Fellows
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Anita Sharif-HyderAssociate Head of CollegeAnita Sharif is a respected higher education leader with over 25 years of experience in student affairs, academic administration, global education, and leadership development. She currently serves as Dean of Students and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Life at the Yale School of Management, where she provides strategic leadership and oversight for a wide range of student services and academic support programs. In this role, Anita is responsible for shaping a holistic and inclusive student experience for Yale SOM’s residential MBA, Master of Advanced Management (MAM), and Master of Management Studies (MMS) students. Her portfolio spans academic advising, student life programming, curriculum coordination, mental health and wellness initiatives, crisis management, teaching support, tutoring services, student government engagement, and oversight of global study requirements. She also leads key institutional initiatives such as Orientation and Commencement and plays an integral role in maintaining SOM’s culture of academic integrity through her service on the Honor Committee and Academic Standards Committee. Anita is recognized for her collaborative leadership style and her ability to build cross-functional partnerships across the university. She works closely with departments including Admissions, Career Development, Community Engagement, Development and Alumni Relations, and Yale’s central administration to ensure a seamless and responsive student experience. She also manages the Academic Affairs and Student Life team, fostering an environment that prioritizes proactive support, equity, and excellence. Prior to her current role, Anita served for a decade as Senior Associate Director of Yale’s University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. There, she led complex case management processes, served as the university’s primary liaison to key stakeholders, and advised on policy implementation related to sexual misconduct and Title IX compliance. Her leadership in this space reflected a deep commitment to procedural fairness, trauma-informed approaches, and institutional accountability. Anita’s career in education spans a broad range of roles that highlight her global perspective and dedication to leadership development. As Assistant Director of Programs and Admissions at Yale World Fellows, she managed admissions and programming for an elite global fellowship that brings mid-career leaders from across sectors and countries to Yale. Her work included applicant evaluation, intercultural advising, leadership training, and building strong partnerships between Fellows and the Yale community. She also held key roles earlier in her career at Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions as a Center Director, and at the International House of Philadelphia, where she developed international residential programming and supported students from over 100 countries. Anita holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Towson State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Syracuse University. She is a certified mediator and Restorative Justice Facilitator and holds a Leadership Certificate from the University of San Diego Center for Restorative Justice. She is also conversant in several languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, and French, and brings significant lived experience from having lived in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kuwait, and Venezuela. Anita is widely recognized for her leadership and service across the Yale community and beyond. Her honors include the Linda Lorimer Award for Distinguished Service, a prestigious university-wide recognition, as well as multiple awards for excellence in teaching and customer service from earlier in her career. She is also a graduate of Emerge at Yale, a competitive staff leadership program, and currently serves as Associate Head of College at Trumbull College, where she mentors undergraduates in both academic and co-curricular pursuits. Beyond her professional work at Yale, Anita is an active leader in civic and cultural life. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors of the Dialogue Institute (Philadelphia), is a member of the Advisory Committee for the MENA Center at Yale and sits on the Board of Directors of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. She previously served on the boards of the Connecticut Storytelling Center and participated in the Muslim Leadership Initiative at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Her work in interfaith dialogue, international education, and student development reflects her deep commitment to fostering empathy, cross-cultural understanding, and inclusive leadership. EducationMA, Towson State University, 1997 |
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Tony SheldonSchool of ManagementTony Sheldon is the Executive Director, Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact and a Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management. He teaches practicum courses on social entrepreneurship, in which student teams work with organizations in India, Brazil, and Kenya, as well as a course on social “intra-preneuship” in the Executive MBA program. Tony’s professional background is in international development. He has worked with microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, primarily in the areas of business planning, financial modeling, and social performance management. Tony has also been a consultant to several development finance networks and funders, including the Ford Foundation, the World Bank, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), ShoreBank International, and Women’s World Banking. His most recent publications are as co-author of Evidence In Practice: Toward an Integrated Approach (Yale SOM, 2018), a summary of the findings of a two-year research project funded by the Hewlett Foundation, and From Extreme Poverty to Sustainable Livelihoods (World Bank 2018), on a unique program that combines social protection, livelihood development and financial services to reach extremely poor households. Other publications include CGAP’s Handbook on Business Planning and Financial Modeling for Microfinance Institutions and Women’s World Banking’s Principles and Practices of Financial Management. Email Tony Sheldon |
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Andrew ShimpLibrarianI am a librarian in the engineering and sciences at Yale supporting the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the Chemistry and Mathematics Departments. As a library liaison I am committed to user-centered services and have built relationships through individual reference interactions, research consultations, and instruction. I have expanded my skills to support reference management systems such as EndNote. I am currently engaged in new opportunities for outreach to entrepreneurial programs including teaching workshops for undergraduate and graduate members of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute Summer Fellowship Program and the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design. I have co-organized library programming in the Center for Language Study’s summer session for new international students and developed workshops for the Yale Young Global Scholars Program. In addition to being employed as a science librarian, I have an academic background in the humanities with an undergraduate degree in History and a minor in Art. I recently served as a judge for senior essays in the humanities submitted for Manuscripts & Archives prizes. My interests include studying and collecting American art, particularly related to printmaking. I also enjoy hiking especially in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Email Andrew Shimp |
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Julia SilvestriLectorDr. Julia Silvestri, Ph.D., Ed.S, is a lector in American Sign Language and coordinator of the ASL program. She earned her Ph.D. in Physical Disabilities from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she worked as a professor of ASL and Deaf Studies. From George Washington University, she earned an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership, and from Smith College, an M.E.D. in Deaf Education. In addition to a background as a K-12 educator and administrator in a range of schools for the deaf and public school programs in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts; she participates in ASL poetry, film, and performance arts organizations as a producer and performer. Her research interests include Deaf Music, Deaf Studies, ASL Phonology, Bilingualism and Literacy, Adult Reading Strategies, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Email Julia Silvestri |
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Stefan SimonPreservation Cultural HeritageStefan Simon is a conservation scientist with broad experience in scientific research and multilateral project coordination. He has specialized in material deterioration diagnostics, microanalytics, non-destructive testing, physico-chemical analysis and climatology. Other areas of specialization include the testing and evaluation of conservation products and the control of treatment efficacy and durability. He is the founder and director of the private laboratory KDC Konservierung & Denkmalpflege Cons. in Olching (Germany) since 1993, he is teaching conservation science at Munich Technical University since 1998. From 2001-2005 Stefan Simon was heading the “Building Materials” section at the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, before being appointed Director of the Rathgen Research Laboratory at the National Museums, Berlin in February 2005. Stefan Simon was elected member (2005-2013) and Vice President for Finance and Administration of ICCROM Council (2009-2011). Since 2008 he is President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee Stone (ISCS) and since 2012 corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). Since 2009 he is Honorary Professor at X´ian Jiaotong University (PR China), since 2013 also at Technical University Berlin. On April 1st, 2014, he was appointed Inaugural Director of Yale´s new Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH) at West Campus, overseeing its scientific, digital and conservation departments and programs. Email Stefan Simon |
Gurbakhshash Singh |
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Witold SkibaPhysics |
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Ed SmithSculptor |
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Wake SmithWake Smith is a Lecturer in the Yale School of Environment, where he teaches a graduate level course on climate engineering. He is also a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. His book Pandora’s Toolbox: The Hopes and Hazards of Climate Intervention was published by Cambridge University Press in March 2022. He has published scholarly papers on the aeronautics, costs, and governance of solar geoengineering and has helped develop preliminary designs for high altitude research aircraft. He was previously a senior executive at Boeing among other commercial aviation firms and earned a BA from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. |
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Sydney SpieselSchool of Medicine/PediatricsSydney Spiesel is a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine and is on the clinical faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine. He is a regular commentator for Slate magazine and National Public Radio. He is also the inventor of a shampoo that makes lice eggs fluoresce under ultraviolet light, so making them more visible. Email Sydney Spiesel |
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Gregory SterlingDivinity SchoolGregory E. Sterling is the Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean of Yale Divinity School and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament. Dean Sterling, a New Testament scholar with a specialty in Hellenistic Judaism, has concentrated his research on the writings of Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, and Luke-Acts, with a focus on the ways in which Second Temple Jews and early Christians interacted with one another and with the Greco-Roman world. He assumed the deanship in 2012 after more than two decades at the University of Notre Dame, where he served in several capacities at the College of Arts and Letters before becoming the first dean of the independent Graduate School. Dean Sterling is the author of several books—Coptic Paradigms: A Summary of Sahidic Coptic Morphology; Armenian Paradigms; and Historiography and Self-Definition: Josephos, Luke-Acts, and Apologetic Historiography—and more than fifty-five scholarly articles and essays. He is finishing a book titled “Defining the Present through the Past” (Eerdmans), which examines how indigenous authors defined their people’s identities through the past and is an extension of his earlier Historiography and Self-Definition. Dean Sterling is general editor for the Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series (E.J. Brill) and coeditor of the Studia Philonica Annual. He served as editor of the Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Series (University of Notre Dame Press) for twenty years. He is a member of the editorial board of Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft. A Churches of Christ minister, Dean Sterling has held numerous leadership positions in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Studiorum Novi Societas, and the Catholic Biblical Association. |
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Scott StrobelMolecular Biology and BiophysicsScott Strobel joined the Yale faculty in 1995 in the Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (MB&B) where he served as department chair from 2006-09 and currently holds the Henry Ford II Professorship. Since 2011 he has served as vice president for West Campus planning & program development, and in July 2014 he took on additional responsibility as the inaugural deputy provost for teaching & learning. In this capacity, he will oversee the development of a comprehensive Yale Center for Teaching and Learning that will promote teaching excellence, foster improved student learning, and provide a clear pathway for teaching resources and support to Yale faculty, graduate students, and postdocs. In 2006 and again in 2010, he was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professor to promote efforts in undergraduate science education. With this award he instituted a program to explore microbial and chemical diversity in the world’s rainforests as a means to inspire undergraduate students in the sciences. He was awarded the Dylan Hixon Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences in 2004 and the Graduate Mentoring Award in the Sciences in 2007. He received his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. His current research explores the chemical basis of RNA function and catalysis and hydrocarbon production by endophytic fungi. |
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Timothy StumphMacMillan CenterTim Stumph serves as the Program Director for the European Studies Council and the Latin American & Iberian Studies Council at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. In this role, he provides strategic leadership and comprehensive management while acting as a university-wide liaison for both Councils. Previously, he managed the Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program and oversaw various initiatives within the International Leadership Center at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. With over 25 years of experience in international education, Tim has held key positions at Yale, including Co-Director of the Office of Fellowship Programs at Yale College and Assistant Director of Admissions at the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. His career also includes roles at Harvard, MIT, and the University of Connecticut. Tim’s extensive international background encompasses teaching English in Europe and Asia, as well as living and studying in the United Kingdom, Colombia, Guatemala, and the Czech Republic. He holds an MA in Education from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Spanish from Earlham College. Email Timothy Stumph |
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Kiran TahirKiran Tahir is a nonprofit development professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She is currently serving as Director of Prospect Management & Research at Yale Law School. She serves as a board member of Dwight Hall at Yale, and co-chairs the Scholarship Committee for the New England Development Research Association. Email Kiran Tahir |
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Lynn TanoueInternal MedicineDr. Tanoue is a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Medical School. She is a pulmonary/critical care specialist, with a focus in the field of thoracic oncology. She co-directs the Yale Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Program and is Director of Winchester Chest Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Tanoue is a founding member of the Yale Medical Symphony Orchestra. Email Lynn Tanoue |
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Shamshir TarlanovStudent Accessibility ServicesShami joined Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in 2021, where he works with graduate and professional students, including those in health science education programs, to facilitate accommodations for students with disabilities. Prior to joining SAS, Shami served as an Access Advisor for the Disability Resource Center at Missouri State University, specializing in support for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students. He also held the role of Assistant Coordinator of Disability Resources at Washington University in St. Louis. Shami earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis (Go Bears!) and a Bachelor of Arts from Baku Eurasia University. He grew up in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, and proudly identifies as a first-generation student. Email Shamshir Tarlanov |
David ThompsonDavid Thompson Architects |
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Gail Tomisch |
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Ebru ToprakMathematicsEbru Toprak is a Gibbs Assistant Professor at the Mathematics Department. She joined Yale University in 2021. Before her appointment at Yale, Ebru was a Hill Assistant Professor at Rutgers University. Throughout her academic career, Ebru has been specializing in Analysis and Partial Differential Equations. Ebru is originally from the Republic of Turkey and she came to the United States in 2012 to pursue a Ph. D degree in Mathematics. She completed her Ph. D at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For her Ph. D dissertation, she received the 2019 Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Dissertation Prize. Email Ebru Toprak |
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Robert TouloukianPediatric MedicineRobert James Touloukian MD, FACS, is board certified in Pediatric Surgery. He received his medical degree from Columbia University. Dr. Touloukian was Chief Resident at Bellvue Hospital, New York, NY in the Surgical Division followed by Chief Resident at Babies Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY in Pediatric Surgery. Dr. Touloukian’s research interests include pediatric trauma, tumors and newborn surgery and his clinical interests include neonatal surgery, trauma, tumors, head and neck surgery, thoracic surgery, and pediatric oncology. |