group of faculty and staff volunteers. She is a former board member of the National Black MBA Association Boston Chapter. She managed a dynamic team of volunteers and was responsible for marketing the Chapter's diversity initiatives and The Leaders of Tomorrow program. She also served as a board member of Generations Incorporated, which strives to improve young children's literacy skills. Melody received a bachelor's degree from American International College and a master's degree from Harvard University.
Jacobo Negron is a Sergeant with the Harvard University Police Department. Jacobo has worked at Harvard University Police Department for the past 17 years in several different capacities and is currently responsible for patrol operations for the day shift. Jacobo is responsible for assigning officers to various campus areas to meet the department’s community policing efforts. Jacobo is also the Administrative Chair for the Association of Harvard Latinx Faculty and Staff and an active member of the Employee Resource Group Council. Jacobo graduated with a B.A. in Criminal Justice, Sociology and a minor in Management from Curry College.
Pinar Kilicci-Kret is the Program for the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (DICP) at Harvard Medical School. Pinar has worked at DICP since 2013 in several different capacities and is currently responsible for managing all recognition award programs sponsored by DICP at HMS. She manages the Unconscious Bias (UB) Trainer Working group across HMS affiliated hospitals to share best practices and UB Website content development. Pinar also is responsible for hiring, onboarding, and training student workers. Pinar earned her BA in Urban Planning and had some graduate courses in the same field at the Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul before moving to Boston, where she completed various human resources courses at
Northeastern University.
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2020-2021 Administrative Fellowship Program
Akiesha Ortiz is a Fellowship Program Manager at Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership. She facilitates leadership development and learning, serving African American communities, the U.S. Latino Fellowship, the Dubin Emerging Leaders Fellowship, and the U.S. Latinx Initiative. Akiesha is responsible for directing programming that brings emerging leaders into the folds of mission-driven cohorts and engages students with experiential learning opportunities to develop their talents. She graduated magna cum laude from the HBCU, North Carolina Central University. Before her work at Harvard, Akiesha held an award-winning career in public education for two decades. She’s been a Fulbright Educator, Teacher of the Year, a video exemplar for Harvard READS Research, and a community educator for Communities in Schools. Outside of HKS, Akiesha touches the Harvard community in several capacities. One of her biggest joys is her work as the co-founder/staff advisor of Greener Scott Scholars, the only mentoring program that convenes Black undergraduates and graduates from all over the Harvard Community. The ethos drives Akiesha to inspire, educate, and empower others as we all work together to pursue lives of happiness, parity, acknowledgment, and security.
Kenvi C. Phillips, Ph.D., is the Johanna- Marie Fraenkel Curator for Race and Ethnicity at the Schlesinger Library of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. There she works to increase the collections and amplify the stories of local and nationally known women of color. Identifying gaps in the collections and working to develop relationships with donors, she leads the library’s efforts to engage community members in the greater Boston Region to expand collections and programs. Before the Schlesinger Library, she served as the Assistant Curator of Manuscripts at the Moorland- Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. An historian, Kenvi holds a master’s in public history and a doctorate in US history from Howard University.
Natascha F. Saunders is an Associate Director and Career Coach within the Office of Career Advancement at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Natascha is responsible for using her coaching, facilitating, and management skills to support master’s degree students and alumni – a diverse community from more than 80 countries. Natascha collaborates with colleagues and leadership to frame career services procedures, make recommendations to improve processes, cultivate employers, conduct faculty outreach, support regional events, interpret reports, and monitor trends. Natascha also served on the review committee for the Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund (HCLIF) and conducted academic advising to dual degree students. Natascha joined Harvard from the YWCA, an international non-profit, as their Director of Teen Services. Earlier in Natascha’s career, she served as Manager of Academic Administration at George Washington University, MBA Admissions Committee at MIT Sloan, Senior Staff Writer at Washington AFRO, and Goodwill Ambassador to the Gambia. She earned a Senate Citation from the Institute for Labor Studies and graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. Natascha completed her Executive Education at Harvard Kennedy School in Leading Change, MIT Sloan in Entrepreneurship, and completed the Harvard Mediation Program (HMP). Lastly, Natascha has an MBA, MS, CPCC, and is an Ed.D. Candidate. 3
2020-2021 Administrative Fellowship Program
Monica Tesoriero is the Department Administrator for the Office of Human Resources in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Monica has worked at Harvard University for over fourteen years in multiple support and administrative roles. In her current role, Monica leads the administrative and financial operations for the FAS HR department. She works closely with FAS HR leadership on the development and implementation of HR-related policies and processes that impact FAS. She also plays an active role in identifying innovation opportunities, working across stakeholder groups to find efficiencies, and improving the department's clients' HR services. As a co-leader of the FAS HR Mentoring Program, Monica is passionate about supporting FAS staff career development and finding ways to encourage staff connections and collaboration. Over the last 12 years, Monica has mentored and supported individuals' career development efforts inside and outside FAS. Monica graduated from Boston College with an M.S in Leadership and Administration and from the Harvard Extension School with an ALB, cum laude in Social Sciences. Her graduate research focused on diversity in the workplace and explored approaches for equipping managers to manage differences successfully.
Dr. Diana Ventura is Chief Data Administrator for the Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research (CBAR) at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She plays a critical role in managing data quality for clinical research trials focused on infectious diseases, such as HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19, while fostering collaboration from diverse groups across multiple research networks. She is an Ethical Reviewer for the New England Institutional Review Board. She holds a Ph.D. in Practical Theology and Spirituality Studies from Boston University School of Theology, where she serves as an adjunct faculty member. Dr. Ventura’s teaching and research explore a wide range of topics, including disability studies, chronic disease, aging, qualitative research methods, Christian Our Fractured Wholeness: Making the Courageous spirituality, and mysticism. She is the author of Journey from Brokenness to Love (Wipf & Stock, 2010).
Yda Zamora is a Business Process Analyst for the Business Process and Operations team at Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D). Yda has worked at Harvard University for almost six years in various roles supporting the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and University development. In her current role, Yda supports the University Development Office, FAS, and University-wide affiliates. Yda is responsible for analyzing business processes, developing reporting tools, working with the Deputy Director to implement business process changes, managing and executing projects, overseeing training plans, and supporting systems end-users. Yda is a member of the AA&D Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging working group, where she helps plan and facilitate Open Discussions, spaces where staff can get together to discuss topics such as microaggressions, implicit biases, and more. Yda earned a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Law from Binghamton University.
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