Board of Directors
Managing Director, Partner and Head of Global Public Policy & Political Risk, Warburg Pincus
Jake Siewert is based in New York City as Managing Director and the head of global public policy and political risk at Warburg Pincus, where he also oversees Environmental, Social and Governance strategy.
Jake joined Warburg in 2021 from Goldman Sachs where he was a partner and directed the firm’s global communications, content and marketing efforts. Before he joined Goldman in 2012, Jake worked as a Counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner during the global financial crisis and its aftermath.
Prior to his service in the Obama administration, Jake was an executive at Alcoa where he served on the management committee and had oversight of business development, sustainability, environment, health and safety, government affairs, and communications during his 8 years there. Prior to that, Jake worked for 8 years in the White House during the Clinton administration in a variety of posts, including an advisor to the director of the National Economic Council and as the White House press secretary.
Jake graduated from Yale College with a B.A. summa cum laude in the Humanities major.
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.
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.
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 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.
Managing Director, U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation
Greg Johnson is an assertive, critical and independent thinker, researcher and an avid student of history, politics, and movement building. At The Rockefeller Foundation, Greg is managing director of place- based investments and grants. As a member of the Equity and Economic Opportunity team, Greg works to help low-wage workers achieve economic stability and build a path to economic mobility using the levers of public policy and private investments. His current portfolio includes more than $50 million committed to support The Foundation’s Opportunity Zone Community Capacity Building Initiative, National Opportunity Zones Academy, US Equity-First Vaccination Programs, and The Rockefeller Foundation Opportunity Collective. These investments support building on tax and social investment policy, implementation, and regulatory efforts to create a system that rewards work, not just wealth; and, democratizing asset ownership that enables economic security by directly addressing capital access gaps facing Black, Brown, rural and tribal communities.
Greg brings a host of valuable skills and experience to his work at the Rockefeller Foundation. His previous positions include model code coordinator for the national Dignity in Schools Campaign and federal field organizer at the Campaign for Youth Justice where he provided technical assistance and support to seven states on policy campaigns to end the practice of trying and sentencing young people as adults. He worked as program officer at the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock where he maintained a portfolio of grants and grantee relationships within a multi-million dollar congregation-based social justice-funding program. Greg also worked with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation where he served as a member of the Mississippi and New Orleans team, based in the foundation’s Jackson, Mississippi office managing a portfolio of nearly 140 grants totaling more than $90 million USD. Prior to becoming a professional practitioner of philanthropy, Greg worked as a community organizer and community attorney.
In 2020, the Young, Gifted & Empowered Awards honored Greg as Philanthropist of the Year for his commitment to equitably distributing resources to underserved communities. And, in February 2021, Greg as named a NexGen 10 in Philantrophy, Art & Culture for his commitment to advocate for change, social reform, the power of art, and the betterment of humanity. Greg is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, MS.
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.
Head of State and Local Government Relations, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Jewel James Simmons is Head of State and Local Government Relations for JPMorgan Chase & Co. She is responsible for leading the firm’s political activities in states and municipalities and management of regional state and local government relations managers nationwide. Before joining JPMorgan Chase, Jewel started James & Co., a boutique consulting firm which counseled early stage enterprises on strategies for leveraging public/private partnerships to accelerate market access.
From 2011 – 2014, Jewel served U.S. President Barack Obama as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House. She was later promoted to Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Jewel led the Federal-State Relations Office for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In her capacity as Director of Federal-State Relations, she advised Governor Deval Patrick and his Cabinet on strategies for engaging Congress and the federal government in support of key state initiatives. Jewel serves on the Board of Gibney, a leading performing arts and social justice organization based in New York City as well as InkPen, a non-profit based in Washington, DC focused on ensuring that readers of color have access to books from authors of color.
Jewel received her undergraduate degree from Howard University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Jamal Simmons, and their two children.
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.