Co-founder of boutique merchant bank Kennedy Ventures, Leslie advises and invests in tech companies. She studied history at Harvard and worked in investment banking at Dillon Read and CIBC Oppenheimer prior to becoming an investment principal. Leslie supports non-profits in cancer research and education and lives in Miami with her husband and two teenagers.

Joyce Chopra has produced and directed a wide range of award-winning films, ranging from Smooth Talk, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the Sundance Film Festival with Laura Dern to the A&E thriller, The Lady in Question, with Gene Wilder. She has received American Film Festival Blue Ribbon and Cine Golden Eagle Awards for her numerous documentaries, including the autobiographical Joyce at 34, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Joyce is a frequent mentor for BYkids, including Fire In Our Hearts, My Beautiful Nicaragua and Faith’s World. Joyce’s memoir, Lady Director, will be published by City Lights in the fall of 2022.

Sammy is currently the Board Chair and a Producer for BYkids. For over a decade Sammy has produced BYkids films representing youthful perspectives on climate change, juvenile justice and disability, in addition to various TV and theatre productions. Born and educated in the UK, she originally worked in Fashion Marketing both for UK retailers and subsequently Nike Asia Pacific in Hong Kong. She has lived in NYC for over two decades with her family and also serves as a Board member for both Spence Chapin Adoption Agency and Fabretto Children’s Foundation in Central America.

Holly began her career as a writer and editor at The New York Times and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Since then she lived in Korea as a Henry Luce scholar and print and television journalist; produced the award-winning documentary, Margaret Sanger; co-founded North Carolina’s Full Frame Festival; served as a consultant for The After-School Corporation; produced the PBS series Media Matters; and most recently was the Executive Director of The Global Film Initiative.

Jim is a chief strategist, development and communications officer with major clients including The Carter Center, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) at Georgetown University and the Global Fund for Children. Jim is the Founding Director of Global Philanthropists Circle with Peggy Dulany and David Rockefeller. In addition to the BYkids Board, he serves as a trustee of Future Generations University, Madoo Conservancy and LongHouse Reserve. He lives in Sagaponack, NY.

Stephanie launched Final Cut edit, a post production company, in the United States in 2001 and was president until 2022. She began her career working in ad agencies as a director of production. Stephanie has been involved with films from “Other People” to “Do you Dream in Color” to “Moonlight”. She is currently a producer/writer on her own projects, while acting as a consultant for others. Stephanie lives in New York City with her family.

Mike is a Managing Director at ICONIQ capital where he advises some of the leading technology entrepreneurs and executives in Silicon Valley. His primary responsibilities include investment strategy, trust and estate planning and overall client relationship management. He also serves on the firm’s Management Committee.

Prior to joining ICONIQ, Mike was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs. Mike received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Finance and Informational Economics.

Mike is a supporter of many educational programs and lives in Marin County with his family including two teenagers and two golden retrievers who have been known to have the best lives out of the entire family.

Hilary earned a degree in urban planning from NYU and worked in the Manhattan Office of the New York City Planning Commission. She then worked as an advertising copywriter, on Wall Street as a writer/producer of print and video marketing materials and as a manager of corporate philanthropy. Hilary spent a number of years as a producer of corporate/industrial and documentary films at Mediaworks, Inc. (producers of the Academy Award nominated My Architect).

Melanie is a NYC based producer with over 25 years of experience in Kids Media. As SVP, Production Management, she most recently oversaw production of Sesame Workshop’s award-winning creative content, including Sesame Street (HBO/MAX), Ghostwriter and Helpsters (Apple TV+) and Mechabuilders and Esme and Roy (HBO/MAX). Prior to joining Sesame, she served as VP of Production for National Geographic Kids Entertainment and produced acclaimed animated series for Cartoon Pizza/Jumbo Pictures, including Stanley (Playhouse Disney) and Doug (original Nickelodeon and Disney).