BSEL Undergraduate Social Impact Scholars Program

Aahana Chowdhuri is a senior from San Jose, California studying Business Administration (Business Analytics) and minoring in Foundations of Data Science. Alongside being involved in Los Angeles Community Impact, Descent Magazine, and Marshall Peer Career Advising, she is currently conducting research with the Marshall Global Honors Research Program to identify and formulate plastic tracking methods in Indonesia. She wants to pursue the intersections of business strategy, data science, and environmental sustainability in her career; on a personal level, she believes in the transformative power of creative writing for self-development.

Aaron Teklu is a rising senior here at USC, where he is pursuing a major in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Economics, with a minor in Blockchain. He is deeply passionate about the convergence of finance and social impact and ultimately, he wants to be the CEO of his own company that spearheads financial inclusion and equality in Ethiopia.

Alisha Merchant is a rising senior studying Cinema and Media Studies with a double minor in Health Innovation and Social Justice and Advocacy. She has served on the executive board of Spark SC, a USC-based entrepreneurship nonprofit, and the Asian Pacific Cinema Association. Her ultimate goal is to navigate solutions at the intersection of film, medicine, and social impact.

Andrew Udov is a rising senior at USC studying Human Biology and pursuing his master's degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. On campus, he works as a student EMT, serves as the President of the Southern California Undergraduate Research Journal, and conducts prostate cancer research at CSI-Cancer under Dr. Peter Kuhn. His interest in healthcare access and health education drew him to co-found Praxis Health Empowerment, a health equity 501(c)(3) nonprofit, where he serves as the Executive Director.

Anish Kushalapa is an Economics/Math student from Dubai. He is passionate about finding solutions to pressing social, environmental, and economic issues through leveraging technologically powered solutions and innovative thinking.

Elina Khoshnevis is a rising junior at USC, studying Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship, deeply committed and passionate about integrating ethical principles within diverse business sectors. With a profound dedication to ethical innovation, Elina is deeply committed to revolutionizing the fashion industry by pioneering sustainable and ethical business models. In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavors, Elina also serves on the executive board of USC's Persian Student Organization, where she initiated a professional development panel series, bringing together Persian professionals from various fields to engage with and inspire the USC community. Beyond her business and academic pursuits, Elina loves to immerse herself in the art and fashion scene in Los Angeles.

Hanna Cardona is a rising junior from Queens, New York, majoring in Business Administration. Combining her passions for social impact and consulting, she aspires to utilize her career to grow nonprofits targeting disparities within the public school system. As the daughter of Colombian immigrants, she is committed to fostering diversity within business and breaking down barriers to entry for often gate-kept careers.

Hilary Keuni is a first-generation rising senior studying Industrial and Systems Engineering. Hilary co-founded SkyGuard, a startup focused on enhancing landmine detection through machine learning and computer vision. Born in Cameroon and raised in Chicago, she is passionate about creating sustainable solutions for global challenges, optimizing processes to enhance efficiency, safety, productivity, and reducing waste to improve quality.

Kelly Kim is a senior from Cupertino, CA, majoring in Business Administration. She is passionate about creating positive change through community service and engagement as well as nonprofit work. She holds leadership positions for impact-focused organizations on campus, such as Scholars Leading Scholars, The Pad Project, Bohnett Board, Marshall Outreach Volunteer Entrepreneurs, and the USC Volunteer Center

Leo Arney is a rising junior studying Business Administration with a minor in Environmental Studies. He serves on the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility for USC's endowment fund and is a Hayes Barnard Sustainability Fellow. An environmental advocate, he leverages his finance background to pioneer sustainable initiatives and promote eco-conscious investments.

Matthew Kuloszewski is a rising senior from Scranton, Pennsylvania, majoring in Economics with a minor in Health Policy and a specialization in Applied Analytics. His academic and research endeavors, including his roles as a Research Assistant at Geisinger Health System and USC Price’s Center for Health Financing, Policy, and Management, focus on addressing the impacts of the opioid crisis and healthcare costs within his community. As he looks to the future, Matthew aims to pursue graduate studies at the nexus of data analytics and health policy. His ultimate goal is to utilize quantitative methods to tackle public health disparities.

Melissa Paz-Flores is a rising Junior, studying psychology and minoring in management consulting. As a first-generation student and the daughter of immigrants, she hopes to mesh her interests in immigrant justice advocacy and educational equity in higher education through a career in the educational consulting space. Currently, Melissa is expanding opportunities for undocumented students as the current Director of External Outreach for IDEAS @ USC. She also serves on the Office of Inclusion and Diversity’s Student Leadership Council. Beyond campus, Melissa continues to explore her passions by researching Latinx Immigrants’ well-being at UC Santa Cruz.

Silvia Argueta is the chief executive of Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), a 100-lawyer law firm and with over 245 staff with five offices, four self-help centers, three courthouse clinics, and six medical legal partnerships and $46 million annual budget. She oversees strategy, advocacy, fund development, and finances. She is continuing LAFLA’s effective broad based advocacy work on behalf of low income, multi-cultural communities, while increasing visibility and diversifying LAFLA’s financial base.

Jen Chiou 趙燕妮 (she/her) is the founder of CodeSpeak Labs, a computer science education social enterprise that empowers K-12 students to use tech to build a better world. Over 15,000 students in California and New York have taken their classes, and over 500,000 kids across the country have used their curriculum. Prior to founding CodeSpeak Labs, she was the founding Executive Director of Crisis Text Line, the first nationwide SMS-based crisis hotline; an early team member at the global NGO Teach For All; and a nonprofit consultant at the Bridgespan Group. She’s a 4.0 Schools fellowship recipient for CodeSpeak’s creative learning models that support underrepresented youth, the 4.0 AAPI community chair, and the founder of Asian American Impact Fund. She previously served on the City of Irvine Child Care committee and the Children, Youth and Families Advisory Committee, the Pretend City Children’s Museum Education Committee, and the team behind the East West Players Production: From Number to Name.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford.

Sherri Franklin, as the Founder & CEO of Urban Design Center (UDC), champions its core mission to provide strategic thought leadership to non-profit organizations, government agencies and private developers working to catalyze resilient rebranding of urban environments and sustainable economic opportunities for people of color. Over the past 33 years, UDC has managed the land-use entitlement, capital development and project management for over $200 million in affordable housing, infrastructure improvement, economic development and enterprise expansion projects totaling $1 billion in value. The recent launch of UDC’s online Resiliency Studio is the culmination of its work building the internal capacity of organizations and businesses and serves as a shared brain trust of “how to” elements for transforming visions into reality. In 2023, UDC collaborated with Impact Realty Advisors, ZenCapital Investment Advisors and MJC Partners to form Housing Impact Partners (HIP) to catalyze the production of housing through leadership, legacy partnership and capital formation offering triple bottom-line performance: Economic, Social and Environmental Impact.

Krishna Jafa, a physician, epidemiologist, and public health executive, brings 27 years of deep expertise in health system design and strengthening, digital health innovation, and complex global partnerships at the frontier of public health progress. As a visible and visionary leader in the movement for global health equity, Krishna builds community, creates space and momentum for change, and continues values-driven leadership into Medic's second decade of work. Krishna previously held key leadership roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Population Services International, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A deeply committed advocate for women’s and girls’ economic empowerment and reproductive rights, Krishna holds a medical degree from Rajasthan University (India), an MPH from Harvard University (USA), and is an alumna of the US CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. She engages locally and globally by serving on the Boards of the Washington Center for Bleeding Disorders and Unlock Aid, and pursues her passion to help homeless, stray, and abused animals by volunteering with Pawsitive Alliance, Useless Bay Sanctuary, and Karuna Horse Rescue. Krishna is an avid novice gardener, a mom to six dogs and one cat, and a dedicated mentor to trans youth.

Michael Walker has extensive experience in the business world, having held various executive and advisory roles since 1994. In 2021, he began his current role as the Chief Executive Officer of STAX Engineering, a leading provider of emission-reduction platforms for shipping vessels. From 2008 to 2018, he was the CEO of Baswood Corporation, a revolutionary water infrastructure firm, managing its operational model and business strategy from start-up phase to successful market penetration and commercialization. From 2005 to 2007, he spearheaded business development at Giveline, Inc., a forward-thinking e-commerce platform. Michael's influence extends beyond executive domains, encompassing impactful board roles at Curvature (formerly Network Hardware), Baswood Corporation, and STAX Engineering. Additionally, his advisory board role at the University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business underscores his commitment to shaping future business leaders. Michael's academic foundation includes a BS from the University of Southern California.

Andrea White-Kjoss is an accomplished senior executive, serial entrepreneur, advisor, board member, startup mentor, and thought leader with more than 25 years of business success in diverse industries and verticals. She is passionate about creating successful companies and making existing ones better. Companies led by Andrea have generated double and triple-digit growth, every year, for the last 20 years of her career. Andrea is the founding Managing Director of the Long Beach Accelerator.  Through her work in her companies and mentoring startups, she has built a network of entrepreneurs, angel investors, family offices, accelerators, early stage VC, high net worth individuals, and service provider partners, and has significant experience sourcing quality technology startup companies and participating in due diligence processes. In addition, Andrea has served as a guest lecturer, giving presentations at global conferences, universities, and councils.