Alberto Monserrate

Stan Alleyne

Stan serves as the chief of communications and partnerships for Vitals Aware Services. Previous roles include communications at Tunheim, chief of communications for Minneapolis Public Schools and, in North Carolina, director of communications for Buncombe County Schools and public relations officer for Wayne County Schools.

Alvin Abraham

Alvin is the founding dean of the Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas. Alvin started his career as an elementary educator with Teach For America and then continued teaching in Houston. A proven leader, Alvin quickly ascended into educational administration as an assistant principal, then principal, in Houston. He relocated to Minneapolis in 2012 to lead KIPP MN. Alvin holds a B.S. from Texas A&M University and a M.Ed. from the University of Houston. He is on the board of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and serves on the national advisory board of Teach For America–The Collective.

Rob Albright

Rob is a principal and founder of Alternative Strategy Advisers, a boutique investment firm based in Minneapolis. Prior to this, he was the president of EW Blanch Asset Management, an asset management business. Rob has also worked for Cargill Financial Markets and the LEK Partnership.

Rosita Balch

Rosita is a planning analyst at Hennepin County, specializing in family advocacy. She also supports Latino families through the Latino Youth Development Collaborative, empowering parents with information and advocacy skills. Rosita is a graduate of Universidad de La Salle.

Becky Erdahl

Becky is the executive director of the Carolyn Foundation, which has assets of $32 million and conducts grant-making in Minneapolis and New Haven, Conn. Becky has been with the foundation for 15 years and previously was a principal with the Philanthropy Consultancy and vice president of community relations for The Pillsbury Company.

Al Fan

Al served as executive director for MN Comeback and Charter School Partners, and worked at General Mills—in various marketing and sales positions—at Accenture, and with numerous organizations in the areas of technology, systems development, and strategic planning. Al serves on the board of trustees for The Minneapolis Foundation and on the leadership council for Generation Next.

Ethan Gray

Ethan is a partner at The City Fund, a nonprofit organization that supports city-based efforts to help more children access great public schools. Ethan was previously the founder and CEO of Education Cities, a national nonprofit network that supported and advised city-based education organizations on their efforts to improve public education. Before his role at Education Cities, Ethan served as vice president of The Mind Trust in Indianapolis, where he helped develop the ‘Opportunity Schools’ plan for transforming Indianapolis Public Schools.

Aimee Guidera

Aimee is the former president and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a national, nonprofit organization leading the effort to empower educators, students, parents, and policymakers with the information they need to make the best decisions to improve student outcomes. Aimee believes that data has the power to transform education to ensure every child in this country is prepared for success in college and careers.

Bernadeia Johnson

Bernadeia is an assistant professor at Mankato State University; she previously served as superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools and oversaw academic achievement for 36,000 students and 7,000 staff members. Bernadeia is a former fifth grade, National Board Certified teacher who has also been a building principal. She also serves on the board for the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Tad Piper

Tad retired from Piper Jaffray having served as vice chairman of Piper Jaffray Companies since its spinoff from US Bancorp. He also served as CEO of Piper Jaffray for 17 years and as chairman for 15 years. Tad currently serves on the boards for numerous nonprofit and publicly traded organizations.

Pat Ryan

Pat worked at Ryan companies for 35 years, including serving as its president and CEO for a decade. He now serves as the chairman of the board. Pat is also the board chair of the University of St. Thomas, past president of YPO and a current member of the World Presidents’ Organization. His further work within the community includes serving as a board member of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and trustee of Children’s Cancer Research Fund. He is also a founder of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School—an inner-city college preparatory school for under-resourced children and is chair of the Spring Point Project, which is focused on ending a cure for diabetes.

Phil Soran

Phil is a serial technology entrepreneur who was inducted into the 2016 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and El Dorado Ventures in and being selected as one of 40 Minnesotans on the Move. Phil co-founded Flipgrid, and serves as the executive chairman. He was also the founder, president, and CEO of Compellent Technologies, a company that was one of the fastest-growing storage companies in the world before acquisition by Dell for $960 million in 2011. Previously, Phil served as CEO and president of XIOtech Corp, a network storage vendor that he co-founded—it was purchased by Seagate for $360 million.
Phil serves on the boards of Piper Jaffray, SPS Commerce, and Help Systems, and is a Trustee for the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Sandy Vargas

Sandy served as the president and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation from 2007-2016. During her tenure, the foundation’s grant-making more than doubled, from $37 million to $80 million each year. Before joining the foundation, Sandy had been the Hennepin County Administrator.

Ben Whitney

Ben is the founding dean for the St. Catherine University School of Business. He began his career as an attorney with the Popham, Haik law firm specializing in regulatory affairs. He spent over a decade in the venture capital field as general partner of the Gideon Hixon Fund which invested in early stage software, information services, and medical technology companies in Minnesota and Silicon Valley. He spent several years managing statewide political campaigns. In 2005, Ben was nominated by President George W. Bush as ambassador to Norway, where he served until 2009. He has served on the boards of The Minneapolis Foundation, EdAllies, and Prodeo Academy.