Watson Institute Team

Saarika manages the team, preceptors and development of Watson Institute, South Florida. In her role, she oversees all programming including workshops, Impact Series, and both our Mentor and Employer Networks. She also serves as a liaison to the broader South Florida community for the program and scholars.

Mary manages and systematizes all elements of Watson Institute’s Fellow-led Basecamp programs. In addition, she supports the implementation of Watson Institute’s Fellowship programs, including the Halloran Fellowship.

Nirva manages Accelerator and Fellowship programs for our partners, next-generation entrepreneurs, and leaders. The Fellowship programs include award-winning training, seed funding, committed mentorship, and a vast network of resources.

Evelyn (Evie) leads the design and implementation of a world-class Summit experience that showcases the projects, ventures, and initiatives of highly promising, diverse, next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders.

Gulmina supports the design of global programming to meet the needs of all partnerships and deliver high-quality programming to meet the needs of our fellows and scale our global impact.

Angelique manages Accelerator and Fellowship programs for our partners, next-generation entrepreneurs, and leaders. The Fellowship programs include award-winning training, seed funding, committed mentorship, and a vast network of resources.

James is a pioneer graduate of our inaugural cohort at Watson Institute at Lynn University and is the Founder and current Board Member of Street Priests, which is an organization that supports street children in Nigeria. In his role, James supports the implementation of all of the programming elements at Watson Institute at Lynn University.

Uche is a graduate of Watson Institute at Lynn University. She supports the implementation of all of the programming elements of the Accelerator and Fellowship programs for our partners and next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders.

Rob has more than twenty years of experience working with businesses, governmental agencies and nonprofits in various leadership and entrepreneurial roles across diverse sectors.

Pranati “Pranoo” Kumar (Skomra) has taught, led, worked with and founded a number of elementary school systems and programs on the East and West Coast – from the South Bronx to Harlem and Seattle – committed to identity driven and empowering learning experiences. She is currently the owner and education leader of Rohi’s Readery, a social justice driven children’s bookstore and learning center committed to critical literacy that promotes inclusivity and diversity.

Brian Knowles is a dynamic speaker, writer, researcher, and educator with the distinction of being twice named by Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s Top Black Educators (2018 and 2022). Brian is the founder of Power Builders Curriculum and Pedagogies, an educational consulting company that supports schools, community organizations, and education-focused nonprofits in creating culturally affirming spaces. This includes: policy, curriculum design, and professional development for educators.

Andrew is an entrepreneur who is a strong advocate for AI and big data to improve quality of life. He is the founder of SurfBigData, dedicated to intelligent algorithms to remove long-standing choke points in enterprise management. Andrew has chief experience in healthcare, smart city, and intelligent transportation. He is an advisory member of multiple advanced technology developments. Andrew’s mission and passion is to “try and make a dent in the Universe.”

Eduardo founded //Movement, a socially-responsible fitness initiative that recycles the energies of it’s fans and patrons into socially conscious projects in the community and around the world.

Alexina Prather is a social impact professional and entrepreneur, with a background in Sustainable Business and Human Resources. Alexina is a consultant at a social-impact firm based out of Kingston, JA providing ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) services. In 2019, Alexina founded a sustainable fashion brand that promotes the secondhand clothing industry and upcycling. Recently, Alexina directed an initiative that supported minority and women-owned businesses in accessing funds and resources in Miami-Dade County.

Madison works as the Director of Special Projects for the Office of the President at Lynn University. Madison manages a wide variety of projects including a 10,000 sq ft coworking space, a 112,320 sq ft student housing project opening in fall 2022, Lynn’s online program partnership with Kaplan, and Lynn’s student housing master plan. Her past experiences cross multiple paths from creating a non-profit organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo to project management in the entertainment, telecommunications, CRM, and direct marketing industries.

Danielle St. Luce is a non-traditional fundraising consultant focused on access to capital for first-time and novice entrepreneurs. She is experienced in supporting social ventures needing first-time capital and operational consulting. Her work focuses primarily on supporting government agencies and nonprofits in building capital programs for entrepreneurs in their communities.

Ariana leads our global development function with the goal to build relationships and meet fundraising goals required to expand our impact. This includes compelling writing of grant proposals and strong funder communication, project management of fundraising related projects, prospecting and research into new partners and marketing.

Dora supports the global development function by prospecting, strengthening, and building corporate and foundation partnerships to expand Watson Institute’s impact on highly promising, diverse, next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders.

Recognized as an Ashoka fellow, Echoing Green fellow, and one of Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneurs, Eric’s work is driven by a simple belief: to solve the toughest challenges facing humanity, the place to start is within the hearts and minds of the next generation.

Andrew serves as the internal lead of the organization and manages our organization-wide functions: Program Implementation, HR/Operations, Design, Admissions and Development. He builds and instills culture in our top-notch teams and supports each team in achieving their goals. He is known as a GyShiDo Master and aims to set the foundation for Watson Institute to become a hundred year old institution.

Recognized as an Ashoka fellow, Echoing Green fellow, and one of Forbes 30 social entrepreneurs under 30, Eric’s work is driven by a simple belief: to solve the toughest challenges facing humanity, the place to start is within the hearts and minds of the next generation.

Associate in Private Equity and Corporate Practices of Benesch, Jason has extensive legal, pro-bono, and non-profit expertise. From the board, he supports Watson Institute with legal and strategy questions, among others.

A recognized leader in the natural and organic food industry, Jane is former CEO of Lily’s Sweets (sold to Hershey’s), co-founder of Haevn (with several Watson Institute alums!) and has 30 years of executive experience in PepsiCo, Heinz, and Rudi’s Bakery. Jane publishes the popular blog JaneKnows.com on the tips, tools, and truths to lead a meaningful career.

Mike is a retired Microsoft executive where he led high profile, global products and most recently the Community Development program that supports 50+ global communities. Mike is an early-stage investor, advisor and board member of numerous non-profit and for-profit start-ups.

As co-founder and former Community Director of AshokaU, Erin has been a key player in supporting colleges and universities everywhere to become hubs of social innovation.

David is a writer, filmmaker, and passionate believer in the millennial generation. He is the author of the book Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping our World.

Robin believes that the education system needs a boost. With that, she has committed her time to systemic change with charter school oversight, preschool readiness for Spanish speakers, and executive functioning skills for marginalized communities.

Roshan is the Founder of Ashoka’s Globalizer and the Amani Institute. He is a guest lecturer at over a dozen universities – from Harvard to Paris’ HEC Business School. His course is entitled: “Scaling Social Enterprises Globally.” Roshan is also a Preceptor at Watson Institute at Lynn University.

Under Kevin’s leadership, the university has implemented a redesigned core curriculum, the nationally recognized Dialogues; a first-year student experience titled The Citizenship Project; and a three-year undergraduate degree program.

Scott Sherman is the Executive Director of Transformative Action Institute and has worked on nonviolence and social justice projects from the war-torn island of Sri Lanka to the inner city ghettoes of America.