Young Associates

Thank You!

Thank you so much for making the first annual Young Associate's Mardi Gras Gala such a success. It is because of everyone who attended that the event was such a hit and we were able to raise so much money for the Valerie Fund kids. You can find pictures of the gala at the following link:

Mardi Gras Gala Photos

To complement the mission and goals of the executive board, The Valerie Fund Junior Board aims to ensure the longevity of The Valerie Fund by engaging a younger generation of participants with the cause, and enlisting supporters to carry the organization into the future. A primary focus of the Junior Board is to connect enthusiastic young professionals in the Valerie Fund’s many activities through the establishment of The Valerie Fund Young Associates program:

The Junior Board is seeking to attract upstanding individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 to serve as “Young Associates” of The Valerie Fund. Young Associates will be invited to all Valerie Fund events, especially those social and service-oriented events exclusively targeted towards younger members. Additionally, Young Associates will have the opportunity to get involved with all aspects of the organization, including community outreach, social event planning, recruiting and fundraising. Young Associates will have the option to join Junior Board committees that suit their particular interests, and will be encouraged to contribute a suggested $20 of annual membership dues, which are fully tax-deductible.

Interested in getting involved with The Valerie Fund Young Associates program? Email Jeff Festa (jeff.festa@gmail.com) or Stephanie Levine (stephslevine@gmail.com) to learn more.

Junior Board

David Krupnick - Co-Chair
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David has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund since joining Morgan Stanley as a Leveraged Finance analyst in 2006. Some of David’s fondest memories are from attending camp as a kid and he immediately connected with the Camp Happy Times effort. He attended Brown University where he was a member of both the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Varsity Squash team, graduating in 2006. David currently works in a corporate strategy effort for Morgan Stanley. David is excited to be a member of the Valerie Fund’s Junior Board and he looks forward to working towards its continued success. He can be reached at davidkrupnick@gmail.com

Phoebe Lapine - Co-Chair
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Phoebe graduated from Brown University in 2007 with a B.A. in Urban Studies. Until August 2009, she worked as an assistant manager in global marketing at L’Oreal, first at Kiehl’s Since 1851, and later at Ralph Lauren Fragrances, where she managed new product development for the women’s category. In November of 2008, during a bout of professional apathy and creative frustration, Phoebe started the blog Big Girls, Small Kitchen—a food and recipe guide for twenty-something cooks looking for user-friendly, affordable ways to navigate their kitchens. The blog has recently spawned a book, Cara & Phoebe's Quarter-Life Kitchen, which will be published by HarperStudio, the imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, in May 2011 and will be geared toward young urban cooks challenged by the constraints of budget, space, skill, and time. Passionate about caring for all kids, big and small, Phoebe is extremely excited to join the VFJB and support this fantastic organization.

J.C. Uva - Co-Chair
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A former Valerie Fund patient and current cancer survivor, JC has been involved with the Valerie Fund for over 10 years in various capacities, including as a member of the Thanksgiving Gala Committee and as a counselor at Camp Happy Times. JC is currently completing his MBA at NYU Stern and will be working in investment banking following graduation. Prior to NYU, he worked as an Account Executive in advertising sales at CNN for six years. JC can speak firsthand to the incredible services the Valerie Fund provides to children and is thrilled to be a part of this new venture for the organization. He can be reached at jcucnn@gmail.com

Will Morel - Chair Emeritus
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Will has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund since his time as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley, where he began his career following his graduation from Penn in 2007. He conceived of and served as a founding Co-Chair of The Valerie Fund's Junior Board from early 2010 until his recent move back to Philadelphia, where he is pursuing an MBA at Wharton. He is looking forward to the inevitably awesome year that the VFJB will have under Phoebe and David's leadership, and he is incredibly enthusiastic about the VFJB in general. Will would love to hear from you if you or someone you know is interested in getting involved. He can be reached at wamorel@gmail.com

Julia Abelkop
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Julia Abelkop is thrilled to be a part of the Valerie Fund Junior Board and contribute to this meaningful cause. Julia graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. She has worked in real estate finance since 2007 as an analyst at Lehman Brothers and currently as an associate at Capmark Finance Inc. She can be reached at jabelkop@gmail.com.

Steve Blum
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Steve is honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with the Junior Board in helping to support the Valerie Fund. Since 2007, he has been an Associate at the Two River Group, where his primary responsibilities have focused on helping to create and execute on development plans for a number of start-up biotechnology companies. Prior to Two River, Steve was a Director of Client Services from 2006 to 2007at ReputationDefender, an online reputation management company where he was the first employee. Steve received his Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A.S. in Biomedical Science from the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Melissa Drucker
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Melissa Drucker has been a supporter of the Valerie Fund since 2006 when she first volunteered to help organize the first CAREOKE for the Kids media charity event in NYC. The event, now in its fifth year, has raised over $400,000 for the Valerie Fund. Melissa attended George Washington University and is now the VP of National Advertising Sales at BBC America.

Caley Gray
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Caley first became aware of the Valerie Fund’s work after a close childhood friend fought and defeated cancer. Since that time, Caley has been an active supporter of the Valerie Fund, attending the annual Thanksgiving events and participating in the Valerie Fund’s 5k Run/Walks. Caley resides in Montclair with his fiancé and splits time between New Jersey and Washington, D.C. where he works as the communications director to a member of the United States Senate. Previous to his work in the Senate, Caley worked as a legislative aid and communications director to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Caley is excited to be a member of the Valerie Fund Junior Board and committed to helping advance the VF mission of supporting health care for children with cancer and blood disorders.

Jonathan Greenglass
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Jonathan Greenglass became involved with the Valerie Fund in early 2011, and serves as one of the Young Associates. He currently works at LUMA Partners, an investment bank focused on the digital media sector. Prior to that, Jonathan was an analyst in Sandler O’Neill’s investment banking group. Jonathan graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a B.A. in Sociology. He can be reached at jonathan.greenglass@gmail.com.

Jessica James
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Jessica joined The Valerie Fund in 2011 after attending the Mardi Gras Gala. She is very excited to have found The Valerie Fund after spending a year researching an organization to join that meant something to her. Jessica moved to New York City to start her career after graduating from Southern Methodist University. As an analyst at Credit Suisse, she was part of the Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization, then joined the New York Junior League to serve on a variety of the committees. Jessica currently works in Investor Relations for a hedge fund

Eric Klein
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Eric Klein is excited to be working with the Valerie Fund Junior Board to support its meaningful mission. Eric currently works as an Associate at Vestar Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm. Previously, he was an Associate at Eos Partners and before that was an Analyst with JPMorgan’s Diversified Industries Investment Banking Group. Eric graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, having received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts from The College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at eric.w.klein@gmail.com

Brian Lasky
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Brian Lasky is excited to reunite with The Valerie Fund following his exposure to the organization at Morgan Stanley. He looks forward to the opportunity to spread awareness about The Valerie Fund and support its critical mission. He hopes to encourage other individuals, especially young professionals, to join the cause regardless of commitment level. Currently, Brian is an Associate at Morgan Stanley in the Research Department covering Exploration & Production companies. Previously, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley in the Global Power & Utilities Group. Brian graduated from The University of Notre Dame in 2007 with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Finance/Economics. He can be reached at brian.j.lasky@gmail.com.

Lauren Iervolino
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Lauren graduated from Fordham University in the spring of 2006 and has been working at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center since that fall. She is currently working as part of the management team in the Department of Ambulatory Care, which oversees the clinical operations of adult outpatient cancer treatment. She is thrilled to be joining the Valerie Fund Junior Board and to have an opportunity to support healthcare for children with cancer and blood disorders.

Cara Lewis
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Cara grew up in Cranford, NJ. She attended West Virginia University and graduated in 1999. She is a member of AOII sorority. Cara started working in Advertising in NYC when she graduated at The Media Edge as an assistant buyer on Glaxo Wellcome Pharmaceuticals. In 10 months she was promoted to buyer. After a year and a half, Cara changed agencies and went to work for TN Media. She was at TN media/Initiative (was bought in 2001) for 7 1/2 years, where she was promoted internally. Cara left Initative in August of 07 for another agency called MPG, where she was again promoted to VP, Account Director on the Sears account. She has been married for almost 7 years to her college boyfriend, and lives in Clifton, NJ. Cara is a 4 year breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed on Jan 9, 2006 and she is officially going on year 5!

Andrea Mangione
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Andrea became involved with The Valerie Fund when a loved one was diagnosed with cancer. She spent time in high school and college volunteering at various events and spreading awareness of the organization to my family and friends. Her love for children is what makes giving back to the Valerie Fund so easy. Following her graduation from Fairfield University in 2007, Andrea was selected to be a counselor at Camp Happy Times. Since then she has organized a fundraiser with her sister and fellow counselor called "Cheers To The Valerie Fund" and was the captain of "Team Kickin It For The Kids" at the Walkathon in 2009. Currently, Andrea is working as a preschool teacher for children with developmental disabilities and counting the days until her third summer at Camp Happy Times.

Chelsea Mintz
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Chelsea has been involved with the Valerie Fund Young Associate Program since its inception in early 2010 and currently serves as one of the Young Associate Coordinators. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 2008 and is currently a RN at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She works in the inpatient Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant unit with the adult population. She is very excited to continue her work with cancer patients and their families outside of work through the Valerie Fund. She can be contacted at clmintz@gmail.com

Adam Nowak
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Adam Nowak got involved with the Valerie Fund in 2010 through the Analyst run fundraising effort at Morgan Stanley. Adam was raised in California and is an avid skier, runner and biker. He graduated from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in 2008 where he studied International Business and Finance. Adam moved to New York following graduation as an Analyst at Capital IQ and is currently an Associate in Corporate Strategy and Business Management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Adam can be reached at adam.r.nowak@gmail.com.

Jennifer Schlein
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Jennifer Schlein is excited have the opportunity to be a part of the Valerie Fund Junior Board and to contribute to helping to advance the VF mission of supporting health care for children with cancer and blood disorders. She currently works as an Associate at Goldman Sachs as a member of the healthcare investment banking team. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, having received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Engineering from the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at jennifer.l.schlein@gmail.com

Joshua Slavitt
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Joshua graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998 with a B.A in History. After graduating from Michigan, he began a successful career on Wall Street. Over his 13 year career he has traded equity derivatives for Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and most recently MF Global. At MF Global, Joshua manages the single stock US Derivatives team under CEO Jon Corzine. In 2006, he was voted by his peers one of the top 30 traders under 30 years old. He is also an active member of NY Cares and Children's International. Joshua looks forward to working with the motivated and talented Junior Board members in an effort to raise funds and bring awareness to the Valerie Fund.

Justin Silver
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Justin is thrilled to be able to help support the Valerie Fund as a new member of the Junior Board. Since 2009, Justin has been working as an Operations Analyst for Morgan Stanley helping develop ways to monitor and reduce risk for the Settlements, Position Services, and Cash Management groups. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Justin graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Psychology. In addition, he spent his junior year studying abroad at University College London. Justin can be reached at Justin.P.Silver@gmail.com

Anthony Yoon
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Anthony graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, currently works as a Securities Analyst on the Global REITs team at Macquarie Bank, and has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund as a member of the Junior Board since its inception. In addition to serving on the VFJB, Anthony serves as a mentor through iMentor, and volunteers through Animal Haven and NYCares. He is ecstatic about working as a VFYA coordinator and spreading awareness about the mission of the Valerie Fund. He can be contacted at ayoon617@gmail.com