Building Black Leadership
Greener Scott Scholars is dedicated to fostering meaningful connections between Harvard undergraduate and graduate students. Our mission is to empower students with the tools and resources they need to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits.
Our Founders
Akiesha Ortiz
Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership
Akiesha Ortiz, M. Ed, works for the Center for Public Leadership as the program manager for the Alan Gleitsman Leadership Fellowship and the Harvard Kennedy School Fellowship for Serving African-American Communities. Akiesha co-founded Greener Scott Scholars in 2018. Winning the honor of becoming a Fulbright Educator, she has trained educators, teachers to be, and her colleagues on various skills. Her path has led her to currently work for Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership as she continues her support with policy and programs that uplift and empower all who work in communities that impact the lives of children in various fields. The value of compassionate leadership drives Akiesha as she supports those who strive for great impact, equitable justice, and monumental change.
Andrea Bossi
Harvard College '21
Andrea is Class of 2021, concentrating in Psychology on the Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology track. She lives in Lowell house and originally is from Chicago IL. She helped start GSS because “the Black undergrad and grad student communities are not very connected. There's power in our connection and ability to communicate, and this was brought up a lot in conversations with Ms. Akiesha Ortiz a couple years ago. Creating GSS was supposed to be the foundation of that power in bringing our communities closer. A lot of groups come and fade away with student leadership and changes, but I want GSS to have a long-lasting and impactful legacy on Harvard's Black students. I hope that our focus on soulful mentorship as opposed to being career focused, for example, makes it a special place for all GSSers. Building a foundation for all this is key for me."
Karl Kumodzi
Harvard Kennedy School '20
Karl Kumodzi was a 2020 graduate of the Masters in Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School. While there he met Akiesha Ortiz and Andrea Bossi, and their idea for Greener Scott Scholars grew out of a desire to facilitate stronger relationships between Black graduate and undergraduate students at Harvard. Karl is now the Deputy Director of Organizing at Blackbird, where he works with grassroots organizations to strengthen social movements.
Busola Banjoh
Harvard College '22
Busola [boo-saw-la] is Class of ‘22 currently living in Adams house studying a joint concentration in the History of Science and African and African American Studies with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Busola was drawn to founding GSS because "there is something very special about being around the beautiful souls and the beautiful minds of students both within the undergraduate and the graduate campuses. Having the opportunity to help start GSS with the vision of uplifting these Black communities mean a lot to me when I think about the ways in which I choose to serve the Black community. Taking the extra initiative in introducing soul-mentorship while also addressing pre-professional mentorship gives GSS the extra something special that makes our community so fantastic. "
In Honor of Theodore Greener and Alberta Scott
The Namesakes of Harvard Greener Scott Scholars
Richard Theodore Greener
January 30, 1844 – May 2, 1922
Richard Theodore Greener was the first African-American descendant graduate of Harvard College. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Greener earned his A.B. in 1870 and would go on to become the dean of the Howard University School of Law.
Alberta Virginia Scott
c. 1875 — August 30, 1902
Alberta Virginia Scott was the first African-American graduate of Radcliffe College, the female coordinate institution for Harvard College. Born near Richmond, Virginia, Scott graduated in 1898 before teaching in Indianapolis and at the Tuskegee Institute.