Boston Steering Committee

Jessica Barry Reed, Vice President - Alta Communications

Jessica Reed is a Vice President at Alta Communications, a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in equity investments in media and communications companies. She focuses on investing in companies in the broadcasting, alternative media, outdoor advertising, healthcare publishing, and telecommunication services sectors. Prior to joining Alta, Jessica worked in investment banking at Harris Williams & Co. where she focused on sell-side advisory for mergers and acquisitions for middle market companies participating in various industries, including telecommunications, building products, consumer products, and business services. Jessica also dedicates her time to mentoring young women as are part of the Year Up program, whose mission is to close the opportunity divide for young urban adults through a one-year intensive training program. Jessica received her B.S. in business from Babson College with a concentration in finance.

Beverly Berman, Director - THL

Ms. Berman is a Director in the Firm's Investor Relations Group. Prior to joining THL, Ms. Berman was a partner at Advent International responsible for LP Services and fund marketing activities in North America. Ms. Berman has also held positions on the buyside as a director in Credit Suisse First Boston's Customized Fund Investment Group and a portfolio manager of alternative investments for the Public Employees' Retirement Association of Colorado. Prior to Colorado PERA, Ms. Berman was a healthcare analyst for Hanifen Imhoff, a Denver-based investment bank and she began her career at ITOCHU International, one of the largest Japanese trading conglomerates, in corporate business development.

Ms. Berman holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. in economics and international relations from the University of Colorado.

Cheryl Carner - GE Franchise Finance

Ms. Carner has over 15 years of experience in lending to the retail, restaurant, apparel and consumer sectors covering a wide range of companies across all segments of the industry. Ms. Carner joined CapitalSource in 2004 and during her tenure has sourced and underwritten in excess of $1.0B of commitments in over 3 dozen unique transactions. CapitalSource's Leverage Finance Group provides various types of senior debt capital to middle market companies (with EBITDA of $5.0MM to $40.0MM). These transactions support the financing needs of private equity sponsors in acquisitions, buyouts, recapitalizations and growth financings.

Previously, she spent 8 years with Fleet Retail Finance Group with her last position as Managing Director of Business Development. In this role, she originated, sttructured and closed ABL transactions designed for working capital requirements, restructureings or recapitalizations. She also held positions in due diligence, collateral valuation and marketing strategy.

Prior to joining Fleet Retail Group, Ms. Carner worked directly in the retail industry where she held various merchandising positions for both Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. She is an active member of the ACG, TMA and CFA. Due to her industry expertise, Ms. Carner is often quoted in industry publications such as Chain Store Age, Restaurant Finance Monitor and Women's Wear Daily. She was featured in ACG's Mergers & Acquisitions publication in the article "Women of the Middle Market", December 2007.

Ms. Carner received her MBA from the F.W. Olin School of Management at Babson College and her BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Darlene DeRemer, Partner and Executive Committee Member - Grail Partners LLC

Darlene DeRemer joined Donald H. Putnam in founding Grail Partners LLC in 2005. In addition to heading up the Boston office, Darlene is the senior banker focusing on the mutual fund industry worldwide, and has advised clients in a wide range of strategic transactions. Grail is an advisory merchant bank serving the investment management industry from offices in Boston, New York and California. Grail partners have worked on over 100 strategic transactions involving asset management businesses over two decades.

Prior to becoming an investment banker at Putnam Lovell NBF in 2003, Ms DeRemer was for twenty five years a leading advisor to the financial services industry, specializing in strategic marketing, planning, product design and the implementation of innovative service strategies. Her work on outsourcing and use of technology has transformed her fund company clients. She has participated in numerous fund company asset management restructuring transactions.

Since shifting to investment banking full time, Darlene has led or participated in a score of advisory transactions. Her current clients include sale and purchase mandates for institutional and mutual fund managers in the US, as well as restructuring assignments for alternative investment firms that seek to tap the public markets in the US and abroad.

Darlene ran NewRiver's eBusiness Advisory unit for four years, until 2003, prior to which she operated her own strategy firm in asset management, DeRemer + Associates. DeRemer & Associates was the first consultancy focused on the U.S. mutual fund industry.

From 1985 to 1987 Darlene was Vice President and Director in the Asset Management Division of State Street Bank & Trust Company (now State Street Global Advisors) where she managed the $4 billion Pension Real Estate Department and developed Marketing Communications and Client Service programs. Before joining State Street, Darlene was a Vice President at T. Rowe Price & Associates from 1982 - 1985. Darlene's career started in strategic planning, at Tiger International and its subsidiary, Flying Tiger Airlines.

Darlene has served on the Congressional task force which was instrumental in the passage of the Pension Portable Act of 1998 and she provided testimony to the U.S. General Accounting Office's 2000 Mutual Fund Fee and Expense Study. She also served on the Independent Director's Council taskforce for oversight of fund service providers' whitepapers.

Darlene earned a BS in finance and marketing in 1977 summa cum laude and MBA degree in 1979 with distinction from Syracuse University. She graduated Beta Gamma Sigma (Phi Beta Kappa analogous).

Heather Dickinson, Director, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Heather Dickinson is an Audit Director with Deloitte & Touche LLP. She has over fourteen years of experience serving private and public companies, primarily in the manufacturing, software, technology and telecommunications sectors. Heather has over seven years dedicated to working with venture backed early stage and emerging technology companies, out of Deloitte & Touche LLP's, Tech-Venture Center (TVC) in Waltham, Massachusetts. The TVC is Deloitte's focused venture capital company practice that provides accounting, audit, tax and consulting expertise to early-stage and emerging technology and life science companies in New England. The TVC provides a professional support center to provide a virtual network for early-stage companies service needs by working closely with other service providers in the legal, banking, insurance and other related industries to provide support to venture capital backed companies. Heather works with her clients to bring them insight and guidance on technical and industry related matters. She has significant experience in the areas of private and public company reporting, revenue recognition, complex equity instruments, initial public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.

Heather received a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Villanova University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.

April E. Evans, Partner and CFO - Monitor Clipper Partners

April E. Evans is Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Monitor Clipper Partner, a $2 billion private equity firm. Previously, Ms. Evans was Partner and CFO of Advanced Technology Ventures. Prior to that, Ms. Evans was a Founding Partner with the accounting firm Squillace & Evans. Ms. Evans has also held senior finance and operations positions with Falcon Partners Management, BBK, Harvard Student Agencies, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and in the Harvard Medical School teaching hospital system.

Ms. Evans, a certified public accountant, received her M.B.A. with honors from Simmons College, two masters degrees with honors from Boston University, and her B.A. cum laude from Duke University. Ms. Evans is currently a director of the Private Equity CFO Association and a member of the Business Advisory Council for the Simmons College Graduate School of Management. She has also been active with the Kauffman Fellows Program of the Center for Venture Education, has served on the Advisory Committee to the Center for Women and Enterprise Venture Center, and has been an Assistant Professor at the Simmons College Graduate School of Management.

Michelle Lam, Principal - Bain Capital

Ms. Lam joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2006. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Ms. Lam worked with Parthenon Capital, LLC, specializing in business services, telecommunications and technology. Previously, Ms. Lam worked with Corporate Strategy at Microsoft Corporation and the Boston Consulting Group. She began her career in Audit and Business Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Ms. Lam received her BA and Masters of Accountancy, with Distinction, from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Meagan Nichols, Private Equity Specialist Consultant- Cambridge Associates

Meagan Nichols is a Private Equity Specialist Consultant at Cambridge Associates. She is responsible for advising foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and private families on investments in global private equity and private real assets and leads the firm's effort with regard to non-marketable secondary transactions. Previously, Meagan was in the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley. She spent four years at myCFO Investment Advisory Services as as equity trader and most recently, as the head of the Capital Markets division. While at myCFO, Meagan created and managed the firm's Venture Capital management platform as well as sat on the Alternative Assets Committee and oversaw the investment program for the myCFO Foundation. She began her career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco.

Meagan graduated from Providence College, and received an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She is a co-founder and currently sits on the Board of Directors of DEN Boston, an entrepreneur-focused non-profit for Dartmouth alumni, and on the Boston Steering Committee for Women's Association of Venture and Equity ("WAVE"). Meagan also serves on the Advisory Board for the Women in Business organization at Tuck and actively coordinates alumni giving.

Jennifer Schmelter - Partners HealthCare System Inc.

Annette O. Vaughan, Principal - Stonebridge Associates, LLC

Prior to joining Stonebridge Associates, Ms. Vaughan received her M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College where she was named an F.W. Olin Fellow. Previously she was Legislative Director for New Hampshire Congressman Charles F. Bass in the U.S. House of Representatives and a Summer Associate at Fidelity Ventures. Ms. Vaughan graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and Economics from the University of New Hampshire.

Darshana Zaveri, Principal - Catalyst Health Ventures

Darshana Zaveri is a Principal at Catalyst Health Ventures, an early stage healthcare focused venture fund based in Boston, MA. Darshana joined Catalyst as an associate in 2006 and was promoted to Principal in 2009. At Catalyst her primary focus is on deal sourcing, execution and portfolio support. Darshana led her firm’s involvement in Hepragen Inc., serves as an observer on the board of Allegro Diagnostics, and works closely with portfolio company Vortex. Prior to Catalyst, she was an investigator within the cell biology group at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she worked on several drug development programs in oncology, metabolic disease, and immunology. Her professional experience also includes work at Genome Therapeutics Corporation and at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Darshana has interned at the United Nations as well as at Innovest Strategic Advisory Services and has authored several publications in scientific journals.
Darshana received a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government and a Masters in Molecular Biology from Boston University.

Chenling Zhang, Analyst - Audax Group

Chenling Zhang is an investment professional with Audax Group. Prior to Audax, she worked at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst. She received her B.A. from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. She was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She enjoys food & wine, fashion and opera in her free time.

New York Steering Committee

Nicole Byrns, formerly Director - Garrison Special Opportunities Fund

Nicole Byrns was until recently a Director at Garrison Special Opportunities Fund, a spin-off of Fortress. She joined Garrison in 2007 as a lead member of the consumer finance team, which purchased consumer loan portfolios, specialty finance companies, and third-party load servicers. Prior to Garrison, Ms. Byrns was with Citigroup Global Markets for nine years where she actively invested in the consumer finance industry. While at Citigroup, Ms. Byrns was responsible for creating a third-party credit card servicing and processing platform to facilitate credit card acquisitions that managed over $1 billion in credit card receivables. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She has also studied at L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Claudine Cohen, Senior Manager Advisory Services - Grant Thornton LLP

Ms. Cohen is a Senior Manager in the New York Office Transactions Advisory Services practice. Claudine has over 18 years of professional experience in Transaction Advisory Services, Strategic and Corporate Advisory focusing onMergers and Acquisitions.

Since joining Grant Thornton, Claudine served a number of private equity groups, as well as international, SEC and private companies in the US, in performing Due Diligence and Litigation Support engagements across several industries. Due Diligence engagements have focused on quality of earnings and analyzing an entities revenue and cost structures. Litigation Support
engagements include providing support to law firms in areas surrounding purchase price disputes, expert witness testimony and accounting related matters.

Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Claudine’s experience included Strategic Advisory, M&A, Capital Raising, Valuations, IPO’s and Project Finance to both public and private companies. She was a founder director of Nucleus Corporate Finance, an advisory boutique ranked in the top ten advisers in Ernst and Young’s annual survey in 2000, in South Africa. Claudine was responsible for sourcing new business opportunities; development of client relationships and transaction execution. She had direct profit/loss accountability ensuring annual revenue targets were met.

Education: MBA – Finance and Marketing, Bond University  Australia, (Deans List, Cum Laude); Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Accountancy - University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Heidi L. Deiner, Business Development - HLM Consulting, LLC
After taking some time off to raise her four sons, Ms. Deiner returned to the business world in 2006 and started her own firm, HLM Consulting.  HLMC offers boutique development services to corporate and non-profit organizations on a consulting basis, with a concentration on the alternative investment marketplace. HLMC’s services focus on new business development, relationship management, public relations, and special events. In addition to representing clients such as RSM McGladrey and David N. Deutsch & Company, Heidi is also the Director of the New York Private Equity CFO Association. Prior to starting her own business, Heidi was a Development Director for her alma mater, The Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ, where she raised funds for capital campaigns, the annual fund, and managed alumni relations. She received her BA in Business Administration and Computer Science from Goucher College, Baltimore, MD.

A firm believer in supporting education, Ms. Deiner was President of the Peddie School Alumni Board, the Peddie Annual Fund Chair for her class, a founding trusting of The Millstone Township Foundation for Excellence in Education, as well as receiving the Alumni Service Award from the Peddie School.  She is also a founding trustee of the Millstone Lacrosse Association, a member of The Women’s Organization of Millstone and the Centra State Hospital Auxiliary.  Professionally, Heidi serves on the ACG NY Women’s Events Committee, the ACG NJ Women’s Events Committee, and the WAVE NY Steering Committee. However, her sons think that her biggest accomplishment is being inducted into the Peddie School Sports Hall of Fame.

Nikki Doucet, Vice President - Blott Asset Management, L.L.C.

Nikki Doucet is a Vice President at Blott Asset Management LLC, a special situation focused principal advisory firm that manages middle market alternative investments. Ms. Doucet joined Blott Asset Management in 2008 and is focused on sourcing, analyzing and structuring investment opportunities.

Prior to Blott Asset Management, Ms. Doucet spent over 5 years in private equity and investment banking in toronto as a professional at Borealis Capital Corporation, a $20 billion private equity fund, Scotia Capital and Credit Suisse. In 2002, Ms. Doucet was the first analyst hired at Borealis Capital Corporation and was a key member of the Credit Suisse advisory team for the bidding consortium of KKR, CPPIB and the Caisse de depot, during the $52 billion BCE LBO process.

Ms. Doucet holds a BBA from St. Francis Xavier University and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Djena N. Graves Lennix, Director of Business Development - ICV Partners

Djena Graves Lennix is the Director of Business Development for ICV Partners, a New-York based private equity fund with over $440 million of committed capital focused on making equity investments in strong lower middle market companies across industries. At ICV, Ms. Graves Lennix develops and implements marketing initiatives, cultivates investment opportunities, coordinates fundraising and investor relations, and pursues revenue enhancement opportunities for existing portfolio companies.

Prior to ICV, Ms. Graves Lennix was a senior associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley focused on energy companies. Ms. Graves Lennix worked as a chemical engineer at Lyondell-Citgo Refining Company in her hometown of Houston, Texas prior to attending business school.

Ms. Graves Lennix is very active in both professional and community organizations with Board responsibilities for Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), Harlem Success Academy Charter School, the Association for Corporate Growth- NY Chapter and Women's Association of Venture and Equity- NY Chapter. She is also a Founding Member of the Council of Urban Professionals.

Ms. Graves Lennix received a BS degree cum laude in chemical engineering from Florida A&M University, an International Management certificate from HEC Paris and a Masters in Business Administration from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Yue Guan, Vice President - Palladium Equity Partners

Ms. Guan joined Palladium in 2006 as analyst, and now serves as vice president. Previously, she worked as financial analyst in the financial institutions group of Morgan Stanley and the global securities services group of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Ms. Guan earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in East Asian Studies from the University of California, Marshall School of Business.

Grace Kim - C.P. Eaton Partners

Grace has ten years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining C.P. Eaton Partners, she was a Vice President in the Capital Introductions Group at Morgan Stanley, where she assisted hedge funds in their capital raising efforts and developed relationships with various institutional investors. She began her career in 1999 with Merrill Lynch, where she spent seven years in investment banking and equity capital markets.

Grace graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in Economics. She is a Director of the Goodwill Industries of New York and Northern New Jersey.

Sarah Kim, Principal - Halyard Capital

Ms. Kim joined Halyard as a Principal, Director of Marketing in 2008. Prior to joining Halyard, Ms. Kim was a Managing Director in BMO Capital Markets' Media, Communications & Technology Group where she was responsible for structuring and managing senior debt transactions. Ms. Kim has completed capital raising transactions for a diverse range of public and private companies in sectors that include cable, broadcasting and publishing. She received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Colgate University.

Rachel Meisel, formerly Vice President - Morgan Stanley

Rachel Meisel has ten years of investing, leveraged finance and debt capital markets experience across multiple industries. She most recently worked as a Vice President on the Leveraged Loan Sales Desk at Morgan Stanley where she covered a client base that included Pro Rata (regional US and foreign banks) and Institutional Accounts (CLOs). In this role she facilitated a significant number of trades related to the debt of private equity fund portfolio companies. At Morgan Stanley, Rachel also worked as a key member of the Strategic Finance Group, structuring and underwriting financing for distressed companies for inclusion in a proprietary book of investments, including coordinating a $565 million financing to support Morgan Stanley Capital Group's acquisition of TransMontaigne Inc. Rachel began her career at JP Morgan Securities, Inc. (formerly Chase Securities, Inc.) in the Private Placements Group where she advised clients on capital raising alternatives to support leveraged buyouts and other transformational business strategies. Rachel holds an MBA from The Kellogg school of Management at Northwestern University and a BS from Lehigh University.

Ipek Mutlu, Associate - FTV Capital

Ipek Mutlu is an Associate at FTV Capital, a multi-stage growth equity and venture capital firm focused on investing in software, business services and financials services firms. She is involved with all aspects of the deal process including due-diligence, deal structuring and post-investment portfolio management and is an observer on the boards of three portfolio companies: Covario, IndesIQ and Globant. Prior to joining FTV Capital in 2007, she spent two years at Mckinsey & Company's New York office as a business analyst at their Corporate Finance and Strategy Practice. At Mckinsey & Co., her key client assignments included companies in the consumer/commercial finance, insurance and industrial sectors. Ipek received an AB cum laude in Economics and Latin American Studies from Harvard University, where she was on the Dean's List and had full scholarship for four years. Ms. Mutlu, originally from Turkey, also studied in the University of Complutense, Spain and Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Argentina.

Barbara B. Schoenfeld, Managing Director – Saffron, LLC

Barbara B. Schoenfeld is Managing Director of Saffron, LLC, a consulting firm providing executive search and business introductions to private equity and hedge funds.  Prior to forming Saffron, Barbara worked at Brown Brothers Harriman in alternative investment product development and distribution for hedge funds of funds, private equity funds of funds and institutional and high net worth investment services. From 1993 to 1999, Barbara was Deputy Treasurer/General Counsel for the State of Rhode Island Treasury, in which capacity she staffed the oversight of the $6 billion public employees’ retirement fund, involving supervision of search and selection of asset managers for domestic and international equity, fixed income, and alternative investments, including the $500 million private equity portfolio. Barbara practiced corporate law for 11 years with the firms of Edwards & Angell and Ropes & Gray. She has handled mergers and acquisitions, financings, fund formation and other corporate matters. She earned a BA with honors and masters degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and a law degree from Boston University. She is a member of the Rhode Island Bar; and serves on the Steering Committee of Cherrystone Angel Group, the Innovation Providence Implementation Council, and the Board of Directors of Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

Singari Seshadri, formerly Principal - Parkview Ventures

Ms. Seshardri joined Parkview in August 2006 and worked with Mr. Ohana on executing the highly successful and intricate sale of EarthData International to Fugro NV in April 2007. Ms. Seshadri is a senior finance executive with over ten years of experience in private equity and venture capital investing, and mergers and acquisitions. From 1996 to 2005, Ms. Seshadri served as Vice President at Quaestus & Co., a boutique private equity firm, where she played a key role in the firm's investment and advisory activity. Ms. Seshadri has also served in various interim executive roles with early stage companies. Prior to joining Quaestus, Ms. Seshadri was an Equity Research Associate for Bantri Financial Private Limited in Bangalore, India. She has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Bangalore University in India, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Stefanie Starna, Partner - Deloitte & Touche

Sarah Wimmer Overbay, Investment Professional - Freeman Spogli & Company

Sarah Wimmer Overbay is an investment professional at Freeman Spogli & Company, a New York-based private equity firm dedicated exclusively to investing with management in retail, direct marketing and distribution companies positioned for growth. Prior to joining Freeman Spogli in 2005, Ms. Overbay was an Associate at ACI Capital Co. Inc., a middle market private equity firm. Ms. Overbay began her career at J.P. Morgan & Company in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Technology, Media & Telecommunications groups.

Ms. Overbay received her bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1999, where she was a captain of the National Championship Women’s Squash team.  She received her master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 2005.  She is the mother of a wonderful son, John Parkin, and enjoys playing squash and golf, volunteering as part of the New York Junior League, and the unfortunately infrequent date nights with her husband, John.