Social Venture Fund - Team Members

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SVF Leadership

Kirby Smith, MBA/MPH ’13, Head of Food Systems & Environment Circle
Kirby is a second-year MBA/MPP student concentrating in Strategy, Finance, and Economic Development. In addition to leading SvF’s Food Systems and Environment team, she is on the board of the Revitalization & Business club, and has consulted for a variety of food-related businesses. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a Senior Analyst for Ithaka Strategy + Research, helping digital publishing initiatives in the academic and cultural sectors develop market-facing models and wean themselves from grant funding. She has also worked for a start-up that leveraged social networking technologies to organize education advocates in advance of the 2008 election, and taught middle school English at the American School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the summer of 2011, she was a Fellow at the Civic Consulting Alliance in Chicago. Kirby graduated Magna Cum Laude from Yale University with a B.A. in English Language and Literature.

SVF Associates

JP Asta, MBA ’13
J.P. is a first-year MBA student focusing on strategy and finance. Prior to Ross, J.P. worked as a consultant for the firm Analysis Group, where he specialized in quantitative analysis and financial and economic modeling. Outside of work, he was the Boston Chapter Lead for Pivot Nonprofit Consulting, a group of young professionals who provide pro bono strategic advice to nonprofit organizations. In this role, he realized the value in leveraging for-profit thinking to alleviate societal issues. Applying that belief, he went to work for the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa. He specialized in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of global health financing, and his work brought him to Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. J.P. holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Martha Campbell, MBA/MS ’13
Martha is a second year dual degree student at the Erb Institute, pursuing both a Master's in Environmental Science and an MBA. Martha is extremely interested in closed loop production processes and disruptive technologies, which blend economic development with ecological and social regeneration. Martha is originally from El Paso, Texas, and her professional experiences have been as varied as working as a green construction intern for Mike Reynolds, to field organizing in northern New Mexico, to working as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs. Prior to Ross Martha worked for the Alliance for Climate Protection as well as Collaborative Green, a sustainability consulting start-up based out of Taos, NM. During her first year of the Erb program Martha was part of the winning team in the Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Case Competition where they assisted Fundacion Paraguay in quantifying the social and ecological impacts of its agricultural school model. Martha holds a B.A. in International Relations with a focus on economic development from Stanford University.

Karen Chern, MBA ’13
Karen is a first-year MBA student focusing on Social Entrepreneurship and Organizational Strategy.   Prior to Ross, Karen worked for Enrich Consulting in San Jose, CA, a small consulting company focusing on strategic R&D portfolio management.  She built valuation models, and worked with clients on decision analysis.  Additionally, she directed recruiting for Enrich.  Outside of work, Karen sought to stay active in the community and learn more about social enterprises.  She served on the board of directors for Loaves and Fishes, a soup kitchen.  Through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, she mentored two girls transitioning into foster care.  Karen developed her interest in social enterprise by joining a venture philanthropy partnership called Silicon Valley Social Venture, where she was involved in grant-making decisions and helping grantees develop organizational capacity.  She hopes to transition into a career in social venture capital after completing her MBA.  Karen holds a B.S. in Economics from Duke University. 

Steve Davidson, MBA ’13
Steve is a first-year MBA student focusing on Strategy and Sustainability.  This past summer, Steve completed a pre-MBA internship with Deloitte Consulting, where he helped a Fortune 100 client to consolidate their global data centers.  Prior to that, he worked for two years at the Times Square Alliance, a nonprofit that works with local businesses and government to improve and promote Times Square.  While there, he managed the implementation and launch of Times Square’s free Wi-Fi network.  He started his career at Goldman Sachs, where for two years he developed custom software and helped the Tax Department plan its transition to a paperless workplace.  Steve is an advisor to Catchafire, a growing B Corp based out of New York City, on technology project strategy.  He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in Computer Science and Philosophy.

Ian Flint, BBA ‘13
Ian is a junior BBA student pursuing a concentration in Finance with a minor in European History.  This past summer, Ian studied International Business in Germany and Slovakia, analyzing the European Union’s involvement in economic integration.  He was a member of the Michigan Research Community where he was involved in a research project concerning behavioral game theory and its applications in risk management.  Ian is also a member of Michigan Interactive Investments, an undergraduate student-run investment fund.  In his spare time, Ian enjoys being involved in politics, learning economic history, travelling, skiing and playing golf.

Robin Gilliland, MBA ’13
Robin is a first-year MBA student focused on Strategy and Entrepreneurial Studies.  Over the past year and half, Robin has been serving as a full-time Director for Keller Enterprises, his family’s business based in Louisiana.  In this role, Robin led the search for and development of the firm’s inaugural strategic philanthropic project: a $1 million grant to the Food Bank of Central Louisiana to develop a community garden and education center, sourced and oversaw the firm’s first strategic mission investment in a wholesale food distributor based in New Orleans that will help connect local farmers to institutional buyers, and helped transition a conventional farm to the largest organic farm in Louisiana.  Prior to dedicating himself to Keller Enterprises, Robin spent eight years in New York working in financial communications, primarily for the Brunswick Group, where he specialized in M&A and crisis communications. 

Patrick Huang, MBA ’13
Patrick is a first-year MBA student focusing on Social Enterprise and Strategy. Most recently, Patrick completed a pre-MBA fellowship with Vittana, an education microfinance non-profit focused on bringing student loans to emerging markets, in Rwanda. In Rwanda, Patrick worked with a local MFI to offer the first post-secondary education loan product for students in Africa. Prior to that, Patrick worked as a management consultant for IBM Global Business Services focusing on creating engaging customer experiences for Fortune 500 corporations. Outside of IBM, he also consulted for non-profits and social enterprises in the US and abroad. Patrick seeks to leverage his MBA and cross-sector management consulting experience to lead market-based, social enterprise initiatives with the Base of the Pyramid in emerging markets. Patrick holds a BBA with a MIS major and Marketing minor from the University of Texas at Austin.

Berry Kennedy, MBA/MS ’14
Berry is a first-year MBA-MS joint-degree student at the business and environmental schools focusing on Entrepreneurship and Strategy. Before coming to Michigan, Berry worked on development and strategic projects for the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature, Latin America’s largest national environmental fund. She established the organization’s Development Office, creating a communication strategy for key partners and taking the lead on putting together a $30 million capital campaign. She also worked on strategic projects designed to set up innovative market-based mechanisms that simultaneously promote economic development and biodiversity conservation. Inspired by the experience, Berry returned to school to further explore how sustainable businesses can create both financial and social returns. Berry holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale University.

Robert Kim, MBA ’13
Robert is a first-year MBA student focusing on Finance and Social Entrepreneurship.  Prior to Ross, Robert spent six years at Accenture as a strategy consultant developing cross-border expansion strategies for Fortune Global 500 Companies in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and Africa.  Robert also led several work streams to help launch new ventures in the mobility industry for major U.S. communication companies.  Outside of Accenture, Robert committed to several non-profit endeavors, including educational summer camps in South Dakota for Native American youth and pro-bono education development projects with national academic foundations.  As a member of the Social Venture Fund, Robert hopes to further the impact entrepreneurs can have on education and urban infrastructure in the under-served regions.  Robert holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. 

Ed Lee, MBA ’13
Ed is a first-year MBA student focusing on Strategy and General Management. Prior to Ross, he had a nine year career in teaching and school leadership, playing critical roles in the creation of three public high schools in New York City. Most recently, he helped craft the core mission and values of the Walden School, which will open in fall 2012. At the Brooklyn Latin School, he launched the science department, taught the wonders of chemistry to 10th graders, and supported teaching staff as elected school union representative. At Millennium High School, the first school to open in lower Manhattan after 9/11, he developed and taught an integrated two year biology-chemistry course to 9th graders. Before moving to New York, he taught Tourism English at Sorabol College in Gyeongju, South Korea. Ed is passionate about K-12 education reform and is interested in the interface between innovation and public school districts. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry from Duke University and a Master’s Degree in Science Education from the City College of New York.

Yasmin Madrawsala, MBA ’13
Yasmin is a first-year MBA student focusing on Marketing and General Management. Prior to Ross, she worked in Strategy & Planning for the Institutional Clients Group at Citi in NY. She developed a three-year strategic plan and driver-based forecasts for the capital markets and investment banking businesses, providing insightful analysis to help senior management achieve Citi's financial goals. As part of the New York Professional Advisors for Community Entrepreneurs, she led teams of advisors to stimulate job creation and wealth generation in economically depressed areas of NY by providing assistance to local entrepreneurs facing operational and strategic difficulties. In addition, Yasmin was a teacher and the Director of Marketing for Tomorrow's Business Leaders, an educational nonprofit committed to teaching business and entrepreneurial skills to high school students in NY. Yasmin has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. 

Samir Malviya, MBA ’13
Samir is a first-year MBA student focusing on Finance and Social Entrepreneurship. Most recently, Samir completed a summer position with Developing World Markets, a social venture capital fund based in New York. At DWM, Samir originated debt and equity transactions for microfinance institutions based in SE Asia and Latin America. Prior to that, Samir completed a fellowship with Lok Capital, a social venture capital fund based in New Delhi, India. Through the fellowship, he worked in the finance department of Ujjivan Financial Services, a Bangalore based microfinance institution. Samir was responsible for all budgeting and business planning as well as the leader of the funding team tasked with raising capital for the company. Before moving to India, Samir worked as a financial analyst in the Private Wealth Management group at Goldman Sachs in Chicago. At Goldman, Samir worked on a team of four advisors to service a $3 billion book of business. Samir seeks to leverage his MBA and secure a position with an international social venture fund. Samir holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Dan Morse, BBA ‘13
Dan is a second year BBA student with an interest in social entrepreneurship. Two years ago, Dan founded a partnership between University of Michigan students and residents of Brightmoor Detroit to collaborate on community development projects and mentor neighborhood youth who run their own gardening business. The project funnels talents from the schools of Business, Engineering, Art and Design and the vision of community members resulting in thousands of dollars raised, over a thousand volunteer hours, and deep connections between the members of both groups. Dan also serves as a programming officer and director of summer conferences for Future Civic Leaders, a 501c3 which aims to empower youth in underserved areas to make changes in their community through the political process. He also is a peer mentor in the Michigan Community Scholars Program, an avid runner, likes to watercolor paint and break dance.

Michelle Osterman, MPH/MBA ’13
Michelle is a second-year dual degree MPH/MBA student with the School of Public Health and Ross School of Business. She is concentrating in health management and policy. This summer Michelle interned at the Office of Health Reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked on the population and public health portfolio. Prior to school, Michelle worked in the international division at John Snow, Inc.(JSI). JSI is a public health consulting and project management firm. She oversaw the financial and contractual management of three multimillion-dollar projects based in South America and Africa. She was responsible for the start-up of a project in Uganda that provided capacity building technical assistance to fifteen non-governmental organizations. Before joining JSI, Michelle lived in Bolivia for a year, where she worked with a community-based organization and did social science research in two rural towns. Michelle holds a B.A. in Political Science with Honors from Brown University.

Alejandro Pirron Lozanno, MBA ’13
Alejandro is a first year MBA student with concentration in Finance and Social Entrepreneurship. Prior to coming to Ross, Alejandro worked as a finance manager in Mira Companies, a Real Estate private equity in Mexico City. In Mira he was responsible of the performance management of all the closed investments of the company as well as for financial due diligence of potential joint venture partners; in addition, he was responsible for structuring investments for tax efficiencies and financial planning. Before this position, Alejandro worked as a financial analyst in Johnson & Johnson Mexico; in addition to his financial role, he created and led the Social Responsibility area of the company and developed an integral Low Income Consumer strategy for the company. Alejandro holds a BA in Financial Management from ITESM Mexico.

Dave Yeh, MBA ’13
Dave is a second-year MBA/MPH candidate pursuing concentrations in strategy and social enterprise. Prior to Michigan, Dave worked as a consultant with the Advisory Board Company in Washington, DC, and Sg2 in Chicago, IL. As a consultant, Dave helped hospital executives design care programs and facilities that would continually meet the demands of their service areas over a 10-year time horizon. Since coming to Ross, Dave has expanded his scope of experience, working with global health groups such as GE’s Rural Health Initiative in Dhaka, and PATH in Delhi. Dave is certain that health solutions tailored to emerging markets can offer tremendous learning opportunities for those working to solve domestic health problems in the US. Dave holds degrees from Northwestern University in Psychology and Music. In addition, he is an avid cook, salsa dancer and cyclist.