Our Board of Directors brings deep expertise across education, youth development, finance, healthcare, philanthropy, and organizational leadership. Collectively, they have led major institutions, shaped public education policy, scaled mission-driven nonprofits, and invested in innovative systems that improve outcomes for young people. Their experience grounds Building 21’s work in both visionary thinking and practical, real-world leadership.
Our Board of Directors
Tim is a partner, a member of the Executive Team and serves as head of the U.S. institutional business. He and his team are responsible for equity and fixed income research, portfolio management, and institutional sales and service. Prior to this role, Tim was the director of research and institutional investment management. Before his time as director, Tim worked as a co-portfolio manager of the Small-Cap Growth strategy for nine years until June 2014. Prior to that, he was a research analyst with the Large-Cap Equity team and was responsible for research in the consumer discretionary and energy sectors. Tim holds a bachelors degree from Randolph Macon College and an MBA from Loyola College.
Dan has been working with youth for the past two decades in a variety of capacities, working as a teacher, school administrator, and organizational leader. Beginning in the juvenile justice field, Dan has developed extensive expertise in the use of restorative practices and trauma informed methodology both inside the classroom and in the larger community.
Over the years, Dan has been recognized numerous times for his work with young people, including a Meritorious Service Award from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Distinguished Educator of the Year for Eastern North America, the United Way’s Reis Community Advocate Award, and the Campbell Soup Foundations “Seek the Power of Different” Award.
At Hopeworks, Dan is responsible for the overall implementation of the learning culture of Hopeworks throughout the entire Hopeworks organization, managing all program aspects of Hopeworks and corresponding staff, including Hopeworks’ training program, residence, and social enterprises.
Over the years, Dan has been recognized numerous times for his work with young people, including a Meritorious Service Award from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Distinguished Educator of the Year for Eastern North America, the United Way’s Reis Community Advocate Award, and the Campbell Soup Foundations “Seek the Power of Different” Award.
At Hopeworks, Dan is responsible for the overall implementation of the learning culture of Hopeworks throughout the entire Hopeworks organization, managing all program aspects of Hopeworks and corresponding staff, including Hopeworks’ training program, residence, and social enterprises.
Laura has spent the last twenty years focused on cross-sector, systemic solutions to improve economic and educational outcomes for urban youth. Most recently, as Co-President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network, a nationally known youth intermediary, Laura helped to build college and career partnerships and pathways that served 20,000 youth annually through credit bearing, extended learning options. Prior to her work in Philadelphia, Laura started one of the first New Visions High Schools, Banana Kelly High School, located in the South Bronx, NY. Laura’s work has involved the integration and alignment of complex funding streams, diverse stakeholders and siloed systems in service to college and career readiness for high school age youth.
Malini Doddamani is a global marketing and communications executive with experience spanning higher education, nonprofits, digital health, and urban policy. She is the Founder and CEO of M Doddamani Strategy Partners, where she advises academic and healthcare organizations, including Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Saïd Business School at Oxford, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, on brand strategy, marketing transformation, and communications innovation.
Previously, Malini served as Chief Marketing Officer at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where she led marketing for the Philadelphia Flower Show and helped raise $1.2 million in revenue. She also held senior leadership roles at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, directing global media strategy and public relations across multiple programs and research centers. Earlier in her career, she led communications at The New York Academy of Medicine and held public affairs roles at Yale University and The University of the Arts.
Dr. Lori Shorr’s interests in education stem from the two paths that brought her to Temple. First, she pursued her doctoral degree in critical and cultural studies with an emphasis on how social changes are connected to, and influenced by, narratives –be they political, historical, social or personal. Second, she has culminated a 20-year career in policy development and implementation from special assistant to three Pennsylvania Secretaries of Education to eight years as the chief education officer for the City of Philadelphia, which entailed setting the mayor’s policy agenda in K-12 and higher education. The courses she teaches and the work she continues to do in the community, as well as the mentoring she does with students, is therefore centered around the theories which help to explain how power, representation, constructions of social justice and community interact with the “lived experiences” and policy realities in specific historical junctions. She is currently working on building a collaboration of regional school leaders who are committed to working on communication across sectors of education (district, charter, private) to increase opportunities for success for all students through holistic and project-based instruction. She remains committed to increasing the capacity of the schools and the nonprofit sector in Philadelphia in order to bring about equity in educational opportunity in hopes of a more just city.
Chip has spent the past two decades building innovative, entrepreneurial organizations in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. As a partner at New Enterprise Associates, the world’s largest venture capital firm, Chip made investments in start-up companies that today account for more than $8 billion in sales and have created thousands of jobs. Chip’s specific area of focus was helping to build technology-enabled service businesses that have transformed service delivery models in a variety of sectors. In 1997, Chip co-founded an educational nonprofit, The SMART Program, which provides socioeconomically disadvantaged children in San Francisco with access to life-changing educational opportunities.
Mohamad is Managing General Partner, Healthcare and Head of NEA’s Global Healthcare Investing practice, which typically accounts for 40% of NEA's funds across healthcare services, healthcare IT, biopharma and medical devices. Mohamad’s personal investment practice is primarily focused on the digital health sector where he is currently a Director of Aetion, Belong Health, Bright Health, Collective Health, Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, Curana Health Everside Health, Nuvolo, Radiology Partners, Strive Health, Vori Health, and Waymark. Mohamad’s past investments include Bravo Health, CHG Healthcare, DaVita NephroLife, DSI Renal, Golden State Medical Supply, Long Term Care Group, ppoNEXT, SCI Solutions, U.S. Renal Care, Vantage Oncology, and Welltok. Mohamad received a bachelor's degree, with distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Board Member of The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
Liliana most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a New York nonprofit that has worked to break the cycle of poverty and inequity through education, job training, and employment for nearly 40 years. Liliana brings almost twenty years of experience in working with young people and building teams to best serve their needs. Beginning her career as a teacher at Boys and Girls High School, Liliana went on to become founding principal of West Brooklyn Community High School. As principal of West Brooklyn, she worked in partnership with Good Shepherd Services to replicate its model transfer school, serving over-aged/under-credited students in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the community where Liliana was born and raised. Through working in partnership with students whom the traditional high school systems had failed, families, and staff, Liliana saw the potential of a school that was built around the needs of those within it. Liliana credits the partnership with Good Shepherd Services and the incredible staff at West Brooklyn with making it one of the top performing transfer schools in the city.
When presented with the opportunity to pursue a doctorate, her focus was building programs at state and district levels that effectively support staff to meet young people’s needs. After completing her studies, Liliana became Vice President of the New York City Leadership Academy where she led programming for principals and their teams in school districts across the country to assist in their transformation efforts. Liliana holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership (EdLD) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a BA and MAT from Brown University, and a Specialist Diploma from Queens College.
When presented with the opportunity to pursue a doctorate, her focus was building programs at state and district levels that effectively support staff to meet young people’s needs. After completing her studies, Liliana became Vice President of the New York City Leadership Academy where she led programming for principals and their teams in school districts across the country to assist in their transformation efforts. Liliana holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership (EdLD) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a BA and MAT from Brown University, and a Specialist Diploma from Queens College.
Explore our Impact
Learn more about our Learning Innovation Network, and how we’re partnering with leaders to redesign school, and helping educators grow in their practice.
