UWC NYC Board
The UWC NYC board is a revolving group of alumni who like hanging out with other UWCers and organizing events that foster community and the UWC Spirit.
If you're interested in joining the board, or if you have a good idea you want our help with, we meet once a month to organize events (usually over zoom these days), so email us at uwc.new.york@gmail.com and we'll invite you to join our next meeting!
Kevin Jackson
UWC-USA '06
Despite his Anglo name, Kevin Jackson was born and raised in Venezuela (not Minnesota), and graduated from UWC-USA in ’06 and from Dartmouth College in ’10. He’s an avid lover of people, fun and strong communities. Since 2011 he’s been leading UWC New York with the goal of creating a true, formalized, long-lasting inter-generational community of UWCers. He works as a Director of Solutions Engineering for Placer.ai, but much more importantly is his role as Adrian's "cool" dad
Burcu Sagiroglu
UWC Adriatic ‘13
Burcu grew up in a small town in Turkey and went to UWC Adriatic. After doing her BA in government at Colby College and her MPP at University of Maryland-College Park, she moved to NYC to work for a sexual assault policy NGO. Outside of work hours, she bikes around the city, volunteers for reproductive rights and sustainable transportation, and works on lowering her carbon footprint. She is the UWC NYC Treasurer and is eager to connect with UWC’ers -- on and offline!
Anika Wistar-Jones
UWC Adriatic '07
Anika grew up in Vermont, and, after graduating from UWC Adriatic in 2007, returned to Vermont to attend Middlebury College. Finished with formal education, Anika dove into the environmental movement, doing grassroots environmental and political organizing in New England, and now working at a nonprofit providing solar for affordable housing in NYC. When she is not organizing events for UWC-NYC or tearing her hair out about politics, Anika enjoys fostering kittens from the local animal shelter, hiking, and dancing tango, blues, and swing.
Hanna Karnei
UWC Dilijan'16
​Originally from Belarus, Hanna graduated from UWC Dilijan in 2016. After receiving a BA in Political Science at Bennington College and MS in Energy Systems and Data Analytics at Duke University, Hanna moved to the city to pursue energy transition consulting at S&P Global. Outside of work, she enjoys going to the gym, hosting dinners for friends, and of course volunteering for UWC NYC!
Biana Tamimi
UWC Costa Rica '10
Biana is a native Texan with Mexican and Palestinian parents and graduated from UWC Costa Rica in 2010. She studied at the University of Sussex in England and then went on to veterinary school in Scotland. She now works in shelter medicine with NYC's most vulnerable animals and sets up free vet clinics around the city. When she's not vetting, Biana loves hanging with the cool cats from UWC NYC that keep her inspired, going to jazz shows, strolling through the park, and simply taking in the awesome views of the city from the ferry.
David Hawley
David Hawley is an educator, head of school, partner, parent of two UWC graduates (Adriatic and Pearson) and grandparent with a deep interest in human development and human flourishing. He was Head of Pearson College UWC of the Pacific, and the chief academic officer of the International Baccalaureate (IB), where he was responsible for the development of all IB programmes and their strategic direction.
Currently, David is a consultant, mentor and coach for school leaders and those who govern schools. David has master’s degree and a doctoral degree in education from Harvard University. He is optimistic, curious, finds awe in existence, and rebelliously hopeful about the future.
Shreya Kalarla
UWCSEA ’15
Shreya was raised by pastafarian pirates sailing the seven seas. While the pirates were looting Singapore one year, she slipped away and lived in the sewers beneath the UWC campus for 3 years prior to applying to be a scholar. She was discovered by the campus authorities when she was caught pilfering all the faculty lounge's ballpoint pens to create underground art, and given a full scholarship on the condition that she stop graffiting and give the pens back.
Shreya's life's work is guided by a strict pirate code and UWC values, which largely overlap.
Board of Directors
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the following people who have played a major role in helping out UWC NYC and contributing to the success of our events and initiatives over the years:
Claire Bruten
Meera Gandhi
Emilie Gruchow
Irfan Hasan
Beata Jostmeier
Niraj Kumar
Robin LeBaron
​Philip Nikolov
Ryan Poynter
Priscilla Rattazzi Whittle
Beatrice Sibblies
Giorgio Topa
Bela Walker
Melanie Weston