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Board of Directors

Officers of the Board of Directors

Steven Petersen, Chair, is the Chief Financial Officer of TPG-Axon Management, a leading global investment firm with capital invested in public and private markets globally through its offices in New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, TPG-Axon Capital has invested across a broad range of industries in more than 20 different countries, including investments in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services, technology, energy and basic materials and retail. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, he was the Global Operational Risk Manager of the Proprietary Trading Business in J.P. Morgan Chase's investment bank. Before joining JPMC, he worked as an accountant in Arthur Andersen LLPs tax practice. Steve graduated with a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University in 1996.

Kate Schrauth, Executive Director and former Chair of the icouldbe.org Board of Directors, has the primary responsibility of successfully managing and growing icouldbe.org to serve thousands of students throughout the US and internationally. With over 22 years of nonprofit leadership experience, Ms. Schrauth has played a variety of roles including Founder and Director of Artists for Humanity & City Teens Design Company, and has held a variety of roles at organizations including Jumpstart, New School University and Harvard University.


Members of the Board of Directors

Adam Aberman, prior to his current position as Youth Venture’s Director of Global Online Strategy, founded and served as Executive Director of icouldbe.org. Adam is also the Principal and Founder of The Learning Collective, a consulting organization that strengthens practices of youth-serving organizations. Prior to establishing icouldbe.org, Adam was a Regional Coordinator for the New York City Department of Education. Adam began his career in education as a Spanish bilingual public school teacher in Los Angeles. He received a BA from Vassar College and an MA in Public Policy with an emphasis on Education from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Darren DeVleeschouwer is currently a student at Columbia Business School in New York City. At Columbia, Darren serves on the Graduate Business Association as the Chair of the Honor Board. Prior to pursuing his graduate degree, Darren worked for Deloitte Consulting, serving clients in the Healthcare, Finance Services, and Media industries. Most recently, Darren worked for Deloitte Tax as a Consultant for the Tax Strategy Team. Darren graduated from Penn State University in 2006 with a B.S. in Marketing and minors in Psychology and Spanish.

Gregory A. Framke is the Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Operations Officer, for E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. As Chief Information and Operations Officer, Greg Framke oversees the management of all global technology development and infrastructure at E*TRADE FINANCIAL, as well as its core global operations. Mr. Framke’s primary objectives are to maximize efficiency throughout the business, as well as to leverage technology to provide innovative financial services products to customers. Mr. Framke has been recognized as one of InfoWorld's 25 Most Influential CTOs and as a ComputerWorld Honors Program Laureate. He has also earned multiple standings with the InformationWeek 100 and CIO's Top 100 for Innovation. Mr. Framke’s career spans over 20 years in both the financial services and technology industries with experience in sales, marketing and technology. Prior to joining E*TRADE FINANCIAL in 2000, Mr. Framke was Director and Global Equity Technology Chief Operating Officer for Deutsche Bank Securities. From 1994 to 1999, he was a Principal with Morgan Stanley & Co for equity technology in New York and London. Before moving to Wall Street, Mr. Framke worked in marketing and sales management positions at IBM, earning numerous awards and commendations. Mr. Framke holds a BA in International Finance, graduating with honors from The George Washington University.

Nicholas Collins Glover is Corporate Manager of the USCC Deal Team at American Express, responsible for accelerating sales momentum and charge volume growth over multi-billion dollar, corporate accounts. His team is a key partner, leading the proposal process in collaboration with Acquisition and Account Development teams. Prior to joining American Express, he worked as a Senior Associate in the Advisory Practice at the Reputation Institute – the global leader in Corporate Reputation strategy consulting. Having also previously worked as an Associate in the Global Corporate Client Group with NASDAQ OMX, Glover developed deep experience in the equity capital markets. While at NASDAQ OMX, he developed strategic marketing materials in support of business development. For his efforts he received The President's Award. Glover completed his B.A. in Political Science from the College of Charleston – the nation’s 13th oldest institution – where he served as President of the Student Government Association. He currently serves on the boards of the International Youth Leadership Institute and the College of Charleston Alumni Association. Additionally, he serves on the Young Executive Board of Behind the Book, the Steering Committee of Education Through Music, and as a member of the Sharing Fund at the historic Riverside Church.

Greg Rutstein is Vice President - Associate General Counsel with the US arm of Financial Risk Management Group (FRM), a London based hedge fund. Prior to joining FRM, Greg was an associate in the Investment Funds Department in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and was an associate in the Global Corporate/M&A Department in the New York office of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. Greg is also a member of the board of directors and General Counsel for Prodigy Technology, a start-up educational software company. Greg received a BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a JD, magna cum laude, from New York Law School where he was a Justice John Marshall Harlan Scholar, an Associate Editor for the New York Law School Law Review and a member of the Center for Professional Values and Excellence.

Stephanie Sharis is the Chief Operating Officer of SnagFilms Inc, an internet start-up founded by web pioneer Ted Leonsis. Prior to SnagFilms which she joined as an original team member in early 2008, she worked at AOL in Premium Services and then Original Programming from 2004 through 2007. Her last role was as Director of Creative Development where she developed episodic web-based series sponsored by major clients like GM and P&G. She also built and managed AOL True Stories, a broadband channel for documentaries, which was the precursor for SnagFilms. Before joining AOL, Sharis co-founded and served as Co-President of Transmission Films, an online distributor of independent and foreign films. She has also worked as a project consultant for New York Office, Walden Media, Content Film, Urbanworld Films, JP Morgan and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Sharis has also been involved in content production: she co-produced THE PROMISE, a short film starring Saundra Santiago and Kevin Conway, MUSIC INN, a documentary which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, and THE PARTY’S OVER, a feature documentary starring Philip Seymour Hoffman that was released in theaters internationally and aired on the BBC. Sharis graduated summa cum laude from Wesleyan University in 1994 and received her graduate degree in public policy from Harvard University in 1999 where she met icouldbe founder Adam Aberman. She began her career as a public high school English teacher in East Los Angeles as part of Teach for America. She’s been passionate about education and the digital divide ever since.

Jeff Valentine is Vice President and Global Head of Investment Operations and Systems for ALICO Investments based out of New York. Prior to joining ALICO, Jeff was Managing Director of Global Investment Services for AIG and responsible for middle and back-office investment operations functions. Jeff began his career at Metropolitan Life in 1994 as a Securities Analyst, and after three years with the firm, accepted a position as Senior Investment Accountant for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia based in Richmond, Virginia. Jeff later joined Houston based American General Investment Management in 1999 as Associate Director of Securities Accounting and subsequently became part of AIG Investments through acquisition in 2001. Jeff received a BBA in Finance from The University of Georgia.

Elliot Zibel is a senior analyst at Pennant Capital Management, an investment firm with $5B in assets under management. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, he was a senior analyst at Breeden Capital Management, a $2B investment fund which applies a private equity approach to public market investing. Before joining BCM in 2006, he worked as the Vice President of Equity Research at Matrix Asset Advisors. Elliot graduated with a BA in Economics from Union College, Cum Laude. He is also a CFA charter holder.