Melisa Baez
Melisa Baez served as the director of programs for a college access program and the Chief Program Officer at ASSETS. While at ASSETS, Melisa launched its first Women’s Business Center and Entrepreneurial Service department. A heavy focus was placed on equitable entrepreneurial services that broke barriers in starting and growing businesses for women and people of color, including training and lending services. As an entrepreneur herself, she leads innovative work in the space of sustainable consulting and offering products to entrepreneurs transitioning to impact driven business models.
Linshuang Lu
Linshuang Lu is a Principal at Praxis Consulting Group, where she provides organization development, strategic planning, leadership and team development and culture change services to nonprofits and employee-owned companies. She has served as adjunct faculty at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and holds a BA and BS from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton, and a masters in Organization Development from American University.
Larry Waddell
Larry Waddell is EVP Digital Marketing at Seer Interactive, a digital marketing agency headquartered in Philadelphia with an office in San Diego and team members nationwide. Larry has P&L responsibility for the SEO, Creative, and Paid Media Divisions and loves helping clients build data-driven, customer-centric marketing strategies. Prior to Seer, he was VP of Finance at a venture-backed energy startup, a business owner, and a Venture Capitalist with SJF Ventures, a double-bottom line investor. His prior board service includes Investors Circle, New Kensington CDC, and Greensgrow Farm. Larry has an MBA from the Wharton School, an MA in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BS in Materials Engineering from Lehigh University.
Monica Moran
Monica Moran is a licensed Loan Officer at Philadelphia Mortgage Advisors. She believes that home ownership is key to financial security, and benefits individuals, families, and communities at large and she brings creativity and compassion to her work every day. With a background in the arts and education, she enjoys helping artists and teachers find financing and understands the transformative power of loans to small businesses who aim to make the world a better place.
Jason Ray
Jason Ray is the founder and CEO of Zenith Wealth Partners. Zenith is an investment management and advisory firm in Philadelphia. Jason previously worked in client-facing investment advisory roles at Carnegie Wealth Management, FS Investments, and Lincoln Financial Group. His skills include portfolio management, mergers and acquisitions, business valuation, and leadership. Jason studied politics at Princeton University and won an Ivy League football championship. He grew up in Michigan and now lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Rukiya, and daughter, Juniper. Jason contributes civically as a board director to the Cobb’s Creek Foundation (treasurer), the Leon H. Sullivan Charitable Trust, Vetri Community Partnership, Students Run Philly Style, and the Untours Foundation.
Caleb Harvey
Caleb Harvey worked as an intern with the UnTours Foundation in the summer of 2007 and was exposed to the daily operations of UnTours’ small business loan program, participated in the Fair Trade Town Committee, and worked on the promotion of Fair Trade products to local businesses. He holds a degree in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and works at Pendle Hill, a Quaker community center, assisting the Director of Hospitality. Caleb continues to be inspired by the UnTours Foundation’s model of furthering social justice and sustainability through the empowerment of small businesses.
Melissa Lee
Melissa Lee is the Founder and CEO of The GREEN Program (TGP), a global experiential education program for future sustainability leaders. Melissa has been recognized by NAWBO as Environmental Advocate of the Year, Forbes 30 Under 30, and served as a U.N. Global Schools Ambassador, Lattman Visiting Scholar of Science and Society at Penn State, and Heinz Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh for her role in incorporating SDGs into global education and workforce development. She currently serves the UnTours Foundation as a board member across the social impact, tourism, and sustainability sectors.
Heather Van Dusen
Heather Van Dusen is a consultant for B Corporations. She was the first employee at B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies and supports B Corporations and facilitates the passage of benefit corporation legislation. Heather has held positions in the standards, policy, and business development arenas. Born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, she has worked with local environmental and community advocacy groups there such as PennEnvironment and CeaseFirePa. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in religion from Amherst College.
Laura Anne Corsell
Laura Anne Corsell has been a friend of UnTours and supported the foundation’s mission for many years. She has traveled widely – Europe, Africa (Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa), Brazil, Cuba – as an UnTourist, with family and solo. In addition to wanderlust, Laura brings to the foundation expertise in various regulatory and fiduciary matters gleaned from decades in legal practice. Retired since 2017, Laura is happy to live on a quiet beach, working on her Italian, and travel plans.
Kofi Alorzuke
Mawupemor Kofi Alorzuke, CFA is currently the senior finance and grants manager at the de Beaumont Foundation, a private foundation that works to advance equitable policy, build unlikely partnerships, and strengthen the U.S. public health infrastructure at the state and local level. In this role, Kofi works closely with the senior director of finance and the chief operating officer to support the Foundation’s financial management, endowment administration, legal administration, and the building and streamlining of internal Foundation-wide systems. In addition, Kofi oversees the grant management functions across de Beaumont’s various portfolios and provides financial support to program teams. Originally from Ghana, he moved to the U.S. to pursue his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business, with a minor in applied mathematics, from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and is a CFA Charterholder. Kofi has extensive experience in financial and investment management, as well as community and economic development, and has always been passionate about social change and entrepreneurship.
Brian
Fernandes-Halloran
Brian Fernandes-Halloran has worked globally, facilitating community development, arts initiatives, and social benefit projects. As the executive director of Halloran Philanthropies, Brian has overseen initiatives introducing creative structures to empower underinvested and unrepresented change agents in the philanthropic and impact space. Brian has an MFA from Bard College, bringing an artist’s sensibility to his work. He lives outside Philadelphia, PA, with his two lovely kids and wife. He is writing a speculative fiction book that he will talk too much about if you give him the chance.
Frances Schwabenland is an award-winning documentary photographer and videographer whose work has taken her around the globe. She has been featured on the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, Photographers Forum, the Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN’s website, and the Huffington Post. She is a regular contributor to the UnTours Foundation website and blog, profiling our investees in photos, videos, and words. Most of the profile photos on this page were, in fact, taken by Frances. Explore her website and blog for more of her portraits, social documentary, and travel photos.
Chuck Lacy
Chuck Lacy lives in Vermont and invests around the world, primarily through the Barred Rock Fund. He was the President and COO of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for 17 years, overseeing its growth as well as the visionary social mission. Other investments — oversight, vision and financial — include Hardwick Beef, Guayaki Yerba Mate and Indigenous Designs, a Fair Trade clothing company. He is currently doing intensive work in Chester, PA, with Chester Made. Chuck has a BA from Amherst College and an MBA from Cornell University, is on the board of Green Mountain College and lectures at MIT.
Lucas Vining
Lucas Vining has spent his career in and surrounded by entrepreneurship. Originally trained as a molecular biologist, Lucas’ first company conducted biotechnology research into novel cell and gene therapies. He also embraced his passion for social entrepreneurship by founding a nonprofit that brings modern hydroponic agriculture technology to Cambodia. Lucas also brings perspective from the other side of the capital raising table with venture capital investing experience at firms including Golden Gate Ventures and Phirst Market Ventures. Lucas now supports entrepreneurs in various ways by bringing institutional quality financial management to early-stage companies. At the UnTours Foundation, this takes the form of leading due diligence and underwriting processes to pursue exciting partnership opportunities. Lucas is also an avid chess player, musician, and runner.
