Our Board

Our board of directors are community leaders highly invested in Spark the Journey’s success.

They meet quarterly to provide strategic oversight of our program, participate in fundraising on Spark’s behalf, attend student and mentor events, and find other ways to leverage their skills, experiences, and networks to support our mission.

All board members make monetary contributions each year.

Theodore A. Schwab
Co-Founder & Chairman Emeritus
Founding Partner & Managing Director, Steward Partners Global Advisory

The Honorable Mary K. Bush
Board Chair
President and Founder, Bush International, LLC

Carol Adelman, PH.D.
Director, The Hudson Institute Center for Global Prosperity

Antoine van Agtmael
Founder, Emerging Markets Management, LLC

John A. Bates
Partner, Potomac Equity Partners

Cathy Bernasek
Independent Consultant in the Nonprofit Sector

Gina Coburn
Founder, RallySkin.com

Gregory J. Fierce
Executive Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, Potomac Business Services LLC

J. Warren Gorrell, Jr.
CEO Emeritus and Partner, Hogan Lovells

Reginald Love
Senior Advisor, Apollo Global Management 

Meena Nankani
Vice President, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Brian Naumick
Managing Director and Vice President, Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate

Charles Rossotti
Senior Advisor, The Carlyle Group

Macani Toungara
Director, Social and Environmental Responsibility at Dell Technologies

Keosha Varela
Founder, Mission & Purpose Communications

General (Ret) Dennis Via
Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

Ambassador Michael M. Wood
Chairman, Redwood Investments, LLC

“Spark students are impressive in their own right for the hard work they put in and the persistence they demonstrate, most often in the face of daunting personal challenges on top of the more universal realities of adolescence. What I hear most often from our students is their desire to do well, coupled with recognition and appreciation that the network of support from Spark mentors and programs gives them additional confidence to grow and create opportunities for their future. The strength of Spark’s relationships with our students became not only more evident but more critical through the pandemic as immediate challenges and needs increased. I am proud of the team at Spark for its agility and dedication and of our community of donors who recommitted to supporting our mission. Because of this, Spark students persevered with their hard work of learning, growing, and exploring pathways forward.”
Gina Coburn, Spark Board Member

About Us
Why Mentorship
Our Impact