GREENER SCOTT SCHOLARS

Akiesha Ortiz, M. Ed, works for the Center for Public Leadership as the program manager for the Alan Gleitsman Leadership Fellowship and the Harvard Kennedy School Fellowship for Serving African-American Communities. Akiesha co-founded Greener Scott Scholars in 2018. Winning the honor of becoming a Fulbright Educator, she has trained educators, teachers to be, and her colleagues on various skills. Her path has led her to currently work for Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership as she continues her support with policy and programs that uplift and empower all who work in communities that impact the lives of children in various fields. The value of compassionate leadership drives Akiesha as she supports those who strive for great impact, equitable justice, and monumental change.

Andrea is Class of 2021, concentrating in Psychology on the Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology track. She lives in Lowell house and originally is from Chicago IL. She helped start GSS because “the Black undergrad and grad student communities are not very connected. There's power in our connection and ability to communicate, and this was brought up a lot in conversations with Ms. Akiesha Ortiz a couple years ago. Creating GSS was supposed to be the foundation of that power in bringing our communities closer. A lot of groups come and fade away with student leadership and changes, but I want GSS to have a long-lasting and impactful legacy on Harvard's Black students. I hope that our focus on soulful mentorship as opposed to being career focused, for example, makes it a special place for all GSSers. Building a foundation for all this is key for me."

Karl Kumodzi was a 2020 graduate of the Masters in Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School. While there he met Akiesha Ortiz and Andrea Bossi, and their idea for Greener Scott Scholars grew out of a desire to facilitate stronger relationships between Black graduate and undergraduate students at Harvard. Karl is now the Deputy Director of Organizing at Blackbird, where he works with grassroots organizations to strengthen social movements.

Busola [boo-saw-la] is Class of ‘22 currently living in Adams house studying a joint concentration in the History of Science and African and African American Studies with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Busola was drawn to founding GSS because "there is something very special about being around the beautiful souls and the beautiful minds of students both within the undergraduate and the graduate campuses. Having the opportunity to help start GSS with the vision of uplifting these Black communities mean a lot to me when I think about the ways in which I choose to serve the Black community. Taking the extra initiative in introducing soul-mentorship while also addressing pre-professional mentorship gives GSS the extra something special that makes our community so fantastic. "