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Executive Committee

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Brian McAllester

Director of Web & IT

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type="No Line" custom_height="20"][vc_column_text]Brian McAllester works in urban education, helping found Breakthrough Schools, a network of high-performing schools in Cleveland, Ohio. Breakthrough’s goal is to grow from three founding schools to twenty schools, ultimately serving 7,000 students throughout the city.  Breakthrough was recently awarded $2M in funding from the Charter School Growth Fund, recognizing it as one of the top urban charter organizations in the United States. Brian serves in three primary areas: network-wide strategy, communications/web, and grant development. Previously, Brian has worked as a management consultant, 7-8th grade teacher, and curriculum coordinator. He also designed the new Minds Matter website.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type="in_container" bg_position="left top" bg_repeat="no-repeat" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" class="sam-custom-box"][vc_column width="1/1" animation="none" column_padding="padding-3-percent" column_padding_position="all" background_color="#ffffff" background_color_opacity="1"][vc_column_text]

Joel Presti

Director of College Partnerships

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type="No Line" custom_height="20"][vc_column_text]Joel Presti was previously the Vice President of College Relations for the Cleveland chapter from 2010-2012.  Joel is currently the Associate Director for International Implementation at the College Board, based at its national headquarters in New York City.  Prior to joining the College Board, he worked in college admissions at Oberlin College, specializing in international student admissions and financial aid.  Joel holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type="in_container" bg_position="left top" bg_repeat="no-repeat" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" class="sam-custom-box"][vc_column width="1/1" animation="none" column_padding="padding-3-percent" column_padding_position="all" background_color="#ffffff" background_color_opacity="1"][vc_column_text]

Meredith Shoop

Director of Test Prep

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Meredith Shoop is an Associate Attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., where she advises and represents employers in legal matters related to their employees.  She holds both a B.F.A. in Painting and B.A. in Philosophy from Kent State University, from which she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.  Meredith then earned her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  During law school, Meredith worked part time as an SAT instructor in an exclusive private school, and developed a GRE curriculum for a regional test prep organization.  She has volunteered with Minds Matter Cleveland since 2011, where she began as a tutor, then taught test prep as an instructor, and, from there, graduated through the Chapter’s leadership ranks until she attained her current position of Executive Vice President.  Meredith is honored to connect with test prep leaders across the U.S. to share best practices and resources as a member of the National Executive Committee.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type="in_container" bg_position="left top" bg_repeat="no-repeat" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" class="sam-custom-box"][vc_column width="1/1" animation="none" column_padding="padding-3-percent" column_padding_position="all" background_color="#ffffff" background_color_opacity="1"][vc_column_text]

Mark Shpizner

Director of Writing & Critical Thinking

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type="No Line" custom_height="20"][vc_column_text]Mark Shpizner is a Vice President at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.  Mark recently transitioned to BlackRock from BNY Mellon, a global investments company headquartered in New York, where he had worked since 2009.  Mark has been involved with Minds Matter of NYC for five years, first as a Writing & Critical Thinking advisor for the Junior and Senior Programs, then as Co-Director of Senior Writing & Critical Thinking.  Mark graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern University, double-majoring in American Studies and English.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1" animation="none" column_padding="padding-3-percent" column_padding_position="all" background_color="#ffffff" background_color_opacity="1"][vc_column_text]

Valerie Sun

Director of Summer Programs

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type="No Line" custom_height="20"][vc_column_text]Valerie Sun has been involved with Minds Matter since 2008. Prior to joining the National Executive Committee, she was a mentor and served as the Co-Director of Summer Programs for the New York Chapter. Valerie has worked at Ipreo, a leading global provider of market intelligence, deal execution platforms, and investor communication tools to investment banks and corporations around the world, for over 7 years. She is currently working in the firm’s Equity Capital Markets division as a Senior Product Manager, working on their Retail Bookbuild platform, a new-issuance order management software that caters to retail brokers. She has also worked in the firm’s Research, Sales, and Trading division, and helped in the development of their Equity Deals Database and Profile Builder applications. Prior to this, she worked at DST Global Solutions (formerly, DSTi), working as an implementation consultant for their portfolio accounting applications. Valerie holds a B.A in Economics and a minor in Business Administration and Management from Boston University.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1" animation="none" column_padding="padding-3-percent" column_padding_position="all" background_color="#ffffff" background_color_opacity="1"][vc_column_text]

Michelle Wood

Co-Director of Alumni

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type="No Line" custom_height="20"][vc_column_text]Michelle Wood has been involved with Minds Matter for about five years, working as a mentor and senior program team leader. As the Co-Director of Alumni with the NEC, she will be working with the chapters to further develop their alumni programs, share best practices and create a national social network where former Minds Matter mentees can continue to build their academic and career experience. Michelle is currently a senior associate within Mercer’s Corporate Strategy team– a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement, and investments. Michelle has more than ten years of experience in risk management consulting, sales operations and strategy/corporate development, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from New York University.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]