Our Team - National Advisory Council

Justin Allamano
Ann Alpers (CA)
Betsy Blumenthal (CA)
Cara Brennan
Virginia Broberg (MN)
Robert Carey
Preston Dodd (CA)
Nancy Farese (CA)
Patricia Hoven (CA)
Sara Howard (CA)
Sheila Avrin McLean (NY)
Alice D. Mortenson (MN)
Michael Quinn Patton (MN)
Kyle Redford (CA)
Susan Restler (NY)
Ruth Usem (MN)
Marla Ucelli-Kashyap

Bios

Justin Allamano

Justin is an experienced land use and real estate litigation attorney, practicing in San Francisco, California. In his seven years of practice, Justin has litigated a number of environmental and land use issues including cases involving the California Environmental Quality Act and cases involving the San Francisco Planning Code. In addition, Justin has gained strong general knowledge in all areas of law. A passionate outdoor enthusiast, Justin hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the border of the United States and Mexico to Canada in 2008.

Justin also swims in the San Francisco Bay nearly every day. Justin holds a J.D. from the University of California, Davis and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego.

Ann Alpers

Ann Alpers is the president and CEO of the S. H. Cowell Foundation and serves on the foundation’s board. The Cowell Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life of Northern California’s poorest children by making grants to support and strengthen these children’s families and the communities where they live. Prior to joining the Cowell Foundation, Ann served on the faculty of the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of California, San Francisco. She also has taught health law and bioethics as a visiting professor at Stanford Law School, St. Louis University School of Law, and the University of California, Berkeley. She has published articles on legal and ethical issues in caring for adolescents and children and legal and ethical issues involving end-of-life care. From 1999-2003, Ann was on sabbatical leave to hold public office. During her leave, she was Deputy City Attorney for Health and Human Services for the City and County of San Francisco. Ann lives in San Francisco with her husband and three daughters.

Betsy Blumenthal

Betsy Blumenthal is a senior managing director in the San Francisco office of Kroll’s Business Intelligence and Investigations practice. For over 19 years, Betsy has worked on a substantial array of business transactions, many involving multinational corporations and private equity firms. Betsy frequently undertakes pre-transaction domestic and international due diligence investigations and business intelligence assignments. With a background in finance, politics and non-profit organizations, Betsy provides her clients with a wealth of diverse experience and business perspective. Responsible for a significant portion of Kroll’s business development activity and client relationships, Betsy’s investigative and advisory expertise are frequently engaged by corporations, government agencies and high net-worth individuals. Prior to joining Kroll, Betsy served as Deputy Finance Chair for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. Earlier in her career, Betsy worked in the special equities department at LF Rothschild and Home Box Office. She has served on the Board of International Rescue Committee, Legal Services for Children, and East Harlem Tutorial Program. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.

Cara Brennan

Cara is a seasoned Human Resources executive with over a decade of experience in the communications, advertising and technology industries. She began her career at Knight Ridder and has since worked with prominent companies such as Young & Rubicam and Guthy-Renker, Inc. Cara is a true generalist who directs all aspects of the HR function within businesses, from performance management and recruiting to legal compliance, compensation and benefits. She has successfully managed large HR groups as well as founded and developed HR functions within smaller firms and consulted with technology start ups ContextOptional.com and Granicus.com. Cara is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources through the Society for Human Resources Management and holds a master's degree in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude from the the University of Kentucky and maintains a connection to academia through her teaching at the University of California, Berkeley Extension. Cara is an active supporter of the non-profit animal rescue organization Muttville and is also an advisor to World Savvy. She enjoys all aspects of supporting the talent that drives organizational success.

Virginia Broberg

Virginia has been a marketing professional in the Twin Cities for the last 20 years. She has been involved in various community service and civic organizations which currently include board member of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches and President of GIVING WoMN, a women’s philanthropy in the Twin Cities as well as a high school varsity tennis coach. She is also the past president of the Junior League of Minneapolis, board member of St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, and The Minnesota Opera.

Robert Carey

Robert is a senior consultant with Loeb Consulting Group, LLC specializing in IT project management, business analysis, organizational management, teamwork, and leadership development. As an IT executive with over 25 years experience working with multinational businesses operating across a variety of industries across the world, Bob demonstrates expertise in leading and building technology teams focused on creating and implementing value-added IT solutions, products and services. From 1992 to 2008 Bob was employed by the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom & Affiliates LLP in New York City. As Assistant Director, Network Systems, he provided direction and leadership for many of the Firm’s IT functional areas: applications development, telecommunications, network management, data center operations, data architecture, project management, and business analysis functions. In addition to working with Loeb Consulting Group, LLC, Bob performs pro bono work and serves on the advisory board of World Savvy, a global education nonprofit serving youth and educators nationwide to educate and engage youth in community and world affairs, and to prepare them to learn, work, and live as responsible global citizens in the 21st century. Bob is an active member of the International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He also holds a Certificate in Global Affairs from New York University in New York City. Bob received his undergraduate degree from Manhattan College in New York City.

Preston Dodd

Preston currently serves as a company officer and Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for a Venture Capital-backed learning and content management software company, CERTPOINT Systems. Earlier in his career, Preston worked as a Senior Analyst, Technology & Operations, at Jupiter Research in New York, where he produced dozens of published research reports, served as a featured speaker in over 20 U.S. and European cities, and appeared in such media outlets as ABC World News Tonight, the BBC, CNBC, CNN, US News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal Europe. His background also includes building and managing the teams that developed the first public Website for CBS News and the initial Internet reservation system interface for United Airlines. Preston holds degrees from Harvard University and Duke University, is an alumnus of Teach for America (Los Angeles), and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Harvard University Club of San Francisco, where he leads volunteer efforts as the Vice President of Community Service.

Nancy Farese

Nancy Farese is a philanthropist and photographer living in Marin County. She currently serves on the boards of Southwire Company, the largest private manufacturer of wire and cable in the US, and Envisions Schools, a charter school management company with 4 Bay area schools. She has served on a variety of non-profit boards including Chair of the Board of the Friends of the SF Public Library, overseeing a major capital and political campaign, several private foundation boards and private school boards, as well as the Photo Accession Committee at SF-MOMA. As a photographer she provides photographic support to non-profit organizations to help document and promote causes, and has pioneered the concept of Photophilanthropy: Promoting Social Activism Through Photography to encourage and reward people who use photography for social purpose. In addition to World Savvy, her work has been published in association with a wide range of NGOs in Africa and the US, including The Infectious Disease Institutes in Uganda, Wood River Land Trust, Mapendo, International Rescue Committee, and Envisions Schools. She has a BA from Vanderbilt University, is the mother of five children ages 14-22, and is originally from Carrollton, Georgia. Please visit her websites: www.nancyfaresephotography.com and www.photophilanthropy.org.

Patricia Hoven

In January 2000, Pat formed Corporate Community Partnerships, a consulting business. Prior to forming her business, Pat was V.P. of Social Responsibility for Honeywell. Her responsibilities while at Honeywell for over 20 years included the Honeywell Foundation, Community Relations and Local Government Affairs. Pat has served on many non-profit boards locally and nationally. Presently she is a member of the bad o Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, Race for the Cure, Steven’s Square Foundation, and ClearWay Minnesota, of which she is chair.

Sara Howard

Sara Howard is an outreach consultant for World Savvy working on the World Savvy Monitor. She holds a BA in International Relations and a Masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, with an emphasis in International Energy, Security Studies and Comparative Political Development. Sara has worked extensively in the non-profit sector. In addition to her work as a philanthropic consultant for a family foundation, she has worked at the Asia Foundation, the Institute for International Education, and the US Information Agency, Africa Branch. She also worked at the Industry Council for Development, where she was responsible for coordinating and implementing short-term development projects with UNDP, USAID and other multilateral organizations. Sara has held a variety of leadership positions at non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. She presently sits on the Board and Executive Committee of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, the newly created Coleman Action Fund, and is a Trustee at Marin Ballet. She is a former Board member of La Casa de las Madres, the Junior League of San Francisco and the Marin Country Day School Parent Board. Sara resides in Marin County, California with her husband and three daughters.

Alice D. Mortenson

Alice is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a degree in history. She is M. A. Mortenson Company�s director of community relations, president of the Mortenson Family Foundation, and a director of M. A. Mortenson Company since 1998. In addition to her role as director of M. A. Mortenson Company, Alice served on the corporate boards of Investors Savings Bank and Reliastar Bank.Alice is also a board member of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches and serves on the Board of Visitors for the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2005 Alice established a chair in her home department at the University. The Alice D. Mortenson/Petrovich Chair in Russian History honors Michael B. Petrovich, an esteemed faculty member. Alice has served on the boards of many other corporate, civic, and community service organizations as well as two terms on the Hennepin County Bar Association Board of Professional Responsibility and two terms on the Minnesota Supreme Court Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board.

Michael Quinn Patton

Michael is an independent organizational development and evaluation consultant. He was on the social sciences faculty of the University of Minnesota for 18 years, including five years as Director of the Minnesota Center for Social Research. He is former President of the American Evaluation Association and author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation, 4th ed., and Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 3rd ed. He co-authored Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed, a book that applies complexity theory and systems thinking to innovation and developmental evaluation.

Kyle Redford

Kyle Redford received her BA from University of Colorado in Political Science and her MA in American History from Northwestern University. She is currently a fifth-grade teacher at Marin Country Day School. Kyle has been an educator for twenty-five years. In addition to teaching every grade from K through 9, she served as a founding board member of the Sundance Mountain School, and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Kyle has created service-learning programs and global education curriculum for several independent schools.

Ruth Usem

Ruth Usem of Minneapolis is a philanthropist and civic leader. She serves on the boards of directors of several local and national organizations, including Ready for "K", WomenWinning, Save America's Treasurers, and People for the American Way. She also served on the Minneapolis Central Library Campaign Committee and on the Advisory Council of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She was a producer for the documentary "Mondale", the story of vice president Walter Mondale's service to our nation.

Marla Ucelli-Kashyap

Marla Ucelli-Kashyap is Director of District Redesign and Leadership for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University - a national policy-research and reform support organization that focuses on improving conditions and outcomes in U.S. urban school communities. She oversees the Institute’s knowledge building, technical assistance, and tool development efforts in support of “smart districts” –school districts and communities redesigning themselves to get results and equity for all students.

Marla has also been an independent consultant in education policy, a political press secretary, and a reporter. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of New York University and holds an M.P.A. from Rutgers. Among her professional service activities, Marla is chair of the board of Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. (publisher of Education Week), and is a trustee of Washington, D.C. based Center on Education Policy. She was also a founding co-chair of Grantmakers for Education, a professional development and service organization for private and corporate funders.

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