Spring Academy Investment Forum 2025

Colette Carlson is a human behavior expert and CPAE Hall of Fame keynote speaker who is acclaimed for her transformative approach in cultivating human-centric workplaces that turbocharge business results. Colette’s presentations captivate audiences with her unparalleled energy and humor, engaging interaction, extensive customization, research backed strategies, and the call to action for personal and professional success. Since founding her company, Speak Your Truth, Inc., Colette has delivered hundreds of customized keynote programs across five continents, grounded in extensive interviews with leaders, sales professionals, and frontline employees across diverse industries. Colette’s trusted clientele includes industry giants like Microsoft, Pepsi, FedEx, Exxon Mobil, Costco, Procter & Gamble, Fidelity, and Domino’s. With a Master’s Degree in Human Behavior and more than 20 years of experience helping individuals prioritize intentional, impactful communication that builds trust, fuels engagement, and increases performance, Colette understands the skills required to thrive in today’s modern, changing world. Colette is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation held by fewer than 10% of the members belonging to the International Federation for Professional Speakers and was also inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, a recognition that honors professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of career excellence. Attendees leave Colette’s programs more inspired, more resilient, and equipped with an abundance of tangible strategies and actionable guidance designed to enhance human interactions, ultimately boosting business outcomes. Learn more at www.ColetteCarlson.com

Marko is a macro and geopolitical expert at BCA Research, a global investment research firm. He provides in-depth analysis that combines geopolitics and markets in a framework called GeoMacro. He is also the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future. At BCA, Marko leads the firm’s premier service, BCA Access, that allows clients to unlock access to custom research and the vast expert network that BCA has cultivated over its 76 year history. Previously, Marko was a partner at an alternative asset management firm in California where he provided his investors and clients with controversial market calls, bold views, and around-the-clock research. He helped seed global macro hedge funds and curate several funds, across public and private markets. His work on incorporating geopolitics into the asset management industry has become part of the CAIA curriculum. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, he has lived in Iraq, Jordan, Switzerland, Canada, and the U.S. He has lectured at the top universities and you’ll frequently see him in global news media.

Beth was formerly a Senior Investment Consultant at Pavilion, a Mercer Practice. She serviced 6 endowment, foundation and family office clients with over $9 billion in aggregate assets under advisement. For these clients, Beth focused 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.

Rip Mecherle joined the University of Tennessee in August of 2011. He manages the invested assets in the $1.4 billion endowment, as well as the University’s charitable trust platform. He also helps oversee the operating cash for the University system. Combined, the total assets approximate $3 billion. Prior to that, he worked for eleven years as an analyst and portfolio manager in the structured credit and leveraged corporate debt markets, running separately managed accounts, open-end funds, and leveraged closed-end funds. He also spent four years in the non-profit sector. He received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Virginia and a master of business administration from Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Mary is the CEO and CIO at Acansa Investment Management Group. Mary is the former CIO of Emory University and founder of Emory Investment Management – a position she held for nearly 17 years. During her tenure, Mary successfully led the investment programs for Emory University’s endowment ($7 Billion), defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans ($2.3 Billion), operating bank ($1.5 Billion), hospital reserves, trusts, and insurance assets. Prior to joining Emory, Mary was Deputy Chief Investment Officer of Xerox Corporation. Mary’s entire career has been institutional investing, with prior positions including the Virginia Retirement System, SmithKline, BellSouth and Merck pension plans. Mary has overseen internal equity portfolios, invested fixed income and futures portfolios, built global, multi-asset portfolios, and designed investment options. She serves on the Board of the Woodruff Arts Center (Investment Committee) and the Robert Toigo Foundation (Audit Committee Chair). She is an advisor to the Zeist Foundation and an investment committee member for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. Mary has an MBA specializing in Finance from St. John’s University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Nicholas Csicsko joined Trinity Wall Street in 2016 as part of the organization’s first internal investment office. Nicholas works on a small team as a generalist helping to build and oversee Trinity’s $3.5B Endowment. Prior to Trinity, Nicholas was a member of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s investment team. Nicholas received a BA from Indiana University, MM and PhD from the Juilliard School, and holds both the CFA and CAIA designations.

Vanita is Managing Director of DFO Management, LLC. Previously, she was the managing director of public investments for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s $14 billion investment portfolio. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2016, she was the Director of Research at Ehrenkranz Partners, L.P., a New York-based multi-family office, where she was responsible for investments across asset classes, including fixed income, equities, hedge funds, private equity, and real assets. Before joining Ehrenkranz Partners, L.P. Vanita served as a Director in alternative investments at Credit Suisse, where she was responsible for research and portfolio management across several hedge fund strategies. Prior to Credit Suisse, she held roles in asset management at The Blackstone Group and J.P. Morgan Chase. Vanita serves on the Board of the Prison Law Office, a California-based organization that strives for fair and humane treatment of prisoners, and Neighbors Together, a New York City-based non-profit dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty in Central Brooklyn. She earned her BA in Mathematics and Economics from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.

Susanne Gealy is a Senior Director of the investments team at CommonSpirit Health (formerly Dignity Health) and is based in San Francisco. She leads the organization’s public equity and directional hedge fund investments. In 2019, Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiative merged to form CommonSpirit Health, which is the largest not-for-profit health system in the US, dedicated to providing quality, compassionate health care. The organization has a $21 billion investment portfolio, allocated across the long term strategic operations, retirement benefits, endowment, and insurance pools of capital.

Prior to joining Dignity Health in 2018, Susanne spent 10 years at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, in Austin, a $150 billion retirement plan. At TRS, she was responsible for the $26 billion external equity investment program comprising US, international, emerging markets, and global equity managers, and actively participated in the emerging manager program of newer, smaller and/or diversity oriented investment managers. Before joining TRS, Susanne worked in New York at Investcorp, Lazard Asset Management, a family office, and Banc of America Securities. She began her career in finance at JP Morgan in equity derivatives. Prior to attending business school, Susanne worked in the field of structural engineering in San Francisco. Susanne holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. She has a M.S. and B.S. in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

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.

Larissa Herczeg is the Head of Seeding for Oak Street Real Estate Capital (Oak Street), a Division of Blue Owl. Ms. Herczeg is a member of the Oak Street’s Investment Committee. Ms. Herczeg is responsible for all aspects of Oak Street’s Seeding & Strategic Capital business, including investment sourcing, due diligence, selection and portfolio management and reporting.

Ms. Herczeg’s activities include co-founding Women in Real Estate, serving as a Trustee of Roosevelt University, Co-Chair of the Roosevelt University Women’s Leadership Council, a mentor for the Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leader’s In Real Estate Initiative, a past mentor for the Toigo Foundation and serving as a guest speaker at the University of California-Berkeley, Kellogg School of Management and the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to Oak Street, Ms. Herczeg was responsible for global real estate investing at Morgan Creek Capital Management, Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors and the Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group (now known as GCM Grosvenor). Ms. Herczeg received a B.A. with honors in Government and Economics from the University of Notre Dame, a Master’s degree with honors in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Juris Doctor degree with honors from Columbia University Law School.

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.

Christine Zapotoczky Kelleher is managing director, client portfolio management, at Strategic Investment Group, where she directs the development, implementation, and ongoing management of client investment portfolios. Previously, she was chief of investments for the National Gallery of Art, senior investment officer for Georgetown University, and managing director for Avec Capital. 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 American Chemical Society’s Pensions & Investments Committee, 4-H National Council’s investment subcommittee, and The Academy for Institutional Investors’ editorial board. She received a BA in Russian and international relations from Bucknell University and holds MAs in Russian and East European studies and in Central European history from Georgetown University.

Larry Kochard is a Senior Advisor, board member, and the retired Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Makena Capital Management. Prior to his retirement at the end of 2024, Larry was a member of the three-person Executive Committee that ran the firm. He led the investment process and managed Makena’s investment team. Larry was previously the CEO and CIO of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO). As CEO, Larry provided leadership for all aspects of UVIMCO’s operations and served as UVIMCO’s primary representative to the university, related foundations, and the public. As CIO, Larry was 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, Larry served as CIO at Georgetown University. From 2001 to 2004, he was Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund Investments for the Virginia Retirement System. From 1997 to 2004, he taught in the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, first as an adjunct and later as a full-time assistant professor. Larry received his BA in Economics from the College of William & Mary, an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Rochester, and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia. He is a CFA Charterholder. Larry currently chairs the Investment Advisory Committee for the Virginia Retirement System, serves on the board and chairs the investment committee for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation and is on the investment committee of Eighteen48. Larry previously served on the board of directors of Janus Henderson Group, Inc. and the Virginia Environmental Endowment, and chaired the investment committee for the College of William & Mary’s endowment. Larry was the 2015 winner of the Rodney H. Adams Award for Endowment Management from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), which recognizes outstanding contributions to university endowment and investment management. Larry is a longtime moderator and speaker at endowment and foundation conferences, and is the author of several industry publications, including Foundation and Endowment Investing: Philosophies and Strategies of Top Investors and Institutions. He will continue to teach investment courses at the University of Virginia.

Ashley Marks is a Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Cordillera Investment Partners. She is responsible for directing Cordillera’s overarching investment strategy alongside her co-founders. She also serves as a director of Cordillera portfolio companies. Prior to founding Cordillera, Ashley was a Partner at Makena Capital Management where she was a senior member of Makena’s Real Estate investment team and served as the Portfolio Manager responsible for a Makena Real Estate Fund. She was also a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Before Makena, Ashley was an Associate at MacFarlane Partners, a real estate private equity firm in San Francisco, and held previous positions at MacFarlane Partners and Robertson Stephens in the Technology Investment Banking group. Ashley earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Ms. Molnar joined Fairfax County Retirement Systems in 2013 and currently serves as Chief Investment Officer of the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System, a $2 billion plan. Her responsibilities include all aspects of portfolio management and oversight, including strategic and tactical asset and risk allocation, selection and supervision of external investment managers and risk management. From 2001 until 2012, Ms. Molnar was Vice President, Senior Research Analyst at AIG Investments’ Hedge Fund Solutions Group – both in London and New York. At AIG Investments, Ms. Molnar was responsible for due diligence procedures and research including: sourcing new managers, monitoring current hedge funds, analyzing portfolio risk and performance, making new investment recommendations to an investment committee as well as hedge fund asset allocation recommendations for portfolio construction. She was additionally responsible for portfolio reviews and overall asset allocation recommendations for external client portfolios. Previously, she was Vice President, Market Research Analyst at Citigroup Investments’ Alternative Investment Strategies group. Prior investment management experience includes positions at Paribas Asset Management as well as Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen. Additionally, Ms. Molnar spent one year in Warsaw, Poland launching the first retail mutual funds available to the Polish market as well as two years in Frankfurt, Germany as an intern with J.P. Morgan. Ms. Molnar received a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a CFA Charterholder.

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.

Nishi Shah has been a Director, Public Investments at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2024. Previously, Nishi spent nine years as a Founding Partner and the Head of Research of Old Farm Partners, a firm focused on allocating to hedge funds and co-investments. Prior to that, she spent nine years at Soros Fund Management where she was an allocator, an equity research analyst and a legal analyst.

Nishi holds a BA with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania. She became a CFA Charterholder in 2017. She has served on the Finance Committee of the Northstar Community Foundation since 2017 and is a Board Member and on the Investment Committee of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Anne L. Shelton, CFA, is Chief Investment Officer of American Trading and Production Corporation (Atapco), a multi-generational single family investment company owned by descendants of the founders of American Oil. She oversees all investing for the multi-asset class portfolio except for the company’s direct real estate investments. Additionally, Anne chairs the investment committee for the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, the largest of the family’s foundations.

Previously, Anne was Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the American Red Cross where she led the team investing in all types of alternative investments including private equity, distressed debt, real estate, real assets, and hedge funds, for the $1 Billion endowment and $2 Billion defined benefit pension plan. Anne also worked as Director of Absolute Return at Cornell University and at McKinsey in the Corporate Finance and Strategy Practice.

Anne currently serves as a member of the Investment Committee of the American Psychological Association. Previously, Anne served as a Public Advisor to the Investment Committee of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, and on the boards and multiple committees of both the CFA Society of Washington DC and the YWCA National Capital Area.

Anne earned a B.S. with distinction in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. with distinction in Finance and Marketing from New York University Stern School of Business.

Kyle Stewart serves a Senior Investment Director at Children’s Health Medical Center Foundation based in Dallas, TX. Kyle focuses on the Foundation’s marketable investments including Public Equities, Diversifying Strategies, Fixed Income and Liquid Real Assets.

Prior to joining Children’s Health, Kyle was a senior investment professional at Irvington Capital and previously held roles at CTC myCFO, Taylor Investment Advisors and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Kyle holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas Tech University and a M.S. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.

Stephanie E. Szymanski is the Chief Investment Officer at Lakeview Capital Management, a single-family office in Chicago. She is responsible for asset allocation, due diligence, and portfolio and risk management for investments across public and private markets. Before joining Lakeview, Stephanie spent fifteen years in senior investment roles at two other single-family offices. Before becoming an allocator, she worked in a variety of roles in the financial services industry. Stephanie graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and earned her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2006. Stephanie is a member of the WHI Trust Company Investment Committee; PEWIN, including the PEWIN Foundation Board and PEWIN Midwest Events Committee; the Team IMPACT Midwest Advisory Board; and the global and Chicago chapters of the CFA Institute. She is also a mentor with Evanston Scholars and a Senior Advisor for WORC (Workforce & Organizational Research Committee).

Karen Horn Welch is Deputy, Chief Investment Officer at Spider Management Company, which manages approximately $6 billion in endowment assets for the University of Richmond and other non-profit institutions. In this role, she is involved in leading asset allocation and manager selection across the portfolio. She also works closely with Spider’s non-profit clients and their investment committees. Prior to joining Spider Management in 2016, Ms. Welch worked at Stanford Management Company from 2007 through 2015. She served as Director, Portfolio Strategy, leading asset allocation, portfolio strategy, and co-managing a portfolio of direct investments. Previously, she was Director of Public Equity, managing the endowment’s global public equity and long/short hedge fund portfolio. Prior to joining the Stanford Management Company, Ms. Welch worked at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she served as Manager of Investments. Ms. Welch previously worked as a Research Associate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard University Center for International Development and began her career at JP Morgan. Ms. Welch received a BA with honors in Economics and International Relations from Bucknell University and an MPA with a focus on international economics from Harvard. She is a CFA charterholder and member of Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Welch serves on the Investment Committee for CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit health care system, and on the St. Christopher’s School Foundation Board. She has also served on the St. Christopher’s Board of Governors as a member of the Bucknell University Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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.