Sam Choi is a retired bond trader. He has worked on the sell-side at firms including J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns, and he has worked on the buy-side as a portfolio manager at two hedge funds. Sam is a first generation immigrant, like many of the children who benefit from the programs at South Bronx United, and he is passionate about helping foster academic and athletic opportunities for immigrants. Sam is a graduate of MIT with an undergraduate degree in mathematics. Sam joined the Board of Directors in 2022.
Amanda DonohueErnst & Young LLP
Amanda Donohue is a Consulting Partner focused on the Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications sector at EY. She has 20 years of experience working with global companies and assisting them with large, technology-enabled transformation programs. Amanda received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland. She resides on Long Island with her husband and three children where soccer is a part of their everyday life.
Quincy EvansDavidson Kempner Capital Management
Quincy Evans is a Principal at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, where he is the lead analyst focused on investing in convertible securities. Prior to Davidson Kempner, Quincy held similar roles at Susquehanna International, Goldman Sachs, and Oasis Capital Management. Quincy also spent approximately 5 years working as a restructuring investment banker at Rothschild & Co. and Houlihan Lokey. Quincy Evans is a Bronx native, and alum of the Prep for Prep. Upon completing Prep for Prep, Quincy attended Phillips Academy (Andover). Quincy graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Economics (with honors), and later from Wharton with an MBA in Finance.
Nicole Faurot, SecretaryCathay Capital
Nicole Faurot is a Partner and Head of Investor Relations and Business Development at Marlowe Partners. Prior to joining Marlowe in 2015, Ms. Faurot spent over five years at Centerbridge Partners, L.P. where she was a Principal in investor relations. Prior to joining Centerbridge, Ms. Faurot worked at Morgan Stanley as an associate in business development and strategic acquisitions and as an investment banking analyst in their Latin America Group. Previously, Ms. Faurot worked as an investment banking summer analyst at Bear Stearns in their Leveraged Finance Group. Ms. Faurot is on the Emory University Alumni Board, chaired the Emory Alumnae and Women in New York for nearly a decade. She teaches financial literacy for High Water Women, was the treasurer of the young professionals board of the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families and has worked with the Taproot Foundation, Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, and the Valerie Fund among others. Ms. Faurot graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University with a B.A. in Spanish and Interdisciplinary Studies and serves on the Alumni Board. She joined the South Bronx United Board of Directors in 2019.
Channon GreenfieldNYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene
Channon Greenfield is a Project Coordinator for the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene conducting behavioral surveillance and monitoring of infectious diseases in New York City after working on several HIV/AIDS research studies. Channon is responsible for coordinating formative research including key informant interviews, focus group discussions and other qualitative research methods as well as implementing respondent-driven sampling to assess risk behavior, HIV prevalence and other HIV-related outcomes in order to guide future prevention methods in New York City. Channon earned his B.A. in Sociology from the University at Albany. In his free time, Channon enjoys reading, running and playing soccer for Metro Soccer NY.
Sheraz ItikharArch Global Advisors
Sheraz Iftikhar is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arch Global Advisors and is responsible for the execution of the mission, vision, and financial success of the firm. Over the last 17 years, he has raised the profile of the firm nationally by providing custom, yet practical solutions for individuals, families and institutions. Mr. Iftikhar is a graduate of the City University of New York. He holds a General Securities Representative Registration (Series 7), Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination Registration (Series 63), Uniform Combined State Law Examination Registration (Series 66), and Life insurance licenses. He is an Investment Advisor Representative, Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and a candidate for the CFP® (Certified Financial PlannerTM). Mr. Iftikhar previously volunteered and served on the board of Achilles International and has worked with various community programs that focus on children's education, clean water access, and healthcare in underserved areas in the United States and overseas. Mr. Iftikhar joined South Bronx United's Board of Directors in 2024.
Derrick Johnson is the head of BlackRock’s U.S. Derivative Documentation where he provides business and operational support with regard to trading documentation. Prior to joining BlackRock, Derrick was Director of Derivative Documentation at HypoVereinsbank, New York Branch and a Vice President in the Legal Department at Deutsche Bank, AG. He began his career at Caisse de Depot et de onsignation/CDCFinancial Products, Inc and Natwest Capital Markets. Derrick earned a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University where he was a Columbia University Club Foundation Scholar and a member of the Men’s Basketball Team. He loves the way South Bronx United uses soccer to build character, teamwork, and leadership skills in young people. Derrick is formerly a Board Member of Bottom Line, Inc., New York.
Daniel KrautPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Daniel Kraut is a Partner at PwC where he specializes in working with multi-national companies in the consumer goods, retail and luxury industries. In serving many public and private companies, Daniel has significant experience in supporting transformational activities and providing perspectives on technical accounting and financial reporting matters. Daniel received his Bachelor of Business Administration-Accounting from Loyola University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants. He joined the Board of Directors in 2015.
Jon Lee joined the Board of Directors in 2016 and has served as Board Chair since 2020. He is a Vice President of Client Intelligence and CRM spearheading a company-wide initiative to revolutionize Sotheby’s client management. He was previously responsible for sales data project management and business analysis as Vice President at PIMCO. Jon has also led web and mobile initiatives for a diverse array of companies in the corporate, educational, and non-profit sectors, including Harvard University, Putnam Investments, and GBC Health. His involvement in corporate social responsibility, as well as his appreciation for international football, began over 20 years ago, when Jon was a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He has also served in the US Peace Corps, mentored students through Year Up, and has managed several events for PIMCO Foundation since 2012. Jon is an NYCFC founding member and season ticket-holder, and strongly believes that New York is #blue.
Nick Ohler is a Director in the Private Capital Advisory group at William Blair, where he focuses on advising General Partners on fundraising processes and managing institutional limited partner relationships in the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada. He previously held similar roles at Houlihan Lokey, Atlantic-Pacific Capital and Stanwich Advisors. Nick graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Economics and Spanish. He is an avid soccer fan and loves Liverpool F.C. He joined the Board of Directors in 2024.
Tommaso PoggioliPartner, Boston Consulting Group
Tommaso Poggioli joined the Board of Directors in 2024
Matt RossMAR Partners, Patoma Partners
Matt Ross joined the Board of Directors in 2022 and has volunteered with the organization, as a coach and/or tutor, since 2015. He is passionate about urban development and youth flourishment. Matt is a founder and managing partner of MAR Partners, a real estate investment and development company founded in 2010. Directly or through affiliates, he manages multifamily apartment investments in emerging urban areas of Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Austin/San Antonio, and Denver. Previously, Matt co-founded Patoma, a full service real estate development, construction, and management firm based in Brooklyn. He graduated cum laude from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 where he received a B.S. in Economics. In addition to South Bronx United, Matt's volunteer and philanthropic support extends to organizations focused on urban youth development as well as mindfulness meditation and its related scientific research.
AJ Reisman is a mortgage investor at BlackRock and has been with the firm since 2009. AJ is the head of Impact for BlackRock’s Giving and Volunteering Committee, has been the captain of the BlackRock soccer team since 2010, and is a member of BlackRock's People Committee. He has served as a regional advocate for Doctors Without Borders, a soccer coach with South Bronx United, and a big brother with the Jewish Board of Family and Services.AJ graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Policy Analysis and Management. He’s received certificates from Seth Godin’s altMBA and from Middlebury College in Impact Investing and Social Enterprise Management. AJ currently resides on the Upper East Side with his wife and young daughter, prefers to wear Patagonia, avoids unnecessary harm to the environment and animals whenever possible, enjoys photography, and hiking.
Zac Rubin is the founder and owner of Upper 90 retail stores and soccer centers. Upper 90 has four locations throughout the New York metropolitan area serving as New York’s source for the latest in soccer jerseys, footwear and equipment as well as host to soccer games on several indoor and outdoor fields. Zac also opened and operates the Vineapple Cafe in Brooklyn and the Crossbar Cafe on the Upper West Side.
Pranav SawjianyDavidson Kempner Capital Management
Pranav Sawjiany, a lifelong soccer fan, has been volunteering with South Bronx United since 2010. He helped coordinate the Recreational Soccer Program in its early years, coached multiple recreational soccer teams, and started as a member of the SBU Junior Board. He previously worked as a Senior Associate at BlackRock and at Morgan Stanley in New York. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and and M.S in Financial Engineering from Cornell University. Having lived in several countries including India, Belgium, South Africa and Japan, Pranav loves how the beautiful game brings people from diverse cultures and backgrounds together, just like SBU does in the South Bronx community.
Sarah SmithAdvent International
Sarah Smith is a Partner at Advent International focused on investor relations and fundraising. Sarah received her BS from Georgia Tech and her MBA from Harvard Business School. She grew up in Georgia playing a variety of youth sports and now lives in New York with her husband and two (soccer crazed) children. She joined the Board of Directors in 2023.
Andrew So, Executive DirectorSouth Bronx United
Prior to founding South Bronx United in 2009 with his wife Steph, Andrew So served as a mathematics and special education teacher and administrator at New Day Academy, a public secondary school in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. He also supported several New York City public schools and their teachers as a math instructional coach. Over the past 10 years, Andrew has worked with Bronx youth in other capacities from summer counselor to guidance counselor to athletic coach. He holds a D-level coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation and has coached athletes of various ages and levels. He is an alumnus of the We Are The Bronx Fellowship, a partnership between the Jewish Community Relations Council's Cause-NY, Hostos Community College, and the Bronx Borough President's Office. He is a former trustee of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League and former chair of the Bronx Nonprofit Coalition, and was named the US Youth Soccer East Region Administrator of the Year in 2020. Andrew received a B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and earned an M.S.Ed. in Middle School General and Special Education from the Bank Street College of Education in New York.
Steph So, Co-FounderShake Shack
Steph So co-founded South Bronx United in 2009, drawing on her passion for education and community development causes both domestic and worldwide. She has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity International, Habitat New Orleans and Amigos de las Americas and has also supported a Mother's Wish in the Dominican Republic. With over 15 years of experience in Marketing, E-Commerce, Creative, Digital and Strategy roles, Steph has worked with brands including Ralph Lauren, Cover FX Skincare, Extend Fertility, Estée Lauder, ShopBop.com, and Bain and Company. She currently serves as the Head of Digital Experience for Shake Shack. Steph received her Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University and earned a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She also served as a Board Member for the Manhattan Country School for several years.
Jeff Sterrett, TreasurerInsight Equity
Jeff Sterrett first became involved with South Bronx United as a recreational league coach in 2013, and has also been a member of the junior board. He was an avid soccer player in his youth, and today can often be found cheering against whoever is ahead of Tottenham in the Premier League table. Jeff is currently a private equity investor at Insight Equity, and has previously worked at Morgan Stanley and at Lindsay Goldberg. Jeff received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a BA in Philosophy.
Hanan Thabet, Vice-ChairInternational Education Consultant
For over a decade, Hanan Thabet has worked in the field of international educational and student exchange, and currently has her own private international education consulting practice working with corporate and government clients. A life long New Yorker, Hanan also lived in Egypt for 6 years where she completed her bachelor’s degree and worked as a teacher at a private international school in Cairo. Hanan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo a Master of Arts in Near East Studies from New York University. Hanan’s love for soccer started at an early age, after attending several World Cup games with her parents when the event was hosted in the U.S. in 1994. Hanan joined the board in 2014.
An avid soccer player since the age of six, Kerry Van Voris was a high-school All American midfielder and attributes her love of athletics and the outdoors to soccer. She has served on the boards of Youth Venture Seattle and Changing Lives Nepal. Prior to serving as Chief People Officer at Checkout.com, she served in the same role at Oscar Health. Kerry has also served in roles at Amazon, Bridgewater Associates and in the mergers and acquisitions department at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA. Kerry has a marketing and business development background, having worked for small businesses in Seattle and, before moving to the Pacific Northwest, led the outdoor sports marketing efforts at Berkeley based and leading energy bar maker, Clif Bar. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, she spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer, working as the head case manager and intake counselor at the Center for HIV/AIDS in Oakland, CA.
Mila Yankova fell in love with football in 1993 when her native home of Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup. Against all odds, the country finished 4th bringing a ray of light to a turbulent, divided society. As a true New Yorker, Mila believes that all children living in New York City should be given a chance to succeed. She has over ten years of experience on Wall Street, previously selling emerging markets equities at Barclays. She attended the University of Chicago on a full scholarship where she received a Bachelor's degree in Economics. She has also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring recent immigrant students. Mila joined the Board of Directors in 2015.
