Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program

is a professor of at Babson College and the National Academic Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. He is part of the team that designed the curriculum and trained the faculty and staff at program delivery sites across the country and served as the Babson Launch Faculty for LaGuardia Community College, City Colleges of Chicago, Community College of Philadelphia, Detroit (Wayne State University, Macomb County Community College and Oakland County Community College) and Community College of Rhode Island.

Richard earned his PhD in Finance and his MA in Economics from Indiana University. He also earned his MBA in Finance/Real estate from Indiana University, and graduated with honors from Rutgers University, earning a BS degree in Engineering and his BA degree in Economics.

Edward Byrne is the National Deputy Director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program where he oversees the day-to-day operations of the program nationally. In his role, he is responsible for the alumni program, measurement and evaluation, and oversees the delivery of the program across the 16 sites. Ed joined the program in 2016 as the Alumni Manager for the national blended cohorts at Babson and later became the National Alumni Director, overseeing the programming for then more than 7,000 alumni of 10,000 Small Businesses across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The son of two small-business owners, he grew up working in his parents’ businesses, learning firsthand the challenges and opportunities faced by small-business owners in a competitive economy. Before joining the program, Ed spent 10 years in K–12 education: as a high school social studies teacher, an administrator, and a policy advisor in local and state government. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard University, a master’s degree in public policy from Simmons College, and an MBA from Babson College.

Elisa Davis is the National Program Coordinator for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. In her role, Elisa works closely with the team in supporting the day-to-day operations of the program. Elisa’s prior experience includes working in accounting at Littler Mendelson, ExplorUS, and State Steet. Elisa co-founded the small business Locally Grown Improv Co. based in the KC area and she built a curriculum focusing on improving corporate team building through improv workshops and training. Elisa is from Kansas City, and she has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a minor in theatre from MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Laura Pearson Hahn is the Senior Program Manager, Program Delivery Operations, of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program where she interacts through a variety of avenues with the national 10KSB program sites. After college she worked for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, an international development organization, and then served as a Residence Hall Director for fresh(wo)men for two years. More recently, Laura comes to Babson from internships with Impact Hub Boston (a collaborative working space for social entrepreneurs) and with the Mayor’s Office of Small Business Development in the City of Boston. During college, Laura spent two summers in Uganda and Kenya where the reality of small business as a powerful avenue for socio-economic development became real to her in the lives of resilient village women. Since then, she has been a believer of small business as a force for good in the world. Laura grew up in the Colorado Mountains and loves being active in the outdoors, playing soccer, competing in triathlons, or just reading a good book in the sun. She holds a BA in international studies from Southern Nazarene University and an MBA in international economic development from Eastern University.

Grace Hartigan is the new National Program Coordinator for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She has previously worked in sales and management positions at OutBound Engine, Starbucks, and L.A.K.E Enterprises. Grace interned at the Massachusetts State House for Senator Walter F. Timilty. In addition to her work experience, Grace has been involved with The David Ortiz Children’s fund, helping children from the Dominican Republic with degenerative heart conditions gain access to life-saving health care. Grace is also a singer; she spent her four years at Regis College in the Chambers and Glee Singers choirs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Regis College.

Meghan Douglas Hill is the Senior Management, Community Engagement and Communications, for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. In her role, Meghan focuses on engaging and strengthening the 10KSB community via 10KSB Connect Online, which serves as the program’s digital hub. An impact writer and communications designer by trade, Meghan is passionate about the creative potential of solutions journalism and the power of storytelling to bring about social change. Prior to joining Babson, Meghan had the opportunity to build her career working in several forms of media for value-driven organizations in the nonprofit, public and private sectors. Through her experience as an eco-journalist, and later founder and creative director of a boutique content studio, Meghan made her mark as a social entrepreneur, helping her clients build economic value, while solving community-based problems. Meghan earned her MBA from Babson, pursuing the Business and Social Innovation intensity track, where she aimed at addressing humanitarian challenges and leveraging theory and tools that bolster the potential for solutions to be impactful, scalable and sustainable. She also earned a master’s degree in education with distinction from Lesley University and graduated with the New England Scholar designation from the University of Connecticut, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. In her free time, Meghan can be found managing her family’s modern-day homesteading venture on their Cape Cod micro farm.

Marisa Kapanakis is the National Cohort Senior Program Manager for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She is a graduate of Babson College where she earned her Masters degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Delaware, where she studied Finance and Economics. Marisa is originally from Rhode Island, where her mother owned her own small business for more than 16 years, which inspired her work with the 10KSB program.

Julia Lloyd is the National Program Manager for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She has previously worked in at TJX Companies, Ann Taylor, and the American Repertory Ballet. In addition to experience as a dancer in a professional ballet company, Julia was previously involved with Movement Exchange which works to foster cross-cultural understanding and civic engagement by introducing children to dance. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance with minors in Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies from Butler University in Indianapolis and an MBA from Babson College.

Morgan Taylor is the Research and Evaluation Manager for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Prior to joining Babson, Morgan earned her PhD in Psychology from Brandeis University where she investigated risk for mental health disorders in emerging adulthood. In addition to her research, Morgan was also passionate about student success and worked as a Teaching Assistant and Accessibility Assistant during her time at Brandeis. Outside of work, Morgan matches her hobbies to the season: she spends her warm-weather months enjoying outdoor activities like car camping and tandem cycling and cozies up inside during the winter months with sewing projects and a lot of baking.