Laura Perille, Executive Director

Laura Perille was hired by the founding Governing Board to launch EdVestors in 2002. Since then, EdVestors has raised and helped investors to direct over $12 million in funds for urban school improvement efforts in Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts. Prior to EdVestors, Laura led Perille Consulting Group, whose clients included private and public schools, foundations, and a variety of nonprofit organizations serving children and families. Previously, she served as Director of Education for Crittenton Hastings House, Policy Analyst for Community Catalyst/Families USA, and Director of Programs for the Greater Boston Food Bank. Laura and her family live in Boston, and her children attend the Boston Public Schools. Laura graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations.

Janet Anderson, Senior Vice President

Janet Anderson joined EdVestors in 2002, the organization's first year of operation. As Senior Vice President, Janet oversees EdVestors' core functions, including grantmaking, education analysis, strategy and program development, as well as overall fiscal management of the organization. Prior to joining EdVestors, Janet spent twelve years in a variety of education settings, primarily in higher education with a focus on student support programs and student retention. Janet completed her MBA degree in nonprofit and public management at Boston University's School of Management. She holds an M.S. in educational administration from Iowa State University and a B.A. from Syracuse University. Janet also serves on the English Language Learners Task Force of the Boston School Committee.

Rachael Alldian, Executive and Grantmaking Assistant

Rachael joined EdVestors in November of 2012 collaborates with EdVestors staff to provide organizational and administrative support. She assists and coordinates special projects including the annual grant review and selection process, which includes organizing the work of the Education Review Panel, preparing grantee communications, scheduling site visits, and tracking grant funds. Rachael graduated from Tufts University in 2012 with a BA in Anthropology and International Relations and brings experience from past internships with nonprofit organizations.

Sonya Bhabhalia, Development and Communications Manager

Sonya Bhabhalia joined EdVestors in August 2010 and manages donor outreach programs, communications, events, and grant writing and reporting. She brings development experience from a previous role with UMass Medical School's Annual Fund and communications and marketing experience from Boston College University Advancement. Prior to joining EdVestors, she worked in a variety of other fields including textbook publishing at Pearson Education, hotline counseling at Project Bread, freelance writing, and assistant teaching at Phillips Andover. Sonya graduated from Boston College in 2009 with a BA in English.

Johanna Even, Director of the Improving Schools Initiative

Johanna Even, EdD, joined EdVestors in June 2012 as Director of the Improving Schools Initiative. Johanna graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2002 while receiving her BA from Harvard/Radcliffe College in 1992. Johanna has had a varied and extensive experience working in numerous urban school settings. Most recently she was the Director of the Fellowship and Chief of On-Going Support for Building Excellent Schools in Boston, MA. Before that Johanna was the Deputy Head of Schools for KIPP in Houston, Texas. Also, Johanna has spent ten years as an urban public school principal in both Boston, MA (Philbrick School) and Chandler, AZ at the Marshall Humphrey Elementary School.

Amy Luster, Director of Finance and Operations

Amy Luster joined EdVestors in fall of 2010 in the newly created position of Director of Finance and Operations, reporting to the Associate Director. Amy's background has covered several non-profit sectors: healthcare, arts, and education. Prior to joining EdVestors, Amy worked for small organizations as a part-time consultant focused on operations and financial analysis and management. Previously, she worked as a staffing manager at Mainspring Consulting and for four years in the Strategic and Financial Planning department at Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. Amy graduated from Colorado College with a BA in Art History and received an MBA from Yale School of Management. She lives in Brookline with her family.

Ruth Mercado-Zizzo, BPS Arts Expansion Initiative Director

Ruth joined EdVestors in March 2012 as Boston Public Schools Arts Expansion Initiative Director, where she is responsible for managing all aspects of implementing the Phase II Plan for the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative. She previously worked at Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston for eight years, where, as Director of Education, she oversaw the long-term planning and evaluation of all education programs and managed partnerships with cultural institutions and community organizations across the city. Ruth also worked with People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, PA in both education and administration. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from Arizona State University, where she was honored with the Herberger College of Fine Arts Research and Creative Activity Award, and is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was the recipient of an Ann Shaw Fellowship, a program to fund career development opportunities for theatre artists and administrators committed to Theatre for Young Audiences and has served as Treasurer and board member of TYA/USA. Recently, Ruth served as a Theater Grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Brittney Nichols, Project Coordinator for Strategic Initiatives and Events

Brittney joined EdVestors in October 2010 as the Executive and Special Projects Assistant and has since moved into the role of Project Coordinator for Strategic Initiatives and Events. In this role she coordinates the work of the Arts Quality Review Study group as well as the administration of the BPS Arts Survey and a number of other arts-related projects. Brittney also serves as the Special Events Coordinator for EdVestors annual signature events. In the past she has worked as part of the grant review team throughout the annual grant review and selection process, which included organizing the work of the Education Review Panel, preparing grantee communications, scheduling site visits, and tracking grant funds. Prior to EdVestors, Brittney worked in telecommunications for Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital for five years and as an administrative assistant at Tufts Medical Center. She has also held the role of Marketing and Special Events Intern at Community Servings in Jamaica Plain. Brittney graduated from Emmanuel College with a BA in Communications Management.

Marinell Rousmaniere, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives

Marinell Rousmaniere brings 15 years of experience working in youth development and education in both the public and nonprofit sectors to the role of Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at EdVestors, where she previously served as Project Director for the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative. Most recently, as a consultant, she has helped lead cross-sector partnerships to sustain systems that support out-of-school time programming and to increase college completion rates in Boston. She previously served as Executive Director of mytown, inc., a nonprofit focused on connecting Boston teenagers to local history. She was also a senior staff member in Mayor Thomas M. Menino's first-in-the-nation mayoral initiative aimed at increasing the number and quality of after-school activities for youth. A graduate of Connecticut College, Marinell also holds an MBA in public and nonprofit management from Boston University.

Alison Stevens, Director of Grantmaking

Alison Stevens joined EdVestors as its first full-time Director of Evaluation in July 2007 and currently serves as Director of Grantmaking. In addition to overseeing the grant review and selection process, Alison collaborates with grantees on collecting and reporting outcomes, while also incorporating evaluation into EdVestors' own self-assessment and business planning. Prior to joining EdVestors' staff, Alison served for six years as Executive Director of Tutoring Plus in Cambridge, a community-based tutoring and mentoring organization for low-income children. Previously, Alison was a consultant for McKinsey & Company in Boston and graduated from Dartmouth College with an A.B. of Economics.

Rob Zaccardi, Vice President for Development

Rob Zaccardi joined EdVestors as the Vice President for Development in August 2011. Previously, Rob was the Director of Development for Urban Engagement at Northeastern University. Prior to Northeastern, Rob spent over five years at the political think tank MassINC as Director of Development and Director of Strategic Partnerships. After volunteering to help raise funds for two child welfare organizations in his late 20's, Rob found his calling and decided to become a professional fundraiser in the nonprofit sector. Rob has his master's degree in social work from Boston University and resides on the south shore of Massachusetts, where he can usually be found coaching youth soccer and basketball or running trails with his vast network of running friends.

Katherine McHugh, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Chair

Wendell Knox, Abt Associates (Retired), Vice Chair

David Simon, Simon Brothers Family Foundation, Treasurer

Steve Koppel, Accenture (Retired), Clerk

Philip Gordon, Gordon Brothers Group (Retired), Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus

Katherine Gross, Charlotte Foundation

Hardin Coleman, Boston University

William Dandridge, Lesley University (Retired)

Michael Douvadjian, UBS, Inc., Co-Founder

William Schawbel, Schawbel Corporation

Linda Beardsley, Tufts University

Scott Friend, Bain Capital Ventures

Robert Lewis, Jr., The Boston Foundation

Sue Pucker, Pucker Gallery