The ESG Initiative is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the John M. Bendheim Loan Forgiveness Fund.
These 11 Bendheim Fellows receiving loan forgiveness are examples of Wharton alumni who are using their business acumen in finance, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, and more to solve the world’s most pressing issues. This year’s fellows include leaders in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, education, and government.
Created in 2005 by John Bendheim, W’40, and his son Tom, WG/Lauder’90, and managed by the ESG Initiative, the loan forgiveness fund has awarded over $2.5 million to 125+ alumni. These Bendheim Fellows are representative of the growing community of Wharton alumni engaged in the business of social impact.
The Bendheim Family shared, “We are honored to support the 2024 outstanding recipients and we wish all of the students success in impacting the world with all of their future endeavors!”
The funding decisions are made by a committee composed of Wharton representatives (ESG Initiative, MBA Career Management, Wharton MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, and the Wharton Executive MBA program) and select previous recipients of Bendheim Loan Forgiveness Awards.
The recipients for this year include the following social impact leaders:
Rishika Ghosh received her MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2021. She is a Senior Associate at the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp., a nonprofit green bank that connects projects to capital to drive a thriving, clean energy market in Southeast Pennsylvania.
Michael Greer is the President and CEO of ArtsFund, whose mission is to support the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grantmaking in order to build a healthy, equitable, and creative Washington. He has worked as a professional artist and an executive in the nonprofit and for-profit space in the USA, India, and mainland China. With degrees in economics, education, and an MBA from The Wharton School (WG’21), along with strong skill sets as a relationship builder, thought leader, and strategic planner, Michael brings a diverse background to the role and a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of the sector.
Brittney Jean-Louis completed her EMBA in 2020. She currently leads expansion projects for high-performing K-12 schools in an effort to offer more high-quality educational opportunities in low-income communities.
Dan Petty completed his MBA at Wharton in 2022 with majors in finance and strategic management. He is the director of audience strategy at ProPublica, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization that investigates abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust. He leads a team focused on understanding and reaching audiences for the organization’s journalism through digital platforms and partnerships.
Shrinidhi Rao graduated from Wharton in 2022. He now works as Chief of Staff at the Burning Glass Institute, an independent, non-profit think tank dedicated to advancing data-driven research and practice on the future of work and the future of learning. The Institute works with educators, employers, and policymakers to build solutions that drive economic mobility, opportunity, and equity through skills.
Elizabeth Saunders received her MBA in Marketing and Operations in 2020. She is currently an Operations Manager at Newsela, an educational technology company focused on driving meaningful classroom learning for K-12 students through authentic, engaging, and diverse supplemental content.
Suzanne Shaw earned her MBA in Finance in 2020 under the executive MBA program. She is a Senior Infrastructure Economist and Project Team Leader in Investment Operations at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral development bank committed to improving social and economic outcomes in Asia and worldwide through investments in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors.
Ashley Sogge earned her MBA in 2021, concentrating in Finance. She is the Director of Global Program Operations at Hala Systems, a social enterprise that collects and preserves war crime evidence using blockchain technology. Ashley leads strategy and operations for Hala’s field teams implementing these solutions around the world.
Jess Stokes received her MBA from Wharton in 2021 with majors in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Finance. Since graduating, Jess has pursued her passion for K-12 education as an early-stage edtech operations leader, a venture scout for Reach Capital, and the founder of Wonder Academy – an entrepreneurship education program for girls. Jess also hosts the Teach Me EdTech podcast to help startups understand how to better serve students and schools.
Ai Yamakami is a 2023 MBA graduate who majored in Finance at Wharton. Ai is currently an Associate Investment Officer as part of the Young Professionals Program at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group. At IFC, she focuses on infrastructure, such as digital development and natural resources in Africa.
Danqing Zhu is a 2020 WEMBA graduate. She co-founded and leads an impact-driven startup enabling simple, efficient, and transparent sourcing for entrepreneurs and organizations across Africa.