Melissa Davis, Instructor – Northwestern

Melissa Davis was the director of National Governance at the YMCA of the USA until leaving Chicago in September 2007 to pursue a master’s degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Hong Kong. During her tenure at Y-USA, she staffed the task force that designed the governance system for the national office of the YMCA and headed the Knowledge Publishing department.

She credits her roles as a volunteer for stimulating her interest in, and contributing to, her expertise in the civic sector. From chairing the Lake Champlain Committee – a New York, Vermont, Canadian advocacy board; to serving as a trustee of the smallest chartered library in New York state; to drafting the founding bylaws for the Asbury Park (NJ) Consortium; to serving as the first female on a national bank board; to explaining the role of non-governmental organizations to the Legislative Affairs Bureau of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China in 1990, she’s had broad experience.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Chicago, and a master’s degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Hong Kong.

Tony Mastracci, Instructor – Northwestern

• Debra Schwartz, Instructor – University of Chicago

  Debra D. Schwartz is Director of Program-related Investments (“PRIs”) for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a $6-billion private foundation headquartered in Chicago that provides charitable support to organizations across the country and around the world. Schwartz oversees the Foundation’s $300-million PRI portfolio of below-market loans and investments which it uses principally to support economic development and affordable housing organizations in the U.S. She also co-leads the Foundation’s $150-million national initiative, Window of Opportunity: Preserving Affordable Rental Housing. Schwartz graduated from Yale University summa cum laude and received a Master’s degree in finance and nonprofit management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

• Susan Hammel Joyce, Instructor – University of Chicago

  Susan Hammel Joyce is a Financial and Strategic Consultant for entrepreneurial not-for-profit organizations as well as small businesses. She writes business plans, develops financial strategies, and analyzes performance for a wide variety of clients, large and small. She provides consulting to global not-for-profit, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public and played a critical role at a crucial time of transition to build financial infrastructure for the organization’s rapid growth from $20 million to $45 million budget size. Susan is a preferred provider for Venture Philanthropy Partners, an innovative foundation in Washington, DC that applies a venture capital approach to grant-making. The Meyer Foundation, also in Washington DC, recommends Susan to work with Management Assistance Program grantees on projects to improve financial management and planning. Susan earned a B.A., cum laude, in Philosophy at Carleton College, Northfield, MN and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA. Susan is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. She and her family reside in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago.

• Laura Melle, Alumni Board Chair

  Laura Melle is a Project Coordinator in the Customer Feedback Programs unit of the Chicago Transit Authority. She works on a variety of initiatives to enhance customer communication and analyze stakeholder feedback. Laura graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Social Policy and International Studies and a minor in Spanish. During her undergraduate career, she interned at the Governors’ Institute on Community Design and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Laura has been involved with campusCATALYST since 2007 as a Community Analyst, Nonprofit Liaison, Advanced Analyst Team mentor and marathon team member, and is currently the Alumni Board Chair.

  • Kunal Modi, Board Chairman and Co-Founder

    Kunal co-founded campusCATALYST and has served as the organization’s Board Chairman since 2007. Currently, Kunal is a McKinsey Nonprofit Corps Strategy Extern at Teach For America in New York City. Previously, Kunal worked in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst, primarily in the firm’s media, telecommunications, and public sector practices. Prior to McKinsey, Kunal engaged in a year of public service as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in Washington, DC with LIFT, a national nonprofit focused on poverty alleviation. Kunal graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. During his undergraduate years, Kunal interned with Senator Barack Obama and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. In Fall 2010, Kunal will begin attending Harvard Business School.

  • Molly Day, Board Member and Co-Founder

    Molly co-founded campusCATALYST and served as its Executive Director from 2007 until August 2009. During her time as Executive Director, cC grew to two campuses and contributed over 26,000 hours of pro-bono service to the Chicago community, a total value of over half a million dollars. For this work, Molly was named a finalist for Chicago’s 2009 Young Nonprofit Professional of the Year Award and also was awarded a Northwestern Public Interest Program Fellowship. Prior to cC, Molly studied Social Policy, International Studies, and Spanish at Northwestern University. Here she explored the intersection of public health and economic development in rural Malawi, where she spent five weeks conducting independent research for her honors thesis on microfinance models that integrated HIV/AIDS education. During her undergraduate years, she also worked for the U.S. Department of State, Senator Barack Obama, and the nationally recognized nonprofit, LIFT (formerly National Student Partnerships). Currently, Molly is a Portfolio Analyst at New Profit, Inc., a Boston-based venture philanthropy fund.

    • David DeMasi, Board Member

      Dave DeMasi is an associate with GTCR Golder Rauner, a Chicago-based private equity firm. At GTCR, Dave evaluates and executes investment opportunities for the firm’s technology group. Prior to GTCR, Dave worked as an analyst with McColl Partners. At McColl Partners, Dave facilitated middle market mergers and acquisitions across a broad range of industries. Dave is also involved with Minds Matter of Chicago, a volunteer-based nonprofit organization providing mentorship for Chicago high school students from low-income families. Dave previously volunteered with Junior Achievement, where he taught business-related lessons to elementary school students. Dave received a B.S. in Business Administration, graduating with distinction, from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

      • John Hebda, Board Member

        John currently attends the Booth School of Business at The University of Chicago. Previously, he worked as a consultant with Bain & Company. While at Bain, John also worked with the Inspire program to manage pro bono consulting projects with local nonprofits. John graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering. John is also an accomplished athlete, having completed several marathon and Iron Man competitions.

        • Sheila Simhan, Board Member

          Sheila is an attorney and Clinical Fellow at Northwestern University School of Law Small Business Opportunity Center. Prior to her current position, Sheila served as a Summer Associate at both Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Foley & Lardner LLP. She graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2008, having earned her B.A. in Legal Studies and Psychology from the same institution. Sheila has also served as a member of AmeriCorps’ Hope For Literacy Program and as an intern for United States Senator Herb Kohl.

        • • William Yu, Board Member

            Will Yu is currently attending Harvard Business School. Previously, he worked at GTCR as an analyst in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance Group at J.P. Morgan Securities in New York. Will attended the University of Pennsylvania, earning a BA in Economics and Mathematics, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Simultaneously, he completed a Masters of Governmental Administration. Since 2002, Will has worked closely, in a variety of capacities with National Student Partnerships. He co-founded the West Philadelphia office and served as its first Local Director. Will is also a published author, with articles appearing in Mechanisms of Development and Molecular and Cellular Biology for his work on cardiovascular development.

        • • Tuck Hauptfuhrer, Board Member

            Tuck Hauptfuhrer currently works as an associate with GTCR, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Tuck is also involved with In Concert Chicago, a non-profit organization that arranges for Chicago-area student and professional musicians to perform for senior citizens at nursing homes, retirement communities and assisted-living centers. Prior to moving to Chicago, he was an analyst at Edgeview Partners, a middle-market investment bank based in Charlotte, NC. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2007, earning a B.A. in English / Interdisciplinary Economics and History.

          • Alex Grubman, Chair – Northwestern

            Alex has been involved in cC for a few years. He first became involved with campusCATALYST as a community analyst for GlobeMed in the winter of his sophomore year. He then joined the program team as a non-profit liaison after his return from studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina during his junior year. This year, he will be assuming the role of Chair for the Northwestern program team and is extremely excited to help cC grow as a student-run organization and continue to have a meaningful impact on both the students and non-profits it serves.
            School/Year/Major: WCAS 2012, Political Science and International Studies,with a minor in the Business Institutions Program
            Other: Outside of cC, he leads an Alternative Student Break trip to Cuba each year.

          • Sarah Thomas, Vice Chair – Northwestern

            School/Year/Major: WCAS 2012, Psychology and Legal Studies
            Favorite part of cC: After her involvement in cC as a community analyst, she was the first to take on the role of Alumni Relations the following year, aiming to make the cC experience as enriching to students, both past and present, as possible
            Other: Sarah is currently working for several legal advocacy organizations and aspires to pursue this area of work in the future.

            • Neeldev Kunjur, Campus Coordinator – Northwestern

              School/Year/Major: McCormick 2014, Electrical Engineering
              Favorite part of cC: I love how you get to meet and work with some really incredible people.
              Interesting fact about yourself: I’m one of the only two engineers on the programming team.

              • Stephanie Kang, Campus Coordinator – Northwestern

                School/Year/Major: SESP 2013, Learning & Organizational Change and Urban Studies
                Favorite part of cC: I love that everyone involved in campusCatalyst is so passionate about something–regardless of what their passion is for, it’s really inspiring!
                Other: I love to travel and will be going abroad to Denmark in January 2012.

                • Matt Cramer, Non-Profit Liasion – Northwestern

                  School/Year/Major: WCAS 2012, Economics and Statistics
                  Favorite part of cC: I love interacting with the non-profits, and immersing myself in their mission in order to make a real, tangible and lasting impact.
                  Other: In my spare time, I run a sports blog called Zeus of Sport (www.zeusofsport.com)

                  • Brenda Chang, Non-Profit Liasion – Northwestern

                    School/Year/Major: Weinberg 2013, Economics and Psychology, BIP minor
                    Favorite Part of cC: Working extra hard when it’s crunch time to get all the necessary NPO clients and mentors.
                    Other: I am crazy about baking and I love food.

                    • Adriana Stanovici, Events Planner – Northwestern

                      School/Year/Major: SESP 2013, Learning and Organizational Change
                      Favorite Part of cC: I love being able to apply the concepts learned in class to a local organization in the community. What we do actually has an impact!
                      Other: I’m originally from the Romanian province of Transylvania, but have been working on perfecting my Spanish for the past few years so I can go to Latin America and do some good in the world!

                      • Jennifer Jiang, Marketing Director – Northwestern

                        School/Year/Major: McCormick 2013, Chemical Engineering
                        Favorite Part of cC: Being in cC gives you the chance to interact with a wide variety of people, both students, professors, and professionals in the non-profit and consulting sectors.
                        Other: On campus, I am a Community Assistant in one of the dorms at Northwestern, as well as a SafeRide driver.

                        • Shengxiao Yu, Chair – University of Chicago

                          Shengxiao Yu studies Comparative Human Development with Human Rights and Spanish minors at the University of Chicago. She is a resident assistant on campus and likes to be involved with community life. Her experience with cC as an analyst in Spring 2009 was very rewarding, and her particular consulting project enhanced her interest in international development. She is the Chicago District Director of Millennium Campus Network, a national nonprofit organization that unifies students to take collective action to work towards the Millennium Development Goals. She is very interested in social entrepreneurial approaches to international issues. Shengxiao has a great interest in languages and is particularly fond of Quechua, the indigenous language of Peru. She is looking forward to the future developments of cC and is very happy to be a part of the cC community.

                          • Mariana Magala, Vice-Chair – University of Chicago

                            Keng Hoe Wong, Campus Coordinator – University of Chicago

                            • Eugene Pyun, Campus Coordinator – University of Chicago

                              • Lisa Schumacher, Non-Profit Liasion – University of Chicago

                                • Elisa Carino, Non-Profit Liasion – University of Chicago