Category: Board Members

Allyson Wiener

Allyson Wiener

Allyson is involved in a variety of charities in New York. She runs the Allyson & Andrew Wiener Fund for Brain Tumor Research and is actively in involved in FACES at NYU Langone Hospital. She also serves as a parent advocate at NYU and on the Parent Action Committee. Allyson is a founding Board member of the New York REN’s where she established a partnership between the REN’s and St. Francis College to provide free tutoring and SAT prep to all of the participating students. Before focusing on philanthropy Allyson held a variety of positions at Condé Nast. She graduated from the University of Michigan where she serves as an Alumni Recruiter. Allyson believes that true power lies in the ability to share your story with the world.

Isabel Sheinman

Isabel Sheinman

Isabel is the co-creator of Nabu, a digital reading app and mother tongue book publishing platform making literacy accessible to children globally. In 2019 she earned her MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, with a focus on Media and Entertainment. Isabel now works at the intersection of commercial product development, strategy and financial inclusion at Mastercard, with a focus on unbanked and underserved communities.

Isabel has worked for Representative Carolyn Maloney, was a World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers and sits on the Board of Directors of NABU and Place Corps. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology from Georgetown University and is Greek Cypriot, British and born and raised in NYC.

Jonice Padilha

Jonice owns and runs one of New York’s most celebrated salons, catering to celebrities including Roberta Flack, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Williams and Christy Turlington. She is active raising money for children around the world and for cancer research and hosts a charity event each year at the salon.

Diane M. Miller

Diane M. Miller started her career as a classroom teacher, segued into curriculum creation, and co-founded Peoples Education, Inc. to publish the first authentic voice African American and Latino histories for children. As a founding member of the Education Committee at the Smithsonian Institution, she worked to enhance their effectiveness in K-12 schools. Diane creates the school curriculum guides for all BYkids films. Her current firm advises educational companies, districts, states and charitable organizations.

Graham Messick

Eight-time Emmy Award-winning producer for 60 Minutes, Graham has produced nearly 70 stories for the iconic show working with correspondents Steve Kroft, Scott Pelley and the late Ed Bradley. Notable stories include investigations into the CIA’s rendition program, the BP oil spill, and a Peabody Award-winning examination of Cyber Security, which uncovered the first confirmed attack on a major city’s electrical grid.

Bill McCarthy

Bill McCarthy is the Head of the Hamilton School at Wheeler in Providence, Rhode Island, which is a “school within a school” model for students with learning differences. Previously, Bill was Head of Preschool and Lower School at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and prior to that, he served as Director of Learning Support at the school in which he oversaw academic and social-emotional support for all students at the school. He is an experienced educator and leader who has spent over 20 years working in independent and public schools and organizations. He holds a Master’s degree from New York University in Social Work, a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College, and additional leadership certificates and post-graduate training. He serves as an educational advisor to the Institute for Social-Emotional Learning and to the Thorn Tree Project.

Brian Mateo

Brian Mateo

Brian is Bard College’s Associate Dean of Civic Engagement and Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Globalization and International Affairs Program. Brian is also a term member on the Council on Foreign Relations, a trustee at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, a Truman National Security Project fellow and a Climate Reality Leader.

Ling Li

Ling Li joined the Open Society Foundations in 2022 as Senior Advisor-East Asia after 13 years as Program Director for Luce Scholars at the Henry Luce Foundation managing all aspects of this nationally competitive year-long fellowship offering young Americans cultural immersion and professional placement in 19 countries in Asia. Before that, he was Director of Transnational Initiatives for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. After Columbia Law School, he worked as a corporate lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Maya Kopytman

Maya Kopytman

Maya is a partner at C&G Partners in New York City, a multi-specialty creative studio dedicated to design for culture. She has three decades of design experience and is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in interactive media. After more than a decade at IconNicholson, where she served as Chief Creative Officer, Maya joined C&G Partners in 2006, where she leads interactive, web and branding for non-profit and cultural institutions.

Susan Hoenig, Secretary

Among Hollywood’s top TV producers, Susan has produced shows for Discovery, National Geographic, Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS. She received an Emmy nomination for Undercover Boss.