kailiang_fu@brown.edu

Ben is a food waste entrepreneur who is actively working to change the food system to reduce waste and increase the amount of affordable produce available to consumers. After co-founding the largest student movement against hunger and food waste, Ben moved into the for-profit space with his newest venture, Imperfect Foods. At Imperfect, Ben is creating a supply chain of “ugly” produce and other groceries that would normally go to waste in the supply chain, and turning that into products that can be sold to consumers.

Richard is a private investor in early stage companies and a member of the New York Angels investment group, advising and investing in over two dozen startups. He is also an Executive Director and board member of The Noodle Companies, a group of ventures seeking to increase transparency and efficiency in education, and a partner in Immersive Artistry, a creator of immersive location-based entertainment venues, headquartered in Los Angeles. Richard was President, Chairman, and CEO of Kaz, Incorporated, a multinational consumer appliance company, from 1987 until its sale in December 2010. He also co-founded Terra Firma Software, a provider of enterprise solutions and an early developer of Macintosh applications.

Classes feature a live DJ and rhythmic light show. 305’s unique brand also emphasizes inclusivity and body-positivity. Sadie has been featured in numerous outlets including Good Morning America, the Today show, Inc, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, the Washington Post, and the New York Observer for her remarkable ability to turn painful workouts into sheer bliss.

Mary Pan, PhD MBA LLM MA (Class of 1999) is a general partner at Certeris Capital (life sciences – biotech, medtech, diagnostics).  Mary is a scientist executive with 27 years of leadership as COO and MD of private and public life science companies where she has completed 11 M&A transactions and helped develop a biologic human cell line from which several mAbs and vaccines derive.  Dr. Pan is passionate about market access to innovation and started a Medtech trade association (APACMed) and serves as an industrial advisor for private equity, supporting transactions/due diligence on the buy side.  She is an author and speaker for BBC World News, the Financial Times, South China Morning Post, International Women’s Day, and Women’s Health Innovation Summit. Pan also has more than 20 years of governance experience as a board member in life science and in education and her global business expertise includes leading international expansion while based out of Europe, Asia, and the USA. Prior to healthcare, Gunn worked for US Senator Jeff Bingaman, as a journalist for the Albuquerque Journal, and in conservation for the Smithsonian Institute. Pan was an Eve and Simon Colin Foundation Scholar, a President’s Scholar, and a NM Regent Board Scholar.

In early 2020, Melanie joined Summit Partners as a Managing Director on the Growth Products & Services team. Summit Partners is a leading growth equity firm currently managing over $19 billion in the capital. Melanie focuses primarily on partnering with entrepreneurs leading high-growth consumer and technology-enabled services. Prior to Summit, Melanie was CEO of SoulCycle. She joined SoulCycle in 2012 as COO and spent three years building and leading operations before her promotion to CEO in 2015. Under her direction, SoulCycle grew from eight NYC-based studios to nearly 100 studios in 18 markets across three countries. Previously, Melanie led Business Development for Equinox where she was part of a team that executed a multi-brand strategy with the U.S. launch of Pure Yoga, the creation of Blink Fitness, and the acquisition of SoulCycle. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the founding team of Richard Branson’s U.S. air carrier Virgin America and worked in corporate development at Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Melanie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chegg (NYSE: CHGG), the Board of Trustees of Southern New Hampshire University, and the GO Project, a non-profit focused on K-8 education inequity in New York. She holds a BA in engineering and economics from Brown University and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2018 class of Henry Crown Fellows.