Board of Directors

Marianna Schaffer, Chair

Marianna Schaffer is the Vice President of Programs at the Dodge Foundation, where she is a critical leader in providing oversight and management of all programmatic activities. In her role, she ensures alignment with Foundation goals and values focused on root cause and repair of structural racism and inequity in New Jersey. 

Prior to her current position at Dodge, she was the inaugural Director of Artist Initiatives at Creative Capital, an organization that provides adventurous artists across the country with substantial financial and capacity-building grants. While there, she ushered in the widest national diversity of applicants, awarded artists, and practitioners in the organization’s history.

Ms. Schaffer was Program Officer at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, where she worked with individual artists and small arts organizations at the intersection of arts and social justice. She also managed the New Climate Initiative, a partnership with the Sundance Institute focused on climate change-related media projects. Before joining Rauschenberg, Ms. Schaffer was Director of Programs at the David Rockefeller Fund. There she oversaw day-to-day operations and grantmaking focused on arts access and engagement, criminal justice reform, and climate justice and advocacy.

In addition to the Scherman Foundation, Ms. Schaffer serves on the Board of Directors of HI-ARTS and Outdoor Empowered Network.

Peter Sollins, SECRETARY

Peter Sollins is the Senior Associate Director of Intellectual Property in Harvard University’s Office Technology Development (OTD). OTD’s mission is to make sure the world outside of academia benefits from the scientific advances made at Harvard by transferring them to industry for development and real world application. OTD also arranges for industry to sponsor scientific research at Harvard. Peter focuses on evaluating whether new inventions are appropriate for patenting, and, if so, directing the patenting process. Before coming to Harvard, Peter spent seven years as a patent attorney at Foley Hoag, a Boston law firm, where he advised clients on patent applications, patent litigation, and IP strategy generally. Before becoming a lawyer, Peter worked in astronomy using radio telescopes to study star formation. Prior to that, Peter was a high school science teacher in Wynnewood, PA. Peter is a graduate of Swarthmore College, Harvard University, and Boston College Law School. He is the son of Karen Sollins, grandson of Axel and Katharine Rosin, and great-grandson of Harry Scherman.

Rini Banerjee, TReasurer

Rini Banerjee is currently the President of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and has two decades of experience in philanthropy. An Integrated Capital Fellow at RSF Social Finance, she has served as Executive Director at Foundation for a Just Society, Program Officer at the Overbrook Foundation, and Program Director at the New York Women’s Foundation. She is a trustee of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and Board member of Philanthropy NY.  She has co-created or served on groups including the NYC-based Asian Women’s Giving Circle, Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights, the Groundswell Fund, and the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing. She was a past Board Chair of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), Funders for Reproductive Equity, and past Board member of South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!). She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a BSc in finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Alexis Anderson-Reed

Alexis Anderson-Reed is the Chief Executive Officer of State Voices, the country’s largest nonpartisan civic engagement infrastructure organization.

Alexis has been an activist since she was a college student. Driven by the disparities in educational opportunity she encountered growing up in Wisconsin, she co-founded Youth Reclaiming Our Communities (Youth ROC), mobilizing students across the state to press for education finance reform. Since then, she hasn’t stopped working toward a vision of a more inclusive and more equitable society. She has dedicated her career to community organizing, coalition-building, public policy, and strategic planning, exemplified by her work on issues of racial and gender equity and the politics of power and privilege.

Prior to her tenure as State Voices’ Chief Executive Officer, Alexis served as the deputy director of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, a philanthropic affinity group dedicated to enhancing democratic participation in all aspects of civic life. Before joining FCCP in 2016, Alexis served as the senior director of programs for State Voices, leading efforts to support and expand the work of our national network of state tables in promoting civic engagement, civic access, and civic representation. She came to the national office of State Voices after serving for three and a half years as executive director of Wisconsin Voices, where she worked to expand and defend voting rights in the state.

Alexis graduated with honors from Alverno College with a degree in History and Political Science, and completed coursework for a Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alexis serves on the boards of the Alliance for Youth Organizing, State Innovation Exchange, and the Analyst Institute. When not at work, she can be found trying out new recipes for family and friends and traveling with her husband, Derek.

Amy Bergtold 

Amy Bergtold is currently taking care of her three young children and is an active member of their public school’s Parent Teacher Association. She regularly volunteers her time to tutor at-risk students in math and is on the school’s wellness council which focuses on promoting healthy eating and exercise habits for young children. She has recently joined the grant writing committee at her children’s school as well. Formerly she was a scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and before that a PhD candidate at Columbia University. She has published extensively in the fields of immunology and molecular biology. Amy is the daughter of Susanna Bergtold and the granddaughter of Axel and Katharine Rosin.

Miriam Buhl, Esq.   

Miriam Buhl is Pro Bono Counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP and has coordinated the firm’s worldwide and award-winning pro bono program since 2005. Weil’s 1,100 attorneys perform pro bono work on a wide range of issues including human rights, economic development, corporate governance, political asylum, and environmental protection. Ms. Buhl has been honored for her leadership of Weil’s pro bono program by numerous organizations, including The Legal Aid Society, the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, the Innocence Project, and the International Refugee Assistance Project. Ms. Buhl has extensive administrative experience in the field of philanthropy and nonprofit governance, having served as state director for the Greater New York Chapter of the March of Dimes; executive director of The New York Women’s Foundation; and founding director of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Public Service Network. She also served as executive director of the fair housing agency Westchester Residential Opportunities, Inc. and was staff attorney for The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Division, Brooklyn Neighborhood Office. She is a member of the board of directors for the International Refugee Assistance Project. Ms. Buhl is a graduate of Brown University and Fordham University School of Law.

Steven K. Choi

Steven Choi is currently an advisor and consultant focusing on advocacy, organizational change and leadership development. He has spent the last 20 years in leadership at social justice and movement organizations, most recently at One for Democracy, a coalition of philanthropists and foundations pledging 1% of assets to support democracy. Before that, Mr. Choi served as Executive Director at the New York Immigration Coalition, a coalition of 200 member groups that represents New York State’s immigrants. During his tenure, Mr. Choi quintupled the size of the organization, becoming the nation’s largest state immigrant rights coalition and winning historic victories to restore driver’s licenses for immigrant New Yorkers, create the $10 million New York State Liberty Defense Project, and launch the $40 million ActionNYC immigration legal services initiative.

Before that, Mr. Choi was the Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action, where he played a lead role in building several powerful coalitions to represent New York’s Asian American community. Mr. Choi also was the founding Director of the Korean Workers Project at the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund.   

Mr. Choi received a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a M.A. from the University of Hawai’i, and a B.A. from Stanford University in History with Honors. He has received numerous awards, including being ranked #1 in City & State’s “2019 Nonprofit Power 100,” the 2017 Community Leadership Award from the Asian American Federation, the 2013 Felix Fishman Award from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a 2012 NAPABA “Best Lawyers Under 40” Award, the Skadden Fellowship, a Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellowship, and more. Mr. Choi serves on the boards of the Scherman Foundation and the United Way of New York City, and previously served on the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Rasu Jilani

Rasu Jilani is an accomplished cultural strategist and social sculptor with a wealth of experience in curating, producing, and arts administration, and was recently appointed Executive Director of the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). As leader of BAC, Rasu leads efforts to support and empower local artists toward achieving the Council's vision of generating a self-sustaining and integral creative community that fosters connectedness and engagement in society. Previously, Rasu leveraged his experience in supporting networks as the Cultural Network Curator at the Lambent Foundation. He designed programs that promoted shared learning and fostered collaboration through both live and digital experiences aligning Lambent's values and approach with organizational practices.

Prior to Lambent, Rasu served as the Director of Recruiting and Community Engagement at NEW INC, the incubator of the New Museum. In this capacity, he managed mentorship and alumni initiatives, shaped organizational culture, and created a diverse pool of applicants from the tech, art, and entrepreneurial sectors. He also served as the Director of Community Programs at MAPP International Productions, where he produced events such as Blink Your Eyes: Sekou Sundiata Revisited, Triple Consciousness: Black Feminism(s) in the Time of Now, and Days of Art and Ideas.

Mr. Jilani is deeply committed to the cultural ecosystem in New York City and volunteers his time as a mentor and creative coach for organizations such as Recess Art, NEW INC, and Florida International University's Ratcliff Design Incubator. He also serves on the boards of organizations like The Laundromat Project, Kinfolk, Afrotectopia, and The Billie Holiday Theater in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He was a former steering committee member of New York Community Trust's Mosaic Fund and Network, Museum Hue's Board of Trustees, and co-founder and former member of the NYC Innovation Collective.

Miles Rapoport

Miles Rapoport, a longtime organizer, policy advocate, and elected official, is a Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center, bringing four decades of experience working to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in the United States. Prior to his appointment to the Ash Center, Rapoport was most recently president of the independent grassroots organization Common Cause. For 13 years, he headed the public policy center Demos.Rapoport previously served as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State and a state legislator for ten years in Hartford. He has written, spoken, and organized widely on issues of American democracy. He was a member of the Harvard class of 1971. Rapoport is the first fellow appointed as part of the Ash Center’s new Senior Practice Fellowship in American Democracy, which seeks to deepen the Center’s engagement on fundamental issues of democratic practice. This new fellowship is also intended to expand the connections between scholarship and the field of practice of people and organizations working to defend and improve our public institutions.