Dr. Udupa is the president of Close to Our Hearts and retired principal of Longfellow High School. She began her career as a science and special education teacher at Washburn High School and remained with Minneapolis Public Schools her whole career. Dr. Udupa received the 2019 AchieveMpls Excellence Award for her leadership in the development of a customized internship experience for parenting students in the Step Up Youth Employment Program. She is active in the community and is passionate about improving the lives of teen mothers. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Geneva is the dean of students at Longfellow High School. She has extensive experience working with pregnant and parenting teens and provides valuable insight into the day-to-day challenges they face. She is also an active member of the Minneapolis community and is passionate about connecting young mothers to resources in and around the community.

Zoe is a retired Minneapolis Public Schools teacher. Her first teaching job was at Longfellow High School and she taught in Minneapolis for 26 years. A resident of the Longfellow neighborhood, Zoe also serves as the community liaison between Holy Trinity Church and Longfellow High School. She loves teaching and working with children. She has a teaching degree from Moorhead State University.

Jenny is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP in their estate planning group. She has prior nonprofit board experience and a passion for the mission of the Close to Our Hearts Foundation. She received her B.A. in Finance and Political Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her J.D. University of Virginia School of Law.

Ran is an associate attorney for Dorsey & Whitney LLP. His priority as a board member for Close to our Hearts is to protect its tax-exempt status by ensuring that the foundation’s activities always further the mission of empowering teen mothers to reach their full potential. He received an economics degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Sunag is an engineer. He provides experience with web/software design and helps to address technical issues as they arise. He received his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He is currently pursuing an MD/PhD at Duke University.