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.
Mary Kay Haben, MBA’79
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.
Kurtis Wilder, ’81, JD’84
Chair Elect | Novi, Michigan
Former Justice Kurtis T. Wilder is a Shareholder in the law firm of Butzel Long, based in Butzel’s Detroit 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 5 jurists in Michigan history to have served on all three levels of Michigan’s Court System.Justice Wilder concentrates his practice in appeals, litigation, and mediation and facilitation. As a former trial and appellate jurist, Justice Wilder has unique perspectives on oral advocacy at the trial and appellate level, trial and appeals preparation, and alternative dispute resolution. Since returning to private practice, he has successfully argued cases in the Michigan Supreme Court, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Michigan Court of Appeals, and federal and state trial courts. He serves as a Neutral Mediator/Arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform, and as Senior Lecturing Fellow at Regent University School of Law.Justice Wilder plays an active role in a number of nonprofit organizations, including as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. He also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Interlochen Center for the Arts, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Executive Committee member of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Rhetoricos of Gamma Rho Boule, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, and a member of the Boards of Directors of The Children’s Foundation and Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars. Justice Wilder also serves as an Elder and Chancel Choir member at First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth.
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.
Thomas A. 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
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wendell Brooks is the founding partner of Snowcloud Capital, a venture capital firm focused on providing growth capital to the hardware and deep technology sectors. Brooks previously served as president of Intel Capital and senior vice president at Intel Corporation. Prior to Intel, Brooks had a 25-year career as a merger and acquisitions advisor.
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.
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 CEO of Systems Technology Group, a global digital transformation and software services company. He is a co-owner and executive board member of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns FC. He is on the board of directors of United Way for Southeast Michigan, Detroit Children’s Fund, and Tech United.
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, a founding member of the Social Justice Center advisory committee at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, 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 F. Schwartz is the director of cardiothoracic surgery at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Michigan. He previously served as assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center from 2002-2012. He is actively involved in Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit and is on the board of directors at Temple Israel.
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.
Steve Shindler, ’85
Darien, Connecticut
Steve Shindler is chairman of Nikola Corp., a hydrogen fuel cell trucking company providing zero emissions solutions. 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.
Paul Viera, ’81
Atlanta, Georgia
Paul Viera is the founder and chief executive officer of EARNEST Partners, a global investment firm responsible for overseeing more than $25 billion for municipalities, states, corporations, endowments, and universities. He conceived and developed Return Pattern Recognition, the investment methodology used to screen equities at EARNEST Partners.
Rick Wallace, ’82
Palo Alto, California
Rick Wallace serves as the chief executive officer and president of KLA, a technology company in the semiconductor industry. He also serves on the company’s board of directors. Wallace began as an applications engineer at KLA Instruments in 1988 and has held various general management positions throughout his more than 30-year tenure with the company. Earlier in his career, he held positions with Ultratech Stepper and Cypress Semiconductor.
Sophie Wan Wong, ’97
Shanghai, China
Sophie 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.
Lynn Wooten, PHD’95
Boston, Massachusetts
Lynn Perry Wooten is the president of Simmons University, a women’s-cented private college in Boston. Wooten previously was the David J. Nolan dean and professor of management and organizations at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. She also has had a robust clinical practice, providing leadership development, education, and training for a wide variety of institutions.
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
2025
- Feb. 21-22 – Winter Retreat (Palm Beach, Florida)
- May 9 – Spring Meeting (Virtual)
- September/October (date TBD) – Fall Meeting (Ann Arbor)