OUR ADVISORS
THADDEUS YOUNG
Thaddeus Young is a 13 year NBA veteran currently with the Toronto Raptors. He has played for 5 teams: Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets,
Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and now the Toronto Raptors. He has a passion for philanthropy, business, real estate, and technology. His Young for Youth Foundation has helped over 100 student athletes receive scholarships through his travel basketball and leadership programs. He began investing in technology in 2015 and started his own venture capital firm, Reform Ventures, that invests in start-up companies ranging from early to late stage. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology where he studied business for one year before becoming the 12th overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. While playing, he has managed to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Master’s in Organizational Leadership online from Union Institute & University. Thad is a serial entrepreneur in business and investing. His portfolio includes over 40 companies, in several different sectors within the tech and start up space. His portfolio is very diverse with investments in real estate and in highly coveted start-up companies like: Airbnb, Lyft, Pinterest, Flexport, Epic Games, Turo, Carbon 3D, Tonal, Lime and Draft Kings.
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JON SCHEYER
Jon is the Associate Head Basketball Coach at Duke University, where he has served on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff since the 2013-14 season. As a player,
he led the Blue Devils to two ACC championships and the 2010 NCAA title, in addition to the 2015 National Championship plus two ACC Tournament crowns as a member of the coaching staff. Jon remains one of the most versatile players in Duke history, concluding his playing career as an All-American and the only player in school history to record at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 three-point field goals and 200 steals. He averaged 14.4 points per game while scoring in double figures 114 times (sixth-most in Duke history). As a two-time team captain, Jon scored 2,077-career points, and still ranks 10th on Duke’s all-time scoring list. He ranks third in Duke history in free throws made (608), fourth in free throw percentage (.861) and three-point field goals made (297), and sixth in free throw attempts (706). He played in 144 consecutive games, a tie for the second-longest streak in Duke history.
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AMY HUCHTHAUSEN
Amy is the Chief Impact and Culture Officer at Stavvy and is the former Commissioner of the America East Conference. During her tenure at the
America East Conference, she has increased the conference’s profile through expansive media partnerships, a robust social and digital media strategy and a progressive approach to the student-athlete experience. Under Amy’s leadership, the conference secured an 11-year agreement with ESPN to provide a digital streaming home for a majority of its live content. Her presence in the sports technology and media communities has brought the league to the forefront of digital and social media partnerships with emerging technologies, strengthening the America East brand. Under her direction, America East unveiled a comprehensive rebranding initiative that positioned the conference brand on “Building the Complete Student-Athlete.” She launched transformational initiatives, such as the #3Pillars Academy, Alumni Network, Academic Consortium and the conference’s Health & Safety initiative with a focus on mental health awareness. Additionally, Amy has driven the league’s leadership in diversity and inclusion by being the first Division I conference partner of the You Can Play Project, first conference member of the LGBT SportSafe Founders Club and through the league’s partnership with the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE). Previously, Amy worked at the NCAA, America East, ACC, Missouri Valley and Big East. In 2016, Amy was recognized as a 2016 Forty Under 40 honoree by the Sports Business Journal after being honored as a 2015 GameChanger by the same publication. Amy earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Cross, where she played softball. In 2018, Amy received her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she was recognized by Poets & Quants as one of the Class of 2018’s Best & Brightest Executive MBAs in the country.
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TYRRE BURKS
As a former professional and lifelong athlete, Tyrre has dedicated his life to making a positive impact on amateur sports. As the Founder/CEO of Player’s
Health, Tyrre has become a recognized sports entrepreneur. Tyrre’s passion for impact sports drove him to create one of the most influential companies in amateur sports, working with more than 2,000 sports organizations with over 200,000 coaches and 3 million athletes. Tyrre’s mission in life is to make the world of youth sports a better, safer, more secure place.
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GENE CROSS
Gene is the Director, Scouting & Administration for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gene leads scouts in both the preparation
and evaluation of NBA prospects, draft workouts, NBA draft, two-way & Exhibit 10 potentials, development projects, summer league, and background gathering toward building a championship caliber franchise. Prior to this role, Gene was Director of Amateur Scouting for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, and served as Head Coach of the Rayos de Hermosillo, a Mexican professional basketball club based in Hermosillo, Senora. Gene led Rayos de Hermosillo to the CIBACOPA Finals and was named the CIBACOPA Coach of the Year in 2017. Gene played college basketball at the University of Illinois under head coach Lou Henson. He holds an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in Sports Management from The Ohio State University.
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DORRI MCWHORTER
Dorri serves as the first woman and first black CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Prior to this position, Dorri served as the CEO
of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, a social enterprise focused on eliminating racism and empowering women. A socially-conscious business leader, Dorri was previously a partner at Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest accounting firms in the U.S., and currently serves on the Board of Directors for William Blair Funds, Skyway Concession Company (Chicago Skyway), and numerous civic and social impact organizations. Dorri leads the process for the YWCA to develop an exchange traded fund (ETF) for women’s empowerment (NYSE: WOMN) in partnership with Impact Shares, which is the first non-profit investment advisor to develop an ETF product. Dorri was included in the inaugural list of “The Blue Network”, comprised of the top 100 innovators in Chicago, by Chicago Tribune and was a 2019 Inductee in the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame. Dorri received a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Lake Forest College.
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SHEAU-MING ROSS
Sheau-ming serves as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ModelOp, an early-stage technology company that helps its clients scale and govern AI initiatives with its enterprise-class
software solution. Prior to joining ModelOp, Sheau-ming held CFO positions with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Mattersight Corporation (previously NASDAQ:MATR), EPAY Systems, Silver Chalice, WGN-TV, WGN Radio, WGN America and CLTV. She also worked in strategy, corporate development and venture capital at Tribune Company and Credit Suisse Group. Sheau-ming holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
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NAVIN GOYAL, MD
Navin serves as CEO of LOUD Capital and drives the company vision on how venture capital can be a vehicle toward education, empowerment, and investment
in businesses that have a positive impact. Prior to co-founding LOUD Capital, Navin practiced anesthesia in a large hospital-based practice and was Medical Director for several years in a community hospital that incorporated growth, efficiency, and customer service. His first entrepreneurial venture was co-founding SmileMD, a mobile anesthesia company that provides access to care currently servicing patients in Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky. Navin received his MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and trained in anesthesiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
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KAYNE GRAU
Kayne Grau currently serves as President of Uptake, where he’s responsible for refining the company’s products, expanding its global footprint, go-to-market plans, and leading internal
operations. Previously, he served in various senior executive roles with KAR Global (NYSE: KAR), the acquirer of DRIVIN, a company he co-founded and served as CEO until April 2017. Prior to KAR, he held various senior executive positions within Apartments.com, Cars.com, Allstate, DIRECTV, and eToys.com. When not in the office, he serves on various boards, advises local start-ups, and invests in technology-based companies across the US.
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AMY LITTLETON
Amy is Executive Vice President and Managing Director of KemperLesnik, a public relations, sports marketing, events and content marketing agency. Amy is a PR strategist
and business leader who is focused on delivering powerful communication and integrated brand activation programs to the agency’s corporate, consumer and sports clients. Amy’s goal is to combine storytelling with technology to connect brands and people in meaningful ways. Amy holds a MBA from Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business and a BS from Florida State University. She is past president of the Public Relations Society of America Chicago, sits on the board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, chairs the Marketing and Communications Forum at the Executive’s Club of Chicago and is founder and president of the non-profit Friends of Catherine and Channel Lakes.
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ANNA KLOMBIES
Anna Klombies serves as the Chief People Officer for Total Expert. She is a highly adaptable leader with over 25 years of experience in SaaS,
financial services, sports, media, e-commerce, and entertainment. Anna is a strategic and creative executive who fosters a mission-driven culture of collaboration and excellence to drive employee engagement, business strategy and stakeholder value. Her leadership roles in previous companies (CBS MarketWatch, Dow Jones, Sports Engine) provided significant contributions in scalable high growth, multiple acquisitions, award winning culture and successful exits. Anna has a proven track record in understanding and assessing different organizations, teams, cultures, and customers to not only achieve operational efficiency but create a trusted sense of team. She has an abiding dedication to executive coaching and development, as well as creating progressive Talent Management strategies company-wide to ensure organizational health. Anna graduated summa cum laude from Concordia, a private Lutheran university in St. Paul, MN. She currently serves as the Board Chair at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, Presidential Advisor at Concordia University, a Tech Partner at Rally Ventures and proudly serves on the board of several up and coming tech companies.
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