Organization Background
Greenwood Project introduces Black and Latinx students to careers within the financial industry via paid summer internships, educational field trips, and our summer financial institute for high school students. In many cases, our programming gives young people strong motivation to succeed in their remaining high school tenure and also a compelling reason to attend college.
The Greenwood Impact
As a result of our exposure initiatives, recent college graduates have received employment offers from top financial companies. Other students have changed their college majors as they are now interested in financial services opportunities.
The Greenwood Project model works! As a result of our programs, our college grads continue to receive employment offers after completion of their internship.
Greenwood students have gained real-world experience, networking connections, and unmatched exposure to the financial industry.
Our ultimate goal is to build a true diversity pipeline for minority students to enter the financial services industry.
Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Bevon moved to the United States after high school to further his education. He is a graduate of DePaul University. Bevon’s career has been exclusively in the trading industry. He's worked at firms such as JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Chicago Trading Company, PEAK6 Investments, and Achievement Asset Management. Bevon also worked on the trading floors of the NYSE, NYMEX, and AMEX.
Elois Joseph: Prior to co-founding Greenwood, she worked on the trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe). As a financial professional, she attained many licenses and worked in the compliance examination division for an industry regulator. Elois grew up on the west side of Chicago, earned an MBA from Northern Illinois University, and a BA in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago. She is proud to be the first in her family to create generational wealth and to have the opportunity to teach this process to others through the Greenwood Project.
Managing Director at Piper Sandler
Mike is currently a Managing Director at Piper Sandler, focusing primarily on fixed income securities and capital raising. In2017, he joined the board of the Greenwood Project and served as board chair from 2019 -2020. His passion for helping students often takes him back to his alma mater Tulane University, where he helps students understand all the different job opportunities on Wall Street.
Greenwood Treasurer | CIO of Karman Line Capital and founder of Option Pit
Mark is the Chief Investment Officer at Karman Line Capital and Founder of Option Pit. He is a former member of both the ChicagoBoard Options Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. Mark is the resident VIX expert for Mad Money with Jim Cramer. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and First Business News.
Executive Director | Global Markets at Nomura
Matt brings 20 years of experience managing global portfolios, teams, and risk in multiple strategies and asset classes. Matt earned his BA from Wittenberg. Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors of New York City Outward Bound Schools and is an active supporter of the Navy SEAL Foundation.
Greenwood Board Chair | Global Senior Research Analyst at William Blair
Kwesi is Senior Research Analyst at William Blair focused on evaluating consumer investments. He is passionate about giving back to the community and proud to serve as the current Board Chair of the Greenwood Project. He is also on the board of 3Arts and Breakthrough.
Greenwood Secretary | Partner at PEAK6 Investments
Mike is a partner at PEAK6 Investments. Previously, he held the titles of Chief Investment Officer (PEAK6 Performance Funds) and chief Risk Officer (PEAK 6 Capital Management). Mike holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Finance (1990).
Client Service Initiatives Manager Executive Director at UBS
Angela Jones is a Client Service Initiatives Manager within Institutional Client Service (Deputy to the Head of Institutional Client Service for the Americas region).
Angela is also the Head of Client Onboarding for the Americas region which includes Latin America and Canada. Prior to joining UBS in 1998, Angela was a Client Service Team leader at ABN/AMRO within the Asset Management Group.
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Founder | Epona Rising
David Merjan is a results-driven, entrepreneurial Investment Executive with 30+ years of experience in investment management. He began his career at Hughes Electronics in LA, then spent 21 years at William Blair as a Portfolio Manager, he leveraged his international analytical and business acumen to drive profitability and growth for clients, through ethical decision-making and objective leadership. In January of 2020, he launched Epona Rising, an innovative investment firm that focuses on leveling the playing field for underrepresented populations.
Dave is a lifetime supporter of social justice causes and in addition to his Board position at the Greenwood Project, he also sits on the Board of Lawrence Hall, a Chicago social services agency serving disaffected youth from many of the same underserved neighborhoods that Greenwood Project supports.
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Regional Sales Director for Morgan Stanley Investment Management Solutions
Sizwe has 17 years of investment experience and has held multiple positions covering both institutional and retail clients covering MSIM and Van Kampen proprietary separately managed accounts, long-only funds, and alternatives. Sizwe previously worked for IndexIQ covering wirehouse and RIA clients. Sizwe received a B.S. in finance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Designation.
Cathy Clay, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Data & Access Solutions,
Cathy leads Cboe Global Markets’ strategic initiatives for its analytics, index, data, access, and execution services businesses. As the former CEO of LiveVol and co-founder and CEO of Thales, Cathy pioneered software solutions for quoting, trade execution, and risk management. Coupled with her previous experience trading equity and index options, Cathy continues to create high-value offerings for market participants while integrating Cboe’s client-facing solutions.
At Cboe, Cathy knows the best ideas come from a diversity of viewpoints. By beginning her career as one of 12 women members on the ARCA trading floor, she also understands the importance of elevating minority voices within the financial services industry. Being a part of the Greenwood Project Board combines her passion for making finance more accessible and creating a more inclusive global marketplace even beyond gender diversity.
Program Coordinator
Director of Partnerships
Director of Education
