HARVARD GLOBAL RESEARCH AND SUPPORT SERVICES - Key Persons
Annie is an accounting and finance professional with deep experience in several areas of accounting.
For Harvard Global, Annie oversees complex general ledger close outs for Harvard Global, which includes the consolidation of Harvard Global entities, inter-company eliminations, foreign and currency conversions. Annie also oversees the accounts payable and accounts receivable processes, working closely with our vendors and third parties.
Previously, Annie provided clients and companies with payroll services, tax preparation, and procedures to improve their financial reporting and internal controls. She also managed clients' general ledger, monthly closing, and reconciliations.
Annie holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Salem State University, as well as certificate in finance and a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in global studies from Southern New Hampshire University. Outside of work, Annie enjoys cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Belynda is an administrative and operational professional with more than a decade of experience in program development, strategic leadership, financial management, and partner collaboration within international settings.
As Associate Director of Harvard Global, Belynda supports the organization's strategic direction and oversees global operations, consulting services, and the international consultants and operations staff. Belynda also leads the development of innovative results to address complex challenges for Harvard Global and manages the framework, business solutions, and infrastructure that support small, diverse country operations.
Previously, Belynda lived and worked overseas where she provided organizational development, financial advice, auditing services, and capacity-building to countries in the Eastern Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, Belynda collaborated to establish an NGO in Ethiopia and was Chief of Party for a USAID mission dedicated to supporting NGOs in their fight against HIV/AIDS.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of International HR
Blaga is an international human resources professional with more than 15 years of experience in providing full life-cycle HR services in nonprofit settings.
At Harvard Global, Blaga oversees employment services for clients' international assignments and advises clients on hiring strategies and employee relations. Her work includes global mobility, compliance, contracting, compensation, benefits, and payroll management. She also contributes to several University working groups to facilitate information sharing and identify process improvements in support of Harvard's international operations.
Prior to joining Harvard Global, Blaga worked at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), where she provided human resources support to local and international employees in 30 countries around the world. She also managed talent acquisitions and key partnerships with external organizations.
Blaga holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Burgas University, Bulgaria, and master's degree in liberal arts with a concentration in human resources management from Harvard University Extension School. Outside of work, Blaga enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Vice President for Operations & Clerk
Joe has spent the majority of his career supporting international operations in both for-profit and nonprofit settings.
In this time, Joe has led finance and HR teams, international tax reporting, audit liaison teams, accreditation renewals for educational institutions, the implementation of emergency management response plans, and the establishment of an overseas presence in numerous countries.
He serves as both the Vice President for Operations and the Clerk for Harvard Global, as well as having various board appointments with Harvard Global and its overseas affiliates.
Joe is a longstanding fellow member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants. He serves as a Global Council member for ACCA and has been awarded the ACCA advocate of the year for Europe and the Americas.
In his role as Vice Provost for Research, John H. Shaw works to support the research enterprise of the University, including its twelve schools and fifteen practicing hospitals.
He helps to advance Harvard's research mission through coordination and collaboration across the University and beyond, enabling foundational and transformative research and developing core research support. He also helps the University navigate the federal regulatory landscape for research funding received by Harvard (totaling nearly $1 billion annually) and associated compliance requirements.
John also serves as the Harry C. Dudley Professor of Structural and Economic Geology in the Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) Department, and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering in the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). He is a structural geologist and applied geophysicist who investigates the nature of faulting in the earth's crust, with applications to earthquake science. His research is also focused on energy systems and carbon storage, and the environmental impacts of these activities. Shaw offers courses on these topics through the General Education Program, EPS, and SEAS.
Shaw served as chair of the EPS Department for thirteen years, supporting faculty, affiliated scientists, students, and staff. Activities in this role included strategic planning, faculty hiring and evaluation; oversight of student academic programs; fiscal management and planning; research compliance; fundraising; alumni relations; diversity and inclusion initiatives; and oversight of lab renovations and building operations. Shaw has served on several School- and University-level committees focused on professional conduct and research policy. He recently served as the Chair of the Board of the Southern California Earthquake Center, an international research organization involving more than 90 institutions with federal and private sector funding sources.
He is also co-founder of Seismix Reservoir Management, LLC, a firm that helps to assess environmental hazards of energy-related operations for companies, regulatory groups, and others.
Job Titles:
- Senior International Program Consultant for HBS, HMS, HSDM, and HSPH
Kaelan has more than 12 years of experience in higher education with a focus on internationalization.
At Harvard Global, Kaelan partners closely with University clients to facilitate and maintain a variety of activities overseas, including employment, gift and grant management, short- and long-term research projects, and managing operations at Harvard Global entities in India and Israel. She brings a comprehensive understanding of global regulatory affairs, site assessment, and strategic operations to Harvard Global. In her work, Kaelan aims to complement and enhance institutional best practices, achieve efficiencies, mitigate risks, and enable and contribute to the success of Harvard's global initiatives.
Before joining Harvard Global, Kaelan spent six years as the Director of Global Regulatory Affairs and Planning at Northeastern University, where she developed the institution's global regulatory affairs strategy and new site assessment and implementation guidelines. In her role, she managed internal and external relationships to promote regulatory compliance and successful launches of campus operations across diverse jurisdictions. This included obtaining and maintaining university consent and degree-granting authority in five North American markets. Prior to Northeastern, Kaelan was a Director of Admissions at Hult International Business School.
Kaelan holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from The George Washington University, as well as a graduate certificate in higher education administration and a master's degree in global studies and international relations with a concentration in global student mobility from Northeastern University.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of International Finance & Budgets
Kate is an experienced accounting professional with over a decade of work in finance and accounting across a variety of industries.
At Harvard Global, she oversees the accounting and financial aspects of Harvard Global U.S. and its international subsidiaries. Kate is responsible for all in-country financial compliance and audits.
Before joining Harvard Global in 2013, Kate was a financial associate in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' Education Innovation Laboratory.
Kate holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and economics and a master of business administration from the University of Nairobi. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of International Consulting & Projects
Krister works with Harvard faculty, staff, researchers, and students in a variety of capacities to facilitate international research and educational programs.
He is the main point of contact for Central Administration, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Harvard Kennedy School, and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Through 2022, Krister has consulted on nearly 1,500 employment, visa, finance, and other cases in more than 80 countries where Harvard has activities. He works closely with Harvard offices in India, Tunisia, and South Africa in addition to Harvard's trust in Hong Kong. Krister has more than a decade of international experience working with large, mission-driven organizations to advance goals across borders and cultures in government, medicine, and education.
Previously, Krister worked with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, where he helped manage a multi-million dollar joint venture with Saudi Aramco to oversee and improve its health care system. He was also a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, serving as an Economic Officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and as a Consular Officer in Mexico City, Mexico.
Krister holds a bachelor's degree in social studies from Harvard College, where he focused on the Middle East and wrote a thesis on an Islamist group in Morocco. He was a member of the Harvard International Relations Council and the student chair of the Harvard Youth Poll at the Institute of Politics. Krister also holds a master's degree in foreign service from Georgetown University, where he was was a Huffington Junior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
Job Titles:
- Senior International Program and Operations Consultant for GSD, HDS, HGSE, HLS, and Radcliffe
As a senior international program and operations consultant, Lia manages Harvard Global's U.K. entity operations and is responsible for managing the HR processes for Harvard Global's operations in India.
Lia also serves as the main point of contact for international activities for the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Harvard Divinity School (HDS), Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Harvard Law School (HLS), and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she works with faculty and staff to facilitate international research and educational programs.
Prior to joining Harvard Global, Lia managed an international program at Harvard Kennedy School. She also has experience in business consulting and investment banking.
Lia holds a master's degree in engineering science from the University of New South Wales and a master's degree in liberal arts with a concentration in management from Harvard University Extension School.
Mark Elliott is also Vice Provost of International Affairs at Harvard University and the Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and in the Department of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
As Vice Provost, Elliott oversees and works to advance international academic initiatives, extending the global reach of Harvard's research and teaching activities. In this capacity, Elliott serves as the University's representative in negotiating agreements with foreign governments, receiving senior-level international delegations, and representing Harvard to peer institutions and alumni worldwide. In addition, he shares responsibility for supporting the community of international students, scholars, and faculty in Cambridge and Boston, as well as for guiding Harvard's overall global strategy and sustaining its ongoing development as a global university.
Elliott is an authority on the last four centuries of Chinese history, in particular the Qing period (1636-1911). His research encompasses the history of relations between China and its nomadic frontier, with special attention to questions of ethnicity and empire. His first book, The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China, is a pioneering study in the "New Qing History," an approach emphasizing the imprint of Inner Asian traditions upon China's last imperial state. He is also the author of Emperor Qianlong: Son of Heaven, Man of the World, and has published more than 25 scholarly articles. He serves on numerous editorial boards, and was for three years the director of the Fairbank Center of Chinese Studies.
A graduate of Yale (B.A. '81 summa cum laude, M.A. '84), Elliott earned his Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Berkeley. He taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara and at the University of Michigan before coming to Harvard in 2003.
As a financial associate, Roger oversees accounts payable (vendor setup and invoicing), assists with monthly payroll management and service contract billings for Harvard Global, and works closely with the finance staff and the Director on budget forecasting.
Before joining Harvard Global, Roger had worked in management, media, customs and excise, training, logistical management, and warehouse management, and safety. In Trinidad and Tobago, he worked for Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Limited (PLIPDECO), Process Plant Services Limited, and the Caribbean Communications Network.
Roger holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a graduate certificate in natural resource management and sustainable ecosystems from Harvard University Extension School. Outside of work, Roger is a volunteer citizen scientist with the Charles River Watershed Authority and was a Gallery Guide for Harvard Museum of Natural History and Science. He also enjoys swimming, basketball, visiting museums, gardening, and spending time with his family.
Sanjith has a strong interest and experience in financial matters.
For Harvard Global, he performs accounting and analysis related to reconciling financial statements, monthly payroll processing, and monthly general ledger closings in support of our clients and entities abroad.
Before joining Harvard Global, Sanjith worked as a financial paraplanner for Be Free Bookkeeping and Financial Services and as a financial analyst/accountant for NeuroSync.
Sanjith earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a graduate degree in quantitative finance from Northeastern University. While at Northeastern, he helped to oversee the 360 Huntington Fund, a student-managed mutual fund. Outside of work, Sanjith enjoys soccer and reading novels, especially fiction.
Sean Caron - President, Treasurer
Job Titles:
- International Project Administrator
As International Project Administrator, Sydney drives compliance efforts for eleven international Harvard Global entities.
Sydney is responsible for keeping the entities running by liaising with local counsel, convening various Boards of Directors, and completing regulatory filings. In addition, Sydney supports Harvard Global payroll and hiring across the globe.
Previously, Sydney worked as Client and Compliance Associate on GSS' International Consulting & Operations team and Security Assistant on our International Safety & Security team. While living in Cairo, Sydney worked as Assistant Editor for the Cairo Review of Global Affairs and continues to work freelance as a Contributing Editor. She has bylines in the journal as well as for the BRICS Post, News@Northeastern, the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research, and the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies, where she worked as Research Associate.
Sydney holds a bachelor's degree in political science and international affairs from Northeastern University, with a minor in Arabic and a concentration in security studies. In her free time, she enjoys practicing and teaching yoga.