The Reaching Out Board

Peter Allen

Peter L. Allen has been a part of the Reaching Out conference since it began. He has served as a panelist, organizer, and sponsorship coordinator; he is now a member of the board, and has led the board's strategic planning process. Peter is the Director of Google University. His business career includes seven years at McKinsey & Company (in consulting, knowledge management, and strategy learning); he has also been a faculty member at Princeton University and Pomona College. He holds a B.A. from Haverford College, a D.E.A. from the Universite' de Poitiers, an A.M. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

Amy Bennett

Amy Bennett works as a Managing Consultant for IBM Global Business Services. As an internal consultant, she leads business strategy and organizational change initiatives for IBM. Her work has taken her throughout Europe and has allowed her to work with executives across the globe.

In 2005, Amy graduated with her MBA from the Yale School of Management. During business school, she helped organize the 2005 Reaching Out Conference in Boston. Prior to Yale she worked for a boutique energy and environmental consulting firm based in Washington, DC and Maine. Amy graduated magna cum laude from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, with a B.A. in Biology. In her spare time she enjoys photography, traveling and outdoor activities.

Jonah Brown

A co-founder and past president of the board, Jonah is chair of the Partnerships Committee. Jonah is Director, Sales Strategy at Edmunds.com, Inc. in Santa Monica, California, where he provides Internet marketing and advertising consulting services to global automotive firms. Jonah was an organizer of Reaching Out MBA's 2004 conference in Los Angeles and president of the USC Marshall School of Business Gay & Lesbian Association. He now serves on the Board of the USC Lambda Gay & Lesbian Alumni Association.

Prior to business school, Jonah produced feature films at Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Company and held product management roles at Creative Planet and Edmunds.com, Inc. He is a graduate of Brown University (BA in American Civilization; Phi Beta Kappa) and from USC Marshall School of Business (MBA).

David Cavanaugh, Secretary

David Cavanaugh began his tenure with Reaching Out MBA, Inc. back in 2005 as an organizer of the Chicago 2005 conference.

Upon graduating from the Kellogg School of Management in 2006, David joined L.E.K. Consulting as a consultant specializing in their life sciences practice. Prior to Kellogg, David worked for a diverse set of biomedical research organizations, including Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline, in the emerging field of Bioinformatics.

In his free time, David enjoys triathlons, international traveling, cooking, and dining.

Brandt Haynes

Brandt is a Marketing Manager for HBO, where he is responsible for product development and marketing for HBO's Special Interest video releases, which include documentary, family and sports programming. He joined HBO after receiving his MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business in May 2007. Prior to Stern, Brandt worked in several strategic marketing roles within the theatrical industry for such clients as Blue Man Group, Avenue Q, Rent, Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme, Mamma Mia!, and Disney Theatrical Productions. He graduated from Emory University in 2001 with a BA in Theater Studies and Economics. Brandt was a Co-Chair of the 2006 Reaching Out LGBT MBA Conference in New York.

James Robertson, President

James Robertson, MPH, MBA, is a Senior HIV/AIDS Advisor at John Snow, Inc., a Boston-based international health consultancy. He serves as a technical focal point for HIV prevention and as senior advisor to JSI's portfolio of bilateral HIV/AIDS programs in Africa and Central Asia. Before joining JSI, he was Project Manager (Africa) in the Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland where he contributed to efforts to expand the private sector's response to the epidemic. In 1999, while at Yale School of Management, James was a founding co-chair of the Reaching Out conference.

Kevin Smith

Kevin W. Smith is a consultant with Otto Digital, a digital marketing consultancy in New York City. He serves as a marketing strategist to Otto's client base developing targeted digital marketing solutions to drive client business objectives and long-term brand development. Before joining Otto, Kevin spent eight years in the mad world of advertising, working with clients such as Coca-Cola, Intel and Kraft Foods. Kevin holds a BA in Economics from George Washington University and an MBA from NYU-Stern School of Business. Kevin was a Co-Chair of the 2006 Reaching Out LGBT MBA Conference in New York.

Ian Tzeng, Treasurer

Ian Tzeng is an Engagement Manager in the Boston office of L.E.K. Consulting and originally joined the company in 1998. He splits his time between practice areas in life sciences, private equity, and hospitality & travel. Ian holds an A.B., magna cum laude in Chemistry from Harvard College and is a George F. Baker Scholar, M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School. He also serves on the boards of two other non-profit organizations - the HGC Foundation, a Harvard alumni organization supporting choral music education; and Coro Allegro, a Boston-area LGBT chorus. Ian was an organizer of the Boston 2005 Conference.