Strategy & Operations

Clara Chow - CEO

Clara Chow is the President and CEO of Generation Enterprise. Her inspiration for what would become Generation Enterprise came as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, when she met a Nigerian activist working with street youth in Lagos who wanted to build a microfinance bank targeting homeless, unemployed, and unemployed youth. Her moment of obligation came when she realized that traditional microfinance was not enough to get these youth off the streets; they had access to cash through informal jobs and criminal activity, but needed a safe place and structured way to develop skills, change their mindsets, and build sustainable businesses that would create jobs for themselves and other "unemployable" youth in their communities. Borrowing and remixing ideas from her Wharton and StartingBloc classes, experience as a Toronto Youth Cabinet and United Way student executive, and McKinsey consulting projects, Clara developed a model for investing in youth with no fixed address, no work expereince, no guarantors, and no collateral. Clara continues to lead GEN's international management team from the Stanford campus in sunny Palo Alto, where she is pursuing an MBA. Previously, she served as senior manager at Hearst Innovation, a project manager at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania and Sciences Po Paris's Programme International. Clara has held fellowships at the StartingBloc Institute for Social Innovation, the Institute for International Public Policy, and the Humanity In Action human rights program in Amsterdam, and served as a board member of the Canadian International Peace Project, a nonprofit expert advisor of Catchafire, and a team member of the educational startup Univercities.

Lily Rubin - Chief of Staff

Lily works at the Corporate Executive Board as an Associate Director for Corporate Strategy and Global Development. In the past she served as an Independent Consultant to the Board of Trustees at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and worked in the Social Sector Office with McKinsey & Co. for 4+ years, where she focused on economic development strategy. Lily developed proprietary knowledge, conducted rigorous research and analysis and served clients on topics ranging from low-carbon economic development planning and job growth in fragile states, to improving the effectiveness of development aid. Lily studied political economy and international economics as an undergraduate at both Tulane University and the University of Cambridge, she also holds a M.A. in International Commerce and Policy. Likes: International Travel, To Do Lists & Kung Fu Movies. Dislikes: Cucumbers.

Joey Bringhurst - Finance Director

Resides in Scottsdale, Arizona working for LifeLock. Bachelors from University of Oklahoma in Finance and International Business and graduated last May from Arizona State University with an MBA in Finance and International Business. Currently I am pursuing my CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst, charter by studying for and taking the level 1 exam this June. Interests include traveling, food, sports and fitness.

Angela Hu - Accounting Director

Angela serves as part of the Finance team, with a focus on financial reporting and infrastructure where she works to scale GEN’s infrastructure as its operations scale. By day, Angela works as a Senior Associate at Ernst & Young in Business Tax Services, where she learned the ins and outs of project management, client relationship management, and, of course, corporate taxes and accounting. She is working on obtaining her CPA license in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Angela graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in accounting and management and a minor in international relations, where she met founder and CEO Clara during what both refer to as “the best group project they ever worked on”. Outside of work and GEN, Angela enjoys traveling via Amtrak, good food, and dancing.

Beth Castillo - General Counsel/Chief Risk Officer

Beth is a first-generation Cuban American, a recent graduate of American University's Washington College of Law (currently barred in the Commonwealth of Virginia with admission pending to the District of Columbia), and an alumna of Tulane University in New Orleans. While her interests have generally gravitated towards the public interest, her personal connection to the international community was solidified during a backpacking trip between university and law school. Beth spent a month and a half taking the bumpier path - literally the bumpiest path she has ever experienced exists between Thailand and Cambodia! - through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and parts of China with fellow GENterpriser, Lily Rubin. The initial purpose of the trip was a self-induced, horizon-broadening challenge. In the end, Beth emerged with both a profound appreciation for the cultures she met during my trip and a desire to seek out more ways to become a part of the international community. After law school, Beth's former backpacking buddy and still-close friend, Lily, introduced her to GEN and the wonderfully bright individuals who sustain the organization, and she knew she had found her way back to belonging to a larger international community.

Ify Ogo - Deputy GC

Deputy General Counsel Ify has worked for the United Nations as Project Manager of the Development Information Centre (a joint project with the World Bank), established several international development initiatives and serves on the boards of social enterprises and non-profit organisations. Ify graduated from Queen Mary, University of London with a degree in Law and Politics, and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in International Business Law. Committed to youth education and empowerment, she works to assist GEN fellows establish businesses within legal and regulatory frameworks.