The ESG Initiative is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the John M. Bendheim Loan Forgiveness Fund.
Now in it’s 20th year, the loan forgiveness fund has awarded over $2.6 million to 130+ alumni. The fund created by John Bendheim, W’40, and his son Tom, WG/Lauder’90, and managed by the ESG Initiative, supports Wharton alumni who are using their business acumen to solve the world’s most pressing issues.
These 15 Bendheim Fellows receiving loan forgiveness are representative of the growing community of Wharton alumni engaged in the business of social impact. This year’s fellows include leaders in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, education, and government.
The Bendheim Family shared, “Nonprofits and socially driven enterprises urgently need Wharton-trained leaders to navigate shrinking funding and tightening regulations. The Bendheim program’s loan support lowers barriers for graduates to step into leadership roles, empowering them to serve those in need and drive positive societal change.”
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:
Alec Emmert is a 2020 Wharton MBA who is currently serving as the CEO of Service to School, a national non-profit that has supported over 3,500 veterans’ college admission. He is a former submarine officer who deployed overseas multiple times and is currently serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He worked at McKinsey for two years after Wharton before he took his current role. Alec hopes to use his experience to motivate more Wharton alumni to use their education and skills to drive social impact.
Rishika Ghosh received her MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2021. She is the Senior Manager of Partnerships & Clean Energy Products at the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp (PGCC), a nonprofit green bank that connects projects to capital to drive a thriving clean energy market in Southeast Pennsylvania. She joined PGCC as its second employee to launch the organization’s first four financing products and programs, and now leads growth initiatives for the green bank by supporting the development of new technical assistance & financing programs. She also serves as President of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Young Professionals in Energy, a Board Member of the Clean Air Council, and the VP of Campus Engagement for the Wharton Energy Network (WEN).
Michael Greer is a seasoned cross-sector leader with decades of experience in for-profit and nonprofit organizations across the United States, India, and China. A firm believer in the interconnectedness of public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Michael advocates for cross-sector collaboration to strengthen community health and drive positive outcomes. As President and CEO of ArtsFund—Washington State’s largest independent, unrestricted arts and culture funder—Michael leverages his diverse experience to create practical and inspiring community solutions through the arts. Beyond Washington State, he contributes to national and international conversations on the role of creativity in shaping more vibrant, inclusive societies.
Garrison Haning is the cofounder and CEO of Safety Radar, a venture-backed AI platform advancing workplace safety and ESG outcomes by helping companies identify and prevent serious injuries and fatalities before they happen. A former Army officer and Bronze Star recipient, Garrison was inspired to launch Safety Radar after witnessing avoidable training accidents in the military and fatalities in the energy sector. Today, Safety Radar protects thousands of workers, helping Fortune 500 companies implement data-driven safety strategies that prioritize frontline wellbeing. Garrison holds a BS from West Point and an MBA from The Wharton School, and continues to serve as a Major and Innovation Officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Ashley B. Harrington is a strategic business leader passionate about driving sustainable impact through innovation and transformative growth strategies. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, grounding her work in deep expertise across strategy, finance, and brand development. Ashley has held leadership roles at Tiffany & Co., Viacom, and currently serves at Management Leadership for Tomorrow, where she leads strategic initiatives and analytics. Her career reflects a deep commitment to advancing equity and economic mobility at the intersection of ESG principles and business performance.
Brittney Jean-Louis is an educator with a personal mission of ensuring all students have access to high quality K-12 schools. She is currently leading an innovative school model with the goal of proving what’s possible for students living in low-income and underserved communities.
Rupesh Jeyaram received his MBA in Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability from Wharton in 2024. He is the CEO and Founder of Revise Robotics, a startup automating the $85B refurbished electronics market. While at Caltech, he studied computer science and explored his twin passions for sustainability and engineering. With the goal of starting a startup, he earned his MBA at Wharton while also working at a robotics startup called Renovate Robotics, where he built the computer vision system for a robot that installs roofs.
Youssef Kalad received his MBA from Wharton in 2023, graduating with Honors in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation major. While at Wharton, Youssef joined AlleyCorp, one of New York’s oldest and most-active early-stage VC funds, to help create its Economic Infrastructure venture portfolio. At AlleyCorp, Youssef backs companies that matter for the world, partnering with founders changing the way people learn, earn, and access care. He also runs Nonprofit ENG(INE), AlleyCorp’s philanthropic commitment to placing AI/ML, engineering, and product experts in leading nonprofits like Planned Parenthood, Recidiviz, and Upsolve. Prior to Wharton, Youssef led teams at Uber and in city and state government.
Allie Kronthal received her MBA in Real Estate in 2021. She also received a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a Senior Associate at Jonathan Rose Companies, a national owner-operator of affordable housing aiming to equalize the landscape of opportunity for residents through affordable, green, and services-enriched housing. At Jonathan Rose, she focuses on acquiring subsidized rental properties and preserving naturally occurring affordable housing.
Ignacio Marchionna, originally from Buenos Aires, grew up in a multicultural environment that shaped his global perspective early on. He studied economics and accounting at Universidad del CEMA and began his career in management consulting, working across Latin America in industries ranging from fintech to logistics. He later joined Mercado Libre’s Business Transformation team before founding startups in hospitality, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Ignacio is helping build the Latin American startup ecosystem through Draper Startup House, where they run equity-free programs supporting early-stage tech founders from Latin America, India, and the U.S.
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 growing the reach and resonance of ProPublica’s journalism across platforms.
Elizabeth Saunders earned her MBA in Marketing and Operations in 2020. She is currently a Delivery Leader at Delivery Associates, a global consultancy that helps governments and social impact organizations deliver on their most pressing challenges. In this role, Elizabeth partners with public sector and philanthropic leaders to implement high-impact education initiatives, including the Community Funding Accelerator, which supports innovative community organizations in accessing and leveraging public funding to improve student outcomes.
Suzanne Shaw earned her MBA in finance under Wharton’s executive MBA program (WG20). She is a Senior Investment Officer in the Financial Institutions and Funds Clients department 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.
Nancy Yuan received her MBA from Wharton in 2024, with majors in Organizational Effectiveness and Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business (ESGB). She now works in the American Red Cross Leadership Rotational Program. Nancy is leading cross-functional projects that support the organization’s mission to deliver disaster relief, provide lifesaving blood, aid military families, offer health and safety training, and help communities recover from crises locally and worldwide.
Danqing Zhu is a 2020 WEMBA graduate. She co-founded and leads an impact-driven pan-Africa platform enabling cross-border sourcing and embedded finance for local entrepreneurs and organizations.