Board of Directors

Sophie Lechner, President, Board of Directors
Natasha Kosoff, Secretary
Lynn Levy, Treasurer
Mallory King, Founder
Waziri Garuba
Gabrielle Greeves
Gabriel Marous, Chair, Fundraising Committee
Allen M. Pinero 

Non-board Committee Members

Sophie Lechner

With over 20 years of experience gained at Bayer, Pfizer and British Petroleum, Sophie decided to put her legal, finance and marketing acumen to work for her clients.

At Bayer, Sophie led the pre-launch commercialization of new compounds, managed co-promotion alliances and spearheaded global communication of ground breaking data for Bayer’s largest brand.

At Pfizer Sophie launched new products and indications globally, and created the Alliance Management function to operationalize co-promotion/co-marketing agreements. Prior to that, Sophie held positions of increasing responsibility in the finance department of Pfizer and practiced as an attorney for British Petroleum for 3 years.

In addition to this extensive experience, Sophie also held management positions in advertising and in non profit organizations. Sophie is currently President of the Board of Directors of Arts to Grow, an Arts Education organization.

Sophie holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a double Masters in English and French law from the Sorbonne (Paris) and King’s College (London).

Natasha Kosoff

Natasha Kosoff worked as a Staff Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  Natasha's primary responsibilities included analysis and review of regulatory applications from foreign and domestic banks and bank holding companies seeking to expand in the United States through mergers and acquisitions. Natasha is a commissioned bank examiner. 

Natasha grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and moved to the United States as a teenager.  She attended Brandeis University and received a bachelor’s degree in Politics.  She is a member of the Brandeis Admissions Council.  Natasha also holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy, and a Professional Certificate in Coaching from New York University.

Lynn Levy

Waziri Garuba

Waziri Garuba is an Associate at Evolution Markets where he transacts and structures global greenhouse gas mitigation deals and projects. Prior to joining Evolution Waziri spent a year between Brazil and the United States consulting for companies in the renewable energy space. A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Waziri completed his Masters of Business Administration at Columbia Business School in May of '09 as a Morgan Stanley & Co Fellow. At Columbia he served on the Events Committee, was Vice President of the Sales and Trading Club, and President of the Black Business Students' Association.

Prior to business school, Waziri worked at Goldman, Sachs and Co. where he began as an analyst in their Private Wealth Management department on a team managing ~$5bn in private client assets. Later, as an Associate, he traded equities for Goldman Sachs on the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to this, Waziri worked as a NASDAQ market maker at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith.

Waziri holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ, where he received a full academic scholarship. Waziri is President and founder of the non-profit, Fluent
Foundation Inc., an organization dedicated to helping young professionals succeed in corporate America through mentorship and training. Waziri serves on the Board of Directors with Project Explorer and also assists on the Leadership board of CUP - the Council of Urban Professionals.

Gabrielle Greeves

Gabrielle Greeves is an entrepreneur with a passion for the arts-- in all its forms-- music, dance, the theater arts, literary arts and design+build. She founded The Alliance Partnerships/TAP Resources Group in 1994 to provide services as a consultant that would strengthen the Board of Directors involvement, suggest long range marketing and business development plans, plan special events, and develop "marriages" between the nonprofit and the prospective corporate sponsor. Through the years, she has worked with organizations such as Achilles Track Club, Columbia University-Graduate School of Journalism, Child Welfare League of America, Comedy Fights Cancer, The Daintree Rainforest Land Trust, National Dance Institute, GrassRoots Television, Happiness Foundation/UNHCR, Fred Friendly Seminars, Global Justice Center, Hester Street Collaborative and many others. Gabrielle established herself as a ‘change agent' for the not for profit world. In both compensated and volunteer positions, she had become familiar with developing and implementing campaigns that were targeted at the individual, corporation and foundation. In 2001, Gabrielle received a B.S. degree in General Management with a concentration in Marketing from Boston University. In March of 2008, she completed her professional studies in the field of Philanthropy and Fundraising Strategy at New York University and was amended a certificate from the Heyman Center.

Gabriel Marous

Gabriel J. Marous, Esq. is a founding member and the managing partner of Marous & Marous, P.C., a dynamic New York City boutique law firm serving a clientele of international businesses, executives and professionals from around the world.  Mr. Marous assists the firm clients in several legal areas including corporate and business law, public and corporate finance, real estate, commercial and civil litigation, and estate planning.

In collaboration with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, Mr. Marous consulted with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and advised various governmental agencies, lawyers, and bankers of developing countries in Eastern Europe in their efforts to transform their legal and economic system.

Mr. Marous, a French native, received his Masters in Business Law and Anglo-American Common Law from Cergy-Pontoise (France) in 1996 and, in 1999, his Doctoral Residency Degree in International Economic Law from La Sorbonne – University of Paris 1.

For more on Mr. Marous and his firm, visit www.MarousLaw.com.

Allen M. Pinero

Allen M. Pinero is a Vice President at Groton Partners, LLC, a merchant banking firm that focuses on M&A advisory and fundraising. Since 2005, Allen has focused his efforts on capital raising for private equity and real estate funds and investing for the Groton REO funds. Prior to joining Groton, Allen was an Associate at Circle Peak Capital during business school, working on consumer-related transactions, including retail and food / beverage companies. Previously, Allen has worked at ION Partners in New York and Equity Management Inc. and Genea Venture Partners in San Diego. Allen holds a Bachelor in Science from Boston University and an MBA from Georgetown University. His understanding for the survival of arts programs in public schools and communities stems from his childhood, when he was a violinist from the first grade through college, and from his work in the film and entertainment industry after his undergraduate studies. He and his wife, Cristina, have a son and reside in Oyster Bay, Long Island.

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