FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Adam Braun
Adam Braun was a college student backpacking across the globe when he asked a small boy begging on the streets of India what he wanted most in the world. The answer: A pencil.
Leadership Team
Brad Haugen
Director of Marketing, Chairman
Why PoP? When you meet the children we are helping, this question becomes irrelevant.
Emily Gore
Director of International Programs
The pace and innovation of a startup, the professional development of a consulting firm, and the heart of an organization dedicated to improving people’s lives.
Jocelyn Kmet
Director of Community Engagement
I get to work with young students who have tremendous passion and are truly committed to improving the world around them.
Leslie Engle
Laos Country Director
It's our revolution. Because global access to education will transform the world.
Noah Marwil
Latin America Regional Director
PoP allows me the opportunity to work in social betterment and the alleviation of poverty through education development. I can't imagine dedicating my life to a lesser cause.
Jonathan Stiles
Director of Technology
I believe education is the best way to eliminate inequalities of opportunity. PoP's impact work creates real sustainable change. I'm just helping in the best way I can.
Tom Casazzone
Chief Financial Officer
Being able to work with for a company that positively impacts so many people and with a group of friends who are the most dedicated people I’ve ever met. Why not?
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Wendy Wecksell
Director of Partnerships
When the work you do is work you love, the potential for positive impact is limitless.
Staff Members
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Alice Anleu
Alyssa McGarry
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Anastasia Xon
Bay Soulivanh
Brian Gurewitz
Carlo Dumandan
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Edwin Cosme de Leon
Elizabeth Mitaro
Lanoy Keosuvan
Melannie Levine
Phet
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Rocio Araujo
Sonia Diaz
Ya Laoxayda
Board of Directors
Adam Braun
Brad Haugen
Attended the Semester At Sea Study abroad program as an undergraduate where he met PoP Founder Adam Braun and developed a lifelong affinity for social innovation in the developing world. He spent four years with Deloitte Consulting, advising Fortune 100 companies, focused primarily on M&A due-diligence and post-merger integration in the financial services industry. He then served as Pencils of Promises interim-COO from 2010 - 2011, where we was responsible for all day-to-day operations and led growing the organizations global footprint. Rahul received his B.S. in Information Sciences with Deans List distinction from Pennsylvania State University and is currently an MBA candidate at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he is focusing innovation and entrepreneurship in social impact.
Rahul "Hoolie" Tejwani
After graduating with honors from the University of Pennsylvania majoring in economics and concentrating in marketing, Ms. Taitz began her investment banking career first as a mergers and acquisitions analyst and then as an associate at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Ms. Taitz continued as a Vice President at The Argosy Group (now part of CIBC) and a Managing Director at Crystal Asset Management before founding her own money management firm, Catalyst Partners. Now acting as a consultant specifically in the retail/consumer industries, Ms. Taitz is a founding executive member of Youth Renewal Fund and a current board member of Pencils of Promise. Ms. Taitz also acts as the Co-Chair of the Westchester division of the Secondary School Committee for the University of Pennsylvania and is a retired board member of the Byram Hills Education Foundation.
Hope Taitz
Karen Harris is the Director of the Macro Trends Group at Bain & Company,
where she advises clients on the impact of critical economic and social trends. She received her undergraduate degrees in International Relations and Economics from Stanford University, her MBA from Harvard, and her J.D. from Columbia University. Karen previously served on the board of directors of BuildingBlocks International, an international nonprofit that worked with corporations to develop what Business Week called a corporate "Peace Corps". She spent a year working in Zimbabwe developing a cash crop for small-scale farmers, and worked in Jordan for the Ministry of Planning. Karen lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
Karen Harris
Michael Weiss was a member of the Pencils of Promise founding team and served as the Director of Finance before joining the Board of Directors. He is currently a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he is Co-Chair of GSB Gives Back, [Co-Chair of the Golf Club], and is a member of the Student Association. Most recently, Michael worked in Product and Strategy at Airbnb, a fast-growing consumer internet startup. From 2006 to 2010 he worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division and Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Michael is originally from New York, NY and received a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University in 2006.
Mike Weiss
Born in NYC in 1971. Twenty-three years later, in the same city, I founded AgencyNet. Been trying to catch my breath ever since.
Met lots of amazing folks. Spoken across the globe on digital, including to U.S. Congress. Won some wonderful awards including Cannes, Emmy, Webby, CLIO, FWA, OneShow, and SxSW. AdAge featured us on their cover. Co-founded and served as the inaugural Chairman of the Board for SoDA. Today, I chart AgencyNet's overall vision and growth, manage high-level ops, and provide strategic counsel to clients including AmEx, Bacardi, Clinton Foundation, Ford, Grey Goose, DefJam, and Nickelodeon.
Professionally I love innovation, business strategy, and creativity. Personally I love culture, photography, travel, music, architecture, and people. I devote tons of time to Board responsibilities for three remarkable non-profit organizations. But above all, I'm a loving husband and a father to two beautiful daughters. They are, by far, my most rewarding and challenging venture to date.
Richard Lent
Scott Manson was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. He received a B.A. degree in Political Science from Duke University and a J.D. from Emory University. For the last three years, Scott has lived in Los Angeles, CA where he is an attorney in the Business Trial & Litigation Group at O'Melveny & Myers LLP's Century City office. Scott primarily represents Fortune 500 clients in complex litigation matters, but he also has an active pro bono practice and was the recipient of O'Melveny's Exemplary Pro Bono Citizenship Award. Scott is the Founder and Chairman of The Young Executive Board for Children Uniting Nations, a nonprofit organization working with at-risk and foster youth in the United States.
Scott Manson
PoP Alums: Meet all of the past Pencils of Promise team members
PoP Stars!: Meet the young people who inspire and empower the PoP movement
