At the heart of the TFC is our desire to create more leaders with impact and influence. Our student executive board leads all of our work as a center, supported by student committees, our staff, and advisory board. Together, they strategize and execute TFC programs and initiatives throughout the year.
Director
Mario serves as the founding Director of the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures at Vanderbilt University, a new hub that serves as a resource and thought leader for people across the university interested in combining revenue-generating businesses with social impact objectives. Most recently, he was the CEO of Emerge and founder of Contigo Financial, a socially-responsible consumer lender headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. His management experience includes finance, education and consulting in three different countries. He was a Fellow of Vanderbilt University’s Cal Turner program for Moral Leadership in the Professions and helped develop a hybrid housing-microfinance model to finance mortgage needs of people at the base of the pyramid in Central America. Mario serves on various boards including the Vanderbilt University Credit Union, ConexioÌn Americas, the Nashville Food Project, and formerly the Nashville Social Enterprise Alliance. He earned an AB from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
Kathleen serves as the Assistant Director for the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures, where emerging leaders have common ground to explore and integrate their desire for meaningful, sustainable social impact with practical business strategy. Kathleen leads the TFC’s Emerging Impact Leaders program and facilitates Vanderbilt’s engagement with the Stanford-based University Innovation Fellows program, and Owen’s Board Fellows program through 100% Owen.
Prior to joining the TFC staff in 2016, Kathleen’s work focused on college access for first generation immigrant students to pursue higher education, leadership development, and career success in Nashville with the YMCA Latino Achievers program. Vanderbilt first brought Kathleen to Nashville, when she studied Human & Organizational Development and Spanish. After several years in non-profit work, Kathleen received a Master’s in Civic Leadership from Lipscomb University’s Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership. She is a member of the Nashville Mayor’s New American Advisory Council and participated as a Fellow in the Nashville Institute for Faith & Work’s Gotham leadership program.
Kathleen’s work in Nashville reflects her deep passion for creating sustainable and strategic partnerships across sectors for community impact on both the individual and collective level. For these reasons, she loves to partner with amazing TFC students to advance this work and cultivate strong leaders of systemic change.
Graduate Associate
M.Ed. Community Development and Action '23
Passionate about providing opportunity to impoverished communities, Audrey is dedicated to supporting the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures’ mission in her capacity as a Graduate Associate. Drawn toward impactful, collaborative, systems-level solutions, the allure of the TFC’s approach to addressing modern society’s most pressing issues is, to her, magnetic.
The TFC’s interdisciplinary nature is something Audrey relates to inherently. While studying at Tulane University, she earned her B.S. in Psychology as well as Minors in both Management and in Spanish. Through providing academic and behavioral interventions to third graders, coaching young girls in running and mental health, and supporting minors who were victims of human trafficking and abuse, Audrey found purpose in youth empowerment. The people, and especially kiddos, of NOLA will always have her heart!
After graduating from Tulane in 2018, Audrey moved to New York City to work at Relay Graduate School of Education. On the Leadership Programs Team, she helped to provide professional development to Principals and Superintendents across the United States, understanding that access to high-quality education is foundational to opportunity access. Here, she recognized the monumental positive impact she could have working at the systems-level. Inspired, she set her sights on Vanderbilt’s Master’s in Community Development & Action program, with a wide-eyed side-eye at the work being done at the TFC.
Now, in 2021, she is excited and grateful to begin her career at Peabody in C.D.A. while simultaneously serving the Turner Family Center. At Vandy, she aims to hone her leadership skills as she advocates for community empowerment with a focus on equity, empathy, and impact. Ever-curious to explore new people, places, and philosophies, her door is always open!
Graduate Associate
M.Ed. Community Development and Action '22
Niccolo’s approach to any project or job is centered around the notion that mutual care is violence prevention. This stems from early interest in violence free living while studying abroad in Paris and supporting refugee housing and food distribution to their most recent work at a domestic violence/sexual assault organization in Durham, NC as a Rape Prevention Education Coordinator. They believe that any action can have unintended impacts on individuals, communities, and systems. Acknowledging what power dynamics are at play and how does that influence action within any system or organization is critical to sustainable changes and outcomes. Niccolo has worked within various coalitions and non profits tackling issues such as gender variance, systemic racism, homelessness, immigration and liberation education.
Niccolo is an incoming M.Ed. Community Development & Action student, as well as, their first semester serving as a Graduate Associate for the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures – with a focus on the Center’s Social Impact Certificate. Having completed an international social enterprise forum through Stanford, they’re excited to bring an intersectional lens on how businesses are analyzing their impact on communities and how to be apart of inclusive social change. The concept of a social venture and their framework used to invest in people through the alleviation of an obstacle or barrier is groundbreaking.
Executive Board Chair
M.Ed '22
After growing up in the Arizona desert, I attended Providence College for a year and then transferred home to Arizona State University where I studied English Literature and Economics but was particularly interested in researching the use of psychoanalysis to interpret identity and behavior in modern art and architecture. While in school, I was the Vice President and Operations Director of the Business of Fashion club at the business school. A pivotal moment in my life happened when I impulsively applied to teach English and lead outdoor activities at summer camps for children in the Jeollanam-do province of South Korea, many of whom came from foster homes, orphanages, or economically burdened households. It was there, covered in mosquito bites, wielding a megaphone, and communicating in a melange of Kor-English, that I first experienced the unadulterated joy of service and turning ‘the good’ into impactful action. This trip sparked in me a curiosity for the challenge of the unknown, which led me to live and work around the world for about three years.
In 2016, I received a Fulbright grant to serve as an English teaching assistant in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic; during that time, I found myself offering counseling and coaching to my students, many of whom felt the weight of a traditional repression of mental health, heightened by that rollercoaster that is tumultuous teenage emotions. From there, craving a new challenge to push myself to grow in places that were less comfortable, I moved to Hanoi, Vietnam for a fellowship in college consulting where I partnered with brilliant students seeking admission to US liberal arts colleges. Designing and teaching courses in art history and philosophy, Spanish and Latin, public speaking and interviewing, and SAT math and writing, I once again experienced that elusive thrill: the profound joy of service and self-discovery.
Upon returning stateside, I continued my work with high schoolers, counseling some students while developing a boarding campus for international high school students attending a US high school outside of Chicago and moved to Nashville in the summer of 2020. An interest in the micro-impacts on others’ sense of self and freedom to express and learn led me to seek out graduate programs that might give me the tools to answer the question: what makes people happy in their work?
After beginning my masters studies in Peabody College’s Leadership and Organizational Performance program, I quickly sought out connections with graduate students across Vanderbilt schools and found a home within the TFC. I love our center for the diversity of people attracted to serve within an organization whose purpose is to open doors for impactful, compassion-fueled entrepreneurs, educators, and community organizers. I am honored to work alongside the lionhearted changemakers represented on this TFC Board 2021-2022 as we implement the mission of the TFC: fostering social enterprise growth and creative solutions for poverty alleviation.
Summit Chair
MBA '22
I am an MBA student at Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management concentrating in Healthcare and Operations & Analytics. Prior to moving to Nashville, I spent the last 12 years in Philadelphia. I studied Health and Societies at the University of Pennsylvania. During my junior year, I started volunteering with a non-profit organization called Back on My Feet, which helps people who are experiencing homelessness through running. I absolutely loved the empowerment that our members felt being a part of a team while running through the streets of Philly. I realized that things as simple as human connection and physical confidence have the ability to manifest confidence in other areas of a person’s life.
I took a full-time job with Back on My Feet after graduation and then went back to Penn for my Masters in Social Work. During my MSW program, I interned in a prison and a hospital, which is where I spent the next five years of my career working as a medical social worker. It was during this time that I realized that there is often a disconnect between the work that is done on the ground level and the decisions that are made at a management level.
For me, the TFC is the perfect bridge between these two worlds, connecting business-minded people to social impact initiatives. I’m excited to use this opportunity to learn more about the organizations within the city and to connect with the Nashville community.
Brand and Marketing Chair
MPH'22
I am fascinated by the power of storytelling. I geek out on any article, photo, interview, book, or Tiktok that can give me an inside look, a secret tid-bit, a peek into a person, place or thing. As the TFC Brand and Marketing Chair, I hope to increase the center’s exposure through various channels of communications and break down sticky communication silos. My overarching goal is to share the TFC’s story in a new and innovative way that engages students, faculty, and stakeholders alike. I believe that the beauty of the TFC is truly found within its interdisciplinary nature. Sitting at a table (or on a zoom) with countless impatient optimists, across all Vanderbilt graduate programs, makes the TFC a remarkable center.
I am currently MPH candidate within the School of Medicine. My academic interests lie within improving the health and well-being of the global workforce. I’m obsessed with employee benefits and spend way too much time thinking about leave policies. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, I worked at Wells Fargo on their US and International health and well-being team. I studied Sociology, Global Health and Markets and Management at Duke.
I am an aspiring florist, a podcast fanatic, Cameron Crazie, and prefer water to land. If you resonate with any of this- let’s meet up!
Academics and Experiences
M.Ed '22
Greetings! I hail from the great state of Minnesota where I spent my winters frolicking in the sub-arctic temperatures and my summers pursuing mediocrity in various recreational sports. After high school I studied Civil & Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Armed with my favorite mechanical pencil and trusty sidekick, Franklin (a TI-83 calculator), I emerged on the other side with an appreciation for problem solving and graph paper.
Post graduation, I moved out to San Francisco and worked on the sales team of an energy technology startup. After a year, I transitioned into outdoor and experiential education and spent the better part of four years teaching youth to be less afraid of bees and responsibility. My time spent on wilderness and international expeditions evolved into a deep belief in the power of meaningful experiences to facilitate personal development and collaboration.
I am currently a M.Ed student in the Leadership and Organizational Performance program and the Academics & Experiences Board Chair. When I first arrived at Vanderbilt, I was immediately drawn to the TFC due to its interdisciplinary and student led approach to positive change. As the A&E Board Chair, I will be focusing on building the TFC community, providing opportunities for connection and growth and continuing to build our Social Impact Certificate.
Shoot me an email! Let’s grab a beverage and talk about creating cohesive communities. Or about ants. Or bagels. Anything really. I’m here to connect you to the wonderful people within the TFC family!
Project Pyramid Chair
MS '22 MTS '22
My name is Taryn and I am pursuing a dual degree master’s program in both Nursing and Theological Studies, with concentrations in global curriculums. Through the time in my career doing medical work globally, I have become very passionate about expanding understandings of how various cultures and people groups relate to healthcare, and the influences one’s value systems and historical context have on an individual.
In my time with Project Pyramid and the Turner Family Center, I have had the invaluable opportunity to expand my horizons by applying this framework outside of healthcare and onto to business models, economic policies, and organizational structures as well. I am inspired by the privilege to partner with and empower communities around the world, and working alongside organizations to assist in the development of intentional and sustainable global impact.
Social Startups Chair
STEM MBA '22
I am Vedanti, an MBA student from India, pursuing a dual concentration in Finance and Strategy with an International Studies emphasis at Owen Graduate School of Management. Before business school, my career was a series of twists and turns from an education in biochemistry to working in in startups in the digital marketing space. Through it all, what kept me anchored was the time I used outside these hours to volunteer with non-profits in the child education and development space.
I joined the Turner Family Center to explore the juxtaposition of finance and social impact- and identify opportunities for their intersection. TFC was one of the USPs of Owen in my decision to pursue business school. My goal is to continue exploring social impact in financial services as I develop my professional career in the industry. As the Social Startups Chair, I hope to increase the offerings of my role and create sustainable programming for TFC in the startup space. In my free time, I like to travel on a budget, swim and read non-fiction books.
Special Projects and Consulting Chair
MBA '22
I am an MBA candidate in Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management. Prior to starting at Owen, I worked as an independent consultant focused on fundraising and organizational strategy for social impact organizations and in government advisory consulting in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Before I was a consultant, I was a researcher and social scientist in Cairo, Egypt and London, UK. I have a Masters degree studying the impact of globalization and immigration on religious and political identity.
I was attracted to the Turner Family Center because I believe that sustainable growth in the 21st century will have to prioritize human impact and shared value rather than profit alone. As Special Projects and Consulting Chair, I am excited to help amplify TFC’s ties to local issues and organizations.
Net Impact President
MBA'22
I’m an MBA student at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management concentrating in Operations with an emphasis in Environmental Management. I grew up outside of Philadelphia and became a National Park enthusiast at an early age. Prior to business school, I worked as a marketing director for a co-founded female brewery in Nashville and implemented a zero-waste program in the production and taproom spaces. Though that experience I learned I loved operations, sustainability, and the impact that intersection had on customers.
The TFC was a big reason why I chose to attend Vanderbilt. The TFC’s commitment to “leave the world better than you found it” resonates with me, especially as I look to apply my new knowledge of social enterprise and impact to real world issues. As Net Impact President, I’m looking forward to highlighting the intersectionality between business and sustainability, while having a little fun at the same time. Outside of Vanderbilt I spend my time gaining as many new perspectives as possible, most often while traveling or trail running!
Impact Investing
MBA '22
I am an MBA student at Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management concentrating in Finance and Strategy. I’m originally from Virginia Beach, VA but have spent the past few years in Texas after graduating Baylor University. Prior to Owen, I worked in corporate finance at American Airlines supporting the Cargo and International Flight divisions.
The TFC played a large part in my decision to attend Owen. I am attracted to the idea of combining traditional business practices and a heart for empowering others. I am thrilled to to have the opportunity to dive into and continue to be a part of a community who also passionate the intersection of enterprise and social impact.
Assistant Vice President of Sustainability with Maybelline New York, L'Oreal
Rachel Taplinger is an experienced sustainability professional with a demonstrated history in the consumer goods sector. She is currently Assistant Vice President of Sustainability with Maybelline New York at L’Oreal. Prior to L’Oreal, Rachel served as Director of Strategy for Sustainable Manufacturing & Sourcing at Nike and developed foundational sustainability programs at both Revlon and The Estée Lauder Companies.
Rachel spent three years working in education reform at The New York City Department of Education and its nonprofit arm, The Fund for Public Schools. She also worked at Edelman in communications.
Rachel has her MBA in sustainability and strategy from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and a Bachelors in Psychology and Communications from Tufts University.
Manager, Natural Capital Stewardship at International Paper
As Manager, Natural Capital Stewardship at International Paper, Matt works across teams to shape strategy and drive execution around environmental and social impact. Specifically, he leads IP’s water stewardship strategy as part of the company’s Vision 2030 goals. Earlier in his career, Matt served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, and also did international economic development work based in Washington, DC. Matt has an MBA from Vanderbilt University, and a BA in International Relations from Colgate University. Travel, the outdoors, and music (hearing/seeing/making) are some of his favorite things. Matt lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
Co-Founder of Chestnut Catalyst Group
Courtney is a co-founder of Chestnut Catalyst Group, a woman-led company that through research, strategic capacity building, and investment works to advance social innovation for thriving, diverse, and sustainable communities. Courtney is a partner in Chestnut Opportunity Zone Fund, a qualified opportunity zone fund focused on community-aligned, real estate projects that have the potential to provide both financial and social value. She is also a partner in the Chattanooga Renaissance Fund, a venture capital firm that has invested in early-stage companies in the Southeast. Courtney serves on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga as well as The Enterprise Center.
Courtney received her Bachelor of Science in Commerce from The University of Virginia with a minor in French and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Strategy from Vanderbilt University. She is often found in the mountains, on a yoga mat, or watching her kids on the sports fields. Courtney lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
CEO of Possip
Shani Dowell is the founder and CEO of Possip. A product of Houston public schools and a public school teacher and parent, Shani loves supporting the work of schools. She started her career as a consultant at Bain & Co. and helped launch the Boston office of the Posse Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to increase student retention and engagement on college campuses. She has also worked for Houston Independent School District, KIPP Foundation—a national network of charter schools, Teach For America, Bridgespan Group, and Relay Graduate School of Education. Shani earned her BA at Howard University in Washington, DC, and her MBA at Stanford University. In starting Possip, Shani seeks to support schools by elevating the ideas of parents, teachers, and students.
Faculty Director
Owen
A long-time supporter and partner in the work of the TFC, Professor McCann is a celebrated teacher, mentor, and faculty member in the Owen Graduate School of Management. As faculty director, he will collaborate with center staff and student leadership to continue building the Center’s strategy for programming and learning at the intersection of social impact and business.
Professor Brian McCann is an authority in the field of strategic management. McCann has more than ten years of industry experience, including running JMD Development, Inc., a residential land development company; serving as the CFO for the Internet start-up Solve Interactive; and developing new strategic initiatives for the Dayton Development Coalition, a non-profit economic development group.
Professor McCann’s work has appeared in such leading journals as the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management Studies, and the Journal of Management. He is also the co-author (with fellow Owen professor Luke Froeb) of the leading textbook Managerial Economics: A Problem-Solving Approach, which was originally published in 2007 by South-Western and is currently under revision for a fourth edition.
TFC intentionally builds relationships with businesses who are motivated to use their resources as a catalyst for the alleviation of poverty. Our partners in the local community, throughout the nation, and around the world help us increase our reach and change the status quo.