Claire Robertson-Kraft (she/her), PhD, is the founder and executive director of ImpactED and the faculty co-director at Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. She has more than twenty years of experience working as a teacher, evaluator, and nonprofit leader in the Philadelphia region. She has extensive experience teaching research methods and conducting evaluations in the areas of education, public policy, positive psychology, social impact, and community engagement.

Leonard Shaw teaches Fundamentals of Data in the Master of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a senior software engineer at American Water, specializing in data engineering, DevOps, and software architecture for Enterprise Geographic Information Systems. He previously taught Geographic Information Systems in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University.

Sam is the co-founder of Agora, a Korea-focused incubator that advances research, dialogue, and action on pressing public policy and social issues. Before co-founding Agora, Sam worked in development finance and private equity at the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group) and AMP Capital, where he focused on infrastructure investment opportunities.

Sam is the co-founder of Agora, a Korea-focused incubator that advances research, dialogue, and action on pressing public policy and social issues. Before co-founding Agora, Sam worked in development finance and private equity at the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group) and AMP Capital, where he focused on infrastructure investment opportunities.

“Coaching or mentoring has always been a part of my background in some respect,” shares Josh Howard (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ’24). In college, he served as manager for LSU men’s basketball team. In his twenties, he worked as a youth pastor. Today, Josh is chief of staff at the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) and an adjunct professor at his alma mater.

Bryan Faller (Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts ’24) works at the intersection of art and finance. “I’m a fiduciary, and my formal training is as an art historian. I’m in a unique space because I’m able to speak to both the money aspect of art and the art historical aspect of art,” he explains. His responsibilities include managing money for individuals, families, and organizations, and helping those entities build and curate art collections. He also works as an art dealer, teaches the business of art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and conducts research.

Lara Merriken (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ’23) always thought of herself as a positive person. Believing in hers and others’ strengths created a throughline in her careers—from working as a social worker with at-risk youth, to founding LÄRABAR, to serving as an adviser after the company’s acquisition by a Fortune 500 corporation. “Human flourishing is what I’ve always been about,” she says. Although Lara studied psychology as an undergraduate, she first heard of positive psychology at her son’s school, where she is a board member.