Mark Bieler is president of Mark Bieler Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that advises top management of private- and public-sector organizations on strategic human resources and organizational development. His clients include the Westfield Group, Morgan Stanley Retail, Ogilvy & Mather, Mercantile Trust, and the Central Intelligence Agency.  Mark served as director of human resources for Bankers Trust Company as well as executive vice president of the parent organization, Bankers Trust Corporation. Mark  is involved in numerous not-for-profit activities and currently serves on the Board of SEO (Seizing Every Opportunity), one of the premier college-access programs in the country.

Steven Brown is the Executive Director of the Florida Non-Profit Housing, Inc. FDPH’s mission is to develop rental housing and related services for low and very low-income rural residents. Their service area also includes Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He has served as the chief executive of SoBro, Building Skills New York, Greyston Foundation and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

Michael W. Osheowitz is the Senior Advisor of Strategy Growth and Development at the Edwin Gould Foundation. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Foundation and founder of SEO. Michael served as an education policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee. He was president of Arthur Schmidt and Associates, an investor-relations and financial consulting firm whose clients included such blue-chip companies as Airbus Industries, Time Warner, Colgate-Palmolive, and the governments of France and Israel.  Michael served on the board of directors of Teach for America and was a member of the executive committee, helping the organization maintain financial stability during its formative years.  For decades, he has been actively involved in preserving the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright throughout the United States and was a founding member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. Michael advises not-for-profit organizations on strategic growth and development.

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Dr. Anthony Carnavale is the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and one of the nation’s leading authorities on education, training and employment. He has held senior staff positions in the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and the executive branch, including service on the White House Commission on Technology and Adult Education. He has also been director of political and government affairs for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest union in the AFL- CIO.

Kiran Handa Gaudioso is the chief executive officer of the United Way of Northern New Jersey, where she invests in strategies that improve access to quality education, heath, and financial stability for some 1.2 million residents in five counties. In addition, Kiran oversees the public policy and operations for the national United Way ALICE Project, a comprehensive study of households whose earnings are outpaced by the cost of living. Before joining United Way, Kiran served as interim CEO and vice president of program operations at New Jersey After 3, director of mentoring and volunteerism at SEO (Seizing Every Opportunity) and policy adviser for Governor James Florio.

Steve Gross is the chief marketing officer at the University of Phoenix.  He has served as CEO of Calvert Education, as well as senior vice president of global K-12 marketing at Pearson. Steve previously served as CEO of Fanlands and senior Vice President and chief marketing officer at LexisNexis. He is the co-founder of Flames of Giving, a nonprofit organization that anonymously matches  less fortunate individuals with generous donors during the holiday season.

Lofton Holder is currently a student at Stanford University's Distinguished Careers Institute. The Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute provides an opportunity for highly accomplished individuals to transform themselves for roles with social impact at the local, national, and global levels. Previously, he was co-founder and managing partner at Pine Street Alternative Asset Management. Prior to that, he served as  managing director at Investcorp, and was with J.P. Morgan Asset Management and CS First Boston. Lofton has volunteered extensively and is deeply committed to the success of low-income, first-generation college-goers.

Roszell Mack, III is the president and managing member of Mack & Co., an independent consulting firm focused on strategic advice and direct investment solutions tailored to meet the complex needs of global family offices, and institutions. Previously, he cofounded Ascend Venture Group, a private equity firm with over $250 million in assets, and before that, served as an investment banker for more than 10 years with Goldman Sachs & Co., Salomon Smith Barney and Peter J. Solomon. He sits on the board of Transylvania University, a private liberal-arts college in Lexington, KY.

Dr. Lisette Nieves is president of the Fund for the City of New York. She serves as director of educational leadership and full clinical professor of educational leadership and policy studies at New York Univerisity’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Lisette is also the cofounder of  Lingo Ventures, a consulting firm focused on growth, talent recruitment/retention, and change management in the private and nonprofit sector. She has served on the boards of Guttman Community College Foundation (chair), Stand for Children, and the NewSchools Venture Fund. She is a Truman Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar and an Aspen-Pahara Fellow.

Joshua B. Parker is a principal at Grand Avenue Holdings. He  previously served as principal of the Gargoyle Group of Companies and was CEO of its investment advisory business.  Josh was executive vice president of Kenmar Advisory Corp. and its affiliates, one of the leaders in the managed futures industry and an options market-maker on the American Stock Exchange. He serves on the government relations committee of the Managed Funds Association. He is also a Gold Life Master in bridge, a former North American Bridge champion and has represented the United States in international competitions.

Denise Taylor is president of global technology solutions at Legends, a full-service sports conglomerate. She previously served as the global chief information officer at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and has worked in the global technology groups and information technology divisions at AEG, NBC Universal, Universal Studios, and Universal Music Group. She serves on several boards including SEAT (Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology), as well as advisory boards for the University of New Haven and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Los Angeles CYBER Lab initiative.

Alan S. Weinstein is the retired president of Arthur Schmidt & Associates, an investor-relations and financial consulting firm. He is also a member of Gray Matters, a group of seasoned professionals who offer pro bono advisory services to nonprofit, community-based organizations in the New York metropolitan area.

Veteran financier Devesh Shah writes a monthly column for Mutual Fund Observer and stars in a YouTube Channel on personal investing. Previously, he  served as a portfolio manager at NWI Management, a hedge fund. In 2003, while at Goldman Sachs, he co-invented the VIX Volatility Index, becoming a Partner and Managing Director there. In 1995, Devesh participated in the SEO Career program, eventually serving on the SEO board, becoming the SEO Career program international liaison and most recently, co-chair of SEO, London. A native of Mumbia, India, he lives in Manhattan with his family.  

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