Spring Academy Investment Forum 2023

Daniel Clifton is a Partner and Head of Policy Research for Strategas Securities. In this capacity, Mr. Clifton evaluates government policy initiatives and its impact on the global economy and financial markets for institutional investors. Daniel and his team have been recognized by Institutional Investor magazine as one to the top Washington policy analysts in their annual survey nine consecutive years. Separately, Mr. Clifton is currently ranked as the #2 analyst on Wall Street for Accounting & Tax Policy in the same survey. Prior to joining Strategas, Mr. Clifton was Executive Director of the American Shareholders Association (ASA), a non-partisan, non-profit organization which analyzes public policy affecting shareholders. In this capacity, Daniel was part of coalitions that successfully lowered capital gains and dividend tax rates to 15 percent, a repatriation tax holiday on foreign source revenue in 2004, and reform of the nation’s private-sector pension system. Prior to joining ASA, Mr. Clifton was Federal Affairs Manager for Americans for Tax Reform and served as a senior staff member in two gubernatorial administrations working on economic and fiscal policy issues. Daniel has also worked in various capacities on elections at federal, state, and local levels. Mr. Clifton received both his BA in Urban Planning and his MS in Public Policy from Rutgers University where he was a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and a Harold Martin Fellow for Public Policy.

Rod Collins is a leading expert and thought leader on the self-managed organization and the future of business. He is a regular blog contributor on Substack where he explores how technological innovations continue to transform the rules for how successful businesses work. He is also the author of Wiki Management: A Revolutionary New Model for a Rapidly Changing and Collaborative World, which highlights the innovative tools and practices used by a new breed of business leaders to sustain extraordinary performance in a world reshaped by digital disruption. Rod is the former Chief Operating Executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, one of the nation’s largest and most successful business alliances. Under his leadership, the business experienced its greatest five-year growth period in its 60 year history.

Marko is a Partner and Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, an alternative investment asset management firm based in Santa Monica, California. He leads the firm’s Strategy Team, providing bespoke research to clients and partners on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and markets. Prior to joining the firm, Marko founded BCA Research’s Geopolitical Strategy practice (GPS) in 2012, the financial industry’s first dedicated political analysis investment strategy. The GPS service generated geopolitical alpha by identifying gaps between the market’s political expectations and the firm’s forecasts. Marko was a Senior Vice President and the firm’s Chief Geopolitical Strategist. Marko began his career as a Senior Analyst at Stratfor, a global intelligence agency where he contributed to the firm’s global geopolitical strategy as well as its analyst recruitment and training program. In his academic work, he helped create the Center for European Union Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Marko holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin and an MA from the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future, a book that introduces his constraints-based framework to investors. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, he has lived in Iraq, Jordan, Switzerland, Canada, and the U.S.

Caroline M. Poland is the Founder and CEO of Poland and Associates Consulting. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor, a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional, and a Nationally Certified Counselor. She is also certified in EMDR therapy, a form of therapy designed for those who experience distress around traumatic memories and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is the Founder and Owner of Landmark Counseling, a private practice that serves clients in the state of Indiana. Ms. Poland is the creator of the Preferred Cognitive Styles and Decision Making Model, which was first discussed in a 2011 article published in Vaccine. This model outlines a series of cognitive styles that individuals employ in decision making, and outlines communication strategies that the health care provider can use to communicate effectively with that patient to create behavior change – in particular in regards to vaccine acceptance. She has also published on the use of the Empathy tool in improving immunization rates, and the role of distortions of human behavior in pandemic planning. Ms. Poland is the former Director of the Counseling Center at Taylor University, where she served for 10 years and held academic rank. In addition to her duties in the Counseling Center, she designed and taught an innovative psychology class. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Vaccine Education Project, and was an invited participant for forums on vaccine hesitancy and acceptance through the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ms. Poland has presented over 170 invited seminars and talks nationally and internationally including invited talks at the United States Air Force Academy, Duke University, Mayo Clinic, Universidad Del Azuay in Cuenca, Ecuador, the University of Athens Children’s Hospital in Athens, Greece, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Annual Conference on Vaccine Research, the Annual Vaccine Congress, and the 4th Influenza Vaccines for the World Congress in Spain. Ms. Poland has published over 15 scientific papers and book chapters incorporating psychological and cognitive models into health decision making, specifically looking at vaccine hesitancy and acceptance. Ms. Poland is a popular and energetic consultant and conference and seminar speaker, bringing insights from psychology, mental health, and science on every day problems faced in healthcare, business, and leadership settings. She has given many popular and acclaimed seminars and talks on the topics of women in the workplace, vaccine hesitancy, compassion fatigue and burnout, trauma, establishing trauma informed care in educational, hospital, and clinical settings, sexual assault, emotional regulation, and improving overall health and wellness for flourishing. Ms. Poland has worked with organizations around the world on issues of healthy workplaces, impactful leadership, and women in the workplace. Finally, Ms. Poland is frequently sought out by radio, television, and print media for her views on the above topics.

Gregory A. Poland, M.D., is a physician-scientist and the founding and current director of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group — a state-of-the-art research group and laboratory that seeks to understand genetic drivers of viral vaccine response and application of systems biology approaches to the generation of immunity, as well as the development of novel vaccines against emerging pathogens important to public health. The Poland lab developed the field of viral vaccine immunogenetics, the immune response network theory, and the field of vaccinomics and adversomics. He has been awarded over $220 million in competitive extramural research funding. Dr. Poland holds the academic rank of professor of medicine and infectious diseases and molecular pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. He is the Distiguished Investigator of the Mayo Clinic, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Vaccine. In 2018 Dr. Poland was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Medicine in London, England. Dr. Poland has chaired or been a member of every Federal committee involved in vaccine decision-making, including the NVAC, VRBAC, and the ACIP. Dr. Poland advocated for and successfully persuaded the CDC to recommend annual influenza vaccine for all Americans age 6 months and older, and was the initial and primary advocate for requiring influenza immunization for all health care providers. Dr. Poland was the 2013 recipient of the Mayo Distinguished Investigator award by the Mayo Board of Trustees, and the 2012 recipient of the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Lifetime Research Achievement Award. In 2012, Dr. Poland was named in the top 25 list of vaccine influencers in the world. In February 2013, he was nominated for membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM). In addition, he recently received an NIH MERIT Award, an honor accorded to less than 5% of the nation’s top NIH-funded investigators. Dr. Poland was awarded the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence in December 2008. In 2008, he was named a Master of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Poland received the Hsu prize in International Infectious Disease Epidemiology in 2007, and the Charles Merieux Lifetime Achievement Award in Vaccinology in May 2006. In December 2006, In December 2006, Dr. Poland was elected President of the Defense Health Board and appointed by President George W. Bush, serving two terms. In 2005 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Illinois Wesleyan University, his alma mater. He was appointed as the Mary Lowell Leary Professor in Medicine (the highest academic distinction for a faculty member) by Mayo Clinic’s Board of Trustees in 2004. In May 2003, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. – the highest civilian award given by the Department of Defense He is the immediate past president of the Department of Defense’s Defense Health Board and the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board. Dr. Poland served on the Infectious Diseases Society of America Taskforce on Pandemic Influenza, and chaired the American College of Physician’s Adult Immunization Advisory Board. Dr. Poland received the inaugural Gold Medal from the Spanish Vaccinology Society in 2001. Dr. Poland received his medical degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois, and completed his residency and advanced post-graduate work at the University of Minnesota. He has published over 700 professional papers and book chapters. Dr. Poland is regularly sought out by specialized and lay print, TV, and radio (national and international) media for his clarity and views on science, leadership, and theological aspects of current issues in the culture. He has been awarded multiple “Teacher of the Year” awards across his 40 year medical and scientific career. Dr. Poland regularly provides high-level advice to pharma, business, NGOs, and governmental agencies on emerging infectious disease and vaccine issues. Dr. Poland is a popular conference and seminar speaker on the topics of vaccines, scientific issues, and emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Poland has given over 4,000 national and international media interviews and professional presentations on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines.

Stephanie Pomboy is founder and president of MacroMavens, a boutique research firm that provides macroeconomic research and consulting services to the investment community. Started in 2002, the firm has earned a reputation for calling major macro developments well ahead of the curve, including the housing bust, the financial crisis that followed and the 2018 market meltdown. If reluctantly, Stephanie has submitted to interviews with key industry publications, such as Barron’s and The Welling Letter, as well as Real Vision and Wealthion, among others. She is also a regular guest on Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Prior to launching MacroMavens, Stephanie worked with Ed Hyman at CJ Lawrence and, then, at Evercore ISI. She earned a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College. And now resides in Florida with her English bulldog.

Terry L. Root is Senior Fellow (University Faculty) Emerita in Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Her research addresses how plants and animals are changing with the changing climate, including extinction risk of species. She was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change 4th Assessment Report that in 2007 was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Vice President Al Gore. Also, she was a lead author for the 3rd Assessment Report (2001) and a Review Editor for the 5th Assessment Report (2014). In addition to other honors, Root was awarded the Spirit of Defenders Award for Science by Defenders of Wildlife in 2010, and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from the conservation organization Point Blue. She has served on the boards and as science advisor to several non-governmental organizations, including the National Audubon Board from 2010 through 2019. Currently, she is on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute, and Birds Caribbean. Root earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico, her master’s degree in Biology from the University of Colorado and her doctorate in Biology from Princeton University. She was a Professor at the University of Michigan for 15 years, when she moved to Stanford University where she was on the faculty for another 15 years. She now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. When not giving talks and continuing scientific research on species and climate change, she is actively pursuing her hobbies of throwing pottery on the wheel, bird watching, and hiking.

Mark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. He is also the Managing Partner of Morgan Creek Digital. Morgan Creek Capital Management was founded in 2004 and currently manages close to $2 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets. Prior to founding Morgan Creek, Mr. Yusko was CIO and Founder of UNC Management Company (UNCMC), the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he was Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office. Mr. Yusko has been at the forefront of institutional investing throughout his career. An early investor in alternative asset classes at Notre Dame, he brought the Endowment Model of investing to UNC, which contributed to significant performance gains for the Endowment. The Endowment Model is the cornerstone philosophy of Morgan Creek, as is the mandate to Invest in Innovation. Mr. Yusko is again at the forefront of institutional investing through Morgan Creek Digital Assets, which was formed in 2018. Morgan Creek Digital is an early stage investor in blockchain technology, digital currency and digital assets. Mr. Yusko received a BA with Honors from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago.

Muthu is the Chief Investment Officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, stewarding the institution’s assets to create returns that advance the CHOA mission. Previously, he oversaw the strategic and sustainable growth of Group Health Foundation’s investments. Muthu is a seasoned asset management professional, with experience investing globally across various asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, real estate, real assets, and both public and private investments in emerging economies. He has led investment teams and strategies at Emory Investment Management, Covariance Capital Management, the University of Richmond, the State Board of Administration of Florida, and RSM Equico. Outside of work, Muthu reads a lot of nonfiction books, stays active by bicycling or jogging, and enjoys watching Tamil movies. He also likes to travel, including visiting his family and community in India. Muthu holds a BHM from Mangalore University and an MBA from Rollins College.

Beth is a Senior Investment Consultant at Pavilion, a Mercer Practice. She currently services 6 endowment, foundation and family office clients with over $9 billion in aggregate assets under advisement. For these clients, Beth focuses on projects relating to asset allocation, investment manager selection, performance evaluation, and fund operations and governance. Beth’s prior professional experience includes work as an Investment Director for Vanderbilt University’s endowment, where she was responsible for investments across traditional equities and bonds, marketable alternatives, oil and gas and private equity. She started her investment career as an Investment Analyst at Duke Management Company, managing investment projects across all asset classes for Duke University’s endowment office. Beth attended the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Graduate School where she completed coursework in Economics. She holds a BA in Economics, Mathematics, Computer Science, and German from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Beth has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. She is a member of the CFA Institute and a past board member of the CFA Society of St. Louis and the Nashville Society of Financial Analysts. Throughout her career, Beth has remained active in her community, sitting on several not-for-profit boards of directors, previously serving as the Investment Committee Chair and then Chair of the Board for the Missouri Foundation for Health, a $1 billion healthcare foundation in St. Louis. In 2008, she received the Foundation and Endowment Money Management’s Non-Profit Consultant of the Year Award.

Andrea is the Founder, CEO & President of Academy for Institutional Investors, LLC. Andrea has been working as an educator in the financial sector bringing investment professionals together for over 23 years. Prior to entering the investment world, Andrea produced pharmaceutical conferences for 4 years where she first realized her love for running events, connecting senior executives with one another, building networks, and researching hot industry topics to develop high quality content for her audiences. Andrea has decades of experience helping her clients to strengthen bonds with one another in a relaxed, friendly, non-sales type of atmosphere, fostering an environment to learn and connect in a way that promotes lifelong relationships, trust, and friendship among one another. High-caliber investment education, sophisticated investor attendees and in-depth fun networking are the key components of The Academy’s mission. At the end of every event, you will leave with a head full of new ideas and a handful of new friends that will feel like your extended family year after year. Academy for Institutional Investors (AII) offers new members into our circle of family friends at each event while striving to keep the community to a small niche group of sophisticated investors with a limited number of managers and service providers. Previously, Andrea was a Principal and Director of Marketing and Branding for Morgan Creek Capital Management from 2006-2016 where she led the branding, public relations, client education, events and marketing efforts for the firm. Andrea currently serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for the CFA Society North Carolina and is also one of the founding members of the North Carolina Chapter of 100 Women in Finance. Prior to joining Morgan Creek, Andrea spent six years managing all aspects of conference production, research and development, sales, marketing and relationship management for a financial conference company. Earlier in Andrea’s career she worked at North Shore University Hospital in NY as a vocational rehabilitation job coach. Her first job out of college was at Computer Associates based in Long Island, NY. Andrea received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at Albany and continuing credits towards a Master of Arts in Social Work from Adelphi University. Andrea enjoys spending time with her family and friends at the North Carolina beaches or playing golf with her husband. Andrea is an avid music lover and enjoys going to concerts of any kind. She loves heading back to NYC any chance she gets to see as many Broadway Musicals as possible in one trip!

Mr. Altscher joined FJ Capital Management in 2016 and serves as Co-Portfolio Manager for the Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund and Market Neutral Strategy. His responsibilities include investment research and portfolio management with a focus on homebuilders, mortgage REITs, mortgage related companies, and business development companies. He currently is a member of the Board of Directors for Grasshopper Bancorp – based in New York, NY. Prior to joining FJ Capital Management, Mr. Altscher was a Senior Research Analyst, Senior Vice President at FBR & Co. in equity research, covering a variety of REITs including residential and commercial mortgage REITs, net lease REITs, healthcare REITs, and farmland REITs. Mr. Altscher was also previously an Assistant Vice President at FBR & Co. in equity research, covering both life and property/casualty insurance companies. Prior to this, Mr. Altscher was an Investment Analyst at Hovde Capital Advisors, a long/short investment manager focused on financial services and real estate. Prior to this, Mr. Altscher was a Corporate Banking Analyst at Citigroup. Mr. Altscher has an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He also has a BS from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business with a dual major in Finance and International Business, and a minor in History.

Travis Angevine joined the Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust in 2011. His primary responsibilities include developing, sourcing, and executing investment strategies for the Trust’s Public Markets portfolio, which includes Public Equity, Absolute Return, and Fixed Income asset classes. Mr. Angevine earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Colgate University and his master’s degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a CFA® charterholder.

Liz is the Co-Interim CIO of Mass General Brigham, a hospital system in New England. She joined the investment office in 2013 from Verdis Investment Management in Philadelphia, and she started her career at the Brown University Investment Office. Liz received an AB from Dartmouth and an MBA from Wharton, and she sits on the investment committee of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.

Nolan Bean serves as FEG’s chief investment officer and head of portfolio management, developing strategies to help ensure clients receive a consistent investment experience. He is a member of the firm’s investment policy committee and portfolio management team. Nolan firmly believes that results are shaped by the effort one is willing to put forth. This hardworking mentality has helped shape FEG’s culture and expectation of excellence. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, Nolan began his career in investments as a financial advisor with Waddell & Reed Financial Services. He later attended the University of Cincinnati to complete his Master of Business Administration as a member of the Kauffman Entrepreneur Internship Program, which matches accomplished students with companies offering internships in venture capital. Nolan began working at FEG in 2004. He worked directly with FEG’s CIO and over his career has advised more than a dozen chief investment officers at various endowments/foundations and healthcare systems. Those partnerships have all helped shape his approach to managing long-term pools of capital. In addition to his position on the FEG Leadership Team, Nolan is part of the FEG Board of Directors. Outside of FEG, he is a member and past president of the CFA Society in Cincinnati and serves on the Seven Hills School Board of Trustees as the Investment Committee chair. Nolan was born in Nebraska, but attended high school in Columbus, Ohio, where he grew up loving sports and even earned a baseball scholarship to Georgetown College. Now, you can find Nolan coaching little league, and working diligently to translate his baseball swing into a golf swing. His love for music is widely known, especially his admiration for John Prine. If you ask about his greatest concert memory, he will share fond memories of Tom Petty and Chris Singleton performing live at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Brad Briner joined Willett Advisors in 2012 and is the Co-Chief Investment Officer, where he is responsible for real assets and public markets investments, as well as the operations of the business. Willett manages the philanthropic and personal investment assets for Mike Bloomberg. Before Willett, Mr. Briner held positions at Morgan Creek Capital, the UNC Management Company, ArcLight Capital and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Briner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar with a degree in economics with distinction. Mr. Briner also received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the investment committee for Phillips Exeter Academy, the board of directors of the Boston Omaha Corporation (NYSE: BOC) and the debt affordability advisory committee for the State of North Carolina. Mr. Briner and his wife reside in Chapel Hill, NC with their four children.

Elizabeth Burton is a managing director and client investment strategist in Client Solutions & Capital Markets within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She advises institutional clients on their investment strategy and portfolio objectives, working alongside global client advisors and product strategists across public and private markets. Elizabeth joined Goldman Sachs in 2022 as a managing director. Prior to joining the firm, Elizabeth was chief investment officer at the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii. Before that, she served as a managing director in the Quantitative Strategies Group at the Maryland State Retirement Agency, where she was responsible for the agency’s absolute return portfolio and oversaw risk management. Earlier in her career, Elizabeth held leadership positions as an investor, economist, and consultant in asset management as well as fixed income trading. Elizabeth serves on the Board of Directors of the Chartered Alternative Investment Association (CAIA). In addition, she serves on the board of the Hill School. Elizabeth earned a BA in Politics and French from Washington and Lee University in 2004 and an MBA in Finance and Econometrics and Statistics from the University of Chicago in 2011. She is a charterholder of CAIA.

As Chief Investment Strategist for Cambridge Associates and a Managing Director of the firm, Celia is responsible for formulating our global investment strategy and portfolio construction advice. Since joining Cambridge in 1996, Celia has contributed to a wide range of research initiatives, including serving as one of the main architects of our Risk Allocation Framework and an author of the related report. She is the author of our quarterly publication, VantagePoint, in which she shares our house view and advice. Celia is a regular contributor to other research publications, covering a wide range of capital market, asset allocation, and investment planning topics. She is a frequent presenter and discussion moderator at the firm’s roundtables and various industry conferences. Before joining Cambridge Associates, Celia was a consultant for Harlan Brown & Co, a competitive intelligence consulting firm. In this position, she researched, wrote, and presented market analysis commissioned by Fortune 500 clients on a variety of consumer and industrial products. She also worked for the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), where she conducted research and wrote reports on retirement income security issues. Celia has an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and a BA from University of Pennsylvania.

Robert W. Durden, CFA, is the Chief Executive Officer/Chief Investment Officer of UVIMCO. As CEO, Robert provides leadership for all aspects of UVIMCO’s operations and serves as UVIMCO’s primary representative to the University, related foundations, and the public. As CIO, Robert is responsible for the investment management of UVIMCO’s Long Term Pool, overseeing the asset allocation, portfolio management, risk management, and manager selection activities of the investment staff. Prior to joining UVIMCO, Robert served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where he oversaw the hospital’s Foundation and other investment assets, totaling approximately $3 billion. Robert was previously the Managing Director of Private Investments at Morgan Creek Capital Management, and directed $4.5 billion of private investments across private equity, energy and natural resources, and real estate. He has also worked with Legg Mason/Western Asset Management, Ritchie Capital Management, and Merrill Lynch’s Middle Market M&A group. Robert received a B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, and an M.B.A. in finance and entrepreneurship, with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Robert is a CFA charterholder.

Temple Fennell has more than 20 years of experience as an investor and operating executive deploying capital of private investors and family offices in direct investments. Temple founded and operated three companies that were funded by private investors, family offices, and institutional investors (New Enterprise Associates, Oak Investment Partners, Pearson Education and others). Temple most recently served as a full-time strategic advisor for Flagship Ventures, a technology firm that develops technology companies to solve global problems and transform large markets in the energy, water, food and human health sectors. Temple is on the board of the single family office, Keller Enterprises, and active in the family’s deal origination and due diligence processes. Keller Enterprises is an active investor in late-stage venture and project finance deals in the renewable energy, sustainable food/agriculture, and waste-to-value sectors. Temple is the co-founder and co-director of the World Economic Forum/Harvard education program “Impact Investing for the Next Generation” at the Kennedy’s Center for Public Leaderships training Next Gen family office members how to consider impact investments as part of their direct investment strategy. He helps lead the MIT “Visionary Investing” workshops that are conducted in China, England and the U.S. and is a member of MIT’s Sustainable Finance Group. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of Direct Investment Strategies at conferences including the World Economic Forum, CFA Institute, China Merchants Bank, Campden Wealth Conferences, Family Office Association and others. Temple began his career as a Management Consultant at KMPG in New York and as an analyst for leveraged buy-out firm, Clinton Capital Corporation. Mr. Fennell holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, and a MBA as a MIT Sloan Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Grady Frank is a Partner and Head of Private Credit Origination at GoldenTree Asset Management. Mr. Frank is a member of the Private Credit Committee and leads GoldenTree’s coverage for private equity sponsors and other sources of private credit opportunities. Prior to joining GoldenTree, Mr. Frank spent 22 years in investment banking. Mr. Frank spent 15 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Most recently, Mr. Frank was responsible for managing relationships with many of Goldman’s largest private equity clients to provide advisory services and financing solutions. Mr. Frank also spent ten years in Goldman’s Leveraged Finance Debt Capital Markets group where he was Head of Healthcare, Consumer Retail, and Middle Market Industry verticals responsible for structuring debt financing solutions for sponsors and corporate issuers. Mr. Frank received a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington & Lee University.

David Gilmore is the Chief Investment Officer of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation has $3.2 billion in assets and will make over $150 million in grants this year. The portfolio is invested across all asset classes including public equities, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and real assets. Prior to joining the Foundation, David helped start The Ohio State University investment office in 2009 and served in several senior roles. The investment office was responsible for the investment management of the University’s $3.5 billion long-term investment pool. David was previously a partner at Gerber/Taylor Capital Advisors, Gerber/Taylor is an independent investment advisory firm. During his tenure the firm consulted on over $20 billion in assets and managed over $3 billion in discretionary fund of funds mainly focused on hedge funds and private equity investments. David earned his BBA from Baylor University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Memphis. David holds the Certified Financial Planner™ professional (CFP®) designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.

Jon is responsible for Delta Air Lines’ defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. In this role he oversees all aspects of the plans including asset allocation, alpha generation, and plan level risk management. Prior to joining Delta in 2011, Jon was Director of Manager Research at Wilmington Trust. Prior to joining Wilmington Trust in 2007, Jon spent six years with Emory University’s Endowment Fund. Jon holds a master’s degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an MBA from Emory University, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served as an officer in the US Navy as the Tomahawk Missile Officer on USS Stout (DDG-55) and the Weapons and Boarding Officer on USS Firebolt (PC-10). Jon is a member of the Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of CIEBA, the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets, Inc. and IDAC, the Investment Diversity Advisory Council.

Terry Gottberg, 55, is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Merit Energy Company. He has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and has spent 28 of them at Merit. In 2021, Terry was named “Top Midsize Leader” in the Dallas Fort Worth area, along with Merit Energy being named in the “Top 100 Places to Work” for the 10th consecutive year. Since joining in 1994, he has had a meaningful impact throughout all areas of Merit. His engineering background and strong leadership qualities have helped maintain our operational focus, as well as our unique culture. Terry has been instrumental in building relationships with our Limited Partners, bankers, and industry leaders. Currently the leaders of our three operating divisions, Acquisitions, Human Relations, General Counsel, Investor Relations, and our CFO report directly to Terry. His previous positions at Merit include, Acquisition and Region Manager, Vice President of Corporate Development, CFO and Senior Vice President. Prior to joining Merit, Terry held several engineering positions for Conoco Inc. Terry received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wyoming in 1991. He and his wife, Missy Gottberg, have two grown daughters, Kerry and Amy.

George J. Hauptfuhrer is a Consultant at Prime Buchholz. He joined Prime Buchholz in 2006. George has more than 41 years of investment experience, including research analysis, portfolio management, and consulting. He serves primarily institutional clients in their asset allocation, manager selection, and performance monitoring; assists in manager research and new-business efforts and is a member of the firm’s flexible capital asset class committee. Previous experience: Global partner at Invesco. George has his M.B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Fellow, and B.A. from Yale. In addition, he is a member of the CFA Institute/CFA Society of Atlanta; member of the board of the Princess Grace Foundation (USA) and the board of pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). George previously served on the boards of Columbia Theological Seminary, the Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, The Presbyterian Foundation, Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, and Piedmont Healthcare’s Investment Committee; also served on the boards at Rabun Gap – Nacoochee School, New Covenant Trust Company, The Alliance for Christian Media, and the Atlanta Ballet.

Ray Jacobson has been the Chief Investment Officer at Davidson College since 2008. He leads a small, experienced team that oversees all aspects of investing the college’s endowment. The portfolio has a significant allocation to alternatives, especially hedge funds and venture capital. Davidson’s endowment has consistently achieved strong absolute, relative, and risk-adjusted returns. Prior to Davidson, Mr. Jacobson served for four years as the first investment officer for the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit established to increase economic opportunities in North Carolina. He began his endowment career in 2001 at DUMAC, the investment office for Duke University. Earlier in his career, he worked at Bloomberg Financial Markets and Brown Advisory. He received an M.B.A. from Duke University, an M.S. from Clemson University, and a B.A. from Rutgers University. Mr. Jacobson has been a CFA Charterholder since 2001. He serves on the Board of Woodlawn School. Ray lives in the town of Davidson with his wife and they have four children.

Mr. Jeffrey leads StepStone’s activities in Europe and is a member of the private equity team, focusing on Europe, the Middle East and co-investments. He is also involved in the Firm’s responsible investing initiative, as well as various investment and management activities. Prior to joining StepStone in 2012, Mr. Jeffrey was a managing partner at Parish Capital where he founded the firm’s European and Asian practices and oversaw the secondary and co-investment businesses. Before that, he served as managing director of Bank of America’s European private equity group. Previously, Mr. Jeffrey was a managing director and head of BancBoston Capital’s European and Asian operations. Mr. Jeffrey received an MA from Cambridge University and is a qualified chartered accountant.

Christine Zapotoczky Kelleher is chief of investments at the National Gallery of Art, responsible for managing the Gallery’s $1+ billion endowment. Previously, Christine served as senior investment officer for Georgetown University. She co-founded Georgetown’s Investment Office in 2004 and served as acting chief investment officer in 2011. After Georgetown, Christine led investment strategy, sourcing, and evaluation for Avec Capital, a boutique investment advisory and placement firm. Earlier in her career, she served on the executive team of the Central European University, founded by George Soros, in Budapest, Hungary. Christine is a member of the Board of Investment Trustees for the Montgomery County Employee Retirement Plans and the Board of Trustees for the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefits Trust, Milken Institute’s Global Markets Advisory Council, The Academy for Institutional Investors’ editorial board, and the CAIA Allocator Council. She serves as a mentor for Accel CIO, accelerating tomorrow’s Black & Latino chief investment officers, and she previously served as an advisor to the Kayo Conference Series supporting women investors, member of the YWCA National Capital Area’s finance committee, and board member for the NHS Scholarship Fund. She received a BA in Russian and international relations from Bucknell University, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and holds MAs in Russian and East European studies and in Central European history from Georgetown University. She serves as president of the Bucknell University Alumni Association and lives in Washington, DC with her husband and son.

Ken Lee serves as Chief Investment Officer for Children’s Health. In this role, Ken is responsible for overseeing the system’s investable assets, including those of Children’s Medical Center Foundation. Prior to joining Children’s Health in 2020, Ken held a leadership role in investments at Carnegie Corporation of New York where he oversaw a range of investments in the public and private markets. Ken graduated from Yale College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and East Asian studies. Ken earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Brian Neale is a seasoned investor and leader with more than 20 years of professional experience working with both for-profit and not-for-profit institutional clients. As a process and outcome-oriented professional, Brian focuses on creating value through repeatable processes central to the management of institutional asset pools. His experience includes working with university endowments, defined benefit plans, captive insurance entities, healthcare entities, and liquidity portfolios. Currently, Brian is responsible for discretionary management and oversight of more than $3.0B of investable assets on behalf of the University of Nebraska Foundation. In this role, his principal duties include managing the internal investment team, establishing long-term asset allocation policies and short-term tactical tilts, manager research and selection, portfolio construction, compliance, and oversight for all endowment portfolios. Brian also has sole portfolio management responsibilities for an internal pool of capital that is in excess of $725M. These efforts provide financial support to four distinct campuses with student enrollment of 52,000. Additionally, he serves as principal investment liaison to the Foundation’s Investment Committee and Board of Directors, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents Business and Finance Committee, and numerous other constituent groups. Executive management responsibilities include leading the investment office team as well as serving as a member of the Foundations Executive Leadership Team, DEI Committee, and Retirement Committee. Brian enjoys sharing his knowledge and views with others and is a frequent contributor as a panelist and/or moderator for a variety of industry events. One of his favorite aspects of his professional career is having the opportunity to mentor interns and others new to or interested in the investment profession. In addition, he has served as a guest lecturer for both undergraduate and graduate-level programs.

Boaz Weinstein is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Saba Capital Management, a $4.4 billion hedge fund focused on credit relative value strategies, based in New York City. Mr. Weinstein founded Saba in 2009 as a lift-out of the Deutsche Bank proprietary credit trading group he started in 1998. At Saba, Mr. Weinstein leads a team of 42 professionals, with the senior members having worked together for more than a decade. In 2021, Risk.net named Saba Capital Management Hedge Fund of the Year. In 2022, HFM US Performance Awards named Saba: winner Credit – Relative Value fund over $500mm. Previously, Mr. Weinstein worked at Deutsche Bank for eleven years, the last eight years as Managing Director (a title he achieved at age 27). Throughout his career at Deutsche Bank, Mr. Weinstein had dual responsibility for proprietary trading and market making. In 2008, Mr. Weinstein was promoted to Co-Head of Global Credit Trading, overseeing a group of 650 investment professionals. He was also a member of the Global Markets Executive Committee. Mr. Weinstein graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a BA in Philosophy. He achieved the title of National Master in chess at age 16.

John D. Pinkel is a Partner of Indus Capital, based in San Francisco. Mr. Pinkel is the portfolio manager of the Indus Select Fund. Mr. Pinkel joined Indus Capital in March 2003 from Citigroup where he was Managing Director and Head of Equities in the Taipei branch. Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Pinkel spent eight years as a securities analyst in Hong Kong, China and South Korea. Mr. Pinkel lived and worked in Asia for 24 years. Mr. Pinkel, a CFA charterholder, graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a BS in Applied Mathematics. He spent the academic year of 1990-1991 at the Stanford Center in Taipei (Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies). Mr. Pinkel is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Rob Rahbari is a Senior Investment Officer and Assistant Treasurer at the University of Rochester, and co-founder of Institutional Allocators for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (IADEI). Prior to joining UR in 2013, Rob was a Vice President at JP Morgan (2010-2013); co-founder of RAS Capital Management, an India-focused fund of hedge funds (2006-2009); and a Director at Ferro Capital Management (2004-2006). Prior to Ferro Capital, Rob practiced law in the Investment Management groups at Skadden Arps and Weil Gotshal. Rob serves on the Investment Committees of the Strong Museum and Holy Childhood in Rochester. He holds a JD from the University of Chicago Law School (1996), and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan (1993).

Joe has 25 years’ experience working as an LP, GP and technology operations executive. Prior to Isomer he was MD for Business Development at Pomona Capital, a leading global secondaries firm, and earlier at Cambridge Associates responsible for advising institutional investors on venture capital and private equity investments. Joe began his career in information technology operating roles, most notably at Invensys plc (now Schneider Electric) in the US and Europe. He received a BS Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and an MBA from London Business School.

Valbona Schwab joined the Grinnell College Investment Office in 2021 after a tenure of seven years with Beth Israel Lahey Health Investment Office, a $4 billion endowment in Boston. Prior to her time with Beth Israel Lahey, Valbona worked as Portfolio Manager and Head of Research for Partners HealthCare System, a $22 billion hospital system in Massachusetts. Valbona has also served as a Trustee and Investment Committee Chair for The Chestnut Hill School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. A native of Albania, Valbona started her investment career in her country’s first private equity fund opened by the USAID following the fall of the communist bloc. She studied Economics at the American University in Bulgaria as a George Soros scholar, Finance at the University of Maine, and later obtained an MBA and a Master’s in Finance from Boston College with high distinction.

Erik Sebusch is a Partner at Mercer Alternatives boutique, specifically focused on Private Equity. He is the Global Strategy Leader of Venture Capital and Growth Equity. In addition to fund research, Erik is involved in co investments and secondary opportunities. Before Mercer, Erik was a Partner with a San Francisco-based Venture Capital / Growth Equity manager Presidio Partners FKA CMEA Capital. His primary duties were managing the corporate strategic investors, traditional institutional limited partners and early-stage technology investing. In addition, Erik served on the boards of multiple technology companies, led technology investments and served on the Investment Committee while at CMEA. Prior to CMEA, Erik spent nearly 12 years at UPS. Erik began in New Product Development, and Innovation then moved to the Corporate Venture Capital group and lastly worked as a Private Markets Portfolio Manager to over a $5 billion allocation to private assets in the $30+ billion UPS Pension. Before UPS, he spent ten years working as a high-net-worth financial consultant for Merrill Lynch and private practice for individuals and family offices. Erik holds an International MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management and serves on over 20 limited partner advisory boards.

Adela Skenderasi is a partner and portfolio manager at Brown Advisory. She is responsible for managing the investment portfolios of endowment and foundation institutional clients and also providing specific guidance on their long-term investment objectives. Prior to joining the firm, Adela worked for 8 years as a Senior Investment Officer at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she oversaw all aspects of portfolio management for the defined benefit plan and healthcare benefit assets of the institution. In 2018, Adela took a sabbatical from the IMF to join the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Switzerland, where in addition to overseeing the externally managed funds of the defined benefit plan, she contributed to the alternative investments review and co-authored research papers on sustainable investing and climate change impact on public investors’ portfolios. Prior to joining the IMF, she was Director of Investment Operations for Georgetown University’s Investment Office. Adela holds an MBA with a focus in Finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and has been a CFA charterholder since September 2011.

Ms. Snider joined Hackensack Meridian Health in 2020 as their first CIO with the mandate to build an investment office that will support the organization’s mission of transforming healthcare and being viewed as a leader of positive change. The HMH investment office manages both the endowment and pension assets for the hospital system. Prior to joining HMH, Donna was a Managing Director at The Kresge Foundation since 2009 where she had responsibility for evaluating investment opportunities across all asset classes as well as oversight for the internal trading activity. Prior to joining Kresge, Donna was a director in the Global Markets and Investment Banking division of Merrill Lynch in New York where she covered institutional investors for structured credit, rates and equity products, as well as corporate issuers for their balance sheet hedging activity. Prior to Wall Street, Donna was a pension actuary with Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson) in Chicago. Donna earned her MBA with concentrations in accounting and analytical finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; she holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa; professional designations include CFA charter holder and an Associate of the Society of Actuaries.

Kyle Stewart is an Investment Director at Children’s Health System of Texas, a 2.0-billion-dollar Dallas based Foundation. At Children’s, Mr. Stewart oversees the Foundation’s Hedge Fund, Private Credit and Liquid Real Asset allocations and serves on the internal investment committee. Prior to joining Children’s, Mr. Stewart was a Sr. Investment Analyst / Co-Portfolio Manager at Irvington Capital as well as a Research Associate at Taylor Investment Advisors. Mr. Stewart holds a B.B.A. from Texas Tech University and a M.S. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.

Emily serves as the Chief Investment Officer and chair of the investment committee at the firm. In her role, Emily provides oversight and guidance in managing and coordinating all aspects of investment activities and strategies consistent with its mission, objectives, and established policies. Prior to joining the firm, Emily was an Investment Officer at Oklahoma State University and a Vice President within the Investment Management Group at Hatteras Funds where she focused on sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management of alternative investments strategies across public and private asset classes. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph Macon College with majors in both Business/Economics and Accounting. Emily also obtained her Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from the University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School. Emily is a CFA® charterholder and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Peter Troob co-heads TF Investments, a single-family office with his brother, Doug Troob. In this role, he is responsible for investing the capital of his family office across asset classes including private equity and debt, real estate, venture capital and special situations. They also co-founded Troob Capital Management LLC in 2002. Peter leads TCM’s opportunistic investment strategy providing capital solutions across asset classes, capital structures, industries and geographies in both liquid and illiquid investments. His responsibilities include identifying, evaluating, structuring, and managing investments as well as portfolios. Mr. Troob has extensive experience investing in growth opportunities as well as deep value, distressed, restructurings, and illiquid situations. Prior to founding TCM, Mr. Troob was a Principal at Everest Capital, a global hedge fund, where he was focused on the Everest Capital Senior Debt L.P. and concentrated on distressed securities, capital structure arbitrage and special situations. Prior to joining Everest, Mr. Troob was a Partner at Contrarian Capital Management LLC, a distressed debt and special situation hedge fund, where he was responsible for all aspects of the investment process with active involvement in driving value-creating events. He also worked in the investment banking departments of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Kidder Peabody and The Geneva Companies engaging in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions. Mr. Troob is a published author of Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle. He received a B.A. and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 1991, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1995.

Boaz Weinstein is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Saba Capital Management, a $4.4 billion hedge fund focused on credit relative value strategies, based in New York City. Mr. Weinstein founded Saba in 2009 as a lift-out of the Deutsche Bank proprietary credit trading group he started in 1998. At Saba, Mr. Weinstein leads a team of 42 professionals, with the senior members having worked together for more than a decade. In 2021, Risk.net named Saba Capital Management Hedge Fund of the Year. In 2022, HFM US Performance Awards named Saba: winner Credit – Relative Value fund over $500mm. Previously, Mr. Weinstein worked at Deutsche Bank for eleven years, the last eight years as Managing Director (a title he achieved at age 27). Throughout his career at Deutsche Bank, Mr. Weinstein had dual responsibility for proprietary trading and market making. In 2008, Mr. Weinstein was promoted to Co-Head of Global Credit Trading, overseeing a group of 650 investment professionals. He was also a member of the Global Markets Executive Committee. Mr. Weinstein graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a BA in Philosophy. He achieved the title of National Master in chess at age 16.

John Wolff is a Managing Director at Insight Partners and the Chief Investment Officer of Insight Partners Public Equities (“IPPE”). Prior to Insight, John was the Founder and CIO of C243 Capital Management and from 2015 to 2020, John was the Head of Technology Investing and a Portfolio Manager at Omega Advisors. Before joining Omega, John was a Principal at Andor Capital from 2012 to 2015. John also spent five months at Eastbay Capital during Omega’s transition to a Family Office in late 2018. John started his career in finance at Goldman Sachs in its TMT Investment Banking Division after successfully exiting the internet startup he co-founded. John also served as a director for Slader LLC., a leading education platform for high school and college students, and advised the company through their acquisition by Quizlet in 2020. John graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Psychology. During his junior year, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and played two years of minor league baseball in the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets organizations. After retiring from baseball, John received his MBA from Columbia Business School.