New members will enhance the board’s focus on SVP Connecticut Priorities
Westport, CT (July 27, 2022) – Social Venture Partners Connecticut (SVP) today announced the election of Jamilah Prince-Stewart as the new Chair of its Board of Directors, heading a slate of new leadership and board members. nnAt a July 13 board meeting, Prince-Stewart was elected Chair of the board, Jennifer Gerber, Vice Chair, Chris Kunhardt, Treasurer, and Bernie Park, Secretary. New members selected for the board were Dr. Monette Ferguson, Peter Denious, Susan Adamsen, Maggie Hulce, and Stefano Redaelli. They will each serve a three-year term. nn“SVP draws on leaders from across our state and among our partnership to help guide us. Having Jamilah’s proven leadership head our board is tremendous for SVP and for Connecticut,” said SVP Executive Director, Mark Argosh. “Our board is an integral part of setting the strategic vision for SVP. Jamilah, Jennifer, Chris, and Bernie bring a clear understanding of our organization’s mission and we are confident they will continue the tremendous success we have had in making a clear difference for all residents, especially those most in need of better education and work opportunities.” nnThe board consists of 20 members, with backgrounds in education, nonprofits, management, government, and more, who set the strategic goals and objectives of SVP and serve as experienced thought partners in its work throughout the state. nnSVP, a social impact organization working to close opportunity gaps in Connecticut, offers management consulting, and capacity-building services to nonprofit organizations, businesses, educational institutions, and state and local government entities. SVP’s network of 260 Partners and organizations provides grants, capacity building, and connections to support systems change. Key focuses for SVP include Early Childhood Care and Education and Workforce Development. SVP has provided more than $2.6 million and 60,000 volunteer hours since its founding in October 2013.nnTo learn more, visit www.svp-ct.org. nn
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Incoming Board Member Bios:
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Jamilah Prince-Stewart, Chair nnJamilah serves as the Executive Director of FaithActs for Education and was formerly the Vice Chair of SVP’s Board and a member of the Executive Committee. Jamilah is a native of New Haven and a graduate of Yale University. After graduation, Jamilah worked at Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation as the Placement Manager, where she placed inner-city middle school students into independent secondary schools around the country. Recognizing larger systemic issues facing Connecticut’s education system, Jamilah embarked on a journey to increase the participation of community leaders, parents, and people of color in Connecticut’s education reform movement as the Director of Community Engagement at ConnCAN, a state-level advocacy organization. During her time at ConnCAN, Jamilah began a robust Clergy organizing initiative that garnered major wins for Connecticut’s education reform movement and went on to found FaithActs for Education. FaithActs is a faith-based education advocacy organization in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven, that builds relationships, leaders, and power through community organizing and civic engagement. FaithActs is 80 churches, 500 members, 6,500 committed voters, and 11,000 congregants strong. nnJennifer Gerber, Vice Chair nnJen Gerber currently serves as SVP’s Board Secretary, is a member of the Executive Committee, and is the Co-Lead of SVP’s Early Childhood Sector. Jen has also served as the Lead Partner with Domus Kids and was a core member of the SVP Governor’s Workforce Council project team. Prior to SVP, Jen served as President of the Braddock Family Foundation, Managing Director of the Center for Public Research and Leadership, and the Deputy Director and Director of Strategy at the Partnership for Inner-City Education. She also worked at Booz, Allen and Hamilton, earned her MBA at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and her BA at Princeton University. nnChris Kunhardt, TreasurernnChris Kunhardt currently serves as SVP’s Treasurer, is a member of the Executive Committee and is a leader in SVP’s Workforce Sector team. Chris also serves as the Lead Partner with Career Resources, serves on the Career Resources Board, and supports other workforce development nonprofits. Previously, Chris served on the Board of Directors of Connect-Us in Bridgeport and was Board Chair of Achievement First in Bridgeport. Chris worked at JP Morgan for 26 years where he was a Managing Director in Corporate Finance and Co-Head of Global Ratings Advisory. Chris earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his BA at Middlebury College.nnBernie Park, Secretary nnBernadette ‘Bernie’ Park is a co-lead of SVP’s Workforce Sector team and has been working with the Office of Workforce Strategy to redesign the healthcare workforce system in Connecticut. In this work, Bernie leads several cross-sector teams from industry, education, and government to help solve our most pressing issues in nursing and the health care sector. Bernie has a PhD in Nursing from the Yale School of Nursing, a BS in Nursing from the College of Mt. St. Vincent, and an MSN in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, and an Advanced Certificate as an Adult Nurse Practitioner with a focus in Primary care and Oncology from Columbia University. She worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a critical care registered nurse, Psychiatric Clinical Nurse specialist, and ultimately as a Nurse Practitioner in the MSK Cancer Prevention and Early Detection program. She was an adjunct clinical professor at Fairfield University and taught diagnosis and management to nurse practitioners and clinical assessment to second-degree BSN students. Currently, Bernie is the President of the Fairfield Leadership Council for Save the Children. Her focus is education and health issues for women and children especially in marginalized populations both in the US and globally. nn
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Board Biographies nn
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Dr. Monette Ferguson nnDr. Monette Ferguson is currently the Executive Director of Alliance for Community Empowerment and holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Bridgeport. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for almost 20 years at Alliance for Community Empowerment, an urban community action agency. She was born and raised in Bridgeport Ct. where she serves the most vulnerable community members with life-changing resources. Monette began her nonprofit leadership career as a Head Start family caseworker at the agency and quickly advanced to directing the Early Learning division. In this role Monette oversaw more than 300 staff members who provide quality school readiness, SEL experiences and comprehensive family resources to over 1000 families in Bridgeport and the surrounding area. Monette also serves as Vice-Chair on the Governor’s Workforce Council Equity and Access Committee and is on the Board of Directors for Read to Grow and The Workplace. She is an advisor to the MPH program at Sacred Heart University and is Co-Chair of the Bridgeport Area Nonprofit Collaborative (BANC). She is a past Connecticut representative for the New England Head Start Association and has been honored and travels locally and nationally as a strong advocate who fights for quality education for all in the early childhood space. nnPeter Denious nnPeter Denious leads the AdvanceCT team as its President and CEO. He came to AdvanceCT in August 2019 as an accomplished private equity and venture capital professional who helped realize commercial and economic opportunity by connecting ideas, people, and capital. Prior to taking on the leadership role at AdvanceCT, Peter had a 17-year tenure at FLAG Capital Management and its successor, Aberdeen Standard Investments, based in Stamford, CT. He was a member of the senior leadership team responsible for growing the FLAG private equity platform to over $6.5B in AUM from approximately $1B when he joined in 2001. Before FLAG, he worked for J.H. Whitney & Co. a direct private investment firm based in Stamford, CT. A graduate of Trinity College, Peter received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he is a board member of the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital. He is an Ex-Officio member of the Governor’s Workforce Council and has been a Partner of Social Venture Partners Connecticut since 2018. nnSusan Adamsen nnSusan Adamsen became a Partner of Social Venture Partners Connecticut in 2019 and currently serves as Lead Partner of the SVP Building One Community team. She also served on the Governor’s Workforce Council project team leading work on Adult Education and the Business Services and IT industry sectors. Susan recently retired from JP Morgan, where she held a variety of roles in investment banking and wealth management for over three decades. Susan is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. She served on the Stamford Symphony board for many years and has been an active volunteer and contributor to a variety of community and school-based organizations. nnMaggie Hulce nnMaggie Hulce is Executive Vice President and General Manager for Enterprise at Indeed. In her role, she focuses on shaping product and go-to-market priorities for Indeed’s largest global customers. Maggie joined Indeed in 2016, responsible for building the global Sales Strategy & GPC organizations prior to moving into her GM role in 2019. Prior to Indeed, Maggie was the Director of Sales Strategy & Operations at Google, focused on Google’s largest advertising customers in the Americas. Maggie also spent several years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, serving clients in the retail and CPG industries. Maggie graduated cum laude from Harvard with a BA in Economics and received her MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. nnStefano Redaelli nnStefano is a Senior Partner in McKinsey & Company focused on the firm’s work in advanced industries and is the Managing Partner for its Stamford, Connecticut office. Over his 20 years of experience, he has worked in several sectors, including manufacturing, the engineering and construction value chain, engineering and design, mechanical and electrical subcontracting, construction-equipment OEMs, electronic-building equipment OEMs, and construction and building service providers. He specializes in serving midsize multiple business unit companies, both publicly and privately owned. Stefano joined McKinsey in 2003 in Italy, worked for several years in South America, and now lives in Connecticut. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian. Stefano graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan and received an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business in 2007.