Gabr Fellows 2015

Casey Smith
Founder & Executive Director of Cooking Up Cultures

Casey is the Founder & Executive Director of Cooking Up Cultures, with more than 12 years of professional work experience, 7 in management positions, and significant experience in human services organizations. As a graduate of Texas A&M University, veteran entrepreneur and experienced leader in corporate and non‐profit sectors, her life goal is to take an active role in the positive evolution of humanity. Through her work in creating and developing Cooking Up Cultures, an organization whose ultimate purpose is to close cultural barriers that exist between communities, she is in part fulfilling that goal. Casey resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and two children where dinnertime discussions often reference the world map fixed above the dinner table.

3rd February 2016

Elizabeth Dent
Strategic Planner at the Department of State’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC)

Elizabeth serves as Strategic Planner at the Department of State’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC). Prior to her work on counter-ISIL messaging, Dent served as Special Assistant in the office of Diplomatic Security with the Department of State where she provided policy guidance, logistical and programmatic support to bureau leadership regarding best security, strategic and operational practices. Elizabeth Dent received her M.A. in International Affairs from American University in Washington. She also holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Islamic History and Political Science with a focus on Middle Eastern Studies from Miami University.

3rd February 2016

Ezemudi Redwood
Partner at Wings Café, Kansas City, KS

Eze is passionate about innovation and community building. At 14, his first company, a high school candy business, made $30,000 in four months before being shut down. At 19, Eze graduated from Williams College, and rose to leadership in a boutique marketing firm. At 29, Eze has sat on 7 non-profit boards of directors and has experiences ranging from chair of an investment bank internal think tank, to youth leadership development mentor in Central Europe and partner in a gourmet wings restaurant. Eze also founded and currently leads Twenty30CEO, an entrepreneurs’ and innovators’ group, the Young Black Professional's Council, and is a 2015-2016 Google & NTEN Digital Inclusion Fellow.

4th February 2016

Judson Moore
Operations Manager at Mutual Mobile

Judson is Operations Manager at Mutual Mobile in Austin, Texas. After a career in music and live events, Judson decided to get back to his roots and dedicate himself to making community impacts. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic, he spent two years working with media outlets and journalists. His greatest contribution came in the development of a project which provided mobile technology to journalists living in rural areas so that they could have a wider voice and better access to information. Now residing in Austin Texas, Judson contributes to the growth of the Austin business community as the Co-Founder of the Brazos Technology District and as part of the Operations Team at Mutual Mobile. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Austin and a leader of the Heart of Texas Peace Corps Association.

4th February 2016

Leah Moschella
Founder and President of Boston Girls’ Leadership

Leah is the Founder and President of Boston Girls' Leadership Organized Women (Boston GLOW), a nonprofit that fosters opportunities for women of all ages to become empowered community leaders and active world citizens. Additionally, she serves as a Manager of Workforce Development in Boston supporting immigrant and adult learners on their paths to sustainable employment and economic self-sufficiency. She holds a Master's Degree in Human Services from Northeastern University and a B.A. in Sociology and Gender Studies from Fordham University.

4th February 2016

Magdalena Kura
Excelsior Service Fellow, Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York

Magdalena is a Service Fellow for the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York. She moved from Poland to the United States as a teenager and has made New York her home. She was recognized by the State of New York and selected to serve in a leadership fellowship in the Governor’s Office. Her current mission in New York State is to streamline government services for small business owners. Prior to this position, she worked for Fulbright Commission in Spain and Center for International Development in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Magda earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Policy. Her passions include community gardening, sailing, and international relations.

4th February 2016

Michelle Matus
Multimedia Journalist

Michelle is a multimedia journalist focusing on global humanitarian and environmental issues. She is a graduate student in the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada-Reno. Her graduate work focuses on food security, agriculture and building community through their intersection. In 2008, Michelle received dual undergraduate degrees from the University of Nevada-Reno in French language and culture and International Affairs. She grew up in rural Nevada but has spent time living in many places across the United States and the world, including Belgium, France, Australia, and South Korea. In addition to her teaching assistantship, Michelle researches regional and global water scarcity in her work at News Deeply, a media and technology firm focused on improving understanding around complex, global issues.

4th February 2016

Murray E. Abeles
Senior Associate At Franco Financial Group

Murray is a senior associate at Franco Financial Group, a boutique management consulting and financial advisory firm. In this role, he is responsible for the overall financial and operational management of the firm’s clients which include public, private and nonprofit companies in North America, Europe and Asia. In addition, Abeles serves as Chief Compliance Officer and Portfolio Manager overseeing the investment management division of the firm. Prior to that, Abeles founded a technology consulting firm to provide application development and network infrastructure solutions to enterprise clients. He was recognized as Bank of America’s Youth Entrepreneur of the Year and awarded New York University’s Madame C.J. Walker Award for Entrepreneurial Activity. Abeles holds a bachelor’s degree in theology with minors in computer science and political science from the College of Arts and Science at New York University. Abeles serves on the Parish Finance Council of The Diocese of Brooklyn and the Partnerships Committee of The Coalition for Queens. He also volunteers as a teen mentor and boxing coach at Hour Children.

4th February 2016

Nicholas Stephen Dreselly Thomas
Entrepreneur

Nick recently completed his International M.B.A. for the Hult Business School and earned an M.A. in International Studies and Diplomacy from Denver University’s Josef Korbel School in 2010. Nick has traveled to over 65 countries and lived and worked for extended periods in India, South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, at Sea, and multiple times while growing up with his family in China. More recently, he has enjoyed working in the Entrepreneurial space, assisting friends at the Unreasonable Institute accelerator, his cousin on startups such as Dash Tickets and StQry and even winning in the first round of the Hult Prize 2015 with his team, Arkha, out of Shanghai. He is an Eagle Scout, a motivational speaker, and last worked in Sports Marketing on an aerobatic flight team sponsored by Oracle. He is thrilled to have been chosen for this year's Gabr Fellowship.

4th February 2016

Kemp Gouldin
Sales and Marketing Director at Sakhr Software USA

Kemp is the Sales and Marketing Director at Sakhr Software USA, a technology startup that focuses on removing language barriers between the English and Arabic-speaking worlds. In his current position, he regularly meets with key U.S. and other officials working on international policy and has been a representative on several official U.S. trade missions. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Biology. Previously, he was the Media Account Director at Sakhr Software, and a Communications Fellow at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

4th February 2016