Advisory Board

STEVE ALVARADO

Steve Alvarado is the Founder and President of SNG Capital Partners, Inc., located in Purchase, N.Y.  He is also the Head Coach of Boy's Varsity Basketball at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, NY.

Prior to his time at Iona Preparatory, Mr. Alvarado served as a head coach and assistant with various youth teams in the region. He has also volunteered with various youth programs throughout NYC and Westchester, including the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (currently serving on the Board of Directors for 10 years), St Patrick’s CYO (Bedford), Tri-County Basketball League, Family Reach Foundation, NY Gauchos, New Heights NYC and New Renaissance Basketball Association.

Mr. Alvarado has been active in charitable endeavors that benefit youth in the Greater NY Metropolitan Area for over 25 years. In 1999, he founded the First Estate Funding Corp Youth Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to provide tuition assistance for at-risk youth to place them into stronger high school academic environments; in particular, those B-level students who don’t normally have access to scholarship money and would be able to achieve their full academic potential in a private school setting. To date, the Foundation has helped 17 students achieve high school graduation. The Foundation also currently supports student athletes with academic assistance, and provides grants for travel expenses to tournaments and camps that could assist them with collegiate scholarship opportunities.

Mr. Alvarado graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, where he was a three-year starter and Co-Captain of a PSAL NYC semi-finalist. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Mr. Alvarado currently resides in Bedford Hills with his wife, Patty, and triplet 18-year-old boys, Jordan, Xander and Tyler.

LAUREN BAUER ZINMAN

Lauren Bauer Zinman is General Counsel of Tradition Energy based in Stamford, CT and has over 20 years of experience in commercial and contract law, corporate governance and general corporate matters.

Prior to joining Tradition Energy, she served as General Counsel of EDGAR Online, Inc., a publicly-traded financial reporting, data and services company, and as an associate in the corporate departments of several prominent New York law firms specializing in mergers and acquisitions, securities compliance, corporate governance and general corporate matters for both private and public companies. 

She is currently a Trustee of the Harrison (NY) Educational Foundation and served as its Corporate Secretary for four years. She is also a Board member and Corporate Secretary for Columbia College Women (CCW). Lauren has been conducting Columbia alumni interviews for prospective Columbia College students for the past eleven years.

She holds a B.A. in English from Columbia College and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Haley Casper

Haley Casper is currently attending Bucknell University where she is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education. Prior to attending Bucknell, she attended the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

In high school, Haley worked with the Ronald McDonald House in New York and volunteered at local organizations such as the Children's Village and Cabrini. At Bucknell, she is the Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Chi Omega which focuses on Domestic Violence Awareness.

Haley received instruction and mentorship at LogicPrep throughout high school and loved working with the team so much that she interned there during the summer of 2017. She is excited to support the Jesse Kolber Foundation's partnership with LogicPrep.

KENNY CREED

With both innovative and traditional school experience, Kenny Creed brings a broad wealth of knowledge to the Advisory Board. Starting in August, Kenny will become School Director at Hudson Lab School, a new, progressive K-6 school in Hastings on Hudson. Kenny is currently serving as the NY Schools Operations & Innovation Lead at AltSchool in New York City. He was formerly the Head of Lower School at the Brearley School on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Kenny began his career as an experiential-learning educator in Austin,Texas public schools and as a fourth grade teacher at the Town School in Manhattan. He earned a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College and a B.A. in Journalism from Louisiana State University. Kenny is an avid cyclist, woodworker, gardener and outdoor enthusiast. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

Michelle Grier

Michelle Grier is the Principal of Roosevelt School part of the Ossining, NY School District. She believes strongly in the power of education and cites a famous Nelson Mandela quote as her favorite: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Prior to her appointment as Principal at Roosevelt, she was the math department coordinator for the Bedford Central School District grades 6-12. Ms. Grier's responsibilities include developing curriculum; using assessment results to identify students' strengths and weaknesses; creating course and teacher schedules; and serving as an instructional leader.  Ms. Grier spent a total of thirteen years in Bedford, originally hired as a special education math teacher.   Before working for the Bedford school system, she was a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher for two years at the Jonas Bronck Academy, a public school in the Bronx.

Prior to becoming a teacher, Ms. Grier spent 10 years at The Document Company Xerox in New York City and Rochester.

Ms. Grier earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a master's of science in manufacturing systems engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. She received a master's in business administration in finance, marketing and competitive and organizational strategy from the University of Rochester Simon Business School.

She earned two advanced degrees in the education field: a master's in secondary mathematics education from the City University of New York in 2004 and a master's in school district leadership in 2015 from Bank Street College in New York City.

Cari Hanrahan

Cari Hanrahan has a BA in Psychology from Carleton College and an MA in Leadership from the School of Education at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She first found her niche in the nonprofit world of equity and inclusion as a college access coach with College Possible in Milwaukee, WI and has continued to feel a deep connection to the mission-driven, empowering work that makes up the nonprofit sector.
 
Cari currently chairs the Board of Career Pipe, serves on the Cottonwood Center for the Arts Board of Directors, and additionally serves on the Carleton Career Alumni and YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region Advisory Boards. She consults for additional nonprofit boards to ensure that their work efficiently fulfills each mission through identifying – and filling – gaps in strategy, mission, education, and/or policy. Most recently, she refined Peak Startup’s vision, programs, and execution to guide the organization’s work towards creating and diversifying entrepreneurial momentum in Colorado Springs.
 
When not working or volunteering, Cari can be found curled up with a book, co-captaining her COS womxn’s Ultimate Frisbee team, rock climbing, hiking, or playing with her adorable pup. With her experience in project management, nonprofit development, higher education, and consulting, Cari is excited to further support students' educational goals through the Jesse Kolber Foundation.

Teresa Saputo-Crerend

Teresa Saputo worked for fifteen years in marketing, ten of those years for Evian Natural Spring Water/Group Danone, where she oversaw corporate sponsorship, including Evian’s multi-million dollar sponsorship of the US Open Tennis Championship. 

Today she consults for the Jesse Kolber Foundation as an advisor for strategy and outreach.

She has served on Bedford Central School District boards and on Columbia College and University boards and committees for the past twelve years. She is a member of  Columbia College’s Board of Visitors and sits on the Columbia University Alumni Association’s Strategic Planning Committee. In May 2018, she was the recipient of the Columbia University Alumni Medal for her service to the school.

Teresa graduated from Columbia College and Columbia Business School with a degree in marketing. She currently lives in Bedford, NY with her husband and three children.

Tara Steinberg

Tara Steinberg worked for IMG for 20 years as a Vice President in the Golf and Event Properties Group. She handled event execution for such programs as The Millrose Games (Track & Field), The Advanta Tour (Tennis), and The Battle at Bighorn (Golf). In addition, she handled the marketing responsibilities for one of the most iconic athletes in all of sports, Tiger Woods.

Philanthropy has always been a big part of Tara’s life. Tara and her family contribute significant time and energy to charitable efforts meaningful to them, Ronald McDonald House, Tiger Woods Foundation, among others.

Since moving to New York from Cleveland, Tara stepped away from IMG to raise her children and has worked for the Irvington Schools in many volunteer capacities and has run numerous events for Temple Chabad of the Rivertowns.

Tara graduated from Columbia College in New York City and currently lives in Irvington, NY with her husband and three children.

For more information or to make contact with an advisory board member, please email: teresasaputo@jessekolberfoundation.org.