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Module directors

A dedicated, experienced, and diverse Lead Faculty of academics, advocates, and practitioners heads the practical implementation of Core Modules within the GLI Arts Innovation MBA. Areas of expertise include organizational behavior, operations management, aesthetic philosophy, impact evaluation, design thinking, business entrepreneurship, communication strategy, and change leadership, among other fields. Module Directors teach at world-class universities, including Harvard, Duke, Stanford, Boston, McGill, Columbia, NYU, LSE, HEC Montréal, and other respected global universities.
Dr. Maria Ballesteros-Sola teaches management at the MVS School of Business & Economics – California State University. She holds a DBA from IE Business School, MBA from Boston University, and Law Degree from ICADE Madrid.
Professor of Management
California State University
WVC Educator of the Year
Leah Barto (MBA) specializes in executive learning, grantmaking, and program design as Associate Adjunct for Non-Profit Management at Columbia University. She was previously Director of Leadership at Opera America, and has been a grant maker at the Mellon Foundation.
Research Director
Endeavor
Columbia University
Simon Blanchette is an academic and industry expert lecturing on Organizational Behavior, Marketing, and Strategic Management at McGill’s Desautels and Concordia’s Molson.
Faculty
Desautels Faculty of Management
McGill University
Debbi D. Brock teaches entrepreneurship and marketing at the Byrum School of Business. Prof. Brock is a recipient of Ashoka’s ‘Distinguished Service to the Field of Social Entrepreneurship Education,’ and co-author of Oxford University’s Course in Social Entrepreneurship.
Faculty
Byrum School of Business
Author | Social Entrep. Handbook
As an economist, author, and researcher, Richard aims to improve and broaden public understanding and access to economics. He is the director of the UK’s Economics Observatory, former Executive Director at University of Chicago’s Economics for Everyone , and research fellow at London School of Economics.
Faculty
Department of Economics
London School of Economics
Dr. Deshpande teaches global branding, marketing, and business ethics in MBA and executive programs at Harvard Business School. His influential case studies on institutions like the Louvre and the Los Angeles Philharmonic explore the intersection of business and the arts.
Faculty
Advanced Management
Harvard Business School
José Luis Falconi is President of The Cultural Agents Initiative at Havard University. Dr. Falconi is Lecturer in Fine Arts at Brandeis & Boston Universities. He earned his PhD from Harvard University, where he was also a PostDoctoral Fellow. Falconi is author of a range of influential publications.
President
Harvard University | Cultural Agents
Faculty | University of Connecticut
Amanda Greco manages social entrepreneurship programming for the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Through her role at CSI, she prepares leaders to bring their values to life through their work in the social enterprise sector.
Associate Director
Stanford Business School
Center for Social Innovation
Monica Ramirez is an experienced professional bridging culture and business. She has shaped cultural policy, led transformative projects, and pioneered tax incentives for Creative Industries. Her expertise spans Foreign Direct Investment, marketing, & strategic business development.
Secretariat of Education | Advisor
Republic of Colombia
Harvard Kennedy School
Author, change management expert, and professor. David inspires businesses to learn from the past, understand the present, and shape a better future. MBA from the University of Chicago, adjunct professor at the University of Regina and McGill University, and former executive VP of a billion-dollar industrial distributor.
Faculty
McGill University
University of Regina
Tim Kraft teaches operations and supply chain management at North Carolina State University. He was previously professor at UVA’s Darden School of Business. His research focuses on environmental and social responsibility issues in operations management.
Faculty
North Carolina State University
Poole College of Management
Frank Rimalovski is an early-stage investor and entrepreneurship educator with 25+ years of experience in startups. He is the founding executive director of New York University’s Entrepreneurial Institute, and managing director of the NYU Innovation Venture Fund.
Founding Executive Director
NYU Entrepreneurial Institute
Managing Director | Innovation Fund
Harvard graduate Rachel Roberts leads the ESM Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Music Leadership. With a focus on developing emerging leaders, she oversees programs in career advancement and the Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Certificate, driving innovation and strategic growth in the cultural sector.
Director
Strategic Initiatives | IML
University of Rochester
Shain has defined a new way to think about the value of music in cities and places and through it, influenced over 100 cities and places to invest in music and culture as part of overall growth strategy.
Founder & Chairman
Sound Diplomacy
Center for Music Ecosystems
Dedicated to developing community-engaged research and improving programs through responsive evaluation at Duke University’s SSRI, Dr. Sperling holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Faculty
Duke University
Social Science Research Institute
Senior management consultant in the corporate sector. A specialist in Thinking Tools and their application in the area of managing organizations, Bartek is an expert on Theory of Constraints in the area of strategy and marketing, innovative product development, and innovative problem solving.
Senior Faculty
EY Academy of Business
Theory of Constraints Expert
Stanford Thompson is an internationally recognized arts leader advancing musical excellence and equity in classical music. His expertise includes organizational management, strategic implementation, and stakeholder relationship development.
Executive Director | Equity Arc
Principal | Goldsmith Strategies Founder | Play On Philly

Leaders-in-Residence

The GLI Leaders-in-Residence network brings dedicated channels of real-world learning to Cohort Members through study partnerships that offer windows into an organization’s decision-making process over consecutive months. These partnerships form a cornerstone of the learning experience as Cohort Members situate and internalize tools from the curriculum through dynamic observation and reflection.
Responding to urgent needs after the devastating 2010 earthquake, Janet Anthony founded BLUME Haiti to facilitate getting instruments and supplies to Haiti to support rebuilding efforts. Today BLUME uses the impact of music to empower musicians throughout Haiti.
Founder
BLUME Haïti
Ana De Archuleta is a strategic and dynamic arts entrepreneur, quickly establishing herself as one of the most sought-after leaders in the operatic field. National Sawdust is a Brooklyn-based incubator that supports innovative musicians and composers through performances and artist development programs.
Managing Director
National Sawdust
Music for Peace is a music education program operating in one of İstanbul’s most disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods. The foundation houses the Music for Peace Children’s Orchestra, the Music for Peace Youth Symphony Orchestra and several chamber music ensembles.
Founder
Barış İçin Müzik Vakfı (Turkey)
Nicolay Boyadjiev is an architect and creative director leading the Practice Lab at re:arc institute, where he explores alternative models for philanthropy in architecture. Formerly Co-Director of Strelka Institute’s design-research program, he specializes in strategic design, research, and new funding approaches for architectural projects.
Director
Re:Arc Institute | Practice Lab
Thomas Cabaniss teaches at The Juilliard School and leads arts education projects through the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. He was Director of Education for the New York Philharmonic and served as Music Animateur for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Founder
Carnegie Hall | Lullaby Project
Karen Cueva is a Peruvian-American educator and arts administrator. Karen is the Assistant Director for Learning and Engagement Programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and is passionate about equitable access to high-quality musical instruction.
Assistant Director
Carnegie Hall | Weill Institute
Nico is a cultural programmer, producer, and executive with a 20-year international track-record of fostering inclusion and building networks through the arts. He joined ABA in 2022 as Managing Director, with a focus on global growth.
Managing Director
Advisory Board for the Arts
Martine Dennewald leads FTA’s commitment to contemporary performing arts in Montreal. With a rich background in dramaturgy and cultural management, she has held prominent roles at LIFT, Festival Theaterformen, and Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, curating innovative international programs.
Co-Executive Director
Festival TransAmériques
Carla Canales is an American mezzo-soprano singer and arts entrepreneur recognized for her work with the US State Department, the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a Turnaround Artist, the CultureSummit Abu Dhabi, & The Canales Project.
Senior Fellow
Harvard Kennedy School
A recipient of Kennedy Center’s Human Spirit Award, as well as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Influencers in the nation and Detroit Crain’s 40 Under 40, Afa Sadykhly Dworkin is a musical thought leader and cross-sector strategist driving national programming that promotes diversity in classical music.
President
The Sphinx Organization
The Angel Band Project is a nonprofit using music and art to support survivors of sexual violence, helping them heal and find strength through creative expression and community support.
Founder
The Angel Band Project
Niilofur Farrukh is a Karachi-based art interventionist, writer, and curator interested in the intersection of political ideology and visual narrative. Founding editor of NuktaArt, she has published extensively and served in leadership roles at the International Art Critics Association.
CEO
Karachi Biennale
Ben is the Executive Director of Silkroad, where he leads the organization’s mission to promote global understanding through the arts. With a background in arts management and international collaboration, he has overseen numerous high-impact projects that bridge cultural and artistic boundaries.
Executive Director
Silkroad Ensemble
Musicians Without Borders is a nonprofit organization using music to bridge divides, heal trauma, and promote social change worldwide, focusing on conflict zones and underserved communities.
Founder
Musicians Without Borders
Alysa Lee is Founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, a girl empowerment, choral academy with programming in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. Lee provided strategic oversight of the program growth from the 20-participant pilot to 300+ membership.
Founder
Sister Cities Girl Choir
Adam Ockelford is Founder of The Amber Trust – a UK-wide charity that supports blind and partially sighted people in their pursuit of music; Chair of Trustees of Soundabou; and Founder and Chair of Sounds of Intent Charity.
Founder
The Amber Trust
Nada Raza is the Director of Alserkal Arts Foundation. Formerly the founding Artistic Director of the Ishara Art Foundation, she brings extensive curatorial and research experience from Tate Modern, Iniva, and Green Cardamom. With a focus on South and West Asia, she has curated exhibitions internationally.
Director
Alserkal Arts Foundation
Yuki Numata Resnick is a contemporary classical violinist based in Buffalo, New York, where she founded Buffalo String Works, an after-school program that provides music lessons to refugee and immigrant children.
Founder
Buffalo String Works
Sebastian Ruth is a performer & music educator who turned a string quartet and a storefront space into a thriving force in the lives of urban youth in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduating from Brown University, he founded Community MusicWorks, based in Providence’s West End.
MacArthur Fellow
Founder | Community MusicWorks
Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast brought back music to his country, silenced by the Taliban, by founding the first national music school in Afghanistan. He is a native of Afghanistan and a son of the late well-known Afghan composer, conductor, and musician Ustad Sarmast.
Polar Prize Laureate
Afghan. National Music Institute
Brass for Africa works alongside local organisations to provide regular music education, life-skills training and performance opportunities in Liberia, Uganda, and Rwanda. For several years, Jim worked as an oil support helicopter pilot in Nigeria and on the North Sea.
Founder & CEO
Brass for Africa
Rachael is an arts leader known for leading organizations that create thought-provoking productions. Her company, Streetwise Opera, enables people who’ve experienced homelessness to find inspiration and empowerment.
CEO
StreetWise Opera
Trustee | The Idlewild Trust
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“In the Global Leaders Institute, I learned how to adapt the best models in the world to unique opportunities in my backyard.”

Pia Rodriguez (Costa Rica | 2014 Cohort)
Founder – Ensemble Terrazú