BEECK CENTER - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Leader
• Fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact
• Senior Director, Digital Benefits Network

Ariel Kennan (she/her) is a Fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, where she researches and advises on best practices for using design, data, and technology for improved social safety net outcomes. Ariel leads the Digital Benefits Network to support public interest practitioners working on the social safety net through generating insights, fostering collaboration, and sparking advocacy to advance the delivery of benefits and increase economic opportunity. Ariel is a leader in service design, digital product development, and organizational strategy. She has worked in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors to drive change and deliver impactful solutions. Previously, she served in the New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity where she founded the nation's first municipal service design studio and managed a portfolio of best-in-class digital products to connect and deliver services. Most recently, she was the Director of Civic Innovation at Sidewalk Labs, where she led the strategy for inclusive participation in the social infrastructure of cities. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Design from Parsons School of Design. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Job Titles:

• Deputy Director, Content

Previously, Ashleigh managed communications efforts at the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, a City-affiliated nonprofit which harnesses the innovative spirit of public-private partnerships to invest in meaningful programming that supports vulnerable New Yorkers. She has also worked as a writer, editor, and communications strategist at The Council of State Governments Justice Center and the Center for Employment Opportunities-two data-informed nonprofit organizations advocating for reform at all levels of the criminal justice system. Ashleigh began her career as a hyperlocal journalist in Southern California after earning her degree in journalism and cultural anthropology from Boston University. Ashleigh Fryer is the Storyteller-in-Residence at the Beeck Center, focused on humanizing social impact to help catalyze change. You can find her on LinkedIn.

Job Titles:

• Fellow

Job Titles:

• Project Researcher With the Opportunity Project for Cities

Elham is pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health in Health Equity and Social Justice at Johns Hopkins University. She has a Master's in Public Health from Columbia University and a degree in International Relations from Claremont McKenna College. She is based in Santa Clarita, California.

Job Titles:

• Researcher for the Digital Benefits Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Job Titles:

• Acting Director of Programs
• Deputy Director of Programs at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Grace Lacy-Hansell (she/her) is the Deputy Director of Programs at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, where she builds programs strategy and transforms ideas into action across all Beeck Center projects. She brings nearly a decade of experience leading complex projects in both the private and social sectors. Grace has dedicated her academic and professional career to addressing economic and social disparities by changing the systems that create them. Previously, she held roles at the Chicago Foundation for Women, Kekst CNC, and the University of Chicago Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. At the Beeck Center, she continues this work using the tools of data, design, and technology. Grace earned a Master's in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago where she concentrated in Policy Planning, Analysis, and Advocacy and completed a Program of Study in Poverty and Inequality. Grace also holds a Bachelor's from Georgetown University where she studied Political Economy. She is based in the Pacific Northwest.

Harold Moore helps organizations scale their work with tools, technology and relationships. When successful those organizations raise more money, communicate with their supporters in more authentic ways, retain volunteers and hopefully make the world a better place. Some highlights from his work include working with: UNICEF: Where as a consultant he helped build and buy technology for the Global Volunteer Initiative and served as an advisor on the agency-wide shift to Salesforce Blue State Digital, as an account manager for their SaaS, the Tools. There he managed the tech accounts of the Democratic National Committee, the Special Olympics, and Airbnb, creating new digital solutions for their marketing and outreach needs The Cooperative Impact Lab, where he worked with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grantees to build and build technology to support their efforts around building housing equity. Harold has worked with foundations, firms, labor unions, governments, non-profits, and corporations around the world to help them build (and buy) sustainable tools, get through messy change management projects, and train, upskill, and coach workers across organizations on how to use data and technology in more holistic ways. He's a strong proponent of getting technologists off of tech island and empowering staff regardless of their role to see the value in good data collection, storage, and analysis. Harold is based in Chicago, IL. When not working, he supports organizations such as the Mikva Challenge, the New Leaders Council, and many others.

Job Titles:

• Operations Manager
• Operations Manager at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Jack Dobkin (he/him) is the Operations Manager at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, where he supports people operations, focusing on recruiting and hiring the Beeck Center's expanding team. Jack comes to the Beeck Center from the nonprofit and political advocacy spaces. He previously served as the Program Assistant for Project One America at the Human Rights Campaign, where he supported a team of organizers pushing for LGBTQ+ justice across his home region of the South. Most recently, Jack was a Research Associate at Equity Forward, were he produced accountability research toward the advancement of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Jack also previously worked on a number of municipal and national campaigns as an Organizer. Across each of these roles, Jack has recruited, hired, and managed a number of student interns and full-time employees. Jack holds a degree in International Politics from Georgetown University. He is excited to be returning to both the Hilltop and the Beeck Center, which he was involved with as a GU Impacts Fellow during his time in school here! Outside of work, Jack enjoys baking (and eating), biking, seeing live music, and traveling. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Job Titles:

• Director of Communications
• Director of Communications at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Jessica Yabsley (she/her) is the Director of Communications at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, responsible for brand strategy, editorial development, and Beeck Center communications. Jessica has deep experience in both the non-profit and public sectors, and will spearhead the Center's communications strategies around its efforts to improve systems for all using data, design, and technology. Before joining the Beeck Center, Yabsley served as the Director of Communications at the Data Coalition, a trade association advocating for open data. Prior to her tenure at the Data Coalition, she gained legislative and policy experience by working for Australian Members of Parliament at the federal and state levels, as well as serving as a legislative fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jessica has a Master in Public Policy from the University of New South Wales and an undergraduate degree in Political Economy (Honors) from the University of Sydney.

Job Titles:

• Development Grants Manager

Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Executive Director at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Lynn Overmann is the Executive Director at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. She previously served as a Senior Advisor for Delivery with the U.S. Digital Service, embedded in the Domestic Policy Council to advise Ambassador Susan Rice on priority policy implementation. In this role, Lynn oversaw teams of digital service experts across diverse projects, including targeted efforts to make the asylum system more effective and humane, increasing access to federal funding for low-capacity communities, and improving the delivery of safety net benefits. Lynn also recently served as a Senior Advisor for Delivery at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she led the department's work to leverage data and human centered design to advance equity, streamline critical funding programs, and improve insights into rural economies. Lynn previously served as Senior Data Strategist at Opportunity Insights, a research and policy institute based at Harvard University that leverages big data to improve economic mobility. Prior to Opportunity Insights, Lynn served as a Vice President of Criminal Justice and head of DC Office at Arnold Ventures, where she led a team that developed and executed a multi-million grant portfolio focused on leveraging data and technology to reduce low-level arrests in police departments across the country. Lynn previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Obama Administration, where she launched the Data Driven Justice Initiative. Lynn also served in several senior policy positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she helped establish the Access to Justice Initiative, and as Deputy Chief Data Officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Before joining the Obama Administration, Lynn was a civil rights and criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida, starting her career by serving five years as a public defender, litigating dozens of cases to jury trial and successfully challenging unconstitutional practices in police departments and jails. Lynn graduated from the NYU School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College.

Job Titles:

• Analyst
• Student Analyst

Maggie Sullivan (she/her) is a Student Analyst supporting the Data Labs project at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. She is a second year graduate student in the Data Science and Public Policy program at Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy. Prior to attending Georgetown, she worked in various roles with the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of State on program management and communications, focusing on refugee resettlement, elections, and children and family issues. Maggie is passionate about bringing together tech and policy for social good. While at Georgetown she has put her data science skills to work with the Massive Data Institute on projects related to local education policy and with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services. Originally from Wyoming and Kentucky, Maggie graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Gender and Women's Studies from Western Kentucky University. She is currently based in Washington, DC.

Job Titles:

• Data Manager of the Digital Benefits Network

Maya is a researcher, data strategist, and community organizer. She has over five years of community-centered research experience, with a focus on public service access and design. Previously, she served as a Research Fellow for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, iterating actionable research insights for diverse public sector audiences. Most recently, she worked as an Analytics Consultant at VIVA Social Impact, leading program evaluation research for 10+ public agencies and developing firmwide data strategy and storytelling. Maya believes research is most useful when it is accessible to the communities it is for and about. She is passionate about innovating and improving the functionality of public services and infrastructures.

Job Titles:

• Community Manager for the Digital Service Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact

Michaela Caudill (she/her) is the Community Manager for the Digital Service Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. As Community Manager, she focuses on community development, strategy, and growth to promote government practitioners within our network to share best practices, discuss challenges and solutions, and carry out mission objectives.

Job Titles:

• Managing Director

Previously, Molly served as Senior Director of Project Management at the Case Foundation, leading collaboration and innovation across teams and subject matters to strategize, develop and execute the Foundation's Inclusive Entrepreneurship & Impact Investing programs, communications and operations. Outside of work, Molly is busy pursuing her passions for travel, cooking, hiking, spin, yoga and learning.

Job Titles:

• Community Manager, Digital Benefits Network
• Student Engagement Manager

Shanelle Roberson (she/her) is the Community Manager, Digital Benefits Network, at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, responsible for bringing practitioners, stakeholders, and decision-makers together to work toward digitizing and strengthening a human-centered U.S. Social Safety Net. Shanelle is passionate about social impact and civic tech tools that increase access and equity for those most vulnerable. She strives to bridge the gap between the government, corporate, and community. Shanelle is pursuing her Master's in Education Policy from Georgetown University and holds a degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is based in Washington, DC.

Job Titles:

• Administrative Coordinator