Harvard Business School has named four members of the MBA Class of 2019 as recipients of the School’s Dean’s Award: Neel Ghose, Lindsey Morrow, Amanda Tyson, and Megan Williams. A graduating doctoral student in organizational behavior was also named: Alexandra Feldberg.
The prestigious awards are given to extraordinary graduating students who have made a positive impact on Harvard and its broader communities. This year’s recipients were recognized during Commencement Week for contributing to the “well-being of society through exceptional acts of leadership.”
Read on for more about these exceptional graduates.
Amanda Tyson and Lindsey Morrow
Amanda Tyson and Lindsey Morrow are co-presidents of the African American Student Union (AASU). Throughout the year, they have focused on building community across AASU members and throughout HBS. Of particular note was their participation in AASU’s 50th anniversary celebration. They demonstrated authentic leadership to deliver a very successful and well-regard conference, even in the face of crises—a threatening and hateful email.
“Amanda and Lindsey are great exemplars of the leaders we hope to educate at HBS,” said one faculty member. “They met a harmful threat with calm resolve and converted a crisis into a powerful learning opportunity for both students and faculty.”
Neel Ghose
Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva
Neel Ghose founded The Robin Hood Army, a zero-funds organization that helps feed the hungry by distributing surplus food from restaurants. In developing countries, they have served 14.8 million meals across 133 cities. Ghose also helped feed the hungry at HBS. With the help of his classmates, he brought leftover food to homeless people in Harvard Square.
“Forget profits, there is no money, office, or staff involved—we have built this through a passionate team and social media engagement,” Ghose said when discussing the program. “The Robin Hood Army is a simple platform of regular professionals, students and members of civil society that help in their free time, and make a real difference to their communities.”
Megan Williams
Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva
Megan Williams served as the COO and Student Association’s liaison to the RC Community Values Representatives. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing significant cross-section, community-building initiatives. Those initiatives included Community MyTakes and the Eat & Engage small-group dinner program, which was responsible for over 400 students sharing dinner together in small groups. She also facilitated the selection process for the Class Day Student Speaker and Bridges Student Wisdom speakers.
“Megan puts the needs of the organization ahead of herself and is fueled by her desire to do good, and her interest in leaving something valuable behind for future MBA classes,” said one HBS staff member. “While for some the HBS experience can be challenging, Megan is here asking how we can make it better.”
Alexandra Feldberg
Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva
Feldberg was recognized for her research into how organizations can develop more inclusive approaches to managing and disseminating knowledge. The focus of her research is to improve traditional gender and racial disparities in the workplace and to help companies maximize the potential of their employees.
As one faculty member commented on Feldberg, “Allie is a consistent and generous contributor to the community at Harvard. She has a smile and a kind word for each person she interacts with—every day, no matter what else she is working on.”
Read the full report on the Dean’s awards here.
