Advisory Board

PAUL T. DACIER, J.D.
General Counsel, Indigo Ag, Inc.
Vice Chair of Board, AERCAP Holdings N.V.
Member of Board, GTY Technology Holdings
Member of Board and Chair of Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, Progress Software
Formerly Executive Vice President and General Counsel, EMC Corporation

Mr. Dacier is General Counsel of IndigoAg, a company dedicated to harnessing nature by utilizing beneficial microbes residing within plant tissues (the microbiome) to optimize crop health and improve productivity. He is vice chair of the board of directors of AERCAP Holdings N.V., the world’s leading commercial aircraft leasing company, located in Dublin, Ireland, and a member of the board of the publicly traded firms GTY Technology Holdings (a special purpose acquisition vehicle) and Progress Software (where he chairs the corporate governance and nominating committee). He was formerly Executive Vice President and General Counsel at EMC Corporation, a world-renowned leader in cloud computing and software solutions. In that capacity, he oversaw EMC’s acquisition of VMware, EMC’s merger with Dell Technologies (the largest tech merger in history), and its sustainability and government affairs departments. Mr. Dacier is a past President of the Boston Bar Association, which has more than 10,000 members. Mr. Dacier received his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and his Bachelor’s degree in History from Marquette University.

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NIHAL DE LANEROLLE, D.PHIL., D.SC.
Professor of Neurosurgery and of Neurobiology Emeritus, Yale School of Medicine
Visiting Professor in Biology & Neuroscience, Wesleyan University

Dr. De Lanerolle is a neuroscientist whose research focusses on the study of neuropsychiatric disorders, including the pathophysiology of seizure foci in the brains of patients with epilepsy. He uses translational high throughput techniques, such as DNA microarray analysis and proteomics, to develop and test new antiepileptic drugs and to develop methods for better predicting seizures. He also conducts laboratory studies of the neuropathology of the brain in soldiers exposed to explosive blast pressure waves and in athletes subjected to multiple concussions. He is a highly experienced researcher, having worked not only with other leading academics but also with government and industry researchers in public-private partnerships. For example, he served as the Systems Integrator for PREVENT Phase 2, a Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) project related to traumatic brain injuries suffered by soldiers exposed to blast waves from improvised explosive devices. Dr. De Lanerolle teaches anatomy of the brain at Yale University and neuroscience of ethics at Wesleyan University. He received his D.Phil. in Neuroethology and his D.Sc. from the University of Sussex; his B.Sc. in Zoology from University of Ceylon; and his B.A. with Honors in Theology & Religious Studies and his M.A. from University of Cambridge.

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STEPHEN HUDSPETH, J.D.
Adjunct Professor, University of Connecticut Graduate School of Business
Attorney-at-Law

Stephen M. Hudspeth is a practicing attorney in Wilton, Connecticut, where he specializes in complex litigation, including antitrust law and employment discrimination cases. He is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut’s Graduate School of Business where he teaches on its Stamford, Connecticut campus. A member of the bars of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut, he previously headed the litigation department across all twenty-five offices of the international law firm of Coudert Brothers from which he retired at year-end 2004. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut, he taught at the Yale School of Management and Yale Law School. Professor Hudspeth co-led with BSA Founder and CEO Bagley a multidisciplinary team of Yale University faculty and students working with Sharon Pratt, the former Mayor of the District of Columbia and president of Opportunity Funding Corporation, and the Congressional Black Caucus who partnered with leading banking and real estate firms and nonprofit organizations to mitigate the devastating effects of the subprime mortgage crisis on communities of color. Congressman Elijah Cummings called the resulting report “the best white paper I have ever read.” The author and coauthor of numerous articles and of a book on transfer pricing, Professor Hudspeth received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his M.A. and B.A. in Economics from Yale University.

ANGELA TORRE MCCONNELL, M.A.
Executive Director, Montalvo Arts Center

Angela T. McConnell is the Executive Director of Montalvo Arts Center, a century-old, international multidisciplinary visual and performing arts center and artist residency located in Saratoga, California. Montalvo’s mission “is to engage the public in the creative process, acting as a catalyst for exploring the arts, unleashing creativity, and advancing different cultural and cross-cultural perspectives.” The Center promotes the creative thinking necessary for artistic and commercial innovation, including “curiosity, critical engagement, empathy, and the ability to generate innovative solutions.” Ms. McConnell is passionate about the profound importance of the arts to human happiness; innovative products, services, and ways of doing business; community cohesion; societal well-being; and respect for the Earth and all her creatures and resources. She has a proven track record of engaging the leaders of multiple stakeholders from both the non-profit and profit sectors to forge mutually beneficial collaborations. Under her leadership, Montalvo has doubled its audience, tripled earned income, expanded education programs, stabilized the institution’s budget, and built one of the strongest nonprofit boards in Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal recognized Ms. McConnell as one of Silicon Valley’s 100 Women of Influence for 2012 and the Mountain View (California) Chamber of Commerce named her the Athena Business Woman of the Year in 2006. Prior to taking over the helm at Montalvo, Ms. McConnell served as Executive Director of the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, California. In that capacity, she spearheaded a $12.4 million capital campaign, which led to the construction of CSMA’s first permanent facility and established it as one of the ten largest community schools of its kind in the United States.  Ms. McConnell received her M.A. in Non-Profit Management from the University of San Francisco and her B.A. in Psychology from Manhattanville College.

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JEFFREY PFEFFER, Ph.D.
Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Professor Pfeffer is an internationally renowned expert in leadership and organizational behavior who has authored 15 books (including most recently Dying for a Paycheck) and more than 150 articles and book chapters. His awards include the Academy of Management’s award for scholarly contributions to management, the 10th Le Prix RH Sciences Po, Syntec Le Monde for the best business book in France for Faits et Foutaises dans le Management (French translation of Hard Facts), inclusion in Thinkers 50’s list of top 25 management thinkers and in HR Magazine’s list of the Most Influential HR International Thinkers. Professor Pfeffer received his Ph.D. in Business Administration (Organizational Behavior) from Stanford University and his M.S. (Industrial Administration) and B.S. (Administration and Management Science) from Carnegie-Mellon University. Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer has just circulated an excellent paper on the importance of power in management: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3493406

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ELIZABETH P. SMITH, J.D.
Formerly Vice President-Investor Relations and Shareholder Services and Corporate Compliance and Ethics Officer, Texaco Inc.
Formerly Chair of the Board of Finance, Town of Darien, Connecticut

An investor relations, strategy, compliance, finance, and legal expert, Ms. Smith was the first female corporate level vice president at Texaco Inc. where she served as Vice President of Investor Relations and Shareholder Services and as Corporate Compliance and Ethics Officer during several of Texaco’s most tumultuous periods, including its litigation with Pennzoil over the acquisition of Getty Oil, Carl Icahn’s (ultimately unsuccessful) proxy contest to break up Texaco and sell the pieces, and Texaco’s merger with its long-term oil and gas exploration partner Chevron. She was also a member of the Board of the Texaco Foundation, helping guide Texaco’s corporate philanthropic activities.  Ms. Smith is a past President of both the Investor Relations Association and the Petroleum Investor Relations Institute. She was elected to the Board of Finance for the Town of Darien, Connecticut, in 2007, where she served as Chair from 2010 until 2015. She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Marymount College Tarrytown and on the Board of St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Connecticut. She was also a member of the Board of The Education and Learning Foundation of Westchester and Putnam Counties. Ms. Smith received her J.D. from the Georgetown Law Center and her Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University.

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