The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award is given each year at the Alumni Leadership Conference to one outstanding Posse alumna/alumnus who has demonstrated incredible leadership and success while giving back to the world.
The award honors Posse alumni who continue a legacy of leadership in their communities and who exemplify the values of The Posse Foundation. Recipients are selected based on their potential to create meaningful, far-reaching contributions to society as demonstrated by their track record of significant accomplishment. The winner of the prestigious Ainslie Award also receives a $10,000 no-strings-attached grant.
Watch: Anthony Bush’s 2024 Ainslie Award Tribute Video
2024 Ainslie winner Anthony Bush is a Posse alumnus of Dickinson College.
Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award Recipients
From left to right, top to bottom: Carlos Carela, Gabrielle Farrell, Carmen Green Jr., Mia Howard, Adrian Lievano, Laquan Lightfoot, Ryan Letada, Carl Manalo, Mason Richards, Nadia Marie Sasso, Dr. Erica Spatz, Loubens Theork, Chakena Perry, Jessica Moulite, Dr. Sarah Martinez Roth, Kadia Tubman, Anthony Bush..
Meet the Recipients
Anthony Bush is serving as the inaugural Chief Equity Officer for the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. As the first Chief Equity Officer for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Anthony has created innovative programming to ensure racial equity and intersectional justice are embedded throughout the department. He piloted the department’s first internal racial equity training focused on systemic, institutional, and interpersonal racism. Additionally, his work ensured that racial equity served as a centerpiece in Mayor Breed’s Home By the Bay Strategic Plan to reduce racial and gender-based disparities for unhoused San Franciscans. After being awarded his bachelors in American studies from Dickinson College, Anthony earned his masters in education from the Relay Graduate School of Education and a race and equity leadership certification from Harvard University.
Kadia Tubman is the former Managing Editor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Insider's global newsroom. Prior to joining Insider's editorial leadership team, Kadia was a senior news editor guiding Insider's breaking news coverage between New York, London and LA on weekends. Before Insider, she was a national politics reporter at Yahoo News and a Reuters journalist fellow at the University of Oxford. Since 2020, she was regularly featured as a guest panelist on MSNBC's "American Voices.” Kadia is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University and Hunter College in New York City.
After graduating from Babson College with a Bachelor's in Business Administration, Kadia went on to become a marketing and communications strategist, working for global media companies like MTV/Viacom and Nielsen. She then made a career pivot, leaving Wall Street to receive a Master's of Science from Columbia Journalism School.
Kadia is passionate about news, building community, and giving people the information they need to lead their lives.
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Sarah graduated from the “Fame” School- LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts studying Ballet. She then moved to Waterville, ME where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Biology with minors in chemistry and Theatre & Dance from Colby College in 2011 (Colby NYC Posse 6). While at Colby she completed her honors thesis, in the plant molecular Biology lab of Dr. Russell Johnson, studying hormone regulation in regards to barley seed dormancy. After graduation she moved to Boston, MA where she was a Research Technician II and lab manager for two years in the Cancer Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Dr. David Langenau's lab, doing research in pediatric cancer using zebrafish as an animal model. She then moved to Washington, DC to pursue an advanced post- baccalaureate program called the Georgetown Experimental Medical Sciences program at Georgetown University. After graduating with her Masters of Science in Physiology & Biophysics at Georgetown University in June 2015, she worked as Research Associate II at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the Immunology and Inflammation Department. She completed her PhD in the Tumor Biology program at Georgetown University in December 2020, where she received a F31-diversity NRSA. Her thesis research in Dr. Anton Wellstein’s lab focused on circulating DNA as biomarkers for immune related adverse events from immunotherapy. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Immunology & Inflammation in Type 2 Immunology Inflammation and Fibrosis at Sanofi in Cambridge, MA. Currently, Dr. Martinez Roth is a Senior Scientist in Biomarkers at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston, MA where she is a cell based assay Biology Team Lead for clinical trials. Outside of the lab, Sarah is very passionate about equalizing the playing field by access to education, which is why she is so passionate about Posse. She also works actively in mentoring women in STEM to help achieve their dreams and help close the leaky pipeline.
The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Jessica has long understood and valued the importance of media as a tool to educate and empower those who are disenfranchised to establish their own powerful narratives. She is a 2014 graduate of Hamilton College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Women’s Studies as both a Posse Foundation and Gates Millennium scholar. She also earned her Master’s in Journalism at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where she earned the prestigious Annenberg Graduate Fellowship. Jessica is an award-winning video producer passionate about dismantling unjust societal power structures, education's ability to level the playing field for marginalized voices, and all things Black culture. Her work has been featured on The Root, BBC News, The Columbia Journalism Review, Univision News, The GlobalPost, and more. Her video interview where Representative Ayanna Pressley revealed the congresswoman’s “new normal” of living with alopecia went viral and amassed over 3 million views on Twitter alone. Recently, her series “A King’s Place,” in which she highlighted the legacy of streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., won the 2020 Webby Award for Public Service & Activism Video. A lifelong learner, Jessica will begin a doctoral program in Sociology with an emphasis on social inequality at Howard University in the fall of 2021.
A native Chicagoan, Chakena hails from the Back of the Yards and Ashburn neighborhoods. She earned her B.A. in History from Connecticut College in December 2015. Chakena is grounded in her role as a voting rights advocate, and since her graduation, she has acted in this role in a variety of ways. She was elected Chairwoman of the Cook County Young Democrats and now serves as Board President for Chicago Votes Action Fund. Chakena was selected as an Obama Foundation Peer Advisor to help organize former President Barack Obama’s first civics training for young people in Chicago. She was also nominated to attend the White House’s United State of Women Summit for her work with voting rights activism. Today, Chakena works for Commissioner Josina Morita at the Metropolitan Reclamation District where she’s exploring the intersection between green infrastructure, economic development and civic engagement. She remains steadfastly committed to civic engagement and voting rights.
The son of Filipino immigrants, Carl grew up in the North Bronx. He studied education as a Posse Scholar at Vanderbilt University and went on to receive a master’s in education from Fordham University. Carl then spent nine years teaching in public high schools in the Bronx and another three years as an achievement coach in the New York City Department of Education. Carl inherited the head position at QIRT in 2014, when the school’s four-year graduation rate was just 55 percent, one of the lowest in the city. Today, QIRT has increased that to an outstanding 81 percent, higher than both the borough and city averages.
Gabrielle Farrell was born in Boston and earned her B.A. in French and Political Science at Bryn Mawr College. Gabrielle went on to serve her community at Project Bread, a not-for-profit that advocates to end hunger in Massachusetts. In 2014, Gabrielle became a press assistant for Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and was promoted to associate press secretary. She was appointed to be the deputy chief of staff for communications at the Boston Public Schools, and after completing her master’s in corporate and organizational communications from Northeastern University, joined Mayor Walsh’s re-election campaign as press secretary. Following the mayor’s victory, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren invited Gabrielle to serve as press secretary for her re-election campaign. Today, Gabrielle serves as an official spokesperson for the senator, raising awareness for her work across Massachusetts.
Adrian was born in Miami, and graduated with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering & Applied Mechanics in 2015. Adrian was awarded the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural President’s Engagement Prize, for which he received $200,000 in recognition of his organization, Everwaters. Based in Kenya, Everwaters has developed a household water filtration unit that uses moringa seeds and sand to clean water for families in the developing world.
For his work on Everwaters, Adrian was been featured on CNBC’s Make Me A Millionaire Inventor television show. Adrian had previously been invited to appear on ABC’s Shark Tank for his work in building a 3D-printed robotic prosthetic arm. Nominated and selected as one of Penn’s Top 10 “Most Impressive” students, Adrian is using his engineering education to tackle complex local, national, and international issues.
Laquan was honored to become one of the youngest women of color to serve as an ADA in Philadelphia. She is determined to be part of the driving force that will create change and improve our justice system. Inspired to be a courtroom advocate for those who need a voice, she hopes that she will have a wide ranging impact on the communities she serves.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Laquan attended Lafayette College. She received her Bachelor of Arts in government and law in 2011 and went on to graduate from Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law in 2014. An active member of the law school community, she volunteered in the Domestic Violence Unit of Philadelphia Family Court and she served on the executive board of the Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association.
Mia is the founder and executive director of Intrepid College Prep Charter School in Nashville, Tennessee. The school’s mission is to equip all scholars in grades 5 through 12 with the academic foundation, financial literacy and ethical development necessary to excel in selective colleges, earn professional opportunities and demonstrate positive leadership. Mia graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University and University of Pennsylvania Law School, and she holds a certificate in business and public policy from the Wharton School.
Ryan is the CEO and cofounder of NextDayBetter, an organization that connects diaspora communities to create positive social change. In recognition for his contributions to the global community, he was selected to join the FylPRO a leadership program administered by the Philippines embassy, which selects 10 leaders nationally to connect and collaborate with the Philippines’ leading public, private and civic leaders.
Nadia, a first-generation American, is the co-founder of Yehri Wi Cry (YWC), an organization that has distributed hundreds of birthing kits in Sierra Leone to improve birth and delivery rates and enhance the quality of life for women and children. She has a master’s degree from Lehigh University and begins a Ph.D. program at Cornell University in 2014.
Carmen joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 where he successfully planned the tactical communications architecture for the Regional Command Southwest. In 2012, he was promoted to captain. Carmen’s work with the Marines to help protect people around the world is a testament to his remarkable character and strong leadership skills.
Mason is a filmmaker with a deep commitment to telling the stories that often go unheard. His debut film, The Seawall, premiered at the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival in 2011, a triumph for any filmmaker and the culmination of a childhood dream for Mason.
Loubens is deeply committed to the progress of his native Haiti. He launched an endeavor that will use targeted investments in industries such as real estate, retail and banking to support Haitian economic development. Each year, Loubens and his brothers, also Posse Scholars, provide education funds to low-income students in Haiti.
In 2008, Erica co-founded Project Access-New Haven, which provides timely access to medical care for people without insurance, and she continues to serve on its board. A Yale University faculty member in cardiovascular medicine as part of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, her research focuses on access to care, and improving quality and outcomes in adults with cardiovascular disease.
Carlos was one of the first Posse alumni to begin a career on Wall Street. He worked at Bloomberg Financial Markets for over five years and later as a consultant for the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. In 2007, he founded Cava Wine Bar & Gallery, an establishment celebrating Latin and Caribbean cuisine, culture and art.
Michael Ainslie’s Legacy
When Posse was still a fledgling organization, it got lucky: Michael Ainslie came into the picture.
In that serendipitous encounter, Michael quickly recognized Posse’s potential and in 1994 became its first board chair. During his tenure, Michael established the Posse Board, helped expand the number of college and university partnerships, and laid the foundation for the program’s future success. Today Posse is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive college success and youth leadership development initiatives in the United States.
In 2007, Michael stepped down after 13 years at the helm of Posse’s national board of directors.
As a tribute to his accomplishments Posse established a $1 million fund to permanently endow a portion of the alumni program at The Posse Foundation and institute in perpetuity The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award.
Award Details
The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of a Posse alumna/us each year with a prize of $10,000. Posse does not evaluate how recipients use the funds, nor are recipients required to submit information to Posse regarding how they use the funds.
The prize goes to a graduate who has achieved success and given back to the world — just like Michael. Michael is the very embodiment of the values we seek in our Scholars and Posse will forever be indebted to him.
Nominations for the 2023 Ainslie Award will open in early 2023. Stay tuned!
Posse Graduate School Affiliates
The growing list of graduate opportunities for Posse alumni is a credit to our reputation for excellence in higher education. Learn more about our Graduate School Affiliates.
The growing list of graduate opportunities for Posse alumni is a credit to our reputation for excellence in higher education. Learn more about our Graduate School Affiliates.
