Bithyah Israel is a multicultural artist, composer, educator, and video producer whose work centers on celebrating the strength of community connection. She is an alum of Arts & Business Council’s Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship Program (‘19) and founder of City Strings United (CSU), a nonprofit with a mission to promote youth development in historically excluded communities through access to high-quality, student-centered music education and ensemble performance. Since 2012, about 200 Greater Boston youth ages 3 to18 have experienced the joy of playing an instrument in CSU’s out-of-school programs in cello, violin, viola, upright bass, and piano/keyboard.
At CSU, Bithyah energetically fulfills leadership, operational, teaching, and development responsibilities as current President & CEO and board member. Her work has been recognized by The Boston Globe, New England Cable News, Urban Update on Boston’s WHDH Channel 7 and Chronicle and CityLine on Boston’s WCVB Channel 5. She is a recipient of the Women of Courage and Conviction Award, presented by the Boston Chapter of the National Council of Negro Women, and the Dennis Wrenn Music Educator Advocacy Award, an honor given by Arts | Learning as part of their state-wide Champions of Arts Education Advocacy Awards.
Bithyah currently serves on the Roxbury Cultural District board of directors and the Celebrity Series of Boston community engagement committee.
Jim has been working with Fidelity Investments for over 23 years. Jim currently serves as the Vice President of Wealth Management Products. Prior to this he worked for Fidelity Charitable in their Donor Advised Fund department. Jim has an MBA with a focus in Strategy and Finance from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
Aynel David Guerra is a Cuban-born, Boston-based independent curator, artist, and the owner/founder of A R E A, a multi-format and interdisciplinary gallery in Boston that organizes exhibitions and experiences featuring the work of local and international artists and designers of diverse social and cultural backgrounds and the founder/director of AREA CODE Art Fair, the first art fair exclusively featuring contemporary artists with ties to New England. David’s passion for innovation in the arts has led him to collaborate on a variety of projects and exhibitions as a curator in Boston. Recently, he was the guest curator of the fifth edition of the Illuminous Festival, the juror for the Arts & Business Council’s Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists, and the juror of the 84th Regional Exhibition of Art & Craft organized by the Fitchburg Art Museum. David has taught workshops on art pricing and art collecting, seminars on Exhibition Design at MassArt College, and Career Advice at RISD. He studied law at the University of Havana, Oxford and Harvard. He also holds a degree in International Relations from the Higher Institute of International Relations in Havana, Cuba, where he worked as a diplomat for four years.
Amanda Eckhoff is a member of Robinson & Cole’s Real Estate + Development Practice Group. She represents institutional and private lenders, as well as borrowers, in connection with a broad range of real estate financing transactions and related matters. Amanda is committed to doing pro bono work. She helps the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) by providing free immigration legal services to asylum-seekers and immigrants unjustly detained in Massachusetts. Her community involvement prompted Robinson & Cole to recognize her with the firm’s Community Service Award. Amanda runs marathons in support of charitable organizations, such as the Boston Living Center, which provides food and care for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Amanda coordinates Robinson & Cole’s annual Gift-A-Vet holiday gift-giving program, which benefits veterans involved with the New England Center and Home for Veterans. She also launched a firm volunteer program, where she joins other firm employees in regularly serving lunch to veterans at the center.
Alexander C. Gavis is Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel in the Corporate Legal Department of FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, one of the largest brokerage and mutual fund companies in the United States and the leading provider of workplace retirement savings plans. He heads a team of attorneys and professionals and is responsible for providing legal services to the firm’s retail brokerage, stock plan, and workplace retirement businesses. He also oversees and manages legal services for Fidelity’s businesses involved in electronic and mobile commerce, start-up innovation, and social media. Mr. Gavis also oversees legal advice on all of Fidelity’s national advertising and marketing initiatives. Mr. Gavis received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and his bachelor’s degree, with High Honors and Phi Beta Kappa, from Swarthmore College. Mr. Gavis serves as chair of the FINRA Public Communications Committee and is an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School, teaching a class on law and design thinking, he has taught and lectured at Stanford University Law and Design Schools and Harvard Law School.
Kathleen Gondek, MS, PhD, is currently the Executive Vice President of Global Health Economics Outcomes Research and Epidemiology at Takeda. Prior to Takeda, Kathleen spent 15 years at Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, where she held numerous positions including leading the US medical science liaison and medical affairs operations department. Gondek also worked for the Health Care Finance Administration, now CMS, in the Office of Research and Demonstrations. She has co-authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 presentations. Gondek holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a PhD in Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Science from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Kathleen was a lecturer at Yale University in the School of Public Health, a previous committee chair at PhARMA, and is currently a member of the Boston Club and ISPOR. Kathleen also served as a member of the Advisory Panel on Rare Disease from August 2016 to August 2019.
Awilda has over twenty years of experience in banking. Her areas of expertise include all phases of small business operations, including business planning, financing, and market research. Awilda is fluent in both English and Spanish and conversational in Portuguese and is familiar with the Hispanic market from soup to nuts. As a business advisor, Awilda helps business owners build sales and marketing operations. With her unique combination of skills in strategic planning, marketing, sales, financing, business development, and performance management, she has helped business owners launch successful businesses. Awilda holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Salem State University in Geography and a master’s degree from Lesley College in International Relations.
Joanne began her career creating branding and motion graphics for broadcast & cable television. She has worked with the Discovery Channel, PBS, TLC, ESPN, History Channel, HGTV as well as many television stations around the US. Joanne has won a shelf full of awards which includes 2 Emmys and many Broadcast Designer Awards. Currently, her work focus is on design for local businesses and non-profit clients. Joanne freelances as an art director for a small advertising agency and recently worked on some documentary films as a graphic designer and animator. She often combines her art-making skills with her graphic design work. One of her largest achievements was designing an illuminated metal panel art installation at the Channel Center Garage located in South Boston. It is the largest piece of public art in Boston.
Ayana Mack is a Senior Graphic Designer and Visual Artist based in Boston, MA. For ten years, Ayana has worked with early-stage and established businesses/organizations. With a focus on brand development, social media strategy, user experience design, print marketing, merchandise & more. Some of the clients Ayana has worked with include Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, The Boston Arts & Music Soul Festival, Boston While Black, Boston Public Schools, HubSpot, and more. Over the last seven years, Ayana has been the Senior Graphic designer at the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. Where she manages marketing for six divisions within various sectors of real estate. When Ayana is not designing you can find her teaching, displaying artwork, and advocating for arts in communities of color.
Marisa has been with the State Street Foundation for over 14 years. Prior to joining State Street she was Corporate Council with the law firm of WilmerHale. Senior in-house counsel for the Global Treasury, Global Markets and Global Credit Finance divisions of a global financial services organization. Marisa holds a BA in Government from Harvard University and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Sean Newth is the Corporate Controller of MassMutual, a leading mutual life insurance company that provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement plan services, and annuities. Sean currently leads MassMutual’s Controllers Organization, which is accountable for the financial reporting of the company, including accounting, tax, treasury, investment operations, management, and regulatory reporting as well as financial controls and governance. Prior to joining MassMutual in 2017, Sean was the Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller at State Street Corporation, where he spent over 12 years. He began his career at KPMG serving in various transaction services and assurance roles over 8 years. Sean holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Accountancy from Providence College.
Lisa Nickerson is the founder and CEO of Nickerson, a full service marketing and communications agency with offices in Boston and Miami. Lisa and the Nickerson team were recently the 2019 PR Daily ‘Winner’ and 2020 PR Week ‘Finalist’ for Crisis Communications/Reputation Management. Lisa was also recognized by Bisnow in 2018 as one of Boston’s “Most Powerful Women in Real Estate”, was featured in Chronicle in June 2018 as Greater Boston’s Real Estate Expert, and was also the recipient of the 2016 PRISM Award for Marketing Professional of the Year. Lisa is a multiple-industry award winner, a well-respected, sought-after speaker and moderator, and a devotee of professional and community service. Lisa is an active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI), ULI | New England’s Advisory Board, ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative Council Co-Chair and Communications Chair, Board Member & VP of Sponsorship of Boston Women in Media & Entertainment, and former Board Member & Communications Chair of SIOR New England. She is also a Board Member and Development Chair of Housing Families Inc. and a Board Member of the Joshua Frase Foundation. Lisa received her BS in Marketing & Finance from Boston College and received her Real Estate Certificate from Boston University. She maintains her Massachusetts Real Estate License and is currently completing her Master of Business Administration at Babson College.
Minerva Pinto is an attorney with specific knowledge of art, trusts and estates, and intellectual property law. She currently serves as both an Art & Collectibles Strategist and Trust Officer at Goldman Sachs, where she works with collectors, artists, and other fiduciaries to ensure the effective and tax-efficient management of passion assets across generations. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2018, she practiced corporate intellectual property law and has had prior experience at several art-related institutions, including the Barnes Foundation, Freeman’s Auction, and the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She holds a B.A. magna cum laude in History with a minor in Italian Language and Literature from Bryn Mawr College and received her J.D., LL.M. in Tax, and Certificate in Estate Planning from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Glenn represents individuals and companies in the publishing/entertainment, digital media, software, Internet, content and biotechnology fields, as well as numerous colleges and universities. He has extensive experience in the area of copyright, trademark, and privacy and focuses on content licensing, distribution, supply, and commercial agreements, as well as Web site terms and privacy policies. Prior to becoming an attorney, Glenn worked for eight years as a book editor for several publishing houses in New York City. He is the Immediate Past President of the Copyright Society of the USA.
Stacy Reed was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland, class of 1990. In 1994, she moved to the DC area and was a founding member of NDC Group, subsequently Xpedior. At NDC Group, she was the MCI client lead in the Telecommunications practice and Advanced Billing Support was her area of expertise. In January 1999, Stacy co-founded Acumen Solutions, a leading Management and Technology Consulting that continues to thrive today. Her management and consulting experience was essential in the success of Acumen Solutions operations. Currently, Stacy is a full-time mom to two boys and is also a Board Member and Treasurer at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC.
Dayla Arabella Santurri, CMP is a full-service event architect and media strategist providing both for-profit and nonprofit organizations a proven solution to meet their event management and media relations needs. An award-winning certified meeting professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in event planning, concert production, media relations and marketing strategy, Dayla understands the need for competent, reliable and proven resources when producing special events and marketing campaigns. A fearless and capable competitor, Dayla won the National Biz Bash Award for Best Trade Show and is a BELL (Bringing Excellence to the Local Level) award winner for best local programming from the Alliance for Women in Media.
CEO, SolArt Inc |
CEO, Yelo Software
Ruxandra is the Co-Founder and CEO of solar technology company Solart as well as a tenured partner at McKinsey & Co., where she leads the joint venture between the private equity and financial services practices. She has over 20 years of expertise driving significant growth for small and medium-sized businesses. Ruxandra has an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan and a B.S. in economics from Louisiana State University.
Cheryl is a Partner at Spalding Tougias Architects. A strong problem solver and effective communicator, Cheryl provides design leadership and project management for a variety of the firm’s projects. She is a member of the AIA, BSA, Urban Land Institute, and New England Women in Real Estate and has been involved in diverse charitable activities. Cheryl has developed excellent relationships with the government, historic, and design review boards, and other public interest groups. She believes that the success of a project depends on close attention to client and user needs balanced with contextual requirements. Cheryl holds a Master of Science in Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona.
As a Partner with PwC, Kristin is known as a “powerhouse in a small package”. Her executive presence, decisive leadership, and eye for detail feed her unique capacity to “see things others don’t see”. Kristin believes that every day is an opportunity for personal excellence, developing others and giving back. Despite her demanding work schedule, Kristin is an important role model for emerging women leaders. She has served on the Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Advisory Board, the 2020 Women on Boards initiative, and is currently a member of The Boston Club for women executives. Kristin was honored with the MSCPA’s Women’s Experienced Leader Award and selected for the Chamber’s Boston Future Leaders program. Living in Boston’s South End art district, she has been successful in pairing her love of art with her respect for the artist community.
Meet the 2024 Walter Feldman Fellows
Now in its 10th year, the Walter Feldman Fellowship for emerging artists supports the professional careers of visual artists through gained knowledge of exhibition practices, alternative presentation of projects and curatorial and professional development support.…
Meet Our Spring 2024 Interns!
We are pleased to announce our Spring 2024 interns at A&BC! Our internship program is structured to provide a comprehensive experience in the fields of arts and non-profit sectors, facilitating professional growth and hands-on learning.…
Meet Our Fall 2023 Interns!
We are thrilled to introduce you to the cohort of Fall 2023 interns! A&BC’s internship program is designed to offer an immersive, hands-on experience within the realm of arts and non-profit organizations. Our team has…
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