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Board of Directors

Richard DeScherer (Dick) is Director at Bloomberg L.P. since January 1, 2012. Previously, he had served as a Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP for over 25 years. He specializes in general corporate law, information technology, media, and intellectual property.

Having graduated from University Virginia, Mr. DeScherer received his law degree from Georgetown University. He went on to earn a Master of Laws in Taxation at New York University.

Mr. DeScherer led the former S.L.E. Lupus Foundation as President for many years, working closely with his wife Jennie who also continues her commitment as a Board member of the Lupus Research Alliance. The couple have two grown children Christopher (Amanda Honeycutt) and Katie DeSantis and reside in Manhattan.

Ira Akselrad joined The Johnson Company, Inc. (the private investment company of the Johnson family), in 2006 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. In 2008 he became President of the company.

Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Akselrad was an attorney for 22 years at the New York law firm, Proskauer Rose LLP. He became Partner in 1990, and in 1999, was elected to serve on the firm’s Management Committee. As Partner, his practice was principally devoted to federal income tax law, and he was involved with the firm’s sports and real estate practices. In this role, Mr. Akselrad advised many major real estate companies and sports leagues on structuring acquisitions and dispositions. His sports clients included the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, as well as a number of other National Football League and Major League Baseball clubs.

In 1999 Robert Wood Johnson IV retained Ira to represent him in acquiring the New York Jets. Following this successful acquisition, Mr. Akselrad was instrumental in securing a new stadium as well as advising on the family’s other investment holdings.

Mr. Akselrad and his wife Susan reside in New Jersey, and have two grown children; his daughter Cara lives in New York, and his son Mitchell resides in California.

Jim Andrew is Executive Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer for PepsiCo. PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lays, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Mr. Andrew joined PepsiCo in 2016 and currently leads pep+, PepsiCo’s holistic transformation agenda with sustainability at the center, including the strategic framework, governance, and integrated plans and goals for all of PepsiCo. He also ensures that sustainability is woven into the operating plans of all Business Units. Prior to this role, he held a variety of operating and functional leadership roles in the company including global head of Strategy and leader of our Beyond the Bottle businesses.

Previously, Mr. Andrew served as EVP and chief strategy and innovation officer for Royal Philips N.V based in Amsterdam where he played a central role in the transformation of Philips from a conglomerate to a focused and high-performing health tech company. He had leadership accountability for all elements of strategy and innovation, as well as sustainability and the company’s digital transformation. Mr. Andrew also served as the chief administrative officer of Sears Holdings Corporation.

Mr. Andrew started his career at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), leaving as a senior partner after a distinguished 25-year career. At BCG, he established and led the firm’s Innovation practice for almost a decade, and was lead author of the highly-acclaimed book Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation. He opened the firm’s offices in Mumbai India and Singapore.

Mr. Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Andrew is based in Purchase, N.Y.

Bishop Rudy V. Carlton, a gift to the body of Christ and a spirit-filled man who has been called and chosen of God to reach this generation as an awesome preacher, teacher, intercessor, and prophet.

Recognizing his calling at a young age, Bishop Carlton began preaching the Gospel, April 10, 1988 and has been pastoring since August 6, 1989. He is currently celebrating 31 years of uncompromised preaching, relevant teaching, and relentless worship. In 2002, while following the example of Jesus Christ and being led of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Carlton organized and is the founding visionary of the Jehovah-Jireh Praise & Worship Church Center located in the city of Newark, New Jersey. “JJPWCC” as it is affectionately called, is an emerging community of believers who like their leader are committed to serving the Lord Jesus Christ and following the commission in Mark 16:15, which is to go and preach the gospel to every creature and stand with all baptized believers declaring the Word of God, with high praise and worship to seek and save the lost.

In addition to his full-time Ministry responsibilities, Bishop Carlton was elevated to serve as the State Overseer of New Jersey May 2010 for the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, under the dynamic leadership of Bishop Paul S. Morton, Apostolic Father and Founder. In October 2011, Bishop was appointed to serve as First Assistant to Bishop Kenneth L. Robinson, the Regional Bishop of the Northeast Central Region. March 2012, Bishop Carlton was affirmed by Bishop Paul S. Morton and the Council of Bishops for Sacred Consecration to the Office of Bishop in the Lord’s Church on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. January 2015, Bishop Carlton was appointed to serves as Coordinator for the Newark West Ward Clergy Alliance under the auspicious of the Honorable Mayor Ras J. Baraka through the newly formed Clergy Affairs and Inter-Faith Alliance Division. January 2017, Senator Ronald Rice appointed Bishop Carlton to serve as the West Ward Community Liaison for the West Ward Community Coalition Steering Committee.

Bishop Carlton exemplifies Christ’s love for the church through his sacred marriage to the Elect Lady of God, Linda L. Carlton, which they are the parents of one daughter, two sons, a son-inlaw, two daughters-in-law, fourteen wonderful grandchildren, four great-granddaughters, two great-grandsons, three god-daughters and one god-son.

Co-host of the Craig Carton Show, Fox Sport 1 

Willie Colon, born and raised in the Bronx, attended Hofstra University in Long Island, NY, where he was a decorated member of the Pride earning Atlantic Ten All-Conference, First Team All-Conference and First Team Walter Camp All-American honors while at the school. In 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Colon in the fourth round NFL Draft with the 131st overall pick. Over the course of his seven seasons in Pittsburgh, Colon made two Super Bowl appearances, winning in 2008, and was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award in 2012. In 2013, Colon returned home to New York to continue his professional football career with the New York Jets. He played his final three seasons with the team before officially retiring in 2017.

Over the last four years, Willie has Chaired the Willie Colon Golf Outing crafted by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which benefits the Lupus Research Alliance. This incredible event is in honor of his mother (Jean Davis), who passed away due to complications from lupus. The event brings together the current and former NFL players (each foursome gets a current or former player for a round of golf), New York area media, as well as a variety financial and banking institutions. Since its inception, the Outing has raised over $500,000 for vital lupus research and has created incredible awareness – via the live on-site SiriusXM Radio broadcast from the throughout the day – for lupus and the Lupus Research Alliance.

Jennifer A. Dakin is a Managing Director in the Hospitality Finance Group for the Commercial Real Estate Group at Wells Fargo.  She is experienced in all assets classes but is actively involved in sourcing, originating, developing and negotiating debt solutions for hospitality focused clients. Wells Fargo is a leading capital provider in this industry and Jennifer was a founding member of the Hospitality Finance Group which was officially formed in 2008.

Jennifer has nearly 30 years of multifaceted commercial lending experience, of which the last 19 has been at Wells Fargo. She has vast knowledge of structuring and negotiating corporate credit facilities as well as complex project level financing and earned her B.A. from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and M.B.A from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH).

Jennifer’s professional credentials are grounded in the finance community and she has worked with a wide range of private and public real estate companies located across the United States and Canada. She is well versed with the bank’s integrated platform which involves products and services such as institutional sales, investment banking, CMBS/Agency, loan sales and syndication, interest rate risk management, C-Pace financing, treasury management and wealth management.

Jennifer was born and raised in Cleveland, OH but has been a Washington, DC resident for over 20 years.  She is an active Board Member for the Lupus Research Alliance and participates in various philanthropic events. She frequents the Eastern Shore of MD and enjoys boating, cycling, cooking and entertaining.

 

Jennie DeScherer is an active Board member of the Lupus Research Alliance having helped lead the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation (S.L.E.) and the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) since the early years of both organizations. Ms. DeScherer remains very involved in developing virtually all fundraising events and program initiatives at the Lupus Research Alliance.

In addition to her work on behalf of the lupus community, Ms. DeScherer serves on the Board of the Spoleto Festival USA. She is also an active participant in and patron of the arts and other cultural institutions.

Ms. DeScherer and her husband Richard have two children, Christopher (Amanda Honeycutt) and Katie DeSantis and five grandchildren.

Katey Driscoll has served as a trustee of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation since 2007. She is a member of the Health System Investment Committee and has also served on the Philanthropy Council and the Annual Gifts Council. More recently, she has advocated for the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Before moving to Denver, Katey worked in institutional fixed income sales at Lehman Brothers and NatWest Markets in London. She moved to Denver from London in 1999.

Katey has an MA in Modern History from the University of Oxford and an MS in Finance from London Business School.

Sir Marc Feldmann, AC, FRS is Emeritus Professor and former Head, of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology-‘ Nuffield department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal science, University of Oxford.

For his discovery of Anti-TNF therapy as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, Sir Marc received the highly prestigious Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , the Albert Lasker Clinical Research Award, the Canada Gairdner International Award.  Sir Feldmann was the “European Inventor of the year” in 2006, in the Lifetime achievement category.

Other major scientific awards include the Ernst Schering Prize and Paul Janssen award. He has also received much recognition for his scientific excellence from Academies of Science; he is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Sir Marc received his medical degree at Melbourne University and a doctorate in Immunology at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute in Australia.

Moti is Founder, CEO and Design Director of Lugano Diamonds.  Moti is married to Idit who is the EVP and COO of Lugano Diamonds.  Idit has lupus.  The Ferders hold duo citizenship: Israel and U.S.  Moti served four years in the Israeli Army as Captain in a combat unit. He was educated as a gemologist and master diamond cutter.

The couple has two college-age children.

Moti has unparalleled insight into the diamond and jewelry industries. Lugano Diamonds was established in Israel as diamond cutters and opened its first retail location in Newport Beach, CA in 2005. The company has additional locations in Laguna Beach, CA, Aspen, CO and Wellington, FL.

Traveling extensively, Moti oversees Lugano Diamonds’ operations around the world, studying the global markets to pursue the finest resources and to develop effective branding campaigns. He is the primary liaison between Lugano Diamonds and international gemological laboratories, and is the company’s leading authority on evaluating inventory, grading stones, appraising jewelry and finding the correct marketing channel for each piece.

Moti is deeply involved in the philanthropic community. He serves as a board member for the American Film Festival, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation, and the Lupus Research Alliance.

Lugano Diamonds supports a variety of nonprofit causes, organizations and events including the Mission Hospital Foundation. CASA for Children, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, United Way, and The Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, among many others.

Anna Fisch has lived with lupus since she was 28 and has been a loyal supporter of the Lupus Research Alliance since 1993. She started with the Young Leaders group, co-chairing special events. Anna is particularly involved with making the annual Lupus Gala and Luminary Luncheon fundraising successes. She is also active in LRA’s advocacy initiatives for lupus research, serving as a consumer review for the Lupus Research Program at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Anna is a devoted philanthropist supporting many worthwhile causes. She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the UJA New York’s Manhattan Woman’s Leadership Department and sits on the organization’s Crisis to Stability funding allocations committee.

A Manhattan resident, Anna is also an entrepreneurial investor in several NYC enterprises including Broadway theatre productions and restaurants.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Art History from Barnard College and a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Management from the Milano School of Management and Urban Policy at The New School.

Joe Germanotta is a business person, philanthropist and restauranteur. The father of Natali, a noted fashion designer based in New York and Los Angeles, and Stefani Germanotta, the Golden Globe and six-time Grammy Award-winning global superstar Lady Gaga, Mr. Germanotta is actively involved in several entertainment companies and hospitality ventures.

Previously an Internet and telecommunications entrepreneur, Mr. Germanotta has consulted for several Internet startups and founded companies in emerging markets that provided such services as prepaid telephone calling and hotel WiFi systems.

Mr. Germanotta is currently an investor in restaurants, real estate, entertainment and technology companies. He is the managing member of Joanne Trattoria, the Germanotta family-owned restaurant located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

 

He is Board Member and Treasurer of Born This Way Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2011 by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia to promote kindness, tolerance and bravery among young people. A director of New York City’s Columbus Day Parade, Mr. Germanotta is a graduate of the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. He is a passionate Spartan basketball fan.

 

Joe and Cynthia Germanotta reside in New York City.

David Kies is Senior Counsel to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP where he was a partner for more than 30 years. He specializes in general corporate law with a concentration in mergers and acquisitions and securities. David was head of the firm’s London Office in the early 1990s.

David graduated from Haverford College and received his law degree from the New York University School of Law where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar. Later he served on the Board of Haverford College.

Mr. Kies was also a director of Imclone Systems for seven years and became its Chairman for the last two years.

David’s oldest daughter, Laura, has had lupus for more than 30 years. He also has four other children and five grandchildren. David and his wife Kathryn live in Mamaroneck, New York where he is an active trustee of several not-for-profit organizations.

Daniel LaVecchia is the Executive Managing Director, North America, Global Head of FX Products, BGC Partners, Inc. Mr. LaVecchia runs BGC’s operations in North America and global foreign exchange products. He is responsible for leading the expansion of BGC as a global wholesale fixed-income, interest rate, foreign exchange, and derivative brokerage firm.

Prior to his appointment as Executive Managing Director, North America for BGC, Mr. LaVecchia was Executive Managing Director, Director U.S. Operations for eSpeed, the leading provider of electronic trading technology for the global capital markets. This role entailed responsibility for all of the North American front-office, revenue generating operations.

Mr. LaVecchia has worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and its related businesses for over 19 years, including as Executive Managing Director for Cantor’s international operations. Prior to this he was responsible for Cantor Fitzgerald’s derivative and foreign exchange businesses in Europe and Asia and served as the liaison between Cantor Fitzgerald and eSpeed.

Mr. LaVecchia is a supporter of numerous local charities in New York, including the Lupus Research Alliance. Mr. LaVecchia supports the Boomer Esiason Foundation, a charity devoted to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and is also associated with the Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation.

Veronica Vargas Lupo is a Strategy & Transformation Retail Associate Partner at IBM with 10+ years of client facing experience. She is an expert in partnering with company leaders to develop and digitally transform their business capabilities and operational processes based on smarter, data-driven decision making.

Prior to IBM, Veronica worked as a buyer and planner for Dillard’s department stores for three years.

Veronica has lived with lupus for 17 years. She has been an active member of our Lupus Research Alliance Young Leadership Board since its inception in 2010 and was honored in 2018 at our annual Handbag Luncheon as our “Woman of Achievement’.

Veronica is originally from Venezuela where she grew up until moving to the US as a teenager. Lupus is near to her not only because she has lived with it but also because her mother also has lupus. Veronica is married to Michael Lupo and together they have two young boys and live in Manhattan.

Joseph Mauriello retired in 2006 as Deputy Chairman & COO of KPMG, after 40 years of serving in various leadership positions.

He serves on the boards of several institutions, including XL Capital Ltd, Fidelity Funds, Arcadia Resources, the School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Sciences (former College of Insurance) of Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University, New York, and the Board of Trustees of the St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ.

A graduate of St. John’s University (BA, MBA), Mr. Mauriello is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a Certified Public Accountant in New York. Joe lives in Naples, Florida, and Mendham, New Jersey, with his wife Mary.

Molly McCabe is an experienced entrepreneur, leader and board member in the non-profit arena. She co-founded Molly’s Fund Fighting Lupus (“MFFL”) with her mother after being diagnosed with lupus in 2005. MFFL is a leading nonprofit organization that is changing the way the health care community, pharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies, the general public and those living with lupus understand the disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. Molly and a group of committed volunteers were determined to improve the lives of people with Lupus through increased awareness, earlier diagnosis, and peer support. She has been an ardent supporter of the acclaimed PALS (Patient Advocates for Lupus Studies program), a peer-to-peer education program lead by the Lupus Research Alliance and its clinical affiliate Lupus Therapeutics, to increase awareness and participation in lupus clinical trials among a more diverse population of patients.

Molly started volunteering her time at an early age – First with Kid’s Making Miracles for the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland from 1993 – 1998. She was both a volunteer and event committee member for the Children’s Relief Nursery of Portland.  Molly is an Emeritus Trustee for Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

Molly is a classically trained opera singer.

Nadeem Meghji is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and Head of Real Estate Americas, based in New York. Mr. Meghji has played a leadership role in Blackstone’s investment activity in the US, including the acquisition of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, Biomed Realty Trust, and Brixmor Property Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Meghji worked as an associate at the Lionstone Group.

Mr. Meghji received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

William J. Mulvihill has spent more than 40 years advocating for the more than 53 million and 300,000 children affected by  arthritis and related diseases. As a past National Chair of the Arthritis Foundation, Mr. Mulvihill was responsible for leading nearly 600,000 volunteers and staff nationwide.

He retired from the University of Cincinnati in 2016 after over 44 years of service holding a number of leadership positions in Alumni Relations; Student Affairs; Intercollegiate Athletics and ultimately serving as   the Executive Vice President at the University of Cincinnati Foundation, where managed Proudly Cincinnati, the University’s $1 billion dollar campaign. Upon retirement he started the Mulvihill Advisory Group to provide counsel and guidance to non-profit organizations.

Mr. Mulvihill received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in education from Ohio University.

 

Mr. Mulvihill is currently a member of the National Institute of Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS) Council and a Trustee Emeritus at the Arthritis Foundation. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Juvenile Arthritis Organization and St. Xavier High School.

Nidhi Patel originally got involved over 15 years ago through our Young Leaders Board (YLB). Nidhi was diagnosed with Lupus in 2007 and was heavily involved in fundraising and bringing people to the YLB’s annual event. She was also involved in the Lupus walk. She stepped away after she started her family and has since returned in 2020, after reconnecting through her colleague at work and participating in the Annual golf outing. Since then, Nidhi has co-chaired the golf event and has not only raised significant funds, but also brought many people to the cause.

Nidhi is a Director, and the lead Portfolio Manager for US CLO Investments team within BlackRock’s Fundamental Fixed Income team. She has been at BlackRock for 7 years. Prior to joining BlackRock, she was an Associate Portfolio Manager at MKP Capital primarily responsible for investments in securitized assets including ABS, RMBS, CLO. Ms. Patel earned her BS in Accounting from Binghamton University in 2001 and is a CPA in the State of New York.

Dr. Seder is the Chief of the Cellular Immunology Section in the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Health (NIH). Formerly, Dr. Seder was Chief of the Clinical Immunology Section in the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation at the NIH. Dr. Seder’s work focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which vaccines mediate protective antibody or T cell immunity against HIV, Malaria, Tuberculosis and  personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines. Dr. Seder has advanced his scientific discoveries into clinical trials for several of these diseases. Dr. Seder received his BA from Johns Hopkins University, his MD from Tufts University, and his residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.  He received postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under Dr. William Paul . Dr. Seder has served on numerous scientific advisory boards as well as the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins University and the Hirshhorn Museum.

Dr. Seder is serving in a personal capacity; the government neither sanctions nor endorses his service.

Daniel J Wallace MD, FACP, MACR is a board-certified internist and rheumatologist. A Clinical Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, he is the Associate Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he also serves on the Board of Governors.

Dr. Wallace has authored nearly 450 peer reviewed manuscripts, 30 book chapters, eight textbooks (on lupus, osteoarthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome and fibromyalgia), and his practice includes caring for 2,000 lupus patients, the largest lupus cohort in the United States. The Wallace Rheumatic Studies Center conducts numerous clinical trials, biomarker, genetic and observational studies, and have three current National Institutes of Health and two Department of Defense grants. Dr Wallace serves as member of the Board of Directors of the Lupus Research Alliance, was past chair of the Lupus Foundation of America, and has served on the Board of Directors of the United Scleroderma Foundation and the Medical Advisory Board of the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation. He has been Chief of Rheumatology at the City of Hope and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Chairman of the Research and Education Foundation of the American College of Rheumatology. He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Lupus Research Alliance.

Dr. Wallace is the recipient of the Lupus Foundation of America Humanitarian Award, Achievement Award of the Lupus Research Institute, Spirit Award of the Scleroderma Foundation, the Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award from the Arthritis Foundation, and the Healthcare Professional Leadership Award from the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation.

Dr. Wallace is the author of eight medical textbooks, including the last six editions of Dubois’ Lupus Erythematosus, All About Fibromyalgia, The Lupus Book, All About Osteoarthritis, The New Sjogren’s Syndrome Handbook, and Fibromyalgia & Other Central Pain Syndromes. In addition, his work has appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, the Lancet, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Immunology and Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Wallace has been recognized as among the 200 best doctors in the nation by Town and Country Magazine, and among the best doctors in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Magazine, Best Doctors in America editions since 1994. His efforts have raised over $20 million for various rheumatic disease organizations, including an endowed Rheumatology Chair at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

 

Julius Williams is the Head of Municipal Trading & Senior Portfolio Manager at Invesco, an American independent investment management company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with branch offices in 20 countries.

Mr. Williams entered the industry in 2000. Prior to joining Invesco in 2010 when the firm combined with Van Kampen Investments, he was a portfolio manager and trader of municipal funds at Van Kampen Investments.  Mr. Williams had also served as vice president at Morgan Stanley from 2000-2010.

Julius co-chairs the Willie Colon Golf Outing for the Lupus Research Alliance.

Mr. Williams earned a BA degree in economics and sociology, and a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Virginia where he played college football.

Bill is the co-founder and Chairman of First Washington Realty, Inc., a privately held real estate investment and management firm which specializes in the ownership and operation of convenience and necessity retail real estate throughout the United States. He served as CEO of the company for 36 years until June of 2019. The company owns high-quality neighborhood and community shopping centers in 22 states and the District of Columbia comprised of over 20 million square feet and 4000 retailers. Prior to entering the real estate business, Bill served in the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

Bill currently serves on the Board of the Lupus Research Alliance as well as Lupus Therapeutics. He is on the Board of Headstrong Project, a nationwide organization that provides free mental health treatment for military members, veterans and their families, and Bill serves on the Board of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He has served as a Board member of Washington Heart, the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs, the National Bank of Commerce, and the Corporate Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins University Business School. Bill founded The Key Program, Inc, a New England based youth services agency that provides residential and non-residential services to at-risk youth and their families, and he served at Key’s Chairman for 25 years. Since inception, Key has provided services to over 250,000 young people and their families and William J. Wolfe Scholarships have been awarded to over 600 students attending over 40 colleges and universities. Bill has established the Wolfe Rheumatology Fund at UC San Diego to provide clinical care to people suffering with lupus. Bill has also established the Wolfe Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rady Business School at UC San Diego, and the Wolfe Family Endowed Chair in Microbiome Research at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Bill received his bachelor’s degree from Clark University and his master’s degree from Harvard University.

Spencer Zwick is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Solamere Capital LLC. A resident of Wellesley, MA, he co-founded the firm in 2008. He has been involved with building the firms network in both the public and private sectors for over a decade.

Previously, Mr. Zwick served as the Finance Chairman of both the 2008 and 2012 “Romney for President” campaigns. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer to the Office of Governor Romney. In that position, he oversaw all operational and financial activity of the Office of the Massachusetts Governor. Zwick also served as the executive liaison to five of the twelve cabinet agencies. Previously, he worked in the Executive Office of the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee for the Winter Games of 2002, where Spencer helped to erase a $379 million deficit. He currently serves as the Finance Chairman of Speaker Paul Ryan’s political organization, as well as a board member of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases.

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