Meet Our Team
JENNIFER SCHWAB WANGERS
Founder and CEO
Jennifer Schwab Wangers, the founder and CEO of ENTITY Academy has one goal in mind: to support diverse professionals through education and mentorship. Her driving force in founding ENTITY was her lack of female mentors in her twenties, leaving her to learn solely through trial and error. Despite this, Jennifer was able to build a successful career, which motivated her to pay it forward to the next generation of leaders by providing mentorship early in their career trajectories.
Jennifer left her job as a tax consultant at Ernst & Young to pursue her passions. She went on to co-found Sierra Club Green Home, a preeminent sustainable lifestyle web property, the first time Sierra Club ever entered into a joint venture with impact investors. After exiting Sierra Club, Jennifer launched ENTITY Academy in 2016. Since then, she’s built the company to be the largest upskilling marketplace for diverse professionals dedicated to educating and helping them navigate the 21st-century job market so they can launch careers with high earning potential and advancement opportunities.
Jennifer is a huge advocate and media spokesperson for sustainability. As such, she had a regular column in HuffPost called “My Inner Green.” She has also been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell, Fortune, Forbes, CNN Money, CNBC, and Consumer Reports, among others. She has appeared on WSJ Lunch Break, NBCU, CBS, Cheddar, and Fox News. Jennifer was previously a frequent green contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America.
In 2014, she completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Israel, with an emphasis on water management and sustainability. Jennifer avidly follows design and is a longtime hobbyist pilot licensed in a high-performance, multi-engine aircraft. She received her B.S. in accounting from the University of Arkansas Walton School of Business, her M.A. in urban planning from UC Irvine, and studied environmental design at Art Center College of Design. Jennifer is an avid amateur padel and tennis player.
TARYN HILLIN
VP of Growth and Acquisition
Taryn Hillin is the VP of Growth and Acquisition at ENTITY Academy. She spearheads the company's digital marketing strategy, manages the media spend, and uses data and insights to build strategic partnerships
and optimize the customer acquisition strategy. Taryn has also led the charge in building ENTITY's social
following across the company's various platforms, most notably increasing ENTITY's Facebook and Instagram following to over 1.3M.
Prior to ENTITY, she spent nine years building a background in entertainment and big media. She started her career as a logistics coordinator at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a leading American talent and
sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. After CAA, she joined the TMZ team as a Writer, Producer, and Managing Editor and then worked at The Huffington Post as an Associate Editor. Taryn graduated from Yale with a B.A. in Political Science and Comparative Government. On a more personal note, she loves West Coast IPAs, martial arts, and videos of baby goats.
ENTITY ACADEMY'S TEAM
ENTITY ACADEMY'S CAREER CATALYST PROGRAM SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
SANDRA LOPEZ
FORMER EXECUTIVE VP/GM/CMO
Sandra Lopez, a seasoned general manager and CMO with over 20 years of experience in both B2B and B2B2C, has worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Adobe, Macromedia, and Computer Associates. She is
CEO and founder of Ambi Ventures, where she serves as Fractional CMO, specializing in innovative go-to-market strategies that fuel exponential growth for mid-to-large size companies. Ambi Ventures doubles as an investment entity, with a primary focus on empowering Latinx founders in consumer technology.
Recognized as a successful entrepreneur and intrapreneur, she excels in launching new business initiatives and opening new markets for mid-to-large size companies. Additionally, she serves as a board member for Jr. Achievement, PureRED, and holds the North American co- chair position for Sport Integrity Global Alliance.
A sought-after speaker on diversity and inclusive design, Sandra’s deep cultural insight and understanding of next-gen consumer needs set her apart. She has received numerous accolades, including Most Powerful Latina (ALPFA), Most Powerful Women in Tech (National Diversity Council), Top Women in Media (Cynopsis), Top 10 Latina Executives (LatinaStyle). Her advocacy and business leadership have garnered widespread media coverage, with notable appearances on CNN, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and NBC News.
MELISSA O’HARA
EXPERT TALENT COACH/FACILITATOR
Melissa O’Hara is a seasoned business professional with extensive experience in leadership and organizational development. During her corporate career, she held the positions of vice president at Travelers Insurance for 12 years and director at United Healthcare for 10 years. More recently, she has dedicated her expertise to teaching soft skills, facilitating peer coaching for students at Harvard Business School and ENTITY Academy. Melissa’s teaching approach centers around guiding students to explore new possibilities, discover flexible solutions, and achieve accelerated results.
As the founder of the O’Hara Solutions Group, she is deeply passionate about motivating and inspiring others. With over two decades of corporate and business success behind her, Melissa now helps companies, individuals, and teams solve complex problems and take bold action. Through her role as an expert facilitator and top talent coach, she empowers executives, leaders, and individual contributors to uncover hidden talents, enhance their personal impact, become better colleagues, and emerge as stronger leaders.
TOBY USNIK
COMMUNICATIONS EXPERT
Toby Usnik is a business development and communications expert who excels at deal-making, public relations, and social impact with multinational organizations. He is currently the head of communications at the British Consulate General New York and a consultant on artificial intelligence for social impact. Prior to this role, Toby served as the chief corporate social responsibility officer at Christie’s, where he rallied colleagues, clients, vendors, and other stakeholders to launch global CSR initiatives under its Art+Soul umbrella. He also held leadership positions as the executive director of public relations for The New York Times Company and the director of international public affairs at American Express.
Toby is not only an accomplished business development and communications expert, but he is also the author of The Caring Economy: How to Win with Corporate Social Responsibility and the host of the popular podcast, The Caring Economy with Toby Usnik, where he discusses ways to seek guidance on building a purpose-driven career or business.
