Manka Banda
Junior, General Biology & Pre-med
Manka was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, but grew up in the Netherlands and Cameroon. Manka gained an interest in social entrepreneurship after listening to Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, give a talk on TED.com about her work in social entrepreneurship. She was immediately drawn to the idea of social entrepreneurship and is looking forward to helping spread the message to other students. During her free time, Manka loves reading and writing poetry as well as learning new languages.

Melissa Carrier
Executive Director, Center for Social Value Creation
Robert H. Smith School of Business
Melissa joined the Smith School in the spring of 2006 after 11 years of leading organizational growth for technology companies ranging from Fortune 500 to early stage start-ups. After nearly 3 years with the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, Melissa designed and launched the Center for Social Value Creation. She is responsible for the center's strategic direction across co-curricular programs, curricula, research and career. Melissa previously served as Finance Director for AT&T Mergers and Acquisitions, where she also led investments for the company's corporate venture fund. She began her career as a process consultant for Andersen Consulting, and later served as a Director at two startup technology companies focused on web-based business-to-business strategies. Melissa received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Ohio State University and an MBA with Honors in Finance and Strategic Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She currently lives with her husband, two boys, and a retriever in Potomac, MD.

Luciana Debenedetti
Junior, Government & Politics and French
Luciana joined Terp Changemakers in the Fall of 2009 in hopes of learning more about “the business side” of social change, and to inspire other UMD students to focus their energies and talents on activities and ventures for the social good. She is also involved in the Language House living-learning program, the ESOL Volunteer Conversation program, Honors Ambassadors, and is the assistant for the Government and Politics Honors Program.  Luciana enjoys relaxing with friends over tea or a movie, taking advantage of all DC has to offer, exercising, and traveling.  She will join the team via Skype in this Spring, while studying abroad in France.

Mansi Deshpande
MBA, 1st Year
Before coming to UMD, Mansi worked at a start-up for three years in the Bay Area, and has previous experience in sales and consulting. Mansi earned a BA and BS from the University of Washington, Seattle. She is interested in a career in finance, venture capital or social enterprise.

Jenna Gebel
Senior, International Business & Marketing and Rhetorical Communication  
Jenna is active in the Smith Honors Fellows program and Maryland Leadership Conference, and has held leadership positions at Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority and Greeks for a Better Community.  Jenna studied abroad in Rome for a semester and discovered her love for travel, learning about different cultures, and international relations.  Jenna was a Marketing/Business Development Intern at GlobalGiving for six months where she developed marketing and outreach programs for their online marketplace for grassroots nonprofits around the world.  Upon graduation, Jenna hopes to pursue a career in international development, social entrepreneurship, and/or corporate social responsibility.

Ahmed Jamil
Senior, Agriculture and Resource Economics
A Maryland native, Ahmed got involved with Terp Changemakers after interning with Ashoka’s Full Economic Citizenship program during the summer of 2009. Outside of UMD, Ahmed is actively involved with a local nonprofit Muslim council in outreach work and community enrichment. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, supporting Maryland sports and attending local concerts.

Julie Lloyd
Assistant Director, Center for Social Value Creation
Julie joined the CSVC in 2009 after completing a master's degree in public relations, with a focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, at Syracuse University. She previously owned and served as Director of Communications of an independent record company in Boston, successfully releasing two albums internationally and securing licensing and placements in high profile media including MTV, Clear Channel Radio, and The Boston Globe. Julie served as an International Student Advisor at the University of Rochester, facilitating compliance with federal immigration regulations and overseeing multicultural programming for the university’s international student population. A native of Rochester, N.Y., Julie received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Rochester. She is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and pianist, and currently resides in Howard County, Md. with her fiancé.

Eric Miller
Candidate, MBA & Master of Public Policy
A native of the Philadelphia area, Eric received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Drexel University in 2001.  He began his career as a paralegal, working on employment, labor and white-collar criminal cases.  In 2004, he joined BearingPoint, a management and technology consulting firm, where he focused his work on strategy development, data analytics, sourcing/procurement and IT project management.   As a volunteer for the Arts and Business Council of Chicago, Eric provided pro bono consulting to local arts organizations, enhancing their management capacity through strategic planning.  After working in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Sacramento and San Francisco, Eric has moved back to the nation’s capital to continue his studies and contribute to the development of innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to the world’s most challenging problems.

Jimmy Pappadeas
Sophomore, Business and Mandarin Chinese
Ashoka U marks Jimmy’s first experience in social entrepreneurship, and he is excited about the possibilities of harnessing business as a tool to create change and solve social problems. Jimmy enjoys sports, photography, traveling, and learning about new ideas and cultures.

Sonaly Patel
Sophomore, International Business; Minors: International Development and Conflict Management; Spanish Language, Culture, and Business  
In addition to her work with Terp Changemakers, Sonaly is a part of the Honors program at Maryland and a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship.  Her interests include art, dance, religions, languages, cultures, and doing anything that will push her beyond her limits.  After graduation, she hopes to work in international development and to one day become a social entrepreneur.

Stacey Roussel, Project Manager
Dual Master’s Candidate, Business Administration & Public Policy
Prior to returning to school, Stacey worked in the nonprofit sector for eight years in funding development. She is passionate about social entrepreneurship and recently presented a paper on the role of mentoring in entrepreneurship education at the Roundtable on Entrepreneurship Education in Hong Kong. She earned a BA in international studies and philosophy from Louisiana State University in 2000 where she completed her senior thesis, “Evaluating International Aid Programs: a Case Study of Microcredit in Dallas, Texas and Dhaka, Bangladesh.”