The Leadership Institute at Harvard College

Yoseph Ayele, President

Yoseph Ayele is a junior living in Dunster House and serves as the President of the Leadership Institute. He has been in the Leadership Institute since the fall of 2007 and has served in the Leadership Development Initiative for over two years. He is Ethiopian by nationality and has lived and worked in Tanzania and Kenya for over six years. As a Social Studies concentrator, his focus field is on leadership, agency, and sustainable social change. He has worked for various non-profits in education, humanitarian organizations, and poverty alleviation. He has also been a columnist for two national newspapers in Ethiopia and Tanzania. During his free time, Yoseph enjoys traveling, photography, and building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Yoseph can be reached at Yoseph.Ayele@HarvardLeadership.org and welcomes questions and inquiries.

John Tan, Co-Vice President

John is a junior in Adams House and an Applied Math concentrator. He currently serves the Leadership Institute as Co-Vice President. Outside of LIHC, he is involved in a variety of business organizations and conducts research at the Harvard School of Public Health. He enjoys keeping up with current events and going out for late night snacks with friends. John may be reached at John.Tan@HarvardLeadership.org.

Emily Harburg, Co-Vice President and Chairperson of Social Outreach

Emily Harburg is a junior in Mather House concentrating in social anthropology with a secondary in psychology. Born in Michigan, Emily spent her childhood moving around the world with her family, living in places like New Mexico, Spain, Oklahoma, and Switzerland. Within LIHC, Emily is Co-Vice President and Chairs a social outreach initiative that teaches leadership to middle school students in the Boston area. Emily is also a member of the Amigos y Lectores Reading Buddies Program, Harvard Women in Business, and plays on the Varsity Women’s Volleyball Team. In her free time, Emily enjoys skiing, traveling, and boggle. Emily may be reached at Emily.Harburg@HarvardLeadership.org.

Karen Ding, Chairperson of the Leadership Development Initiative

Karen Ding is a sophomore at Harvard, hailing from the bicycle-loving, close-knit college town of Davis, California. After living in Iowa and Alabama, she’s now enjoying the new and different quirks of East Coast life in Cambridge. Karen is a pianist, a violist, a self-proclaimed TV show addict, and an avid runner and outdoorswoman who is always up for a race. She’s a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, as well as a Harry Potter fanatic. In the Harvard community, Karen is a photographer at the Harvard Crimson, an Open Access Fellow for the Office of Scholarly Communication, and a probable Economics concentrator. Karen currently serves LIHC as Chairperson of.the Leadership Development Initiative. She can be reached at Karen.Ding@HarvardLeadership.org

Weina Zhao is a sophomore at Harvard College concentrating in Social Studies. She lives in Pforzheimer House with her pet bonsai tree. She is from San Francisco, California and enjoys hyphy and Giants games. On campus, she is involved with various Model United Nations activities as well as the Harvard College Law Society. Weina is the current Chairperson of The Presidents’ Forum. She can be reached at Weina.Zhao@HarvardLeadership.org

Valentin Fernandez, Chairperson of External Relations

Valentin Fernandez is a sophomore in Pforzheimer House concentrating in Economics and pursuing a secondary field in Mathematics. This past summer, he interned with a microfinance institution in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At Harvard, Valentin has pursued his interest in microfinance as a Grant Director and Regional Director for Latin America for A Drop In The Ocean, a student group that assists MFIs around the world and raises awareness on campus about microfinance. He also serves as the Comptroller and Strategic Development Manager of The Harvard International Review. Off campus, Valentin is the Academic Director of Roots of Hope, a national organization focused on empowering youth in Cuba. As the Chairperson of External Relations, Valentin works hard to create lasting partnerships with other organizations and to ensure the long-term development of the Institute. He can be reached at Valentin.Fernandez@HarvardLeadership.org

Maria Li, Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine

Maria Li is a senior Sociology concentrator in Currier House. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Maria has participates in numerous organizations on campus including Identities Charity Fashion Show. A LIHC member since 2007, Maria started as a section editor of the Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine and has assumed the role as Editor-in-Chief for the second edition of HULM in 2009. She may be reached at Maria.Li@HarvardLeadership.org.

Ben Brinkopf, President Emeritus

Ben Brinkopf is a junior in Mather House and has served as President of the Leadership Institute in the year of 2010. Although Ben attended middle and high school in southern Florida, he is originally from rural Southeast Missouri and likes to retain his Midwestern roots. At Harvard, Ben is concentrating in economics with a secondary in sociology and recently finished his Spanish citation. Ben, with a former LIHC Vice President Yunxue Xu, completed the inaugural edition of the Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine in 2008. Outside of LIHC, Ben is an avid private pilot, ran the 2009 Boston Marathon (3:26:34) and revels in the (year-round) Florida sunshine. He can be reached at Ben.Brinkopf@HarvardLeadership.org.

David Tebaldi, Vice President Emeritus

David Tebaldi is a senior at Harvard, majoring in Psychology. He is originally from Long Island, New York. As Vice President, he worked primarily on publicity, recruiting, and helping manage the various committees of LIHC. Outside of LIHC, he works as a public relations intern for Zoosa, a startup out of Harvard Business School. In his free time, David loves to play guitar, discuss music, watch sports, and play lacrosse. David can be reached at David.Tebaldi@HarvardLeadership.org.