Board of Directors

Rudayna Abdo received an SB in architecture from the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in 1990. She also has a master’s in urban planning from McGill University and is a graduate of Amsterdam’s THNK School of Creative Leadership. Rudayna has held multiple roles in the MIT Alumni Arab Association, including director, director of endowment, director of scholarships, and director of events. She is an educational counselor and has served as a 24-Hour Challenge Ambassador. She was named to the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service twice in 2018. Rudayna is the founder and president of Thaki Nederland, which empowers refugee and vulnerable children to learn and thrive through self-paced, motivational electronic educational tools.

Karen (Holly) Carter received her PhD in political science from the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in 1977. She recently completed her tenure on the Black Alumni of MIT (BAMIT). While on the BAMIT board she held the roles of chair and president. She is a former member of the Affinity Group Council and an Alumni Engagement Independent Academics Period (IAP) Lecturer. Holly is the principal at H. M. Carter Consulting LLC, a firm that supports the current and next generation of global leaders.

Chester Chambers received his SB in chemical engineering from the MIT School of Engineering in 2015. He is a past president of the Club of South Texas and also served as VP of programs and VP for MIT10 before his presidency. He is an educational counselor and has served on the Club Councils, his class reunion gift committee, and as a 24-Hour Challenge Ambassador. Chester was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2019. He is the founder and head chef at Bloom Foods. Partnering with local farmers, the Bloom team serves an evergreen menu of plant-based burgers, nuggets, and fries at pop-ups around Houston.

Arjun Dayal double-majored in EECS (SB) and management (SB) at MIT. Motivated to give back, he was elected as alumni class president for 10 years, served as an officer for the MIT Club of Northern California, chaired his class reunion, was an ambassador for the 24-Hour Challenge, and was a sponsor of the Student Alumni Externship Program. Arjun currently serves as a term director for the MIT Annual Fund, cochairs his current reunion committee, is a Reunion Gift Committee member, and is class treasurer. He was honored with the 2017 Margaret L. A. MacVicar Award for his MIT volunteering impact, and the 2018 Great Dome Award for his work on the inaugural MIT AI Conference. Arjun’s professional passion is bringing magical consumer experiences to life with high-performing teams and innovative technologies. He is currently director of product management at Google Play, the online content store used by two billion customers monthly. Previously, he was vice president of product at a mobile entertainment startup, growing the team from 10 to 300 people. He was also on the founding team that built and launched the first version of the Xbox Kinect.

Ning Drako received an SB in mathematics from MIT’s School of Science in 1990 and an SM in management from MIT’s Sloan School in 1994. Ning currently serves as president for the Class of 1990 and has previously served as class secretary. She has chaired her class 10th & 30th Reunion committees and co-chaired her class 20th Reunion Gift Committee. She has served as an educational counselor in northern California and in multiple roles with the Club of Northern California, including VP Membership, VP Events. Ning has also served a previous term on the Association Board of Directors and chaired an Alumni Ad Hoc Committee. Ning has held sales and product marketing positions at IBM and Sun Microsystems, and was director of development at the International School of the Peninsula. She has also served in volunteer leadership positions at the American School in Japan and is a passionate advocate of food allergy awareness initiatives and research. Ning lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and children.

Maria Alice Frontini earned her SM from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1999. She also earned a PhD in engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. She is the president of the MIT Club and Sloan Club of Brazil and serves on the Club Councils. She has served as a member of the Latin America Club Council and as an advisory board member for the Sloan Club of Brazil. She is the founder of the MIT Alumni Angels of Brazil. Maria Alice was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2021. Maria Alice is a digital transformation advisor at Patria Investments, a cofounder of the Angel Investor Club, and serves as an angel investor and board member for numerous other organizations.

Guadalupe Hayes-Mota has a BS in chemistry, an MS in engineering systems, and an MBA from MIT. He also has a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University and is a current candidate for a Doctor of Engineering in AI at The George Washington University. He volunteers as an educational counselor, career advisor, and Legislative Advocacy Network member. He has served as president of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Association of MIT (BGLATA), the Affinity Group Council, and as a caller for the First-Generation Admissions Outreach Program. He was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2021. Guadalupe is a biopharmaceutical, health care, and public service leader whose mission is to provide patients with medicines worldwide. As a child in Mexico, he nearly died because of limited access to medications. Therefore, his driving force in his career is that no one should be without the medical treatment they need to survive and flourish. He has 13 years of experience and well-honed skills in business, STEM, global operations, supply chain, strategy, finance, and governance. He started his career at the RAND Corporation as an analyst, working with the US government to develop and implement the Affordable Care Act, which gave 20 million individuals access to health insurance. He transitioned to being director of ambulatory clinics at UCLA Health to run the USA’s most extensive free health care system, providing over 30,000 underserved patients with care every year in 12 health care clinics. He then entered the biotech industry and led the manufacturing and supply chain departments as Senior Vice-President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Ultragenyx, Biogen, Amgen, and GSK, supplying 2.3 billion individuals in 113 countries with treatment. He founded and was CEO of Healr Solutions, a company addressing the most urgent issues in biopharmaceutical supply chains in 43 countries, which was acquired in 2024. He is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of a Stealth Startup.

Edward Hunter received an SB in computer science and engineering from the MIT School of Engineering in 1979. He also earned a master of science in computer science from the University of California Berkeley in 1984. Ed currently serves as the MIT Annual Giving Loyalty Circle chair, as part of the Annual Giving Board, and is secretary for the Class of 1979. Previously, Ed served as the vice president of the Club of Northern California, a Fund Reunion Gift Committee cochair, a William Barton Rogers (WBRS) class agent, and a 24-Hour Challenge ambassador. Ed was honored with the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award for fundraising and named to the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service in 2019. He was engineering leader for performance engineering and operating systems at Netflix Inc. until 2021 and is now a freelance theatrical lighting designer. 
 

Paul Kominers earned his SB in 2012 in Courses 14 and 17, Economics and Political Science, in 2012, and later attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude. Paul practices law in Boston at Anderson & Kreiger LLP, where he represents private clients involved in administrative, land use, and development disputes and assists public clients with all facets of their work. He previously clerked for Hon James R. Milkey (MCP ’83) of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Hon. Michael M. Baylson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He received a 2024 Access to Justice Rising Star Award from the Massachusetts Bar Association for his pro bono work, particularly his work on the sealing and expungement of criminal records. He served a five-year term on the MIT Corporation from 2013-2018, as well as the Corporation Nominating Committee from 2017-2020, the Program Committee from 2023-2024, on the Annual Giving Board from 2021-2024, and as a Friend of the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center since 2020. He also has been a member of his Class Council and an EC since graduating. He received the Karl Taylor Compton Prize in 2012 and the Margaret L. A. MacVicar '65, ScD '67 Award in 2018. Paul is an avid (but not distinguished) biker, birder, and gardener.

Steven Larky graduated from MIT with an undergraduate degree in Course 6-1 (Electrical Engineering). Before retiring from Qualcomm as VP of Program Management in 2021, he worked in a number of semiconductor companies in various engineering and business management roles. Currently Steven serves on several non-profit boards (Amplio Network, Townspeople, Free To Thrive, and NuFund Venture Group) and is an active angel investor and avid cyclist. Steven is a 2018 recipient of the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award for exceptional fundraising service awarded by the MIT Alumni Association and was the VP of Fundraising for the MIT Crew Alumni Association in 2012 when the organization received the Great Dome Award for its work. He served on the MIT Annual Giving Board for nine years, ending in 2024 and was a member of the MIT Alumni Association’s Board of Directors from 2020 to 2022, and served on the MIT Alumni Association Ad-hoc Strategic Planning Committee from 2022 to 2023. He was an Educational Counselor for over ten years interviewing over 100 students during his tenure. Steven was President of the MIT Club of San Diego from 2021 to 2023 and Secretary from 2020 to 2021.

Teddy Lee earned an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2017, where he served as a student body copresident. He also has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Stanford University. Teddy is chair of the Tech Track for the MIT Club of Northern California (MITCNC) and has served as chair of the MITCNC’s MIT AI Conference, chair of the MIT Volunteer Leadership Summit, chair of the MIT Sloan Student Class Gift Committee, a Sloan 5 officer, and an MIT Sloan Reunion volunteer. In 2021, Teddy was honored with the Great Dome Award as part of the MITCNC’s “Covid Warriors” team and was named to the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service in 2019. Teddy is a strategic engagement manager at Scale AI and is passionate about the intersection of advanced technology and society. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys spending time with friends and family, collecting cryptocurrencies and designer toys, and eating burgers.

Sarah Melvin earned an SB in physics from the MIT School of Science and in political science from the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in 2018. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Sarah currently serves on the MIT Corporation as a recent graduate and on several visiting committees. She is a member of her class’s Fund Reunion Gift Committee, the MIT10 Committee, and the Corporation Screening Committee for Recent Graduates. She previously served as an invited guest on the Alumni Association Board, on the Program Committee, and on the Corporation Joint Advisory Committee. She was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2022. Sarah is Chief of Staff at SiTration, an MIT spin-out commercializing silicon membrane technology to enable ultra-efficient recovery of critical minerals from battery recycling to mining. 
 

Elizabeth Ng earned her SB in physics from the MIT School of Science in 1978. She also holds an MBA from Stanford University. She is currently chairman of the board of directors for the MIT Club of Northern California, where she previously held roles as event planner, director of the Life Science Forum, a member of the Nominating Committee, treasurer, director, and president. In 2015, she served on the MITAA Board of Directors and the Finance Committee. Elizabeth is the CEO of Ocean Biomedical, an organization that partners with top-tier researchers to accelerate new discoveries in the world of medicine, one powerful idea at a time.

Ravi Patil received an SB and an SM in mechanical engineering from MIT’s School of Engineering in 1993 and 1995, respectively. He also holds an MBA from the University of Michigan. Ravi is currently regional ambassador for the Research Triangle Park area, and in conjunction serves on the Club Council. He is a board member for First Generation Alumni of MIT and volunteers as an educational counselor. Ravi has served on the Graduate Alumni Council, held previous positions in Research Triangle Park including president, served as a coach in the Community Catalyst Leadership Program, and as a Reunion Committee member for his class. Ravi was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2019. He is the host of an MIT-focused podcast called Institrve—True stories about MIT. A trove of wonder, discovery, and madness. Ravi is director of product management and strategy at Broadcom, where he is responsible for the mainframe cybersecurity and compliance software portfolio.

Dominic Ricci earned his SB in physics from the MIT School of Science in 1999 and his PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2006. Dominic is the immediate past president of the MIT Club of New York, a member of the Club Council, the treasurer for the Class of 1999, and a member of the Legislative Advocacy Network. Previously, Dominic held multiple other roles in the Club of New York, including president, executive vice president, vice president of social and interclub programming, and vice president of membership. Dominic was president of the Class of 1999 and has served as co-chair of his class Reunion Gift Committee and member of his class Reunion Committee. Dominic has served on the Annual Giving Board and as a 24-Hour Challenge ambassador, among other roles. Dominic was named to the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service in 2009, honored with a Great Dome Award in 2010, the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2017, and the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award in 2021. Dominic is the head of global market risk audit at Bank of America, based in New York.

Rob Scalea received a bachelor’s degree from MIT’s School of Science in life sciences in 1977. Rob serves on the Council for the Arts at MIT and has previously served as chair of the Annual Giving Board, ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the Association; and chair of the Annual Fund Goals Committee. Rob has volunteered as an externship sponsor for the Student Alumni Externship Program on multiple occasions, as well as a host for the MIT Campaign for a Better World. Rob was honored with the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award in 2018. He is the founder of Scalea and Company, a marketing strategy consultancy specializing in financial services, technology, health care, and automotive.

Willard Stanback received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT’s School of Engineering in 1985. He holds a master’s degree and bachelor of laws from the University of Virginia. Willard has held multiple roles with the Black Alumni of MIT (BAMIT), including president and BAMIT Capstone Event Committee member. He co-chaired his Fund Reunion Gift Committee and was a member at- large of the Class of 1985. Willard was honored as part of a group Great Dome award in 2013 and 2019. During the first half of 2023, he was the acting director of housing and economic development for the City of Trenton, New Jersey, working part-time in his law firm. In early July 2023, he returned full-time to his law firm, which focuses primarily on the protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights, aspects of entertainment projects, and real estate.

Anita received an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2016 and has double degrees in management and science from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Anita is currently a member of the Corporation Visiting Committee for Undergraduate and Graduate Education and the MITAA Board Corporation Nominating Committee and is an educational counselor. Previously, she has served as a recent graduate member of the MIT Corporation and on the visiting committees for Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering, Physics, Chemical Engineering, and DAPER/Student Life. She has also served on the Corporation Joint Advisory Committee and the Corporation Screening Committee, which she chaired in 2021. Anita has been honored with an Order of Australia Youth Community Service Award and is currently a management consultant at AlixPartners, where she leads the global retail sustainability practice.

David Wu received a bachelor’s degree in economics from MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in 1990 and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. David has held multiple roles with the Club of Hong Kong, including president, vice president, and director of fundraising. He is currently a member of the Corporation Development Committee, a member of the Advisory Board for the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, and an educational counselor. David has served on the Club Council, his Fund Reunion Gift Committee, as a 24-Hour Challenge ambassador, and on the Association’s Program Committee. David was honored with the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award and the Great Dome Award in 2021 and the Marshall B. Dalton ’15 Award in 2023. David is president and managing director of DVA Investment Limited.

Elaine Kan is a portfolio manager and rate & currency strategist for the fixed income group at Loomis, Sayles & Company. In addition to co-managing the Loomis Sayles Inflation Protected Securities Fund, 1290 Loomis Sayles Multi Asset Income Fund and Natixis Loomis Sayles Global Multi Asset Income Fund, Elaine is responsible for implementing interest rates and currency derivatives strategies for the alpha strategies group, as well as providing support to other products across the fixed income group. She joined Loomis Sayles in 2011 from Convexity Capital Management Co., where she was a portfolio analyst. Previously, Elaine was a fixed income analyst at Harvard Management Company. She began her investment industry career in 1997, working in the financial engineering group at Bank of Boston. Elaine earned a BS in engineering, a BS in finance and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Steve Baker graduated from MIT with an undergraduate degree in Course 4 (Architecture). He later received his Master of Architecture degree from MIT, and he also studied at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. In 1994 he cofounded Baker | Wohl Architects (now known as BWA Architecture), a 25-person architecture firm in Boston, where he is president and senior principal. As a principal of BWA, Steve has been responsible for the design and construction of more than $350M in built projects, including several award-winning buildings. Steve is a 2017 recipient of the Bronze Beaver, the highest award bestowed by the MIT Alumni Association for service to the Institute and the Association. He previously received a Lobdell Distinguished Service Award in 2013, and two alumni volunteer organizations he has chaired have received Great Dome awards for their work. He served a three-year term on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016, and a succeeding one-year term in 2016-17. He was previously a member of the Association’s Corporation Nominating Committee. From 2009 through 2017, Steve served as a member of the MIT Corporation’s Visiting Committee for the Division of Student Life, which provided advice to the Institute’s senior leadership on matters concerning student life, residence life, student counseling, FSILG affairs, and other extracurricular activities.

R. Robert Wickham received an SB and SM in aero-astro from MIT’s School of Engineering in 1993 and 1995 respectively. He volunteers as an educational counselor and career advisor. Previously he has served as cochair for his Reunion Gift Committee, an at-large member of the Annual Giving Board, WBRS chair and Goals Committee member. He has served on the Alumni Association Selection Committee, the AA Board of Directors, the Awards Committee and as president of his class. Robert has served as a recent-graduate member on the MIT Corporation, as Corporation Screening Committee chair, and on multiple Corporation visiting committees, among many other volunteer roles. He was honored with the Harold E. Lobdell ’17 Distinguished Service Award in 2004, the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service in 2005, the Great Dome Award in 2008, the Henry B. Kane ’24 Award in 2009, and the Bronze Beaver Award in 2014. Robert also holds an MBA from the Harvard School of Business. He is currently COO, Asia Pacific and Japan, Tableau at Salesforce.

Stephen P. DeFalco received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT’s School of Engineering and a master’s degree in management from MIT Sloan in 1983 and 1988, respectively. He also earned a master’s degree of science at Syracuse University in 1990. Stephen is a member of the Corporation Visiting Committee for Student Life and the Sloan Americas Executive Board. Previously, he was a member of the Association Board of Directors, also serving on the Ad Hoc Committee for the Strategic Plan Refresh, the Finance Committee and chairing the Ad Hoc Committee for BOD Governance. He has served on the Annual Giving Board, the Strategic Change Implementation Committee, had multiple roles for his Reunion Gift Committee and the Sloan North American Executive Board, and chaired the FSILG Village Study Committee. Stephen was honored with the Margaret MacVicar ’65, ScD ’67 Award in 2018. Stephen is chairman and chief executive officer at Creation Technologies.

Aaron Weinberger was named President Kornbluth’s chief of staff in the summer of 2023. He serves as an advisor to the president, coordinates efforts across the central administration, manages institutional accreditation, and oversees the ombudsperson function and Institute-level events. He arrived at MIT in 2007 to lead human resources for the Greater President’s Office. A year later, he added faculty governance to his portfolio. Following a brief stretch as special assistant to the chancellor, he returned to the President’s Office in 2013, first as assistant director for Institute affairs and then as special advisor to the vice president. In those roles, he worked closely with the senior team to advance Institute priorities and shape high-level communications, and staffed several key Institute bodies, including the Academic Council, the Executive Committee of the Corporation, and the Presidential Advisory Cabinet.Prior to arriving at MIT, Aaron worked in Human Resource Services at the Harvard College Library. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Tufts University and a master’s degree in film studies from the University of Chicago.

Enoch Ellis is a student at MIT, pursuing dual degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics. He serves as a representative for MIT's Corporation Joint Advisory Committee on Institute-Wide Affairs and as the Student Body President of MIT’s Undergraduate Association. As a researcher, he's made significant contributions to labs focused on decarbonization and energy accessibility. His research focus includes studying transport phenomena and developing novel methods to produce hydrogen to enable widespread access to clean, sustainable energy. Enoch was awarded the 2024 Departmental Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award in Chemical Engineering. He's also an accomplished NCAA athlete, being named the 2023 Scholar-Athlete of the year in addition to being an NCAA All-American and holding the title of 2023 DIII National Champion in the 110-meter hurdles.

Teddy Warner is from Los Alamos, New Mexico. He received a B.S. in Biological Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in 2021. He then started in the MIT Chemistry PhD program in 2021. He is researching the bacterial cell wall and its interactions with the environment. Teddy is currently the President of the MIT Graduate Student Council with a term lasting until May 2025. After graduation, Teddy plans to pursue postdoctoral research.