Alex Brashear began volunteering with SBU as a U-8 girls rec coach in the Spring of 2018, and now coaches the U-10 and U-13 boys rec teams and helps SBU’s high schoolers prepare for the SAT. Playing soccer his entire life and teaching in some capacity for the last decade, Alex found coaching to be the perfect combination of these two passions. He is currently a Product Manager for the New York Times focusing on their mobile apps. Alex earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brendan Chu began his involvement with South Bronx United in 2014 volunteering as Academic Coach for middle school students. Brendan currently tutors high school sophomores and coaches a U16 recreational team. In early 2021, Brendan joined the Supporters Club Board. He was initially attracted to South Bronx United's unique mission of using Soccer as a means of education and social change. Currently, Brendan is an Experienced Associate in PwC's Forensics Advisory Practice where he specializes in fraud and economic crime investigations and regulatory compliance. Brendan graduated with honors from Fordham University in 2018 studying finance, accounting, and business law. In his free time, Brendan can be found reading, running, practicing pottery, playing soccer, and rooting for his favorite club, Chelsea FC.
Binnur Dogan, Vice Chair
JP Morgan
With Palestinian and Turkish heritage, Binnur Dogan experienced firsthand how soccer can unite communities, especially during challenging times. This inspired her to join South Bronx United as a U5 rec coach in Spring 2023. Moved by the organization’s mission to support youth development and build community through soccer, Binnur joined the Supporters Club in 2024. A 2021 graduate of Ithaca College with a degree in business administration, she began her career as an advisor with JPMorgan’s Private Bank and is now an associate in data analytics and marketing at JPMorganChase’s Commercial and Investment Bank. In her free time, Binnur serves on the organizing committee of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s New York chapter and volunteers with NYU’s Islamic Center and the Asiyah Women’s Center.
Alexander Ellsworth
Major League Soccer
Alexander Ellsworth joined SBU as a U-15 boys rec coach in the Spring of 2023. While soccer is one of many passions, Alexander is a marketing professional, currently at HelloFresh and previously at L’Oreal. Alexander earned his undergraduate degree in Economics at Purdue University where he was proud to be part of the DI Track & Field team. He still likes to run and recently qualified for the 2025 New York City Marathon. Alexander describes himself as a life-long volunteer and believes in the power of community. Arsenal and the Knicks are at the top of the many sports and teams he supports.
After moving across the country several times by the age of 8, I finally found my home in the Philadelphia suburbs. I grew up with a love of sports as well as a love for the classroom and found that there are connections between the lessons learned in both settings that are not spoken about enough. After graduating from high school, I attended Harvard University where I studied Economics. After one and a half years, I took a voluntary leave of absence to sign a professional contract in the MLS with the Philadelphia Union and played there for four years. During my time there, I finished my degree at Harvard by flying up to campus to take exams and meet with professors. I negotiated a trade to New York City FC in 2023, have been here ever since, and now after settling in am looking to get further involved in the community.
Michael Galardi, Volunteer Liaison
Charlesbank Capital Partners
Michael Galardi is a Vice President within the Credit Opportunities group at Charlesbank Capital Partners where he focuses on opportunistic and special situations investments across the capital structure. Prior to Charlesbank, he worked at Greenhill & Co. and FTI Consulting. Michael earned his BA in Philosophy from Wake Forest University in 2017. Originally from Delaware, Michael is a lifelong soccer player and fan, who enjoys cooking and traveling in his spare time.
Channon Greenfield
NYC Department of Health and Mental 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.
John Hewertson joined South Bronx United as a U-19 boys rec coach in 2015, and the Supporters Club Board in 2021. He is a Vice President on Goldman Sachs' Firmwide Strategy team and continues to coach U-19 boys. John previously worked in Citi's Financial Institutions Group, which he joined from college. He moved to New York in 2015 after graduating from Penn State with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He's been a New York Road Runner since 2017 and ran the 2019 and 2021 New York Marathons. Originally from Allentown PA, his extended family lives in Australia and the U.K.
Julian Kershaw-Weih
Verance Capital
Julian Kershaw-Weih joined the Supporters Club Board in 2022 after his first year of coaching in SBU's recreational division and seeing the incredible impact of the program. Julian is a Principal at Verance Capital where he works across sports, media and entertainment, and through which he serves as a Board Member of League One Volleyball, a mission-led sports performance, training and media enterprise shaping the future of U.S. women's volleyball. Julian also runs 49th Parallel, a non-profit events company focused on raising funds for organizations in the New York area. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Julian graduated with Honors from McGill University before ultimately moving to New York in 2017. When not on the field, Julian loves to travel, hike, play music and explore new restaurants in the city.
Zachary Klinger began volunteering with SBU as a mentor in 2019 and joined the SBU Supporters Club board in 2020. Before Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP previously worked as a Litigation Associate at Proskauer Rose LLP, where he focused on general commercial and white collar matters. Zack earned his A.B. in Psychology from Princeton University, and his J.D. from NYU School of Law. Zack has been a lifelong soccer player and fan.
Trish Maheras, Secretary
Citigroup
Trish Maheras has been volunteering with SBU as a U-11 Girls rec coach since the Spring of 2022 and ran with the team for the NYC Marathon 2023. She is currently an AVP Municipal Bond Trader at Citigroup, trading sectors such as state and local government obligations, utilities school districts, and airports. Trish graduated from Northwestern University in 2019 where she majored in Industrial Engineering, with a minor in Economics, and was part of the Northwestern Women’s Club Soccer Team. She is originally from New Jersey and enjoys reading, running, hiking, and traveling.
Peter Martin, Membership Chair
New York Yankees
Peter Martin grew up in Summit, New Jersey, and went to Macalester College where he played soccer, and graduated Cum Laude. He attended law school at Vanderbilt University and worked for nearly six years as an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP. He recently left that position to take his current role with the New York Yankees. His wife, Katie Martin, is also an attorney and is an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP.
Carson Miller began volunteering with SBU as a girls U8 rec coach. She grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she saw firsthand the power that soccer and sports in general have to open doors and bring people of different backgrounds together. This inspired her to pursue a career in the sports industry. She graduated from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania where she majored in Management and Operations & Information Systems. While at Penn she worked for the Wharton Sports Business Initiative where she continued to develop a passion for the industry. Today, she works as a Managing Consultant for IBM's Sports and Entertainment Practice delivering digital fan experiences for properties such as The Masters, US Open and Wimbledon.
Raymond Moya
New York Road Runners
Raymond Moya started his SBU journey as an Education Volunteer in 2019. Through the AmeriCorps program he was the Volunteer and Community Outreach Associate from 2022 to 2024. He currently works at New York Road Runners as the Community Programs Associate. Raymond fell in love with the universal language that is soccer in the summer of 2010 through the South Africa World Cup. He supports Chelsea FC, the US soccer men’s and women’s teams, and is an avid supporter and season ticket holder of New York City FC since its inception. He holds degrees in Intelligence Operations (A.A.S), English (B.A.), and Philosophy (B.A.) from Fordham University. Raymond is a part-time avid reader and creative writer; born and raised in the Bronx.
Ninad Nirgudkar began volunteering with SBU in the fall of 2020 and now coaches both a boys U-13 and U-16 team. Ninad was drawn to SBU due to the unique intersection of their mission with his favorite sport and the impact that they were able to have on their community. He is currently an associate at BCG working as a general strategy consultant and previously worked as a Consultant at Oliver Wyman, again doing general strategy consulting. Ninad graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Astrophysics and Applied Mathematics. In his free time, Ninad can be found biking around Manhattan, trying out complicated new recipes with friends, and of course playing soccer.
I was born and raised outside of Columbus, Ohio, where my family still resides. Soccer has been a passion of mine since I was 5 years old, playing competitively until I got to college at the University of Richmond where I decided just to focus on my pre-med work. Although I don’t play competitively anymore, I deeply miss the sport that shaped a large part of who I am. When I moved to NYC for my graduate program 4 years ago, I was looking for a way to get involved with coaching soccer–that is when I stumbled upon SBU. As someone who is passionate about both soccer and teaching/education, I was immediately drawn to SBU’s mission. Since then, I have volunteered as a tutor, coach, college prep mentor, and college success mentor over the last 3 years. I am continually inspired by the relationships that I have formed with the students I’ve mentored and the kids that I’ve coached. Apart from SBU, I am hoping to pursue a career in medicine, with plans to apply to medical school next year. I currently work as a clinical research coordinator in the Intensive Care Unit at NYU Langone. In my free time I love to cook, play guitar, exercise, and explore the incredible NYC food scene!
Mike Peña is an Analyst in Macro Credit Trading at Goldman Sachs where he focuses on opportunistic bond trading and portfolio management. Previously, Mike worked in the Institutional Lending Group at Goldman Sachs doing structured credit investing and at New Heights Capital doing middle market private equity investing. Mike joined South Bronx United as part of the travel team in 2010, since then he has been actively involved with supporting the organization. Mike is a SBU College Scholar. Mike earned a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance and a Double Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics with Minors in Finance and Management & Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2017.
Spencer Reiter
Almanac Realty Investors
Spencer Reiteris a Vice President on the Investor Relations team at Almanac Realty Investors, the private real estate division of Neuberger Berman. He’s primarily focused on managing and maintaining investor relationships and fundraising for a variety of private equity real estate funds. He joined South Bronx United’s Supporter Board in 2025 after becoming involved with the organization in 2024. Spencer earned a degree in Finance with a minor in Marketing from Tulane University in 2016.
Ryan Schlaepfer, Chair
League Apps
Ryan Schlaepfer joined the Supporters Club board in 2023 after a year of coaching in SBU’s U8 Rec Program. Ryan works at LeagueApps, a venture-backed sports technology company where his focus is on Go To Market Project Management. Prior to LeagueApp, Ryan worked at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) on their Sports Property Sales team. In addition to SBU, he currently serves as a Board Member for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s Young Professionals of New York City, a pediatric cancer research charity. Ryan is a graduate of Temple University and currently lives in Manhattan. In his spare time, he can be found watching Formula 1, the Premier League (Go Tottenham), or reading.
