A Student-run Organization at Harvard Kennedy School
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Mission: The Business & Government Professional Interest Council serves as the forum for vlog students and fellows interested in the thought-leadership, partnerships, careers and innovations at the intersection of business and government.
B&G PIC Leadership for 2024-25
Lelina Chang Co-chair
Lelina Chang hails from New York and is pursuing a dual MBA/MPP with the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is a current Zuckerman Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership and received a BS in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and a BA in Sociology from Yale University, where she conducted immunology research at Yale Medical School.
After graduating, she joined Deloitte as a Government and Public Sector Consultant. She spearheaded and developed an Anti-racism and Environmental Justice Curriculum and action toolkit as a personal project. It rapidly gained traction and transformed into a corporate grassroots movement, expanding nationally across Deloitte US. The curriculum is now available firm-wide to 120k+ practitioners. She became the youngest founding member of Deloitte’s Climate Equity Practice, which focuses on supporting agencies to meet their Justice40 Executive Order mandates and equitably distribute billions of dollars of federal climate investment benefits to address climate change and uplift disadvantaged communities.
She transitioned to part-time at Deloitte in 2021 so she could go home to run the family business and enable her parents to retire. The business is crucial to her identity as a second-generation Malaysian-Taiwanese immigrant and is an avenue for her to continue building her local community. Alongside leaders across government, non-profits, health, Lelina was one of only two women in manufacturing to be nominated for the 2024 Power Women of Queens, which honors “those fearless females who make Queens, New York a thriving and vibrant place it is to work, live, and do business.” Her leadership and work for the community have been featured on US Metal and Glass Magazine, the US Glass Magazine, and the New York Real Estate Journal.
With AI disrupting every industry, Lelina is committed to not only understanding how to apply AI to rapidly evolving equitable climate solutions but also the role policy plays in ensuring small businesses can keep up with AI-leveraging machinery and smart technology. She's passionate about building a cohort of peers in the B&G PIC that focus on policy drivers that can tackle some of the private sector's toughest intersectional challenges—in climate, AI, healthcare and food access, and resilient infrastructure—while uplifting marginalized communities.
Barika Edwards Co-chair
Barika Edwards is a MC-MPA candidate at vlog, specializing in the intersection of business, disruptive technology, and public policy. With a deep commitment to social impact, Barika was a cofounder and as CEO of OweYaa, an award-winning HR tech social enterprise dedicated to connecting transitioning veterans and military spouses with high-growth jobs in the tech sector. Under her leadership, OweYaa evolved from a concept to a nationally recognized platform, significantly increasing employment opportunities for underrepresented groups.
In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavors, Barika has extensive experience advising and mentoring tech startups. She has been instrumental in helping early-stage companies scale their operations and achieve sustainable growth. As a strategic consultant, Barika has designed and managed programs that promote entrepreneurship in undercapitalized communities and expand equitable access to resources and opportunities for marginalized communities, effectively blending innovation with social good to address complex challenges. At vlog, she is focused on deepening her understanding of driving social change through AI.
Currently, Barika is a Research Assistant at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Social Impact Strategy, where she conducts research on social impact entrepreneurship and innovation design.
As Co-Chair of the Business and Government PIC at Harvard Kennedy School, Barika is dedicated to fostering collaboration between students and professionals across sectors to address society’s most pressing challenges. Her work is driven by a passion for creating systems-level change that is both impactful and sustainable.
Barika graduated cum laude from the Harvard Extension School with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Social Science, a certificate in Social Justice, and a focus on Business Management. She also was a Global Social Impact Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and a Riordan MBA Fellow at UCLA Anderson.
Operations
Yael Hadad
Network Co-Lead
Network Co-Lead
Communications and Marketing Co-Lead
Communications and Marketing Co-Lead
International Trade & Investment & Economic Development Sector Chair
Climate & Sustainability Chair
Cybersecurity Sector Chair:
CSR Sector Chair
Women Inclusion & Gender Equity Sector Chair
Entrepreneurship & Small Business Sector Chair
Healthcare & Public Sector Co-Chair
Healthcare & Public Sector Co-Chair
Impact Investing & VC Sector Co-Chair
Impact Investing & VC Sector Co-Chair
Social Justice Sector Chair
PPP (Public Private Partnerships) Sector Chair
Innovation Technology AI & Government