MICHIGAN ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS - Key Persons
Alexa is an MBA Candidate at the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She is passionate about bringing high quality education to underserved student communities and closing the opportunity gap.
Prior to Ross, Alexa worked in Corporate Strategy at Skillsoft, the global leader in enterprise e-learning software, where she led the transformation of Skillsoft's packaging and pricing strategies. She started her career in Strategy & Operations at Deloitte Consulting.
Alexa holds a B.A. in Art History with a minor in Economics from Bowdoin College.
Amrit is a first year MBA student at Ross School of Business focusing on Strategy and Finance with a Data and Business Analytics Concentration. Prior to Ross, Amrit received his BS in Business Administration and BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Immediately after undergrad, Amrit worked in the Financial Services Assurance practice at PwC with a focus on private equity, asset management, and ETF engagements. While working, he was also the CFO of Minds Matter of San Francisco, a non-profit focused on helping low-income, high achieving students in the Bay Area reach college success. In his free time, he loves to watch movies, play sports, and travel (he is hoping to reach 30 countries before the age of 30).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner of Springboard Growth Capital
Amy Rosen Wildstein is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Springboard Growth Capital. She has twenty five years of direct investment experience. Ms. Wildstein started her career at the Blackstone Group, working on principal investments as well as mergers & acquisitions. Subsequently, she joined Morgan Stanley Capital Partners where she evaluated and structured investments for the firm's $2.0 billion investment fund, focusing on buyouts and growth equity investments across a range of industries, including consumer, media, technology and healthcare. In 1999, Ms. Wildstein co-founded Solera Capital, a private equity fund with an all-women team. She was involved with fund formation, capital raising and the development of the Fund's investment strategy. In 2001, Ms. Wildstein co-founded Boldcap Ventures, investing in early to mid-stage companies in media/technology and life sciences and leveraging an investor base of women entrepreneurs and executives.
Austin Del Priore is a third-year JD candidate at the University of Michigan Law School and is a legal associate on the Social Venture Fund. At the law school, Austin is the Managing Editor of the Michigan Technology Law Review and is chair of Student Funded Fellowships, the largest philanthropic organization at the law school.
Prior to Michigan Law, Austin worked for two years as a legal fellow at Angie's List, Inc. through the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship program in Indianapolis, Indiana. In that role, he assisted the in-house legal team with the drafting of SEC filings, provided research memos on a variety of state and federal regulations, and collaborated with business managers within the company to mitigate risk.
Austin holds a BA in Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies from Butler University, where he was Vice President of the Student Government Association and graduated with honors.
Outside of school, Austin enjoys watching college football and basketball, exploring Ann Arbor restaurants, and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder BlueOrange Sustainable Capital Impact Investing, Office of Ray Chambers
- Senior Fellow at Yale University
Blair Miller has spent her career supporting and building innovative businesses models around the world. She brings an expertise in sourcing and supporting early stage entrepreneurs, managing cross cultural teams, designing business and leadership curriculum, and capital raising. Blair is a co-founder of BlueOrange Sustainable Capital, an emerging markets sustainable investment fund. As a co-founder, she supports in developing the strategy, structuring the fund, sourcing early deals and raising the seed capital. Previously, Miller was vice president for the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy, philanthropist and founder of Wesray Capital Corporation, Ray Chambers. During her tenure, she led the office's efforts to mobilize private sector capital and develop innovative financing models to address global health challenges. Specifically, she supported the development of two multimillion-dollar health focused funds with philanthropists in Nigeria and India.
Prior to joining the office of Ray Chambers, Miller focused her career on building and supporting socially responsible businesses and investment firms in emerging markets. During this time, she worked with Reservoir Capital, a $7.5B private equity fund, and also served as a venture partner at Learn Capital, an education technology fund. Miller spent her early career at Acumen Fund, an impact investment fund working in Latin America, India, Pakistan, and East and West Africa. Miller serves on numerous boards, including AfricaInvest, a forum based in New York City focused on increasing U.S. investments in Africa, the Africa Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, multidisciplinary institution providing a gateway for engagement with contemporary Africa, and Venture for America, which is committed to developing the next generation of American entrepreneurs.
Blair is a senior fellow at Yale University lecturing on Impact investing and is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. She has contributed to the talent conversation through her contributions in the books "Collective Genius"" and "The Power of Co-Creation", and was a finalist for the Harvard Business Review/Mckinsey M Prize for Management Innovation. Blair holds an MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner at Bridges Fund Management
Brian Trelstad is a Partner at Bridges Fund Management, a specialist impact investment fund with $1B under management entirely dedicated to impact and sustainable investing. Brian became a partner at Bridges in the fall of 2012 and raised a $65M fund to invest in businesses that operate in or serve underserved communities in the United States in the themes of health, education and sustainability.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Carl Valenstein is a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and recently relocated to the Boston office from Washington DC where he practiced for over 30 years. His practice focuses on domestic and international corporate and securities matters, mergers and acquisitions, project development, and asset finance covering a wide range of industries and regions, including developed and emerging markets (Latin America and Africa). He also counsels clients concerning international risk management issues and has been involved in internal investigations and enforcement cases in this area. Carl is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and conversant in French and Italian.
For more than 20 years, Carl has provided legal assistance to microfinance institutions and assisted public charities, foundations, social enterprises and entrepreneurs, impact investment venture capital funds and other impact investors. He founded and co-chairs the Morgan Lewis Impact Investment Initiative, which is a cross office and interdisciplinary group of Morgan Lewis lawyers engaged in impact investment work. He is a founding member of the Impact Investment Lawyers Legal Working Group, which holds annual conferences. Carl is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan Law School and New York Law School International Transactions Clinics (ITCs) focusing on impact investment. In conjunction with the Michigan Law School ITC, he represented Habitat for Humanity International in establishing MicroBuild, a $100 million dollar fund that expands housing microfinance lending and helps thousands of low- income families globally. The fund received the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's (OPIC's) 2016 Access to Finance Award and recognition by the Financial Times for Social Innovation. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Michigan Social Venture Fund. Most recently, he represented Jewish Vocational Services in the third Massachusetts pay-for-success contract.
Carlos is an MBA Candidate at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
Prior to business school, he spent four years working for Interlink, one of the leading developers of hotels, resorts, and residential real estate in Puerto Rico. As an analyst and later an associate, he had a hands on role in all aspects of real estate development, acquisitions, and asset management; primarily within the firm's hospitality business.
Carlos holds a B.S in Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he graduated with High Honors.
Carly is a first year MBA at the Ross School of Business.
Prior to entering the University of Michigan, she worked in financial services at Morgan Stanley. There, she worked in client regulatory services assisting clients of the firm's institutional securities business. Prior to Morgan Stanley, she worked in consulting at JDX Consulting and delivered large-scale client lifecycle management projects to leading global investment banks. She is passionate about increasing access to education and empowering women and minorities.
Carly holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University.
Chima is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Psychology. Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, Chima was working for Teach For America. Most recently, he was the managing director of recruitment for the Mid-Atlantic region. In this role, he led his territory to a 26% increase in accepted junior applicants into the program. As a sixth grade math teacher in Houston, TX, Chima's 130+ students achieved a 99% passing rate for the state standardized exam. Chima is focusing on corporate strategy and marketing, but outside of class he enjoys deejaying local events.
Curtis is an MD/MBA candidate with the University of Michigan Medical School and the Ross School of Business.
After studying Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, where he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors, Curtis enrolled in medical school where he has participated in UMMS's Path of Excellence on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This past year, Curtis took a break from medical school to perform basic and clinical research at the Kellogg Eye Center as a recipient of the prestigious Research to Prevent Blindness Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship. He is passionate about healthcare innovation, especially when solutions expand access and reduce inequity.
Daniel is a junior currently pursuing a dual degree between The Ross School of Business and The School of Information with a concentration in data analysis and finance. Last summer, he worked as an investment banking summer analyst with Marlin & Associates covering the financial technology sector. Daniel came to SVF because of his desire to combine his investing and social impact interests. He hopes to eventually pursue a career in venture capital. In his free time, Daniel enjoys hiking, skiing, trying new foods and cheering on his beloved Michigan Football and Detroit sports teams.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder LegWorks, Deutsche Bank Eye Fund, Sound World Solutions, and Aurolab Portfolio
David Green has worked with many organizations to make medical technology and health care services sustainable, affordable and accessible to all. He is a MacArthur Fellow, Ashoka Fellow and is recognized by Schwab Foundation as a leading social entrepreneur.
David directed the establishment of Aurolab (India), to produce affordable intraocular lenses (now has 10% of the global market share) suture and pharmaceuticals. He has developed high-volume, quality eye care programs that are affordable to the poor and self-sustaining from user fees, including Aravind Eye Hospital in India - which performs over 400,000 surgeries per year - 50 percent of the care is provided free of charge or below - cost, yet the hospital is able to generate substantial surplus revenue. He has played a key role in developing major eye care programs and training centers in China, India, Nepal, Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Guatemala.
He co-founded Sound World Solutions, a social enterprise to make affordable hearing devices with a novel fitting; LegWorks, which makes high quality prosthetic knees affordable; and the Eye Fund, a $15M social investing fund in collaboration with Ashoka and International Agency for Prevention of Blindness. He worked with Pacific Vision Foundation to establish an eye institute serving all in N. California and was a vice president at Ashoka for 10 years. He worked as a consultant to Mitsui Chemical for the group of Whole You companies focusing on sight, mobility and hearing. He was the chief architect of Medtronic's Healthy Heart for All initiative in India. He is a consultant to the World Health Organization in eye care and reducing cost of medical products.
He is on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute; is a recipient of 2009 "Spirit of Helen Keller" award for humanitarian efforts in blindness prevention; was awarded 2009 University of Michigan Humanitarian Service Award; and was selected by University of Michigan Engineering students as a leading social entrepreneur alumnus. In 2011 he received the Certificate of Honorary Award of Liaoning Province as a foreign expert who has made great contributions to the economic and social development of Liaoning Province.
He is on the boards of the University of Michigan School of Business Social Venture Fund; the Stanford Biomedical Fellowship for India the Hopkins Social Innovations Lab and is on the advisory board of Seva Foundation. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor in General Studies (1978) and a Masters degree in Public Health (1982).
Deven is a junior currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in finance. Last summer, he worked as an investment banking analyst at The Spartan Group covering industrial and consumer retail industries. Deven hopes to leverage his experiences in finance to provide sustained social impact through investing. In his free time, Deven enjoys camping, traveling, and rooting for LA sports teams.
Dustin is an MBA candidate focused on healthcare transformation.
Prior to entering the University of Michigan, he worked in healthcare consulting at Deloitte Consulting. During his seven years there he served some of the largest hospital systems in the world through their digital transformations that now lay the foundation. Furthermore, he also established and grew three TEDx programs, independently organized TED events, in Minneapolis, where he and his team developed over 70+ TEDx speakers and hosted over a dozen events for over 4,000 attendees. He is passionate about science, technology, software, and invention and how they intersect with health, business, social impact, community involvement, and economic development.
Dustin holds a dual-degree B.S. in Management Information Systems and Entrepreneurial Management from University of Minnesota.
Ellen is an MBA/MS candidate at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. She has focused her graduate studies on social entrepreneurship and its role in improving water and energy access in emerging markets.
Ellen previously worked at the William Davidson Institute, an international development research group housed at the Ross School of Business, where she developed market-based solutions to address pharmaceutical supply chain challenges around the world. Prior to her time at WDI, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, building small-scale water systems in rural communities. Ellen holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Urban Revitalization Circle Lead ( MBA / MPP '20 )
Emily is a first-year dual degree student pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy and a Master of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business. Prior to graduate school, she worked in nonprofit global health programs and domestic health care consulting, with a focus on hospital service line growth strategy and operational improvement. She is interested in cross-sector economic development work, particularly at the state and local level. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience and anthropology from Dartmouth College, where she also served as editor-in-chief of the daily student newspaper.
Evan is a first-year MBA student at the Ross School of Business. Prior to the University of Michigan, he studied Physiology at Brigham Young University. After graduation, Evan worked in corporate strategy for an insurance firm in the funeral industry. There, he led the strategic planning process and managed many different strategic initiatives. He is interested in working for a purpose-driven organization and in learning firsthand about how business can be a force of change in the world. Outside of the Social Venture Fund, Evan is involved in the Consulting Club at Ross and spends his free time with his wife and young daughter.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Managing Director ( Fred M. Taylor Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Finance )
Gautam Kaul is the Fred M. Taylor Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Finance at the Ross School of Business (RSB), University of Michigan. Gautam graduated from the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, in 1985 with a Ph.D. in Finance. Gautam has published extensively in the top journals in Finance on topics covering a wide spectrum of finance. He was awarded the Senior Faculty Research Award for sustained, exceptional, and continuing contributions to scholarly research in the field of business, and noteworthy contributions to building and maintaining a strong research environment at RSB.
Gautam has taught at the undergraduate, MBA, Global MBA, Ph.D. levels and executives all over the world. Gautam has been awarded multiple teaching awards, including the 2009 Victor L. Bernard Leadership in Teaching Award. Gautam has had extensive administrative experience. Among other responsibilities, he has served as Chair of the Finance Department, as Associate Dean of Research & IT, and has served on the Executive Committee for several years. He is the founding Managing Director of the Social Venture Fund (SvF) housed in the Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies. Most recently Gautam has been recently involved with digital education and offers a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Coursera. He also serves as the Special Counsel for Digital Education at the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder and President of Neura, Inc
Gilad is the Co-Founder and President of Neura, Inc. Neura enables devices with context awareness and adaptive learning capabilities required for today's developing physical Internet.
Gilad previously worked as a management consultant within the Telecommunication industry in TASC Strategic Consulting, Israel. Prior to that Gilad spend nearly five years in the Israeli Defense Forces as an infantry officer. Gilad holds an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan where he co-founded the Social Venture Fund. He has a dual B.A degree in Economics and Education from Tel-Aviv University.
As a dual degree student with the Erb Institute for Sustainable Enterprise, Heidi has a passion for cultivating innovative business solutions to tackle market challenges in the global food system while generating positive impacts for communities and the environment. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Heidi worked in international agricultural development in Washington DC and East Africa, where she designed communications strategies for organizations executing market-driven solutions to social and environmental challenges. Heidi aspires to work with food and retail companies to develop shared value approaches and sustainable sourcing methods to build a more inclusive food system. Heidi holds a B.A. in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Henry is a first-year MBA candidate in the Ross School of Business.
Prior to studying at the University of Michigan, Henry worked in the financial services industry at ORIX Corporation USA for two years, both as a senior accountant, and pre- MBA Growth Capital Analyst. Before his time at ORIX, he audited both public and
private companies in the consumer industrial business sector at KPMG for 3 years. He is passionate about economic development and mobility through entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.
Henry holds an M.S. in Finance and B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University, where he graduated Cum Laude.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Entrepreneur in Residence at Rock Ventures
Jamie is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Rock Ventures, the holding company for Dan Gilbert's Family of Companies including Quicken Loans. He focuses on helping select community entrepreneurs expand their businesses outside of the city and developing the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. Previously he was the Managing Director of Investments at Mission Throttle. He oversaw all aspects of investing and led advisory engagements with Detroit social enterprises.
He completed a dual master's degree at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment, graduating with high distinction. During his time there he was one of the Directors of the UM Social Venture Fund, the first student led social venture fund in the country, and directed the 2010 Net Impact National Conference.
Previously, Jamie co-founded the Icon Group, a multi-disciplinary hospitality company that designed, developed and operated nightlife, restaurant and event spaces around the country. One of the concepts, La Condesa, received a James Beard nomination for best new restaurant in the country and was voted best restaurant in Austin.
He received a B.A. in Government and Environmental Policy from Bowdoin College and spent his early career working on public lands policy for the Idaho Conservation League.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Fund Operations - ( MBA / MS '21 )
Joe is an MBA & MS candidate at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. He came to the Erb Institute to explore business cases for corporate sustainability and to learn how capital can be deployed in ways that drive social and environmental outcomes while achieving market-rate returns.
Prior to Ann Arbor, Joe spent six years in Business Development roles for software startups in the Bay Area where he specialized in developing and executing go-to-market strategy. Joe holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
Joe is a huge basketball fan, an avid climber, and a big believer in cellular agriculture.
Joseph is currently a BBA in the Ross School of Business pursuing both a concentration in strategy and finance and premedical education. His long term goal is to be able to combine a medical education with business acumen and use it to invest in future, sustainable therapeutics and diagnostics. Joseph joined SvF because he believed the most effective way to create long term solutions to societal problems was through social enterprise. In his free time, Joseph enjoys exercising, cooking, and enjoying time with friends.
Karthik is a junior pursuing a dual-degree in Business Administration and Biomolecular Science with Honors. Last summer, Karthik worked on scaling a student-run medical supply reallocation nonprofit, Blueprints For Pangaea, of which he is CFO. He envisions his career as two-pronged: leveraging business to effect a scaled, macro-impact, and practicing medicine to cultivate a personal, more involved impact. He joined SVF because he believes investing is a powerful vehicle for social change, and sees a future in impact investing. In his free time, Karthik enjoys traveling, dancing, and trying new foods.
Katherine is an MBA/MS candidate at University of Michigan's Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.
Prior to starting graduate school, she worked at Training Resources Group as a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Global Climate Change Office. In this capacity, she supported the Agency's efforts to educate development practitioners, governments, and companies on how to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Katherine is interested in climate risk management and how private-sector finance can be better leveraged to implement solutions to climate change. Since starting at Michigan she has also had the opportunity to participate in a sustainable packaging competition and project with Patagonia and Walmart, respectively.
Katherine holds a B.A. in International Affairs with minors in Arabic and Music from George Washington University.
Katie is an MBA candidate at the Ross School of Business focused on business innovation and strategy in promoting economic opportunity for underserved communities. She most recently served as the Philanthropic Equity Associate on the Capital Markets team at the Housing Partnership Network (HPN), where she advanced fundraising efforts for HPN's R&D efforts, policy initiatives, and portfolio of social enterprises focused on affordable housing and community development.
Katie holds a B.A. in English and African & African American Studies from Dartmouth College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Venture Development at the Laura
- Director of Venture Development at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Kirby is the Director of Venture Development at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, where she works to identify new, high-leverage philanthropic opportunities and helps manage the Foundation's Venture Development portfolio. She has expertise helping organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors address their most critical strategic challenges. Before joining the Foundation, Kirby worked as a management consultant in Bain & Company's Chicago and Johannesburg offices, served as a fellow at the Civic Consulting Alliance in Chicago, and was an analyst focused on higher education and technology issues at Ithaka Strategy and Research. She has also worked as a project manager on a Baltimore-based education reform project, and as a language arts teacher at the American School of Sao Paulo.
Kirby holds a master's of business administration and a master's of public policy from the University of Michigan. She earned her bachelor's degree in English from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Investments - ( MBA '20 )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Education - ( MBA '20 )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Advisor, Morgan Stanley India
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Director of Fund Operations ( MBA / MS '20 )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief of Staff at One Concern
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Portfolio - ( MBA '20 )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Strategy and Operations at EdSurge