Our Team

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iMADduians are making a difference.

Christian Hicks, Vice-President of the Board

Christian Hicks is a Medical Research Scholar at the National Institutes of Health. He graduated from Cornell University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering Technology and a minor in Biomedical Engineering. He attends medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has been a part of the iMADdu team since 2010 and hopes innovation in the way students are educated will encourage a creative, independent, and motivated generation of youths.

Spencer Hong, Research Apprentice

Spencer Hong is an Academy of Science student based at Loudoun County, Virginia. He relocated to the region 4 years ago from the suburban Chicago area. He is currently conducting a two year research on antibiotic resistance funded by Janelia Farms Research Campus and Academy of Science. He has participated in the TSA Nationals 2014 in Maryland and also has visited San Salvador, Bahamas for a marine biology research trip. In his free time, Spencer loves to play guitar, enjoy music, and read current events.

Mona Anita Olsen, Founder and President of the Board

Dr. Mona Anita Olsen founded iMADdu in 2010 to encourage others to Make A Difference each and every day in the realm of entrepreneurship, community building, and student development. Mona Anita was a 2012-2013 US Fulbright Grantee to Norway. She was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship in Education for 2012-2013 by the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Based out of The Norwegian School of Hotel Management at the University of Stavanger, her project focused on entrepreneurship education at the university level. Mona Anita currently holds a dual appointment at Cornell University. She serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor and Assistant Academic Director of The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at The School of Hotel Administration. Mona Anita holds a PhD in Education from The Graduate School of Education at George Mason University with a focus on entrepreneurship education and instructional technology. She also holds a Masters in Management of Information Technology from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and a Bachelor of Science with Distinction with a concentration in information systems from The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. In her free time, Mona Anita loves to take photos, spend quality time with family and friends, explore the beaches of Lista, Norway and Montauk, New York (her home) with her dogs, network with others, enjoy music, and write letters. Learn more at www.monaanitaolsen.com.

Phimolwan Shepelev, Secretary of the Board

Phimolwan is the Assistant Director of the Mason Small Business Development Center in the Mason Enterprise Center at Geroge Mason University. Before a new position, she started her first position at the Mason SBDC as an Ambassador. Phimolwan was also an apprentice for iMADdu. She holds an MBA from George Mason University’s School of Management as well as a degree in Industrial Engineering from Thammasat University in Thailand. While in Thailand, Phimolwan worked in project management role in the manufacturing industry for companies such as Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd.

Hanna Qi, Entrepreneurship Apprentice

Hanna Qi is a current undergraduate student pursing a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is heavily involved in two organizations, Phi Gamma Nu Professional Business Fraternity and Enactus. Enactus is project based organization that focuses on student entrepreneurship and making a difference in the world. Next semester Hanna will be a project manager for a project that teaches a self-composed business curriculum to entrepreneurs in other countries. In 2007, she also co-founded the Chinese-English Summer Camp with her father. She composed and led the teaching of an English curriculum to local middle/high school students in Sichuan, China. The goal of the camp was to try to help many of the Chinese students who wanted to come to America for college to overcome cultural and language barriers.  She hopes to continue to develop and discover her passion for entrepreneurship and creating change in the world. In her free time, Hanna loves to spend time with her family and play volleyball. She is also an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers.