Team

Abha Ahuja is Senior Director of Partner Programs, Americas at Minerva Project where she conducts program design and oversees curriculum delivery for Minerva Project's higher education partnerships. Passionate about diversity and inclusion in STEM, Ahuja realized the potential of online education early in her career, designing innovative virtual courses as an Associate Professor in the College of Natural Sciences at Minerva University. Prior to joining Minerva University, Ahuja conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University and served as a Lecturer and Curriculum Fellow at Harvard Medical School. She studied Zoology at Delhi University (India) and earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from McMaster University (Canada).

Dr. Erin Kamler is Director of Partner Programs at Minerva Project based in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining Minerva Project Dr. Kamler worked as Assistant Professor of Arts and Humanities at Minerva University, Affiliated Researcher at Chiang Mai University, and an international gender equality consultant in Southeast Asia in partnership with NGOs, UN agencies, members of government and civil society. An award-winning composer, playwright, and author with over 25 years of creative and production experience in the entertainment industry, Kamler’s book “Rewriting the Victim: Dramatization as Research in Thailand’s Anti-Trafficking Movement” is available from Oxford University Press. Kamler holds a PhD in Communication from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, an MA in Communication and MA in Public Diplomacy from The Annenberg School, and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Audrey Giacomini is Director of Partner Programs at Minerva Project, overseeing partnerships in Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Minerva Project, she worked for the World Innovation Summit for Education - Qatar Foundation, where she was in charge of promoting innovation in education through a diverse portfolio of initiatives in policy engagement, research and practitioner programs. She is deeply committed to harnessing educational innovation to empower learners with future-ready skills and to make quality education accessible to all. She has extensive experience in program design and management, partnership development and management, and events curation for the private, non-profit and public sectors. Audrey graduated with a dual Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris and the Freie Universität Berlin and a Master's degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris.

Kevin Connolly is a Director at Minerva Project who specializes in building new universities. Previously, he was an Associate Professor of Psychology at Minerva University. Connolly is a cognitive scientist with expertise in the science of learning and is the author of Perceptual Learning: The Flexibility of the Senses (Oxford University Press, 2019). Prior to joining Minerva, he was an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Network for Sensory Research, an interdisciplinary group of perception researchers with research hubs at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Toronto, Glasgow, and London. Connolly received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.

Megan Gahl is Senior Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy at Minerva Project, developing and adapting innovative general education curriculum and active learning instructor trainings for educators. Before joining Minerva Project, Gahl served as Professor of Natural Sciences at Minerva University, helping develop the curriculum leading to a degree of natural sciences. Prior to Minerva, Gahl’s research and teaching focused on ecology, including aquatic and conservation biology. Gahl taught biology and ecological sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, Bates College, and University of Missouri, St Louis. She has also taught field courses for students of all ages and it is these outdoor, active classes and her Montessori background that inspire her creative active learning curriculum design at Minerva. Gahl earned a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. She is the author of numerous scientific papers and book chapters on aquatic and wetland ecology and conservation, with more recent writing focused on education.

Capri LaRocca is Director of Experiential Learning Design at Minerva Project, working with Minerva partners to design learning journeys that integrate academic curricula with cross-contextual experiential programs. Prior to joining Minerva Project, Capri played multiple roles at Minerva University to design and build the unique Student Life programs at its global Campuses. Taking a student-centric approach, Capri advises teams in the best practices for creating educational experiences anchored in practical knowledge, personal reflection, and cultural immersion. She studied Science, Technology and International Affairs at Georgetown University and architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Mina Yang is Senior Manager of Partner Programs, Americas at Minerva Project. A pianist (MM, New England Conservatory) and musicologist (Ph.D., Yale), Mina Yang has written two books – Planet Beethoven: Classical Music at the Turn of the Millennium (Wesleyan University Press, 2014) and California Polyphony: Ethnic Voices, Musical Crossroads (University of Illinois Press, 2007) – and numerous essays situating music within larger sociopolitical trends. She has presented her work internationally and has consulted for and supported the marketing efforts of Disney, LA Opera, and other arts organizations. Yang has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of California, San Diego, University of Southern California, Colburn Conservatory, and Minerva University, where she served as the first lead of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She has been with Minerva University/Minerva Project since its first year of classes.

Torsten Doering is Manager of Partner Programs, Americas at Minerva Project, where he is focused on business curriculum development and the effective implementation of proven and novel active learning methods as an advisor for higher education partners and in the classroom at Minerva University. His educational background includes a degree in Mechanical Engineering, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering, an M.B.A., and a Ph.D. in Operations Management and Strategy with a specialization in Marketing. Professional experiences include consulting, manufacturing management, and many years in technical marketing management roles in Germany and the U.S.A.

Eduardo Gomez holds the position of Senior Associate of Partner Programs, Americas at Minerva Project, where his primary responsibilities involve strategy and operations within various partnerships across Latin America. His decision to join Minerva stems from a strong dedication to advancing both the educational and economic landscapes of the region. Before joining Minerva, Eduardo gained valuable experience as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he worked with clients in Brazil, Chile, and Peru across a range of industries. Eduardo earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Minerva University and is particularly intrigued by the potential of emerging technologies to deliver high-quality education on a large scale.

Sean Hughes is Senior Manager of Partner Programs, EMEA at Minerva Project, where he collaborates with universities around the world to reimagine and supercharge their educational practices for a post AI era. His thought leadership on how to transform institutions in ways that equip their students with AI resilient durable skills has recently been spotlighted by the World Economic Forum and at UNESCO global events. Prior to Minerva, Sean served as an assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Ghent and as a visiting scholar at both Harvard and Cornell Universities. He has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of topics, from Learning and AI, to Behavior Change and Influence, as well as Attitudes and Persuasion. He is also the co-author of a book titled, “The Psychology of Learning: An Introduction from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective” currently available from the MIT Press.

Raquel Ribeiro is Senior Manager of Partner Programs, EMEA at Minerva Project, where she collaborates with partner institutions to craft higher-education curricula that nurture critical wisdom and inquisitive mindsets, preparing students for a disruptive, ever-evolving world. Her methodology emphasizes scaffolded learning and personalized assessment, employing technology to reinforce foundational learning outcomes. Raquel’s responsibilities span program and project management, stakeholder communication, and pedagogical oversight. Additionally, she leads faculty coaching initiatives focused on active learning, grading, and assessment, which complements her role as a professor of computational sciences at Minerva University. Before Minerva, Raquel was a lead data scientist working on demand/maintenance forecasting, market segmentation, and fraud detection. Her academic background is in theoretical cosmology, having earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (U.K.), followed by post-doctoral positions in both the U.K. and the U.S.A.. Raquel’s research work in cosmology has been recognised with over 1,000 citations, averaging 45 citations per publication.

Özgür Özlük is Manager of Partner Programs, EMEA at Minerva Project. He received his doctorate in 1999 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, following a Bachelor of Science degree from Bilkent University in Industrial Engineering. After his Ph.D., he worked on pricing optimization models in Silicon Valley, and between 2003-2014 he taught various courses on Data Analytics at San Francisco State University. During the same period, he served as visiting professor at different universities and as an operations management/data analytics consultant to companies in various sectors. Prof. Özlük founded the Big Data Analytics Masters Program at MEF University in Fall 2016. Currently he works as a faculty member at Minerva Schools and an academic program manager at Minerva Project.

Justin Sanders is Senior Manager of Partner Programs, Asia at Minerva Project. He joined Minerva out of a deep commitment to building intentional research-based educational programs, driving the evolution of our institutions and systems. Prior to Minerva, for nearly 20 years Justin worked in a diverse range of educational settings across the globe. Most recently, he served as Director of Continuing and Corporate Education at Temple University’s Japan Campus in Tokyo. As a Research Specialist and later Global Recognition Manager for the  International Baccalaureate (IB), he worked closely with top universities and forward-thinking international schools around the world. With the Association for Community College Trustees (ACCT) in Washington, DC, he supported the leadership and governance efforts of community college boards and presidents across the United States. He began his foray into international education through capacity building projects in rural Azerbaijan as a US Peace Corps Volunteer. Justin holds a BA in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Arizona, an MA in Education and Human Development from the George Washington University, and a PhD in Education from Osaka University, Japan. His research and publications center around institutional strategy, educational partnerships, and the internationalization of higher education. He has lived and worked in Asia for more than 10 years, including stints in Singapore, Japan and Malaysia.

Frances Pak is Senior Curriculum Associate at Minerva Project, developing curriculum based on the science of learning, implementing active learning instructor trainings, and providing support on Minerva’s platforms both internally and across partnerships. Prior to working at Minerva Project, Frances graduated from Minerva University with a B.S. in Designing Societies and a minor in Data Science. Her interests and passions lie in radical education innovation, which she has explored in a wide range of self-directed and nontraditional education experiences, as well as consulting for learning projects.