2023-2024 Executive Board
Katie Williams
PRESIDENT
Katie was raised in Papillion, NE before attending MIT where she majored in bioengineering and minored in Women's and Gender Studies. While at MIT, she ran cross country and track, conducted research on sepsis immunology, and mentored underserved Boston high schoolers through a dual academic-athletic mentorship program called Amphibious Achievement. In her gap years, she pursued clinical research on inflammatory bowel disease in the GI Unit at MGH and served as an English tutor for immigrants new to Boston. She is now a first year medical student at Harvard Medical Student. Katie is passionate about increasing transparency and accessibility in the healthcare field, particularly among historically excluded groups. Outside of HOPE and school, Katie loves to run, try new coffee shops, eat ice cream, and take photos with her film camera.
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Alejandro Diaz
VICE PRESIDENT
Coming soon.
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Besmira Alija
DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Besmira was born in Shkoder, Albania and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She attended Hunter College, where she studied Biological Sciences and Interdisciplinary studies, fusing her passion for the sciences with her passion for the humanities. During her time at Hunter, she worked as a research intern at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she studied the pathogenesis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Post-graduate, Besmira worked as a research technician at Columbia University, in which she aided in pioneering epigenomic assays to assess Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Besmira is a first-generation, low income student who is passionate about serving communities that fall under these categories. As such, she decided to pursue her clinical year at the Cambridge Health Alliance. On top of serving underserved patient populations, Besmira is extremely passionate about mentoring and teaching and for this reason, she joined HOPE Scholars. Besmira's ultimate goal is to combine patient care, education and research to become a lifelong physician-educator.
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Shawna O'Malley
TREASURER
Shawna was born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa before attending Iowa State University where she majored in biology with minors in genetics and economics. During her time at Iowa State, she conducted molecular genetics research on human SNP variations. She also served as a mentor for first-year students coming from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds and for pre-dental students. She is now a first-year dental student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. As a part of the HOPE scholars team, Shawna is excited to provide mentorship to students from diverse backgrounds and to help provide opportunities for exposure to health care fields thus allowing pre-health students to explore their interests. Outside of HOPE and dental school, Shawna enjoys being outside and exploring the Boston area with her friends.
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Claudia Pichardo
DEAN OF DENTISTRY
Claudia grew up in Miami, Florida before attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in Biology. While at Penn, she served as a tutor and mentor to West Philadelphia high school and middle school students and worked with Esperanza Health Center to provide care to Spanish speaking patients seeking COVID tests. She also worked as a dental assistant in West Philly and conducted neuroscience research focusing on the effects of obesity on brain inflammation. She is now a second-year dental student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Claudia joined HOPE for the opportunity to increase representation of minority groups in the healthcare field, especially the dental field. Outside of HOPE and school, Claudia enjoys exploring Boston’s restaurant scene, exercising, and spending time with family in the Dominican Republic.
Veronica Yu
Social Media Chair
Veronica is from Arcadia, CA, and she graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) double majoring in Biological Sciences and History, with a concentration in Asian History. Throughout her undergraduate career, she has enjoyed tutoring and mentoring youths as a reading and writing tutor with Teach for Los Angeles. She also taught elementary school students the importance of oral hygiene as a member of USC's Delta Delta Sigma Pre-Dental Honor Society. As a part of HOPE, she is excited to continue providing mentorship to students and is passionate about making education accessible and equitable. Additionally, Veronica worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the USC Language Development Lab investigating the cognitive mechanisms behind language acquisition in infants. During her gap year, she worked as a dental assistant and volunteered at free dental mobile clinics. In her free time, Veronica enjoys spending time outdoors—whether going on a run, hiking with friends, or going on a picnic in the park.
Mickey Sloat
MD/PhD Chair
Mickey was born and raised in Davenport, IA (where pigs outnumber people 3:1), and attended Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and serving as a tutor, mentor, and advisor to other undergraduates as well as high school students. She also volunteered in an urban pediatric oncology ward as well as performing basic science research in chromosome segregation. After graduating in 2021, she was named a Fulbright scholar and worked at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. She is currently an M2 MD/PhD student in the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program at Harvard Medical School and is currently doing research in cancer immunology and immunotherapeutics. Her experiences working in an urban environment, being raised in a rural one, and being an advocate for science communication and education all along the way brought her to join the HOPE scholars program as a mentor in her M1 year and as a current board member. In her free time, Mickey loves doing yoga, cooking and baking new and global recipes, crocheting, and being a full-time plant mom to her over 40 plants (in her very small apartment).
Nour Aboelez
Dean of Outreach
Nour is a first-year dental student. She was born in El Minya, Egypt and considers Eugene, Oregon her second home. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in neuroscience and minor in chemistry. During her time at Penn, Nour served as an English tutor with an organization dedicated to empowering students in conflict-affected areas through education and as an Arabic translator for a group that created healthcare graphics for minority communities. She also worked in a biochemistry/biophysics lab as a research assistant studying a protein known to aggregate in patients with ALS and FTD. As a minority student, she understands the struggles with gaining access to resources to be properly informed and prepared when applying to medical/dental schools. As such, she feels strongly about helping other underrepresented and minority students feel supported and knowledgeable on their journey towards medicine and dentistry. In her free time, Nour loves to go on long walks, watch Turkish dramas, and read a good book.
2022-2023 Executive Board
Donnell Williams
PRESIDENT
Donnell was born and raised in Southwest Detroit before attending the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, where he majored in Biology. While at the University of Michigan, he served as a peer mentor to first-generation college students, volunteered in a local neighborhood in Detroit, worked at an orthopedic physical therapy clinic, and conducted neuroscience research. After graduating in 2021, he worked full-time for a year as a Senior Laboratory Research Technician in the same neuroscience lab that he worked in as an undergraduate. He is now currently a first-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. Donnell is passionate about increasing the diversity of the healthcare field, which he believes to be the first step towards health equity. It was this passion that motivated him to join Hope. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, video games, and watching sports.
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Daniel Kim
VICE PRESIDENT & DEAN OF OUTREACH
Daniel was born and raised outside the Seattle, WA area. As a first-generation college student, Daniel attended Cornell University and majored in Biology. Following his time at Cornell, he pursued research at Massachusetts General Hospital and developed CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technologies for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. From his research, he has consulted for numerous biotechnology companies and remains actively engaged in biomedical research. As part of Hope Scholars, Daniel plans to provide mentorship and guidance to other students from underrepresented or low-income backgrounds to help them explore their own interests and goals.
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Zsombor Gal
DEAN OF ADMISSIONS
Zsombor was born in Budapest, Hungary and grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology and Certificate in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, Zsombor conducted clinical research at Children's National Hospital and the University of Kentucky Medical Center. His undergraduate thesis focused on the first cell fate decision in mammalian development, which involves the segregation of placental and fetal progenitor cells in the preimplantation embryo. Zsombor is interested in health care for the unhoused population, addiction medicine, pediatric medicine, and global surgery. He assists the case management team at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and works with the Haley House in Boston. Zsombor brings his passion for peer mentorship to the HOPE Medical Scholars Executive Board and is excited to provide enrichment opportunities for pre-health students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds.
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Iasha Khan
TREASURER
Iasha is a first-year medical student in the Pathways program. She was raised in New Jersey and graduated from Barnard College in 2020. After graduating, she worked at Rockefeller University as a Research Assistant where she studied colorectal cancer. Her main interests in medicine include oncology and clinical research but as a first-generation student, she also is passionate about increasing representation and diversity in medicine. Outside of medicine, Iasha enjoys spending time with friends and family and finding new places to eat!
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Claudia Pichardo
DEAN OF DENTISTRY & SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR
Claudia grew up in Miami, Florida before attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in Biology. While at Penn, she served as a tutor and mentor to West Philadelphia high school and middle school students and worked with Esperanza Health Center to provide care to Spanish speaking patients seeking COVID tests. She also worked as a dental assistant in West Philly and conducted neuroscience research focusing on the effects of obesity on brain inflammation. She is now a first-year dental student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Claudia joined HOPE for the opportunity to increase representation of minority groups in the healthcare field, especially the dental field. Outside of HOPE and school, Claudia enjoys exploring Boston’s restaurant scene, exercising, and spending time with family in the Dominican Republic.
2021-2022 Executive Board
Genesis Perez-Melera
President
Genesis grew up in East Boston where the sounds of airplanes landing and taking off blended in with the sounds of a bustling, small Latinx community. She left her grandma’s pupusas, the warmth of her sister’s smile, and high school friends who filled her life with so much knowledge, for Bryn Mawr College where she received a B.A. in Biology. Genesis came back to become a program coordinator for a summer research program for Boston high school students at Harvard Medical School in 2019. Returning home to give back to students like herself was incredibly rewarding for her. There was no other place to mentor and be mentored than at Harvard. After this summer, she spent the next year and a half as a translational research assistant at a laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that focused on Pancreatic Cancer. Genesis hopes to pursue a career in medicine that is focused on teaching, mentoring and increasing the number of students underrepresented in medicine at prestigious institutions like HMS. For her, being a part of HOPE scholars is a step in that direction.
Jowan Watson
Dean of Admissions
Jowan is from Miami, Florida where he was raised his entire life before going to Georgetown for undergrad. He played varsity football and focused on the pre-medical aspects of his journey later in his undergraduate tenure. He decided to get a master's in biomedical sciences and is now a medical student at HMS! Outside of school Jowan loves to play video games, create music as a guitarist and singer, watch The Office, and chill at home with his partner who happens to be a resident physician at Harvard. Jowan's interest in becoming a part of the Hope eBoard was due to his passion for mentorship and hoping to provide guidance to young aspiring physicians like he was. He considers the fact that he never met a Black physician until undergrad to be one of the many reasons why he seeks to provide mentorship to students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds like he did. As the dean of admissions, Jowan delights in learning more about our outstanding Hope Scholars and developing life-long relationships with his future colleagues.
Mary Morcos
Dean of Admissions
Mary is a first-year (M1) pathways student at Harvard Medical School. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with degrees in Biology & Spanish. She loves Sea Turtles, Penguins, and Children! She has a passion for Global Health and for working with underserved communities.
Selena Gonzalez
Dean of Outreach
Selena Gonzalez graduated from Wesleyan University in 2017 with a double major in Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior. After graduating from Wesleyan, Selena returned home to New York City, where she began her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health within the Department of Sociomedical Sciences. After receiving her MPH from Columbia University in 2019, Selena worked full-time as a Project Coordinator in the Office of the Medical Director within the New York City Department of Homeless Services, where she executed various projects that increased access to healthcare for individuals experiencing homelessness. Selena is interested in cultivating health equity, addressing social determinants of health, and designing health interventions and programs for marginalized and underserved communities. She joined the 2021-2022 HOPE Medical Scholars Executive Board in order to foster more opportunities for underrepresented students to enter the field of medicine and to develop further resources to facilitate their successful transition into the profession.
Carlos Salazar
Dean of Outreach
Carlos was born in San Miguel, El Salvador but was raised around the Dallas, TX area; he attended The University of Texas at Austin with Lois (hook 'em!) and majored in Biochemistry with a Pre-Health certificate. During college, Carlos was a part of the UT Sanger Learning Center, where we worked extensively as a STEM tutor as well as a mentor for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Additionally, Carlos was a Volunteer Spanish Interpreter for a local free clinic as well as a Spanish Research Assistant for Project SEED, a lab whose goal was to elucidate and explain the greater psychological barriers in Mexican teenagers who translate for their parents. Outside of HMS, Carlos enjoys weekend LaLiga soccer games, going to the gym, long walks/hikes, and exploring the Boston area.
Lois Owolabi
Social Media
Lois is a first-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. Before coming to Boston, Lois was born in Nigeria and raised in a small town called Carrizo Springs situated in South Texas. Lois attended the University of Texas at Austin and majored in Biochemistry. As an undergraduate researcher, Lois designed a video game to support student learning. Her undergraduate senior thesis on this topic is titled "The Effects of Interactive Digital Media in STEM Education." For her work, Lois has received the Faith Foundation Junior Fellows Scholarship, the Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and the Anna Mae Hutchison Endowed Scholarship. Outside of academics, Lois has been a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and has served on many committees to improve UT's climate for students, faculty, and staff. At Harvard Medical School, Lois serves as the current Co-President for the Student National Medical Association, conducts research in immunology, and continues her work in advancing equity and inclusion at the medical level.
Julie Castro
Treasurer
Julie is a 1 st year medical student (M1) at Harvard Medical School. She immigrated to US from Colombia as a child and grew up in Miami. Julie attended community college for 2 years and then finished her Bachelor´s in Neuroscience at Mount Holyoke College. As a DACA Dreamer, Julie spent 3 years after graduation working with Puentes De Salud an immigrant community health clinic in Philadelphia. Julie is passionate about mentorship and spent her time in Philly working as a Minds Matter tutor/ mentor. In her free time she loves to spend time with her partner and two dogs!
2020-2021 Executive Board
Hailey Winstead
President
Hailey grew up in Southport, NC and attended Columbia University where she studied psychology. At Columbia, she served as a high school advising fellow for Matriculate, a nonprofit that helps low income students apply to college. She also was involved with the Charles Drew Premedical Society, an organization that works to increase diversity in the healthcare field. She took two gap before starting medical school at Harvard. During this time, she worked at NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn as a Care Transitions Associate. In this role, she established underinsured patients with primary care services. At HMS, in addition to her role at Hope, she serves as the Co-Vice President for the SNMA Chapter and as a junior clinician with the Crimson Care Collaborative.
Tola Ibikunle
President
Tola was born in Merrillville, IN and triple majored in Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Biology at Indiana University - Bloomington. While at IU, Tola served as the President and Director of Community Involvement for the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) and served on the Board of Aeons, a student strategic advisory board to the Indiana University President. During her time at IU, Tola also served as an undergraduate teaching assistant in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and psychology courses and as a Chemistry department tutor, Academic Support Center Tutor, and Athletic Tutor in pre-health coursework. At IU, Tola was most interested in increasing retention and recruitment of URM students into pre-health fields, empowering URM students, and helping educational gaps as students transitioned from high school to college STEM coursework. After college, Tola worked as a primary care scribe for adults on Medicare in an underserved area of Indianapolis, IN and served as the Region V Pre-Medical Representative for the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). Tola has interests in the intersection of healthcare and policy and using policy as a means to address healthcare disparities and improve healthcare access for marginalized and underserved communities. Outside of school, Tola enjoys personal fitness, reading, eating/cooking, and spending time with friends.
Shahaan "Haan" Razak
Dean of Outreach
Shahaan, affectionately known as Haan (he/him), was born in Queens, NY, but grew up in South Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami where he majored in Kinesiology and Human & Social Development. After college, he joined Teach for America where he taught science in inner-city Baltimore for a number of years while earning a Master's degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University. His time in the classroom coupled with personal experiences pushed him to pursue medicine as a second career and he enrolled in the post-baccalaureate premedical program at Bryn Mawr College prior to enrolling at HMS. Outside of school, he enjoys playing basketball, stand-up comedy, and above all, spending time with his loved ones.
Josue Chirinos
Dean of Admissions
Josue was born and raised in Pasadena, Texas, and he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Molecular Biology and a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy. His main interests in medicine include surgery and clinical research, but as a son of working class Latin American immigrants, he also has a deep interest in health care access, health advocacy, and health policy as it relates to Latin American communities in the United States. Outside of medicine, Josue is a big fan of the Green Bay Packers and enjoys spending time with friends and family.
Stephanie Yang
Dean of Dental Experience
Stephanie grew up in Orange County, California and studied Psychobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. During college, Stephanie served as the President of her community service honor society, was on the Student Wellness Commission leadership board, and was the Director of External Affairs for a health publication called Total Wellness Magazine. Stephanie also served as a Head Learning Assistant to help assist undergraduate peers during General Chemistry classes. At UCLA, Stephanie was most passionate about addressing student health accessibility and assisting the development of free health and wellness programs on-campus. As Stephanie continues through her dental career, she hopes to work with immigrant populations and help develop resources in her local community to better address access to affordable oral healthcare.
2019-2020 Executive Board
George Hutchins
President
George was born and raised in a small neighborhood on the west side of Indianapolis, Indiana. He then attended Indiana University, where he studied biochemistry and sociology. His college experience was rich with professional and academic experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. He served as president of U Bring Change to Mind — an organization part of a national pilot program dedicated to eradicating mental health stigma on college campuses. He also led the student strategic advisory and consulting body for IU’s eighteenth university president. He is pursuing graduate work in sociology with the goals practicing medicine and engaging in academic scholarship that will improve the health conditions of the marginalized. George’s most meaningful work has been as a private tutor, peer coach, and youth enrichment advisor supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Rachel Herz-Roiphe
President
Rachel was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Brown University in 2018 with a degree in English. After college, she spent a year teaching high school English in New York City before going to medical school. She is not sure what she wants to specialize in, but (at the moment) she is especially interested in pediatric and adolescent medicine. She is currently the co-president of Hope Medical Scholars and loves to meet students from around the country through Hope. In her free time, she likes to read, do crossword puzzles, and cook.
Terrance Mensah
Dean of Outreach
Terrance was born in Accra, Ghana and immigrated to Greensboro, NC with his family when he was 6. Growing up, he was always interested in science and medicine and pursued those interests after high school at Williams College. At Williams, Terrance conducted Behavioral Neuroscience research throughout his 4 years. After Williams, he was certain he wanted to go to medical school but wanted to take some time off so he took 2 years to explore other avenues. In his first gap year, Terrance completed his Masters in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. Terrance used his second gap year to work as a Graduate Research Assistant in a Neurodevelopmental lab at Harvard Medical School. Currently, Terrance is involved in initiatives promoting URM recruitment in science and medicine. He is also interested in the intersection between health and policy, and how legislation can be used to address racial health disparities. When he’s not studying or doing research, Terrance enjoys personal fitness and playing sports with friends. He also loves exploring the dining scene in Boston and has made it his mission to visit at least one restaurant in each of Boston’s neighborhoods before graduating.
Kristie Kaczmarek
Dean of Admissions and Dental Experience
Kristie is from a small, semi-rural town called Amsterdam in upstate New York, about an hour outside of Albany. Kristie has enjoyed volunteering in my community, especially mentoring at the Creative Connections Clubhouse, which is a collaborative community program between the local Prevention Council and Wishful Thinking, a local community organization. She has also enjoyed volunteering with local teens and feel that it depicts the resilience of my community. I’ve also enjoyed working at my local animal shelter and fostering cats and kittens. She began her undergraduate career at the University of Rochester studying biomedical engineering and transferred to Union College, where she completed a biology degree. Before dental school, she worked as an in-school tutor in a community college-run student-success program in my local middle school. As a dentist, Kristie hopes to serve communities like the one I grew up in. She has interests in public health, outreach and education.
Founders
Troy Amen
Founder
Troy grew up on the Florida-Georgia line and studied philosophy in undergrad at Columbia University. In college, he operated a laundry business. After graduating Troy worked as a high school biology teacher in Chicago. He is currently a first-year orthopedic surgery resident at the Hospital for Special Surgery where he has a particular interest in researching racial disparities in postoperative outcomes and access to orthopedic care. In Troy’s free time he enjoys growing out his afro, shooting hoops, listening to country music, and pseudo-philosophizing.
Vartan Pahalyants
Co-Founder
Vartan moved to Brooklyn, New York from Uzbekistan when he was 12. Vartan received a strong public school education at Brooklyn Technical High School and at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. He taught health education for 3 years at New York City public schools, worked with the city Department of Health to improve asthma care in Northern Manhattan and Southern Bronx, and did pediatric emergency medicine research at Columbia University Medical Center. Vartan is in his first year of dermatology residency at NYU with the goal of improving healthcare access and outcomes, particularly among traditionally underserved communities. In his free time, he is with friends, watching tennis, or grilling in his backyard.