Arun Gupta, CEO of NobleReach, is a venture capitalist, Lecturer at Stanford University for “Valley Meets Mission”, and Adjunct Entrepreneurship Professor and Senior Advisor to Provost at Georgetown University, and author of the National Bestseller, “Venture Meets Mission”. Arun is active in the emerging technology, entrepreneurship, public policy, and venture finance communities. He is passionate about inspiring students to pursue mission-oriented entrepreneurial careers.
At Stanford University, Arun serves on the Stanford in Washington (SIW) Advisory Board, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Advisory Council, and is a Faculty Lecturer teaching ” Valley Meets Mission: Purposeful Entrepreneurship with Government” at Stanford in Washington. The class highlights his venture capital and academic experience building successful mission-oriented ventures at the intersection of the government, mission, technology, and entrepreneurship.
At Georgetown University, Arun serves on the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, Tech & Society Steering Committee, and teaches Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital at McDonough School of Business. He was awarded the Entrepreneurial Faculty Teaching Excellence Award and the Peter W. Gonzalez Jr. Award for Excellence in Faculty Teaching.
As a Partner at Columbia Capital, Arun’s investment career spanned eighteen years including initiating the firm’s Cybersecurity and Government technology investments with a focus on National Security, AI, and SaaS/Cloud infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining Columbia Capital in 2000, Arun was at Carlyle Venture Partners focused on software investments. Prior to Carlyle, Arun held positions in Arthur D. Little’s telecom and technology consulting practice and shared responsibility for establishing ADL’s management consulting operations in Mumbai 1995-98.
Arun received a B.S. degree with Distinction in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. degree in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University (’91). He received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (’95).
Arun has lived in the Washington DC metropolitan area for over 40 years and has been actively involved in local community organizations focusing on coaching youth sports, inner city educational programs, and food insecurity programs for vulnerable communities. Arun has been happily married for 27+ years to Dr. Anjali Mehta Gupta and has three wonderful children.
Yhanna McKinney is the Marketing & Communications Associate at NobleReach Foundation, focusing on establishing and implementing comprehensive marketing, communications, and event initiatives for the Foundation.
Before joining the NobleReach Foundation, Yhanna was at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, creating and managing social media campaigns and member communications for major healthcare companies and advocating for accessible healthcare nationwide. Before her time at the association, Yhanna worked at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where she created resources and provided materials to support Hispanic small business owners.
Yhanna holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Frostburg State University. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, maintaining an active lifestyle, and building lego creations in her spare time.
As a strategic IT leader, Rabi Chitrakar leverages AI and emerging technologies to drive business transformation and measurable results. His experience spans enterprise-scale digital transformation, cloud architecture, and cybersecurity with a proven track record of aligning technology initiatives with business objectives.
At Aura, Rabi spearheaded the integration of IBM Watson into Identity Guard, revolutionizing customer experience in identity protection. He led critical cybersecurity audits for major financial institutions and orchestrated large-scale AWS cloud migrations to optimize costs and scalability. At Revature, he successfully implemented Workday HCM and Global Payroll while creating seamless integration between Salesforce and Workday platforms.
Rabi holds a Master of Science in Information Systems with a concentration in Software Engineering Management from Strayer University.
Beyond technology, Rabi is a dedicated parent supporting his daughters’ athletic pursuits in figure skating, volleyball, and basketball. His sports-related travels became opportunities for family bonding and exploration. He remains actively involved in community service through education, sports, and local initiatives.
Grant is a dual alumnus of George Mason University, graduating most recently in 2016 with a master’s in political science. After grad school, he worked at the University in career services and twice at a start-up think tank at the intersection of technology and national security, with a short break in between to work on Vice President Harris’s first run for President. Since then, Grant was a podcast producer and host for the Deep State Radio Network where he focused on foreign policy and technology. In 2023, he joined the Biden-Harris administration to manage the social media accounts of the Department of Homeland Security and its Secretary and Deputy Secretary. Most recently, Grant served as a Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office where he focused on communications, policy, and strategy.
Krishnan Rajagopalan is CEO Emeritus of Heidrick & Struggles, a +$1B global leadership advisory firm providing executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services. Previously he was the long-standing President and CEO and served on the Board of Directors of Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII), and led the firm’s global Management Committee.
With over 20 years of experience at the C-suite and board level, he advises clients regularly on leadership, succession planning, organizational transformation, governance and culture. He has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Executive Recruiters in the World” by Bloomberg Business Week. He is passionate about leveraging technology and has driven the tech enablement of the business and launched the first AI product focused on the executive-level. He is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, both for the firm’s employees and its clients. Heidrick & Struggles was the first executive search and leadership advisory firm to pledge that on an annual basis at least half of its cumulative initial slates of board candidates presented to clients will be diverse.
Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Krishnan served as a Vice President and Partner with a global management consulting firm, where he focused on strategy, operations, and transformation. Earlier in his career, he was an engineer developing satellite communications systems.
Krishnan earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and holds Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumnus Award. Additionally, Krishnan serves on the Boards of The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, NobleReach Foundation, the U.S.-China Business Council and the TMF Group.
Abhi is a rising senior at Cornell University majoring in Applied Economics and Management with a concentration in finance. He is passionate about the intersection of finance, economics, and public policy.
Previously, he worked as a media intern for the U.S. Department of State, primarily on media briefings, reporting, and analyzing PRC influence in the Pacific Islands Region. He also worked as a summer private equity analyst for a lower-middle market search fund. At Cornell, he is involved with the Emerging Markets Institute, where he assists with research on emerging market economies and companies operating within them. He is also the vice president of one of Cornell’s largest finance clubs.
At NobleReach, he will work as a Market Research and Analytics intern on the Emerge team.
My name is Vaughn Nahapetian, and I’m a junior at Stanford University, majoring in International Relations with a minor in Russian Language. As a McDonald Fellow at the Hoover Institution, my research centers on great power politics and ways to combat the threats posed by China, Russia, and Iran. My academic and professional interests are centered on defense technology, defense policy, and ways to harbor innovation in the government ecosystem. As an intern at NobleReach, I’ll be working with Alex Gallo on government relations and public policy to expand NobleReach’s capacity and cement its mission in D.C.
Jordan Van Slingerland is a rising junior at Georgetown University, where he majors in International Politics, with a concentration in Security Studies. Originally hailing from the “great white north” of Toronto, he now calls South Florida home. Stemming from his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, Jordan has worked on startup projects in Silicon Valley and across North America. Most notably, in late March of 2020, while in high school, he founded Sentinel Supplies, a distributor of medical-device-certified face shields and PPE resources that specialized in helping essential workers when and where governments were unable to. On Georgetown’s campus, he is involved with his fraternity, Sigma Chi, where he sits as an executive board member, The Philonomosian Society, a literary debate society where he serves as a Deputy Cohort Leader, and various political and activist organizations. He is extremely excited to join and support the NobleReach team!
Avery (she/her) is currently a rising 2nd year Social Impact MBA student at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business in Boston, MA. Prior to pursuing her MBA full- time, Avery spent a year in public service as an AmeriCorps member with City Year and five years in Education Technology sales and customer support. Having spent her career at mission-driven organizations and with a deep passion for using tech to solve societal challenges, Avery looks forward to diving into NobleReach’s work as a Technology Trends and Capital Intern this summer.
In her spare time, Avery can be found training for marathons (NYC 2024, anyone?), researching her next Broadway musical ticket, or planning her next horseback adventure. Having grown up in Warrenton, Avery is looking forward to spending time with her family this summer after many years in Boston.
Ayesha Atif is joining Noble Reach as a Marketing Data intern this summer. She is currently a rising fourth-year student at the University of Virginia. Ayesha is pursuing a degree in Commerce with concentrations in Marketing and IT, along with a minor in Computer Science.
Through her past internships, Ayesha has developed a strong foundation in analytical thinking and creative problem-solving. She thrives on challenges that push her to diversify her perspective and step outside her comfort zone. Ayesha’s passion for addressing global issues that often go unnoticed drives her ambition to work in fields that provide real-world solutions and drive impactful change. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge and contributing unique solutions to make a meaningful impact during her time at Noble Reach this summer.
Lily Cheatham is a rising junior studying International Relations at Columbia University. Her interests primarily revolve around national security and global politics. At school, Lily is the vice president of the pre-professional government and politics society, Pi Lambda Sigma, and she is a member of the sorority Alpha Chi Omega.
In the past, Lily has conducted research on Middle Eastern conflicts with the American Counterterrorism, Targeting, and Resilience Institute. She has also worked on American defense industry research for the International Security Industry Council.
Lily hopes to pursue a future career in the Intelligence Community. She is passionate about identifying and solving issues within our geopolitical landscape and looks forward to working alongside her peers at NobleReach this summer!
Kalise Bradley is currently a Senior at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), pursuing a degree in Marketing with a minor in Sales. Previously, as a Marketing & Communications Intern at Women In Technology (WIT), Kalise played a vital role in expanding the reach of STEM experiences to young students through the Girls in Technology program. She simultaneously dedicated herself to community-focused efforts at the Richmond Election Office, collaborating with her community to encourage voting and outreach efforts.
Growing up in Chesapeake, Virginia, she has always had a passion for art, design, and community involvement. Living near the beach instilled in her a love for nature, which she expresses through her creative projects. A fun fact about Kalise is that she makes rugs, jewelry, and enjoys dabbling in different art forms. When she isn’t busy with school or work, she can be found practicing yoga, taking nature walks, or trying out new food places.