board of directors

Dustin is a director for The Blackstone Group Informational Technology division. Previous to Blackstone, Dustin worked for Cisco Systems, Citigroup, and has consulted independently for many Wall Street firms. Dustin has spent time working as a volunteer for City Year and Year Up at various locations in the South Bronx and is on the board of NYCwireless. He is a avid sailor and resides in Brooklyn, NY. Dustin's passion for working with young people along with his love of the water and boats are great additions to Rocking the Boat's board.

Sara is a travel editor at the Wall Street Journal. A journalist and entrepreneur, she is a co-founder of Recessionwire, an online magazine about the economic downturn, and DishList, an innovating online wedding registry. She has been an editor at the New York Post, Conde Nast Portfolio and Forbes, and holds degrees from Johns Hopkins and Columbia University. She grew up sailing on Long Island Sound.

Conley Rollins works in asset investment management in New York City. Previously he worked for the City of New York as Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President at the Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). At the NYCEDC he focused on strategic internal and external initiatives and oversaw intergovernmental and press affairs as well as research and strategic planning. He grew up in Charleston South Carolina, where he quickly learned to love the water.

Mike has spent most of his life on the water. Whether sailing his own boat or crewing with others, he has raced extensively both offshore and in competitive regattas. After a career in Sales and Marketing in the home textile industry, he opened his own sailboat rigging business and has since diversified into marketing sailboat racing trophies. He has intimate knowledge of the boating industry. He is Race Committee chairman of the Cresthaven Yacht Club which runs three race series and several longer races during the season. A five year volunteer at Rocking the Boat, he has come to admire and respect the students who participate and is passionate about continuing his involvement in this admirable program.

Amy Alterman is a senior strategy and business development executive with broad general management, strategy, and finance skills. This includes 15+ years in corporate strategy, product development, and marketing. She is currently holds the position of Senior Business Leader, Global Credit Development at Visa Inc. prior to this role, she held a variety of positions at American Express and was a management consultant at A.T. Kearney. She has significant experience conceiving and implementing successful growth strategies and has also been recognized throughout her career for building and leading high performing teams. Currently residing in San Francisco, Amy enjoys traveling, skiing, cooking, and wine tasting. She has run two marathons: Anchorage and New York City.

Karen Carter is a payroll secretary for the New York City Department of Education serving Life Sciences Secondary School located on the Upper East Side and mother of six, three of whom are former Rocking the Boat program participants. Ms. Carter has over 20 years of experience serving in various positions on PTA/PA executive boards and School Leadership Teams, and facilitating parent workshops and fundraisers. She has also organized several college fairs for Life Sciences Secondary School. Ms. Carter recently earned a BA degree in Organizational Management from Ashford University and is currently working towards a Masters in Adult Education at Fordham University.

An Attorney with Schulte Roth and Zabel, LLP, Michael focuses on structuring complex and sophisticated financial instruments for qualified investors. Prior to his law career, Michael worked in various Compliance and Controllers functions with Goldman Sachs. Michael brings to the Board a wealth of experience in establishing and monitoring corporate financial controls and efficiency procedures. Michael enjoys the outdoors, traveling, and reading about history.

Zack Friedman is an investment professional at Arrowhawk Capital Partners. Prior to joining Arrowhawk, Mr. Friedman worked at The Blackstone Group and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Friedman also served as a White House intern for the Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton. Mr. Friedman received a BA from Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and an MPP from Harvard University. He also earned a JD from Columbia Law School, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Friedman is vice chairman of ZaBeCor Pharmaceuticals and previously served as its chief operating officer. He is a member of the Pacific Council, Bretton Woods Committee and the California Bar. He also serves as a board member of The Asia Society Young Patrons. USA Today named him one of the Top 20 college students in America as a member of the All-USA College Academic First Team.

Bill Isaacs is a Vice President of Business Affairs, Original Programming at HBO, where he works on documentary and family programming and new media initiatives. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond, holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut and spent many years involved in theatre. He enjoys sailing, camping and reading.

Michelle is Director of Strategic Accounts at Buddy Media, where she works with marketers of iconic global brands, proving a technology platform to power social engagement with fans. Prior to joining Buddy Media, Michelle was an Advertising Director at The New York Times. She has also held positions at The Washington Post and Alliance Consulting Group in Boston. Michelle earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. During her senior year at Dartmouth, she experienced the community-building spirit of boating firsthand through "Trip to the Sea," a 210-mile canoeing adventure down the Connecticut River. While growing up, Michelle spent her summers on Peconic Bay, Long Island.

Frosty is a Senior Vice President/Director at Brown Harris Stevens, New York's oldest residential real estate company. Her past professional experiences have included marketing and publicity at Time Inc, producing industrial and multi-media presentations of major network programming, and for 12 years, producing conferences, customized tours and promotional events for such companies as Time Inc, Forbes, Goldman Sachs, and J. Walter Thompson. Frosty was an active board member for 12 years at Buxton School, a private school in the Berkshires as well as a board member of Advertising Women of New York. Frosty has a deep seated love for boats, having grown up spending her summers in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, canoeing, camping and sailing.

Tanya Ramos has had a successful career in the nonprofit sector for more than a decade. Her experience spans foundation management and non-profit direct service. Tanya's most recent role was Executive Director of Literacy, Inc (LINC). Before joining LINC, Ms. Ramos was Senior Manager of Strategic Corporate Partnerships at The Taproot Foundation. She also worked at ASPIRA as Director of the College Career Advisement Program, and was Director of the E.X.C.E.L. (Educational Excellence Creating Empowered Leaders) Program at the Children's Aid Society. Ms. Ramos received the Annie E. Casey Foundation Award and a Jacob Kaplan Fellowship, and is an alumna of the Civic Leadership Development Program Coro and INROADS. She received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from N.Y.U and Masters of Science in Urban Policy and Management from New School University. Ms. Ramos also completed the 2009 Executive Level Program at Columbia Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.

Jassen is Executive Director at Goldman Sachs and Business Unit Manager of the Asset Management business in Asia. He was previously the Deputy Chief of Staff of Internal Audit, and head of Strategic and Technology initiatives. Before joining Goldman, he worked at J.P. Morgan Chase, was a Sergeant in the German Military Police, and a member of the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Jassen was born in Bulgaria, raised in Germany, spent 13 years in the U.S., and now lives in Hong Kong. He is a graduate of Pace University in New York and was introduced to Rocking the Boat in 2005 through a Goldman Sachs work-sponsored volunteer day. He served as the Board's Treasurer from 2006-2007 and as President from 2007-2010.