Board Leadership

Members of the NFTE National Board of Directors and our advisory boards come from a wide array of professional backgrounds, including business and education leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and community advocates — all of whom evidence deep commitment to youth development and entrepreneurship education. They provide valuable expertise, strategic thought and tactical guidance.

Board of Directors

Michael J. Kacsmar, Chair

Partner, EY

Mike Kacsmar brings over 30 years of experience serving a variety of high-growth domestic and international companies, both public and private, at various stages of development. His clients have typically been backed by large private equity investors and have successfully navigated through mergers, acquisitions and both private and public equity and debt offerings.

Mike is the diversity and inclusiveness leader for EY’s Iselin, New Jersey practice where he champions all diversity and inclusion activities. Mike also formerly served as the leader of EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) Program in the Americas, overseeing all US regional programs as well as programs in Canada, Mexico and South America. The EOY Program recognizes achievements and contributions of the best high-growth entrepreneurs in the world.

Mike is a certified public accountant in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania (inactive) and is a member of the New Jersey State Society of Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mike has a B.S. in Business Administration – Accounting from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Kyle Garman, Vice Chair

Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, SAP

Kyle Garman is Senior Vice President, Global Business Development with SAP, a global market leader in cloud software. As a member of SAP’s Executive Leadership Team, Kyle and his team are responsible for driving digital innovation and revenue growth in collaboration with SAP’s ecosystem of strategic partners.

Before joining SAP, Kyle completed two highly successful start-up exits. The first was taken public by Goldman Sachs with a market cap of $2B. The second was acquired by GE for $225M.

Kyle is also author of The Entrepreneurial Mindset, a #1 Amazon bestseller. He was named 2020 author of the year by IAOTP. All book proceeds are donated to NFTE for which Kyle serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

Kyle began his career in strategy consulting at Bain & Co. focused on the technology industry. He holds an M.B.A. from Wharton and a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University including stints at the London School of Economics and the University of Buenos Aires.

Patricia Alper

President, The Alper Portfolio Group

Patty Alper is president of the Alper Portfolio Group and is a board member of both NFTE and US2020—the White House initiative to build mentorship in STEM careers. She also serves on the corporate committee for Million Women Mentors, and was recently inducted into Who’s Who Top Executives in America. Patty was recently honored by NFTE with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Volunteerism. Patty’s experiences have led her to roles as a prominent speaker and mentoring consultant to education institutions and corporations, and the author of Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America.  Visit www.teachtowork.com for more information.

Jean Eddy

President & CEO, American Student Assistance (ASA)

Jean develops and drives the overall strategic direction of ASA. During her tenure, ASA has pivoted from a 65-year history of helping students with college financing and repayment options to a new focus of helping students discover potential career paths earlier in their education journey, before financing or repayment need occur. Working with the Board and her Senior Management Team, she has successfully shifted ASA’s focus and direction to help kids – as early as middle school – to know themselves, know their options, and make informed choices about their education and career goals. Prior to serving as ASA’s President & CEO, she served on the Board of ASA for 20 years, most recently as Vice Chair. 

Jean has more than 25 years of experience creating and leading education organizations, including Chief Operating Officer at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment at Brandeis University, and multiple roles in the financial services and enrollment areas at Northeastern University. 

A recognized speaker and subject matter expert, she served on Massachusetts’ Governor Charlie Baker’s Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning. She holds a B.A. from Roger Williams University and a M.A. from Johnson & Wales University.

Tony Frazier

Chief Executive Officer at LeoLabs

Mr. Frazier is a corporate board member and operating executive who has driven innovation at the intersection of commercial space, data analytics, and national security. He is the CEO at LeoLabs, a leader in the emerging market for space domain awareness and space situational awareness.

Prior to LeoLabs, Mr. Frazier served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Public Sector Earth Intelligence at Maxar Technologies where he led a $1B satellite imagery and geospatial analytics business with over 1,200 team members. In this role, he led Maxar’s business that enables the U.S. Government, dozens of U.S. Foreign Partners, and numerous humanitarian organizations apply satellite imagery, secure ground systems, geospatial products, online platforms, and advanced analytic capabilities to critical missions. In this capacity, Mr. Frazier’s team focused on harnessing innovation in commercial space, 3D, advanced computing, and artificial intelligence to ensure the U.S. and its Allies maintain a strategic advantage by being able to see, understand, and act on precise activities at global scale. 

Prior to this role, Mr. Frazier led all sales, business development, and services delivery activities for Maxar. Previously, Mr. Frazier served as President of Radiant Solutions, which was formed by combining the Geospatial Services across legacy portions of Maxar from 2017 until 2019. Mr. Frazier also served as Senior Vice President, General Manager of DigitalGlobe’s Services business from 2013 and prior to DigitalGlobe’s acquisition of GeoEye, Inc. in 2013, led GeoEye’s Marketing and Communications team since 2010.  

Prior to GeoEye, Mr. Frazier served as Senior Director of Product Management at Cisco Systems, where he brought to market emerging technologies core to Cisco’s video and collaboration strategy. Before Cisco, Mr. Frazier held senior marketing roles at Infor, iPhrase Technologies an MIT start-up acquired by IBM, and pcOrder.com. Mr. Frazier began his career in strategic consulting at Bain & Company.  

Since March 2021, Mr. Frazier has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM). Mr. Frazier holds a Bachelor of Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with distinction from Harvard University. 

Carol Fulp

Founder & CEO, Fulp Diversity, LLC

Carol is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fulp Diversity Consultants, where she assists CEOs and their organizations in advancing diversity and inclusion. She previously served as President and CEO of The Partnership, the nationally recognized professional services firm that helps organizations advance and retain multi-culturals. She is also the author of Success Through Diversity: Why The Most Inclusive Companies Will Win, a book praised by Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Given her own experiences in the workplace and in advising companies on diversity practice, Carol is deeply committed to promoting how people of different races and ethnicities represent an essential asset to contemporary companies and organizations.

She serves on the board of trustees for Eastern Bank and as well as the board of directors for the New England College of Business and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her civic involvement includes the Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Board, trustee of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation, as well as founding co-chair of the Massachusetts Conference for Women, the largest professional women’s conference in the country.

Carol received the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Bostonian Award, was noted as one of the “50 Most Influential Bostonians” by Boston Business Journal, and named one of the “21 Most Powerful People in Boston Business” by Boston Magazine in 2017.

Lawrence Gennari

Partner, Gennari Aronson, LLP

Lawrence is a corporate and transactional lawyer and the co-founder of Gennari Aronson, LLP, a boutique law firm serving public and private companies in a variety of industries, as well as entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and board members. Larry started his career at Ropes & Gray and he was a Partner at Choate Hall & Stewart in Boston. He carries a Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ rating and has been named a New England Super Lawyer for both mergers & acquisitions and securities and corporate finance.

For more than fifteen years as an Adjunct Professor at Boston College Law School, Larry taught courses on Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Finance, and Advising Entrepreneurs. He developed one of the Law School’s newest courses, Project Entrepreneur, a student-led business fundamentals bootcamp for entrepreneurs with criminal records, many of whom were previously incarcerated. Larry frequently comments and contributes on corporate finance, venture capital, and entrepreneurial topics in publications and as a guest speaker at industry events and seminars.

He earned a J.D. from the College of William and Mary, where he served as editor-in-chief of the William & Mary Law Review, as well as a B.S. in Accounting, summa cum laude, from North Adams State College, where he was the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s outstanding student.

Pam Codispoti Habner

Head of U.S. Branded Cards & Lending, Citi

As the Head of U.S. Branded Cards for Citi, Pam Habner has a proven track record as an inspiring and forward-thinking leader, guiding her teams to create client-centric products and features that serve their financial needs in unique and innovative ways. At Citi, Pam leads the end-to-end management of the U.S. Cards business, including proprietary products such as Citi Double Cash and cobrand cards with marquee partners including Costco and American Airlines.  She is also responsible for the Citi Thank You Rewards platform, innovative lending solutions and the overall credit card customer experience.

Before joining Citi in July 2020, Pam was the Head of Consumer Branch Banking and Wealth Management at Chase where she was responsible for 48,000 employees and all sales and service across Chase’s 5,000 branches, achieving record customer satisfaction results.  Prior to that role, Pam was President of Branded Cards for Chase Card Services with responsibility for the Chase Sapphire, Freedom, Slate and Ink card portfolios. She helped Chase achieve market leadership and her launch of three new card products drove millions of new accounts, with Sapphire Reserve earning numerous high-profile accolades.

Before joining JPMorgan Chase in 2014, Pam spent the majority of her career at American Express in a variety of strategy, marketing and general management positions across the consumer and business-to-business segments. Her most recent role was Executive Vice President of Product Management & Marketing for Global Commercial Services. Throughout her career at Amex, Pam launched more than a dozen new products and grew key strategic partnerships with Costco, Delta Air Lines and Starwood Hotels. In addition, Pam served on the firm’s Global Management Team and was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Express Bank, FSB.

Pam also spent several years at start-up companies, including DoubleClick, a company focused on digital marketing solutions, and LinkShare, an affiliate marketing network. She began her career at Bain & Company, a strategic management consulting firm.

Pam holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Mathematics and Social Science from Dartmouth College. Pam resides with her husband and twin boys in Bronxville, N.Y.

Charles Jacobson

Partner, CFGI, LLC

Chuck Jacobson is the Senior Managing Partner for CFGI’s South Region. As a senior accounting and financial operations executive, Chuck brings over 30 years of public, private and sponsor-backed company experience within the financial services, professional services, communications, technology and manufacturing sectors. Throughout his career, Chuck has been involved in numerous M&A transactions, IPOs/capital market transactions, as well as in-court (Chapter 11) and out-of-court restructurings. His in-depth experience also spans finance/accounting department operations, audits, SEC financial reporting and post-acquisition integration.

From 2007 to 2019, Chuck was the CEO and co-founder of Pine Hill Group (“Pine Hill”), which was acquired by CFGI (a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group) in 2019. Under his hands-on leadership, Pine Hill evolved into a premier accounting consultancy and transaction advisory firm, utilizing its national firm technical expertise and operational acumen to collaborate closely with clients to achieve their most critical business objectives.

Prior to co-founding Pine Hill, Chuck served as Senior Vice President of Finance at ATX Communications (“ATX”). Prior to working for ATX, Chuck held senior managerial audit positions with Ernst & Young LLP from 1999 to 2000 and with BDO Seidman, LLP from 1996 to 1999, where he was responsible for audit engagements of private, pre-IPO and publicly traded companies in a variety of different industries. Chuck began his professional career in 1993 at a regional public accounting firm where he performed audits on governmental entities.

Throughout his time with CFGI and Pine Hill, Chuck has served in numerous leadership roles with his clients.  From 2012-2022, Chuck served as CFO for SWK Holdings, Inc., a specialty finance company serving the life science industry. Additionally, Chuck served as a Director, Interim CEO, and Interim CFO, positions he held since 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively, for The PMI Group, Inc., a sponsor-backed holding company. From 2015 to 2020, Chuck served as CFO and Director of Parkview Capital Credit, Inc., a Business Development Corporation that provided mezzanine debt and equity capital to lower middle market companies. From 2012 to 2013, Chuck served as CEO and CFO of Pro Capital, LLC (“Pro Cap”), an investment management business specializing in investments of municipal tax liens. Chuck also served on Pro Cap’s board of managers from 2012 to 2014. From 2008 to 2011, Chuck served as CFO of FS Investment Corporation.

Alexis Jeffries

Adjunct Professor, University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business

Alexis Jeffries is a technology product strategist, adjunct professor, startup advisor and active angel investor, based in Los Angeles. Most recently, she was the Director, Head of Business Product Marketing at Glassdoor, leading the company’s efforts on employer branding and employee experience. Prior to Glassdoor, she was a Business Product Marketing Lead in the Ads division at Meta, where she led Meta’s Racial Justice and Ads Product Equity initiatives, as well as the company’s Rotational Product Marketing Manager program. Prior to Meta, she was a strategy consultant at Accenture and an advertising executive at OMD and Wunderman Thompson in New York. She started her career as a personal finance journalist at Money Magazine, and has written for Money, The New York Times, Essence, Black Enterprise, The New York Post, The Village Voice, CNNMoney.com and many more.

Ms. Jeffries holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Political Science from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Global Communications from the American University of Paris, (of which she chairs the Diversity Committee for the President’s Advisory Council) and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Kenneth M. Jones

SVP and COO/Chief Equity Officer, John T. & Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation

As Chief Operating Officer, Ken is responsible for all aspects of the finance, accounting, tax, audit, information technology, grants management, administrative services, core services and facilities functions for the Foundation. He also serves as the Chief Equity Officer for the Foundation. In addition, Ken implements and evaluates the Foundation’s financial objectives and performance to support MacArthur’s priorities and programs.

Prior to joining MacArthur, Ken was the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In this role, he oversaw the finance, grants management, business technology and facilities & operations functions as well as the disaster recovery & relief process for the foundation. He traveled extensively in Africa and Southeast Asia as CFO for Danya International, a public health and education organization and Jhpiego, a nonprofit international health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. Ken held previously corporate finance positions at the Ford Motor Company, the Pfizer Corporation and the Prudential.

Ken received his Master of Business Administration degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a master’s degree in economics from the University at Buffalo and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Ken serves on the boards of the Mission Investors Exchange, the Thurgood Marshall Academy, the Public Justice Center, the Joint Center, the Southern Education Foundation, the Center for Urban Families, the Steve Fund, Collegian Directions and Corus.

He is a Who’s Who Black Baltimore recipient, Arthur Vining Davis Fellow for the Aspen Ideas Festival, Presidential Scholar at Concordia College – New York, Smart CEO Magazine Executive Management Award recipient, DCA Live Star CFO awardee, Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow and ABFE James Joseph Lecturer. Ken was in the 2nd cohort of the Council of Foundations’ Career Pathways Program.

Dr. J.D. LaRock

President & CEO, NFTE

J.D. LaRock is the president & CEO of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a global nonprofit organization that provides high-quality entrepreneurship education to middle school, high school and young adult students from under-resourced communities.

Previously, J.D. was the president and CEO of the Commonwealth Corporation, Massachusetts’ state authority for workforce development, a member of Northeastern University’s senior leadership team and an education policymaker at the federal and state levels. Additionally, J.D. chaired Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning. 

His past positions include senior education advisor to the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and education policy director for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Some of J.D.’s biggest accomplishments throughout his career include working with Senator Kennedy to lead the 2008 reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act and the 2007 passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, as well as helping Governor Patrick author Massachusetts’ application to President Obama’s “Race to the Top” competition, which secured $250 million for the commonwealth.

A scholar of education policy, higher education and the future of work, J.D. has authored, edited, and contributed to several books, including Special Education for a New Century (Harvard Education Press, 2005), Education at a Glance (OECD, 2012) and Robot Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (MIT Press, 2017). J.D. is a newly appointed member of the Commonwealth Education Commission of the States (ECS) delegation, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, Chair of the Board of Trustees at North Shore Community College and a faculty member in Northeastern University’s Doctor of Law and Policy program. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at Harvard and his law degree from Georgetown.

Sandra Rosa

Chief Human Resources Officer, Syniverse

Sandra Rosa began serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Syniverse in September 2023. Prior to joining Syniverse, Sandra served as CHRO and Executive Vice President at Santander Consumer USA, where she managed a large team of HR professionals across multiple markets, was responsible for all HR disciplines, employee relations, and the development of a shared services model. Rosa has a proven track record in HR business partnering, organizational design and talent development, strategic partnership and planning, DEI, talent acquisition, and business transformation.

Prior to joining Santander in 2017, Sandra was the Head of Talent Acquisition for JP Morgan’s Consumer Bank and Chase Wealth Management businesses. During her 24-year tenure with JP Morgan Chase, she held a variety of senior human resources business partner roles across multiple lines of business such as Head of Consumer Bank Human Resources for the Midwest region, supporting 12,000 branch and wealth management employees in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Previously, she served as a Senior Human Resources Business Partner in Corporate, Treasury and Securities Services, and Chase Card Services.

In addition to her professional duties, Sandra is also very active in the community. In 2023, she was appointed chair elect for The Concilio, a non-profit organization that builds stronger communities by unlocking opportunities for Latino families. Through her board service, she shares insights about career opportunities and the professional landscape with young Latino professionals.

Anthony Salcito

Chief Institution Business Officer, Nerdy

Anthony Salcito, Chief Institution Business Officer, leads Varsity Tutors for Schools and is responsible for Nerdy’s efforts to support institutions as they work to transform learning opportunities for students and educators across a range of offerings.

Prior to joining Nerdy, Anthony served as Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft. In this role, he was responsible for driving Microsoft’s education engagement and relationships globally, including long-term partnerships with schools, universities and other public sector customers. Throughout his Microsoft career, he helped launch many of the company’s cornerstone education programs and is recognized as a champion for teachers and a global education thought leader.

Carla Thompson Payton

VP for Program Strategy, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Carla is Vice President for program strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan where she supports efforts to promote thriving children, working families, and equitable communities.

In 2012, Carla was deputy director of the Office of Child Care at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. There, she was responsible for developing national early childhood education policy, managing the $5 billion annual budget of the Child Care Development Fund and providing oversight to 10 regional offices serving states, tribes, and territories. Previously, she was assistant superintendent for early childhood education for the District of Columbia, where she initiated the first publicly funded pre-kindergarten program. She has held former positions with the Department of Education and Department of Public Welfare for the state of Pennsylvania, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Carla has been honored for her leadership in early childhood education by the Administration for Children and Families, the Children’s Defense Fund, and the Temple University Institute on Disabilities. She also has served on boards and committees for nonprofit associations and professional organizations. In addition, she is the author of three publications related to school readiness and advocacy. The Huffington Post features Carla as a regular blogger, and she has been cited in numerous news media for her expertise.

David Wellisch

CEO & Co-Founder, Collage Group

David is co-founder and CEO of Collage Group, previously known as the Latinum Network. Since the inception of Collage Group in 2009, David has led the company through growth, now serving more than 300 brands in across 12 industries. David is passionate about entrepreneurship and company building, and often works directly with members to help guide the integration of diverse consumer insights and marketing strategies.

Prior to Collage Group, he was the founder, vice president and general manager of AOL Latino, AOL’s Hispanic service. He was responsible for the entire operation, including overseeing programming, product development, customer service, brand and acquisition marketing, strategy and business development. At its peak, AOL Latino produced $130MM in revenue from subscriptions and advertising. David was also Executive Director of strategy at AOL’s web properties.

Before AOL, he worked in private equity at Allied Capital and strategic consulting at Gemini Consulting. Originally from Ecuador, David holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Currently, he sits on the Board of Trustees for Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. David is also a member of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Young President’s Organization. David is married, has three awesome kids, and currently lives in DC.

Tucker York

Global Head of Goldman Sachs Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs

Tucker is global head of Goldman Sachs Wealth Management. He is a member of the Management Committee. Tucker also serves on the board of the Goldman Sachs Trust Company and the Asset & Wealth Management Private Wealth Management Capital Committee.

Prior to assuming his current role, Tucker was global co-head of the Consumer and Wealth Management Division. Before that, he served in various leadership roles across the global wealth management franchise including head of the US business and cohead of the EMEA business. Tucker has been based in Frankfurt, Zurich, London and New York. He began his career covering clients in New York and continues in that capacity today as part of his overall responsibilities.

Tucker joined Goldman Sachs in 1986 in New York as a private wealth advisor. He was named managing director in 1996 and partner in 2000. Tucker serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, treasurer of the Board of Trustees at The Marymount School and is a trustee at Christ Church in New York City. He is also a member of the Chancellor’s Philanthropic Council at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Tucker earned a BS from UNC in 1982 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1986.