Dollie Davis specializes in International Political Economy and Economic Development. Prior to joining Minerva, she worked as an International Visiting Fellow at a think tank in Taipei, Taiwan where she executed a paper, discussing the impact of Taiwan’s Non-Governmental Organizations on their International Aid, Healthcare, and Political Systems. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Political Economy from the University of Southern California and her M.A. degree in Economics from the University of San Francisco.
Professor Davis taught courses on Economic Development in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. She believes in actively engaging with each student and providing a forum for in-depth discussion about old and new concepts and ideas in every class. Professor Davis teaches the Boom, Bust, and Bubbles: The Free Enterprise System Core Course and the Global Development and Applied Economics Concentration Course.
Ben Wilkoff is the Associate Director of Admissions Operations for Minerva University. Every day he gets to review materials of incredibly talented applicants from around the world. Prior to this, he managed Virtual Reality and Mobile Learning initiatives at The University of Colorado, led the Blended and Personalized Learning efforts for the largest schools districts in Colorado, and was named the Totally Wired Teacher of the year in 2007 by Edutopia (as he taught English to Middle School students). He is married to his favorite person, and loves his three children quite a little bit (aged 8, 14 and 16).
Rachel Kim is the Global Director of Coaching & Talent Development, overseeing the team of coaches and program managers who design and deliver transformational coaching and talent development programs to Minerva students and alumni around the world. In her role, Rachel closely partners with leaders across Minerva to align efforts to support students’ integrated learning outcomes. Rachel joined Minerva in 2019 to help students learn more about themselves and determine who they are becoming through the Minerva experience and beyond. In addition to professional coaching, Rachel brings over 20 years of experience in various corporate, nonprofit, public education, and startup settings. She holds an MPA from Baruch College, a BA from Dartmouth College, and professional coach training and certification by the International Coach Federation and the Coaches Training Institute.
Rachel believes that everyone deserves a chance to pursue their own definition of success and happiness as well as to have a coach who both champions and challenges them on that path. Rachel’s career advice and perspectives have been featured in various media outlets, including The Muse, Cosmopolitan, The Lily, and FastCo.
As Global Director, Outreach, Fatou Badiane-Toure leads Minerva's strategy for attracting talented and motivated students into the university’s academic programs and supporting them through the application and enrollment process. Fatou joined Minerva in 2013 and initially served as Managing Director for Africa, then the Middle East and Europe. Prior to Minerva, Fatou worked at the African Leadership Academy as Associate Director of Admissions - Francophone West and Central Africa. She also worked as a Lead Education Program and Policy consultant for youth and women’s empowerment organizations. Her area of focus is African Education, and she often contributes in the areas of innovation in education, the internationalization of education, technology, and leadership in Education.
Fatou holds a Masters in International Education Development, from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Masters in Information Technology and Management from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a BSc in Computer Information Systems from Towson University.
Barbara Walder is the Global Director of Student Life and the City Director for Berlin. She has been with Minerva since 2016 and is responsible for setting up the Minerva infrastructure, building relationships with academic institutions, and initiating civic partnerships in Berlin, Taipei, Seoul, Hyderabad, and London.
She is an economist, leadership training expert, qualified coach, and certified project manager and has lived overseas for fifteen years working in education and professional development in Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, and the United States. She has experience in intercultural competence, project management, and team collaboration and development skills. Recently, Barbara has taken the responsibility to nurture sustainability at Minerva and is continuously driven by solving problems in new and humble ways.
Matthew joined Minerva University in July 2019 as City Director for London and serves concurrently as Global Director, Student Life. Born in Orkney, Scotland, Matthew has over 20 years of experience in university international initiatives.
Prior to Minerva, Matthew worked at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. After six years directing the study abroad office at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, he served for five years as Associate Vice Provost for Global Engagement in the Office of the Vice President for Strategic and Global Initiatives, where he managed the university’s global presence, overseeing the logistical operations of the University’s nine satellite offices located in Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe. He has experience supporting university strategic initiatives in study abroad programming, alumni relations, advancement, research collaborations, recruitment, and partnership development. A passionate proponent of the benefits of a global immersive experiential education, Matthew has worked in and around the London study abroad sector for a number of years both before and since returning to the UK, believing firmly in the benefits of the endeavor and bringing broad knowledge and a deep experiential understanding from a student, university, and partner perspective.
Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in American and Canadian Studies from the University of Birmingham (UK), and a master’s degree in History from the University of Kansas.
Mara Steiner serves as Global Director for Student Life and City Director for Buenos Aires. She joined Minerva University in 2016.
Mara is an expert in international education and program development for multicultural contexts. She has professional and leadership experience in higher education and the NGO field worldwide. Formerly, she served as representative in Cuba for the American Joint Distribution Committee, then as Director of Programs in Austria for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and she also worked as full time Senior Consultant for the Latin American office of the American Joint Distribution Committee in Argentina. Concurrently, for thirteen years, she has been teaching at the undergraduate program of the Art History Department at the University of Buenos Aires. Her job experiences allowed her to develop abilities in adaptation to diverse contexts, flexibility and problem solving skills and have enriched her personal and professional life, fostering her creativity and enthusiasm for professional challenges.
Mara holds a BA in Art History (University of Buenos Aires), an MA in Education (JTS, New York) and is a PhD candidate in History and Theory of Art (University of Buenos Aires). She is married and has twins, a boy and a girl.
Will Meek is a psychologist and Global Director of Mental Health & Wellness at Minerva. He has also been the lead psychologist at several other university counseling centers, including Counseling & Psychological Services at Brown University. He started his professional career as a one-person counseling center serving 4000 students at Washington State University Vancouver.
Will received his BA from Baldwin-Wallace College and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is best known for the Flexible Care Model, which is a culturally-informed system of providing psychological services on college campuses.