Barbara Barrett, National Jury Chair
Former U.S. Ambassador to Finland
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Barbara Barrett is Ambassador, Astronaut, Aviator, Attorney and Academic President. She and her husband, Craig, own Triple Creek Guest Ranch in Montana, ranked the #1 hotel in the world by Travel + Leisure Magazine for 2014. Barbara serves on the governing boards of Smithsonian Institution, Caltech, RAND, Lasker Foundation and Horatio Alger Association. Barbara was Interim President of Thunderbird School of Global Management, Ambassador to Finland, CEO of the American Management Association and a fellow teaching leadership at Harvard. She was FAA Deputy Administrator and Community Advisory Board Vice Chairman. Triple Creek Ranch is home to several hundred head of American Bison that roam across the ranch’s 26,000 acres of grassland and forest.
Jay Abbe
Retired President/COO, JDS Uniphase
Healdsburg, California
Jay and his wife, Karen, reside on their ranch and vineyards outside of Healdsburg, California, 70 miles north of San Francisco, where they grow grapes and produce a modest amount of wine. Jay is a retired technology business executive, having served as Chief Executive Officer of Optical Coating Laboratory in the late 1990s and President and Chief Operating Officer of JDS Uniphase, a fiber optics company, until his retirement in 2001. Prior to his operating roles, Jay also served for 18 years as a management consultant and senior partner with McKinsey & Company. Currently, he remains active as a director of several public companies, a trustee of his independent secondary school in Pennsylvania, and several local community organizations in Sonoma County. Since 2009, Jay has served on the board of American Prairie Reserve, an organization that is creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States. Having grown up outside of Philadelphia in a very East Coast family, where “the West” meant Ohio, Jay connected strongly to Montana during a summer job in 1961 working on the Minuteman missile complex in the central part of the state.
Keith Anderson
Chairman and CIO, Anderson Global Macro
New York, New York
Mr. Anderson founded Anderson Global Macro LLC in 2012 and serves as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. He launched the Anderson Global Macro fund in May 2013. From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Anderson served as Chief Investment Officer for Soros Fund Management and its principal entity, the Quantum Fund. Prior to joining Soros, Mr. Anderson was Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Black Rock, Inc. Mr. Anderson co-founded Black Rock in 1988. Prior to founding Black Rock, Mr. Anderson worked in fixed income research at The First Boston Corporation and in portfolio management at Criterion Investment Management Company. Mr. Anderson has served on the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Investors Advisory Committee on Financial Markets. He currently serves on the board of Rice University in Houston and American Prairie Reserve in Montana. Mr. Anderson earned a BS in economics and finance from Nichols College in 1981, and an MBA from Rice University in 1983.
Dawn Arnall
Chair, SBP Capital Corporation
Aspen, Colorado
Dawn Arnall is a private investor, businesswoman and philanthropist. She currently serves as Chair of SBP Capital Corporation. A seasoned executive with more than two decades of professional experience in the financial services and real estate industries, Dawn is an active investor in energy, insurance and technology sectors. Dawn is a Director on the Board of Conservation International, a member of the Smithsonian National Zoological Advisory Board, a Trustee of The College of William and Mary Foundation Board, and former Chair of National Geographic’s International Council of Advisors. She also is a member of the George W. Bush Institute's Woman's Advisory board, serves on the executive committee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is a supporter of Shalva, a therapy center for mentally and physically challenged children. Dawn obtained her BA and MBA from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She resides in Aspen, Colorado.
Tricia Besing
Community Volunteer
Dallas, Texas
Tricia Besing is a devoted philanthropist and an excited new National Jury member. She is active with the Tiffany Circle of the American Red Cross, and has helped grow the Dallas chapter alongside her mother who is a founding member of the Tiffany Circle. She is involved in various philanthropic efforts, including A.W.A.R.E. (Alzheimer’s Women’s Association for Resources and Education), Crystal Charity Ball (supporting Dallas children’s charities) and KIPP (a nonprofit network of college preparatory, public charter schools serving elementary, middle, and high school students). She and her husband, Gil, own a small hotel in Harbour Island, Bahamas, and have been blessed to know and empower the community there. Tricia and Gil currently reside in Dallas, Texas and have two children, ages 28 and 25. They love spending time in Whitefish, Montana and are passionate about the outdoors and preserving our natural resources.
Hal Brierly
Chairman and CEO, The Brierley Group, LLC
Dallas, Texas
Over 45 years, Hal Brierley has founded and served as CEO of three major ventures, starting with Epsilon, a CRM pioneer; Brierley & Partners, a leader in customer loyalty; and e-Rewards, Inc., the world’s largest online market research panel. He has helped design some of the most popular loyalty programs, including American’s AAdvantage, Hertz #1 Club Gold and Hilton HHonors. He served as VP of Sales and Advertising for Pan Am, launching the first global frequent traveler program and SVP Marketing for Continental Airlines. He is a member of the executive committee of the board of Ken Burn's The Better Angels Society, the Dean’s Advisory Board at Harvard Business School, the Board of the NPR Foundation, the Smithsonian National Zoo, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, North Texas Public Broadcasting, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Foundation and a Life member of YPO/WPO.
Clint Carlson
Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Carlson Capital
Dallas, Texas
Mr. Carlson founded Carlson Capital in 1993. For five years prior, he was head of risk arbitrage for the investment arm of the Bass Brothers organization. Before joining the Bass organization, Mr. Carlson co-managed a risk arbitrage fund for Maxxam Group and affiliated companies. Mr. Carlson received a BA and an MBA from Rice University and a law degree from the University of Houston. He is a Board Member of the Rice Management Company and a member of the Board of Overseers for the Jones School of Business at Rice University. Mr. Carlson is a trustee of the Hedge Fund Standards Board.
Michael J. Corliss
Founder and CEO, Investco Financial Corporation
Sumner, Washington
Michael J. Corliss is the Founder and CEO of Investco Financial Corporation, which he founded in 1983 and headquartered in Sumner, WA. Investco manages assets held in a private trust centered in real estate in addition to various operating businesses. He is a trustee for Evergreen Capital Trust and principal/co-founder of the Truss Company & Building Supply Inc. He owns and operates two wineries, Corliss Estates and Tranche Cellars in Walla Walla and recently introduced Secret Squirrel, his third label. He has also acquired and developed an impressive portfolio of estate vineyards. Past board service includes PepsiAmericas, Bank of Sumner, Valley Bancorporation and Frontier Bank. Additionally, he works with many non-profit/charitable organizations including the University of Puget Sound, Seattle Art Museum, Exodus Housing, and his Corliss Scholarship program. He was born in Sumner and is married with five children. They enjoy a variety of activities with family and close friends.
David Coulter
Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus
New York, New York
Coulter served as Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Advisor at Warburg Pincus, focusing on the firm’s financial services practice from 2005 - 2014. Mr. Coulter retired in September 2005 as vice chairman of J.P. Morgan & Chase Co. He previously served as Executive Chairman of its investment bank, asset and wealth management, and private equity business. Mr. Coulter was a member of the firm’s three person Office of the Chairman and also its executive committee. Mr. Coulter came to J.P. Morgan Chase via its July 2000 acquisition of The Beacon Group, a small merchant banking operation. Before joining The Beacon Group, Mr. Coulter was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the BankAmerica Corporation and Bank of America NT & SA. His career at Bank of America was from 1976 to 1998 and covered a wide range of banking activities. He served on the board Aeolus Re, MBIA, Webster Bank, Sterling Financial and the Strayer Corporation. He currently is on the board of Santander Asset Management. He also serves on the boards of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Asia Society of Northern California and the Foreign Policy Association. He received both his BS and his MS from Carnegie Mellon University and currently serves as a Trustee for Carnegie Mellon.
Steven Cousins
Partner, Armstrong Teasdale, LLP
St. Louis, Missouri
Steven N. Cousins is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale, LLP, a 250-person law firm with offices throughout the U.S. and in Shanghai China. Mr. Cousins became Armstrong Teasdale’s first African American lawyer when he joined the firm in 1980. Four years later, he founded and chaired the firm’s first financial restructuring, reorganization and bankruptcy practice – the first associate to start a department at Armstrong Teasdale. In 1987, he became the firm’s first African American partner and one of the few in St. Louis. He served on the firm’s executive committee for 15 years and has been one of Armstrong Teasdale’s top rainmakers for twice that long. He has represented corporate and high profile clients throughout the country, including a former U.S. Cabinet Member who was vindicated in a Justice Department investigation. He has been listed for 23 years in The Best Lawyers in America, named as a Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer, and listed in Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the country’s top five bankruptcy lawyers. Mr. Cousins received his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1980 and BA from Yale University in 1977. An active community leader, Mr. Cousins was the general counsel and currently serves on the executive committee of the St. Louis Regional Chamber of Commerce, vice-chairman of St. Louis Children’s Hospital board and is a St. Louis Art Museum trustee. In addition, he is outside general counsel for Concordance, a path-breaking program to reduce recidivism in St. Louis and beyond. He also serves on Washington University’s National Council of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. He served as the initial co-chair of the St. Louis Internship Program, an inner city youth jobs program, replicated in 38 cities with more than 3,300 alumni. In addition, Mr. Cousins is a co-founder of the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation, served as a member of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor’s Council and the national Board of Governors of the Association of Yale Alumni, and was a Webster University trustee.
John Debs
Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow 2016, Stanford University
Palo Alto, California
John Debs was born in Chicago and graduated from New Trier Township High School and Stanford University, earning a BA in History in 1966 and an MBA in 1968. John pursued a career in investment management and has over 30 years of experience running a hedge fund. His long-term focus has been in the non-profit sector and he is a former trustee of Reed College and current board member of The Better Angels Society. John’s philanthropic efforts have largely been dedicated to K-12 education for students who were raised in the wrong zip code. Organizations of focus have included Teach for America, KIPP Schools, Rocketship Education, National Public Radio, and The Better Angels Society. Currently, John is a 2016 fellow in the Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University. He intends to continue his studies at Stanford in future years. With John’s wife, Catherine, his family includes the young men who currently benefit from and have received the Debs’ Stanford football and basketball scholarships, as well as their rescued Hungarian Viszla, Minnie.
Steve Denning
Chairman, General Atlantic LLC
Greenwich, Connecticut
Steven A. Denning is the Chairman of General Atlantic LLC, a global private equity firm. He joined the firm in 1980 and has built the organization into a leading global growth investment firm with twelve offices around the globe and over $20 billion of assets under management. He is actively involved in a number of private companies, and is also a director of Engility Corp. (NYSE:EGL). Mr. Denning joined GA after working with McKinsey & Company. He received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1978. Prior to business school, Mr. Denning served for six years in the U.S. Navy, where he also earned an MS degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He received a BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1970. Mr. Denning is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and former Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). He remains on the board of TNC, and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bridgespan Group. He is an Honorary Trustee of The Brookings Institution and the American Museum of Natural History, Emeritus Chairman of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Board and an Emeritus Trustee of the National Parks Conservation Association. Mr. Denning was formerly a member of the board of the McKinsey Investment Office Advisory Council, the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Science Center, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the Georgia Tech Foundation Inc., and the Cancer Research Institute. Mr. Denning grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. He and his wife, Roberta, currently reside in Greenwich, CT, and San Francisco, CA. They have two children, Robert and Carrie.
Eric Dillon
Chief Investment Officer and Founder, Silver Creek
Seattle, Washington
Silver Creek is an alternative investment advisory firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Eric Dillon is Silver Creek’s Chief Investment Officer and Founder. Mr. Dillon is the Chair of the Investment Committee, which is responsible for all investment research activities, portfolio management and portfolio risk management. In conjunction with these responsibilities, Mr. Dillon sits on numerous advisory boards of Silver Creek portfolio investments. Mr. Dillon has been involved in the investment industry since 1982 when he started his career as a stockbroker at Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he became a Senior Vice President. Mr. Dillon continued his investment career with Salomon Smith Barney, where he evaluated and monitored investment advisory firms for institutional and private investors. Mr. Dillon launched his first fund of hedge fund product offering, Dillon/Flaherty Market Neutral Fund, L.P. (now known as DFP Fund, L.P.) in 1994 while he was an employee of Smith Barney. Mr. Dillon has experience in various private business transactions, including being a founding investor and advisory board member of Amazon.com, AQuantive (later sold to Microsoft), and Wizards of the Coast. In addition to his background in investments, Mr. Dillon is on the board of the Nature Conservancy of Idaho and also owns several ranches in Central Montana that are focused on creating sustainable agriculture and ranching models which are consistent with wildlife management.
Aaron Enrico
Founder and Managing Partner, Black Bear Partners
Dallas, Texas
Aaron is the Founder and Managing Partner of Black Bear Partners, a growth capital investment firm located in Dallas, Texas. He has had a broad and expansive career in principal investing, marketing and strategy consulting, and general management. Aaron was most recently the Chief Financial & Development Officer for Genesco Sports Enterprises, Inc., a sports marketing and consulting firm based in Dallas and with offices in Charlotte, Chicago and New York. Aaron served as a Principal with CIC Advantage Holdings LLC (CIC Partners LP), with a particular investment focus on restaurant, retail, consumer packaged goods and media. Aaron started his career with McKinsey & Company, and also served in marketing and management capacities with the sports marketing conglomerate International Management Group (IMG) and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Aaron currently serves as a Director of Bitty Foods, Force of Nature Enterprises, Hail Merry Inc., Seven Mile Suites Ltd. (Comfort Suites Grand Cayman) and Wolf Manufacturing, and as a Board Member of Ecologic Brands, Inc., and formerly sat on the boards of giggle, MosquitoNix, Red Mango and Signstorey (CBS Outernet). In addition, he has served in various advisor and board capacities with the Greenhill School, Duke University Annual Fund Executive Committee, Duke University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors, the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas and the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. Aaron received his BA in History and Comparative Area Studies from Duke University and his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He lives in Dallas with his wife and their three children.
John Fahey
Former Chairman and CEO, The National Geographic Society
District of Columbia
John Fahey was chairman of the National Geographic Society from January 2011 until February 2016. Fahey was chief executive officer of the National Geographic Society from March 1998 to December 2013 and president of the organization from March 1998 to December 2010. During his tenure as president and CEO, Fahey led an evolution of the National Geographic Society, including its entry into cable television with the National Geographic Channels, currently available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries in 48 languages; the international growth of National Geographic magazine, now published in English and 40 local-language editions; and the extension of National Geographic content into virtually every aspect of digital media. In addition to continuing the Society’s efforts to improve geographic literacy, Fahey guided the significant expansion of the Society’s Mission Programs during the past decade, including the creation of the National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, Fellows and Emerging Explorers programs. Prior to joining NGS, he was chairman, president and CEO of Time Life Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., for seven years. In February 2014, President Obama appointed Fahey to a six-year term on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, the governing body of the Smithsonian Institution. He also serves on the board and executive committee of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as well as the boards of Time Inc., where he is lead director, Johnson Outdoors Inc., and Great Plains Investment LLC.
Lynn Friess
Executive, Friess Associates Inc. (Retired 11/2010)
Jackson, Wyoming
Growing up in a farming community of New York State, Lynn received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin. She married her "Marlboro Man" and helped build a family business and raise four children. Named as one of the Outstanding Women of Wilmington, Delaware, for her volunteer work, Lynn continues to work in the fields of arts and education. She has served as Chair of the Board of the National Museum of Wildlife Art, located in Jackson, Wyoming. Taking her love of art and story telling, she created five award winning children's books. Current activities include helping build a private school for Kindergarten through 8th Grade; serving as the first elected woman Board Chair of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; collecting art; enjoying her fourteen grandchildren; traveling with her husband; and working on her sixth book.
John Fullerton
General Partner, JBF Capital, Inc.
Aspen, Colorado
John Fullerton is the general partner of a limited partnership specializing in public equity investments. From 1983 through 1994, he served as an institutional portfolio manager for the Boston Company where he managed U.S. equity portfolios for corporate pension plan and charitable endowment clients. Earlier in his career he worked in various capacities for American Express Company and subsidiaries in budgeting, planning, finance and investments. Current board affiliations include: Aspen Words; The Aspen Music Festival and School; and The Better Angels Society. Born in 1945, Mr. Fullerton was raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He received a BSBA in Economics from Miami University in 1967, and in 1982, earned a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation. He and his wife Jessica have two grown children and seven wonderful grandchildren. They live in Aspen, Colorado.
Sean Gerrity
President, American Prairie Reserve
Bozeman, Montana
Sean Gerrity is committed to wildlife conservation and creating the largest wildlife complex ever assembled in the continental United States. When complete, the Reserve will comprise some 3.5 million contiguous acres (14,000 square kilometers) of native grassland in northeastern Montana, with a goal of restoring every type of wildlife abundance the landscape once contained. Sean and his team are dedicated to building the Reserve as a way to permanently preserve part of America's rich natural heritage. He hopes to inspire others around the globe to use similarly creative 21st-century solutions on our world’s conservation challenges. Prior to joining American Prairie Reserve, Sean co-founded Catalyst Consulting, a Silicon Valley-based company specializing in organization alignment and strategy development. Leading the American Prairie Reserve project has enabled him to combine his business skills with his passion for wildlife to leave an extraordinary, nature-based legacy for future generations. Sean has lived many places around the U.S., but grew up primarily in Great Falls, Montana, spent summers working in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, Montana, and is a graduate of Montana State University. He lives in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife Kayla, and serves on the board of the Washington, D.C.-based educational technology startup STEAM Engine Inc., as well as on the advisory council of Bozeman’s Thrive, which provides families with the resources, tools and support to raise healthy, successful children. Sean is also a National Geographic Explorer and was featured in National Geographic's Innovators series.
Martha Handler
President, Wolf Conservation Center
New York, New York
Martha Handler spent her early career working as an environmental consultant to the EPA, DOE and numerous private businesses in Washington, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1999 she and her family relocated to NY where she joined the board of the Wolf Conservation Center located in South Salem, New York. She is currently Board President and is focused on wolf education and reintroduction. In addition, she is a volunteer at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a 900 women, maximum security prison. Martha splits her time between New York City and Westchester and immensely enjoys going on "off the grid" adventures.
Liliane A. Haub
Philanthropist
Greenwich, Connecticut
Liliane A. Haub was born in Switzerland, raised in Austria and has been living in the U.S. since 1989. She serves on several boards: Georgetown University, College Board of Advisors to the Dean of College of Arts and Sciences; Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming; and is a Member of the Advisory Board of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Together with her husband, Christian, Liliane served as co-chair of the campaign cabinet of Fast Forward, a subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. An avid runner, she finished the NYC marathon several times to raise awareness and funds for the MS Society, and is still very active with the local chapter. She is also on the board of the Elizabeth Haub Foundation for Environmental Law and Diplomacy, USA and Canada, which was founded by the Haub family, who is engaged in its fifth generation of retail business and investments. Since 2015, Liliane has served on the board of American Prairie Reserve, an organization that is creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States. Liliane has an extensive background and training in art. A passionate art collector of Contemporary and American Western Art, she is a member of the board at the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington state. Liliane and Christian reside in Greenwich, CT, and they have four children. Christian and Liliane are the co-chairs of the Parents Leadership Council at Boston College. They love spending time at their family ranch in Wyoming and are passionate about outdoor activities and open space.
Karen Isaac
Community Volunteer
Larchmont, New York
A Larchmont, NY resident since 1986, Karen, is a former PR professional (corporate, consulting and agency), community volunteer and mother of four. Karen has had leadership positions in numerous civic, community, performing arts, religious, educational and athletic activities. Board positions have included: the Emelin Theatre of Performing Arts, Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church, Junior League of Westchester on the Sound and Larchmont Temple Religious School Board. Golf, family and friends are her particular passions.
Gene Jones
Dallas Civic and Philanthropic Leader
Dallas, Texas
One of Texas’ most influential supporters of the arts, Gene Jones’ Dallas Cowboys Art Collection at AT&T Stadium has been shared with millions of visitors. Housing over 50 museum quality pieces from an international array of artists, it is the focal point for several youth art education programs. In a lifetime dedicated to helping others, Gene has contributed to her community by serving as co-chair of the executive board for the Meadows School for the Arts at Southern Methodist University. She additionally supports artistic efforts in North Texas with membership on the Board of Directors for the AT&T Center for Performing Arts and the Dallas Museum of Art Board of Trustees. Her more than two decade association with the Salvation Army has included membership into the William Booth Society as well as service on the Army’s National Advisory Board. A member of the Texas Cultural Trust Board, she received the organization’s Individual Art Patron Award in 2013.
Elizabeth Baker Keffer
Managing Director and Chief Network Officer, BDT & Company
Chicago, Illinois
Elizabeth Baker Keffer is a Managing Director and Chief Network Officer of BDT & Company. Prior to joining BDT, Elizabeth was President of AtlanticLIVE, the events division of The Atlantic, where she also was Publisher from 2001 to 2007. Prior to joining Atlantic Media, Elizabeth served as EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at the Advisory Board Company and Corporate Executive Board. Elizabeth is a board member of Research!America and Ford’s Theatre, and a member of the National Jury for the American Prairie Reserve’s Ken Burns American Heritage Prize. Elizabeth received a BA in English and minor concentration in Human Biology from Brown University.
Jacqueline B. Mars
Retired Vice President, Mars, Inc.
The Plains, Virginia
Mrs. Mars is the owner of a working farm that specializes in organic farming and equine training and breeding. David and Karen O’Connor, Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalists in the sport of three-day eventing, have trained and ridden her competition horses at her two locations in The Plains, Virginia, and Ocala, Florida. Mrs. Mars is the retired Vice President of Mars, Inc., where she was responsible for development of new food products and their marketing strategy. She is a strong supporter of conservation groups concerning land use and the environment as well as an advocate and supporter of women’s education and their employment in the business community. Since 2014, Mrs. Mars has served on the board of American Prairie Reserve, an organization that is creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States. A passionate promoter of the arts, she is Chairman of the Washington National Opera, a member of the board of trustees of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, as well as Vice Chairman of the National Sporting Library & Museum.
Susan Matelich
Philanthropist
Larchmont, New York
Susan is a philanthropist and devoted volunteer at many organizations. She is a regular, active crew-member and Board Treasurer of her local Volunteer Ambulance Corps and she holds New York State, National Registry EMT and Wilderness EMT certifications. Susan and her husband, George, are also dedicated to aiding first-generation college and graduate students, and have established undergraduate scholarships at the University of Puget Sound and Vanderbilt University, as well as an important fund for fellowships at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Since 2008, Susan has served on the board of American Prairie Reserve, a privately funded organization working to build America’s largest grassland public park. In the fall of 2015, Susan joined the Board of Trustees of the New York Botanical Garden and currently serves on their Budget Committee. Born in Alberta, Canada, Susan moved to New York and earned a BS in Marketing, cum laude, from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and enjoyed a successful 15-year career as a commercial fashion model and spokesperson. Susan and George currently reside in Larchmont, New York, when they are not fly-fishing with their three adult children in Montana.
Jeff Miller
President, JAMM Ventures
Diablo, California
Jeff Miller is President of JAMM Ventures, a business consulting company. Prior to establishing his firm, Jeff spent from 2002 through 2006 as a venture partner with Redpoint Ventures. At Redpoint, Jeff’s area of focus was mentoring CEOs of several Redpoint companies, particularly those in the enterprise and infrastructure software markets. Most of Jeff’s career was spent in operating companies. He was CEO of Documentum, Inc. (DCTM), an enterprise document management software company, from 1993 to 2001, and Chairman of the Board from 1999 to 2003. Under Jeff’s leadership, Documentum became one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country. Starting as a private company with 15 employees and $500K of sales when he joined, by 2001 Documentum had become a publically traded NASDAQ company with 1,200 employees and revenues over $200 million. Jeff has more than 40 years of high tech experience in semiconductors, hardware, and software companies, having spent the early years of his career at Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, and holding senior marketing and general management executive positions at Adaptec and Cadence Design Systems. Jeff has served on the Board of Directors of a number of high technology companies. He currently serves on the Boards of two private companies, Datameer Inc. (Big Data Analytics Solutions) and Lithium Technologies (Social CRM solutions), and one public company, ServiceNow (SaaS for IT; NOW NYSE). Jeff also serves on three philanthropic Boards: American Prairie Reserve and two connected with Santa Clara University; the Board of Trustees and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society. Jeff holds a Masters of Business Administration (1976) and a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (1973) from Santa Clara University.
Nancy Mueller
Retired Founder/President, Nancy's Specialty Foods
Palo Alto, California
Nancy Mueller has a love of marine and terrestrial eco-systems derived from world- wide experiences. Growing up in Latham, NY, she majored in biology and then chemistry at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. Upon graduation, she followed her future husband to Palo Alto, CA, where Glenn Mueller completed a Stanford MBA and she worked for Syntex Corporation in pharmaceutical chemistry. Two children later and with a venture capital husband, Nancy started her own business, Nancy’s Specialty Foods, parlaying Nancy’s Quiche, both appetizers and entrees, to national distribution through retail and club store venues. She sold the business after 22 years of exciting entrepreneurism in 1999. Seeking new experiences, and having spent quality family time aboard sailing and power yachts for many years, she planned to fulfill a dream. She hired a team: designer, naval architect and builder, Feadship, and had the 42.5 m Super-yacht, M/Y Andiamo, built for round the world cruising and diving. Ten years later, after touring hundreds of remote islands and countries with friends and family, she sold the vessel and returned to a more normal life. Since 2014, Nancy has served on the board of American Prairie Reserve, an organization that is creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States.
Susan Myers
Philanthropist
Atherton, California
Susan has been a board member of American Prairie Reserve along with her husband Gib since 2002. The opportunity to assemble a huge prairie ecosystem full of wildlife in the 21st century is very compelling and exciting to her. Every time she visits the prairie she enjoys being on the landscape and going to find the bison herd. She and Gib would love to see a herd of 10,000 bison in their lifetime. Susan has an interest in food sustainability and has been a member of a food investor group through the Philanthropy Workshop in San Francisco. She is also involved with FoodCorps a national nonprofit that connects kids to healthy food in schools. The intersecting issues of food, health, wellness and social justice are important ones to her. Susan is a member of Impact Partners, a social interest film fund that invests primarily in documentaries. IP has supported a number of films at the Sundance Film Festival. She is also on the advisory board of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation. In the past she has served on an independent school board, Crystal Springs Uplands School and the Peninsula Bridge, an educational summer experience for underprivileged students. Susan has three children and five grandchildren. She enjoys travel, golf, skiing, bridge, reading and spending time with her family. Susan holds a BA in German Studies from Stanford University.
Nancy A. Nasher
President and Owner, NorthPark Center
Dallas, Texas
Nancy Nasher is President and Owner of NorthPark Center, Dallas’ premier shopping destination and one of the top five performing shopping centers in the United States. In 2015, NorthPark surpassed $1.3 billion in total overall sales. Since 1995, Nancy and her husband, David Haemisegger, have elevated the renowned landmark with the very best in retail, art, architecture, and landscaping to create a shopping experience unlike anything else in the world. A graduate of The Hockaday School, Princeton University and Duke University School of Law, Nancy has dedicated her professional and personal life to the betterment of Dallas as a real estate leader and as one of the city’s greatest advocates for the arts. Nancy was instrumental in the creation of the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, and Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She is involved with numerous cultural and educational organizations and serves on multiple boards both locally and nationally. Nancy resides in Dallas with her husband, David, and together have three children: Sarah, David and Isabelle.
Susan O'Connor
Environmental and Arts Advocate
Missoula, Montana
Susan O’Connor is an environmental and arts advocate. She lives in Missoula, Montana, with her husband, Roy, and supports community projects. She has served on the boards of several art museums, including the Menil, in Houston, Texas. She has also been a board member of the Orion Society and American Prairie Reserve. She co-founded several non-profits including Pacific Writers Connection, Ala Kukui: Hana Retreat, Ohana Makamae and Families First both in Boston and Missoula. She is a co-editor, with Annick Smith, of The Wide Open: Prose, Poetry and Photographs of the Prairie, and is presently editing another anthology based on the concept of hearth. She has four children, three grandchildren, and raises black labs.
Signe Ostby
Enabler
Woodside, California
Signe describes her job as an Enabler as she works very hard to enable her family members to live life at their fullest and achieve their dreams! Given her family’s wide variety of interests and goals, it's a very big job! After a professional career in consumer packaged goods and high tech marketing, she is currently working as a restoration rancher, a property and construction manager, and is developing expertise in a wide variety of areas including livestock breeding, producing award-winning hand knitting yarn, breeding and raising grand prix show jumpers, microclimates and their effects on crops, Ethiopian hay varieties, pasture raised beef, gardens that thrive in different climates and how to resurrect a lake. Her bags are always packed as she travels weekly. Together with her husband, Scott, Signe is committed to investing in organizations that will measurably improve public education particularly raising underserved kids’ ability to read and do math at grade level and in research to find the cause and a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Signe is on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund and the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, especially with her own alpaca and cormo yarn, planning her gardens, trail riding and playing bridge with friends. The family enjoys her flowers and vegetables from her garden, the eggs from her chickens, and the pinot noir from her vineyard. Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Ostby earned MBA and BA degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She lives in Woodside, California, with husband, Scott Cook, and has three terrific kids, David, Karl and Annie Cook.
Gerald L. Parsky
Chairman, Aurora Capital Group
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Gerald Parsky is the Chairman of Aurora Capital Group, a private investment firm. Previously, Mr. Parsky served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 1974-1977. For the next 14 years, Mr. Parsky was affiliated with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was a Senior Partner and member of the Executive and Management Committees. In 1991, Mr. Parsky founded Aurora Capital Group. Past activities include: Regent, University of California; Trustee, Princeton University. Present activities include: Trustee, The RAND Corporation; Trustee, George Bush Presidential Library Foundation; Trustee, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; Board of Directors, The Irvine Company. Mr. Parsky is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia Law School.
Marshall Payne
Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner, CIC Partners
Dallas, Texas
Marshall has been an active private equity investor for over thirty years, beginning his career at Cardinal Investment Company in 1983 and co-founding CIC Partners in 2004. Notable investments include the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Restoration Hardware. Marshall has served on many public and private boards of his portfolio companies. He and his wife, Dee Ann, are active in civic affairs and education and health care initiatives. Marshall currently serves on the board of Impact Dallas Capital, which sponsors for-profit social impact investing funds, beginning with the GrowSouth Fund in 2013 and Dee Ann sits on the Baylor Health Care System Foundation. Marshall and Dee Ann have also been active as supporters and board members of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, the Madison Council of the Library of Congress, the Stanford University School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences, All Saints Church Dallas and One Kid One World. They have three children, Benton, William and Laura. Marshall holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
David Pfeil
President, Pfeil Holdings Corporation; President, The Pfeil Foundation
Plano, Texas
David Pfeil is President of both Pfeil Holdings Corporation, the family’s investment company, and The Pfeil Foundation. In 1989, Pfeil founded a healthcare company that he sold in 2013. From 1983 -1989 Pfeil was a consulting partner with Ernst & Young. Pfeil is on the executive committee of BSA’s Circle Ten and is Chairman of its STEM Committee. Pfeil is on the Board of The Better Angel’s Society, the organization dedicated to supporting filmmakers documenting America’s history. Pfeil supports the Bush Presidential Institute, with special interest in the Military Services and Women’s Initiatives. He is on the Finance Committee of Children’s Health and the Board of Children’s Medical Center of Plano. Pfeil and his wife, Kelly, are the Co-Chairs of the American Heart Association’s 2017 Cote du Coeur heart ball, a $4,000,000 black tie fundraiser. His hobbies include golf and ranching where he raises bison, elk, and whitetail deer.
Greg Rohan
President and Partner, Heritage Auctions
Dallas, Texas
Greg Rohan is President of, and a partner in, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, the 3rd largest auction house in the world. His responsibilities include overseeing the firm’s New York office. Greg has been involved with many of the rarest items and most important collections handled by the firm. He has provided expert testimony for the United States Attorney and the Federal Trade Commission, and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Anderson Cooper, ABC, and CBS. He works with collectors, consignors, and their advisors in every one of Heritage’s 40 categories. The clients he has worked with have included the families of actor John Wayne and publisher Malcolm Forbes, Random House Publishing, Time-Warner, Frito-Lay, Stanford University, Columbia University, and The Smithsonian Institution. Greg is a past Chairman of Young Presidents’ Organization for North Texas, and is a current member of WPO in Dallas and New York. He is an active supporter of the arts, is an advisor to the board at Austin College, and is a member of the Tate Lecture Board of Directors at Southern Methodist University. He co-authored the award-winning “Collectors Estate Handbook,” and he served two terms on the Advisory Board at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He and his wife, Lysa, divide their time between homes in Dallas and New York.
Laura Roosevelt
Artist
Montague, Michigan
Laura Roosevelt is an American painter whose present work combines historic American imagery with abstract painting, creating a new form of art she calls Historic American Pop. Her work is celebrated and collected throughout the Nation and in the Caribbean. Ms. Roosevelt is also experienced within the Art industry, having worked for Sotheby’s and various private galleries. She received degrees in Studio Art and Art History from Denison University and a Master’s Degree from New York University. Ms. Roosevelt is on the Board of Directors for The Better Angels Society, an organization committed to advancing the creative and educational legacy of Ken Burns.
David Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, The Carlyle Group
District of Columbia
David Rubenstein is a Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, founded in 1987. Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Duke University, and the Library of Congress Madison Council, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, Co-Chairman of the Brookings Institution, Vice-Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and President of the Economic Club of Washington. Rubenstein is on the Boards of Trustees of the University of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the Institute for Advanced Study, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Johns Hopkins Medicine. He is a member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and the Harvard Global Advisory Council (Chairman).
Clara Wu Tsai
President, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation
La Jolla, California
Clara graduated from Stanford University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. She began her career as a business analyst with the New York Times, and spent 8 years at American Express in New York, London, and Hong Kong, the last two years as Vice President of International Card Partnerships for Asia Pacific. During her time with American Express, Clara was responsible for securing co-brand partnerships with airlines and hotels; she also served as the General Manager of the U.S. Dollar Card business unit for Asia Pacific. From 2005 to 2008, she was the General Manager of the Hong Kong operations of Taobao (www.taobao.com), the largest online shopping web site in China. At Taobao, she was responsible for the launch of a special channel featuring Hong Kong merchants targeted at mainland China consumers. She continues to advise Taobao on its international strategy. Clara serves on the Advisory Councils of the National Geographic Society and Stanford Bio-X, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Lincoln Center in New York City.
Kendrick R. Wilson, III
Vice Chairman, BlackRock Global Executive and Operating Committees
New York, New York
Mr. Wilson is a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Operating Committees. He also serves as Chairman of the Firm’s Veterans Network and Co-Chair of its Human Capital and Philanthropy Committees. Mr. Wilson has oversight responsibility for BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship and Strategic Product Management activities. Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Wilson served as an advisor in the U.S. Department of Treasury during the height of the financial crisis. Before going to Washington, he was Vice Chairman, Investment Banking of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and a member of the firm’s Executive office. He also served as Chairman of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. Before joining Goldman, Mr. Wilson was a Vice Chairman, member of the Executive Committee and head of Investment Banking at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. During his long career on Wall Street, Mr. Wilson has been involved in some of the most significant transactions in the financial services industry. Mr. Wilson has served on Boards of numerous public and private corporations in the United States and overseas. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Middlebury College and the Montana Land Reliance and Board Chair of Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Montana State University Alumni Foundation. Mr. Wilson earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. An honor graduate of OCS and Ranger School, he served in Vietnam with a unit of the Studies and Observations Group (SOG).
Matt Wollman
Chairman and CEO, Strategic Services International, Inc.
Los Angeles, California
Matt J. Wollman is an entrepreneur, corporate strategist, internationalist, and author with forty years’ experience in business leadership, strategic development and management in both the private and public sectors. Mr. Wollman serves as Chairman and CEO of Strategic Services International, Inc., a global security consultancy and advisory firm whose activities span geo-political policy and security matters across the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Interactive Health LLC, a company he founded in 1979, and current CEO of Strategic Media Intel LLC, a media company and publisher of ARareWorld. His community-mindedness is reflected in a long and distinguished career in public service with the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, where he currently serves as Reserve Commander, International Affairs. Mr. Wollman is a member of the RAND Corporation’s Center for Global Risk and Security Advisory Board. He co-authored Moving Toward the Future of Policing (RAND, 2011). In 2010 he was recognized by President Nicolas Sarkozy with the Ordre national du Mérite in the degree of Chevalier.
Kenneth M. Woolley
Executive Chairman, Extra Space Storage Inc.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mr. Woolley founded Extra Space Storage, Inc. forty years ago and was CEO until 2009. Since then, he has acted as Executive Chairman. Extra Space Storage, Inc. is a NYSE listed company and the second largest self-storage REIT with over 1400 properties in 37 states. Mr. Woolley was born and raised in California and received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Brigham Young University and an MBA and Ph.D. in Business from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. For five years, early in his career, he lived in Cody, Wyoming. There, he led a company involved in cattle ranching and supplying products to ranchers. Since that time he has lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has spent a lifetime of outdoor activities in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains and the plains country of Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. Mr. Woolley was a founding trustee of Global Heritage Fund, which has as its mandate to help preserve important archeological sites around the world. He is also Vice President, Treasurer, and Director of American Indian Services which provides more than 4,000 scholarships a year for Native Americans of all tribes.