Ronnie Aroesty began his career as an teacher and then Assistant Principal in the Bronx, where he was born (and where his heart remains to this day). He then got involved in clothing manufacturing for several decades until he became the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for a major financial organization. Wishing to become involved in sustainability issues and return to his roots in education, Ronnie received a certificate from the Earth Institute at Columbia University and started Junior Energy, a non-profit organization which brought sustainability programs into the New York City schools.

Ronnie is a member of the NYC Sustainability Committee for the Department of Education, as well as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. He is on the board of a leading nursing home and active with an organization which allows the elderly to stay in their homes. Ronnie is also a member of PackH2O, a water backpack designed to change the way in which water is carried around the world. He is also involved with many charitable endeavors involving Jewish causes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, among others.

Ronnie received his BA in elementary education and Spanish from Hunter College. He holds an MA in educational psychology from NYU and a certificate for administration from Fordham University, where he completed all the courses through dissertation for his Ph.D. In his spare time, Ronnie enjoys golf, boxing, reading, and spending time with his family.

Jyotika (Jojo) Banga is a brand and business development manager at Peloton Cycle in NYC. Previously, she used to be in brand marketing in the North America Beverages division at PepsiCo, where she began working in 2013. Jojo was born in Calcutta, India but has lived in New York City since 2000. She graduated from Harvard University in 2013 with a degree in History & Science, a minor in History of Art and Architecture, and a citation in French. She got involved with the Lab School in 2013 as one of the first members of TeamedUp, a New York based community organization focused on connecting professionals with local schools to provide students with impactful experiences and broaden the schools’ extracurricular offerings. In her free time, she loves to travel and explore all the neighborhoods of New York.

Gabriella Barschdorff, CFA, is a senior member of the BlackRock Client Solutions team, leading the Strategy Design team in North America. Client Solutions provides multi-asset class investment and advisory solutions for the Firm's institutional clients. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2014, Gabriella was a senior Client Portfolio Manager at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and a developed market economist at AllianceBernstein. Her expertise covers asset allocation, pension finance, asset-liability modeling and portfolio management. Gabriella is originally from Sweden and has lived in the United Kingdom and Belgium prior to moving to New York for graduate school. Gabriella holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Economics from London School of Economics. Gabriella is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and three children.

Paul Byrne has dedicated his career to ensuring that all New York City students have access to a quality education that will open doors of opportunity for them. Paul began his teaching career as a Social Studies teacher at MS 223, and helped to build the school into one of the top middle schools in the South Bronx. His desire to experience a different perspective on urban education then led him to the charter sector, where he worked to transform an underperforming middle school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn as a Dean of Students and then Assistant Principal.

Paul has worked with the New York City Department of Education since 2015, initially working to ensure that charter schools are held to high standards while being given the support they need to effectively do their work, and now leading the District-Charter Collaborative, an Equity and Excellence Initiative that facilitates collaboration between district and charter schools working to improve their craft.

Paul received his B.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, his M.S.T. in Childhood Education from Pace University, and his School Leadership Certification from City College.

Stephanie is a Program Manager within People Operations at Google. Her focus is driving efficiencies and streamlining HR operations and tools by building tech feature development roadmaps and implementing scalable process improvements for her global org. Previously, she drove campus recruiting strategies and events for numerous universities in the US and down in Latin America. She also ran student initiatives like scholarships, internship programs, summer developmental programs, and Google's presence at various conferences.

Her past outreach and engagement efforts are where she grew an interest in helping students develop their career paths, particularly in STEM fields. She finds it fulfilling to figure out how to best motivate and inspire young individuals to reach for opportunities, set their careers up for success, and strive to achieve their fullest potential.

Stephanie holds a B.S. in Movement Science from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. In her free time, she loves to travel and has been to 45+ countries so far.

John Garibaldi is responsible for client advisory, portfolio solutions, and investor relations for Spruceview. Prior to joining Spruceview, John was at JPMorgan for 28 years where he worked with institutional investors for over two decades. At JPMorgan, he served in various capacities, including Head of the Strategic Client Group, Head of Institutional Advisory and Sales, and Senior Client Advisor working with the firm’s multi-asset class relationships across America. He also served on the Global Institutional Business Operating Committee and the Americas Operating Committee. John advised clients on asset/liability management, asset allocation, and pension regulations while covering the Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, Endowment, Foundation, and Canadian segments.

John holds a B.S. from Cornell University. He is a CFA Charterholder. He serves on the Advisory Board at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

Vanita Gaonkar is an Investment Officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Prior to joining the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ms. Gaonkar was the Director of Research at Ehrenkranz Partners, a large multi-family office based in New York. In her role at Ehrenkranz Partners she helped to oversee investments across all asset classes, including traditional equities, fixed income, hedge funds, private equity and real estate. Before joining Ehrenkranz Partners, Ms. Gaonkar was with Credit Suisse Asset Management as a Director in Alternative Investments. While at Credit Suisse, she oversaw hedge fund investments in long/short equity, emerging markets and statistical arbitrage. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, she worked at The Blackstone Group in Blackstone Alternative Asset Management. Ms. Gaonkar holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Economics from Wesleyan University.

Jerome Goldman (Jerry) retired as a senior partner from Ernst and Young in 2011. He had been a multinational tax specialist. Jerry was educated at Cornell University (B.A. Economics) and University of Pennsylvania (M.B.A.). He currently is the Co-Chair of the Randall's Island Park Alliance.

Shea Gregory is the Director of Quality Improvement, Compliance and Training for The Bridge Inc. Shea oversees the compliance, auditing, and database management for the agencies 96 programs. Shea believes exposure is the essence of learning. Previously; she was the Senior Director of Residential Services for Lantern Community Services. Shea graduated from Florida Atlantic University with her Master’s in Public Administration. In her spare time Shea enjoys traveling to new countries.

Angie is an Executive Director of Social Ventures and Innovation at Per Scholas, a national technology training organization headquartered in the South Bronx. Angie is responsible for launching and scaling revenue-generating enterprises that fuel innovation and provide working capital to re-invest in Per Scholas' training programs. Angie has also worked in NYC government overseeing one of the country’s largest public adult workforce systems. She started her career in the private sector and she is passionate about creating access and opportunity for New Yorkers to combat the notion that one's zipcode is one's destiny.

Angie holds a B.S. in Business Management from Cornell University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Orly Lax has over 15 years of experience in financial services. Since 2015, Ms. Lax serves as the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for a start-up healthcare private equity firm. From 2004-2014, she served as Head of U.S. Legal for a global alternative investment firm with funds under management north of $70 billion. Ms. Lax was responsible for providing legal and regulatory services and overseeing the construction of alternative investment products to suit the needs of various institutional and retail clients. From 2000-2004, Ms. Lax was an associate at a top tier law firm in New York working in the Financial Services group. She received a J.D. (magna cum laude) in 2000 from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a B.S. in finance (magna cum laude) from Yeshiva University.

Matt is the Chief Executive Officer of Eden Health. Eden Health is a healthcare technology company based in New York. Previously, he was an investor at Insight Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital and private equity firm that has raised over $13 billion. He is the founder of Teamedup, which is a New York based community organization focused on connecting professionals with local schools to provide students with impactful experiences and broaden the schools’ extracurricular offerings. He believes that every student deserves a full, high quality education that is academically rich and personally fulfilling. Matt earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and taught at the Kennedy School of Government under Ron Heifetz.

Saumil is an institutional relationship manager for BlackRock's Aladdin business. The Aladdin platform combines sophisticated risk analytics with comprehensive portfolio management, trading and operations tools on a single platform. Previously, he was a management consultant focused on scaling and automating tech, ops and analytic functions for asset and wealth managers. Saumil enjoys the outdoors, basketball, fiction, great tv shows and family and friends. He's participated in various programs in support of youth opportunity and believes every child deserves someone that believes in them. He holds a B.A. in Finance from The University of Georgia Honors Program and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Kholofelo Mothibi has over 10 years experience in auditing, compliance and risk management. She is the Head of Global Supplier Assurance US at Barclays Bank in New York. Prior to joining Barclays, Kholofelo worked as an IT Compliance Specialist at IBM and IT Auditor at Barclays Africa Group. She was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and in July 2015 she took an opportunity to move to New York City to help build the Barclays Global Supplier Assurance function.

Kholofelo is dedicated to making people’s lives better through her volunteer work in several nonprofit org such 67 minutes for Mandela Day, Feeding SA and Teach Children to Save. She believes that the availability of resources and information can provide opportunities that can change the trajectory of any child's life. Educating the future generation and making a difference in society will birth great leaders of tomorrow which the world needs.

It was through nonprofit organisations such as Areté Education which provided information and resources that created opportunities that changed the course of her future.

Kholofelo holds a Baccalaureus Technologiae in Information Management, Diploma in Information Technology and Certificate in Business Process Information & Analysis.

Steve O'Neill is Vice President, Data Management and Cross Platform Promotion for FOX Television Stations Sales. Prior to FOX, Steve founded and operated Funnel Networks, a data analytics firm that helped pharmaceutical companies understand the effectiveness of and, in turn, optimization of their advertising investment. Steve has also held management positions with CBS, NCC Media and Backer Spielvogel Advertising.

Ray is the General Counsel and Senior Policy Manager at the Office of the Bronx Borough President. He manages all legal related matters and oversees implementation of the coordinated agency policy agenda.

On behalf of the Borough President, he serves as a trustee at NYCERS, a $54 billion pension and retirement system. He also represents the Borough President on the NYS Regional Economic Development Council, and the NYC Franchise Concessions Review Committee ("FCRC").

While at the Borough President's office, he has served as an adjunct professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Prior to these roles, Ray was a Senior Community Relations Flied Associate at New York Life Insurance Company, and a Compliance Officer at Brown Brothers Harriman. He carried the Series 7 and 24 FINRA securities licenses, as well as the NYS 10-55 Life and Health. Ray has a BA in Political Science, with Departmental Honors from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, admitted to practice law in NYS.

In 2015 he was named to City & State Magazine's annual 40 under 40 list for New York City. In 2016, he was selected by the The Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc., for their 40 under 40 list Rising Stars list.

Jared Steller is in-house legal counsel for Barclays US Corporate Banking business. In addition to providing comprehensive legal guidance to his banking colleagues, Jared is an active participant in many pro bono initiatives and co-manages Barclays' relationship with the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project (NELP) of the City Bar Justice Center which provides low-to-moderate income micro-entrepreneurs with basic legal services to start their businesses. Prior to joining Barclays, Jared was in-house counsel at Standard Chartered Bank supporting their Global Markets business in the Americas. A proud born-and-raised New Yorker, you may find Jared rooting on one of his favorite New York sports teams, volunteering in one of New York City’s parks, or enjoying his much cherished free-time with friends and family. Jared holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. He believes quality education and the right inspiration are keys to positive social change.

The Board will support the work of Areté Education, Inc. and provide mission-based leadership and strategic governance. While day-to-day operations are led by the Executive Director, the Board-Executive Director relationship is a partnership, and the appropriate involvement of the Board is both critical and expected. Specific Board Member responsibilities include:

Leadership, Governance and Oversight

• Serving as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director as she develops and implements Areté’s strategic plan
• Reviewing outcomes and metrics created by Areté for evaluating its impact, and regularly measuring its performance and effectiveness using those metrics; reviewing agenda and supporting materials prior to board and committee meetings
• Approving Areté’s annual budget, audit reports, and material business decisions; being informed of, and meeting all, legal and fiduciary responsibilities
• Contributing to an annual performance evaluation of the Executive Director
• Assisting the Executive Director and board chair in identifying and recruiting other Board Members
• Partnering with the Executive Director and other board members to ensure that board resolutions are carried out
• Serving on committees or task forces and taking on special assignments
• Representing Areté to stakeholders; acting as an ambassador for the organization
• Ensuring Areté ’s commitment to a diverse board and staff that reflects the communities Areté serves

Fundraising
Areté Board Members will consider Areté a philanthropic priority and make annual gifts that reflect that priority. So that Areté can credibly solicit contributions from foundations, organizations, and individuals, Areté expects to have 100 percent of Board Members make an annual contribution that is commensurate with their capacity.

Board Terms/Participation
Areté’s Board Members will serve a year-long term to be eligible for re-appointment for one additional term. Board meetings will be held quarterly and committee meetings will be held in coordination with full board meetings.

Qualifications
This is an extraordinary opportunity for an individual who is passionate about Areté’s mission and who has a track record of board leadership. Selected Board Members will have achieved leadership stature in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector. His/her accomplishments will allow him/her to attract other well-qualified, high-performing Board Members.

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

• Extensive professional experience with significant executive leadership accomplishments in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector
• A commitment to and understanding of Areté’s beneficiaries, preferably based on experience
• Savvy diplomatic skills and a natural affinity for cultivating relationships and persuading, convening, facilitating, and building consensus among diverse individuals
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a passion for improving the lives of Areté’s beneficiaries

Service on Areté’s Board of Directors is without remuneration, except for administrative support, travel, and accommodation costs in relation to Board Members’ duties. Those interested should send a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to info@areteeducation.org.