Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association awards prestigious Alumni Kissick Scholarship to second year MBA students Riya David and Talley Snow
The Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association (WHCMAA) recently chose Riya Dave and Talley Snow, Class of 2026 Wharton MBA students, for its prestigious $11,000 Alumni Kissick Scholarship. The scholarship is named after William Kissick, MD, PhD, who played an integral role in developing the Wharton HCM program and had been deeply involved at the national level as one of the pioneers of the Medicare program. The scholarship is meant for a deserving healthcare MBA student who exemplifies what Bill Kissick stood for: being socially responsible, having an insatiable quest for knowledge, and engaging others in a common cause. Riya and Talley’s background and experience fit this description very well. The scholarship is used to help defray the tuition expenses to Wharton.
Riya Dave, MBA student
The Wharton School, Class of 2026
2025 Alumni Kissick Scholarship recipient
In acceptance of the Scholarship Award Riya said: "I'm deeply honored to be selected for the Kissick Scholarship. Dr. Kissick believed in the power of policy to shape health systems that truly serve people — and that belief drives everything I do. I'm committed to advancing mental and public health through policy-informed, scalable solutions that center equity."
Riya’s background:
After Riya graduated from Princeton University, she was a Fulbright Scholar in India. In India, she co-developed a trauma-informed mental health app for orphaned girls, which led to the adoption of school-level wellness policies — an experience that sparked her long-term commitment to health policy and systems design.
After India, Riya conducted digital health research at the National Institutes of Health, where she co-led the development of a nationally referenced ethics framework for digital medicine trials. She also worked part-time with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), advising Ministries of Health in West Africa on malaria strategy and sustainable digital infrastructure.
At Wharton, Riya continues to focus on global health systems. She concurrently interned with the World Health Organization’s impact investing team, helping align global capital flows with national mental health policy priorities. She also serves on the boards of the Digital Health and Social Impact Clubs, and was recently honored with the Innovator in Behavioral Health Award at the 2024 Behavioral Health Tech Conference for her advocacy and leadership in youth mental health policy.
This summer, Riya is at the McKinsey’s SHaPE practice, working with clients across government, multilateral, and non-profit sectors on large-scale healthcare implementation projects.
After Wharton, Riya plans to pursue a career in global health policy leadership — designing and implementing investment strategies at organizations like the WHO, World Bank, or UNICEF, with the goal of scaling behavioral and public health programs across low- and middle-income countries.
Talley Snow, MBA/MPA student
The Wharton School, Class of 2026
2025 Alumni Kissick Scholarship recipient
In acceptance of the Scholarship Award Talley said: "I'm incredibly grateful to have been selected for the Kissick Scholarship and I am humbled to know that I'm hopefully charting a path as impactful as Dr. Kissick's. Like Dr. Kissick, I believe policy and cross-sectoral collaboration are essential to building a U.S. healthcare system that is more just, more accessible, and more human."
Talley’s background:
Talley graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Commerce, where she also took a handful of classes in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Prior to Wharton, she spent five years in consulting focused on rare disease drug market access, collaborating with patient advocacy groups and clinical experts to ensure innovative therapies were developed responsibly and priced affordably. In her final year at McKinsey, she served as the Engagement Manager of the McKinsey Health Institute's Brain Health team, where she supported the launch of the Coalition for Mental Health Investment - a coalition of nonprofits, investors, and researchers working to close the $200B behavioral health funding gap.
Talley is spending the summer as a Clinical Outcomes Intern at Behavioral Health Group, the largest network of Joint Commission-accredited substance use recovery centers in the U.S.
In addition to pursuing her MBA in Health Care Management at Wharton, Talley is concurrently earning an MPA in Health Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her long-term goal is to serve at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she hopes to lead policy work that expands equitable access to care, particularly through formulary strategy and incentive reform.