Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends

Samantha is the Director of Annual and Leadership Giving at The Benjamin School, a pre-K–12 grade independent school in South Florida. She has worked in development for over 20 years, with experience in independent schools and prominent foundations, including the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation and the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation. Samantha graduated from Brandeis in 2001 with a B.A. in American Studies. While at Brandeis, she managed the men's basketball team for four years and received the prestigious Maury Stein Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to Brandeis athletics. Samantha lives in Palm Beach Gardens with her husband and two daughters.

Jason is Head of the Investment Team at Pritzker Vlock Capital Management, where he invests in technology and healthcare companies. He also serves as a professor in the School of Business at Montclair State University. Earlier in his career, Jason worked on national political campaigns for President Obama and Secretary Clinton. He graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis with dual B.A. and M.A. degrees in Politics, where he also served as the Student Union President from 2008 to 2009. Jason holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Ashraf is a Senior Manager in KPMG's Valuation Advisory group. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration and an M.A. in International Economics and Finance through the B.A./M.A. program. Ashraf was a recipient of the Slifka Scholarship. His career spans transaction advisory and investment banking, where he has advised leading private equity firms and Fortune 500 companies. Ashraf lives in Florida with his wife and two children.

Anna has over 20 years experience in the asset management industry. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Investments at OppenheimerFunds (now part of Invesco). Anna graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Economics (1998) and an M.A. in International Economics and Finance (1999), earned through the university’s five-year B.A./M.A. program at the Lemberg School.

Caitlin graduated cum laude from Brandeis in 2018. She traveled New England before settling in Connecticut, where she currently works as a teacher. At Brandeis, Caitlin was a Commitment to Service Award recipient; she demonstrates continued dedication in her current service as volunteer coordinator of Everybunny Counts Rabbit Rescue. She is also a member of the Waltham Group Alumni Network as well as a BOLD (Brandeisians of the Last Decade) representative.

Bianca is a Marketing Manager at New York University, where she leads marketing efforts for Chartwells. She is also the founder of Nice Jewish Girls NY, a growing social organization for Jewish women in New York City. Previously, Bianca worked as a marketing intern on Brandeis University’s social media team and served as both a Brandeis Ambassador and Undergraduate Department Representative for Italian Studies. She graduated cum laude from Brandeis in 2023 with a B.A. in Economics.

Marya is the Harry S, Levitan Emerita Director of the Brandeis Education Program. She is also a co-director of the Teacher Leadership Program which is welcoming its eleventh cohort to Brandeis. After graduating from Brandeis in 1964, Marya worked as a community organizer, teacher in the Boston schools, principal at Newton North (MA) High, and Superintendent of the North Colonie (NY) School District. She earned her master’s degree at BU and doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Marya is the author of Pathways to Teacher Leadership: Emerging Models, Changing Roles.

Morgan is a member at Carlson Dash, LLC where he focuses on commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, and bankruptcy litigation. He graduated from Brandeis with a B.A. in Politics and English. Morgan holds a J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he graduated cum laude.

Pia is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Cash Management at State Street Investment Management. She graduated from Brandeis with a B.A. in Economics and American Studies. Pia was a three-season student athlete, participating in Track & Field as well as Volleyball. She also received her MSF from Brandeis’ International Business School.

Brian is president of his own nonprofit fundraising consultancy, Asking Matters, where he developed the iconic Asking Styles and trains staff and board members on the art and science of asking for charitable gifts. He has spent his career in the nonprofit world, starting in the arts before spending eight years leading the fundraising efforts for Brandeis in the Midwest, and then working in social service. After 25 years in direct service, Brian has spent the last 16 coaching, consulting, training and writing. He graduated from Brandeis with a B.A. in Economics, and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a M.Arch. from the University of Illinois.

David is Of Counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP in Philadelphia and a member of its Real Estate Finance Group. His legal practice focuses primarily on commercial lending with an emphasis on loan originations, loan restructurings and distressed debt transactions, as well as creditors’ rights and enforcement matters. David graduated cum laude from Brandeis with a B.A. in Politics and a minor in Legal Studies. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law.

Shota is the Merchandise Strategy Director at Bloomingdale’s. He graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis with a B.A. in Economics and Sociology and was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Shota attended Brandeis as a Wien Scholar and is a member of the Wien Alumni Network leadership group. He also holds an MBA with Dean’s Honors with Distinction from Columbia Business School where he studied as a Kopf Global Fellow.

Lucretia retired after 30 years at the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of Communicable Disease as a Research Scientist/Director. She oversaw a unit of public health epidemiologists and nurses conducting routine disease investigations and special surveillance during outbreaks and health emergencies such as WTC, anthrax, Ebola, legionella, M-pox, and COVID. Lucretia is currently an Adjunct Professor of Public & Community Health at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College. Her passion for social justice work began at Brandeis and continues as a community and public health advocate on Community Board 2, Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s IRB and the Bronx Community Research Review Board. Lucretia received her MPH from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and her Dr.P.H. from CUNY’s Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.