DESIGN FOR AMERICA - Key Persons
Chris has over 20 years of experience building complex IT environments, including the design, implementation and maintenance of datacenter and enterprise infrastructure architecture. Chris began his work with Watson in 2000 and brings a range of business and education IT management experience with him from his work with the Social Science Research Center (SSRC), Time Warner Cable and The New School.
A native New Yorker, when Chris is not implementing the next hardware or software innovation, you can find him playing with his kids or brewing his next generation of wine or spirits.
Chris Kasabach Exec u tive Direc tor, Board Member Chris's time in Africa and South America as a Watson Fellow expanded his view of the design field and bridged his interests in the arts, education and technology. Over the last 25 years he has developed thought-leading non-profits, for-profits and international projects in community development, education, connected healthcare, wearable computing and the arts. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian Design Museum and received two gold international design excellence awards (IDEA). Chris has led courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Carnegie Mellon's school of design and engineering. He has been an invited speaker, moderator or panelist at the AIGA Leadership Summit, Harvard Kennedy School, National Science Foundation, Research Conference on Diversity and Inclusion (CUNY), SXSW, UCLA School of Medicine, the UNDP, and many other institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. At Watson, Chris is responsible for the strategy, team and programs, and deeply values his time supporting students as they cross disciplines and borders to develop their best selves. Chris is a Harvard Kennedy School Littauer Fellow and founding trustee of Winterhouse Institute, a council of national design educators. He and his wife, Vanessa, have twin eight-year olds who provide continuous education (and motion).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner at BDT & Company
Mr. Mosley is a Partner at BDT & Company and serves on the firm's Executive Committee. Prior to joining BDT, Dan was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and served as the Head of the Trusts and Estates Department. He is Chairman of the Board of Greenwich Hospital and on the boards of numerous New York City and regional non-profit boards including the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Inc., the William S. Paley Foundation, the Pinkerton Foundation and the Edward John Noble Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President of the Watson Foundation Board
Mr. McKinney is president of the Watson Foundation Board. He has served as president of the IBM World Trade Americas/Far East Corporation and chairman of the board of the IBM World Trade Europe/Middle East/Africa Corporation. Following a 36-year career with IBM he assumed the presidency of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1999 serving six years. Mr. McKinney has served as a trustee of Brown University and a director of the New York Philharmonic. He is a longstanding trustee of Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies and the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Cisco 's Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer
Mr. Previn is Cisco's Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer. Before Cisco, he was IBM's Chief Information Officer. In his 15 years at IBM, he led a global team of over 12,000 employees who provided secure, global IT, for over 350,000 IBM employees worldwide. Under his leadership, IBM pioneered new ways of delivering IT across the world's largest network, established an agile culture of breaking down big problems into small ones, and embedded design into operations. Prior to joining IBM, he managed the Enterprise Systems Group at Walmart.com. Fletcher is a graduate of Connecticut College with a degree in Political Science.
Grace Choi Pro gram Manager At Watson, Grace supports the Jeannette K. and Thomas J. Watson Fellowships from planning through program delivery. Previously, she worked with a wide range of nonprofit organizations including 12+ and America Needs You where she provided academic support, career guidance, college advisement, and professional development for hundreds of students. Her dedication to investing in students' growth as they explore new opportunities led her to Watson. Grace earned her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and spent a year studying abroad in Chile and Spain. She holds an M.A. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tuft's University. In her free time, she enjoys exploring New Jersey's parks and trails, reading, and cooking.
Jackie Voluz Pro gram Coordinator Jackie supports the Thomas J. and Jeannette K. Watson Fellowships, mentoring fellows, participating in fellow recruitment and selection, and planning special events. Previously, she worked on Department of State exchange and training programs, receiving participants from across the globe as a Senior Program Associate at World Learning in Washington, DC. There she became head of the LGBTI Working Group, and dove into internal inclusion initiatives and trainings for a wide range of program teams. Before graduating with honors from Middlebury College, Jackie studied in Russia on a Boren Scholarship. She is an alumna of the international leadership summer program Camp Rising Sun, and has subsequently served as a counselor and volunteer regional selector for its parent organization, the Louis August Jonas Foundation. Jackie is a native New Yorker who enjoys long discussions about identity, maps, and baking.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLC
Ms. Olivier is a Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLC and former co-head of their Global Project Development & Finance Group. She has extensive experience in both international and domestic financings, privatizations and sovereign and corporate restructuring, primarily in Latin America. During the Latin American debt crisis, Ms. Olivier was actively involved in the restructuring of the sovereign debt of Argentina, Brazil and Panama. She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Board of Administrators of Tulane University, the Chair of the Newcomb Foundation, the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Foreign Policy Association, a Board member of Boy's Hope/Girl's Hope and is both a Watson Fellow and former Executive Director of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner at the Brookside Group
Mr. Irwin is co-founder and Managing Partner at The Brookside Group, a private equity and investment firm. He co-founded Brookside Mezzanine and helped start two private equity firms: Clearview Capital and Brookside Equity Partners. Mr. Irwin is also the CEO of Orchard Ultrasound Innovation LLC in Sunnyvale CA. Mr. Irwin and his partners started one of the leading semiconductor plastic encapsulant firms in 1980 and led one of the early privatizations in Eastern Europe in 1991. He serves as President of the Achelis and Bodman Foundation, the Vice Chair of the Fresh Air Fund, and a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Whiting Foundation. Mr Irwin is Chairman of the Watson Foundation Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Instructor and Administrator at Bute House Preparatory School
Ms. Watson Shiatis is an instructor and administrator at Bute House Preparatory School, an independent day school for girls in London, England. She is a Founding Leader and former Director of Stella & Dot UK, an entrepreneurial network that creates flexible business opportunities for women. A passionate educator Katherine taught at The Chapin School in New York and Thomas Edison Charter Academy in San Francisco. Katherine received her BA in Education and Theatre from Brown University and MA in Education from Mills College. She currently resides in London and sits on the Board for the Brown University Club of the UK.
Sara found her passion for working with youth while volunteering at a new progressive high school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Having acquired extensive experience in the for-profit world of banking, publishing and executive recruitment, she joined the Posse Foundation, a leader in college access and leadership development. There she created innovative programming to support diverse groups of college students, helping them navigate not only career development but their pathway to being better leaders. She joins the Watson Foundation, eager to work with our fellows as they discover their place in the world and fulfill their potential.
Sara earned both her undergraduate degree in management and marketing, and her MBA at New York University. A native New Yorker, today she lives in Brooklyn spending her free time honing her culinary skills to the unpredictable delight of friends and family.
Sneha has been with the Watson Foundation since 2013 and is responsible for managing all programmatic aspects of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Sneha began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Jumpstart for Young Children in San Francisco. Prior to joining Watson, Sneha spent 5 years on the program team working with Let's Get Ready, a New York based college access non-profit.
Sneha currently volunteers as an English tutor for South Bronx United and volunteers for SAKHI for South Asian Women. In addition, she is heavily involved with the Alumni Association of the University of Redlands. Sneha holds a M.A in Educational Leadership, Politics and Advocacy from NYU. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University
In her free time, Sneha enjoys reading, receiving stamps in her passport and the diverse culinary experiences New York City has to offer.
Zach Bubolo Direc tor of Operations At Watson, Zach leads marketing and communication campaigns, develops technology solutions, and manages interactive online tools. Zach supports the Watson Fellows as a mentor, workshop facilitator, and summer journal reader. With 15 years of experience working in the higher education, non-profit, and entertainment industries, he has been invited to speak on his work at Dreamforce, Harvard University, New York University, Boston College, and The New School. Before Watson, Zach produced commercials, films, and podcasts with New York Picture Company. Zach has sat on the board of the Harvard A.R.T. Alumni Association, and is a Cornell Johnson Emerging Markets Institute Fellow. His EMI work focuses on international social impact and community resilience in emerging economies. He joined the Foundation in 2012.