Board of Directors
Global Head of Corporate Communications, Goldman Sachs
Jake is global head of Corporate Communications. He joined Goldman Sachs as a managing director in 2012 and was named partner in 2014.
Prior to joining the firm, Jake served as counselor to the US Treasury secretary from 2009 to 2011, during which time he advised the secretary and also acted as his liaison to the business community. From 2001 to 2009, Jake worked at Alcoa, where he last served as vice president for Business Development, overseeing global mergers and acquisitions and focusing on growth in China and emerging economies. He joined Alcoa as head of global communications and public strategy, and later oversaw the company’s global environment, health and safety efforts for several years.
From 1993 to 2001, Jake held several positions in the Clinton administration, including serving as White House press secretary, the US government’s principal spokesperson on foreign and domestic policy. He also served as deputy White House press secretary and as a special assistant to the president for economic affairs, working at the National Economic Council. Jake began his career in Washington in 1991 as communications director for the Democratic Governors Association.
Jake graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 1986 with a degree in the humanities. He also attended the law school of the University of California at Berkeley.
Founder & Principal, Spirit for Change Consulting, LLC
Lynn M. Ross, AICP is the founder and principal of Spirit for Change Consulting, LLC where she works nationally and across sectors with organizations on a mission to create and sustain equitable policies, practices and places. The work of Spirit for Change takes many forms including serving as the lead consultant to the Knight Foundation on the national Reimagining the Civic Commons demonstration and Public Spaces Forum as well as partnering with the City of Akron, Ohio to create a strategic framework for their new Office of Integrated Development.
Dedicated to serving mission-driven organizations, Lynn has over 18 years of multi-sector experience including past senior leadership roles as Vice President, Community and National Initiatives at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development in the Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing; Chief Operating Officer for the National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy; and Manager of the Planning Advisory Service at the American Planning Association.
Lynn serves on the Advisory Committee for National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities and the Spaces & Places Organizing Committee. From 2017-2019, she served as co-chair of the national working group developing the American Planning Association’s historic Planning for Equity Policy Guide. In 2017, she became a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar at Session 574, The Child in the City: Health, Parks and Play. In 2019, she was named one of 50 “Women of Influence” by the Royal Town Planning Institute’s The Planner magazine.
Lynn holds a Masters of Regional Planning from Cornell University and a B.S. in community and regional planning from Iowa State University. She was honored with the 2009 Design Achievement Award from the Iowa State University College of Design and the 2016 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the Iowa State University Alumni Association.
President, HR&A Advisors
Eric Rothman is President of HR&A Advisors, Inc., an industry-leading real estate and economic development consulting firm. He is a nationally-recognized expert in transit-oriented development and advises municipalities, transit agencies, institutions, and private and non-profit organizations to support transformative economic development, especially around urban transportation centers and public transit infrastructure, including Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, Saint Paul Union Depot, San Jose’s Diridon Station, and Hoboken Terminal.
Eric also advises cities on issues at the intersection of technology, land-use, and public policy. For two years he partnered with New York City’s Economic Development Corporation to manage BigApps, the nation’s largest civic technology competition. In 2017 he helped to create a policy toolkit for cities to plan for the arrival of driverless cars: www.driverlessfuture.org.
Prior to joining HR&A, Eric served as Director of Business Planning for Transport for London (TfL), where he was responsible for creating an integrated plan for the newly-created agency under the direction of the Mayor of London. During his tenure at TfL, the agency implemented the Central London Congestion Charging Zone, transformative improvements to the bus network, the Oyster smart-payment system, and developed the London cycling network.
Eric serves as Board Chair for the Design Trust for Public Space and on the Advisory Board of the ULI-New York District Council. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Master’s of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Eric grew up playing kickball and capture the flag, and tries to play as much tennis as possible in his spare time.
Eric Rothman is President of HR&A Advisors, Inc., an industry-leading real estate and economic development consulting firm. He is a nationally-recognized expert in transit-oriented development and advises municipalities, transit agencies, institutions, and private and non-profit organizations to support transformative economic development, especially around urban transportation centers and public transit infrastructure, including Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, Saint Paul Union Depot, San Jose’s Diridon Station, and Hoboken Terminal.
Eric also advises cities on issues at the intersection of technology, land-use, and public policy. For two years he partnered with New York City’s Economic Development Corporation to manage BigApps, the nation’s largest civic technology competition. In 2017 he helped to create a policy toolkit for cities to plan for the arrival of driverless cars: www.driverlessfuture.org.
Prior to joining HR&A, Eric served as Director of Business Planning for Transport for London (TfL), where he was responsible for creating an integrated plan for the newly-created agency under the direction of the Mayor of London. During his tenure at TfL, the agency implemented the Central London Congestion Charging Zone, transformative improvements to the bus network, the Oyster smart-payment system, and developed the London cycling network.
Eric serves as Board Chair for the Design Trust for Public Space and on the Advisory Board of the ULI-New York District Council. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Master’s of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Eric grew up playing kickball and capture the flag, and tries to play as much tennis as possible in his spare time.
CEO, Kibbo
Colin is passionate about cities, the people who live in them, and how emerging technologies can solve epic challenges and improve the quality of life for all.
As an entrepreneur, technologist, and product designer, he has founded several companies that bridge the digital and physical space, including Control Group, Intersection, and CityBridge. His most recent organization is responsible for LinkNYC, a first-of-its-kind platform that replaced thousands of unused phone booths with internet hotspots and connected millions of New Yorkers to the fastest free internet on the planet. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts MFA Interaction Design program; is a Board Member of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to making sure that kids, particularly those growing up in poverty, have access to places to play; a Design Partner with the International Rescue Committee’s innovation group, Airbel, and shares his thoughts on the future of cities on TechCrunch.
He is currently working on a new co-living startup that aims to create flexible and affordable housing, with a focus on community.
An avid hiker, biker, climber, snowboarder, and traveler, he’s always eager to get outside and be active with his wife, Amanda, and their two children.
Chief Executive Officer, Build-A-Bear Workshop®
Sharon Price John has been the Chief Executive Officer of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. since June 2013. Ms. John has more than 20 years of business experience with an expertise in strategic marketing, product development, innovation and change management. During her tenure at companies including Hasbro, Mattel and Wolverine World Wide (WWW), she established a strong track record of success working with a variety of brands and businesses.
Prior to joining Build-A-Bear Workshop, Ms. John served as President of the Stride Rite Children’s Group LLC. (SRCG), a division of WWW. Ms. John led all functions of the SRCG including product creation, wholesale sales, marketing, planning and distribution. She also directed the operations, retail merchandising and international franchising for more than 350 Stride Rite stores.
From 2002 to 2010, Ms. John held a range of senior management roles with Hasbro. These positions included General Manager and Senior Vice President of Global Preschool, where she drove the global strategy and marketing for Hasbro’s Preschool portfolio including Mr. Potato Head and Play-doh. Separately, she served as the GM SVP of Marketing for the US Toy Division, overseeing a number of iconic brands including NERF, Transformers and My Little Pony while managing key licensing relationships such as Star Wars and Marvel. Prior to that, Ms. John worked with Mattel in a number of roles including Marketing Director of Barbie and Vice President of International for the Disney Business Unit.
Ms. John’s early career was in the advertising industry working at top agencies in New York City including DDB Needham Worldwide on the Hershey account and Bates, USA as the Account Supervisor of the SNICKERS/M&M Mars business. Ms. John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Drive Ventures
Michael Araten is the President and CEO of Sterling Drive Ventures, LP, a family office that owns, among other things, The Rodon Group founded in 1956.
Rodon is a highly automated plastics injection molder, with a focus on small parts, used in over 100 industries, including food, beverage, pharmaceutical diagnostic packaging, windows, consumer packaged goods, construction and toys.
Prior to Sterling Drive Ventures, Michael was the President and CEO of K’NEX Brands, whose K’NEX™ construction toy is distributed in 40 countries. Over 95% of the K’NEX component parts are made at Rodon in Hatfield, PA.
Mr. Araten joined K’NEX and the Rodon Group in May 2005 to serve as their Vice President and General Counsel. He became President & COO in January 2006 and President and CEO in January 2009.
Prior to joining K’NEX and Rodon, Mr. Araten served as Chief Litigation Counsel to Toll Brothers, Inc. as well as Senior Vice President and Corporate Counsel to O’Neill Properties Group. In those capacities, Mr. Araten was responsible for risk management, regulatory approvals, human resource issues and the management of over 100 law firms in 21 states. Mr. Araten also formed numerous joint ventures, led due diligence and acquisition teams, and obtained land development approvals that created over five billion in new home sales and land value.
As President and CEO, Mr. Araten is responsible for all strategic and day to day operations of the company, and is a member of The Rodon Group Board of Directors. He speaks regularly on topics including advanced manufacturing, the toy industry, re-shoring, global competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation. Mr. Araten has appeared on CNBC, CNN, ABC World News, Bloomberg News, Fox Business, and numerous local and regional television and radio shows.
Mr. Araten serves on several corporate and non-profit Boards, including KaBOOM!, American Made Matters, ALMO Corporation, 911Safety, LLC, the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Mr. Araten is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Central Bucks County Chamber of Commerce.
Residing in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania with his wife, Ellen and their two children, Mr. Araten holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, National Public Radio
Deborah Cowan is CFO and Treasurer at NPR and oversees financial, planning, accounting, treasury and risk management operations. Prior to joining NPR, she was Senior Vice President at Radio One, Inc., where she was part of the senior management team, and led the Company’s financial and accounting operations. Her early career was spent in progressive CFO roles at IBM and as an auditor for Coopers & Lybrand. A certified public accountant, Ms. Cowan holds a BA in Accounting from Howard University and an MBA in Finance and International Business from Columbia Business School. She currently serves on the board of Consumer Reports, and held prior board positions with the National Education Association Foundation and the Media Financial Management organizations.
One of Debbie’s favorite pastimes is cooking, particularly baking, which all started when she got an Easy Bake Oven.
Managing Director and Head of Field Management, Morgan Stanley
Vincent J. Lumia is a Managing Director and Head of Field Management, with responsibility for the Firm’s network of ~16K Financial Advisors across ~600 branches, including Private & International Wealth Management, Strategic Client Management and National Sales. Vince most recently served as Head of Private Wealth Management, the division that serves ultra-high net worth individuals, families and their foundations both in the US and abroad. He was responsible for the Institutional Client Coverage group, which provides middle market institutions with research, sales coverage and execution capabilities across Equities and Fixed Income. He also ran Strategic Client Management, which oversees all cross-divisional business activities with a focus on identifying new business opportunities and providing clients with greater access to the broader capabilities of the firm.
Vince was previously Head of the Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Capital Markets business. He was responsible for sales, trading, content and risk management activities in the debt, equity and structured product markets.
Vince is a member of Morgan Stanley’s Firm Management Committee and the Wealth Management Operating Committee.
Vince joined Morgan Stanley in 1999 as a Financial Advisor before moving to the Fixed Income Division in 2004, where he held several sales management positions. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked for Thomson Financial.
Vince currently serves as a member of the National Italian American Foundation Board of Directors.
Vince earned a B.S. from Fordham University. He and his wife Michelle live in Cold Spring Harbor with their children Gianna, Madalena, Vincent and Marco.
Senior Advisor, Georgetown University’s Business for Impact Initiative
Ladan Manteghi is a champion of social good with business results. Driving social and economic bottom- lines is the guiding principle of her career in the private, public, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.
Currently, she is Senior Advisor at Georgetown University’s Business for Impact Initiative where she previously served as the founding Executive Director. She also leads Manteghi Global, a private consulting practice.
Manteghi helps companies do good by advising executives on social investment strategies, and helps nonprofits generate revenue by teaching and advising on revenue models. Her experience spans start- up and well-established organizations with particular focus in corporate responsibility, economic development, cross-sector partnerships, social enterprise, politics and advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and nonprofit earned income models.
Manteghi’s prior executive roles include Global Director for Partner Networks at Social Progress Imperative; AARP Senior Vice President of International Affairs and President of the AARP Global Network, a former affiliate organization of AARP; and Advisor to the CEO of PowerUp, a nonprofit focused on addressing the digital divide. In public service, she served on various political campaigns and elections, and held positions in US government including working for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Interior.
Her current board service includes PYXERA Global, the University of California at Davis Regional Alumni Board, and is the current Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Iranian American Council.
She holds a B.A. in political science/public service from the University of California, Davis.
Chief Executive Officer, KABOOM!
In early 2021, Lysa M. Ratliff became the newest CEO of KABOOM!, the national non-profit that works to end playspace inequity. For good.
Throughout her career, Ratliff has served as a champion for kids and their resilience, leading efforts to connect partners and make change for communities and kids across the country, and around the world. She was the Vice President of Partnership Development at KABOOM!, has held senior leadership roles at Habitat for Humanity International, Save the Children, and spent more than a decade in international marketing communications at several large corporations.
Lysa has led both public and private fundraising teams, cause marketing and communications campaigns with large global corporations. When not spending time with her own kids and husband, Lysa enjoys all things home, with most of her playtime being spent in the garden growing organic fruits and vegetables.