Howard M. Anderson
Howard Anderson is a founding partner and the Senior Managing Director of YankeeTek Ventures. He is also the founder of The Yankee Group, a high-technology research and consulting firm, where he served as President and CEO from 1970 until 2000. The Yankee Group was sold to Reuters, a New York Stock Exchange firm. In addition, Howard is the William Porter Distinguished Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he teaches courses on entrepreneurship and the management of high-technology firms. Howard was a founder of Battery Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm specializing in technology companies. He has served as a Managing Partner and a Special Limited Partner since the company's inception. Network World recently selected Howard as one of the 25 most important people in communications. He has presented keynote addresses at both Comdex and Network Interop.
Gerald Chertavian
Gerald Chertavian combined his entrepreneurial skills and his passion for working with urban young adults to found Year Up in 2000. Year Up is recognized by Fast Company and The Monitor Group as one of the top 25 organizations in the nation using business excellence to engineer social change. Gerald's commitment to working with urban youth spans more than 20 years. He has actively participated in the Big Brother mentoring program since 1985 and was recognized as one of New York's outstanding Big Brothers in 1989. The recipient of the 2003 Social Entrepreneurship Award by the Manhattan Institute and the 2005 Freedom House Archie R. Williams, Jr. Technology Award, Gerald has been featured in many publications, including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, BusinessWeek, Fortune Small Business, and The Christian Science Monitor. He currently serves as a Trustee of Cambridge College and Bowdoin College and is on the Board of Advisors for the Harvard Business School Enterprise Club and New Sector Alliance. Gerald earned a B.A. in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School. He began his career on Wall Street as an officer of the Chemical Banking Corporation and then moved on to become the head of marketing at Transnational Financial Services in London. Gerald co-founded Conduit Communications in 1993 and fostered its growth to $20M in annual revenues and more than 130 employees in London, Amsterdam, New York and Boston. Following the sale of Conduit to i-Cube in 1999, Gerald turned his full attention to opportunities for others.
John H. Finley, IV
In 1997, John H. Finley, IV co-founded Epiphany School, a tuition-free, independent middle school for children from low-income families in Boston. John also serves on the boards of the Association of Independent Schools of New England, Codman Academy Charter High School, the Harvard College Overseers Visiting Committee for the Memorial Church, The Nativity Schools Network, and On The Rise (an innovative program for homeless women in Somerville & Cambridge). He is a trustee of the Stephen Phillips Trusts, which include both an historic house museum in Salem and a last-dollar college scholarship program that awards several million dollars a year. John is active at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill and a postulant in the ordination process with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. John lives in downtown Boston with his partner, Stan McGee, who is a corporate attorney at Hale & Dorr.
Gretchen S. Fish
Gretchen Fish earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke University Woman's College in 1968. She was the president of a Boston-area real estate development firm, The Hampton Corp., and previously worked for The Langelier Co, a real estate syndicator also based in Boston. Gretchen holds several board leadership positions, most notably, within the Duke University in and Brigham and Women's Hospital organizations. She is a member of the Campaign for Duke University Steering Committee, Library Advisory Board, and its major gifts committee. A Trustee of The Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Gretchen served as Co-Chair of the 'Great Medicine in the Making' Capital Campaign, which achieved its goal of raising over $200 Million for the hospital. Along with her husband Edward, Gretchen lives in Weston, MA. The two have seven children.
Shawn Neville
Shawn Neville is currently the President of Keds Corporation, a division of the Stride Rite Corporation since July 2004 responsible for Keds, PRO-Keds and Grasshoppers brands. Prior to joining Stride Rite, Shawn was President & CEO of Footstar's athletic division, including the management of their retail division, Footaction, USA. From 1994 to 1999 Shawn worked for Reebok International in senior marketing, sales, and general management roles including VP US Marketing, VP US Sales, President Reebok France, and SVP / GM Reebok North America, the role he occupied prior to Footaction. Shawn worked for VISA USA as a VP of Marketing and held sales and marketing management roles at Reebok, Tambrands and Procter & Gamble. Shawn is on the National Advisory Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, and is a past National Board member. He is also a member of the National Sporting Goods Association, the Two Ten Foundation and is a past Board Member of P.E.4LIFE. He holds a B.S.B.A. Degree in HRM/Finance from the University of Denver, where he graduated with honors and was recognized as Outstanding Senior in 1984, and was nominated into Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, Outstanding Young Men of America, and numerous honorary fraternities. Shawn is married to Ruth Anne, has three children, and lives in Wellesley, MA.
John B. Pearson
John Pearson is President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, having worked in leadership roles within Big Brothers Big Sisters since the early 1970's when he founded Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Middlesex. Under his leadership and vision since 1984, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay has grown by more than 400%, and with more than 1,200 volunteers serving children each year, it is now the largest male mentoring program in the country. John's work has been the focus of numerous independent national studies that have proven the effectiveness of mentoring and has been recognized in the book Big Brother: Big Impact by Boston author Richard Grief. Despite these accomplishments, John is perhaps better known for his many leadership roles outside of his daily work. He is a Steering Committee member of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Responsible Fatherhood and Family Support; co-founder of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Large Agency Alliance; co-chairman of the Massachusetts Promise Mentor Task Force; chairman of the Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership Providers Group, and co-chairman of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay Agencies campaign. Through his direct and indirect efforts, more than 40,000 children have been served by caring and qualified mentors. A recent grandfather, Pearson resides in Franklin with his wife, Susan.
John Werner
John Werner was the Founding Campus Director and is currently the Executive Director, Citizen Schools Boston, leading nine Citizen Schools' program sites in the city and overseeing Citizen Schools' 8th Grade Academy and Alumni Services, all of which serve over 1,000 Boston youth. John has worked with Citizen Schools since its inception in 1995 and most recently served as Executive Director of Citizen Schools 8th Grade Academy and Alumni Services. Before joining Citizen Schools, John was a special education teacher in the Boston Public Schools for four years and then became principal of a residential school for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children for another four years. John is a graduate of Hamilton College in New York and president of its Boston Alumni Association. He also completed a Harvard Business School Executive program and is a member of the LeadBoston class of 2000.
Linda Whitlock
Linda Whitlock, a seasoned leader and experienced manager, is the former Nicholas President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB). Ms. Whitlock brings her passion for children to her leadership of her organization whose high-impact programs enable over 8,000 children and teens from low-income neighborhoods in Greater Boston to become responsible citizens and leaders. With an annual operating budget of $11 million and more than 200 staff, BGCB is one of the most esteemed non-profit organizations in Boston. Ms. Whitlock is an active participant on many corporate and non-profit boards, including the Boards of Directors of the Boston Stock Exchange, Cambridge Trust Company, Concord Academy, Fessenden School, Facing History and Ourselves, the Boston Children's Chorus, the Secondary School Admission Test Board, and the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools. Named one of the Most Powerful Women in Boston in 2003 by Boston Magazine, Ms. Whitlock is the recipient of many honors, including an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Pine Manor College, the Shattuck City Champion Award from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the Heroes Among Us Award from the Boston Celtics, and the Leadership Award from ACCESS, a provider of college financial aid to Boston Public School students.