Meet the Team
Staff
Amanda Wang
Co-Founder/CEO
Amanda believes in the power of education to realize potential and expand opportunities. She grew up in a small town in China and taught herself English through American shows and English literature. She has experience in marketing, finance, and nonprofit management. During her free time outside of Potencia, she volunteers as an entrepreneur mentor/instructor at Tufts University and EforAll, and a judge for start-up competitions.
Amanda holds a BS in economics and finance from the University of Hong Kong and an MS in Innovation and Management from Tufts University.
Jun Yoon
Co-Founder/COO
Born and raised in South Korea, Jun is a social entrepreneur passionate about creating innovative solutions to social problems. He has extensive international experience in social impact across multiple countries, having worked with embassies, inter-government agencies, research institutions, NGOs, and social businesses on diverse initiatives spanning policy, human services, financial inclusion, and more. Jun holds a BA in International Relations and an MS in Innovation and Management from Tufts University.
Jun is a believer that big changes can happen with small steps, one at a time.
Board of Directors
Barsha Gautam
Barsha is an accomplished banking professional with 10+ years in financial service industry. An immigrant from Nepal and a mother of 9 year old, she holds a master’s degree in finance & is very passionate about financial literacy and empowering individuals to achieve their financial goals. Outside of her professional duties, Barsha is actively involved in the community. She serves the YWCA Malden as a Board President and the Malden Chamber of Commerce as Vice President.
Ana Maria Medina
Ana Maria has spent 25 years advancing organizations dedicated to empowering underrepresented communities. She is currently Vice President of Development at Embrace Boston, where she leads fundraising and financial sustainability in partnership with the President & CEO and Board of Directors.
Since joining in 2022, Ana Maria has worked with individuals, corporations, and foundations to help build a city and nation rooted in radical inclusion and belonging. Her previous roles include leading development at global organizations like Laboratoria and Alboan, and providing trauma-informed services at Safe Horizon’s Child Advocacy Centers. She has also offered clinical support to children and families in Boston schools and at a refugee camp in Malawi with Jesuit Refugee Services.
Ana Maria holds a master’s degree from Boston College and a bachelor’s from Boston University.
Bob McTighe (Chair)
Bob is an accomplished executive with broad-based management, governance, and fiduciary experience. He has played an instrumental role in leading growth and development strategies as President, COO, CFO, and Director of Finance and Administration. With a background in high-tech, manufacturing, and distribution firms, as well as experience in the energy-efficiency nonprofit sector, Bob brings a diverse skill set to the table. In addition, he has served on several boards of directors and has valuable experience with audit and finance committees.
Bob holds a BS in Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Nikolas Onoufriadis
Nikolas is from Greece and is a business executive with 18 years’ experience in executive management, operations, and consulting. He offered professional services in more than 10 countries across multiple industries. He has successful track record in company growth, market penetration, and government relations on a global scale.
Nikolas is an avid traveler and passionate about giving back. He resides in Boston, MA and mentors at MIT, Suffolk, and BU Venture Accelerator programs, continually seeking ways to inspire young people to pursue their dreams.
Catherine Popper
Catherine is an Angel Investor, Advisor and Board Member for early-stage start-ups, actively involved with Launchpad Venture Group. She supports Women Entrepreneurial Founders through investing, advising, and mentoring. With a diverse background in senior leadership roles, including Fidelity Investments, Mercer HR Consulting, Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman), Towers Perrin, and WFD Consulting, Catherine brings extensive experience and expertise. She currently serves on the boards of Beeyonder, Potencia, Launchpad Venture Group, the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts, and the deCordova Museum. She holds a BS in math from Tufts University and an MBA from Boston University.
Emeritus Board Members
Kit Manning
Joel Aranson
Lana Luo
Bailey Hu
Advisory Board
Phillip D. Ellison
Phillip Ellison is an entrepreneurial strategist, cross-sector connector, and ecosystems builder with an equity-based framework. He works on consulting projects through his LLC, Interspace Strategies, and he is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Tufts University. Most recently, he worked in government at the Office of the NYC Public Advocate. During this time, he was also the inaugural Civic Innovation Fellow and an Urban Tech Researcher at the Cornell University Tech campus. He joined the mission of Potencia after meeting its Co-Founder Amanda Wang during his time as an Entrepreneurship Coach at Tufts. Earlier in his career, he worked with students and their families from immigrant backgrounds as an educator in New York City nonprofits in public schools. Those experiences grounded his understanding of how important quality English language education is for the economic and social opportunities for immigrant families. He has advised C-Suite corporate executives, entrepreneurs, politicians and government officials, and leaders in academia and philanthropy. He is a member of the Board of Directors for The Dorill Initiative nonprofit.
Abdallah Al-Obaidi
Abdallah Al-Obaidi is a former Iraqi refugee who came to the US in 2013 with limited English proficiency. He learned English by reading the dictionary and later became a medical interpreter during his college years. Currently he is the Director of the Young Physician Initiative, YPI, at Tufts University School of Medicine where he currently attends as a medical student.
Bo Jian
As a skilled educator and experienced counselor, Bo follows her passion for providing insights and overseeing projects from the concepts and the framework transfer to meaningful outcomes. After moving to the U.S. with limited English, Bo benefited from Potencia’s support and eventually achieved a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an ongoing Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Bo believes adults have their potential in different stages.
Katie Mayshak
Katie Mayshak is a seasoned nonprofit leader with 20 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations grow, sustain, and amplify their impact. As Principal of KM Consulting, she partners with Boston-area nonprofits to develop strategies for growth, sustainability, and meaningful change across fundraising, strategy, and executive advising.Previously, she was Chief Growth Officer at Neighborhood Villages, where she helped scale the organization from a startup to a national leader in early education, growing its budget from under $400K to $9M. She also led transformational campaigns at the ICA/Boston that raised over $100M, and began her career at Boston Ballet.Mayshak holds a BA in English Literature and Art History, completed doctoral studies in Art History, is an alum of LEAD Boston and the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, and serves on the board of docutribe.
Su Hnin Pwint
Su previously worked as a product designer for Drift. Su previously worked in other industries, such as B2B Sass, healthcare tech, and other consumer products. Su joined Potencia as a design advisor in 2021 to lead the mobile app design and helped build the new website in 2023. Su has her undergraduate degree in User Experience and Interaction Design from Drexel University. She also pursued her dual master’s degree in Innovation and Management and Human Factors Engineering at Tufts University.
Alex Samadi
As the son of two Iranian immigrants, Alex has a deeply personal connection to the Potencia mission. Over the last three years, Alex has collaborated with the Potencia organization in various roles to provide support across marketing, analytics, fundraising, and organizational growth. During this time, Alex has grown alongside Potencia and witnessed the invaluable opportunities the organization provide to immigrants and refugees through their educational resources. In his position on the Potencia Advisory Board, Alex will leverage his years of experience to continue to support Potencia in their mission to empower adult immigrant learners.