Ubben Fellows Shadow Leaders at the Top of Their Fields
This summer marked a milestone for the Jeff Ubben Posse Fellows Program: its 10th cohort completed internships alongside some of the nation’s most accomplished executives and public leaders.
The five 2026 Ubben Fellows — selected in late 2025 from a pool of more than 700 eligible Posse Scholars — each received a $10,000 stipend and spent four to six weeks working directly with a top institutional or industry leader, gaining a firsthand look at executive decision-making. Fewer than 1% of applicants are chosen.
"With access to giants of industry, these young people will grow into tomorrow’s leaders," says Jeff Ubben, whose decade of service as Posse’s national board chair inspired the program.
Adrian Stancil-Martin (Lawrence University, Posse New York) worked with Marty Walsh, executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association. A government student committed to public service, Adrian made history at 19 when he was elected to represent District 11 on the Appleton Common Council — the youngest elected official ever in the Wisconsin city. He has introduced legislation on ranked-choice voting and student parking, and he organizes campus town halls that bridge his dual roles as student and public servant. At Lawrence, he is active in the Student Democrats, Model United Nations, Community Council and Judicial Board.
Angel Eunisse Yanga (Bucknell University, Posse Los Angeles) was hosted by Bayer AG CEO Bill Anderson. A biology major and 2026 Goldwater Scholar, Angel studies disease ecoimmunology using bats as a research model — work that has taken her to Uganda, where she deployed a bat-tracking system of her own design, and to Medtronic, where she tested the reliability of insulin pumps. She plans to pursue an MD-Ph.D. Angel also leads TEDxBucknell and founded DoxTalks, an initiative through which U.S. students teach STEM subjects to students in the Philippines.
Anna Van Riesen (Lehigh University, Posse Bay Area) worked with Vanita Gupta, director of the Center for Law and Public Trust. Preparing for a career in civil rights law, Anna is double majoring in political science and religion, culture and society. In her first year at Lehigh, she founded the university’s chapter of Phi Alpha Delta, a pre-law professional fraternity that has grown to more than 100 members. She also serves as a United Nations youth representative for the American Association of University Women and has assisted self-represented litigants in English and Spanish through an internship at the San Francisco Superior Court.
Fadhil Lawal (Vanderbilt University, Posse Houston) was hosted by Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of the autonomous vehicle company Aurora. An electrical and computer engineering major with minors in computer science and legal studies, Fadhil works at the intersection of full-stack development, embedded systems and hardware design. He is a research assistant in Vanderbilt’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab and co-founded Genius Terminal, which has brought coding and technology courses to more than 65 students across nine Houston communities. His long-term goal: an aerospace electrical engineering design firm of his own.
Savannah Dever (Bryn Mawr College, also Posse Houston) worked with Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl. A classically trained pianist and music conductor studying sociology and data science, Savannah hopes to combine her interests in data, music and community engagement through a career in the nonprofit arts sector. At Bryn Mawr, she serves as secretary of Sisterhood, supports first-generation and low-income students through the Breaking Barriers program and works as a CareerSpring ambassador.
The Posse Foundation’s board of directors established the Jeff Ubben Posse Fellows Program in 2016 to honor Jeff’s ten years as chair of the national board, and the inaugural cohort began its fellowships in 2017. Supported by a $1 million fund, the program selects five Scholars each year — all sophomores with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.7 and demonstrated leadership potential.
Across its first 10 cohorts, the program has paired Scholars with leaders in arts, media and entertainment; STEM; law and government; education and nonprofit leadership; and business and finance. Previous hosts have included the late U.S. Rep. and civil rights leader John Lewis, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Merck Executive Chairman and former CEO Kenneth Frazier, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla and Deloitte US CEO Joe Ucuzoglu.
During his tenure as board chair from 2007 to 2016, Jeff helped establish 47 new college and university partnerships, double the number of Posse recruitment cities and grow the organization’s assets to nearly $80 million. Ten cohorts in, the fellowship that bears his name continues that legacy — one Scholar, and one summer, at a time.
