Our mission-driven team is composed of people with deep networks and sector experience who work to ensure the firm creates the impact and returns intended. Our diversity makes us stronger and more adept at spotting trends before they unfold.
Amy Nelson
Managing Partner, Rethink Education
Amy Nelson serves as Managing Partner of Rethink Education where she oversees the firm’s operations, strategy, pipeline and portfolio management, and serves on the investment committee. Amy transitioned into a full-time role with the Rethink Education team after three years as Chief Strategy Officer for Rethink Capital Partners, where she led growth and operations across the platform. Amy also sits on the IC for Rethink Food and has been a strategic partner on Rethink Community.
Prior to Rethink, Amy spent seven years at Venture For America (VFA), an organization that selects, trains, and supports the next generation of entrepreneurs, including four years serving as CEO. In her seven years with VFA, Amy helped more than 1,200 recent college graduates launch entrepreneurial careers, directly supported the launch of 120+ businesses, and made direct investments into 40+ pre-seed startups.
Amy has also held business development positions at B Lab, Relief International, and Cambodian Children’s Fund. Amy sits on the boards of the Vivvi, Impact Capital Managers Institute, West Harlem Innovation Network, Partners for Justice, Generation Citizen, and Safe Haven Medical Outreach in Cambodia.
Amy is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Andre Bennin
Managing Partner, Rethink Education
Andre (“Dre”) Bennin is a Managing Partner of Rethink Education where he is a key player in both firm strategy and leading investments, actively shaping the portfolio, positioning, and thesis. Dre brings 10+ years of venture and private equity investing experience to the team, formerly serving as Managing Partner of Juvo Ventures and as Managing Director of Corporate Development at Strada Education Network. While at Strada, Dre led $580mm of investments and acquisitions, served on the boards of Authess, Cell-Ed, BridgeEdu, and Roadtrip Nation, and was an advisory board member of Kenzie Academy and GSV Ventures.
Dre originally joined Strada in 2013 as Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to the CEO, playing an integral role in the organization’s transition and mission development. Before rejoining Strada as Managing Director in 2018, Dre pursued a role in the public sector as Senior Operations Director for the Office of the Governor of Indiana, Eric J. Holcomb, where he supervised all workforce training and economic development agencies for the state and spearheaded the creation of its $250mm investment vehicle, the Next Level Fund.
Dre was recognized in Savoy Magazine’s 2020 Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America. He earned his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and his Juris Doctorate from Brigham Young University. Dre is a West African immigrant, born in Côte d’Ivoire to two Ghanaian parents and grew up in Alexandria, VA. He currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his three children. Dre is a native French and Twi speaker.
Brad Jakeman
Founding Managing Partner, Rethink Food
Brad Jakeman serves as the Founding Managing Partner of Rethink Food with Rini Greenfield. Brad is the former president of PepsiCo’s Global Beverage Group, accounting for more than $20BN in revenue. Brad was instrumental in driving financial returns while re-tooling the beverage portfolio for the future. Through marketing, innovation, M&A and product reformulation Brad significantly reshaped the PepsiCo beverage portfolio toward healthier, more nutritious options.
During his seven year tenure, PepsiCo’s market cap increased by 52% outpacing the principal competitor by 24%, ROIC grew from 9.5% to 24.8% and PepsiCo returned over $45BN to shareholders, all while making significant progress toward a more sustainable future for the company and society.
Brad implemented one of the largest reformulation efforts in packaged good history to remove one third of added sugar from over 600+ beverage SKUs. He created double-digit growth in PepsiCo’s water portfolio, including one of the most successful launches in packaged good history with LifeWTR ($250MM Retail Sales in year one) and drove Aquafina to the #1 packaged water brand globally. He also spear-headed key M&A efforts, notably SodaStream, the world’s largest carbonated water brand that alone is expected to eliminate 67 billion single-use plastic packages by 2025.
Brad is considered one of the world’s leading branding thought leaders and has been named one of the top 5 ‘Most Indispensable Executives in Tech, Media and Marketing’ for two years in a row by Adweek. Brad currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of The Humane Society, the world’s largest animal welfare“ organization.
Bridget Duru
Senior Associate, Rethink Education
Bridget Duru is a senior associate at Rethink Education, focused on pipeline, deal sourcing, and thesis development, currently targeting our life skills investment vertical. She boasts a strong background in leading due diligence for private equity transactions in the education and consumer sectors during her tenure at EY-Parthenon.
Bridget brings an extensive network in venture capital and early-stage education, healthcare, and financial technologies to the team. She serves as the New York Co-Lead of the Emerging Venture Capital Association, is the founder of pre-partner EdTech investors group, and is a board observer of Rethink Education portfolio companies: Anthill and Vivvi. Bridget has been raising funds dedicated to advancing education since middle school.
She graduated magna cum lade from Brown University with a B.A. in Political Science and Gender Studies.
Chelsea Morris
Vice President of Platform, Rethink Impact
Chelsea Morris is Vice President of Platform at Rethink Impact. She has a breadth of experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, most recently Program Coordinator of the Development Office at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. At CSIS, Chelsea secured new donors, tracked revenue, and played a key role with senior staff in transitioning CRM systems. In 2012 she started her own company, Love and Be Loved, that sold T-shirts and donated a portion of its profits to the local women’s shelter.
David Bramble
JV Partner & Investment Committee Member, Rethink Community
P. David Bramble is an Investment Committee Member and JV Partner of Rethink Community through his role as Managing Partner at MCB Real Estate, LLC. He dedicates his time to sourcing transactions, financial structuring and overseeing project underwriting & execution. A corporate and real estate attorney by training, David brings a deep knowledge of all aspects of the real estate cycle.
Prior to MCB, David served as the Director of commercial lending for a regionally based full-service lending firm, which he co-founded in 2000. Prior to devoting all his time to commercial real estate investment, David practiced law in the transactions group of a D.C.-based international law firm, where he provided corporate and real estate advisory services.
His practice focused on complex workouts, primarily in the real estate and financial products space. David currently serves on the advisory board to the Brown School of Business and Leadership at Stevenson University and the Foundation Board of the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.
David has also served on the Board of Directors of a federally chartered bank, served as a Commissioner on the Maryland racing commission as well as on the Boards of multiple real estate and non-real estate related charitable organizations. David received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an A.B. from Princeton University.
David Braunstein
Senior Vice President, Investments, Rethink Real Estate
David Braunstein serves as Senior Vice President of Investments for Rethink Real Estate, focused on acquisitions and development projects for Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Community. Mr. Braunstein joined Rethink in 2015 and is responsible for the evaluation of potential investment opportunities and all aspects of the initial acquisition and development process.
Prior to joining the team, David was an Originations Associate for Hudson Realty Capital, a New York-based real estate fund manager with over $1.5 billion in assets under management. Preceding his time at Hudson Realty Capital, David held acquisition and asset management roles at Argent Ventures and DRA Advisors in New York. Prior to this experience, he served as an Analyst for securitized products at UBS and as an Senior Accountant at Ernst & Young.
David holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Tulane University and a M.S. in Real Estate from New York University. Mr. Braunstein is an inaugural member of the Revista Rising Leaders Council.
Dean Banks
Senior Strategic Advisor, Rethink Food
An entrepreneur, technologist, innovator, and business leader, Dean’s leadership has helped diverse early-stage and established companies deliver on their long-term strategies.
Dean most recently served as President and CEO at Tyson Foods where he was responsible for charting the long-term vision for the company including steering the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and the development of alternative proteins throughout its operations. During his four-year tenure with the company, he also served on the Board and executive leadership team. He joined Tyson from the high-tech incubator at Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google [X], where he served on the leadership team and led moonshot projects across multiple industries including sustainable food (as co-founder of Tidal) and robotics (as co-founder of Intrinsic).
Dean was previously managing partner of SEED Ventures, a group investing in and developing early-stage healthcare technologies. He also has served as a consultant to Cleveland Clinic Innovations, SVP of Business Development and Strategic Marketing at OrthoHelix, co‐founder and CEO of Connective Orthopedics, and Vice President at Highland Capital Partners. He currently serves on the Boards of Vergent Bioscience (where he was a co-founder and founding CEO), OMeat, and on the Advisory Board of Shiru.
Dean is a former platoon sergeant and squad leader in the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Public Relations from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Divya Demato
Operating Advisor on Supply Chain & Digital Transformation, Rethink Food
Divya Demato serves as an Operating Advisor on Supply Chain & Digital Transformation for Rethink Food. She is the CEO & Co-Founder of GoodOps, a supply chain consultancy partnering with companies to architect, accelerate, and scale sustainable operations.
Since 2003, Divya has driven innovative solutions across the value chain for companies at various stages of growth, such as Walmart, Danone, One Kings Lane, Martin Brower/McDonalds, Westwing/Rocket Internet and Pricesmart.
Divya’s work at GoodOps includes establishing fair labor standards for factory workers and piloting advanced technologies to improve environmental impact. As an outcome of extensive on-the-ground audits in Africa for a leading US brand, Divya co-designed a new social impact measurement platform, ACCOUNTABLE, to bring factory workers to a living wage, featured in Fast Company & Forbes. Divya piloted an autonomous truck test between a top L4 provider and a top 5 global food distributor, to reduce carbon emissions & improve road safety. She has co-written white papers on Blockchain, AI/ML, Autonomous Vehicles & Warehouse Automation, and co-authored a chapter in Vehicle Road Automation 5. Divya is also building GoodList, a sustainable sourcing platform to connect brands with verified ESG suppliers adhering to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Divya has been an operator, entrepreneur, executive, consultant, and advisor for internationally recognized startups and multinationals around the world. She brings a vast global network of executives, investors, and entrepreneurs at the vanguard of today’s most powerful industries.
Divya is a winner of Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s Women in Supply Chain Award in 2020. She is an Advisor to Rethink Food & Radiant Ventures; Chairwoman Emeritus for Nexus Global; and, a Mentor for Unreasonable Group. Divya has spoken at FASHINNOVATION, CPO Rising, NextGenChef, Nexus, YWCA: Labor Trafficking, Techstars, Home Delivery World, Automated Vehicles Symposium, and The New York Supply Chain Meetup.
Divya is fluent in Spanish, moderate in French.
Douglas Ray
President and Chief Executive Officer
Douglas Ray serves as Chief Executive Officer of Rethink Capital Partners. He joined the firm in 1995 and has subsequently been involved in all phases of the firm’s development. In his role, Mr. Ray is responsible for supervising all real estate and private investments, including negotiating major transactions, overseeing the investment due diligence process, providing analysis, and structuring equity and debt investments on behalf of Rethink and their clients.
Mr. Ray previously served on the Board of Directors of Fifth Street Finance Corp. (NASDAQ: FSC), a public investment management company based in White Plains, NY, and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Prior to joining Rethink, Mr. Ray was employed in Washington, D.C., on the staff of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter and as a research analyst for the Republican National Committee.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Elizabeth Cuti
Executive Assistant
Elizabeth Cuti serves as an Executive Assistant to the President and CIO. Mrs. Cuti joined Rethink Capital Partners in May 2016 committed to providing excellent administrative support with strong organizational skills, core values, a positive attitude and self motivated to make decisions quickly and think on her feet. She brings more than 20 years of experience in coordinating and managing relationships internally and externally making for a collaborative environment amongst the team.
Prior to joining the firm, Mrs. Cuti held key roles in Engineering Services, Customer Service and Leadership Development and Training at Mercedes-Benz USA where she thrived in creating and launching successful training programs, employee recognition and team development.
Elyssa Rodriguez
Senior Fund Accountant
Elyssa Rodriguez serves as a Senior Fund Accountant for Rethink Capital Partners. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for DLC, a commercial real estate company, doing financial reporting for lenders and joint venture partners. She received her Bachelor’s in Finance and Accounting at the University of New Haven. She then received her MBA at UNH.
Heidi Krauel Patel
Managing Partner, Rethink Impact
Heidi Krauel Patel serves as Managing Partner of Rethink Impact with Jenny Abramson. Previously, she was President and Head of Communities Investing for New Island Capital Management, an institutional-scale and 100% mission-focused investment advisor to a single ultra high net worth family. In this capacity, she helped grow and run the firm while also focusing on early stage private equity investing in online marketplaces, sustainable food and consumer brands, alternative financial institutions, and local living economies. She sat on New Island’s Executive Team and the Investment Committee, overseeing 100+ investments, across multiple asset classes, in sustainability, conservation, education, economic development, sustainable agriculture, and green real estate.
Prior to this, Heidi was an Acumen Fund Global Fellow working with D.light Design India, a social enterprise operating in India, China, and Tanzania to eradicate kerosene through the design, manufacturing and distribution of solar-powered LED lights. Before Acumen, Heidi was a Director at Pacific Community Ventures, a double bottom-line private equity fund and non-profit organization in San Francisco, California focused on small businesses creating high quality jobs in low-income neighborhoods. Previously, she was a founding member of AOL Time Warner Ventures and worked in Investment Banking at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Heidi Patel teaches (and co-created) a course on institutional impact investing at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and she serves on the Investment Committee for the Stanford GSB Student Impact Fund. Heidi is an advisor to Impact America (another women-led impact investing firm) and board member of Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo. Heidi’s work in social enterprise and impact investing has been featured in the Wall St Journal, NPR’s Marketplace, Fox Business News, Forbes.com, Huffington Post, Ladies Home Journal, AOL’s WalletPop, Rick Roberts Show, and the Acumen Fund blog. Heidi earned an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Hillary Collins
Senior Associate, Project Management, Rethink Real Estate
Hillary Collins serves as Senior Associate, Project Management for Rethink Real Estate, working across the firm’s strategies: Rethink Community and Rethink Healthcare Real Estate. In her role she is responsible for overseeing property renovations and managing the build out of tenant spaces.
Prior to joining Rethink, Ms. Collins worked as the Assistant Project Manager at AmericonHITT, a general contractor providing expert construction services in the Tri-State area.
Hillary holds a M.S. in Ecological Design and Planning from the Conway School of Landscape Design and a B.A. in Sociology and Architecture from Ithaca College.
Hong Liu
Senior Fund Accountant
Hong Liu serves as a Senior Fund Accountant for Rethink Capital Partners.
Prior to coming to Rethink, Hong worked at Waypoint Residential, a vertically integrated developer, owner, and operator of apartment properties, and before that she worked in the financial services line at Ernst & Young.
Hong came to the U.S. in 2011 and received her master’s degree in accounting from Baruch College.
In her free time she loves to spend time with her family and cook, especially Chinese food.
Indra Nooyi
Senior Strategic Advisor, Rethink Food
Indra Nooyi serves as a Senior Strategic Advisor for Rethink Food. She is PepsiCo’s former chair and CEO. She retired in 2019 after 24 years with the company, half of which she spent in the top job. As CEO, she thwarted a bid to break up PepsiCo, nearly doubled sales and introduced healthier products and environmentally friendly practices. Nooyi joined the board of Amazon in 2019. Nooyi grew up in India and got an MBA from Yale before becoming one of corporate America’s few female CEOs in 2006.
Jenny Abramson
Founder & Managing Partner, Rethink Impact
Jenny Ambramson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Rethink Impact with Heidi Krauel Patel. Jenny sits on the boards of Ellevest, FutureFuel.io, Sempre Health and as a board observer for Neurotrack and Werk. Previously Jenny served as CEO of LiveSafe, a tech security company focused on preventing school shootings and sexual assaults. She also held leadership roles at The Washington Post, Personal (a data tech company), The Boston Consulting Group, D.C. Public Schools, and Teach for America.
Jenny is a board member of the NFL Players, Inc., DC Prep, and is board chair of Georgetown Day School. She is also an active member of All Raise, co-leading their data efforts. Finally, she is an Advisory Board member of the Camden Partners Nexus Fund (an early stage health focused VC fund).
Jenny has been covered in Forbes, on CNN, in The New York Times, and in The Washington Post, interviewed on Squawk Box, featured at the Code Conference, at the United Nations, at the G7, and on Capitol Hill, and was named Top 40 Under 40, a DC Power Women in Tech and a DC Tech Titan. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors from Stanford University, an MBA with honors and the Dean’s Award from Harvard Business School (where she also served on the Investment Committee for Shareholder Responsibility for Harvard University) and was a Fulbright Scholar at The London School of Economics.
Jess Krieger, PhD
Operating Advisor on Science, Rethink Food
Dr. Jess Krieger serves as an Operating Advisor on Science for Rethink Food. She is the CEO and co-founder of Ohayo Valley, a cultivated steak company. She is one of the cultivated meat industries earliest pioneers and visionaries, and was the first scientist in the world to build a career exclusively in cultivated meat science in 2010. The main focus of her scientific and entrepreneurial pursuits is the intersection of sustainable food systems and climate science. She is an expert in biotechnology and the alternative protein industry, with deep experience in cell biology, cell line and bioprocess development, tissue engineering, food science, and cultivated meat science. She is a graduate of the New Harvest fellowship program, the world’s first organization to fund cultivated meat research in academia. In 2019, she co-founded Artemys Foods as Chief Science Officer and developed the Artemys Burger, a cultivated beef burger. In 2020, Dr. Krieger co-founded Ohayo Valley to develop the world’s first cultivated wagyu ribeye. She is also the founder of the Women of Cellular Agriculture organization (WOCA), which supports women in STEM pursuing careers in cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. She has undergraduate degrees in neuroscience and a PhD in biomedical sciences.
Jill Ni
Principal, Rethink Impact
Jill Ni is a Principal at Rethink Impact. Previously, Jill was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group, leading equity and debt impact investments in economic development projects, education, sustainability, and small business finance, often in partnership with public sector and nonprofit leaders. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Jill was an Education Pioneers Fellow within a stealth EdTech startup and a summer associate at Sesame Workshop, focused on strategy and ventures in early childhood education. Jill started her career as a management consultant at Accenture, where she advised government agencies, financial services companies, nonprofits, and charter school networks on organizational strategy, digital customer experience, and operations.
Jill earned a BS in International Economics with Honors from Georgetown University, an MBA from The Wharton School, and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. While in school, Jill was on the steering committee of the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference and led education investments as a member of Wharton Impact Investing Partners. Jill currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Brooklyn RISE Charter School.
Joe Garcia
Principal, Rethink Impact
Joe Garcia is a Principal at Rethink Impact. Prior to joining Rethink full-time, Joe was an MBA Intern during his graduate program at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute, where he studied the intersection of climate solutions and finance, receiving an MBA and an MS in Environmental Sustainability. During the program, he served as the Director of the Social Venture Fund, the nation’s first student-led impact investing fund, and as a Summer Associate at Lewis & Clark AgriFood, a growth equity fund in St. Louis. Before graduate school, Joe worked in sales and business development roles at software startups in the Bay Area.
Jonathan Winer
Senior Managing Director, Rethink Capital Partners and President & CIO, Rethink Healthcare Real Estate
Jonathan Winer serves as President and Chief Investment Officer of Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Senior Managing Director of Rethink Capital Partners. He joined the firm in 2008 and has over 28 years of real estate experience. Mr. Winer has multi-faceted responsibilities directing all aspects of the healthcare real estate business. Prior to Rethink, Mr. Winer was a Partner at EY LLP where he directed the Healthcare Real Estate Advisory practice. Previously, Mr. Winer specialized in providing tax-exempt financing working on Wall Street.
Mr. Winer is a frequent speaker at healthcare real estate industry events including seminars sponsored by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Revista, among other organizations. He serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the publication Healthcare Real Estate Insights and is Board Member of Revista, a leading data provider to the healthcare real estate industry. He was the recent Chair of the ULI Healthcare and Life Sciences Council. Mr. Winer has an MBA from New York University and a BBA from George Washington University and is a licensed real estate broker in New York.
Karin Rotem-Wildeman, PhD
Operating Advisor on Food Engineering/Research & Development, Rethink Food
Dr. Karin Rotem-Wildeman serves as an Operating Advisor on Food Engineering/Research & Development for Rethink Food. Currently the Chief Scientific Officer of the LIVEKINDLY Collective responsible for near, mid, and long-term innovation. Excited to join the mission of transforming the food ecosystem for good. Food technology and science have never been more important and front of mind for the future and safety of the global food landscape. Thrilled to be joining a tremendous leadership team and experienced and insightful group of founders. The future will be interesting for sure!
Known as a business-minded technical leader in the Food and Beverage Industry with 20yrs+ of experience driving innovation and commercialization. My career has primarily focused on Research and Development, though I have always operated at intersections with Marketing, Operations, Corporate Strategy, and Business Development. I have lived and worked in The Americas, Europe, and Asia and take great pleasure learning new cultures through the lens of food.
Began my career journey and foundational training at Nestle where I spent 3 years in the Food Service Division designing new product and process soup and sauce innovation. From Nestle, I joined PepsiCo, where I spent 18 years in a variety of positions Product Innovation, Process Development, R&D General Management, Innovation Strategy & Portfolio Management, and Venture Capital Investment. Fortunate to touch all key categories across my tenure which included: beverages, salty snacks, and nutrition. I graduated from PepsiCo as the SVP of R&D leading 9 Beverage Regional Innovation Centers located all over the world.
Most recently served as the Global Head of Research and Development for Godiva Chocolatier. Responsible for the strategy and delivery of the product innovation pipeline, brand excellence, technology and productivity. I led a broad group of technical functions including Culinary Creation, Sensory Science, Product Development, Process Commercialization, Package Engineering, Regulatory Affairs, and Quality Assurance across all channels. A beautiful brand with a rich heritage I was honored to have the chance to bring to life an innovation roadmap for the future with a talented and strong R&D team and great functional partners.
Kaylee Grant
Vice President of Finance
Kaylee Grant serves as the Vice President of Finance at Rethink Capital Partners. Mrs. Grant is responsible for the accounting operations and financial reporting for all Rethink entities. She has 8 years of experience focusing on fund accounting, financial reporting and transaction accounting.
Mrs. Grant joined Rethink in 2014 from Tishman Speyer where she was a fund controller responsible for financial accounting and fair value reporting for various funds investing in commercial real estate. Prior to her time at Tishman Speyer, Mrs. Grant spent four years as a senior auditor in the real estate service group at CohnReznick LLC.
Mrs. Grant received a dual Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from Western New England University. Mrs. Grant is a CPA licensed in the State of New York.
Keith Barker
Vice President, Development and Construction, Rethink Real Estate
Keith Barker serves as Vice President of Development and Construction for Rethink Real Estate, working across the firm’s real estate strategies: Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Community. Mr. Barker joined Rethink in 2019 and is responsible for leading the Real Estate Development and Investment opportunities within Rethink Community as well as Construction activities across both platforms. Over his two decades in commercial real estate, Mr. Barker has been active in several verticals including Multi Family, Medical Office, Retail, For Sale and large Horizontal Development projects.
Prior to joining Rethink, Mr. Barker led the team at Commercial Development Inc., a Baltimore based real estate development company that specializes in urban infill projects, repositioning of operating properties and land assemblage for development or resale. Preceding his time at Commercial, Mr. Barker held Business Development and Preconstruction roles at Clark Construction as well as sales and leadership roles in business verticals outside of the real estate sector.
Mr. Barker earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Towson University and is active in several business and charity groups in both Maryland and Tennessee.
Kurt Hackett
Vice President, Asset Management, Rethink Real Estate
Kurt Hackett serves as Vice President of Asset Management for Rethink Real Estate. He joined in 2018 and is responsible for the management and analysis of an extensive portfolio of commercial and healthcare properties across the firm’s real estate strategies: Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Community. Prior to joining Rethink, Mr. Hackett worked at Hudson Realty Capital, a New York-based real estate equity fund manager with over $1.5 billion in assets under management, as Director in the Loan Originations Group and as Vice President in the Asset Management Group.
Mr. Hackett earned his MBA from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, with a focus on Finance and Real Estate. Mr. Hackett received a Bachelors of Business from Pace University.
Lisa Mann
Operating Advisor on Marketing & Talent, Rethink Food
Lisa Mann serves as an Operating Advisor on Marketing & Talent for Rethink Food. She is the Managing Director and CMO of Raines, a talent advisory and executive search firm, that is on a mission to maximize human potential. At Raines, she works closely with senior leaders of Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, VC and PE firms those being disrupted and the disruptors on business strategy, marketing and talent management solutions to drive exponential growth.
Before Raines, Lisa had a 30+ year career in the food industry leading many iconic brands, such as Oreo, KIND and Quaker Oats. Her last position at PepsiCo, President of the Global Nutrition Category, combined her love for food and commitment to health and wellness.
Over the past 10 years, Lisa has worked with many founder-led growth companies in the food and health and wellness categories. She advises these passionate entrepreneurs on core marketing, product innovation, and sales strategies so these emerging businesses turn into sustainable enterprises. For example, Lisa is a Board Member of SunFed Ranch, an emerging beef company that delivers domestically produced and regeneratively ranched grass-fed beef that is good for the environment and our health.
Malika Basheer
Senior Vice President, Director of Asset Management, Rethink Real Estate
Malika Basheer serves as the Senior Vice President and Director of Asset Management for Rethink Real Estate. She has been with the firm since 2002 and is responsible for the management and analysis of an extensive portfolio of medical office and outpatient assets, as well as other commercial, retail, and residential assets. She brings more than 16 years of real estate experience in asset management, leasing, operations, acquisitions and dispositions, strategic planning, financial management, and business development. Her responsibilities extend to investment management, development, and evaluation of real estate investment opportunities and financing alternatives, as well as the diligence for new transactions.
Prior to joining Rethink, Ms. Basheer held key roles in corporate finance for Mastercard International and PepsiCo where she demonstrated success working with cross-functional teams to execute strategies to maximize value and mitigate risks on various product types across multiple markets.
Ms. Basheer earned her Master’s in Business Administration and a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Management Information Systems from the School of Management at Binghamton University.
Marco Navarro
Associate, Rethink Real Estate
Marco Navarro is an Associate at Rethink Real Estate, working across the firm’s strategies. Prior to Rethink, he was an Acquisitions & Asset Management Associate at Grander Capital Partners, where he led the firm’s Northeast and Mid-Atlantic acquisitions. During his tenure, Marco was responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and capitalizing office and industrial investments. Additionally, he helped lead the Boston asset management team, overseeing the portfolio.
Marco holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Finance from NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, where he was a Hirsh Fellow. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Boston College, where he served as the president of the real estate club.
Matt Greenfield
Founder & Managing Partner, Rethink Education
Matt Greenfield is a pioneer investor in EdTech with 25+ years of experience in venture capital and angel investing and deep industry connections. He is eager to transform education to be more joyful, collaborative, and purposeful, which he strives to achieve through his role as founder and managing partner of Rethink Education.
Matt has a robust background in entrepreneurship and education as the co-founder of Rethink First, a $100m ARR company serving 3 million neurodivergent learners a year, and former English professor at Bowdoin College and the City University of New York (CUNY). During his time as a professor, Matt served on a committee overseeing admissions, helped launch an interdisciplinary learning community program for first-year students, taught in a teacher preparation program, and led graduate courses in literature to teachers from the New York City Public Schools.
Matt is a board member of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and several Rethink Education portfolio companies including Stellic, CareAcademy, GetSetUp, Major League Hacking, Ignite Reading, and NoRedInk.
Matt received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in English from Yale University, where he won five academic prizes and fellowships from the Mellon and Whiting Foundations and served on the editorial board of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities.
Michael Walden
Chief Operating & Compliance Officer, Rethink Capital Partners and President, Rethink Community
Michael Walden serves as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Rethink Capital Partners, where he oversees the launch, development and operations of the Rethink Capital Partners venture strategies. Michael also serves as the President & Managing Partner of Rethink Community. Since joining the firm in 2011, he has led the development and launch of four Rethink Capital Partners strategies and developed the firm’s operating division. He is a member of the Investment Committee for Rethink Education, Rethink Impact, Rethink Community and Rethink Healthcare Real Estate.
Michael brings over 25 years of experience establishing, operating and growing businesses in a variety of industries. This includes operating positions in venture-funded growth companies in the technology and telecommunications sectors.
Michael began his career in Washington, D.C. serving on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. Mr. Walden received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond.
Michelle Dervan
Venture Partner, Rethink Education
Michelle Dervan is a Venture Partner of Rethink Education, formerly serving as a partner on the team and now the CEO of SkillsTrust, a Rethink Education portfolio company working to simplify pay transparency compliance and culture.
Michelle was a Director of Strategic Partnerships at Pearson Education where she focused on sourcing and structuring partnership deals with large and small tech companies. She previously held a number of education, EdTech and economic development roles at Enterprise Ireland, an Irish government agency.
Michelle holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies, French and Russian from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Moira Cullen
Operating Advisor on Design, Rethink Food
Moira Cullen serves as a Operating Advisor on Design for Rethink Food. An internationally recognized design strategist, writer and educator, named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and among the most influential designers in the past 50 years by Graphic Design USA, Moira has forged a career leading strategic creative solutions that effectively honor the essence and heritage of organizations, institutions and brands.
From Fortune 500 to B Corp, her leadership has advanced and elevated design at some of the world’s most iconic brands method products, PepsiCo, The Hershey Company, and The Coca-Cola Company where she led development of the Coca-Cola visual identity system that won the first Grand Prix for Design at the 2008 Cannes Lions Awards.
At Hallmark Cards, she built and led the corporate design group that leveraged design as a strategic asset. She was Chair of Communication Arts at Otis College of Art and Design; design manager at Pentagram NY; and creative director for Japanese fashion retailer Taka-Q.
She is a frequent keynoter and speaker on design and branding. Her essays and criticism have been published in leading design publications and anthologies. She was past president of AIGA The Professional Association for Design’s Los Angeles and Kansas City Chapters; president of AIGA’s Center for Brand Experience; served as a director on AIGA’s national board, and is an AIGA Fellow.
She holds an enduring belief in design’s (soft) power to engage hearts and minds . . .
Monique Malcolm-Hay
Senior Associate, Rethink Education
Monique Malcolm-Hay is a senior associate at Rethink Education, focused on deal sourcing, portfolio management, and fundraising support. An emerging AI connoisseur in the EdTech sector, Monique is spearheading Rethink Education’s partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation on responsible AI in education and is a frequent speaker on the topic at industry events like SOCAP.
Monique began her career in PwC’s Deals practice on the restructuring team before transitioning to join PwC’s workforce strategy consulting team, where she drove the firm’s AI x upskilling offering. She then joined the early team of Future Fit AI, where she loved supporting the 0 to 1 stage of company building. Prior to Rethink, Monique led Stanford GSB’s Impact Fund, directing early-stage investments with a focus on measurable social impact.
Trained as an accountant (CPA-equivalent), Monique holds an M.B.A. and M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Business and Management from Aston University.
Board observer of Rethink Education portfolio companies: Brighthive and Voxy.
Percy Oliver
Associate, Rethink Real Estate
Percy Oliver serves as an Associate for Rethink Real Estate, working across the firm’s real estate strategies: Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Community. Prior to joining Rethink, Percy completed an M.B.A. internship at Beacon Capital Partners with the primary responsibility of underwriting office and life science properties in various markets. Before pursuing his MBA, he worked at MUFG and JP Morgan in transaction banking and working capital solutions.
Percy earned his M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business, with his coursework and extracurricular activities focused on real estate, corporate finance, and asset management. Percy earned his B.B.A. from the University of Georgia with Majors in Finance and International Business.
Peyton Murray
Marketing Associate
Peyton Murray serves as the Marketing Associate for Rethink Capital Partners where she provides marketing, communications and investor relations support across the platform.
Prior to joining Rethink in July 2023, Peyton worked in strategic communications for American Family Insurance where she led storytelling and social media efforts for the company’s venture capital impact fund and socially responsible partnerships.
Peyton holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Philip Caggiano
Assistant Controller
Philip Caggiano serves as the Assistant Controller of Rethink Capital Partners. Mr. Caggiano joined the firm in 2016 and is responsible for the accounting operations and financial reporting for various Rethink Capital Partners entities. He has over 7 years of experience in fund accounting and financial reporting.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Caggiano worked as an Accountant at a publicly traded BDC and a Senior Auditor in the real estate service group at Deloitte & Touché.
Mr. Caggiano received a M.B.A and B.B.A in Accounting from Pace University.
Richard Demato
Operating Advisor on Supply Chain, Rethink Food
Richard Demato is an Operating Advisor on Supply Chain for Rethink Food. He is the GM & Head of Transformation at Simon Data, a customer data platform (CDP) and Gartner 2020 Cool Vendor that enables top brands such as Tripadvisor, ASOS, Venmo, Unilever, Betterment, Vivino, Blue Apron, BarkBox and Wyndham to unify all of their customer data, dynamically manage audiences, and deliver hyper-personalized customer experiences within and across all channels.
Richard brings over 20 years of experience as an operator, entrepreneur, executive, consultant, and advisor for leading multinationals and disruptive startups. His focus is partnering with CxOs and senior leaders across the value chain to design and implement data-driven strategies, operating models and product/service innovations that transform what’s possible for a company, their customers, and the world. This includes leading complex global initiatives spanning strategy & planning, commercialization & growth, organizational design, change management, product development, strategic partnerships, and innovation pilots for companies such as Danone, SodaStream, Martin Brower/McDonalds, Alpha Industries, Make Up For Ever, and Sony.
As GM & Head of Transformation at Simon Data, Richard helps leaders reimagine their customer data & marketing technology ecosystem to implement a seamless architecture that nurtures long-term, trusted customer relationships. Internally, he has transformed Simon Datas GTM function, with a focus on developing strategic accounts, integrating marketing & sales, and partnering with Googles Global Marketing VP to launch a private community for CxOs, advisors, and investors. Previously, he was the COO of GoodOps, a supply chain & sustainability consultancy that partners with high growth startups and global enterprises to architect, accelerate, and scale responsible operations. He was also the Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of The Workshop, a leading global brand experience design agency, the CEO of COMMON, a creative accelerator for social enterprises and projects where he partnered with AdWeek’s Creative Director of the Decade, a founding partner at UFUSE Visionary Strategy Management, a global consulting firm whose clients included top creators in Film & TV, and the Motion Picture Literary Department Coordinator and agent trainee at Endeavor, where he worked for the legendary Ariel Emanuel.
Fascinated by the compounding power of community and collaboration, Richard has built a vast global network of executives, investors, and entrepreneurs at the vanguard of today’s most disruptive industries. He thoughtfully taps this network to foster meaningful relationships, thought leadership opportunities, and actionable solutions that enable leaders to accelerate their own careers and business growth.
Richard is an Advisor to Rethink Food VC and has been a speaker and facilitator at Summit Series, Retail Ascendant, Nexus Global Summit, PTTOW, WORLDZ, the National Innovation Summit for Arts + Culture, Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project, and The New York Supply Chain Meetup. His work and insights have been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, MarTech Today, and GOOD Magazine.
In 2014, Richard was selected as one of GOOD Magazines GOOD 100, which honors 100 ‘global citizens and creative changemakers who are moving the world forward.’
Rini Greenfield
Founding Managing Partner, Rethink Food
Rini Greenfield is a Founding General Partner of Rethink Food and former co-founder of Adaptive Management, a Tiger Management in-house portfolio, where she helped pioneer the use of big data analysis and visualization to make fundamental long-term investments.
Rini has over a decade of experience investing in technology and consumer companies. She sought out sectors that were at the tipping point of disruption through innovation, investing in wireless technologies, alternative energy, internet, media, e-commerce, software, and others.
Rini then expanded her repertoire to private companies through spearheaded investments for a multi-billion-dollar single family office focused on consumer and technology companies with a social impact lens.
Samantha Brennan
Senior Accountant
Samantha Krushinsky serves as the Senior Accountant for Rethink Capital Partners. Samantha joined Rethink in July 2022. As a Senior Accountant, Samantha handles management company matters and works closely with the CFO and Vice President of Finance.
Prior to joining Rethink, Samantha worked as a senior accountant in a public accounting firm and a private construction management company.
Samantha holds a BBA in Public Accounting from Pace University.
Sarah Keita-Kake
Senior Tax Associate
Sarah Keita-Kake serves as a Senior Tax Associate. In her role, Sarah will be responsible for assisting with tax compliance and reporting functions for the Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Capital Funds, as well as the management companies.
Sarah received a B.S in Economics /Business and a Master’s in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany. Prior to joining the firm, she was a tax accountant at PS business management where she worked on tax compliance and reporting for individual and business clients.
Sarah is the mother of two energetic boys that reside in the Bronx. When she isn’t working on taxes, she enjoys sci-fi tv and movies and traveling. Some of her favorites are Supernatural, The Flash and Charmed. As a keen Netflix subscriber, her newest interest is ‘Baking Impossible.’
Shak Chowdhury, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Shak Chowdhury serves as Chief Financial Officer, having joined the firm in 2013, he manages the firm’s financial and accounting operations. Shak has over nineteen (19) years of experience in the real estate industry with a focus on accounting and taxation. Prior to joining Rethink, Shak was a Senior Tax Director in the tax group for Tishman Speyer where he had responsibility for the U.S. tax reporting function of all legal entities globally. Prior to his tenure at Tishman Speyer, he spent four years at Arthur Andersen & Co. Shak received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree Cum Laude in accounting with a minor in mathematics from Bernard M. Baruch College. Shak is a CPA licensed in the State of New York.
Sherna Safford
Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Sherna Safford serves as an Executive Assistant with 25 years of office administration experience and event and conference planning. Currently, Sherna supports the Executive Director (Formerly Chairman) of Rethink Capital Partners, handling every aspect of his office, as well as providing personal support and overseeing his art collection: The Seavest Collection. She acts as a direct liaison between him and all his businesses and philanthropic work. Additionally, she manages the firm’s headquarters office in White Plains, NY.
Prior to Rethink, Sherna worked for the President and CEO of Brookfield Office Properties in New York City and provided additional support to The Chairman of the Board. Before coming to Brookfield, she was the executive assistant to the President of the Corporate Markets Group at Dow Jones.
Sherna graduated from PACE University in 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History. She enjoys, hiking, swimming, gardening, volunteering and being of service to others. She is currently the Treasurer of the Hendrick Hudson School District, Special Education PTA (SEPTA).
Sophie Kim
Vice President, Investments, Rethink Healthcare Real Estate
Sophie serves as a Vice President of Investments at Rethink Real Estate, focused on property acquisitions across the firm’s real estate strategies: Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and Rethink Community. In this role, she evaluates new investment opportunities by performing underwriting, due diligence, market analysis, and presenting to the investment committee.
Ms. Kim has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in Finance and Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ms. Kim held various roles in acquisitions and asset management, most recently at a national retail investor, analyzing investment performance and monitoring operational activities for institutional assets totaling 11.3 million square feet.
Steve Ells
Senior Strategic Advisor, Rethink Food
Steve Ells serves as a Senior Strategic Advisor for Rethink Food. He is the Founder, former CEO and Executive Chairman of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Ells founded Chipotle in 1993 with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Ells revolutionized the idea of fast food, spearheading a wave of healthy, sustainable, quality food chains: Chipotle was one of the most technologically advanced companies of its time, making sustainability and nutrition affordable.
Prior to launching Chipotle, Ells had a hands-on experience by being a sous chef under Jeremiah Tower for two years in one of the most prominent restaurants in San Francisco. This experience prompted him to fund his ultimate dream a sustainable business with his ‘Food with Integrity’ initiative.
Ells has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People and has won many awards including a Silver Plate award by the International Foodservice Manufacturer Association and CEO of the Year from ColoradoBizmagazine.
Ells is a Board Member of the Cazoo Group Ltd, Ajax I and the Urban Land Institute. Ells attended the Culinary Institute of America and received his BA from University of Colorado. While at Chipotle, Ells has created a scholarship for CIA students those who share his philosophy for sustainability.
Tammy Mank Wincup
Venture Partner, Rethink Education
Tammy Wincup is a Venture Partner of Rethink Education, formerly serving as an Investment Committee Member for nearly four years. Tammy now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Securly, a tech company developing student safety and wellness solutions that help school leaders and educators keep students safe, secure, and ready to learn.
Prior to that, Tammy served as an interim Chief Operating Officer at Get Well, President & Chief Commercial Officer of Revolution Foods, and the founding President of Protocol, a media company covering the power center of tech. Founded as a part of POLITICO Media Group and sold to Axel Springer Media in 2021, Tammy grew Protocol from a pre-launch idea to a dominant player in the tech media space with a growing editorial team supported by a thriving advertising model.
In 2019, Tammy was a Senior Advisor to The RISE Fund. The RISE Fund is a $2 billion global impact fund led by private equity firm TPG in collaboration with a group of renowned stakeholders including U2 lead singer Bono. During her time, Tammy led the go-to-market revenue strategy for a TPG portfolio company.
From 2010 to 2019, Tammy was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at EVERFI, the leading education technology company focused on using digital learning to teach learners of all ages critical skills. As COO, Tammy oversaw EVERFI’s 600 team members; led the development of national and global corporate partnerships; oversaw the development of EVERF’s digital learning technology platform; and spearheaded the implementation of that technology in over 21,000 K-12 schools and 1500 college campuses, and supporting the over 4,000 corporate customers that purchased the technology. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is a venture-backed company with investments from TPG, The RISE Fund, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, Twitter Founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.
After September 11th, 2001, Tammy was appointed to the U.S. Department of State, where she helped develop and manage the Middle East Partnership Initiative, a $300 million fund focused on economic and education foreign assistance to the Middle East. In 2006, she refocused in the U.S. working with leading companies on growth business plans.
Early in her career, Tammy worked in South Africa and Egypt leading economic growth and democracy projects for Price Waterhouse’s International Strategy Group. She returned to the United States to run customer success for a technology start-up in San Francisco, and at Diamond Technology Partners, a public company focused on helping Fortune 500 companies innovate with technology.
Tammy is a Pahara Aspen Institute Fellow, a competitive program for leaders. She is also active on a number of education non-profit boards in Washington, D.C.
Thomas J. Friel, Jr.
Operating Advisor on Intellectual Property, Rethink Food
Tom is a partner with King & Spalding. He has 40 years of experience as a trial lawyer specializing in intellectual property matters, in particular licensing, patent, antitrust, trade secret, trademark, copyright, , and other complex cases. He has tried many cases in courts across the United States, in the ITC, and in commercial arbitrations, representing companies from all over the world, universities, and inventors. He has handled hundreds of patent, trade secret, licensing (including licensing audits), and trademark disputes. The scope of his practice covers a broad range, from technology, electronics, software, gaming, semiconductors (design, fabrication, and packaging), industrial equipment, and transportation to agriculture, life sciences, medical devices, and drugs. He has represented clients in federal and state court litigations, judicial and private arbitrations, International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations, and mediations.
Tom has extensive experience in trade secret matters. He also has extensive experience with copyright matters in the technology industry involving databases, software, and other works. He also has experience with trademark and trade dress matters including invalidating the “386” trademark for microprocessors. He is experienced representing clients in indemnity issues and insurance issues relating to intellectual property.
Tom speaks frequently on patent issues. He served on the Advisory Committee for the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, a research center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and has spoken at its events. He has served on the faculty of the Advanced Patent Law Institute, as well as the annual Rocky Mountain Intellectual Property & Technology Institute. He has been ranked Chambers USA, Legal 500, Managing Intellectual Property since 2008, is named an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property, has been recognized for many years in editions of The Best Lawyers in America, and is named among the “Top 75 Intellectual Property Litigators in California” by the Daily Journal. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer in his practice areas by IAM Patent 1000, Super Lawyers, and Euro Money.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Tom was a partner at Cooley LLP where he was a partner and former chair of the intellectual property litigation practice.
Tom received J.D. and B.G.S. degrees from the University of Michigan.
Recognitions include Best Lawyers USA 2023 (Litigation: IP, Litigation – Patent, Patent Law); Daily Journal Top 75 Intellectual Property Litigators in California; IP Star; Legal 500; Chambers USA; IAM Patent 1000; Best Lawyers in America; Northern California Super Lawyer; Euromoney Guide to Leading U.S. Lawyers: Intellectual Property; and Euromoney Guide to Leading U.S. Patent Law Experts.
Tom has been married for 31 years, lives in Northern California, and has two adult daughters.
Viktoriya Lushkova
Associate Director, Investor Relations
Viktoriya Lushkova is the Associate Director of Investor Relations for Rethink Capital Partners. Viktoriya joined Rethink in 2021 and in her role, she is involved in all aspects of investor fundraising, communications, relations and business development across investment strategies.
Prior to joining Rethink, Viktoriya was an Investor Relations Analyst at Apax Partners and Trade Finance Analyst at Nitron Group.
Viktoriya graduated with honors from Oklahoma State University, where she received a dual B.S.B.A. in International Business and Marketing while being part of the tennis team.
Outside of work, Viktoriya enjoys running marathons to raise funds for Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world.
William Hanford
Director of Tax
William Hanford serves as the Tax Director of Rethink Capital Partners. Mr. Hanford joined Rethink in 2012 and oversees the firm’s tax compliance, reporting and planning operations. Mr. Hanford has over 20 years of experience in real estate and private equity with a focus on taxation and accounting.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Hanford was an Associate Tax Director at Tishman Speyer Properties where he was responsible for managing the tax compliance and reporting for the company’s domestic and international real estate investment funds. Prior to his tenure at Tishman Speyer, Mr. Hanford was a Tax Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. Previously, Mr. Hanford was also with DCC Securities in New York where he specialized in providing liquidity for publicly registered partnership investments.
Mr. Hanford received an M.B.A in Professional Accounting and Finance from Fordham University and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany.
