Community Advisory Board

Jason Epstein (Tufts Trustee) is a Partner at Stonecourt Capital, where he sits on the Executive Committee. After receiving a B.A. in History from Tufts University, where he is now a member of the Board of Advisors of the School of Arts and Sciences, he co-founded eLink Communications in 1998. Jason served as its Chief Executive Officer and was a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist. He has over 25 years of private investment experience and currently sits on numerous corporate boards, including as Chairman of the Board of Moon Valley, the largest retail nursery in the United States; Chairman of the Board of EG7, a Swedish public gaming company; and as a member of the Board of Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Company. Jason is proud to also serve on the board of Change Summer, one of the largest non-profit summer camp programs in the US, and the Shoah Foundation’s Next Generation Board of Counselors. Jason is married to Chloe Feinberg Epstein, A96, whom he met at Tufts. They have three children together, Ava, Charlie, and Oliver, and live in New York City.

Carine Hajjar is an opinion journalist and editorial board member at The Washington Post and a journalism fellow with the Steamboat Institute. She  writes about  politics, immigration, higher education, and the Middle East. Carine previously served as a columnist and editorial board member at The Boston Globe. In 2022, she was the Fund for American Studies’ Joseph Rago Memorial Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, working on the Wall Street Journal  editorial board. Carine frequently comments on cable news networks, including Fox News and CNN. A graduate of Harvard College, Carine is from Milton, Massachusetts, and is based between Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Joe Kennedy III is a former U.S. Congressman, Special Envoy, legal aid volunteer, and assistant district attorney. He brings a wealth of experience across public service, diplomacy, law, and advocacy. Joe currently serves as President of Citizens Energy, a diversified renewable energy non-profit organization committed to making clean energy more accessible and affordable. Since its founding in 1979, Citizens Energy has provided over $600 million in charitable contributions, helping low-income families and disadvantaged communities meet essential needs, including utility bill assistance. He is also the founder of the Groundwork Project, a political advocacy organization that supports community organizing in historically under-resourced and disenfranchised regions of the United States. From 2022 to 2024, Joe was appointed by President Joe Biden as the U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs. Joe represented Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, where he was a strong advocate for civil rights and economic equity. Prior to his election to Congress, he served as an Assistant District Attorney and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Born in Boston, Joe earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He is married to Lauren Birchfield Kennedy, and together they have two young children, Eleanor and James.

Adam Lewis is the head of school at Catholic Memorial. He previously served as Principal of Boston College High School and Loyola School in Manhattan, New York. Prior to that, he was the head of senior school at Xavier College in Melbourne, Australia, and served as Deputy Principal of Saint Ignatius College Riverview in Sydney, Australia. He has also taught history and English at Clongowes Wood College SJ, an all-boys Catholic boarding school in County Kildare, Ireland, and taught English at Sacred Heart R.C. Secondary School in London, United Kingdom.  Born in Canberra, Australia, Adam was formed by the Marist Brothers, and this experience inspired him to play a key role in the formation of other Catholic students by becoming a teacher. He brings authentic global experience and a passion for and deep understanding of all-boys Catholic education. He has demonstrated leadership, particularly at top-notch Catholic schools around the globe, and shares a collaborative approach to learning and leadership that will have a transformative impact on the education and development of young men. Adam is a graduate of the Australian National University with a BA in History and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Canberra. Additionally, he received an MA in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College.

Jennifer Selendy (Tufts Trustee) is a founding partner of Selendy Gay. Her leadership has been recognized by Corporate Counsel, which named her 2020’s “Managing Partner of the Year,” and the New York Law Journal, which lists her among 2020’s “Distinguished Leaders.” A seasoned trial and appellate litigator, Jennifer represents both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes disputes. She has tried more than two dozen cases in state and federal courts and in arbitration. Jennifer was named one of “America’s Top 200 Lawyers” by Forbes, “2023 Litigator of the Year” by International Financial Law Review, and one of 2022’s “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar” by the National Law Journal, a small and highly selective list. In addition to representing plaintiffs in high-stakes disputes, Jennifer also specializes in complex defense work and is frequently tapped for sensitive internal and governmental investigations into antitrust, financial misconduct, and employment-related matters. Jennifer earned her BA in International Relations magna cum laude from Tufts University, a MPhil in International Relations as a Marshal Scholar at the University of Oxford, and a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School. Jennifer serves on the Board of Advisors of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life.

Jim Stergios  is the Executive Director of Pioneer Institute, where he provides leadership in the strategic development of the organization, advancing its capacities and expanding its work in states across the nation. Prior to joining Pioneer, he served as Chief of Staff and Undersecretary for Policy in the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where he spearheaded efforts in water policy, regulatory reform, and urban revitalization. He has also founded and managed a business, taught at the university level, and served as headmaster at a preparatory school.  Known for his sharp policy analysis and commentary, he is a frequent media commentator, regularly appearing on local television and radio stations. His opinion pieces have been published in major outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Globe, and regional newspapers across New England.  Jim holds a doctoral degree in Political Science from Boston University, where he serves on the Board of Advisors. 

Linda Whitlock has won widespread respect for a strong record of public service, effective management, and board leadership. Appointed by President Biden to the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows, Linda was a longtime member of the board of Eastern Bank’s Cambridge Trust Company, where she served as the first Lead Director. She chairs the Governance Committee of the Red Sox Foundation and is a member of the Emeriti Council of the National Association of Corporate Directors New England. A member of the Board of Advisors to the President of Mass General Brigham, Linda was Governance Committee Chair of the board of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A former President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and former Vice President of Harvard Real Estate, Linda taught at MIT, Tufts, and the University of Michigan, and served in the administrations of Massachusetts Governors Michael Dukakis and Edward King. An appointee of Democratic and Republican governors and mayors, she has served on more than 20 boards, including the Boston Stock Exchange, the Massachusetts Government Land Bank (now MassDevelopment), Brandeis University, and leading organizations in the real estate, financial services, arts and culture, human services, and education sectors. Linda was inducted into the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Academy of Distinguished Bostonians in 2009. She is an alumna of Mount Holyoke College, holds an MA from the University of Michigan, and has been awarded honorary doctorates by Suffolk University, Babson College, and Pine Manor College. 

Daniel Zilberman (Tufts Trustee) is a member of the Management Committee, Global Head of Special Situations, and Global Co-Head of Financial Services at leading private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Formerly, he was Head of Warburg Pincus Europe. He was named by Financial News as one of Europe’s Top 50 Most Influential People in Private Equity. Named by C-Suite Spotlight as one of the Top 100 Wharton Graduates in Finance and Investing. Named by both The Marker and Calcalist as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Business in Israel. Awarded the Wharton Teaching Excellence Award in Finance. He currently serves on the boards of directors at Exeter Finance and McGill & Partners, and his past board of directors memberships include Aeolus Re, AION, Avaloq, Network International, Primerica Inc., Santander Consumer USA, The Mutual Fund Store, Reiss, Santander Asset Management, Singular Bank, Webster Bank (observer), and Sterling Bank (observer). He is a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, teaching in the Finance Department. Daniel is a member of the Wharton MBA Executive Board of Directors and is a Board of Advisors member of the Huntsman Program in International Relations and Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the President’s Council at Tufts University. Daniel holds a BA in International Relations from Tufts University and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.