Boston Leaders for Education Steering Committee
Richard Burnes, Partner, Charles River Ventures
Rick is Founder and General Partner Charles River Ventures; Founder and Chairman of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of New England; Trustee and former Chairman of Museum of Science; former Chairman Middlesex School; Vice Chairman of Sea Education Association, Trustee of The Boston Foundation, Advisory Board of Renaissance Charter School, Member Committee on University Resources. Parent of Boston public school graduates.
Donna Cowan, Past Chairwoman, The Hestia Fund
Donna Cowan has decades of experience in networking technology. She has been responsible for global sales and sales strategy for organizations of all sizes. Donna has been active in angel investing for over two decades. Her passion is education and the power it has to transform lives. Donna joined Hestia in 2000 has served as its chair and continues to serve on its steering committee.
Tony Helies, Executive Committee, Kobrand Corp
Tony is a high tech entrepreneur and wine industry executive; former principal at Walnut Venture Associates; Founder and CEO of Concord Communications. Tony has over 20 years experience running high tech ventures including general management positions with Analog Devices and Data General, and engineering with the Apollo program. He is on the Boards of a Boston-based technology company and Codman Academy Charter School.
Chris Gabrieli, Chairman, Mass Board of Higher Education
Chris is the Founder/Chairman of Empower Schools and founder Mass2020/National Center on Time & Learning. In addition to being the Chairman, MA Board of Higher Education, he is the Chairman of the Springfield Empowerment Zone. He is a lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Partner Emeritus at Bessemer Venture Partners.
Chuck Longfield, Founder, Target Analytics/Chief Scientist, Blackbaud
Chuck, now retired, is the former Chief Scientist at Blackbaud, a global provider of software and services to non-profits. He was the founder of Target Software and Target Analysis Group, and a partner at Case Shiller Weiss. Chuck grew up in East Boston and attended the Boston public schools. He is past Chairman of the Boston Latin School Alumni Association, and has served on numerous school boards including Codman Academy and the Shady Hill School. Chuck is certified to teach math and has previously taught middle and high school students. Through the Longfield Foundation, he supports numerous public, parochial and public charter schools and related education reform organizations.
Kevin McCall, CEO of Paradigm Properties & Paradigm Capital Advisors; Trustee of Cambridge College
Kevin is a trustee of Cambridge College and the CEO of commercial real estate firms, Paradigm Capital Advisors and Paradigm Properties. Kevin is committed to issues of civic engagement, education, and social justice in urban communities. He is the Founder and Board Chair of Building Impact and currently serves as Board Vice-Chair of Hearth, Inc., and as a member the President’s Council of Cambridge College.
Jamie McDonald, Vice President, Wealth Management, UBS Financial Services, The McDonald Group
Jamie has gained broad-based experience in the 13 years he has spent in the financial services industry, particularly in serving the wealth management needs of affluent individuals, their families and their businesses. Jamie is a mentor for Year Up in Boston and is the founder of its annual fundraising initiative“3 on 3 Basketball Tournament.” He is also the founder of the Boston Breakfast Group, a group of civic-minded young leaders.
Will Stansbury, Former Senior Vice President, Technology, RoundCorner
Will is Vice President of Technology, Customer Operations at Blackbaud, a global provider of software and services to non-profits. He is a former board member of ArtsBoston and a mentor of FIRST Robotics