Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board
BYRON NIMOCKS is a Senior Managing Director at the First Manhattan Company, an investment management firm.  The firm manages over $10 billion in equities, primarily for high net worth individuals.  He is a Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.), a Chartered Financial Analyst (C.F.A.) and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the Association of Investment Management and Research.  Prior to joining First Manhattan in 1987, Mr. Nimocks was a Vice President at E.F. Hutton.  A native of Arkansas, Mr. Nimocks earned his B.A. in history from Hendrix College (where he currently serves as a board member) and his M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Columbia University.

Vice Chairman
MARLA HOICOWITZ is the Executive Vice President and one of four members of the Office of the President for Ticketmaster, the nation's largest entertainment ticketing company. She is responsible for developing worldwide markets and is in charge of all business operations in the company's Northeast Region. Ms. Hoicowitz began her career in Cincinnati as an Account Representative with Ticketron. In 1984, she became that company's youngest General Manager, overseeing the Washington/Baltimore markets. She was recruited to oversee Ticketmaster's New England region and Northeast Marketing in 1988. Ms. Hoicowitz is active in organizations such as Hole in the Wall, March of Dimes and Make a Wish Foundation.

Secretary
DARIA SHEEHAN is a Senior Program Officer of the Citigroup Foundation.  Ms. Sheehan directs the Foundation’s worldwide grant making in education and financial education for youth.  Ms. Sheehan also oversees the Foundation’s grant making in arts education and higher education.  Ms. Sheehan serves on a number of nonprofit boards in addition to High 5.  She is a member and past chairperson of the Virtual Enterprises Advisory Board and represents Citigroup on the New York State Financial Literacy Coalition.  She also serves on the Executive Committee of the High School of Economics and Finance and the National Academy Foundation’s Advisory Board Leadership Council.  Prior to joining Citigroup, Ms. Sheehan held various positions in communications, community relations and consumer affairs at Pepsi-Cola Company, Unilever and Chesebrough-Pond’s.

THOMAS BENSON is currently the EVP & CFO of CKX, Inc., a NASDAQ listed company which owns leading entertainment brands including Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and American Idol.  Mr. Benson served as VP & CFO of SFX Entertainment, Inc., the world's largest live entertainment company, from 1998 to 2000.  From 1996 until 1998 Mr. Benson was VP & CFO of SFX Broadcasting, Inc., one of the nation's ten largest radio station groups.  Prior to joining SFX Broadcasting, Mr. Benson worked as Vice President External and International Reporting for American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. and spent over a decade at Ernst & Young LLP where he worked primarily with media and entertainment clients.  Mr. Benson holds a BS degree in Accounting from Binghamton University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School.  Mr. Benson is also involved with numerous community organizations including currently serving as the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School.

ADA CINIGLIO, Founder, came to High 5 in 1995 as its founding executive director. She has more than 40 years of work experience in both the profit and non-profit sectors and a background in education and the arts. For nine years, Ms. Ciniglio was a marketing and communications executive at Chase Manhattan Bank, where she was a vice president. A former administrative dean at The Graduate Faculty of The New School For Social Research, she also directed a Rockefeller Foundation museum educators fellowship program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ms. Ciniglio received a BA degree from Skidmore College and a MS in Education from the State University of New York at New Paltz.

KAREN FROME, Partner of Design Laboratories, is an architect with 11 years of experience. She has designed and been the principal in charge of la Vanca Popolare di Milano, 505 Park Avenue, the Westside Federation for Senior Housing and many residential projects. She holds a Master's Degree in Architectural History and Theory from Princeton University, a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. Ms. Frome has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Guggenheim Fellow. She participates in the Learning by Design Program, teaching children about space and architecture.

SANDY GARFUNKEL currently serves as the Marketing Co-Chair of the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center’s Executive Committee, where she has been involved with fundraising during her 18 years on the Board of Directors.  In her previous role as President, she oversaw the purchase and renovation of two additional buildings (one for the treatment of very young children and another for adolescents at risk), the establishment of a fifty thousand dollar Director’s Discretionary Fund and the successful completion of a five million dollar Capital Campaign.  She worked for several years at North Shore University Hospital as a volunteer in the surgical waiting room, acting as liaison for families and patients.  Ms. Garfunkel served on the boards of Tri-Arts, a Connecticut-based theater company and SPARC, a health initiative; is the Founder of the Breast Cancer Support Network affiliated with Sharon Hospital; and is a Co-Founder of Paavia Fashions, Ltd., a knitwear design and manufacturing company.  A native of Houston, Texas, Sandy attended Simmons College and New York University.

RICHARD GARVEY recently retired as a Partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he practiced in the Corporate Department with an emphasis on corporate, securities and merger and acquisition law. Mr. Garvey is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Bar Association of the City of New York and the Boston College Wall Street Council. He is a director and officer of the Halfway Houses of Westchester Foundation, Inc. and serves on the Finance Committee of the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation. Mr. Garvey is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a Bachelors Degree in philosophy and political science from Boston College.

CONNIE JORDAN joined the High 5 Board in 2005.  She has been with McKinsey & Company since 1999 where she currently serves as the Assistant Director External Relations.  Previously she was Senior Marketing Manager with Pitney Bowes for five years, two of those based in the United Kingdom.  Ms. Jordan  brings to the board years of experience in marketing and business development.  She earned her MBA in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati and holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University.

JESSIE MCCLINTOCK KELLY recently joined Columbia University as Assistant Director, Global Initiatives, in University Development and Alumni Relations. She is a major gift officer, responsible for China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. Jessie received an M.I.A. degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in 2007, with a concentration in U.S.-China relations, having decided to make a career change in order to work in the China field, her longtime interest and passion. Previously, Jessie was the President of the Brooklyn Historical Society, where she led a major growth and re-positioning project including construction, re-branding, expansion of funding base, and program development. Jessie graduated from Smith College, where she also received an M.A.T. degree, and began her career in teaching and school administration. Jessie has served on the boards of the New York WomenÂ’s Foundation and the Packer Collegiate Institute. She lives in Brooklyn and has three grown children.

JESSICA E. LEE is a Financial Advisor in the Global Private Client Group at Merrill Lynch, based out of the World Financial Center in New York City.  Previously, Ms. Lee worked in strategic marketing at Atlantic Records and as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting.  Ms. Lee holds a B.S. degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  She volunteers as an Executive Council Member of the High School of Economics and Finance in New York City and as an Executive Board Member of Merrill Lynch’s New York Asian Pacific American Professional Network.

CATHRYN L. LORENZ joined the High 5 Board of Directors in 2007. She is an active member of the New York City community, volunteering her time to multiple non-profit organizations. Ms. Lorenz has previously served as Homeless Coordinating Co-Chair of the Junior League of Washington and is a current Sustainer of the Junior League of New York. She has also served as Chapter Historian of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a current Member of the Carnegie Hill Neighborhood Association, WomenÂ’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy and Playground Partners, as well as a current active volunteer of The Brick Church WomenÂ’s Committee and The Brick Church School; a Co-Chair of the Membership Committee of The Parents League of New York; and acts as the Liason to the Parents League for The Nightingale-Bamford School Parents Association. A native of Texas, Ms. Lorenz attended Texas Tech University.

DAVE MESSINGER joined the board of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in 2005. He is an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in New York and brings over 25 years of professional experience in business strategy, operations management, and organizational development. Prior to joining McKinsey Mr. Messinger worked for several years with Booz Allen Hamilton and was the Managing Director at a U.K.-based consumer packaging company. He has also worked with the U.S. Air Force as well as several large manufacturing companies building sophisticated production operations. He earned his MBA in General Management and Operations Management from the University of Cincinnati and holds a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Vanderbilt University.

REBECCA NEUWIRTH serves as Director of Special Projects at the American Jewish Committee and as Executive Director of an AJC institute called Thanks To Scandinavia, a scholarship fund dedicated to memorializing those countries and people who rescued Jews during World War II. At AJC, Rebecca directs the new generation initiative, ACCESS, and runs campus programming. She also works on international outreach, especially regarding Germany, Bulgaria, and the Scandinavian countries. Rebecca serves on the board of High 5 Tickets to the Arts, an educational arts organization that she was involved with helping to establish back in high school. She has a Master's Degree from Berlin, Germany and a B.A. from Yale University. She has translated a book by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, is married and has one son.

RALPH PEAVY, Managing Director, Information Technology, First Manhattan Company

MERRILL ROSE is an independent consultant specializing in communications strategy. Ms. Rose has advised many nonprofit organizations including AARP, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the National Peace Corps Association, Lumina Foundation for Education, Experience Corps, the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Medical and Health Research Association of NYC, Generations United and Research! America. Previously, Ms. Rose was Executive Vice President of Porter Novelli, one of the world's leading public relations firms, serving the firm for 18 years in New York, Washington, Chicago and Brussels, Belgium.   Ms. Rose also serves as co-chair of the steering committee for the CARE Women's Initiative in New York, which raises funds and awareness to support the education of girls in the developing world.  She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She is also active in ACEJMC, the organization that accredits university schools of journalism, and has served on its Appeals Board.

RICHARD H. SILBERBERG is a Senior Partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, an international law firm with 18 offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.   Mr. Silberberg is currently the Chair of the firm’s Global Trial Group and previously served as Managing Partner of the firm’s New York office and a member of the Board of Directors of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation.  In addition to his commercial litigation practice, Mr. Silberberg is actively engaged in alternate dispute resolution, serving as a Mediator and Arbitrator for the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and for the American Arbitration Association.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to victims of racial discrimination, and the Board of Directors of the Fund for Modern Courts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice in the State of New York.  Mr. Silberberg earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

JOHN C. SIMONS recently left his position as Senior Executive Vice President of Fleet Bank National Association to start his own investment banking business. He was a Market Manager in commercial banking responsible for middle market and large corporate banking in New York City, Westchester and Rockland Counties. Mr. Simons was also responsible for Fleet Bank's asset-based lending efforts and for assisting UK-based firms expanding into the New York metropolitan area. Prior to joining Fleet, Mr. Simons was a Senior Vice President with Chase Manhattan Bank. He began his career with Chemical Bank in 1983. A graduate of Trinity College, Mr. Simons resides in Briarcliff Manor, New York, with his wife and two children.

ALFRED SZYMANSKI is currently the Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia College Chicago, where he has responsibility for fundraising and promotes the relationship of alumni in the East Coast area. Prior to this, he was a Development Officer at St. Bonaventure University. He has also served as Publishing Coordinator for Practicing Law Institute and as Director of Special Projects for the American Ballet Theatre, where he organized such events as the Spring Gala at Lincoln Center and the Culinary Pas de Deux. At Susan Ulin Associates, he managed major fundraising events for such clients as Montefiore Medical Center, the Cardozo Law School and DIFFA. For nine years he was the Associate Director of Development/Special Events for the New School and Parsons School of Design, planning and managing the Parsons Fashion Awards Dinner and more than 100 other annual events. Mr. Szymanski holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Rutgers University.

NANCY S. TICKTIN, prior to her retirement, served as Vice President of Development for New York City Center. For the previous 11 years, she held the position of Director of the Lincoln Center Consolidated Corporate Fund, responsible for raising unrestricted funds from corporations and professional firms for distribution to the performing arts organizations and training conservatories resident there. Prior to this, Ms. Ticktin was a vice president of Bankers Trust Company, where she was Public Affairs Department Group Head and President of the bank's foundation. Earlier, she was Assistant Director of the Public Education Association, Executive Director of the Confederation of Local School Boards, and a senior officer in the central office of New York City's Head Start program. Throughout her career, she has been active in a wide variety of civic and arts organizations, for example, serving as Chairman of New York City’s  District #2 School Board.  In addition to her membership on the High 5 board, she currently serves on the boards of KIDS in Distressed Situations, which distributes child related products to community organizations throughout the country, and Counter>Induction, a critically acclaimed new music organization.

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