Hear from the 2026 HAA Elected Director Candidates
The 2026 HAA Elected Director candidates were each asked to answer the three questions listed below. Their unedited responses follow:
• What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director?
• How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role?
• Where do you believe alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community?
Allison Charney Epstein AB’89 magna cum laude with highest honors
MM ’91, AD ’94, Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Opera Singer; Producer
New York, New York
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? I once believed that my transformative undergraduate years would forever define my relationship with Harvard. However, since my graduation in 1989, I’ve come to realize that those four years were merely an entry point into something much larger: a lifelong bond with the University as a member of the HAA. As an HAA Elected Director, I would strive to engage deeply with our incredible community of alumni in order to serve as a trusted liaison between them and the administration. I would also love to extend this work by facilitating impactful relationships with students via mentoring and networking efforts, helping to provide them with the tools they will need for success outside of Harvard.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? My professional work and personal and volunteer commitments are aligned by a desire to create meaningful connections through community. Whether bringing audiences together through music, connecting undergraduates with mentors, guiding 750 alumni through the interviewing process every year, or helping nearly 100 students secure internships in service to New York City each summer, I am motivated by work that strengthens relationships, expands access, and creates shared value. I would bring this win-win approach to the HAA Board to try to help keep alumni connected, engaged, and empowered so that they can, in turn, make an impact across the Harvard community.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? Harvard occupies a unique place in the world. Its decisions—academic, institutional, and cultural—are closely watched and often influence ideas, policies, and practices far beyond the campus. That visibility carries responsibility, and as alumni, we share in it. For me, this responsibility is personal. Leaning in as alumni allows us not only to stay connected to the University and to one another, but also to support and influence the next generation of students. By engaging thoughtfully with the University’s direction I believe we can help ensure it continues to move forward with integrity, openness, and purpose, never losing sight of its promise to rely on "Veritas" at all costs.
Jakob Haesler MPA ’99
MSc ’97, University of St. Gallen
Global Head of Consulting, Forvis Mazars Group
Paris, France
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? The Harvard Alumni community, for me, is an incredibly vibrant and diverse group of individuals across the world, united by a shared “Harvard experience” that ties us together. Strengthening those ties—both between alumni and between alumni and Harvard—is my motivation for wanting to serve as an HAA Elected Director. I am passionate about bringing us together across the geographical, cultural, generational, and educational differences that make up the fabric of Harvard.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? My professional experience as an advisor, investor, and AI tech entrepreneur provides me with a diverse skill set to support the new strategy the HAA has set for itself. My deep volunteer leadership experience, particularly at Harvard, has given me a wide network of Harvard friends across the globe, a strong understanding of how the HAA operates, and a perspective on how to motivate and energize members of a volunteer organization while also getting things done.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? In today’s often divided world—both within Harvard and around it—alumni have a crucial role to play as the glue that binds our community together. By engaging across divides, we can serve as role models, demonstrating how a community as diverse as Harvard’s can thrive by embracing the wide range of viewpoints its members hold. Practically speaking, we can do this by: 1. Creating opportunities for alumni lifelong learning 2. Strengthening our U.S. and international alumni groups and connecting them more closely with Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) 3. Fostering alumni giving back to our communities.
Mia Esther Alpert AB ’99 cum laude in field
Founder and President Emerita, Harvardwood
Los Angeles, California
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? The Harvard alumni community feels like home to me in so many ways – it has been a source of countless treasured relationships including lifelong friends and mentors, ongoing professional and volunteer collaborators, and my beloved spouse. Even in middle age I continue to meet and develop meaningful connections with alumni from all generations who inspire me intellectually, professionally, spiritually, and otherwise – whether through Harvardwood, class reunions, the PBHA community, the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, the Harvard College Fund volunteer corps, the OFA councils, or the many other SIGs and alumni networks of which I am privileged to be a part. I am also fortunate that my role as an annual homestay host for arts-curious undergraduates (through the Harvardwood 101 career exploration and summer internship programs) keeps me in the loop on campus happenings – and even luckier that I get to stay in touch with many of these remarkable young people as they join the alumni community and forge their paths in life!
This past year I was especially touched to see the ways in which the global Harvard community came together during and after the devastating wildfires that impacted so many of us in California. The outpouring of support and camaraderie warmed my heart and reminded me of how interconnected we really are as alumni and global citizens. Harvardwood and the Harvard Club of Southern California collaborated with other alumni and SIGs from around the world to quickly bring helpful resources, information and connections to those impacted – alumni firefighters, attorneys, chaplains, mental health professionals, environmental scientists, public health experts and more all generously volunteered their time and expertise in others’ moment of need, to the benefit of alumni as well as the greater public. That speaks to the power of the global Harvard community to be a force for good, and it has motivated me to look for additional opportunities to serve my fellow alumni and the University.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? Through Harvardwood, the nonprofit organization and HAA SIG I founded alongside Stacy Cohen '89 and Adam Fratto '90, I have spent over twenty-five years building programs that create more equitable access to resources and careers in the arts, media and entertainment industry. Harvardwood was initially established out of a desire to extend the sense of belonging I had found at Harvard College into the real world while also forging essential pathways and a welcoming community for those who aspire to build careers in these fields – which have historically been intimidating, if not inaccessible, to those without prior connections. Thanks to the efforts and dedication of hundreds of volunteers and thousands of members around the world, as well as our small but mighty staff (also alums!), Harvardwood has since evolved into a comprehensive platform for career education, professional development, mentoring, community building, arts funding and advocacy. In this and other Harvard volunteer roles, I frequently speak to alumni across disciplines and professions (including and well beyond the arts and media). I have greatly enjoyed advising a number of nascent SIGs on best practices based on my learnings from the experience of building Harvardwood – a now truly global community encompassing alumni on 6 continents with a wide variety of interests, backgrounds and aspirations.
My recent reconnection with the Phillips Brooks House Association alumni group has alerted me to the always-present but now immense need for support of volunteerism and public service at Harvard. My passion for service was sparked during childhood, and I built on this interest as an undergraduate by volunteering for and serving as Program Director for the Mission Hill Afterschool Program. This formative experience laid the foundation for ongoing service work throughout my adult life, including roles on the Board of United Friends of the Children, which supports current and former foster youth in LA County through housing, education and mentorship, and as Chair of the Board at UCLA Lab School, an elementary school and early education research center.
I hope and believe that my experiences with nonprofit governance and organizational leadership, combined with deep engagement across multiple Harvard communities for almost three decades, will enable me to advocate effectively for initiatives that meaningfully strengthen alumni connection and bolster Harvard's commitment to advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and serving society.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? It is no secret that our alma mater is navigating one of the most challenging periods of its existence. I believe there are very real problems at the University that have persisted for years, if not decades, and I also believe that Harvard remains the most essential institution of higher education in our nation, if not the world. To me, Harvard is a dynamic ecosystem of people and ideas, a community of lifelong learners striving to co-construct a deeper understanding of our evolving world so that we may better serve it. As alumni, we have the chance to model what we'd like to see happen at the University through our own words and actions: we can choose deep reflection over reactivity, pursue growth over perfection, give and receive grace, and embrace opportunities to learn from disagreement instead of avoiding or silencing those with different opinions. Even when faced with formidable challenges — and Harvard has seen its share over the last four centuries — we have always returned to our shared purpose of "Veritas". Our actions as alumni during this time of transformation will help shape the future of Harvard for generations, which is why we need to lean in and remain part of the conversation.
Here are some concrete ways in which I believe alumni can make a greater impact:
Build meaningful community with fellow alumni in ways that resonate with you, whether the association is geographic, professional, faith-centered, or based on other shared interests. Finding and creating spaces of belonging is even more important in our era of growing isolation and disconnection; cultivating fellowship and camaraderie within our community is one of my favorite aspects of being an alum.
Nurture and model a culture of philanthropy in the broadest sense. Financial gifts in support of Harvard’s mission are always needed and important, but equal weight and thought should be given to contributions of time and talent, which greatly improve personal connection and build community, creating a sense of belonging for both giver and recipient.
Invest in mentorship. Proactively seek out opportunities to mentor both students and alumni around their professional goals, particularly in areas where they may face high barriers to entry and longevity. This can be as simple as offering a single informational conversation; it could evolve into a mutually beneficial professional relationship that spans years.
Champion financial aid programs to ensure that Harvard continues to attract the highest caliber of students from around the world and that they feel genuine belonging as valued lifelong community members.
Explore lesser-known areas of need at the University. A lot of alumni assume, as I used to, that Harvard's large endowment showers plentiful resources on all corners of the University. In reality, many entities require the ongoing support of outside funders and/or volunteers, especially in the current moment – whether Phillips Brooks House Association, the Harvard Film Archive, the Harvard Forest (yes, we have a forest!), or any of the vast array of offerings that make Harvard so exceptional.
Engage actively with the campus community. Look for opportunities to connect with students, faculty, and staff—whether in person or through other modes—to foster better communication and mutual support between campus stakeholders and the vast global network of alumni. Having mentored many students and spent significant time on campus for various volunteer roles over the years, I can attest to the power of individual conversations to more accurately inform our impressions of what is happening at Harvard.
Support efforts toward viewpoint diversity and civil discourse. I encourage all alumni to explore recent initiatives including President Garber's Building Bridges Fund, the Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue Working Group co-chaired by Professor Eric Beerbohm and Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin, and the Intellectual Vitality Student Advisory Board. These represent meaningful and intentional steps toward greater tolerance of dissenting opinions on campus and educating students and faculty on the importance of constructive disagreement in the truth-seeking process. We can help by staying informed and curious ourselves.
Voice concerns in honest and constructive ways that move us forward as an institution. When delineating problems, offer thoughtful solutions.
As Harvard alumni, we should be eager to have conversations with each other and with fellow humans across a wide range of opinions – I’m sure many of us remember with fondness those late-night debates in dorms, common rooms, the Kong, and other Harvard Square venues, the never-ending dialogue and intellectual give-and-take that makes the student experience so uniquely stimulating and enriching. By continuing to show up and lean into the collective conversation, we can all play a part in ensuring Harvard remains a force for good and continues to enable the vigorous pursuit of knowledge, innovation, and service that has a lasting, positive impact on humanity.
Jeffrey H. Tignor AB ’96 cum laude
JD ’99, Duke University
Attorney-Advisor, Federal Communications Commission; Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke Law School
Washington, D.C.
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? I want to serve as an Elected Director because I have experienced the benefits personally and professionally of being a part of our amazing alumni community. I want to ensure that each generation of Harvard alumni has a lifelong experience with the University. For me, our alumni community means friends, mentors, and continuous learning. I have nearly lifelong friendships with my freshman year roommates from Weld 11. My Harvard alumni mentors began on campus with Professor Martin Kilson MA ’58, PhD ’59 and continue today as I co-teach seminars at Duke Law School with Jim Coleman ’70. As President of the Harvard Club of Washington, DC, I led a Club membership dedicated to lifelong learning.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? My experience as President of the Harvard Club of Washington, DC – the third largest Harvard Club in the world – has prepared me well. I was Club President during COVID. We met people where they were with a variety of in-person and virtual events, indoor and outdoor events – with some events designed just for conversation and others for learning. Our board grew membership to the highest level in the Club’s recent history, at a time when our local alumni community needed us. As a lawyer, I’m accustomed to evaluating and synthesizing a variety of different perspectives. I look forward to listening and developing initiatives grounded in the many things we have in common as Harvard alumni.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? We have an opportunity to support current students and fellow alumni as human beings. We can more often be resources to support students from our hometowns, or those who have similar academic or professional interests. We can answer questions about internships or listen, with experienced ears, to their challenges and triumphs on campus. Similarly, we can create more spaces for alumni to communicate. Some of my most meaningful conversations have been with friends who reached out when they saw something in the news that they knew affected me, leading to personal and professional growth and the kind of meaningful, lifelong connection to the University that I want for everyone in our community.
Yoshiko “June” Nagao AB ’96 cum laude in field
Private Investor
Tokyo, Japan
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? My Harvard education became lifelong via serving our community. Alumni have shared wisdom generously, challenged my assumptions, and modeled thoughtful leadership and service. I am especially grateful for the warmth and openness of the global alumni network. Giving back has been a way to honor what I have received and help sustain that spirit. As Harvard continues to serve as a beacon of academic excellence and principled leadership during rapid global change, alumni hold a wide range of perspectives shaped by deep commitment to the University. I would be honored to help ensure our vibrant community remains a place for thoughtful dialogue and shared responsibility for Harvard's future.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? Working across cultures and governance environments (U.S., Japan/Asia and Europe) has taught me to navigate complexity, weigh competing priorities, and focus on long-term stewardship. In impact investing and nonprofit governance, I have learned to synthesize diverse perspectives and build trust across differences, skills directly relevant to a global alumni community deeply invested in Harvard’s future. Service on the HAA, HCJ, and Harvard for IMPACT boards has given me practical experience engaging alumni, strengthening local communities, and understanding HAA processes, fiduciary responsibilities, and the importance of alumni representation.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? Alumni can have their greatest impact by strengthening the connections that sustain Harvard across generations and borders, including supporting students as they navigate an increasingly complex world through mentorship, interviewing candidates, sharing career guidance, and helping them feel grounded as they pursue their full potential at Harvard. Alumni can also help bridge divides at a time of growing polarization by engaging across differences with curiosity and respect, while serving as a vital link between the University’s leadership and its global alumni community and helping identify future alumni leaders.
Jimmy Biblarz AB ’14 magna cum laude, JD ’21 cum laude, PhD ’23
Attorney, Hueston Hennigan; Lecturer in Law, UCLA School of Law
Los Angeles, California
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? In high school, I attended a Harvard information session hosted by the LA alumni club. My mother and I drove to Bel-Air from our small duplex apartment. It felt like entering another world. During a student panel, someone asked what advice they had for us if we were lucky enough to get in. One student replied, “Every opportunity that exists in the world exists at Harvard—you just have to find them.” That sentence shaped how I approached Harvard and my life beyond it. It also revealed the power of alumni outreach: but for that volunteer-run event, I might never have imagined myself at Harvard at all. Serving as an Elected Director would be a way to honor that legacy, and to pay it forward.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? To HAA, I bring institutional fluency, community-building experience, and a deep sense of stewardship for Harvard. My academic training and teaching gave me a deep understanding of how institutional decisions are experienced by students and faculty, and how to translate those experiences into constructive dialogue. My doctoral work in sociology sharpened my ability to listen across constituencies and synthesize diverse perspectives. Beyond Harvard, I built a grassroots political campaign rooted in outreach and volunteer leadership, experience I would apply to strengthening alumni connection and engagement. My legal work adds additional fluency in governance, risk management, and liability.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? Alumni are Harvard’s most important ambassadors at a moment of intense national scrutiny of higher education. Alumni are uniquely credible communicators of what Harvard actually is and what it does for people. Alumni shape Harvard’s impact in two ways. First, through outreach: a single point of contact can demystify Harvard and make it feel accessible and human. Second, through intentional community-building. Sustained alumni engagement can recreate something many of us miss deeply—house life’s social, intellectual, and communal energy. I have seen this firsthand through my own alumni involvement. This is how alumni can most powerfully shape Harvard’s future—and why I am eager to serve.
Margarita Montoto-Escalera AB ’78, MBA ’85
Consultant, Reichard & Escalera LLC
San Juan, Puerto Rico
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? When I speak with a newly admitted applicant to Harvard College, I explain that they are not just entering a prestigious school but joining a global community for life. As an HAA Elected Director, I'd want to help multiply the possibilities for friendships, collaborations, and mutual support that come with engaging with other Harvard alumni. The new and dear friends I have made through my alumni involvement have kept my Harvard experience alive and exciting throughout my life. As a constant Harvard volunteer, being nominated to run for HAA Elected Director offers me an opportunity to bring more voices from the alumni community to the HAA and, in turn, personally relay Harvard's messages.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? In over 30 years of interviews I’ve observed the evolving profiles of applicants, trained and coordinated interviewers and mentored admits. For our Harvard Club of PR, I’ve organized events of all sorts, such as bringing the Glee Club to PR and faculty lectures. I’ve served in every college reunion and Co-Chaired our 45th. As Class Secretary I’ve worked with classmates and HAA staff. HAA Directors meetings involved me in alumni engagement efforts. My technology background helps me leverage tools to facilitate this. Years of management and board experience inform how I work with groups. I also bring the perspective of an aging cohort, which now occupies a larger portion of the alumni body.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? Mutual support and resources! At both the local and global level, we can leverage resources to help our fellow alumni in their projects, whether they are personal or for the greater good. When I served as secretary of Class ACT78, I saw connections flourish between classmates who run not-for-profits and alums that could support them through resources and expertise. It is also critical to continue promoting economic support for the University, particularly in the turbulent period we are living. As alumni, we have a responsibility to help defend the University against the encroaching forces that threaten academic independence and I hope to contribute to that goal as an Elected Director.
Medha Gargeya AB ’14 magna cum laude, JD ’19
Senior Associate, WilmerHale; Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School; Captain, U.S. Air Force Reserves
Washington, D.C.
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? From San Francisco to Boston, the plains of South Dakota to the hills of North Carolina’s Piedmont, HAA has been my home away from home. As an anxious graduate, overwhelmed by how I could ever “depart to better serve thy country and thy kind” when I didn’t have an LSAT scheduled let alone a five-year plan, I found fellow alumni—willing to share their life experiences, restaurant and activity recommendations, and career advice—invaluable as I tried to chart adulthood. Our membership is diverse, but the common attribute of willingness to engage in meaningful conversations represents the greatest facet of civil society. Representing the interests of this group would be the honor of a lifetime.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? First, my teaching focus is ethics and oversight. I hope to lead with the goals of equitably representing the alumni body and ensuring accountability in decision-making. Second, having been involved in HAA in various capacities (D.C. board member, 2014 reunion co-chair, city captain, commencement cheerer, and five-club alumni interviewer), I have some know-how in navigating alumni affairs and considered ways to grow HAA. Third, as a former White House and DOJ staffer, I have brainstormed and weighed options incorporating myriad interests, counseled various stakeholders, and strategized in complex political and social situations. I hope to apply these skills while on HAA's board.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? As others have undoubtedly observed, now is a particularly important time to be a good steward of Harvard’s commitment to robust debate, celebration of unique viewpoints and backgrounds, and intellectual humility in considering ways to course correct and re-visit longstanding assumptions. In my view, showing up—in local meetings, SIG zoom meetings, reunion planning sessions, and many more venues—ready to tackle tough issues and thinking of ways to build common ground will have the greatest impact on the Harvard community and best shape HAA’s goals in the next decade. I look forward to seeing you there.
David G. Lefer AB ’93 cum laude in field
MS ’95, Columbia University
Director of the Innovation and Technology Forum and Industry Associate Professor, New York University
New York, New York
What does the Harvard alumni community mean to you and what makes you want to serve as an HAA Elected Director? I was both surprised and honored to be nominated to run for the HAA. I’ve been involved with Harvard in many ways since graduating, interviewing college applicants for more than a quarter century, chairing my interviewing committee for six years, and serving as a member of the class of 1993 Gift Committee, which broke the Harvard College Fund record for amount raised for a 30th reunion campaign. Helping Harvard as an elected director of the HAA is a role I would gratefully embrace. The university has given me so much, both as a student and alumnus, that it seems only right to contribute back as much as I can. Given the headwinds the university faces, Harvard needs its alumni more than ever.
How would your professional expertise and personal and volunteer experience serve you in this role? When I was first nominated for the HAA, I was told I may serve in alumni outreach, listening to alums and trying to understand their concerns. I can’t think of a role I’m more suited to. In my decade as a newspaper reporter and TV producer, listening to and learning from others was my full-time job. As a startup founder and professor of entrepreneurship for two decades, I teach my students the vital importance of talking to potential customers to understand their needs. I’ve also authored two books on US history, and the hours I’ve spent in archives and libraries have honed my research skills. In short, I’ve spent my life trying to get the real story. I'd be happy to share my experience.
Where do you believe Harvard alumni have the opportunity to make a greater impact on the Harvard community? Over the past few years I’ve spoken to many alumni who’ve voiced heartfelt complaints and grave worries about the university’s direction. Most understand no institution is perfect, but all agree that Harvard is worth fighting for. What they don’t know is if the university is listening. Harvard clearly needs financial assistance, and alumni donations are a crucial source of funding. But to persuade people to invest in Harvard’s future, they first need to feel invested in it. Our alumni have an unparalleled wealth of perspectives and experiences that can help the school navigate these rough times. Offering them to Harvard, in a clear, practicable way, may be the greatest gift we can give.