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Board of Directors
Julie Burns
John Danielson
Susie Leness Gilbert
Alexandra of Greece
David Heleniak, Chair
Randall Kane
Rachel Mauro, Secretary
Uma Thurman
Maggie Rokous Towles
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh
Julie Burns, CSW
Founder and CEO
Room to Grow
Julie Burns is the Founder and CEO of Room to Grow. Prior to starting the organization in 1998, Julie worked as a psychotherapist in the child and adolescent division of the Karen Horney Clinic in New York. It was at Karen Horney where she developed the concept for Room to Grow, recognizing the profound need to help soon-to-be parents living in poverty, and provide them with the direct support and resources for their children from the very beginning.
Julie received her master's degree in social work from New York University and graduated with a BA in art history from the University of Michigan. Before embarking on a career in social work, Julie worked in the Old Master Painting department at Christie's, the auction house, in New York.
Julie divides her time between New York City and Walpole, NH with her husband Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, and their daughter.
To read the a letter from our Founder, click here.
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John Danielson
President and CEO
Chartwell Education Group
Along with former United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige, John Danielson is a co-founder of the Chartwell Education Group LLC, an international education consulting firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C. Chartwell is comprised of a bi-partisan team of educational experts that offers services to the pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and post secondary education sectors. John serves as Chartwell's President and CEO.
In October 2001, President George W. Bush appointed John as the Chief of Staff to the United States Department of Education. He served Secretary of Education Rod Paige in this capacity through October 2003.
Prior to joining the Department of Education, John was one of five co-founders of Community Education Partners (CEP). CEP is a private education company that works in partnership with public schools to get disruptive and low-performing students back on track. John served as the Executive Vice President for CEP responsible for marketing and external affairs. He served in this capacity from 1995 through 2001.
In July 1991, former President George H. W. Bush appointed John as the Special Assistant to then-United States Secretary of Education and current United States Senator Lamar Alexander, with whom he would continue to work through 1995. From June 1990 through July 1991 John worked at the Department of Labor under then-Secretary Elizabeth Dole.
John is a native of Houston and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1985 where he received a BA in business. He resides in Darien, Connecticut with his wife and three children.
In addition to serving on the board of Room to Grow, John is member of the board of three other non-profit organizations, StandardsWork, The Duke of Edinburgh International Awards - Young American's Challenge, and The Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C. as well as the for-profit boards of BrightStar and SchoolNet.
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Susie Leness Gilbert
Susie Gilbert worked in book publishing for ten years at Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Vintage Books (a division of Random House) holding various positions within their publicity departments until she became publicity director at Vintage in 1999. She managed publicity and marketing campaigns for such authors as Martin Amis, Fran Lebowitz, Richard Ford, Arthur Golden, Senator Bill Bradley, Edwidge Danticat, and David Guterson. Susie developed strong relationships with the national print and electronic media and local media throughout the country and was responsible for creating written material to support Vintage's efforts.
She also organized lectures, readings, benefits and theatrical events to showcase Vintage authors and worked closely with executives at movie studios, public television and cable channels to promote movie tie-ins and other versions of authors' works. She was a member of the Publishers Publicity Association, serving on their event planning committee from 1995-1997.
Susie was a member of the Junior Committee of the Wildlife Conservation Society from 1992-2000, serving as co-chair from 1998-1999. She was a member of the Communications Committee of Literacy Partners from 1998-1999. She was also a member of the steering committee of the Young Lions at the New York Public Library from 1998-2003. Along with Room to Grow, she currently serves as a member of the board of Fence Magazine.
Susie received a B.A. cum laude from Middlebury College and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. She lives in New York City with her husband and two young children.
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Alexandra of Greece, CCLS
Child Life Specialist
Alexandra of Greece is a Certified Child Life Specialist, having graduated with an MS in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College. During her training, Alexandra served as an advocate for the hospitalized children and their families at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital, comforting and preparing them for medical procedures, teaching them about the illness, and working to help minimize their stress and anxiety. Alexandra has a BA from Brown University in Comparative Literature. In addition to Room to Grow, Alexandra serves on the board of the New York City Opera and is part of the Natural Resources Defense Councils' New York Council. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
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David Heleniak, Chair
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
David Heleniak is the Vice Chairman and a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley, which he joined in May 2005. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley David spent his entire career, save for a stint in the government, at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP rising to become its Senior Partner (CEO).
From 1977 to 1979 David served in the United States Government first as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and then as Assistant General Counsel (Domestic Finance) of the Treasury. David was educated at the University of Michigan (A.B.), the London School of Economics (M.Sc. (Econ) ), and Columbia University (J.D.). From 1969 to 1971 he was an Instructor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire.
David, a native of Saint Paul, Minnesota and a product of its public school system, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is active in numerous educational, community, cultural and bilateral organizations. He serves on the boards of directors of The New York City Partnership, The New York City Investment Fund, The New York City Ballet and Japan Society, among others, and is the Chairman of the Council for the United States and Italy, and the London School of Economics Centennial Fund.
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Randall Kane
Managing Partner
Acquis Consulting Group
Randall Kane is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Acquis Consulting Group, a boutique management consulting firm, working with some of the world’s leading enterprises in an array of industries. His characteristically innovative and personalized strategies continue to drive some of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations, including numerous Fortune 500 companies. The premium Randy places on innovative thinking permeates the culture of Acquis and, more importantly, drives its operation.
At the time of Acquis’s launch in 1998, Randy was already a seasoned practitioner of corporate finance and operations. He began his career at the American Express Company where he held several positions in Corporate Finance. At Shearson Lehman, he worked in corporate bond trading, providing financial analysis and strategy that guided major investment decisions. In 1989, he joined Morgan Stanley as an Associate Vice President in the Equity Capital Markets Group and trained his focus on high technology. Randy left Morgan Stanley during 1992 to start a consulting practice focusing on business strategy, corporate development, and strategic sourcing. The experience and knowledge base developed through this practice led to the founding of Acquis.
Prior to joining the board of Room to Grow in 2008, Randy, a native New Yorker, was a member of our Development Committee as well as an active and involved supporter since 2004. Randy also plays a strategic role as an advisor to the management committee of the New York based non-profit organization God’s Love We Deliver. Randy also serves on the Boards of Directors of fone2fone a Philadelphia based mobile wireless technology company and Solidea Securities a private equity firm.
Randy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and international business from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Alexandra, and their three children
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Rachel Mauro, Secretary
President
Rachel Mauro Fine Arts, Ltd.
Rachel Mauro is the sole proprietor of Rachel Mauro Fine Arts, Ltd. Prior to founding her business in 2006, Rachel ran the New York gallery, Dickinson Roundell, a fine art business headquartered in London. Rachel also worked at Christie's auction house for twelve years, both in London and in New York, where she was Head of Old Master Paintings as well as a Board Director in London and Vice President in New York. In addition to Old Masters, her specialties include Twentieth Century and Contemporary art. She has a BA in art history and French and Italian languages from the University of Kansas, and completed a post-graduate program in art history at Sotheby's Institute in London. She lives in New York City.
Rachel and Julie Burns have known each other since working together at Christie's auction house, and she has been with Room to Grow since its inception in 1998.
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Uma Thurman
Actress
Uma Thurman's acclaimed work in film and theater for the past 21 years includes Pulp Fiction, Hysterical Blindness, and Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2. She was born in Boston and raised in Amherst, MA. She currently resides in New York City with her two children.
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Maggie Rokous Towles
Maggie Towles most recently worked in teen fashion. She joined and helped to grow the then start-up clothing company dELiA*s. Maggie was responsible for catalog and online inventory planning and management and worked with the senior merchandisers to plan and purchase the clothing line. Prior to that she worked in business consulting at the Boston Consulting Group and within the strategic group in Viacom's new media division.
Maggie graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 with a B.A. in Intellectual History and a minor in Chinese. She also graduated cum laude from Phillips Andover Academy in 1987. After graduating from college, Maggie lived and worked in Asia for two years.
Maggie now lives in New York City with her husband and two children and devotes most of her time to their activities and to volunteer work in the community.
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Jennifer Rudolph Walsh
Executive Vice President and
Co-Head of Worldwide Literary Department
William Morris Agency
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh is Executive Vice President and Co-Head of the William Morris Agency's Worldwide Literary Department. In 2003, she became the first woman ever named to WMA's Board of Directors.
Jennifer joined WMA in 2000 when the agency acquired The Writers Shop, of which she was Co-Owner and Co-President. In addition to her work as a member of the board of Room to Grow, Jennifer also founded the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. Established in 2001, this annual award recognizes the work of young authors and celebrates their accomplishments publicly, making a difference in their lives as they continue to build their careers.
Jennifer's prestigious and best-selling client list includes authors Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees), Alice Munro (The View from Castle Rock), Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle), Anita Shreve (A Wedding in December), Kathy Reichs (Break No Bones), Fannie Flagg (Can't Wait to Get to Heaven), Ann Brashares (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Marcus Buckingham (First Break All the Rules), and the Starbucks book program (Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone), among others.
She lives in New York City with her husband and their three children.
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