Board of Directors and Advisors
Roopakshi Mathur
Roopakshi Mathur is an Interior Designer with design experience spanning 15+ years in the fields of commercial, hospitality and, high-end residential design. She founded Raw Design in 2015. She currently also serves on a 500-unit residential design board in New York City leading all their major renovation projects for them. Roopakshi has served as chair for multiple outreach programs in New York City helping charities such as Make-A-Wish and Room to Grow. She earned her B.S. in Product Development and an A.D. in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She was awarded a scholarship for most Innovative Product Design Products by Excell Home Fashions at the Waldorf Astoria. In her free time, Roopakshi enjoys biking, hiking and swimming.
Mikal Patel
Mikal co-founded Oribel Capital Management in 2015, a hedge fund focused broadly on investing in the technology sector. Mikal has over twenty years of experience in technology investing, working at firms such as Alkeon Capital Management and Balyasny Asset Management. He was awarded a Stern Trustee Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude from the Stern School of Business at NYU with a B.S. in Economics and Finance. In his free time, Mikal enjoys skiing, surfing, and playing golf.
Fredlee Kaplan
Fredlee Ann Kaplan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Marital and Family Therapist, and School Psychologist. She has maintained a private practice in Individual, Couple and Family Psychotherapy in New York City for 47 years. She is currently the Founder and Director of Gift of Life International’s Humanized Care Program. This Program trains staff to provide compassionate psychological care of and comfort for the children and families as they prepare for, experience, and recover from GOLI’s pediatric cardiac surgery program. The Humanized Care Program also empowers medical staff to engage in emotionally mindful and supportive staff relationships and to sustain their own emotional health through workshopsand co
She was Vice President of GOLI, (a global 501c3), for four years during her 10-years as a Managing Director of GOLI from 2011 to 2021.She co-directed a methadone maintenance clinic, was clinical supervisor in a Brooklyn outpatient clinic and in NYC’s Beth Israel Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry, training psychiatric residents and psychology interns in Family Therapy. She consulted with The Families of 9/11 who lost relatives in the World Trade Center attack and consulted with companies impacted by 9/11. She continues to consult to executives, hospitals and clinics in the mental health community.
Fredlee attained a BA degree in Psychology from Boston University and earned master’sdegrees from
Sarah Whittington
Sarah Whittington is a dedicated, experienced educator and educational administrator who believes that a well-rounded education with parental and educator support is important to every child. With over forty years as an educator, Sarah’s commitment was to provide a welcoming and challenging classroom environment where every child wanted to be and to learn.
Sarah’s background in the field of education spans teaching of French and Spanish in Penfield, New York, Newton, Massachusetts, and Scarsdale, New York as well as department chairperson and coordinator of world languages. She served as Trustee and Chairperson of the Scarsdale Public School District’s Benefit Trust Fund. She continues to consult for the Fund.
Her academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature and Spanish Language from Russell Sage College, three Master of Arts degrees from New York University, the University of Rochester, Fairfield University along with advanced course work at L’Université de Paris: La Sorbonne, L’Université de Strasbourg, La Universidad Juárez, Durango Mexico, and Boston College, School of Management.
Since her retirement, she has served on the Horizon Condominium Board of Managers holding positions as secretary and as president. She has participated in the Health Club Committee, the Building Committee, the Ethics and Governance Committee, and most recently is co-chair of the Landscape Committee. She is a Board Member on Manhattan Community Board 6.
In her spare time, she enjoys runs or walks along the East River, spending time with her family, traveling nationally and internationally, and participating in events as a member of The Penn Club of New York. She is particularly proud of running in and finishing the Paris Marathon for two consecutive years.
Sameet Desai
Sameet Desai is a luxury travel advisor and Partner at Volar Travels (powered by ProTravel), where he focuses on highly personalized yet authentic, expert travel advice and execution. An avid traveler who has explored over 50 countries, Sameet brings firsthand experience of going on safari in Africa, trekking the Himalayas, exploring cultural landmarks in cities like Rome and Paris, relaxing on the French Riviera, and yachting in Posidonia off the coast of Greece.
Sameet spent the prior 20 years of his career on Wall Street, most recently running a consumer-focused equities book as a hedge fund Portfolio Manager at Chimera Capital. He brings experience from previous roles at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, KeyBanc Capital Markets, 40 North Management, Soros Fund Management, and Balyasny Asset Management.
Sameet graduated in 2002 with a BSE in Architecture from Princeton University, where he also played men’s volleyball. He has also previously mentored with both Big Brothers of America and Reading Partners and worked with Oasis Children’s Services.
Erik Hanson
Erik Hanson is an attorney at the firm of Cohen & Gresser LLP, with a background in intellectual property and white collar litigation. He also is a devotee of the performing arts, and is an active member of the Blue Hill Troupe, a not-for-profit volunteer theatrical organization that donates its proceeds each year to a different New York charity.
Vikas Dayal
Vikas Dayal is a socially conscious investment banking professional working with over 15 years of experience in the public finance and social infrastructure space. Vikas works with municipalities around the country to enter the public finance markets for infrastructure financing. He is most excited about creating a social impact by helping higher education institutions that serve an underrepresented community achieve their goals of building academic excellence by securing funding for capital improvements.
Vikas has a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.