Team

Audrey Giacomini is Managing Director of Programs at Minerva Project. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.