Our fearless board makes it possible for Echoing Green to build a robust ecosystem of solutionists. With their support, we are able to surpass the status quo, alleviating injustice and social ill in the world.
Meet the Board
David C. Hodgson (Chairman), General Atlantic, LLC
Maya Ajmera (Vice-Chair)
Esther Benjamin (Treasurer), United States Peace Corps
Steven P. Buffone, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Peter J. Campbell, Education Growth Partners
Guy de Chazal
Cheryl L. Dorsey (ex-officio), Echoing Green
Betsy Fader
Marianne Gimon, Consultant
David Issroff
Andrew R. Kassoy, B Lab
Dr. Marie Kelly
Ajay Nagpal, Barclays Capital
Diana Propper de Callejon, Expansion Capital Partners, LLC
Marc Saiontz, American Securities
Jerome C. Vascellaro, TPG Capital LP
Robbert Vorhoff, General Atlantic, LLC
Dan Weiss, St. Martin's Press
David Hodgson, Chair
David Hodgson is a Managing Director of General Atlantic. He joined General Atlantic in 1982, helped found their partnership, and has over 20 years of experience identifying and assisting portfolio companies worldwide in all areas of their development. Mr. Hodgson serves as a director of a number of public and private information technology companies including Dice Holdings Inc., InsightExpress, ipValue, Pierpont Securities, Torex and TriNet.
Mr. Hodgson graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1978 with a degree in Mathematics and Social Sciences. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received the Kemeny Prize in computing at his alma mater. In 1982, Mr. Hodgson received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
In addition to serving as board chair for Echoing Green, he serves as Chairman of the Manhattan Theatre Club, as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and as Council Chair of the Dartmouth President's Leadership Council.
Maya Ajmera, Vice-Chair
Maya Ajmera is a 1993 Echoing Fellow and founded Global Fund for Children,a non-profit organization that invests in innovative, community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth. Under Maya’s seventeen years of leadership, GFC awarded nearly $25 million in capital to nearly 500 grassroots organizations in 75 countries touching the lives of over 5 million children. In addition, GFC has a dynamic media program focused on children’s books, films, digital media, and documentary photography. She is an award winning children’s book author of over 15 titles including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, Faith, and To Be a Kid with over 4 million readers worldwide. In 2011, Maya was appointed a Visiting Scholar at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She is also an advisor to Mytonomy.com, a video Q & A service where students go to get advice on every aspect of college and career planning.
Maya serves on the board of visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She is Vice Chairman of the board of Echoing Green, is a trustee of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and a board member of New Global Citizens. She serves on numerous advisory boards including the Center for Advanced Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University, Washington Area Women’s Foundation, American India Foundation, and many others. Maya earned her BA from Bryn Mawr College and her MPP from the Sanford Institute for Public Policy at Duke University. Maya is a 2011Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Esther T. Benjamin, Treasurer
Esther Benjamin is the Director of Global Operations for the United States Peace Corps. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Esther was the Executive Director for Resource Development at International Partnership for Microbicides. Previously, she served as Vice President for Business Development at the International Youth Foundation, where she focused on developing strategic partnerships and programs to support children and youth initiatives around the world. During the 1993 to 1994 humanitarian crisis in Somalia, Esther was appointed United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Officer, the youngest person appointed in this position, and in 1999 President Clinton appointed her a White House Fellow. Esther's private sector experience includes management consulting with Andersen, with Grant Thornton LLP, and with Richard S. Carson & Associates. Esther is Co-Founder of the Good Samaritan Fund and currently serves on the board of directors of Women in Community Service. As a College Scholar, Esther earned her undergraduate degree in political science and English from North Central College, and she earned graduate degrees in applied economics and international affairs from American University, where she was a Graduate Fellow.
Steven P. Buffone
Steven P. Buffone is a Partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He serves as Co-Chair of the Firm's Corporate Transactions Practice Group and Energy and Infrastructure Practice Groups. He is a corporate transactional lawyer who has represented clients in mergers and acquisitions, public and private issuances of debt and equity securities, venture capital financings, corporate restructurings and bankruptcies and general corporate counseling.
Steve is a cum laude graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Cornell and Stanford Law Schools. He is a member of the New York and California bars and is active in firm management, having served for many years as Co-Partner In Charge of the New York office. Steve is also a former member of the firm's Executive Committee.
Steve serves on the Board of Governors of Georgetown University, the Board of Visitors of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School. He is on the Members Advisory Committee of Exclusive Resorts. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Do Something.Org, a national charity that inspires and trains teenagers to be leaders in community service. In 2012 almost two million teenagers will take action in their communities using the resources of Do Something. Steve was recently honored for his pro bono and community service activities by receiving the Cornerstone Award from the Lawyers Alliance of New York and the Outstanding Citizen Award from Do Something.
Peter Campbell
Peter Campbell is a Managing Partner at Education Growth Partners. He previously served as a Partner at Generation Partners, a private investment firm. Peter joined Generation Partners in 2000 as entrepreneur-in-residence; he was named a partner in 2001. Prior to joining Generation Partners, Peter worked in global marketing at Colgate Palmolive. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Quality Committee of Norwalk Hospital. Peter earned his BA from Middlebury College and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Guy de Chazal
Until recently, Guy was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and President of Morgan Stanley Venture Partners (MSVP). He remains on the board of one of MSVP's portfolio companies, Thrupoint Technologies and a previous portfolio company, Lionbridge Technologies (LIOX). He also serves on the board of Uhlig in Kansas and AMC, the Asset Management subsidiary of International Finance Corporation. He served on the board of the National Venture Capital Association, co-chairing the Education Committee and chairing the Annual Convention in 2005. In 2004 and 2005, he was an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, teaching Venture Capital to second year MBA students. Prior to his twenty-two years at Morgan Stanley, he worked at Citicorp Venture Capital and, before that, McKinsey and Co. In the nonprofit sector, Guy serves on two boards in addition to Echoing Green; Fountain House, a residential, service and advocacy program for people living with mental illness and three Connecticut schools, Eagle Hill, The Forman School, and Suffield Academy. Guy has a BS in Engineering from Manchester University in the UK and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is married to Kitty Choate and has two teenage children, Justine and David.
Cheryl Dorsey
An accomplished social entrepreneur with expertise in health care, labor issues and public policy, Cheryl Dorsey was named President of Echoing Green in May 2002. She is the first Echoing Green Fellow to lead the social venture fund, which has awarded over $28 million in start-up capital to over 450 social entrepreneurs worldwide since 1987. Read more.
Betsy Fader
Betsy Fader is the former Chief Program Officer at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Ms. Fader assisted with strategic planning for the Foundation's program areas and properties, and oversaw the Foundation's grants program on Child Abuse Prevention, as well as the grants program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Prior to her arrival to DDCF, Betsy was the Executive Director of Student Pugwash USA -- the "junior" arm of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (which in 1995 won the Nobel Prize for Peace). Betsy also worked as a legislative assistant in Washington, DC and as a Parliamentary Assistant in the House of Commons in London, where her work focused on alternative energy technology, biomedical research policy, higher education policy and ethics in research. Betsy holds a Master's degree in Education and Social Policy from Harvard University and a BA in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. She also serves on the boards of Computers for Youth and the Women's Law Initiative.
Marianne Gimon
Marianne Gimon works as an independent consultant specialized in gender and international development. She worked with the UNICEF Syria Country Office on developing protection interventions for vulnerable adolescent Iraqis living in Syria. She previously worked for the Population Council, the Social Science Research Council, the United Nations Development Program and Equilibres et Populations. She taught English in Yantai, China as a Worldteach volunteer. Marianne is a family council member of the Flora Family Foundation, a board member of the Hewlett Foundation, and a board member of Echoing Green. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Brown University and her Master's Degree from the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University.
David Issroff
David Issroff is a private investor residing in New York with his wife, Lisa, and three children. Born in South Africa, David was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States, where he graduated from Wesleyan University. Prior to moving to NYC in 2006, David was a Partner with Glencore International AG of Switzerland, where he was responsible for the global Ferro Alloys and Nickel Division of one of the world’s largest suppliers of a wide range of commodities to industrial consumers. In this capacity, David served as a non-executive Director of various public corporations in South Africa, Switzerland and the U.K., including Xstrata Plc from 2002-2006. Together with his wife Lisa, David founded the Issroff Family Foundation, whose mission is to provide support for youth in Southern Africa, Israel and NYC in a tangible and sustainable way that will give them a basis for uplifting their lives and realizing their potential. David serves on the boards of various private portfolio investment companies and several non-profit organizations.
Andrew Kassoy
B Lab is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create a new sector of the economy that harnesses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab certifies B Corporations, creates standards to measure the social and environmental impact of business and to transform corporate accountability, and promotes public policy and capital markets innovations that will accelerate the growth of beneficial business. B Corporations are a new kind of company for this new economy. B Corporations meet higher standards of accountability, transparency, and social and environmental performance. There are over 210 Certified B Corporations in 31 industries and 25 states, alleviating poverty, improving the environment, creating great places to work, and building local living economies.
Prior to co-founding B Lab, Andrew spent 16 years in the private equity business; as a Partner at MSD Real Estate Capital, an affiliate of MSD Capital, the $12 billion investment vehicle for Michael Dell, and as Managing Director in Credit Suisse First Boston's Private Equity Department, a founding partner of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, and President of its international business.
He is a Board Member of the Freelancers Union and the Freelancers Insurance Company, a Board Member of Echoing Green, a member of the investment committee of the Patient Capital Collaborative, and an Advisor to the NYU Reynolds Fellows Program. He was raised in Boulder, Colorado and graduated with Distinction from Stanford University where he was a Truman Scholar and President's Award winner. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Andrew lives in New York City with his two sons, the Emperor Maximilian (five years) and the Boy King Jedidiah (three years).
Dr. Marie Kelly
Dr. Marie Kelly was most recently a Partner with CTPartners Board Consultants, a premier practice committed to performance, quality and results. Marie collaborated closely with clients to build effective boards, recruiting leadership talent dedicated to outstanding governance.
As a member of CTPartners Board Consultants, Marie served clients ranging from global corporations to non-profits. She identified outstanding contributors to fill specific talent needs, many requiring unusual skill sets. Marie undertook assignments to fill individual or multiple director positions as well as structuring entire boards. Through board assessment, she assisted clients in evaluating current board composition and functioning in order to enhance board performance. Marie worked across industry sectors including financial services, industrial, life science, and professional services.
Marie’s career includes thirteen years with Merrill Lynch and Company as Managing Director of Global Institutional Marketing for Fixed Income Products. She also led the Firm’s Diversity Initiative. Previously, she was with McKinsey and Company for seven years as senior engagement manager where she served U.S. and overseas multinational clients with an emphasis on global strategy development, organization design, and financial management. Her clients included industry leaders in financial services, healthcare, technology, transportation, consumer products, and manufacturing.
After graduating from The University of Kansas with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics, Marie earned a Master’s degree in Finance and a Doctorate in International Business from The Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State she taught International Business and conducted original research on the U.S. banking system and on global investment decision making. Her book “Foreign Investment Evaluation Practices of U.S. Multinational Corporations” and subsequent articles on global decision making have become source references for international business curriculums in colleges and universities around the world. She is based in the firm’s New York headquarter.
Marie is also a member of Echoing Green Development Committee. Believing deeply in the power of education to transform lives, Marie has devoted herself to Boards in this arena including: Prep for Prep, The Collegiate School, The Spence School, Trinity College Board of Visitors at Duke University, and the Dean's Council at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Ajay Nagpal
Ajay is head of Prime Services at Barclays Capital. He joined Lehman Brothers in 2001 and has held leadership roles within Capital Markets including head of Equity Sales from 2005 to 2008 and head of Liquid Market Sales within the Fixed Income Division from 2001 to 2004. Ajay was previously with J.P. Morgan where he ran the Municipal Derivative effort as well as the firm’s Financial Institutions Derivatives Sales Group. He holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Masters of Public Policy from The Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Diana Propper de Callejon
Diana has more than fifteen years of work experience in Clean Technology, in the areas of energy, water, advanced materials and transportation, combined with recognized domain expertise and a global network of entrepreneurs, venture capital investors and large corporations active in Clean Technology. Her background encompasses work with Fortune 500 companies, venture-backed technology companies, financial institutions and private investors in Clean Technology. Prior to Expansion Capital, Diana was the co-founder and Managing Director of EA Capital, a financial services firm that advised clients on new business and investment opportunities in resource efficiency and productivity. One of the first firms specialized in this area, EA Capital established itself as a leading investment advisory firm focused on Clean Technology.
Diana is a frequent speaker at Clean Technology related conferences and investment forums (e.g. Cleantech Venture Network, Triple Bottom Line, NREL Growth Forum, and the Hewlett and Rockefeller Foundations) and has written on venture capital investing in Clean Technology, for such publications as Morgan Stanley's Investor Outlook and Sustainable Business Investor. Diana is Co-Editor of the ground breaking report, Cleantech Venture Investing: Patterns & Performance, which was published in March of 2005. Diana holds a BA, summa cum laude, from Duke University, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Jerome Vascellaro
Jerome Vascellaro is a partner of TPG, the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to joining TPG in 2006, Mr. Vascellaro was a senior Director at McKinsey & Company. During his 28 years at McKinsey & Company, he served clients in a range of industries in the United States and Europe to improve the effectiveness of their organizations, develop strategies for entering new businesses and markets, and turn around troubled businesses. In addition, Mr. Vascellaro held several leadership and management positions at McKinsey & Company where he was responsible for worldwide activities, including oversight of critical personnel activities and the partner personnel processes. He has a B.S. in Engineering from Brown University, where he graduated with highest honors, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Mr. Vascellaro is Vice Chancellor of the Board of Trustees and Fellows of Brown University and co-chairs Brown’s Comprehensive Campaign. He is also on the board of Echoing Green Foundation for social entrepreneurship and is a board member of the California Academy of Sciences.
Robbert Vorhoff
Robbert Vorhoff is a Principal at General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, where he has worked since 2003. Based in New York, Mr. Vorhoff is co-head of General Atlantic's global Healthcare sector. Mr. Vorhoff currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Align Networks and MedExpress Urgent Care. Previous portfolio responsibilities include NYSE Euronext, RiskMetrics Group, and Grupo Qualicorp in Brazil. Prior to joining General Atlantic, Mr. Vorhoff was with Greenhill Capital Partners, where he focused on investments in the financial services, energy and education sectors. He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring advisory group of Greenhill & Co.
Mr. Vorhoff received a B.S. in Commerce with a concentration in Finance from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. While at UVA, he was awarded the William M. Shermet Scholarship by the McIntire faculty on the basis of academic performance, character and leadership. Mr. Vorhoff remains actively involved with the University of Virginia as a member of the McIntire School of Commerce Advisory Board. He is also involved with a number of non-profit organizations in the New York community, including Echoing Green and Summer Search.
Marc Saiontz
Marc Saiontz, managing director, has been with American Securities for more than a dozen years. Marc concentrates his investment efforts on the industrial and service sectors. He is currently a director of NEP Broadcasting, PDM Bridge, Specialty Care, Unifrax, Unison Holdings, and Xerium Technologies. He also previously worked extensively on the firm's investments in CTB International and Anthony International.
Marc temporarily left American Securities to attend Stanford Graduate School of Business and during this time he worked overseas with a European-based telecommunications and infrastructure investment firm. He rejoined American Securities upon receiving his MBA. Earlier in his career, Marc was with Morgan Stanley Capital Partners where he focused on private equity investments.
Daniel Weiss
Daniel (Dan) Weiss is presently Publisher at Large at St. Martin's Press. He has worked for over thirty-five years in the fields of communications, publishing and entertainment, producing books, magazines, television and digital media. A graduate of NYU's School of the Arts in Film and Television, Dan began his career in educational television, making short animated films for Sesame Street, documentaries for the government and public service organizations, and political commercials. In the early seventies, he transitioned into book publishing with positions at Golden Books, Scholastic and Simon and Schuster, eventually forming Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc. (DWAI), in 1980, an independent producer of books, television and merchandise for children and adult audiences. Dan sold DWAI in 2000 to AlloyOnline, a teen marketing company. In 2001, Dan initiated and closed the transaction wherein SparkNotes.com, a start-up online publisher, was acquired by Barnes & Noble, Inc. Until 2009, Dan was President and Publisher of Spark Publishing, including Quamut.com and Flash Books, units of Barnes and Noble. Dan is on the boards of Charity Navigator, the leading online charity evaluator, and Figment.com, an online community for young writers.
