Date
October 21, 2021
Time
6:30–8:00 p.m. PT
Event Type
In-person
This Is a Past Event
Welcome to Your City took place on Thursday, October 21, 2021. Please check back in the summer of 2022 for more information regarding the next Welcome to Your City program.
Calling all Seattle-based Harvard alumni!
On Thursday, October 21, alumni in cities around the world will come together to welcome members of the Class of 2021 to their new cities! Harvard alumni who graduated between 2011 and 2021, from the College or any of the graduate schools, are invited to participate.
If you live in Seattle or have plans to move there, the Harvard Club of Seattle welcomes you to register here for their Welcome to Your City event. The evening promises a welcome to Seattle while meeting and connecting with alumni in the area. Attendees will also learn about the many Harvard Clubs and Shared Interest Groups available to you and more.
Whether you are new to Seattle or have called it home for years, the Harvard community is your community—so we hope you will join us on October 21! Register with your LinkedIn profile or other social media accounts to see who's coming and connect with others before, during, and after the event.
About Our Event Sponsor
"CHEQ's on us!" This highly anticipated get-together is brought to you by CHEQ, the world's first social mobile order pay app founded by one of our own Harvard alumni right here in Greater Seattle.
Want a preview? Download CHEQ tonight and get a sneak peek at what Thursday's menu holds.
You can also CHEQ us out on Instagram
Shared Interest Group Contact:
Harvard Alumni for Mental Health, Embree
Who's Coming (96 + guests)
Will Dinkel
’13
Harvard Business School
Recently acquired founderNot yet announced
Recently moved to Seattle and looking forward to connecting with some fellow alums! My startup in SF was recently acquired by a tech company up here -- loving the nature and sights of the PNW so far. Personal interests include basketball (playing and watching), golf, and great food / drink.
Roger Hackett
’18
Harvard University Extension School
President Ryan and Robbie LLC
I am am Entrepreneur working to revolutionize Foundational Literacy
Tim Tow
’89
Harvard College
Lived in Seattle since 2004 and working in high tech.
Sonya Gleicher
’20
Harvard Graduate School of Education
PhysicianUniversity of Washington
I am a resident doctor in neurology at University of Washington with a focus in health equity and medical education, looking forward to meeting other alumni!
Jessica Bishai
’20
Harvard College
Post-Bachelor FellowInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Matthew Li
’19
Harvard College
Program ManagerMicrosoft
Sarp Gurakan
’19
Harvard College
Microsoft PM
0-18 Turkey
18 - 22 Harvard
22 -25 Microsoft
Lushen Wu
’10
Harvard College
Product ManagerGoogle
MARA-FLORINA STEIU
’24
Harvard Business School
Program Manager Microsoft
Hi! I’m an incoming HBS MBA candidate, a PM at Microsoft, and ed-tech founder.
Patrik Johansson
’01
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Associate ProfessorWashington State University
Megan Harney
’08
Harvard College
CEOMIDAS Education
I am passionate about transforming education by helping institutions adopt personalized, competency-based learning models. My company, MIDAS Education, runs statewide microcredential programs in UT, WY, and NV. Outside of work, I enjoy biking, CrossFit, traveling, and cooking.
Abhishek Shrivastava
’14
Harvard Business School
Saloni Sahni
’14
Harvard Business School
CEOAvisa, Inc.
Vivek Jayaram
’17
Harvard College
PhD StudentUW
PhD student at UW with a research focus of computer vision, audio signal processing, and music analysis.
Kat Oshman
’18
Harvard Business School
Sr. Product ManagerAmazon
Lana Gorlinski
’20
Harvard College
Emily Van Dyke
’03
Harvard College
Independent College CounselorPacific Northwest College Pathways
As founder of Pacific Northwest College Pathways, I'm currently immersed in guiding my high school senior students through their EA/ED application submission process. I was the first student to be admitted to Harvard University from my 140 year old high school, and I now enjoy tutoring and counseling today's teenagers through their most challenging high school courses and through their college admissions journey. I hold an honors AB '03 degree in Biochemistry and an MPH in Family & Community Health '09 from Harvard and an MD from the University of Washington '09. Upon re-discovering my passion and facility for teaching during a year of staffing the then-new Huntington Learning Center in North Bend, I started my own business in Fall 2018.
I have served as Native American Alumni of Harvard University President since 2016 and on the Harvard Club of Seattle Board since 2013. Please feel free to ask me about both Clubs and SIGs.
Kristie Tom
’21
Harvard Business School
Manager, Corporate ProjectsAmazon
Natasha Sinha
’12
Harvard College
Sr. Product Managee Amazon
I'm an outdoor enthusiast, sporty,, and enjoy travelling. I have a creative side (painting, music) as well and think laughter is the best medicine! Looking forward to getting to know local alums and hanging out in the future!
Nourhan shaaban
’15
Harvard College
Product Manager Udacity
PM at Udacity and moved to Seattle a year ago. Harvard college grad (2015)
Kayla Johnson
’21
Harvard College
Associate ConsultantPwC
I recently moved to the area after graduating from the College in May, with a job starting at PwC in June. In the meantime, I am looking for opportunities for internships or work around Seattle and am super excited to explore! I hope to get involved with local volunteering, nonprofits and politics while I am here, and in my free time I love to cook, sing, hike, ski, and take scenic walks and drives. Can’t wait to meet some friendly faces and connect with other Harvard grads around shared experiences and interests at this event!
Desmond Green
’17
Harvard College
Pediatric Resident Seattle Children's Hospital
Roberto Ruiz-Melendez
’20
Harvard College
Product Marketing ManagerMicrosoft
Recent graduate exploring careers in the technology industry. Avid hiker, golfer, and runner. Studied Economics and Mind, Brain and Behavior
Sonam Saxena
’09
Harvard Business School
Tetiana Petruk
’17
Harvard Business School
Senior Manager of Product StrategyExpedia
Hurlink Vongsachang
’20
Harvard College
Katrina Gonzalez
’21
Harvard College
Software EngineerMicrosoft
Adham Meguid
’20
Harvard College
Software EngineerFacebook
Sean Park
’21
Harvard College
Software EngineerMicrosoft
Linda Lee
’21
Harvard College
Program ManagerMicrosoft
Caitlin Hoeberlein
’20
Harvard Law School
AssociatePerkins Coie LLP
Shruthi Rajashekara
’14
Harvard Medical School
PhysicianUniversity of Washington
Richard Aguirre
’21
Harvard University Extension School
Director TechnologyAmerican Express
Working to bring to market multiple financial products for American Express globally. Technology orchestrator; inspiring tech teams to deliver better, faster and more meaningfully.
Loves: my family, "soccer", mountains, continuous learning and a great Port!
Meir Lakhovsky
’12
Harvard College
Head of ProductPicket Homes
Meryem Malik
’21
Harvard University Extension School
Scott Melbourne
’08
Harvard Graduate School of Design
PartnerMxM Landscape Architecture
Recently returned to Seattle after a decade overseas in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Daniel Chang
’20
Harvard College
Water Resources EngineerAspect Consulting
I work as a water resources engineer with Aspect focusing on water rights and supply development. I hope to expand my network in this new city!
Johnny Hu
’11
Harvard College
Menlo Ventures
Brian Goffman
’89
Harvard College
Evan Luo
’21
Harvard Business School
Senior Financial AnalystAmazon
Marjorie Voutilainen
’00
Harvard College
Harvard College AB '00, University of Washington MEd '05. Parent, K-6 Educator, dancer. Looking forward to connecting with fellow Harvardians after a long while.
Summer Montacute
’06
Harvard College
Interested in solving climate and biodiversity crises.
Shiyi Zan
’18
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Passionate about health and wellness and the environment. I work with multi-lateral orgs on digital health strategy and implementation, advise early-stage founders in healthtech, and dream about growing my micro-bakery into a café and community space one day. I live in semi-rural Kitsap County and enjoy exploring the outdoors with my husky pup, Suna. Looking for an escape from city life? Come stay with us! airbnb.com/p/harborviewguestsuite
Tara Abello
’18
Harvard Graduate School of Education
FounderWestside Education Partners, LLC
Former school leader assisting principals to ensure supportive educational environments for PK-12 schools.
Keyvan Sohrabi
’13
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Orthodontist
Guillian Hetzler
’09
Harvard College
Director, Content & OperationsBenetech
Ashley Ott
’11
Harvard College
PartnerVantage Point Financial
Katherine TSAI
’19
Harvard Business School
Program ManagerMicrosoft Corporation
Benjamin Kao
’97
Harvard College
PresidentThrive Acquisition Corp
After 20+ years living as an expat in Hong Kong, our family moved to Seattle last summer. I'm currently investing in the health and wellness industry with a sustainability focus, including sectors ranging from plant-based meats and better-for-you foods, to ag-tech and fitness verticals. Another of my companies is an active developer of logistics facilities in Florida, so I wear a few different hats. Looking forward to connecting with alumni in our new hometown.
Adam Matar
’22
Harvard Graduate School of Design
InvestorVarious
I invest in education, housing, and healthcare. I am currently focused on consolidating / rolling up childcare providers and on developing housing in Oregon and Washington. I am also a co-owner of an asset management firm with a portfolio of approximately one million square feet of medical offices (~$500M), and occassionally turnaround struggling businesses.
I had previously ran a regional department for Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii and served on government in Beaverton, Oregon. I moved to Sammamish over the summer essentially on a whim and love it up here.
I fly out to Cambridge the morning after this event to start a one-year executive program at the Graduate School of Design which had been delayed due to COVID.
Marina Multhaup
’21
Harvard Law School
Attorney
Ernest Omondi
’20
Harvard College
Solutions EngineerFacebook
I am quite interested in the intersection of Education and Technology, and Music and Technology. I have some experience volunteer teaching in high school and college. I am also very musical; I play piano, and guitar, and have been singing in choir since high school. I was a member of the Harvard Glee Club and now sing with Seattle Pro Musica. I'm interested in building connections with people including mentoring, career conversations and friendship.
Taylor Leyden
’20
Harvard Business School
Program Manager, Cloud Energy & SustainabilityMicrosoft
Hossam El Din Mabed
’21
Harvard College
Software EngineerMicrosoft
Rachael Merola
’10
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Senior ConsultantThird Sector Intelligence
Seattlite since 2018. Love to exercise, be outdoors, travel, and do/learn new things. I'm finishing my PhD in International Higher Education in the next few months and am looking for a new position in higher education.
Curt Heaslet
’21
Harvard University Extension School
Principal EngineerAmazon
I have recently transferred to Seattle and am looking forward to connecting. I am industry expert in Transportation (all modes) and Logistics.
Kamara Swaby
’17
Harvard College
Seowoo Kim
’19
Harvard Law School
AttorneyPerkins Coie LLP
Thomas Lapham
’18
Harvard Business School
CEOCHEQ
Lifelong entrepreneur. Recent returnee from Asia back to the Seattle area. Husband, and father of two young girls. Looking to reconnect to the community!
Stephanie Louis
’11
Harvard College
Sr. BD Manager, Hybrid HCLSAmazon Web Services
Mark Zong
’21
Harvard Business School
Sr. Program ManagerAmazon
Tannya Cai
’21
Harvard Business School
Strategy ManagerBenchling
Avi Swartz
’21
Harvard College
Ellie Bridge
’17
Harvard College
Education Policy AnalystLeague of Education Voters
Harvard College '17, Harvard Graduate School of Education (Harvard Teacher Fellows) '18
Yazan Abughaidah
’21
Harvard Business School
Senior Product Manager - TechnicalAmazon
Kate Fay
’21
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Program OfficerBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Mandah Gombosuren
’18
Harvard Business School
Retail business ownerAyanchin Outfitters LLC
Tricia Bolender
’01
Harvard College
Lisa Ma
’16
Harvard College
Product Designer
Daniel Rajchwald
’16
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Swati Ghosh
’20
Harvard Business School
Snr Manager AMZL planning Amazon
Ray Haija
’05
Harvard Kennedy School
NFL AgentELITE Athlete Management
I am an NFL Sports Agent representing professional athletes in the NFL & CFL
John Snyder
’14
Harvard Business School
Software entrepreneurAppetize.io / Cobrowse.io
Lekshmi Venu
’03
Harvard Business School
CEOMajorBoost
Kaushal Jain
’20
Harvard Business School
Product ManagerMicrosoft
Kevin Sun
’15
Harvard College
FounderDex
Alisha Jiwani
’07
Harvard College
Shahd Nara
’20
Harvard College
Software EngineerMicrosoft
Louie Hoang
’17
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Maciej Stanski
’18
Harvard Business School
Andrea Hu
’21
Harvard University Extension School
Software Engineer T-mobile
Lydia Wang
’21
Harvard Business School
Senior Financial AnalystAmazon
Nehemias Luna
’21
Harvard Business School
Product ManagerExpedia Group
Embree Thompson
’18
Harvard College
MD CandidateWeill Cornell Medicine
Joey Huaiyu Dong
’21
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Instructional Designer
Heather Jackson
’21
Harvard Business School
Sr. Product ManagerAWS
Michael Bervell
’19
Harvard College
PresidentHarvard Club of Seattle
Michael Bervell is a Ghanaian-American angel-investor, entrepreneur, and author. Bervell is the author of “Unlocking Unicorns,” a book about the stories, habits, and lessons of billion-dollar startup founders in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East available on Amazon and in bookstores globally. He is the youngest president of the Harvard Club of Seattle.
Charlie Platt
’12
Harvard Business School
Kinetic
Stuart Meyers
’13
Harvard University Extension School
CEOOpTac International, Inc.
Author, "SWAT Operations and Critical Incidents: Why People Die." Currently completing my doctoral degree (ABD) at Teachers College, Columbia University and just moved to Seattle in September 2021. I look forward to engaging with everyone at this welcome event.
Allan Camba
’21
Harvard University Extension School
Executive DirectorRiverboy Studios Academy of Professional and Continuing Education
ALM ‘21 Anthropology & Archaeology. Currently seeking a teaching position in College/University. I look forward to meeting colleagues and connection in this upcoming event.
Clare Sipprelle
’14
Harvard College
Sr. Vendor ManagerAmazon
Kristen Kersh
’12
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Research manager
Yi Jean Chow
’12
Harvard College
Climate Tech / Building Energy Future Energy Ventures
VC investor at Future Energy Ventures, investing in Series A/B companies building the future decarbonized energy system.
Interested in building energy - in particular, residential building electrification and energy efficiency.
Sebastian Fischer
’21
Harvard Business School
Systems EngineerAmazon
Catharine Wu
’21
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Data EngineerAWS
Hi, I'm a recent graduate of the Data Science program. New to Seattle! I enjoy scuba diving, hiking, reading, and watching TV shows/movies.
Rudmila Rahman
’13
Harvard Business School