National Advisory Council
Alissandra Elizabeth Aronow serves on several boards, including the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, where she serves as trustee and secretary and works with the family on their impact investing. In addition to her own impact investing work, she focuses on the developing programs at for-impact organizations in Detroit; these include youth programs and anti-trafficking programs. Alissandra is an advocate in the anti-slavery/human trafficking space and is focused on improving supply chains and combatting child sex trafficking. Allisandra is a former competitive international ice dancer and History of Art Major from the University of Michigan.
Michael Borofsky is the Chief Operating and Strategy Officer at Pohlad Companies, a privately held portfolio of businesses and investments. The Pohlad Companies have a deep commitment to the communities where they live and work, demonstrated through the Pohlad Family Foundation. Prior to joining Pohlad Companies, Michael served as Senior Vice President of MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, a New York-based investment company with interests in a diversified portfolio of public and private companies. He previously specialized in mergers and acquisitions for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and was an analyst at Goldman Sachs. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and J.D. from Columbia Law School. In addition to his work on the Advisory Council for Children’s Rights, he also serves on the boards of Venture for America, C4Q and ALJ Regional Holdings LLC.
Christen Douglas is a Private Client & Wealth Management Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. She focuses her practice on trust and estate planning, administration, and litigation. She also advises clients regarding philanthropic planning and private charitable foundations. Christen earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, and LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. For nearly 30 years, her mother has worked at Aseltine School in San Diego, California, which is a school designed to serve children with behavioral issues and learning disabilities, many of whom are foster care children. Her mother’s stories about connecting with and helping her students learn and grow despite the challenges they face inspired Christen from an early age. She joined the Advisory Council of Children’s Rights in 2016.
Ronald Draper is a New York-based artist specializing in expressionist mixed media works for both residential and commercial spaces. His blend of multiple materials and use of language produces work that is appealing to both your sense of sight and your sense of self. Draper’s passion for art and education has made him an effective change agent, partnering with New York City schools to develop new creative approaches to how a school’s norms and values are experienced when artistic decisions are made in the reflection of student and community identity. His use of large art installations and apparel derived from the art allows his culturally responsive creations to impact tens of thousands of people daily. In addition to RONALDDRAPERART LLC, Draper also owns MITG Productions LLC, a manufacturing company that specializes in custom, quality-focused apparel and merchandise for large organizations and corporations.
Karyn Froseth is Sr. Director, Global Sales Customer Engagement & Planning at Kellogg Company. Prior to her position at Kellogg, she was Vice President, Director of Client Services for the Atlanta office of Momentum Worldwide, a global Brand Experience agency with more than 40 offices around the world. She is a strategic marketing leader with proven success leading large-scale retail and partnership marketing programs for fast-paced consumer product companies such as Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats, and Novartis. Karyn brings a unique blend of agency and corporate experience to manage brands and develop national and global initiatives for consumer engagement, brand preference, and profitable volume. A Chicago native and Indiana University graduate, Karyn resides in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta with her husband Eric, daughter Hayley, and hound mix puppy Gracie.
Mr. Garcia is a Managing Director and Market Manager responsible for the Andes, Central America and Caribbean region of J.P. Morgan Latin America Private Bank. With over 22 years of financial services experience, his team provides strategic advice to ultra-high net worth families and manages over $16 billion in client assets. In 2002 and 2003, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him as one of the 13 commissioners on the New York City Charter Revision Commission. Mr. Garcia was on the Board of Trustees for The Brooklyn Public Library, and, in addition to Children’s Rights, serves on the Board of Directors for New Visions Public Schools, the largest education reform organization in New York City. He holds a MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s Degree from City University of New York.
Lexie currently works at Accenture as a Management Consultant in the Health and Human Services practice. In this role, she works with federal and state civilian agencies optimize their business process and understand how emerging technology can improve the way they serve Americans. Prior to joining Accenture, she served as a Policy Associate at the American Public Human Services Association, where she acted as a liaison between human service agency commissioners, Congress, and the Obama Administration to ensure the perspectives of state and local human service agencies were incorporated in the development of new legislation and regulation. Lexie has testified before the United States Congress and the Connecticut State Legislature, and have presented at several Congressional briefings on child welfare issues. In addition to her policy work at the state and federal levels, she has been published in the Washington Post, Hartford Courant, and the Huffington Post.
Steven Haedrich is owner and CEO of New York Label & Box, a family-owned, New York-headquartered corporation in operation since 1878. The company specializes in high-quality custom printed products for the cosmetic, healthcare and nutraceutical markets. After graduating Georgetown University with a major in Accounting and a Psychology minor, Steven worked as a consultant for Peat Marwick Mitchell, a big eight accounting firm. He subsequently joined New York Label & Box and worked his way up from shipping to sales to management to CEO. Steven is active in the business community and serves on the advisory board of The Deming Institute, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster an understanding of the Deming leadership philosophy to advance commerce, prosperity and peace. The institute teaches quality leadership, systems thinking and how continuous quality improvement strategies can improve individual lives and business operations. Steven is a father of three children, a daughter and two sons.
Jill Hayman has over 35 years of experience practicing law, both in in-house positions and in private practice. Jill is a licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of New York and a Certified Trauma Professional. She is currently Special Counsel in the real estate department of Hunton & Williams in New York City, a role she recently assumed. Prior to joining Hunton & Williams, she was Special Counsel at Fried Frank, where she primarily represented nonprofits in various real estate transactions. Previously, Jill spent the majority of her career as a Managing Director in the Legal Department of Morgan Stanley, where her group provided direct legal coverage on corporate real estate and general procurement transactions. A graduate of New York University Law School, Jill lectures frequently on commercial leasing topics.
Greg Hecht, a designated Super Lawyer by the publishers of Atlanta Magazine, has been lead counsel in over 300 Trials and 1,000 Hearings. His specialties include business, commercial and real estate litigation, local government law, and litigation, among others. Greg Hecht is a Certified Mediator and Arbitrator, and Hecht Walker offers Mediation, Arbitration and Special Master Services. In addition to his legal practice, Greg served as a State Senator and as a State Representative in the Georgia General Assembly for many years. During his time as a State Senator, he was appointed Chairman of the Civil and Criminal Practice Subcommittee, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Chairman of an Appropriations Subcommittee for 4 years. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 for his undergraduate degree and the University of Georgia School of Law for his Juris Doctorate degree in 1988, Greg has been serving clients as an accomplished attorney for over 28 years.
Christy Irons has been a child advocate since she was 10 years old. Having been raised in a family that fostered 45 children, Mrs. Irons graduated from Erskine College with a degree in Special Education and works tirelessly promoting foster care reform as well as being an advocate for adoption. Christy and her husband, Nigel, have one biological child and have adopted 8 children, three of which have challenging disabilities. Mrs. Irons has a widely read blog, The Sometimes 8 Irons, which chronicles the realities of a very diverse family life while actively seeking adoptive families for children in foster care. She is a resident of South Carolina.
Sandra Kapell is Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer at The Madison Square Garden Company, a role she assumed in December 2015. She served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Administration for Cablevision Systems Corporation from 2012-2015. Before her time at Cablevision, she was Senior Vice president and Chief Human Resources Officer of Chartis, an AIG company and the world’s largest property and casualty insurer. Before that, she was senior Vice President at MetLife.
Mark Lindsay is a consultant with the Livingston Group, a prominent government relations firm in Washington D.C. He served on President Obama’s Transition Team and in President Clinton’s White House as Assistant to the President for the Office of Management and Administration. Before joining The Livingston Group, Mr. Lindsay was with UnitedHealth Group, one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, where he held a number of senior positions including President of the AARP Pharmacy Services Division and Vice President of Public Communications and Strategy.
Jimmy Mills spent his career as an employee benefits consultant to large US employers. He retired following the sale of his company where he focused on building high-performance teams and coaching his employees to realize their highest potential. Over the years Jimmy has served in leadership roles for organizations supporting underserved children, families and the elderly as well as educational institutions. Currently, Jimmy is a member of the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center; Trustee of the Lovett Schools; Advisory Board Member of Children’s Rights; Board Member of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Georgia; and, Board Member of the African Soup an elementary school in Uganda. He previously served as Vice Chair of the Board of St Patrick’s Episcopal Day School and Board Chair of Families First one of the largest child and family services agencies in the southeast. He and his wife Ibby recently served as Chairs of the capital campaign for Atlanta based AG Rhodes Homes to raise funds for the construction of a building specifically designed to provide patient centered care to individuals experiencing memory loss.