Panel: What do you know about Harvard Elections?
Yes, we Harvard Alumni also have a democratic duty: electing the Board of Overseers and the HAA Board of Directors. Those Alumni Boards play an important role in Harvard governance, giving us a voice in the strategy of our beloved Alma Mater. And you should definitely care: as little as 200 votes can make the difference as to whether a candidate is elected or not: that’s easy impact.
But even if you are among the 15% of international alumni that vote for these elections, do you really know what these bodies do and what impact they have? Do you know any of the alumni who are involved and their roles?
Join us for a discussion where you will meet three alumni implicated in the Boards from abroad (UK, Switzerland, India). Srishti and Anirudh are candidates for the Board of Overseers and Board of Directors respectively, while Martha, who was Director on the HAA Board and on the Nominating Committee of the Board of Overseers, will moderate the discussion.
Register below to meet our three speakers:
Srishti Gupta Narasimhan
Srishti serves on the boards of Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, a leading biotechnology company; the Norrsken Foundation, the largest ecosystem connecting social entrepreneurs across Europe and Africa; and the BackPack Foundation, which advances higher education for women in science and leadership.
She also supports STEAM experiences and scholarships for underserved students and mentors founders in health and education. Previously she served for nearly two decades at McKinsey, working on topics such as child mortality, vaccine access, and family planning.
Srishti is a member of Harvard’s Global Advisory Council and recently co-chaired her 25th reunion committee.
Election: Board of Overseers
Links: haa candidacy page, personal statement
Anirudh Suri
The only international candidate on the ballot for HAA Elected Directors this year, Anirudh is managing director of the India Internet Fund and a founding partner of the Zanskar Climate Fund, the first Asia-focused early-stage climate tech venture fund.
He is also a nonresident scholar with the Carnegie Endowment and a previous policy advisor to India’s minister of state for communications and technology. Anirudh is also the author of The Great Tech Game (HarperCollins, 2022), which looks at how technology is shaping the geopolitics of our world.
A longstanding Harvard volunteer, Suri is a former HAA director for Asia and president of the Harvard Club of India. As an HKS student, he founded the Harvard India Student Group.
Election: HAA Board of Directors
Links: haa candidacy page, personal statement, video message
Martha Abbruzzese Genieser
Martha is the Director of Philanthropy of the Alan Howard Family Office, where she guides the family foundation in their arts and education giving.
She has served as an Elected Director to the Harvard Alumni Association Board and on the Nominating Committee for the University’s Board of Overseers; President of the Harvard Club of the UK (HCUK); Board member for the Paper Bag Players, a nonprofit children’s Theater in New York; and Trustee for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts in the UK among others.
Most recently, Martha joined the Board of the Salata Family Foundation, where she helped guide a significant donation to Harvard, which led to the recent creation of the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability.
Discussion Moderator
When: 7:30 pm May 10th, 2023.
Where: Online via Zoom. The link will be sent to those who signed up below.