Open Dreams Board of Directors
We are grateful for the tremendous leaders who support us from the nonprofit, for profit, and social impact sectors. We are also proud to have our very own scholars guide our growth. Together, they help us make our dreams a reality!
Dr. Brenda Tanya Tal
Open Dreams Scholar, Oxford University
Health Advisor, NHS England
Dr. Brenda Tanya Tal is a medical doctor who has worked in clinical medicine for the Ministry of Public Health for over 5 years in various hospitals in Cameroon She is also an International Instructor of Advanced-Life-Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) who coordinates workshops to address challenges surrounding child and maternal deaths.
Dr. Tanya Tal holds an MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine Degree from the University of Oxford. She recently completed a research placement with the WHO – Geneva Headquarters.
James Leitner
President, Falcon Management
James Leitner serves as President of Falcon Management Corporation. He established The Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School, an innovative Think-and-Do Tank that aims to make international human rights protections an everyday reality for marginalized communities around the world. He also established The Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy at Yale University. Leitner earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Yale in Economics, a Master’s Degree from Columbia University, and a JD from Fordham University Law School.
Dominique Bernardo
CEO, Variety of Delaware Valley
Dominique Bernardo, MBA, MSW is CEO of Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley. Bernardo joined the organization after more than 17 years with Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a non- profit with a mission to enable individuals and families in predominantly Latino neighborhoods to achieve self-sufficiency and well-being. A tireless community leader, Bernardo also sits on the board of the Superstar Foundation, and is an Ambassador of the Leap of Reason Community. Bernardo holds Masters degrees in Business Administration and Social Work from Boston College.
Hans Kullberg
Co-Founder, Open Dreams
Head of Product, Pathfinder Health
Hans Kullberg is an entrepreneur who serves as Head of Product at Pathfinder Health. Pathfinder Health maximizes the developmental potential of children around the world with a focus on bringing objective data to parents and physicians in the field of developmental pediatric health. Previously Hans led an innovation team at Visa, and founded two ML-based FinTech startups, EconoCast and Simplex, that were both successfully acquired.
He is the author of Baby Aviva Oraguntan Diva, a children's novel he wrote in honor of his daughter, Aviva Lilia. He helps lead the Aviva Women in Science Initiative in her honor.
As the son of Swedish and Filipino immigrants, Hans ardently believes in the power of education to uplift individuals to fulfill their potential. Open Dreams represents his proudest accomplishment.
Mohamed Salam Moumie
Open Dreams Scholar, Harvard College
Teaching Assistant, CS50
A freshman at Harvard College, Mohamed is passionate about Computer Science but he is most interested in being able to transfer any piece of knowledge he has to others. He is a Teaching Assistant for CS50, the most famous class at Harvard, as the first freshman to ever be selected. He had to exercise patience and resilience as it took him 2 years before securing a fully funded scholarship with the guidance of Open Dreams. He wishes to leverage the resources at his disposal to help others fulfill their dreams of international education! Mohamed also helped spearhead and develop our first online course: Open Dreams University Scholarship Preparedness Path.
Blaise Buma
Co-Founder, Open Dreams
Co-Founder, Kappa Pay
Blaise Buma is Open Dreams first success story and the reason that we exist as an organization. Blaise comes from Bamenda, Cameroon where he excelled at school and received top marks on the GCE. He aspired to study in the US and met an American volunteering in Cameroon. With her help and his constant drive, he was able to apply to several universities in the US and ended up attending Washington and Lee University on a full scholarship. He then studied at the LSE where he met Cristina. He later assisted his sister, Sonia Buma, to get a full scholarship at McGill University. Forming Open Dreams shortly thereafter, Blaise's story has been the catalyst by which we have now helped secure 200+ international scholarships and opportunities for our scholars. He recently completed a degree at Harvard Business School and is launching Kappa Pay to revolutionize payment in Africa. He also was selected as a Schwarzman Scholar and helped two additional Open Dreams Scholars to attend the same prestigious program in China. He hopes to not only train the most brilliant minds in Cameroon, but also to build the next generation of responsible leaders throughout Africa!
Cristina Kullberg
Co-Founder, Open Dreams
As the 10th child of Cuban immigrants, Cristina is passionate about the power of education to transform lives. One of the Co-Founders of Open Dreams, Cristina met Blaise Buma while studying her Masters in Political Economy of Late Development at the London School of Economics. The two became close friends and started Open Dreams in 2013 to assist other brilliant students like Blaise find international scholarships and make an impact in their communities. She formerly served as the Executive Director of EmzingoU, a leadership development B-Corp. She was also honored and privileged to serve for the Obama Administration at the USDA, where she focused on community economic development in rural and Tribal communities. Cristina helped develop the Aviva Women in Science Programs at Open Dreams to honor the loss of her and Hans's beloved daughter Aviva Lilia. She is proud to push forth the study of maternal and child health in her daughter's name by supporting women medical leaders in Cameroon.
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