Board members

Deepti Pradhan founded Tilde Cafe in 2008 after a years-long career immersed in research and teaching chemistry, biochemistry, and cell biology, including 13 years on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine. She started Tilde Cafe as gatherings in a little coffee shop in Branford; it has now been transformed to a much larger and far-reaching entity. While she has left the lab setting, Deepti continues to work at Yale in the area of data science/analytics. In addition to her dedication to sparking and sustaining science awareness, she is also committed to healthcare. She writes about these matters for various publications including The Huffington Post, UN Dispatch, and Footnote. You can find all her articles aggregated on the Medium. She enjoys listening to music and biking around Connecticut. Deepti holds a PhD in Bioorganic Chemistry. 

Steven Towns is a research specialist. He is the founder of Uguisu Research LLC (a provider of bespoke research for large-scale fundraising campaigns and for sourcing smaller-cap Japanese value equities). Previously, he held director-level positions in prospect research at Trinity College and Yale University. Steven earned his Master's in management and finance from the University of Maryland University College. He holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from UMUC - Japan, where he studied under regional experts Thomas Thompson and the late Dr. Dennis Doolin. When he's not reading securities filings and annual reports, Steven, among other things, enjoys long walks mixed with reverie and contemplation about topics such as those covered at the Tilde Cafe. 

Richard Horne is Director of Prospect Development and Research at Vassar College. He previously held a similar role with Beth Israel Lahey Health, a consortium of Boston-area and Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. At Yale, Rich also worked in the Office of Development. As a student, he co-founded the Yale Economic Review while studying Ethics, Politics & Economics at Yale. He served with the US Marine Corps and worked, through a law firm, for the International Monetary Fund before arriving at Yale. Rich is an avid cyclist and you can find him taking long rides in rural Connecticut.

As Associate Vice President for Development at The Village for Families & Children, Margaret Lukaszyk is committed to helping children and families transform their lives and achieve real and meaningful change. Being part of a 200 year old organization is a remarkable experience in nurturing it in the present time. Margaret has also helped the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, and Yale University in their efforts to further their nonprofit missions.