The UMass Cornerstone Advisory Board plays a vital role in shaping the vision and foundation of the Cornerstone initiative. Comprising UMass alumni, the Board meets twice annually to provide strategic guidance, recommend professional mentors, and support event planning. With a focus on bridging disciplines such as STEM, Business, and the Liberal Arts, the Board helps students develop the leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills necessary for success in an increasingly interdisciplinary world.
Shastri Akella received his MFA and PhD in Comparative Literature from UMass Amherst. Before joining UMass in 2012 he worked for five years at Google in Delhi, Dublin and San Francisco. His debut novel The Sea Elephants was published in 2023 by Flatiron Books in the US and Penguin in India. The book was named one of the most anticipated debuts by Good Morning America. His writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories, Fairy Tale Review, Guernica, LitHub, The Masters Review, Electric Literature, and CRAFT, among others. He is currently assistant professor of creative writing at Michigan State University where he was presented this year with the Dickson Outstanding Faculty Award.
Shastri Akella
Heidi Bailey received her BBA from Isenberg and MBA from Western New England University. Her specialty in Consumer Relationship Marketing and Brand Management at the LEGO Group provided opportunities to "Inspire and Develop the Builders of Tomorrow" working with colleagues around the world, and to partner with respected brands like Disney. She is currently an Instructor-in-Residence at the UCONN School of Business, and also enjoys reconnecting with UMass friends, mentoring Isenberg students, and has taught marketing classes at the Isenberg School of Management
Heidi Bailey
Scott Fulton
Scott Fulton received his BBA from Isenberg and JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is currently Senior Counsel for the environmental law firm, Marten Law, following service as president of the Environment Law Institute. Previously, he was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other high-ranking government leadership positions included EPA Deputy Administrator (chief operating officer), head of EPA’s Office of International Affairs, Environmental Appeals Board Judge, and head of the EPA’s enforcement program. He also served as Assistant Chief of the Justice Department’s Environmental Enforcement Section. He has taught environmental law at George Washington University School of Law, is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and serves on United Nations Environment Program’s International Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.
Siobhan Meï
Siobhan Meï received her PhD in Comparative Literature from UMass Amherst. Her research is in the Public Digital Humanities space with a dual focus on translation and fashion histories of the African diaspora. She is a member of the teaching faculty in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst where she teaches Writing in the Disciplines (WID) courses focused on the social impacts of computing. Siobhan's teaching and research have been supported by the Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, the UMass Public Interest Technology Fellowship, the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, The Five College Women's Studies Research Center, the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association, and the Massachusetts Society of Professors.
Nick Nyhan
Nick Nyhan received his BA in English from UMass Amherst. He has been working in the data, insights and analytics space for over 25 years, building businesses and solutions to assist publishers as the digital ecosystem has evolved. Today, Nick works with a mix of clients on different data / analytics projects that require context from his experience with mixed method and operational scale. At Upside Analytics, a company Nick co-founded, the focus is to help local news publishers harvest 1st party data and easily apply analytics to grow their revenue. Projects include audience revenue strategy, analytics, segmentation, and newsletter research for companies such as Arc XP, Piano, Poool, SimpleCirc, NewsRevenueHub and publishers such as The Forward, Peekskill Herald, Oaklandside, Noozhawk, Maynard Institute, San Antonio Report, Jackson Advocate, Cleveland Observer, Denver Urban Spectrum, Tri-State Defender. As a strategic advisor to Pulse Labs and Glimpse, Nick works on UXR, AI training, qual/quant surveys with clients that include Google, Amazon, Nissan, and Hubspot.
Michael Partridge
Michael Partridge received his BA in English from UMass Amherst. He is a biotech leader and executive with deep experience in setting communications strategy and advising management teams through periods of exceptional growth. During his 25-year career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, including 15 years as Head of Investor Relations, Michael enabled Vertex to navigate through a series of critical financings, CEO transitions and changes in strategy, and ultimately the launch of four cystic fibrosis medicines which collectively represent one of the most profitable and long-duration therapeutic franchises in the history of the industry. Michael has helped steer Vertex from its early days as a public company to its current status as the most valuable biotech company in Massachusetts. Michael’s instinctive feel for corporate narrative, his ability to distill the most compelling and value-driving components of a company’s story, and his success in building lasting relationships with the investment community made him an indispensable member of Vertex’s senior leadership team. As Principal of Macpherson Capital Advisors, Michael has become a sought-after advisor to development-stage companies in biotech.