National Board of Directors

Jordan Meranus is an entrepreneur who has helped start and lead a number of high-impact education organizations. Currently, Jordan serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevation, a web-based software platform that supports K-12 education professionals serving English Language Learners. Prior to Ellevation, Jordan was a Partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, a firm that helps entrepreneurs develop innovative organizations that help address some of the most intractable challenges in public education. At NewSchools Jordan worked extensively with technology organizations, and helped incubate new education organizations on a number of occasions. Prior to NewSchools, Jordan was a Managing Director at Imagitas, where he launched an e-government business to help federal agencies provide better services to citizens.  Jordan is also a co-founder of Jumpstart, a national nonprofit organization that provides intensive early literacy services to low-income children in Head Start in dozens of cities across the country. Jordan received his bachelor's degree in history from Duke University and earned a master's degree in both Education and Public Administration from Harvard.

Arthur Mills IV joined the national not-for-profit New Teacher Center in 2019 as Chief Operations Officer leading NTC's finance, human resources, legal, marketing, and technology solutions groups. His wealth of experience in dynamic private sector and educational roles provides him with a unique perspective to this work and informs his leadership. He most recently served the organization as interim Co-Chief Executive Officer during its successful leadership transition period in 2022. Before joining NTC, Mills spent nearly nine years with Fulton County Schools in several senior leadership roles serving and supporting the district’s students, staff, and school communities. Mills’ prior private sector career spanned twenty years in challenging strategy and financial management roles with General Mills, Dell, BNSF Railway, and GE Capital to build a diverse set of international and domestic experiences. Mills and his wife Carla happily live in East Atlanta. He serves on the boards of several civic and volunteer organizations in Atlanta, focusing on mentorship, education, and the arts, including the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Advisory Council, NextGen Men and Women, and Jumpstart! Atlanta. As an Eagle Scout himself, he has served as Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 2600 in Decatur and is the current Steering Committee Chair for the Atlanta Area Council’s Soapstone Ridge District. Professionally, Mills is also a national board member for the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) based in Washington, D.C., and TregoED in Princeton, NJ. Mills holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Mills has also earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, now housed at Yale University School of Management.

Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D. is a family man who resides in the Southern California area with his wife, Davida. Dr. Parham is the 11th president of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), a highly diverse, metropolitan university primarily serving the South Central and South Bay areas of Los Angeles County. Established in 1960, CSUDH is one of the 23 campuses that comprise the California State University system, the largest system of public higher education in the nation. Dr. Parham previously served as vice chancellor for student affairs and an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, where he had been since 1985. Prior to his role as vice chancellor, he served as assistant vice chancellor for counseling and health services, Counseling Center director, and director of the Career and Life Planning Center at UCI. Early in his career, Dr. Parham also held an appointment on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "Dr. P," as he is affectionately known, is a licensed psychologist with more than 35 years as a scholar and practitioner. He has sustained a research focus in the area of psychological nigrescence, specifically on identity development, African psychology, and multicultural counseling. He is the author or co-author of 45 journal articles and/or book chapters, as well as several books. He has produced many videos. In consultations, public addresses and television appearances throughout the United States, Dr. Parham has addressed such issues as multicultural counseling, counseling African Americans, cultural competence, educating African American youth, youth and violence, coping with stress, characteristics of exceptional people, multicultural education, managing a diverse workforce, effective communications, developing effective management and supervisory skills, managing people, conflict resolution, and team building. Dr. Parham contributes his talents in the areas of social advocacy, community uplift and youth empowerment to communities in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Dr. Parham grew up in Southern California and received his bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine, his master’s degree in counseling psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, and received his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is licensed to practice psychology in California.

Milena Alberti-Perez is a seasoned financial, media and technology executive with over 20 years of experience. She is currently on the corporate boards of RBmedia and Overdrive, and Digimarc (Nasdaq: DMRC). She has also served on several non-profit boards, including the Wild Bird Fund and the University of Pennsylvania Executive Fund. Ms. Alberti-Perez was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of Getty Images, Inc., the world’s leading visual content company. Prior to that, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of MediaMath, a demand-side platform for programmatic marketing and advertising. Ms. Alberti-Perez worked in a variety of financial and publishing roles from 2001 to 2017 at Penguin Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, serving as the Global and US Chief Financial Officer of Penguin Random House from 2015 to 2017, and as management served as a non-voting member of its board of directors and its audit committee. Ms. Alberti-Perez also worked in financial analyst and research roles at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley. She has also served on the boards of Companhia das Letras, and Flatworld/Sagence. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from The University of Pennsylvania, with Distinction in Economics and minors in Math and Latin American Studies. She received her Masters Degree in Business Administration, with Distinction, from the Harvard Business School.

Olana Khan is currently the Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategy at Phillips Brooks School, an independent elementary school based in Menlo Park, California. Olana's commitment to supporting access to education is rooted in her background. An immigrant from Thailand and a proud product of the Brooklyn public school system, Olana understands firsthand that access to early childhood education is an equalizer. Access to early education significantly increases the chances of long-term school success, emotional well-being, and economic stability. Olana firmly believes that education should not be a privilege, but a right for every child in the United States. Olana’s professional experience includes being the Founder of Esan Partners, providing management consulting on areas of internal operational growth for companies including team culture, people operations, and working with organizations on post-merger team culture strategy and integration plans. Other non-profit leadership roles included being Chief Operating Officer at both ProFounder and Kiva MicroFunds and over ten years of experience working in the technology sector at Google, American Online, and Netscape Communications. Olana has served on several non-profit Boards, most recently Vice-Chair of the Board of Caminar, a large community agency that has been providing support services to individuals with mental health disorders for more than 50 years. She has deep experience in governance work, non-profit management, and strategic fundraising programs. She is currently a volunteer at Peninsula Bridges, and Ravenswood Education Foundation. Olana is a frequent conference speaker on non-profit fundraising strategies and donor philanthropic strategies to support their theory of change. Olana is a graduate of the University of Michigan (from which she graduated from the Honors Program with a double B.A.), the Executive Coaching Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Executive Program at Stanford University. Olana lives in the Bay Area with her husband, four children, a beloved sourdough starter, and a menagerie of pets.

As Robin Hood’s CFAO, Daryl is responsible for the day-to-day strategic and managerial leadership of the critical infrastructure functions of Finance, Human Capital, Legal, Information Technology, and Operations/Facilities. Prior to joining the Robin Hood foundation in 2022, Daryl spent 23 years at Sesame Workshop, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer. Daryl was responsible for all of the Workshop’s financial functions including financial planning, accounting, reporting, treasury, and cash management. Daryl also oversaw the Workshop’s Technology and Engineering and Facilities functions. He served as the treasurer of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center for Educational Media and Research, a subsidiary of Sesame Workshop, and a director of Sesame Workshop India Initiatives, the Workshop’s wholly owned subsidiary in India. From 2005 to 2010, Daryl served as the Workshop’s vice president, controller. He joined Sesame Workshop in 1999 as its AVP, assistant controller, overseeing the Workshop’s accounting and reporting functions. Prior to joining the Workshop, Daryl worked in the Accounting, Reporting, and Financial Planning departments for Asarco, Inc. He began his career in public accounting at Wiss & Company in Livingston, N.J. Daryl has a bachelor of science in accounting from Rutgers University.

Michael H. Levine, Ph.D. is Senior Vice President, Learning and Impact, for Noggin, Nickelodeon’s online direct-to-consumer interactive learning service for preschoolers. He reports to Kristen Kane, Executive Vice President, Noggin. An early learning and social policy expert, Dr. Levine focuses on deepening Noggin’s value to children and families through content and interactive experiences developed for learning and impact. Noggin subscriptions have grown by triple digits year over year from 2018 to 2019, and the ad-free service currently features over 1,500 iconic, full-length library episodes, short-form videos, Spanish-language videos, music videos featuring preschoolers’ favorite characters, and more. Based in New York, Dr. Levine previously spent 12 years at Sesame Workshop where he served as Chief Knowledge Officer, a member of the senior executive team responsible for driving organization-wide learning, educational partnerships, knowledge exchange, and policy leadership. He is also the Founding Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a pioneering thought leader in the digital media and learning field. Prior to that, Dr. Levine was Vice President for Asia Society, managing interactive media and educational initiatives to promote knowledge and understanding of other world regions, languages, and cultures. He conceived and directed a national campaign, “I Am Your Child,” with entertainment, policy, philanthropic and practice leaders, which led to major state and national investments in health care, early learning, and parenting education. He also previously oversaw Carnegie Corporation’s groundbreaking work in early childhood development and educational media, and he was a senior advisor to the New York City Schools Chancellor, where he directed dropout prevention, afterschool, and homeless programs. Dr. Levine serves on several boards including We Are Family Foundation, Khan Academy Kids, Woot Math and Digi Learn. He is a Pahara-Aspen Education Reform Fellow and a frequent adviser to global, national, and state policymakers. He has authored numerous academic articles, writes for media outlets such as Slate, Huffington Post and Education Week, and is a frequent keynote speaker at education and technology conferences around the world. His recent book, co-authored with Lisa Guernsey of New America, is Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens. He received his B.S. from Cornell University and PhD in Social Policy from the Florence Heller School at Brandeis University.

Mark Pinho is a partner at Oak Hill Capital, where he leads the firm’s Consumer vertical. Prior to joining Oak Hill, Mr. Pinho was the managing partner of the St Victor Group, and a managing director in the private equity group of Soros Fund Management. Mr. Pinho remains active with the University of Virginia, having served on the board of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, the Jefferson Trust and as a class trustee for the McIntire School of Commerce. Mr. Pinho is passionate about education: he has been a volunteer teacher in charter schools and has been involved in various educational not-for-profits and working groups over his career. Mr. Pinho graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS from the McIntire School. He also earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, where he was a Joseph P. Wharton Fellow and president of the Wharton Rugby Football Club. Mr. Pinho resides in Bronxville, NY, with his wife Katie and their three children.

As Director of Engagement and Partnerships at the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Delia is a first generation American that identifies as a proud Chicana with roots in San Antonio, Texas. In her role, Delia supports the Foundation’s engagement with community members to ensure that their voices are well-represented in the Foundation’s work. She is also responsible for building Nellie Mae’s partnerships with organizations that have complementary interests in supporting communities facing racial inequities. In 2019, Delia supported the design and development of the Foundation’s inaugural Community Advisory Group. The Advisory, made up largely of people of color representing communities throughout the New England region was instrumental in working with the Foundation to build its new strategy. Until recently, Delia led the Foundation’s Public Understanding and Demand Initiative and designed and implemented its youth and parent organizing portfolios. Both efforts focused on lifting up the voice and power of historically marginalized community members. Delia has a solid background in social services and community outreach in low-income, immigrant communities. Prior to joining Nellie Mae, she developed and managed an information and referral center that responded to the needs of a large immigrant community. Her previous work also includes designing and conducting parenting programs for families living in homeless shelters and working as a home visitor for an early literacy program. Early in her social work career, Delia worked with Navy families and launched a center dedicated to counseling submariners and their families Delia holds a BA in Sociology and an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and a certificate from the Institute of Nonprofit Management and Leadership (Boston University). Delia is a Board member of the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing, Jumpstart’s National Board and on the Gaston Institute’s Community Advisory. Delia is also a former board member of MA Philanthropy and an alum of Latinos for Education Board Fellows.

Tamara's involvement in early childhood education feels like a continuation of her late mother's work as national director of Head Start. She joined the Jumpstart local advisory board in Northern California in 2012. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Derek, their three young children and two Vizslas. Her passion for Jumpstart’s mission has grown even more with the expansion of her own family. She is a physician and is presently a program director for the hematology fellowship program at Stanford School of Medicine where she did her training. She is also proud to serve veterans at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. In her spare time (no such thing!), Tamara enjoys tennis, following her sports teams (the Warriors, Chiefs, Chelsea, and Royals), doing flash mobs, meeting people, movies, and singing. She has sung the national anthem at major and minor league baseball games and thankfully didn’t mess up the lyrics.

Nigel Barker is an internationally renowned photographer who opened his New York studio in 1996. He served 17 seasons as photographer and judge on the hit TV show America’s Next Top Model, which aired in over 140 countries, and hosted Oxygen Network’s modeling competition series The Face, starring alongside Naomi Campbell. Barker’s latest hit show, Top Photographer, premiered to rave reviews and a second season is in the works. Barker’s presence in the fashion and entertainment industry has resulted in an array of exciting projects, including the creation of his own furniture line, the NB1 Collection, available exclusively at Art Van Furniture; The NB2 Collection premieres October 2017. In 2016, he signed on as the Creative director of PRAI Beauty and became the Artistic Director for the new American menswear brand Flag & Anthem. He is also a founder and partner in the new NYC gym The Dog Pound. Barker has directed and produced films, documentaries, and commercials for everyone from Hollywood clients to international charitable organizations, and was awarded the “Film Heals” Award for Humanitarianism at the 6th Annual Manhattan Film Festival for his documentary Dreams Are Not Forgotten. Using the power of photography and motion pictures, he has been able to spread his humanitarian message to vast audiences through films, PSA’s, and traveling exhibitions. He has worked with several charitable organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society International, Make A Wish Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (of which he is a board member), the Edeyo Foundation (board member), and the USO, where he serves as a digital advisory committee member. Drawing upon his 20+ years of experience in the fashion and beauty industries, he has two books—The Beauty Equation, published by Abrams, and his latest book, New York Times Best Seller Models of Influence, published by HarperCollins. Nigel currently lives in New York with his wife and renown Yogi, Cristen AKA @ChinTwins, and their two children, Jack and Jasmine.

James Cole, Jr. is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Jasco Group, a multidimensional investment management firm based in New York City. James has held several previous positions focusing on educational achievement, access and opportunity for all students. From January 2016 through January 2017, James was the US Delegated Deputy Secretary of Education and General Counsel. As Delegated Deputy Secretary, he served as the chief operating officer and chief legal officer at the US Department of Education, and oversaw a broad range of operational, management, policy, legal and program functions. James also oversaw the Department's work on President Obama's My Brother's Keeper Task Force, which sought to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color, and to ensure that all young people are able to reach their full potential. A key milestone of My Brother’s Keeper was ensuring that children entering kindergarten are equipped and ready to learn. James is excited to continue that important work on Jumpstart’s National Board. From 2004 to 2011, James served on the board of directors of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. From 2005 to 2011, he also served on the board of trustees of Prep for Prep, a New York City-based youth leadership development program that identifies and prepares students of color for the rigors of independent day and boarding schools. Prior to joining the US Department of Education, James served as the Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation. Prior to joining DOT, James was a partner in the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City, where his practice focused primarily on advising corporations in the US and around the world on mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. James is also currently a member of the board of directors of American International Group. James lives in New York City with his young son.

Mark Polebaum recently retired from MFS Investment Management, a global asset manager, where he served as General Counsel. While at MFS Mark was responsible for Legal, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management. He was also a member of the Management Committee. Prior to MFS, Mark practiced law at WilmerHale for 25 years. He was the leader of the Bankruptcy and Commercial law practice area and was a member of the firm's management committee. Mark's prior board service includes Chair, MFS Meridian Funds and board member of the Investment Company Institute Mutual Insurance Company. Beginning January 2018, Mark will be an adjunct professor of law at the University of Massachusetts Law School.

Elizabeth Marcellino works as a Los Angeles-based journalist, reporting on a wide range of policy issues including criminal justice reform, homelessness, and the environment for regional wire service City News Service. She also writes arts and culture pieces as a freelancer and is at work on her first novel. Elizabeth was previously a managing director at Goldman Sachs in New York. She spent 12 years at the firm in investment banking, portfolio management and private equity. Elizabeth focused primarily on real estate clients and companies as an advisor and portfolio manager. During her time in private equity, she managed operations and human resources in support of a global team investing $10 billion in corporate private equity funds. She has an MBA from The Wharton School and an undergraduate economics degree from UCLA. Elizabeth has a profound interest in closing the education gap for children in under-resourced communities and believes that the greatest impact can be made through early childhood education programs like Jumpstart. Before joining the national board, she served on Jumpstart’s New York local advisory board and remains a member of the Southern California local advisory board.

Jackie Jenkins-Scott, Founder and President of JJS Advising, is a nationally recognized leader with more than three decades of experience in senior and executive leadership positions in both public and nonprofit sectors. She is president emeritus of Wheelock College, a 129-year old private college specializing in educating teachers and social workers. Under Jackie’s strategic leadership, Wheelock significantly increased its endowment and successfully completed the largest capital campaign in the College’s history. Jackie also initiated the College’s first Facilities Masterplan resulting in the construction of a contemporary multipurpose Campus Center, modern renovations to student dormitories, and a new state-of the-art, technology based Center for Learning and Innovation. She added new areas of study including cross-disciplinary and online programs, increased undergraduate enrollment and internationalized the campus experience for faculty and students. In 1983, Jackie became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dimock Community Health Center in Roxbury, MA, one of Boston’s first and now, one of the largest community-based health and human service organizations serving diverse, vulnerable populations. Under Jackie’s leadership, Dimock emerged from the verge of bankruptcy to a highly successful and sustainable benchmark institution that successfully integrated comprehensive health and human services, including new programming in workforce development, primary and behavioral healthcare, child and family-center services, transitional housing and a community based research program to develop innovative strategies for meeting the priority needs of inner-city residents. Her personal commitment to improve society extends to active community and civic engagement. She is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, Schott Foundation for Public Education, Center for Community Change, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and Century Bank and Trust Company. Jackie raises public awareness about education and other public sector issues on a national (and global) scale by speaking and writing in a variety of media. A native of Flint, Michigan, Jackie received her BS degree from Eastern Michigan University, a Masters of Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work and completed a Post graduate Research Fellowship at Radcliffe College. She received a Honorary Doctorate Degree from Wheelock College in 2003 when she served as the Commencement Speaker. She holds Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Suffolk University, Northeastern University, Bentley University, Mount Ida College and the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has received numerous awards and citations including Boston University’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Jackie published her book The 7 Secrets of Responsive Leadership: Drive Change, Manage Transitions, and Help Any Organization Turn Around in February 2020. She resides in Belmont, Massachusetts and has two adult children.

Kim Mitchell, VP of Program Development and Operations is responsible for leading NPower’s programmatic direction and strategic growth agenda for impact and expansion. This includes managing the regional locations across the country and supporting the Executive Directors to achieve best-in-class outcomes; drive operational excellence and lead the creation and refinement of systems, processes & practices for recruitment, curriculum development, facilitation and training, professional development, placement and governance. Kim is a seasoned professional with decades of leadership experience in Philanthropy, Human Resources, Consulting, and Diversity and Inclusion while at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Xerox Corporation. As the former Northeast Region Executive for JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Kim led philanthropic, civic and employee engagement activities and managed a social investment portfolio of over $40 million in grants and strategic sponsorships. Given this unique blend of experience, Kim is recognized for her expertise and proven record in leading high profile projects, building and leading high performing teams and advising senior business and community leaders on integrating organizational assets to achieve business and community outcomes. Her work in corporate diversity has been a valuable asset in service to the nonprofit sector. As a funder and thought partner Kim has worked with organizations fighting housing, education and economic inequity to help identify solutions at the organizational, policy and systems level. Kim served on the Board of Directors for Inroads Tampa Bay and was a National Board Council Representative from 2003 – 2006. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Hillsborough County Workforce Board and was an active member of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee, where in 2003 she served as Chair. An emerging champion for early childhood education, Kim was recently featured in Winning Beginning NY’s “It's Our Business” and “What is Quality Stars NY” videos to help make the case for businesses to invest in early childhood education. A graduate of Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban studies, Kim enjoys building and working with teams that have a “thirst to learn, compulsion to share, and a bias for action” (Jack Welch).

Jennifer Marrus has a wealth of experience in marketing and strategic problem solving in the for-profit and social impact arenas. As a board member and advisor she focuses on board building, organizational development and fundraising strategies to grow non-profits toward long-term sustainability. Jennifer has worked as the Vice President of Marketing at American Express, was Operations Manager for a manufacturing company, and worked in Economic Development for the City of New York. As a founding member of Jumpstart’s Tri-State Local Advisory Board over 20 years ago, its current chair, and a member of Jumpstart's National Board of Directors, Jennifer has focused on supporting the organization’s growth and fulfillment of its potential to address the debilitating achievement gap that affects disadvantaged children. In addition to her work with Jumpstart, she co-founded a mentorship and networking community for Dartmouth graduates in the social impact sector and she regularly serves as a strategic advisor for growing social impact organizations. Jennifer believes that investing in education, especially early education, creates opportunities for all. Jennifer holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth. She is married with two boys, enjoys bonding with her family and friends over home-cooked meals around the kitchen table, and lives in New York City.

Greg Johnson is chairman of the board and director of Franklin Resources, Inc., and serves as the executive chairman of the company. Mr. Johnson is also a president of Franklin Templeton Companies, LLC., and serves as a director of a number of the company's subsidiaries, including Fiduciary Trust Company International. He is a trustee, director or officer on a number of Franklin Templeton's fund boards. Mr. Johnson was elected co-CEO of Franklin Resources in 2004 and has served as the company's president and CEO since 2005. He was appointed chairman of the board in 2013. Mr. Johnson joined Franklin in 1986 after working as a senior accountant for Coopers & Lybrand. His past roles within the company include serving as president and chairman of the board for Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc., president of Franklin Investment Advisory Services, LLC president of Franklin Templeton Trust Company, vice president of Franklin Advisers, Inc., co-portfolio manager of Franklin Income Fund and Franklin Utilities Fund and as an investment analyst. Mr. Johnson earned a B.S. in accounting and business administration in 1983 from Washington and Lee University, and his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate in 1985. He is a board member and past chairman of the Investment Company Institute's Board of Governors. Mr. Johnson is a past vice chairman of the Mutual Fund Forum, a past chairman of the Western district of the Securities Industry Association, and a past president of the San Francisco Bond Club. He is a current board member of Jumpstart and the San Francisco Symphony and chairs its investment committee.

Mr. Humphrey is a Managing Director, Private Equity at Bain Capital in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on technology, media and telecommunications. He joined Bain Capital in 2001. Prior to joining Bain Capital, he was an investment banker in Lehman Brothers’ mergers & acquisitions group. Mr. Humphrey received an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and a Henry Ford II Scholar. He graduated cum laude with an AB in economics from Harvard College.

Tom is the global head of the Principal Debt Group within the Merchant Banking Division. He oversees the leveraged loan and mezzanine investing strategies, which include GS Loan Partners and the GS Mezzanine Partners Family of Funds. Tom serves on the MBD Client and Business Standards Committee and Investment Committee. He is also a member of the firm's Partnership Committee. Tom joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and worked in High Yield Capital Markets in New York from 1996 to 1998. He was based in London from 1998 to 2002 as head of European Leveraged Finance. Prior to joining the Principal Investment Area, Tom was head of Leveraged Finance. He was named managing director in 1999 and partner in 2004. Prior to joining the firm, Tom worked for Bankers Trust Company from 1990 to 1996. Tom also serves on the Board of Directors of Youth, I.N.C., a New York-based organization focused on improving nonprofits for children. Tom earned a BA from Union College in 1989.

Lorie Almon is a recognized leader in the field of complex employment litigation. Both Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Legal 500 identify her as a leading lawyer for Labor and Employment. Ms. Almon was selected in 2011 by The American Lawyer as one of the top "45 Under 45" women lawyers in The Am Law 200 and was named to the NACD’s “Directorship 100,” a list of “the most influential directors, officers, professionals and institutions” in corporate America. In recent years, she has also been named one of the nation’s “Fab Fifty” litigators under the age of 45 by The American Lawyer, recognized as one of the top “40 Under 40” lawyers in the United States by the National Law Journal, and picked as one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America” by Lawdragon. Ms. Almon serves as Co-Managing Partner of Seyfarth Shaw's New York office. She is a member of the firm’s Trial Team, Compensation Committee, and Executive Committee, and vice chair of the national Wage & Hour Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Almon’s practice is focused on employment litigation, with an emphasis on complex litigation, collective and/or class proceedings. She serves as lead counsel in discrimination class actions and multi-district cases, chairing teams of attorneys across the country. Ms. Almon also specializes in defending companies faced with high profile claims asserted by senior executives. She manages teams defending wage and hour claims, regularly representing Fortune 500 companies in high stakes litigation brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage payment laws. Her considerable trial experience includes numerous jury and bench trials in federal courts, state courts, and before FINRA arbitration panels. Prior to joining Seyfarth Shaw, Ms. Almon was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York. In this capacity, Ms. Almon litigated significant constitutional and federal questions. In 1995, her first full year of practice, Ms. Almon was formally honored by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as "Legal Rookie of the Year" for her exceptional commitment and dedication to her work. Ms. Almon was awarded Seyfarth Shaw's “Inspirational Leadership Award” in recognition of her commitment to Jumpstart, and to involving those around her in making a difference in the community.

Christopher Stadler joined CVC Capital Partners as a Managing Partner in 2007, based in New York. Chris oversees private equity activities in North America and the CVC Capital Markets Team. He is on the board of the CVC Capital Partners advisory business, is the Co-Chairman member of the Europe/North America Private Equity Board, and also sits on the Human Resources Committee. Prior to joining CVC, Chris worked for Investcorp as Head of Private Equity, North America after joining as Managing Director in 1996. Chris holds a BA degree in economics from Drew University, New Jersey and an MBA in finance from Columbia University.