Alex is the Founder, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Whale Rock Capital Management, a Boston–based global equity manager focused on the Technology, Media, and Telecom sectors. Alex received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999 and earned his BA from Hamilton College in 1994. He serves on the Board of Trustees and is on the Investment Committee at Hamilton College, the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee and is the Chair of the Investment Committee at the Fessenden School, and the Board of Trustees and the Finance and Investment Committees at The Steppingstone Foundation.

Alixe Callen serves as the Head of School at Milton Academy. A Milton graduate with teaching and leadership experience in public and independent schools, Alixe previously served as the head of St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island, the upper school director at Lakeside School in Seattle, the principal of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School and assistant principal of Needham High School. Alixe received her bachelor’s in American civilization from Brown University, a master of arts in teaching from Brown, a master’s in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University, and her doctorate from Harvard, where she was elected to the Harvard Educational Review.

Bob Henderson is an education consultant, primarily doing executive search work with the firm Resource Group 175 (RG175). Prior to that he worked for 37 years in independent schools in various parts of the United States. In 2017, he retired after 17 years as the Head of School at Noble and Greenough School, in Dedham, Massachusetts. Bob joined the Steppingstone Board of Directors in 2017 and has been the chair since 2021. Bob has consulted or served as a trustee for over 35 schools and non-profit foundations. He earned his B.A and M.A.L.S. degrees from Dartmouth College.

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Brian joined The Steppingstone Foundation Board in 1996, and served as Board Chair from 2000 to 2018. Brian is a Managing Director and Chairman of TA Associates, a leading growth private equity firm. Brian is also a Board Member of The Boston Foundation, a Member of the Board of Fellows of Stanford Medicine, and a Trustee Emeritus of Amherst College. Brian received a BA degree, magna cum laude, in Economics and English from Amherst College and an MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Darian's relationship with Steppingstone began as a scholar (‘99). He returned as an intern in 2007 and a teacher in 2010. In 2023, Darian joined the Board of Directors. Darian's path from Steppingstone led him to Roxbury Latin, followed by Bowdoin College, where he was a Classics major and basketball team captain. Darian returned to Roxbury Latin, where he is the Director of Studies and Director of Strategic Initiatives, also holding the John P. Brennan Chairholder in Classics. Darian holds an A.B. from Bowdoin, an M.A. from St. John’s College, and an M.Ed. from Columbia University.

Fueled by an intrinsic sense of curiosity and a passion for learning, my dream growing up was to be a history teacher. As a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, when I was diagnosed with Chrone’s disease I had to take a left turn, changing my path and learning how to heal myself through food. Today, I am in remission and have spent my culinary career working and staging at some of the best restaurants in the country and around the globe. From Thailand, to Paris to New York City, I have used my experiences to start a private chef and cooking class company, Culinary Breakdown at the age of 24 and am now the Owner and Chef of MIDA restaurant in Boston’s trendy South End neighborhood, MIDA Newton and APIZZA. As the only Black, chef-owned restaurant in Boston, I continue to find ways to put my passion for story-telling and teaching to use by building bridges in the community through food and conversation. I live in Jamaica Plain, MA with my wife, Debra and twin boys, Raffa and Lev.

Dr. Pinder-Amaker is an AssociateProfessor at Harvard Medical School who lectures and conducts workshops throughout the country on strengthening continuity of care, bolstering communication between campus- and community-based systems, eliminating barriers to mental health treatment, and supporting students who hold marginalized identities. She is a member of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student Initiative and has published on the prevalence and distribution of mental disorders among college students and the integration of student concerns into traditional models of care. Dr. Pinder-Amaker has over 25 years of experience in college student mental health treatment, administration, and policy. She is the founding director of McLean Hospital's College Mental Health Program, a unique initiative serving students from over 200 institutions of higher education and providing student-focused treatment; consultation to institutions of higher education; and related research. Prior to McLean, Dr. Pinder-Amaker served as Associate Dean of Students at the University of Michigan where her portfolio included Critical Incident Management, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, and Services for Students with Disabilities. She co-founded Twin Star Intersectional Diversity Trainers in 2018 to address issues of identity and inclusion in the workplace and is co-author of Did That Just Happen? a forthcoming book on cultural humility in organizations from Beacon Press. 

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Fabian retired from American Family in January 2022. In his most recent role, he oversaw the direct businesses at American Family, including Homesite, The General, and Connect Auto & Home. He also oversaw American Family’s investment in Bowhead and TRU, each founded with co-investors in 2020.  These businesses total over $5 billion in premium.

Fabian joined American Family when it acquired Homesite in late 2013. He had been with Homesite since its start in 1999, when he joined as Chief Operating Officer. He became Chief Executive Officer in 2001 and continued in that role until his retirement in January 2022. Homesite finished 2021 with $2.3B in premium—making it a top 10 U.S. homeowners insurer--and an 89.6% combined ratio. 

Prior to joining Homesite, Fabian spent nine years at Chubb Insurance where he was Chief Marketing Officer and a member of Chubb’s Operating Committee. His previous roles at Chubb included Manager of the London/Lloyd’s Branch, and Assistant to the Chairman of Chubb Europe, with responsibility for European IT and Customer Service.

Fabian’s other employment included five years as a consultant at Monitor Company, a strategy consulting firm founded by Professor Michael Porter and a number of his Harvard Business School colleagues.

Fabian serves in leadership roles in several education-related organizations. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Regis High School and chairs its Development Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where he chairs the Audit Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Steppingstone Foundation where he chairs the Finance Committee. Previously, he chaired the Concord-Carlisle, MA School Committee. 

Fabian has a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a George F. Baker Scholar. He has a B.A., magna cum laude, in Economics from Harvard College. He grew up in New York City where he attended Regis High School. He is married with three children and one grandchild, and lives in Boston, MA. 

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Isabelle joined the Steppingstone’s Board of Directors in 2009. She served as Vice Chair and the Chair of the Board from 2017-2021. Isabelle also serves on the MGH President’s Counsel, the MGH Cancer Center Advisory Board, and the Board of Managers for the Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation. She volunteers her time at the Beth Israel Hospital and The Red Cross. Isabelle has a BA from Trinity College, Hartford CT. She has three children, one of whom serves on TSF Board of Young Professionals. Originally from Maryland, Isabelle lives in Brookline, MA with her husband Ian.

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John is an active entrepreneur, creator and investor in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He is currently a managing director at Sigma Prime Ventures where he focuses on software-based businesses and disruptive technology businesses, often getting involved in businesses at their formation or earliest stages. Prior to joining Sigma Prime, John was a co-founder and managing director of General Catalyst Partners, where he was responsible for investments in both new and existing technology businesses. Before co-founding General Catalyst Partners, John was founder, chairman and CEO of UroMed Corporation. UroMed completed its initial public offering in 1994 and was subsequently merged to form Alliant Medical Technologies. While at General Catalyst Partners, portfolio companies of General Catalyst Partners for which John served on the board of directors or that John was otherwise involved with include: Jumptap, Paydiant, OwnCloud, SignalDemand, BetterLesson, Mocospace, Thumb, Swirl, Swoop, CyPhy Works, iWalk, Aidin, Tear Science, Fractyl, DC Devices, and OvaScience (OTC BB:OVSC), Taleo (NASDAQ:TLEO, acquired by Oracle), m-Qube (acquired by VeriSign), ProfitLogic (acquired by Oracle), Maven Networks (acquired by Yahoo!), Bullhorn Software (acquired by Vista Equity), Quickplay Media (acquired by Madison Dearborn), BzzAgent (acquired by Dunn Humby/Tesco), and Outstart (acquired by Kenexa/IBM). John is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization (WPO). He’s a co-founder and current trustee of The Steppingstone Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities to deserving inner-city students. John was honored with the 2015 Lewis Family Foundation CEO Social Leadership Award at the Boston Business Journal’s annual Corporate Citizenship Summit. John is a graduate of Harvard University, earning a BA in History and Science and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and received his MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Jonathan joined the Steppingstone Board in 2016. He received his S.B. degrees from MIT in Biology and Chemical Engineering and an S.M. from MIT in Biochemical Engineering. He received an MBA from Harvard. Jonathan joined TA Associates, a growth private equity firm, in 1986. He serves as a director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, World Wide Web Foundation, Mass General for Children, UNICEF International Council, PBS NOVA Scientific Visiting Council, as well as the MIT Corporation Development Committee. He has served as MIT Class Secretary since 1988.

She earned a B.A. with a double major in English and French Literature from Brown University. Following Brown, Gilbane worked in editorial at Condé Nast Publications before pursuing early childhood education in New York City and then Boston for five years. More recently, she’s been getting certified as a kids’ yoga instructor, learning about ADHD, dyslexia and the benefits of mindfulness, breath work and Restorative Justice in schools. She is currently pursuing a two-year Masters program in Social Justice/Critical Ethnic and Community Studies at UMass Boston, while serving on the board of The Steppingstone Foundation (a college access program for marginalized students in Boston) and the advisory board of the National Partnership for Educational Access. Kate lives in Chestnut Hill, MA with her husband, Tom, and their children, Chandler, Tuck and Hugh.

Currently the School Superintendent for Region 2, Mary has extensive experience with BPS, beginning as a middle school math and science teacher in July 1997. As principal of the Thomas Edison K-8 School in Brighton, she led a school transformation effort that merged two underperforming elementary schools with her middle school to form a K-8 with a full arts program including drama, music, and visual arts instruction for all 800 students. Mary started her education career as a middle school teacher in New York City and also worked in the Chelsea public schools where she was part of a team that designed a competency-based high school program. Mary resides in Roslindale and is the proud parent of two BPS graduates, one of whom is now a BPS dual language teacher. She has a bachelor's degree in Biology and Art from Cornell University and a master’s degree in Math and Science Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Natasha joined the Board in 2021 and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of City Fund and City Fund Action. Natasha’s experience in the public and private sectors has spanned across finance, accounting, and operations functions. Before joining City Fund, she was the Chief Operating Officer of The Achievement Network. She facilitated the development and implementation of a sustainable model that aligned talent, systems, and financial resources to maximize outcomes for students in over 25 states. Natasha holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in Boston, MA with her husband and son and enjoys traveling.

Perry M. Traquina is the former CEO and Managing Partner of Wellington Management Company LLP; a position he held for a decade until his retirement from the firm in 2014. During his 34-year career at Wellington, he was an investor for 17 years and a member of the management team for the other half of his time at the firm. The son of immigrants, he attended the London School of Economics, received his BA in economics and American studies from Brandeis University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and his MBA from Harvard University. He currently serves as a director of Morgan Stanley, eBay, and Allstate. He is an emeritus trustee of Brandeis University, a trustee of the Winsor School and the Steppingstone Foundation, and an advisory board member of the Morgan Stanley Institute for Inclusion.

Rachel Skerritt is a chief strategy officer at Attuned Education Partners. She joined the Steppingstone board in 2020 while serving as head of school at Boston Latin School. Her history with Steppingstone goes back close to 25 years, as she taught in the summer academy after graduating college. Prior to her leadership of BLS, Rachel held school and district leadership roles in DC Public Schools and in Boston Public Schools. She holds degrees from University of Pennsylvania, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Georgetown University. Rachel lives in Roslindale and lives with her son, an elementary school student in BPS.

Rafael Cofiño is a board member for RxBenefits as well as a partner at Great Hill Partners, where he is responsible for originating and evaluating investment opportunities in the internet, software, health care, and business and consumer services sectors. Prior to joining Great Hill Partners, Rafael was a principal at Battery Ventures, where he was involved in investments in the internet, software and business services sectors. He earned a degree in finance from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Sofia Teixeira Mistretta is Director, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. In 2020, she was selected by the company’s CEO to represent the organization as a CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellow, dedicating herself to the fellow-ship’s mission to identify, develop and promote scalable and sustainable public policies and corporate engagement strategies to address systemic racism, social injustice and improve societal well-being. Sofia joined Vertex from John Hancock, where she was named the financial institution’s first U.S. Head of Diversity & Inclusion in 2018. She was responsible for the creation and implementation of John Hancock’s diversity and inclusion strategy, priorities, programs, and reporting. In 2019, Sofia was promoted to Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion within John Hancock’s parent company, Manulife.

I am a financial services professional with 13 years of experience across operations, trading, risk management, business strategy, relationship management and business development.

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My role at BBH entails partnering with global asset managers to realize the benefits of securities lending. We work closely with our clients to implement programs that are customized to provide transparency, optimization and control. Geographically, I cover the Americas region and my responsibilities include cultivating relationships with existing and prospective BBH clients, providing capital market insights on lending and collaborating with my colleagues to identify opportunities to promote BBH's servicing capabilities.

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Susan earned her B.A. in political science at The University of Georgia, and later studied art and art history at MassArt and the SMFA here in Boston. Originally from Virginia, she spent many years working in real estate there. She moved to Boston in 2005 and worked as an associate at Serenella Boston. She sought ways to get to know her new community and to give back, and feels very fortunate to have connected with Steppingstone over a decade ago. Susan later joined the Board of Ambassadors, which only grew her enthusiasm for the organization. Susan lives in Newton with her husband and their three children. She has been involved in a variety of different organizations in the area and further afield including Hill House Boston, Ministry of Hope, Boston Children’s Hospital, Pine Street Inn and The Friends of the Public Garden, and works avidly to support service work through her children’s schools.

Todd Bland joined the Board of Directors in 2012. He recently retired as the Head of School at Milton Academy (2009- 2023). Before Milton , he was the Interim Head of School, US Principal and teacher at The Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio (2001-2009). He was also a teacher, coach and the Director of Admissions at the Belmont Hill School in Belmont, MA (1992-2000). Todd lives in the Back Bay with his wife, Nancy - a career educator. They have three adult children: Nick, Maggie (former teaching intern at Steppingstone) and Emily. Todd also has a daughter in law - Phylly, a “soon to be” daughter in law - Ella, and one grandson - James. Todd earned his M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2001 and his BA from Bowdoin College in 1990. Todd is inspired to be a member of the Board of Directors because of the extraordinary Scholars, their families and the leadership, faculty and staff. In his mind, there is no greater way to make a transformative impact on the world and on Boston than through Steppingstone.