Board of Directors

Mr. Galpern is a partner at TZP Group, a private equity firm. He previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at CurtCo Media Labs, LLC. He also was a vice president at TD Capital Communications Partners and a mergers and acquisitions associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He holds a B.S. from Washington University and J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Dan currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Snap Fitness, Inc., Lift Brands, Inc., Assos of Switzerland SA, SA Company, LLC and as the Chairperson of the board of Christy Sports, LLC and SAXX Underwear Co.

Mr. Tepper is a principal of Aston Partners, LLC, an investment partnership. He previously served as chief operating officer and general counsel of DAVA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to his time at DAVA, Mr. Tepper was a member of the Healthcare investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse First Boston and a corporate tax associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He holds a B.A. from McGill University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Ms. Pristaw is General Counsel for Prospect Ridge. Prior to joining the firm, she was an investment support specialist for the Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners Real Estate Fund of Funds group; managing director and fund counsel for Tishman Speyer; of counsel in the corporate department of Paul Hastings; and general counsel of Coventry Real Estate Advisors. She received a Bachelor of Arts and Law from the University of Sydney.

Mr. Dean is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-Award winning music producer and artist who has created both gold and platinum hits, working with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Madonna, Beyoncé and Metallica. He is also an innovative fashion designer and has collaborated with Reebok, Christian Louboutin, Aston Martin, Lotus and Audemar Piguet. An avid art collector, he launched The Dean Collection, which consists of his own artwork and is a discovery zone for new talent. Mr. Dean is a student at the Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program. He adopted the Bronx Charter School for the Arts, is the Global Ambassador for HHC, was co-chair of the 2014 Gordon Parks Foundation Gala and works closely with wife Alicia Keys’ Keep A Child Alive.

Leigh Farris is a Managing Director and Global Head of Corporate Communications at the Carlyle Group. Prior to joining Carlyle, Leigh served in several roles including most recently Managing Director, Head of CEO Communications. She was also the Chief of Staff to the President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2014 in the Executive Office overseeing communications for the firm’s global impact investing platform, including the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Urban Investment Group. Before Goldman Sachs, Leigh served in communications leadership roles at GE and CBS News. Leigh earned a BJ from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jay Galluzzo is the Founder and CEO of Club Sports Group, an investing, operating and financing platform focused on fitness and the broader wellness community. Prior to CSG, Jay was a private equity investor, serving as the Co-Managing Partner at Caelum Partners and as a Managing Director at North Castle Partners, both of where he was actively involved in sourcing and managing various investments with a focus on consumer experiential platforms. Prior to that, Jay was the co-founder and CEO of Flywheel Sports, which he led from its launch in 2010 through a successful exit in 2014. Earlier in his career, Jay was the General Counsel of The Warnaco Group, a NASDAQ-listed conglomerate apparel company. He is also a member and past Chairman of YPO Gotham.

Ms. Gochman is an award-winning activist and artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. She is also the lead advisor to the Stardust Fund, a philanthropic initiative that seeks to empower socially excluded populations – particularly women and girls. In 2014, Ms. Gochman created Red Sand Project, an international activist artwork that raises awareness of the vulnerabilities that lead to human trafficking. She has served on the board of the Texas Civil Rights Project, is a board member of The Freedom Fund and was recently named one of New York’s New Abolitionists by the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition. A native Texan, Ms. Gochman earned a B.F.A. in sculpture from Guilford College.

Lawanna Kimbro is the newest member of the Stardust team. She joined Stardust after most recently serving as the Chief Diversity and Equity Officer (CDEO) for the NYC Department of Social Services. She has more than 18 years of leadership experience within social service agencies and nonprofit organizations. She has served as Chief Program Delivery Officer for the Department of Homeless Services, Deputy Commissioner for Outreach, Rehousing and Landlord Management at the Human Resources Administration and Chief Program Officer at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Prior to her leadership within New York City government, Lawanna worked for the federal government in the Administration for Children and Families as the budget administrator for Family Violence Prevention Services and the Compassion Capital Fund. Lawanna also served as a staff attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative, where she focused on anti-poverty and anti-discrimination initiatives that challenge the legacy of racial inequality in our country, including major projects to educate communities about slavery, lynching and racial segregation. Lawanna has a Master of Public Administration in public policy and nonprofit management and a Master of Arts in mental health counseling from New York University as well as a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

Elizabeth Korchin is a Senior Investment Officer at Therium Capital Management, a global provider of legal finance, where she focuses on legal diligence, structuring, project management and business development of Therium’s litigation and arbitration financing facility. Prior to joining Therium, Elizabeth was a litigation and arbitration partner at Hogan Lovells US LLP, where she spent a decade as a trial lawyer focusing on high-stakes complex commercial disputes and specialized in technology-related matters. Elizabeth has been committed to pro bono legal work throughout her career, particularly with respect to her advocacy for unaccompanied children seeking asylum, and she also serves on the Executive Council of the GlamourGals Foundation, an organization working to end elder isolation by providing ongoing volunteer companionship in senior homes. Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree from Duke University in 2005, and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2008.

Chiara Trento Mai is an award-winning filmmaker who has independently produced feature films such as THE 27 CLUB, THE CURSE OF DOWNERS GROVE and OPEN HEARTS. She recently produced ABIGAIL FALLS, a narrative feature film exploring the issue of bipolar in a teenage friendship, which will have its premiere summer 2018 at the Milan International Film Festival. She is also Executive Producing a documentary that exposes the school-to-prison pipeline for children with behavioral challenges, which is currently in post production. THE KIDS WE LOSE was shot by Lone Wolf Media and produced by Lives in the Balance. Previously, Chiara worked at Miramax Films in New York and London across all foreign and independent film acquisitions, including Oscar-winning titles such as AMELIE and CITY OF GOD, which she identified for the company. Chiara has served for 7 years on the board of the Mai Family Foundation and passionately supports organizations that promote child advocacy. Chiara received her B.A. from Georgetown University and studied at the University of Florence.

Mr. Myers is counsel to a family, advising it on business and legal matters. He recently retired from his position as a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he focused on corporate law with a specialty in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Myers holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Dickinson College. He serves on an advisory board of Covenant House and the Steering Committee of The Opportunity Agenda and has been on the Board of Children’s Rights since 1997.

Mr. Neukom is a litigation partner at Debevoise & Plimpton and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. He is veteran trial lawyer with extensive experience advising major Bay Area companies on complex business and intellectual property disputes, including trade secret misappropriation, patent and copyright infringement matters. He has litigated over 100 intellectual property disputes and chaired jury and bench trials in state and federal courts across the U.S., as well as successfully argued before various domestic and international arbitration tribunals, and the International Trade Commission. Mr. Neukom received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2004, his M.A. from Yale University in 2001 and his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1997. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to Judge Jose Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Ms. Robinson is Managing Director, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Vanguard and serves as Secretary of the Vanguard Funds. Anne leads Vanguard’s Legal, Compliance, Investment Stewardship and Government Relations divisions. She joined Vanguard in August of 2016, bringing over 20 years of legal experience in the financial services industry where she has counseled senior executives on a wide range of legal, regulatory, and business issues. Prior to joining Vanguard, Anne was a Managing Director & General Counsel in the Citigroup Global Legal Department. Before joining Citi, Anne was a Managing Counsel at American Express and during her more than 10 years there served in a wide range of senior legal positions. Prior to joining American Express, Anne was division counsel to Deloitte Consulting’s Venture Capital Firm and its Global Outsourcing organization. Anne started her legal career in private practice with the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy. Anne received her Bachelor of Science from Hampton University and her Juris Doctor from Columbia University Law School.

Mr. Serating is a corporate partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He represents public and private clients on a variety of U.S. and cross-border transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, takeovers (negotiated and contested), dispositions, auctions, joint ventures and shareholder activism. Mr. Serating was named one of Law360‘s “Rising Stars of M&A” in 2015 and one of the top 40 mergers and acquisitions professionals under age 40 in the U.S. by The M&A Advisor in 2014. He holds a B.A. from New York University and J.D. from Fordham University School of Law where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Ms. Shattuck is the president of the talent business at Teneo, a global corporate advisory firm. Previously she was a senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Earlier in her career, Ms. Shattuck covered the Clinton and Bush administrations for the Cable News Network (CNN). Her work with John King, CNN Presents: 9/11 What Really Happened, was nominated for an Emmy. She serves on the board of directors for Arch Street, a drug and alcohol free teen center in CT. She received her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College, studied at the University of Chile and is a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Stanton is President of the World Wide Group, one of New York City’s largest real estate development firms. He was project manager for the Park Belvedere, Vanderbilt and Shorehaven condominium projects, and as co-chairman of Manhattan Marketing Inc., supervised the sales and marketing of 2,000 condominiums in New York City. He sits on the board of the squash program of Southampton Youth Services and is a founder of the Hamptons Squash Academy. Mr. Stanton holds a B.A. from Hobart College.

Steve is a partner in the Ernst & Young office – Philadelphia with over 28 years providing assurance and advisory services in the energy, industrial gas, and financial services industries, focused on accounting, internal control, risk management, regulatory compliance, and business performance improvement. In addition to serving on the Children’s Rights board, Steve serves as a partner in various capacities on various energy clients throughout the United States, including regulated and unregulated power companies, regulated natural gas distribution companies, natural gas midstream entities, and propane distribution companies. Steve also leads various initiatives within the firm regarding both audit quality and the expansion of the firm’s energy practice.