Ryan Turlip
President
Ryan is a senior from Scranton, Pennsylvania, majoring in Neuroscience with minors in Chemistry and Health Services Management on a pre-med track. He has been an active member of Kite and Key since the fall of his sophomore year and has since served as Visit Coordinator for Special Programs before his current role as President. Outside of Kite and Key, Ryan is a clinical research assistant in the Department of Neurosurgery at Penn Med, a peer advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences, a tutor in Organic Chemistry, and a volunteer at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the VA hospital. He is excited to lead the new executive board as President during his final year at Penn! His favorite part of Kite and Key is sharing his Penn experience with students from all walks of life and providing a more in-depth view of student life. Besides touring, you’ll likely find Ryan searching for the best coffee in the city, working out at Pottruck Gym, or trying new foods with friends.
Contact Ryan at rturlip@sas.upenn.edu.
Lauren Krasilovsky
Vice President
Lauren is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, pursuing a major in Communication and a minor in Consumer Psychology. Lauren joined the organization her second semester of freshman year and has served as the society’s Communications Chair prior to her role as Vice President. Her favorite part about Kite & Key is interacting with prospective students and sharing her love of Penn with them as she helps them envision life as a Quaker. When not giving tours, Lauren can be found tutoring students through the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, serving on marketing and programming committees at Hillel, consulting through TAMID, and playing on the club tennis team. In her spare time, she loves to take walks to Rittenhouse Square, explore new restaurants with her sorority sisters, and drink iced matchas while studying with friends in coffee shops.
Contact Lauren at lkras@sas.upenn.edu.
Allyson Nelson
Visit coordinator for daily programs
Allyson is a senior from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studying English and American History in the College of Arts and Sciences. She joined Kite & Key the fall semester of her sophomore year and served as a shift captain for three semesters before her current role as Visit Coordinator for Daily Programs. Her favorite part about being a tour guide is sharing the endless possibilities that Penn offers with prospective students and showing them a small glimpse of the best city in the world. Outside of Kite & Key, Allyson is the Head Copy Editor and a sports reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian, the Finance and Logistics Director of SPEC Connaissance, the former President of the Mayor’s Scholars of Philadelphia, and an active member of the Social Deduction Club. Besides touring, you can find Allyson talking about her status as a long-suffering Philadelphia sports fan, watching figure skating, or discovering the best iced chai lattes around campus.
Contact Allyson at allysonn@sas.upenn.edu.
Kaitlin Mrksich
visit coordinator for special programs
Kaitlin is a junior from Hinsdale, IL majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Chemistry on a pre-med track. She has been a member of Kite & Key since the fall of her sophomore year and previously served as a Live Student Chat Shift Captain. Her favorite part of Kite & Key is helping prospective students envision a future for themselves at Penn, and she is excited to further engage tour guides in virtual programming in her role as Visit Coordinator for Special Programs. Outside of Kite & Key, Kaitlin serves as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society, tutors for the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, spends time with her sorority sisters, and conducts drug delivery research on campus. In her free time, you’ll find Kaitlin studying at Biotech Commons, exploring new coffee spots around campus, and learning how to cook.
Contact Kaitlin at kmrksich@seas.upenn.edu.
McKenzie Davis
equity and access chair
McKenzie is a junior from Bethesda, MD majoring in Bioengineering. She has been a member of Kite & Key since fall of her sophomore year, and she is so excited to get more involved with the society next year as Equity and Access Chair! Her favorite part of Kite & Key is sharing her experiences with and learning about so many prospective students and their families. Outside of Kite & Key, McKenzie is the Vice President of the Biomedical Engineering Society and is involved with the Underrepresented Student Advisory Board in Engineering, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE), and Alpha Omega Epsilon. McKenzie also conducts rehabilitation robotics research on campus, tutors, and enjoys cooking and baking with friends in her free time.
Contact McKenzie at davismck@seas.upenn.edu.
Naiya Mainigi
Training coordinator
Naiya is a junior from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is majoring in Cognitive Science, with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience, and a minor in Consumer Psychology. She began touring during the second semester of her freshman year, and is so excited to join the Kite and Key executive board. Her favorite part of tourguiding with Kite and Key is sharing her favorite stories and love for all things Penn with prospective students, and getting them excited about the school. Outside of Kite and Key, she is president of the Club Field Hockey team, works in a research lab analyzing infant behavior, and does marketing for her sorority. In her free time she likes to go on runs along the river, take workout classes, explore farmers markets, and find the best coffee shops to do work at.
Contact Naiya at nmainigi@sas.upenn.edu.
Brianna Fisher
finance chair
Brianna is a senior from Parkland, Florida, majoring in Criminology and minoring in Survey Research and Data Analytics. She joined Kite and Key her sophomore year, and after acting as a Shift Captain, cannot wait to join the Executive Board! Brianna remembers how difficult the college process was, and loves being able to help prospective students feel more confident in their decisions. Outside of Kite and Key, Brianna is the Co-Executive Director of Dance Marathon at Penn, served as VP of Social Affairs for Penn Hillel, and completed research through the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies and with the Criminology Department. In her free time, Brianna loves to go kickboxing, travel (ask her about studying abroad!), explore Philly, and is currently on the hunt for the best sushi in the city.
Contact Brianna at brifish@sas.upenn.edu.
Ellie Mayers
Communications Chair
Ellie is a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, studying nursing in the School of Nursing with a minor in religious studies in the College. She joined Kite and Key during the second semester of freshman year and is super excited to be serving on Kite and Key exec for the first time as communications chair. Outside of Kite and Key, Ellie is the marketing VP for Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (NSRH), an active member of Penn Hillel, and is a member of Sigma Kappa sorority. Her favorite part of Kite and Key is meeting prospective students and taking time out of her week to reflect on why she loves Penn and how grateful she is to be here. Outside of touring, she loves to explore Philly (especially the food scene), go on daily hot girl walks on the river path, and bake (look out for fun treats in the lounge this year.
Contact Ellie at emayers@nursing.upenn.edu.
Megan Laubacher
Outreach Chair
Megan is a senior from Rochester, NY, majoring in Nursing with a minor in Health Services Management. She has been an active member of Kite and Key since her junior fall, serving as a Shift Captain this past semester before joining the Exec Board. Megan’s favorite part of Kite and Key is the community she has built, and how she gets to share that experience with prospective students. She is excited to be stepping into a larger role within Kite and Key, and is excited to continue sharing her stories with future students! Outside of Kite and Key, Megan is President of Student Nurses at Penn (SNAP), a peer advisor for the School of Nursing, Treasurer of her dance group, Soundworks Tap Factory, Recruitment Chair for her sorority, Alpha Omega Epsilon, and a member of SPEC and Sphinx Senior Society. Megan also both does research and works as a nurse extern at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In her free time, you’ll find Megan at a picnic on High Rise Field, or taking a walk along the Schuylkill.
Contact Megan at meganlau@nursing.upenn.edu.
Will Stein
Community development chair
Will is a senior from Port Washington, NY, majoring in Health and Societies with a minor in Chemistry on a pre-med track. He has been an active member of Kite and Key since his junior fall, serving as the Virtual Tour Shift Captain the semester before joining the Exec Board. His favorite part of Kite and Key is getting to meet prospective students and share his experiences from his time at Penn. Outside of Kite and Key, Will is a volunteer for Budding Branches, a member of the baseball committee for the Penn Sports Analytics Group, a volunteer for the Penn CUT Hypertension Program, a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, and a member of the Shamash senior society. Will also does research for a sepsis-based research lab. Outside of touring, you can find Will exploring new restaurants around Philly or talking about his hopes as a Mets fan.
Contact Will at wjstein@sas.upenn.edu.