BOARD

Stratsi Kulinski is the founder and President of NewU, the first 3-year Bachelor’s degree university in the US. Prior to that he served as President of the American University in Bulgaria, a NECHE-accredited university. He worked in media, telecom, and finance all around the globe prior to finding his passion for higher education. Mr. Kulinski earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has a BA in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria, where he was one of the students in AUBG's inaugural class back in 1991, donated to the school through the years, and served on the Board of Trustees and as President.

Emmanuel “Manu” Smadja is a management consultant turned FinTech entrepreneur and the co-founder of MPOWER Financing, which he launched in 2014 after experiencing firsthand the financial challenges faced by international students in the United States. MPOWER enables high-promise international students to access education at top universities in the U.S. and Canada.

Over the past 11 years, MPOWER has grown into a profitable, 250-person company with international offices, more than 500 university partners, $1 billion in loan originations, and multiple industry awards. The company now supports over 10,000 international graduate students each year in pursuing their educational goals.

Prior to MPOWER, Manu spent nearly four years at McKinsey & Company, advising financial institutions, development banks, and central banks across Europe, the U.S., and Africa. Earlier in his career, he held analytical and strategy roles at Capital One, Vistaprint, and Celanese.

Manu holds an MBA from INSEAD, an MS in Systems and Information Engineering, and a BS in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. He lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys playing soccer, dancing Bachata, and spending time with his daughter.

Frank is an experienced investor, corporate strategy executive, and advisor. He has held senior-level roles leading domestic and international teams responsible for organic and inorganic strategic initiatives such as: financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, partnerships, integration, carve-outs, program management, and business development resulting in more than 100 deal closings and + $ billions of value creation for shareholders of both public and private companies. A graduate of The Wharton School General Management Program and The University of Maryland, with a B.S. in Finance and an MBA, Frank is passionate about helping students understand how financial strategy shapes real-world business and economic outcomes. Frank also teaches at NewU, and in his teaching, he focuses on translating complex financial concepts into practical insights that students can apply to business decisions and strategic problem-solving.

Kenneth Ward is the Executive Director of College Bound, Inc. in Washington, D.C. As a Fulbright Memorial scholar in Japan and a seasoned D.C. educator and administrator for 15 years, he has been instrumental in creating academic and personal enrichment programs for students, such as the Young Ambassadors program. He has participated in the International Teacher Exchange program where he studied best practices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia and has also volunteered in Ethiopia. Mr. Ward holds a Bachelor's degree in communications from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he matriculated on a Pogue Scholarship and a Master’s degree in education from Trinity. Mr. Ward participated in the Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program at Georgetown and was bestowed the 2012 Harvey Elliott Beech Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina for his outstanding personal achievements. He serves on the Advisory Board at UNC for the Learning and Writing Center and the Friends of the Library. He is an active member of the Perry Community Center Services Center and Achievement Prep boards.

S. Mitchell Pinkowski is a devoted educator with a distinguished academic career, and a founding faculty member at NewU University. He attended Deerfield Academy and earned honors degrees from Emory University (B. A.) and St. John’s College’s Graduate Institute (M.A.). He now serves on the English faculty at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, teaching college writing, rhetoric, and literature. Mitch built his career teaching in college prep schools in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and as an Academic Director to the Great Books summer programs at Amherst and Haverford Colleges. He served as an English Department Head for 10 years, a teacher of AP Literature for 15 years, and held various positions as both a mentor of newer faculty and as a pioneer of new educational trends. He has spoken to national and regional audiences on “How to Revolutionize the English Classroom” and has a lengthy professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion work, to experiential education, and to engagement in the local community. As a global citizen, Mitch has lived and taught in Japan, lived for five years in Saudi Arabia as a youth, and has traveled to more than 30 countries and all 50 of the United States.