As chief executive officer of the National Geographic Society, Dr. Jill Tiefenthaler has set a bold vision for one of the world’s most iconic organizations. She leads the Society’s mission-driven work, guiding a global community of National Geographic Explorers — scientists, innovators, educators and storytellers — dedicated to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world. She also serves on the Society’s board of trustees.
In 2020, Tiefenthaler made history as the first woman to serve as the Society’s CEO. She launched the Society’s strategic plan, NG Next, ushering in a new era of growth and global impact. She is spearheading the transformation of National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., with the opening of the National Geographic Museum of Exploration — the most significant expansion of the Society’s public space in its 137-year history. Opening in 2026, the museum will connect millions with the organization’s mission and the groundbreaking work of its Explorers.
Under Tiefenthaler’s leadership, the Society has achieved its most ambitious fundraising results, raising over $100 million each of the past three years. She also strengthened the organization’s partnership with The Walt Disney Company and serves on the board of National Geographic Partners, the joint venture between the Society and Disney.
A visionary leader in driving institutional transformation, Tiefenthaler previously spent more than 30 years in higher education. She served as president of Colorado College for nine years, where she led the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the college’s history, created new opportunities for student engagement and led the effort to become a net-zero campus. Earlier in her career, Tiefenthaler was provost at Wake Forest University, and professor of economics and associate dean at Colgate University.
Originally from Iowa, Jill grew up on a farm and worked for her family’s popcorn business before earning her B.A. in economics from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Duke University.
Dr. Ralph D. Semmel joined NobleReach’s board in 2025 and is currently the director of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), whose more than 9,000 staff members perform highly innovative research and development for the Department of Defense, NASA, the Intelligence Community, and other federal agencies. Before assuming his current role in 2010, Semmel served as the founding head of APL’s Applied Information Sciences Department, business area executive for Infocentric Operations, assistant head of the Power Projection Systems Department, deputy director of the Research and Technology Development Center, and supervisor of the System and Information Sciences Group.
Before joining the Laboratory, Semmel held leadership and technical positions with Wang Laboratories, MITRE Corporation, and the U.S. Army. He has received numerous honors, published and presented extensively in the areas of artificial intelligence and largescale database systems, and led a variety of national-level task forces and studies. He has served as a member of the Defense Science Board and the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group and is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Semmel is a West Point graduate with master’s degrees in computer science and systems management and a Ph.D. in computer science.
Hannah holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with minors in Data Science and Education Policy from Washington and Lee University. Before joining NobleReach, she worked as a Senior Development Associate at Hanover Research, where she collaborated with higher education institutions across the UK, Ireland, and the U.S. to support their research and strategic initiatives. In this role, she navigated complex partnerships, expanded outreach efforts, and managed relationships with diverse academic institutions.
Before joining NobleReach, Neghena served as a partnerships manager at the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), where she led strategic engagements with tech industry partners and cultivated fundraising opportunities to combat online disinformation. Previously, Neghena was a program officer at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), managing disability inclusion initiatives in Southeast Asia and overseeing media literacy and disinformation programs across the Mekong region. Earlier in her career, Neghena developed her expertise as a program coordinator at strategic capacity group, supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing security sector capacity in West Africa and Southeast Asia. Neghena holds a Master of Arts in International Law and Human Rights from the University for Peace and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from CUNY Hunter College.
Before pursuing my graduate studies, I worked at Booz Allen Hamilton as a Senior Consultant where I supported a tactical communications program managing $1.9B in program funds and driving operational efficiency through strategic planning and automation. Last summer, I interned at GE HealthCare as a Data Governance & Management Analyst contributing to their enterprise data catalog integration while supporting a $2.5M AWS Data Marketplace initiative. As of this past week, I officially completed my dual graduate degree from Florida International University (FIU) earning an MBA and MSIS with a focus in Cybersecurity. My experience primarily spans from consulting, project-program management, data governance, process optimization, and cross-functional collaboration all aimed at supporting clients implement innovative solutions to enhance operational efficiency.
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.