The Enlight Fellowship is a 10-week summer program generously funded by the Enlight Foundation and run by Innovate@BU. Fellows split their time between a placement at a social impact organization and venture development programming, and each receives a $10,000 stipend.
This year’s cohort spans graduate and undergraduate programs, with professional experience reaching from Boston to Chile to Ghana. Fellows this year come from backgrounds in studying and researching health science, mathematics, social work, engineering, and more.
The fellows will be partnered with local organizations, such as Tenacity, Boston Climate Action Network, YMCA Hunger Prevention, Boston Impact Initiative, Beroukhim Lab, Livable Streets Alliance, HERO Nurturing Center, Green Roots, and ABCD Housing.
Meet this year’s 11 fellows working to solve today’s most pressing social and environmental issues.
Anushka Majumdar (CAS’27) founded Hope Express Foundation, a nonprofit addressing food insecurity through community-based donor-recipient networks in Central New Jersey. Anushka also serves as the Secretary-General of BarMUN and recently developed a startup concept to make legal compliance more accessible to immigrant entrepreneurs.
Aman Shankardass (ENG’27) is a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering and the founder of Boston Cafe Bikers, a grassroots initiative organizing weekly group rides through Boston neighborhoods with free Bluebike passes and support for first-time riders. Aman brings experience from biotech startup work and R&D, and contributes to bike advocacy nonprofits focused on street safety and Vision Zero initiatives.
Celia Nocivelli (CAS’26) co-created and facilitates the Player-to-Player Women’s Leadership Forum with Mindfulness Athletics, a peer-led program for NCAA women’s captains. Her work includes psychological research on gender leadership bias, applied sports psychology through the BU Wheelock Sports Psychology PRO Lab, and mental health advocacy as an ambassador for Morgan’s Message.
Francisca Ralil Altamirano (Questrom’27) is an MBA student focused on impact investing and sustainable finance. Before BU, she spent seven years in the investment department of a life insurance company in Chile and co-led a public-private Green Finance roundtable with Chile’s Ministry of Finance. At BU, Francisca is mapping the New England impact investor ecosystem in collaboration with the New England Impact Initiative.
Joelle Watanabe (SAR’28) works across the public relations, legislation, and medical research teams at the Menstrual Equity Initiative, a nonprofit working for menstrual equity worldwide. Her involvement ranges from drafting legislation on untaxing period products to recruiting participants for a study on fibroids and endometriosis. This past summer, she volunteered approximately 70 hours over six weeks as a Queen Emma Way Volunteer at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Joshua Bonney (STH’28) is a graduate student with experience in education, community development, and workforce training across Ghana and the United States. In 2023, Joshua piloted a youth skills training initiative that equipped approximately 30 unemployed young people with problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills.
Naylene Rivera (Wheelock’27) currently serves as Academic Coordinator at Tenacity, a program where she was once a youth participant, mentoring students facing systemic barriers. A graduate student in Applied Human Development, Naylene also works as a special education substitute at East Boston High School. During her undergraduate studies, she served as Public Relations Chair for Pasión Latina, strengthening her leadership and community-building skills.
Graduate student Rachel Selby (SSW’27) focuses on the intersection of environmental well-being and mental health. Her work centers on climate anxiety as a modern mental health challenge, and she has developed recommendations for peer-led coping strategies to improve youth outcomes. During a gap semester at Fenner Nature Center in Michigan, Rachel engaged in ecological restoration and community outreach.
Shreya Sandurkar (Questrom’27), a graduate student studying quantitative finance, co-leads BU’s FinTech Club with a focus on ethics, sustainability, and inclusion in financial technology. With a background in electrical and computer engineering, Shreya previously mentored first-generation engineering students at Ohio State and organized food pantry drives as a Resident Advisor.
Shriya Jonnalagadda (CAS’28) studies Data Science with a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She serves as Director of Finance for Hack4Impact BU, managing budgets for teams building software for nonprofits. She also conducts genomic data research at the Przytycki Lab, exploring pathways from deep tech to accessible health solutions. Shriya is also a former First-Year Innovation Fellow.
Doctoral student Zanyah Williams (SPH’30) researches how structural inequality and historical disinvestment shape environmental health risks in marginalized communities. Her undergraduate thesis analyzed disproportionate heat exposure in Atlanta, and she has contributed to community-based environmental advocacy through the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance.
