Capital Region CATALYZE

This interview features Ellis Carr, President & CEO of Capital Impact Partners. JB and Ellis discuss inclusive growth, CDFIs, and economic empowerment in underserved communities.

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by  Jenna Klym, Francesca Ioffreda, Ian Lutz, Nina Sharma, and  Justin Matheson-Turner.

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Ellis Carr has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services and mortgage industries. Mr. Carr served as Capital Impact’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from July, 2012 until his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer in May, 2016.

Prior to joining Capital Impact, he held various positions in the investments, capital markets, strategy and corporate finance areas within Freddie Mac and in fixed income fund management both domestically and abroad at Deutsche Bank.

Mr. Carr is a trustee of the NHP Foundation; the Treasurer and Board member of Martha’s Table; a Board member of Housing Partnership Network (HPN); and a Board member of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). In 2015, he was recognized as one of the “Top 40 under 40” business executives by the Washington Business Journal. Mr. Carr graduated from Towson University with an undergraduate degree in accounting, and from Georgetown University with a master’s degree in real estate with a concentration in finance.

This week’s interview features Jeff Cherry, Executive Director of Conscious Venture Lab. JB and Jeff discuss the start-up community in Baltimore, conscious capitalism, the role of accelerators, and innovation across the region.

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by  Jenna Klym, Ian Lutz, Nina Sharma, and Justin Matheson-Turner. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Jeff Cherry has roles as a CEO, hedge fund manager, designer, entrepreneur, educator, mentor and consultant Jeff has a diverse and unique career spanning more than 25 years of executive leadership. During his time as an executive and business consultant he has developed significant expertise in a broad range of operational disciplines and industries including: technology, design and construction, finance, hospitality and professional services.
In his capacity as an executive and business strategist, Jeff has helped organizations from start-ups to established middle-market companies and government agencies create operational strategies and business ecologies aimed at inspiring knowledge worker performance. His diverse background and experience has helped companies create everything from new office environments and online offerings to completely new innovative business models.

As a thought leader in the areas of stakeholder management and the emerging discipline of Conscious Capitalism®, Jeff had the honor of consulting with authors David Wolfe and Raj Sisodia on their book Firms of Endearment, How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, which was published in 2007. Jeff later expanded on the ideas of Conscious Capitalism® to form Concinnity Advisors, a hedge fund focused on identifying and investing in companies operating from a more holistic, long-term value mindset.

Prior to forming Concinnity Advisors Jeff was the co-head of research for Multi stakeholder investment strategies for a multi-billion dollar hedge fund based in Stamford, CT. Immediately before that Jeff spent 20 years as founder and CEO of Lloyd Lamont Design, Inc. a multifaceted management, architecture and technology consulting firm, which, after being named as one of the fastest growing privately held companies by Inc. Magazine was acquired by a strategic investor in 2006.

Jeff received his Bachelors of Architecture and Masters of Science in Architecture from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He also completed extended executive study courses at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Program for Growing Companies. Jeff is currently a member of the Society of Human Resources Management, ANSI Investor Metrics Workgroup as well as the Industry Working Groups (IWG) for the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

This interview features Carol Thompson Cole, President & CEO, Venture Philanthropy Partners. JB and Carol discuss inclusive growth in the Capital Region, impact investing, and economic empowerment in underserved communities.

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by Jenna Klym, Francesca Ioffreda, Ian Lutz, Nina Sharma, and Justin Matheson-Turner.

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Carol Thompson Cole is President and CEO of Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization that makes the future brighter for young people living in Greater Washington by tackling the largest barriers to their success and forging partnerships that bring the expertise, passion and reach necessary to achieve life-changing results.

Under Cole’s leadership for the past 10 years, VPP aligns resources and actions to strengthen nonprofits to serve more youth. VPP’s philanthropy uses its convening power to work across sectors to create systemic change to help more young people succeed in school and gain the skills and confidence to attend college or start their career.

Prior to VPP, Cole served in a wide range of leadership and management roles in both the public and private sectors. She served as Special Advisor to President Clinton on the District of Columbia and Executive Director of the DC Inter-Agency Task Force. Prior to serving in the Clinton administration, she was the Vice President for Government and Environmental Affairs at RJR Nabisco. Cole spent 12 years holding major management and staff positions in DC government, most notably as the only woman appointed as City Administrator.

She is a member of numerous boards, including the Raise DC Leadership Council, the Greater Washington Advisory Board of SunTrust, the Kaiser Permanente Regional Advisory Board, the Federal City Council, and the Board of Trustees of Friendship Public Charter School. She also serves as a Lifetime Trustee of the Urban Institute. Cole has been recognized for her outstanding leadership and dedication to the region through service in government, business and the social sector.

Cole earned a B.A. from Smith College, a master’s in public administration from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and attended the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University.

This interview features Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and CEO of EY. Carmine and JB discuss the COVID-19-era prevalence of remote work in the Capital Region. While this will likely not be maintained once the pandemic has subsided, data collected through external surveys as well as the Greater Washington Partnership (the Partnership) and EY Capital COVID-19 Snapshot shows greater levels of remote working will continue even after herd immunity is reached, relative to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by  Jenna Klym, Ian Lutz, Nina Sharma, Justin Matheson-Turner.

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation and business, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Carmine Di Sibio is the Global Chairman and CEO of EY, one of the largest professional services organizations in the world with over 280,000 people in more than 150 countries. Prior to being elected to his current post, Carmine served as EY Global Managing Partner – Client Service, leading the execution of the global strategy in our four geographical areas and four service lines.

Carmine has spearheaded our innovation efforts, including leading a US$1 billion investment in new technology solutions over a two-year timeframe announced in August 2018. He helped to create the Global Innovation team to redefine how EY uses technology to both transform existing services and create new solutions. As a leader of our acquisitions and alliances strategy, he has helped expand EY offerings in a wide range of new and emerging fields.

Since joining EY in 1985, he has served as an Advisory and Assurance partner for many of our largest financial services accounts. He held several leadership positions, including Chair of the Global Financial Services Markets Executive and Regional Managing Partner for the Americas Financial Services Organization (FSO), where he started EY Risk Management and Regulatory Services.

Carmine earned a BA in Chemistry from Colgate University as well as an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is a practicing CPA.

This interview features Dr. Kavita Patel, Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. JB and Dr. Patel discuss the federal government’s COVID-19 response, vaccine rollout, and ensuring our health systems are equitable and accessible to all.

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, and Colie Touzel.

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Kavita Patel is a Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Previously, she was the managing director of clinical transformation at the Center for Health Policy at Brookings. Dr. Patel is an advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center and a member of Health and Human Services Physician Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee.

Dr. Patel is a primary care physician in Washington, D.C. She also served in the Obama administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement in the White House. As a senior aide to Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s senior adviser, Dr. Patel played a critical role in policy development and evaluation of policy initiatives connected to health reform, financial regulatory reform, and economic recovery issues.

She also has an extensive research and clinical background, having worked as a researcher at the RAND Corporation and as a practicing physician in both California and Oregon. She currently advises healthcare technology and services organizations through New Enterprise Associates.

Dr. Patel is a previous Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, and while at Brookings returned to providing clinical care as an internal medicine practitioner. She earned her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center and her masters in public health from the University of California Los Angeles.

This Fresh Take interview features Tonia Wellons, CEO, Greater Washington Community Foundation. JB and Tonia discuss Greater Washington Community Foundation’s extensive work in the pandemic relief and recovery efforts and insights on how the region is doing as we work towards a more inclusive and equitable future for the region.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Tonia Wellons is the President & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, leading an organization with a $335 million in assets under management, and $60 million in annual grants, Tonia oversees the day-to-day business of the organization, serves as chief development officer, and works with the Board of Trustees and staff to determine the strategic priorities of The Community Foundation. Tonia has successfully launched and led programmatic and development efforts for several key initiatives at The Community Foundation, including VoicesDMV, the Resilience Fund, and the Partnership to End Homelessness.

Previously, she served as a political appointee for the Obama Administration as head of global partnerships at the Peace Corps. Tonia was responsible for leading the agency’s relationships with other federal agencies, the private sector, international NGOs, and donors. Tonia previously served as fund manager of a multi-donor initiative focused on financial access and inclusion at the World Bank Group. She also spent a significant part of her career working on USAID-funded capacity development initiatives during the immediate post-apartheid era in South Africa and the broader sub-Sahara region. In 2010, Tonia founded the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund (PGCSIF) in an effort to 'shift the narrative' and build social capital in the County.

Tonia has a master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development Policy from the University of Delaware, and a bachelor’s in Political Science from North Carolina A&T State University. 

This week’s interview features Megan Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of shift7 and former US Chief Technology Officer. JB and Megan discuss innovation/collaboration, human-centered solutions, and how they tie into the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

In 2014, President Obama named Megan Smith the United States Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this role, she served as an Assistant to the President. As U.S. CTO, Smith focused on how technology policy, data and innovation can advance the future of our nation.

Megan previously served as CEO of PlanetOut, a leading LGBT online community in the early days of the web, where the team broke through many barriers and partnered closely with AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, and other major web players. Megan was part of designing early smartphone technologies at General Magic and worked on multimedia products at Apple Japan.

Over the years, Megan has contributed to a wide range of engineering projects, including an award-winning bicycle lock, space station construction program, and solar cookstoves. She was a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student team that designed, built, and raced a solar car 2000 miles across the Australian outback.  

Megan has served on the boards of MIT, MIT Media Lab, MIT Technology Review, and Vital Voices; as a member of the USAID Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid; and as an advisor to the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and the Malala Fund, which she co-founded. She holds a bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she completed her master's thesis work at the MIT Media Lab.

This Fresh Take interview featured Monica Dixon, President, External Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Monica discussed the District’s path to reopening, diversity, and inclusion in the sports industry, and the future of cities in the post-pandemic era.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Monica Dixon currently serves  as President, External Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer, at Monumental Sports managing communications, government relations, strategic planning and project management throughout the organization.  spent her career providing strategic and management consulting for high-profile individuals and institutions, including the White House, national advocacy organizations, and candidates for federal office.  Monica has been a top strategist to the Vice President, CEOs, Corporations, Board of Directors, and campaigns and issue-based organizations on matters of management, strategic communications, and public affairs.

Those who Monica has advised include the Clinton White House, where she served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Al Gore and as an Assistant to the President; the U.S. House Democratic Caucus, for which she served as Chief of Staff; as a Strategic Consultant to the Senate Democratic Leadership, as a Voter Communication’s Director of the leadership political committee; Americans Coming Together, a national advocacy group; and for Forward Together, a committee chaired by Senator Mark Warner, for which she was Executive Director.

This week’s interview features Patricia A. Brantley, CEO of Friendship Public Charter School. JB and Patricia discuss the impact of COVID-19 on schools, the role of testing, and the path to reopening.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Patricia Brantley is an education reformer, charter school advocate and supporter of the right of all children to receive a high-quality education. Two decades ago, she served with the founding planners of Friendship Public Charter School to create better opportunities for D.C.’s children.

In 2003, Patricia became Friendship’s chief operating officer. In that role, she engineered the acquisition and development of six public charter school campuses in Washington, D.C., four partner schools in Baltimore, Md., and a new charter school in Baton Rouge, La.

Patricia oversees all operations at Friendship, has secured more $95 million in public and private funding, effected cohesion among the 12 campuses, and established the Friendship Teaching Institute as a model of professional development. She spearheaded the takeover of Washington’s first multicampus charter management group, ensuring that hundreds of children could remain in their school of choice.

Previously, Patricia served in corporate and nonprofit positions including founder of the Partnership for Academic Achievement; chief development officer and adviser at the National Council of Negro Women; executive director of the Dance Institute of Washington; and national marketing manager for the Black Family Reunion Celebration. She is a board member of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools and a graduate of Princeton University.

This week’s interview featured Anna Mason, Partner at Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. JB and Anna discussed startup ecosystems, the startup community across the Capital Region, and the value of investing in inclusion/diversity.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Anna Mason is a Partner on Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. In this capacity, she leads the investment process for select deals in the fund across a variety of industries. Anna also leads strategy and execution for the Rise of the Rest Network and Platform, including the annual Rise of the Rest Road Trip and annual Network Summit. Her passion for this work is centered around two core beliefs: investing in startups sits at the intersection of realism and optimism; Rise of the Rest is a platform that helps us see the country through the eyes of the entrepreneurs who are reimagining its future.

Given her passion for helping early stage startups, since November 2015 Anna has volunteered as the Co-Director of the Washington Chapter of The Vinetta Project, a North-American organization that helps early-stage female founders in tech access capital and network connections. She is also on the advisory board of BEACON DC, a community-led campaign to make Washington, D.C. one of the most influential and supportive cities in the country for women entrepreneurs.

Anna received her BA in Government from Harvard College and her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. Anna is also a certified health coach. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Children’s Museum in Washington, D.C.