Andrew Klaber

Founder, Chairman Emeritus

Andrew Klaber is an investment professional at Paulson & Company, where he invests across industries, geographies, and capital structure.

Andrew founded Even Ground in 2002 and currently serves as Chairman emeritus and a Director of the Board.

Originally from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Andrew graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa president from Yale College, where he was a Truman Scholar, Udall Scholar, and First-Team USA Today Academic All-American and received the David Everett Chantler Award for “best exemplifying the qualities of courage, strength of character, and high moral purpose” and Hadley Prize (valedictorian) at graduation. He earned Masters of Science degrees in Financial Economics and Economic History from Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, and holds a JD/MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, where he graduated with Distinction and as the Dean’s Award winner.

Klaber received the President’s Environmental Youth Award at the White House for his “efforts and commitment to help the environment” and the Yale-Jefferson Public Service Award for his “innovative and sustained contributions to society,” served with the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, and presented Even Ground at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Andrew rowed on the Yale lightweight crew (2002 national champions), ran in the Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Hamptons, London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Valencia, and Washington D.C. marathons, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, and pedaled 4,200-miles (New Haven, CT to San Francisco, CA) to raise awareness and financial support for Habitat for Humanity.

Rohan Nirody is an investment professional at Viking Global Investors, a New York City based hedge fund.  Previously, he was an associate at Elevation Partners and an analyst at Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. Rohan received an MBA from Harvard Business School (2009)  and graduated from University of Pennsylvania (2003). Rohan serves as Secretary and as a board member of Even Ground.

McKenzie Morris

Special Advisor

McKenzie Morris is an associate in the Emerging Companies practice group at Cooley LLP. McKenzie focuses her practice on representing emerging growth technology companies and their investors.  Concentrating in corporate and securities law, she counsels companies throughout their lifecycle on general corporate and governance matters and on a variety of transactions, including formation, seed investments, venture capital financings, debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings. Prior to attending law school, McKenzie was a Buyer for Bloomingdales, where she managed a $15 million business for Bloomingdales.com. McKenzie earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2015.  She obtained her B.A. in Legal Communications from Howard University, graduating summa cum laude. McKenzie’s prior nonprofit experience includes Parent Revolution, an education advocacy organization and IMentor, a mentoring program for high school-aged youth.

Brian Kaufmann is currently a portfolio manager at Viking Global Investors, a New York City based hedge fund.  Previously, he was an investment professional at TA Associates, a Boston based private equity firm and an M&A analyst at Merrill Lynch in the investment banking division. Brian received an MBA from Harvard Business School (2010), where he was a Baker Scholar, and graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University (2003) with a BS in Applied Economics and Business Management. Brian has also volunteered with Best Buddies, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Junior Achievement and Metro Lacrosse. He previously served as a board member of Even Ground and currently serves as a Special Adviser.

Nicole [Motley] Barnes is a national fundraising consultant for 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and (527) organizations; advising on nonprofit sustainability, philanthropic trends, prospect research, and strategic partnerships. Nicole also serves as the national director of development at the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Her previous work includes associate director of development at Bank Street College of Education; and on Democracy Prep Public Schools’ founding management team–opening and operating high-quality charter schools throughout Harlem. Her career began as a corporate event fundraiser at the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, before attending graduate school in New York City, where she was selected for an internship in Development at the William J. Clinton Foundation. Nicole attended Saint Joseph College in Connecticut [BA and MS], and New York University [MS]. Nicole lives in New York City with her husband.

Conor Grimes is an investment professional at King Street Capital Management, L.P., a NY based investment firm.  Prior to this, Conor worked in private equity and investment banking.  He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Conor is also the former treasurer and current board member of The Piano School of NYC – a non-profit that raises funds to provide piano lessons for children throughout New York.

Scott Grinsell is an associate in the Corporate Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, and cross border transactions.  Scott has served on the Board of Directors of Even Ground since 2008, and previously served as a co-founder and project director of the Uganda Education Project from 2004 to 2013.  Scott received his B.A. summa cum laude in English and History from Williams College and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then completed an M.Phil. at Magdalen College, Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Comments Editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, Scott served as a law clerk to Judge Rosemary Pooler on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Supreme Court. He also serves on the board of the Association of Marshall Scholars and is a member of the Young Lions Committee of the New York Public Library.

Ryan Phillips-Page

Board Member

Ryan is a Founder of Operation Water, a social enterprise whose mission is to deliver clean water solutions to the greatest number of people in need, at the lowest cost per person, by developing scalable infrastructure projects.  Prior to founding Operation Water, he was the Founder and Managing Director of RPP Capital Projects and Finance (Pty) Ltd, a company that sources and structures financing solutions for power and water infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this capacity, he has travelled extensively across Sub-Saharan Africa to meet with Presidents, Ministers, Governors, Director Generals of utilities, and African businessmen to discuss the strategic infrastructure priorities of many African nations.

Previously, Ryan served as Director of Facilities and Operations at African Leadership Academy, a world class pan-African boarding high school located in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was African Leadership Foundation’s first staff member and assisted the Founders with networking and fundraising. Prior to moving to South Africa to help launch African Leadership Academy, he served as Vice President of Business Development and Sales at IntellectSpace Corporation, a Seattle-based technology company that serves investment banks, hedge funds, foundations, and law firms. Ryan worked closely with the Founders to develop and execute the Company’s sales strategy and successfully built the Company’s initial client roster.

Ryan started his career in New York City as an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He graduated with honors from Boston College’s Undergraduate Carroll School of Management with a concentration in Finance.

David Wright

Board Member

David Wright is currently a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Co, where he focuses on M&A and emerging market strategy, advising both investors and governments in Nigeria, Brazil, India, and China.  Previously, he was a M&A Attorney at Skadden Arps LLP (a global law firm), focusing on PE and international deals.  Prior to this, he worked for the United Nations (UNDP) to manage their investments in Kenya, Tanzania, Cambodia, and Thailand. He has presented and been published at the World Economic Forum regarding Nigeria’s economic prospects, at various World Bank / IFC events regarding microfinance and development in Southeast Asia.   David received his JD/MBA from Northwestern University, where he graduated cum laude and served as Editor on the Law Review.  Prior to this, David studied Computer Science and English Literature, graduating summa cum laude. His prior nonprofit involvement includes Maasai Educations Discovery, a Kenyan NGO providing internet, education, and healthcare to the Maasai tribe.  He also worked with Digital Divide Data, a Cambodian social enterprise creating jobs for landmine amputees and sex trafficked women.

Roshan Shah

Board Member

Roshan Shah is a Principal and Equity Partner of Avison Young, one of the world’s largest and the fastest growing commercial real estate firm. Roshan also serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and Advisory Board. In addition, Roshan is the Global Co-Head of the firm’s Alternative Investment Practice. He advises local, national, and international corporations as well as property owners on developing and executing their strategic real estate plans.

Prior to joining Avison Young, Roshan served as an Executive Vice President at CBRE. While at CBRE, he was one of the youngest members of the firm globally to ever hold the Senior Vice President title.

Roshan separately owns and operates a real estate investment firm which invests in multifamily assets across core U.S. markets.

Roshan is also Co-Founder and Managing Partner of a cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure company.

Roshan is a graduate of Boston University School of Management and Harvard Business School.

Caroline Stone

Board Member

Caroline [Stone] Peters is a digital marketing professional who has spent the entirety of her career working across organizations large and small to help build brands, build marketing strategies, and build teams focused on just that. She has a background in management and is currently working at Facebook managing their global insights marketing brand, Facebook IQ. Prior to Facebook she worked across agencies and brands developing digital strategies within the CPG, retail, streaming, technology, and food & beverage industries. In 2010 she moved to Cape Town, South Africa where she worked for an organization focused on refugee rehabilitation. For the last 10 years she’s stayed closely involved in the philanthropic and nonprofit space, and is thrilled to be joining Even Ground and reconnecting with the causes and a part of the world that means so much to her. Caroline is a San Francisco native who received her BA at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and her Masters at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She lives in New York with her husband Casey, and their dog Colt.