Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan is made up of alumni who represent the Leaders and Best in business and industry from across the nation. As a governing body, their job is to have full legal and fiduciary responsibility as it relates to the Alumni Association in serving its community and the University.
Kurtis Wilder, ’81, JD’84
Chair | Ann Arbor, Michigan
Former Justice Kurtis Wilder is a shareholder in the law firm of Butzel Long, based in Butzel’s Lansing office. He rejoined Butzel after nearly 27 years as a trial judge, judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, and Michigan Supreme Court Justice, one of only five jurists in Michigan history to have served on all three levels of Michigan’s court system. Wilder concentrates his practice in appeals, litigation, mediation and facilitation, and government relations. He serves as a neutral mediator/arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform. Wilder plays an active role in a number of nonprofit organizations, including serving as the former chair of the board of trustees of Interlochen Center for the Arts. Wilder also serves on the board of directors of Hastings Insurance Company.
Mary Kay Haben, MBA’79
Past Chair | Glenview, Illinois
Mary Kay Haben is a member of the boards of directors of The Hershey Company, Equity Residential, and Grocery Outlet Inc. In 2011, she retired from a 33-year career managing consumer food in confectionary businesses as group president for Kraft Inc., and president of North America for Wm. Wrigley Jr Co.
Thomas W. Hawkins, ’83
Treasurer | Miami, Florida
Tom Hawkins serves on boards of public companies, including MSP Recovery and Lionheart III Corp., as well as not-for-profit entities. In the past, he led numerous functions as an executive at three Fortune 500 Companies, including Blockbuster Entertainment, AutoNation, and Republic Services. Hawkins has a long history of involvement with the University of Michigan, most recently as co-chair of the South Florida Council for the Victors for Michigan campaign.
Gabriela Teran, ’96
Secretary | New York, New York
Gabriela Teran is the managing director of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Teran has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Ayanna McConnell
Ex Officio | Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ayanna McConnell is the president and CEO of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. She provides leadership and direction to the organization and its leadership team, coordinating all Board of Directors activities and working with all U-M campuses. McConnell has more than 25 years of experience leading student and alumni programs.
Tom Baird, ’83
Ex Officio | Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tom Baird is the vice president for development at the University of Michigan, where he is responsible for all fundraising and development activities across the University. This includes leading the central Office of University Development as well as oversight of more than 30 U-M fundraising units, including Michigan Medicine, UM-Flint, and UM-Dearborn.
Wendell Brooks, ’87
Holland, Michigan
Wendell Brooks is the chief executive officer of Natron Energy Inc., an innovative sodium ion battery manufacturer that serves data center, industrial, and military applications. Previously, he served as president of Intel Capital and senior vice president at Intel Corporation. Prior to Intel, Brooks had a 25-year career as a mergers and acquisitions advisor.
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, ’93
New York, New York
Elliot Cosgrove, a leading voice of American Jewry, is senior rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Rabbi Cosgrove sits on the Chancellor’s Cabinet of the Jewish Theological Seminary, is an officer of the New York Board of Rabbis, and serves on the boards of UJA-Federation of New York, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and Hillel at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A frequent contributor to Jewish journals and periodicals, he is the author of 17 volumes of sermons, the editor of “Jewish Theology in Our Time,” and the author of “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today.” He is the host of “Common Faith” on SiriusXM, a podcast that explores modern issues, culture, and politics through the lens of Jewish tradition and features interviews with various guests.
Wayee Chu, ’97
San Francisco, California
Wayee Chu is a general partner at Reach Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund supporting entrepreneurs in the areas of education and the future of work. Prior to joining Reach, she was the co-founder of the NewSchools Seed Fund and an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch. She began her career as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley. Chu also serves on the board of trustees of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is actively involved with several education nonprofits.
Joseph Giles, ’96, MBA’01, JD’01
Chicago, Illinois
Joseph Giles is a venture chair with Redesign Health, a health care innovation platform based in New York. Prior to Redesign Health, Giles was founder and CEO of Midwest Vision Partners, a provider of eyecare management services to leading ophthalmology and optometry practices in the Midwest, including more than 120 physicians and 55 locations. He previously served as president and chief operating officer of Athletico Physical Therapy and spent 14 years in investment banking and private equity. Giles has served on numerous corporate boards.
Salene Hitchcock-Gear, ’84
Potomac, Maryland
Salene Hitchcock-Gear is the president of Prudential Individual Life Insurance, a business unit of Prudential that offers competitive financial solutions through a robust portfolio of life insurance products. With more than 30 years in the insurance industry, she previously served as president and CEO of Ameritas Investment Corp. and president and CEO of Acacia Life Insurance Co. She is also an advisory board director for the Women Presidents Organization.
Monica Howard Douglas, ’94
Atlanta, Georgia
Monica Howard Douglas is senior vice president and general counsel of The Coca-Cola Company, overseeing the company’s global legal function. Douglas joined Coca-Cola in 2004 as senior managing counsel. She is a member of the board of directors for VICI Properties Inc., Junior Achievement USA, and Cool Girls Inc.
Li Li Leung, ’95
Indianapolis, Indiana
Li Li Leung is the president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, where she has led the organization through an ongoing cultural transformation. Previously, Leung served as vice president at the National Basketball Association, where she was responsible for building, leading, negotiating, and managing key partner relationships around the world. She was a four-year member of the four-time Big Ten champion U-M gymnastics team and was an NCAA Championships participant.
Alison Miller, ’00
Chicago, Illinois
Alison Miller is a partner and chief strategy officer at Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm focused on the food and beverage industry. Prior to Arbor, Miller led all branding, marketing, fan research, broadcasting, and game entertainment for the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. She began her career in brand management at General Mills and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. At U-M, Miller was a student-athlete and starter on the women’s basketball team. She is currently an active board member on several Arbor portfolio company boards and serves on the Keystone Board of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Hospital in Chicago.
Dr. Prakash Patel, ’89
Boca Raton, Florida
Dr. Prakash Patel is a senior advisor to several private equity firms. Patel has more than 25 years of experience as a senior executive in the health care industry. He previously served as executive vice president and president for Anthem Inc.’s Diversified Business Group, Carelon.
Anup Popat, ’95
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Anup Popat is the chairman and CEO of Systems Technology Group (STG), a global software and digital technology services firm that helps Fortune 500 customers enable their digital transformation ambitions. He is co-owner and executive board member of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Portland Fire and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns FC. He currently serves on the board of directors for United Way of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit’s Children Fund, and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Motor City Chapter.
Emilie Rubinfeld, ’96
New York, New York
Emilie Rubinfeld is president of Carolina Herrera, a New York-based luxury fashion house. She joined the organization as vice president of global marketing and communications in 2012 after serving in executive marketing roles at Giorgio Armani and Akris and was elevated to president from CMO in 2017. Rubinfeld is a member of the Fashion Scholarship Foundation board of directors and has been a supporter of Dress for Success, supporting fundraising efforts through participation in the New York City Marathon.
John Sabat, ’95
New York, New York
John Sabat has been a portfolio manager in Point72’s quantitative business Cubist Systematic Strategies for more than 20 years, where he runs global mid- and high-frequency equities, futures, and fixed-income strategies. Sabat began his career at D.E. Shaw & Co. in the international equities statistical arbitrage group in 1995. He is an advisory committee member for the venture fund Upper90 and sits on the advisory board of Sortium, an AI-based software development company. Actively involved with education nonprofits, Sabat serves on the board of trustees of Education Reform Now and the advisory council for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth.
Dr. Charles F. Schwartz, ’90
Birmingham, Michigan
Dr. Charles Schwartz is the chief of surgery and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Trinity Oakland Hospital in Michigan, specializing in minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He previously served as assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the New York University Langone Medical Center. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, ’95
Washington, D.C.
Raj Shah is president of The Rockefeller Foundation, a global institution committed to promoting the well-being of humanity around the world through data, science and innovation. Under his leadership, the Foundation raised and deployed more than $1 billion to respond to the COVID pandemic at home and abroad, launched the $10 billion Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and is currently working on its $1 billion, five-year commitment to reversing the climate crisis while advancing human opportunity. Raj serves on President Joseph Biden’s Defense Policy Board. His book, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, was published in October 2023 and shares insights on creating transformative change. He is married to Shivam Mallick Shah and they have three children.
Kent Syverud, JD’81, MA’83
Syracuse, New York
Kent Syverud is the president-elect of the University of Michigan and will be the University’s 16th president when he assumes the role on July 1. Syverud is currently chancellor and president of Syracuse University. During his 12 years as chancellor, he has led Syracuse through a period of transformational change and significant growth. A noted legal scholar, he served as Law Dean at both Vanderbilt University and Washington University. Syverud continues to teach at Syracuse University’s College of Law and Whitman School of Management. He serves on the boards of Crouse Health System, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Le Moyne College, and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Steve Shindler, ’85
Darien, Connecticut
After a 30-year career in the wireless communications industry, Steve Shindler is now an active board member in zero-emission transportation as well as several education nonprofits. Shindler is chairman of Nikola Corp., a hydrogen fuel cell trucking company, and a director of Round Trip EV Solutions, a pioneer in the electrification of the waste industry. Shindler is also a director of NII Holdings Inc., a provider of differentiated mobile communications services in Latin America, where he served as CEO for 14 years and on the board of directors since 1997.
Jordan Wertlieb, ’86
New York, New York
Jordan Wertlieb serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hearst and is a member of the Hearst board of directors. Wertlieb previously was a senior vice president of Hearst and president of Hearst Television. He is a past chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) joint board of directors and of its television board and is a past president-chairman of the NBC affiliates board. He is currently a member of the A+E Networks board of directors and serves as a vice chair of the Broadcasters Foundation of America board. He also serves on the board of the NAB Leadership Foundation and as an advisor to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Sophie Wong, ’97
Shanghai, China
Sophie Wan Wong is the co-founder and the chief people officer at Cornerstone Global Partners, which operates as CGP in mainland China. The company has more than 20 offices and a workforce of more than 500. She has been in the recruitment industry for more than 20 years with experience in talent acquisition, development, and management. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is deeply committed to community engagement, having served as co-president of the University of Michigan Shanghai Alumni Club and actively supporting Junior Achievement China.
Linda Zhang, ’96, MSE’98, MBA’11
Canton, Michigan
Linda Zhang is the chief engineer for the all-electric F-150 Lightning at Ford Motor Co. She has been with Ford for more than 25 years, working in manufacturing, product development, finance, and corporate strategy. She has worked on programs such as the Ford Explorer, Ford Escape, and Ford F-150.
Calendar of Events
2026
- June 12 – Spring Meeting (virtual)
- Oct. 16 – Fall Meeting (Ann Arbor)
2027
- Feb. 19-20 – Winter Retreat (location TBD)
- June 11 – Spring Meeting (virtual)
- September or October (homecoming date TBD) – Fall Meeting (Ann Arbor)
2028
- Feb. 26-27 – Winter Retreat (location TBD)
- June 9 – Spring Meeting (location TBD)
- September or October (homecoming date TBD) – Fall Meeting (Ann Arbor)
Join the Board of Directors
The 2026 nomination cycle for the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan is now closed.