We’re on a mission to create a new future of work.

Anna-Lisa Miller

Executive Director   -

Anna-Lisa Miller joined Ownership Works in August 2021 and serves as its founding Executive Director. She is responsible for the organization’s strategy, key partnerships, growth, and overall impact.

Anna-Lisa’s career reflects a longstanding commitment to expanding shared ownership, advancing racial equity, and driving systemic change within business, government, and social structures. As an experienced nonprofit leader, she has a proven track record of developing organizations, programs, and partnerships that create social returns for stakeholders and communities.

Previously, Anna-Lisa served as the Development Director at Project Equity, a peer organization that helps local businesses and communities discover the power of employee ownership. Prior to this role, Anna-Lisa served as Chief Operating Officer of The Kohala Center, a Hawaii-based sustainable development organization, where she led teams to success across a diverse portfolio of programs spanning shared ownership to watershed restoration. In that role, she also served on the Executive Committee of the Hawaii Lieutenant Governor’s Farm to School Program, for which she received recognition from the Hawaii State Senate.

Anna-Lisa began her career as a corporate attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She practiced law for five years in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. in the areas of corporate and public finance. In 2014, she transitioned to the nonprofit sector to pursue her passion for expanding economic opportunity.

David MacKinnon

Senior Director, Business Engagement   -

Dave joined Ownership Works in July 2022, after spending almost 38 years with EY. He is responsible for advising and assisting companies and investors with the implementation of broad-based employee ownership programs.

During his nearly 38 years with EY, Dave’s primary expertise was in delivering transaction advisory services to private equity and corporate clients involved in M&A activities. Dave is widely recognized within EY as one of the longest-tenured partners specializing in global services to private equity firms. While there, he was responsible for overseeing the delivery of EY services to hundreds of private equity-owned companies of various sizes spanning numerous sectors and geographies. His work on well over 500 transactions between 1993 and 2010 led him to spend time in most of the major cities in North America as well as in Germany, the UK and France.

He is passionate about using his expertise and relationships to help companies build better businesses and make a positive impact on people’s lives. He has both moderated and participated on panels and events around the private equity community sponsored by Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, MIT Sloan, and NYU Stern School.

Dave is a CPA, received a Masters in Accounting from Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Professional Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College.

Ron Blake

Director, Operations & Finance   -

Ron serves as the Director of Operations & Finance at Ownership Works where he is charged with helping the organization build and scale its finance, human resource and operations areas.

Having spent the last 18+ years in the Finance and Energy industries, Ron has developed deep expertise across a range of disciplines, including project management, financial planning & analysis, and external (SEC), and regulatory reporting. Prior to joining Ownership Works, Ron spent five years with American Express where he led the team of finance professionals in charge of accounting and reporting for the firm's Derivatives and Hedging portfolio. Ron started his early accounting career with PWC's assurance group before then joining Nextera Energy and what would become a decade-long foray in the energy industry.

Ron has a passion for finance process optimization and relishes working at the intersection of Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Social Impact. Ron is a committee member of the New York Society of CPAs and serves on the board of trustees for the American Repertory Ballet.

Ron holds BSc. and MSc. degrees in accounting and is an alumnus of NYU Stern School of Business where he completed his MBA.

Sapna Harichand

Director, Ownership Culture & Employee Engagement   -

Sapna joined Ownership Works in 2023 as the Director of Ownership Culture and Employee Engagement. She will lead the development of the Ownership Works approach to building organizations with strong ownership cultures. She will also support our partner organizations in implementing and growing cultures that drive business value and employee success.

Sapna started her career in HR Analytics at MetLife and based her approach on data, analytics and business for transformation, organizational development, change management, program management, and strategy. Her focus has always been on ensuring that transformations and large-scale systems change is embedded within the way an organization operates.

At Deloitte Consulting, Sapna led global transformations in HR process, systems, data, and analytics, and she then transitioned to leading transformations internally at The Estee lauder Companies. She began her journey in driving systems wide change and strategy for HR, Business Services, and Sustainability at The Estee Lauder Companies. In her most recent role before joining Ownership Works, she was responsible for People Analytics, Strategy and Transformation for the People and Culture Organization at The Gap.

Sapna has her undergraduate degree in Marketing and International Business from The Fisher School of Business and her masters degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University. Sapna is passionate about furthering financial education and DEI in the Bergen County school districts, and she gives her time to ensuring that children have access to a diverse and inclusive education.

Kenneth J. Porrello

Acting Director, Plan Structure and Implementation   -

Ken joined Ownership Works in August 2022 to support the buildout of its equity structuring and implementation efforts. In addition to this role, Ken is a senior executive and investor focused on cyber/technology innovation and developing next generation leaders.

Ken joined Deloitte Consulting in 1987. During his 30 year career at Deloitte, he held significant executive/P&L responsibilities, including building and leading significant practices in North America and India Ken’s client service responsibilities focused on multi-year transformation programs at his clients, often including major technology and infrastructure changes. Ken’s primary industry concentrations were in Financial Service (insurance, retail and commercial banking) and the Public Sector. Ken helped to establish Deloitte’s technology strategy practice, including establishing development programs for next generation CIOs and leading research on board governance of technology matters.

Having retired from Deloitte, Ken served a five year term as Executive Director of CEO Perspectives, a leadership development program for C-level executives of Fortune 500 companies. Graduates of the program include over 40 CEO’s of publicly-held companies. Ken continues as an Advisor to the program. Ken also serves as an Operating Partner with Kinzie Capital Partners, a private equity investment fund.

Ken is a board member of SteelCloud, LLC, a leader in cybersecurity solutions in high-security federal environments; of MetroEdge Development Partners, LLC, an edge computing service provider; and Colony Display, LLC, a supplier to the retail sector. He also serves as chair of the board of advisors for the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, a post he assumed in 2011. Ken is leading the board during a significant expansion at the school, particularly in the areas of nano and biotechnology, and computer sciences.

Ken has served on and chaired multiple not-for-profit boards and has written and spoken extensively on the topic of board governance of information technology. He and his wife of 43 years, Sherry McFall, live in Highland Park, Illinois and Scottsdale Arizona. Ken is a 22-time marathoner and ultra-marathoner and pursues many outdoor sports, including skiing, golf and mountaineering.

Tara Ryan

Director, Marketing & Communications   -

Tara serves as the Marketing and Communications Director at Ownership Works. In this role she oversees efforts to leverage the power of data, language and storytelling to support the shared ownership movement and position Ownership Works as a thought leader, convener and change agent for good.

Prior to joining Ownership Works in 2022, Tara spent much of her career at Goldman Sachs where she held roles across the communications, marketing and employee engagement spectrums.

Most recently she was Managing Director and Head of Marketing for the Personal Financial Management Group, which provides financial coaching, literacy and planning services for employees across Corporate America.

Previously, Tara held roles in the Goldman Sachs Executive Office in New York and in London where she led Internal Communications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She also led the global communications team for the Corporate Services and Real Estate division.

Over the course of her career Tara has sat on many diversity and professional development committees and is passionate about mentorship. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Economic Growth serving New York’s Capital Region.

Tara earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Leigh Weiss, Ph.D

Senior Advisor, Culture and Engagement   -

Leigh Weiss is a Senior Advisor at Ownership Works where she guides the development of the culture and engagement program. Leigh has spent her career at the intersection of employee engagement and purpose, leadership development and organizational performance. During her 21+ years at McKinsey and as a Senior Advisor to the company, she counseled hundreds of CEOs and leadership teams across industries to build healthier, higher performing organizations. She brings deep expertise about the management and employee practices that lead to high performance cultures and how leaders and employees can make better, faster decisions.

Leigh has published extensively on organizational culture and change, decision making and governance, and social networks. Her articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, and Organizational Dynamics as well as on McKinsey.com. Her work has been quoted in Business Week, The London Times, The Financial Times, and other media.

Early in her career, Leigh served for a year on the faculty of the Harvard Business School as a postdoctoral fellow and was an Investment Banking Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs in London. Leigh holds Ph.D., A.M. and A.B. degrees from Harvard University and was the Lionel de Jersey Harvard Scholar at Cambridge University.

Melissa Bukuru

Principal, Financial Inclusion & Resilience   -

Melissa joined Ownership Works in 2022 and she leads our work on Financial Inclusion and Resilience. In this role, she is responsible for partnering with the private and nonprofit sectors to develop and implement programs that increase employees’ personal financial capability and wellness.

Previously, Melissa was a director at Lion’s Head Global Partners, an investment bank operating across frontier and emerging markets globally. While there, she worked with clients from the public and private sector on projects focused on financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment.

Prior to joining Lion’s Head, Melissa was an Analyst in Global Policy Development at Soros Fund Management. She managed policy-related projects for the principals of the fund and designed and implemented impact investment strategies. Melissa has also worked at the Open Society Foundations in New York managing grants for African civil society organizations as well as the Council on Foreign Relations, where she did research on conflict, technology, and democracy in Africa.

Melissa holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the New School in New York. She was born in Burundi and spent her childhood in New York City and Quebec. She currently serves on the board of Emerging Public Leaders, a fellowship program that places young professionals in the civil service in Ghana, Kenya and Liberia.

Emily Carpenter

Principal, Business Engagement   -

Emily joined Ownership Works in 2023 as a Principal on the Business Engagement team, where she is responsible for supporting clients in the development, strategy, and execution of shared ownership programs and services.

Prior to joining Ownership Works, Emily was a Director at Social Finance, an impact finance and advisory nonprofit. In this role, she worked with clients across the public, private, and social sectors to create partnerships and investments that seek to measurably improve lives. Emily’s portfolio of work focused on promoting stable, high-quality employment and helping to build strong and healthy families.

Previously, Emily worked in strategy consulting as a Manager at Kaiser Associates, providing advisory services to clients across healthcare, industrials, and private equity. She began her career as a Research Associate at the Education Advisory Board (EAB).

Emily holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Michael McHugh

Principal, Advancement & Partnerships   -

Michael McHugh joined Ownership Works in November 2021 and focuses on securing the resources needed to bring shared ownership to scale. Michael has been working at mission-driven organizations in New York City for the past 10 years, with a career focus on worker ownership and economic democracy.

He most recently served as the manager for national grants and investments at Project Equity, a nonprofit advancing employee ownership among small businesses. Michael previously worked as a national staffer for a 2020 US presidential campaign and earlier served as the assistant director for the Platform Cooperativism Consortium based at The New School, where he supported the growth of worker-owned platforms in the gig economy. In 2018 he completed graduate studies at The New School for Social Research, earning a high pass with honors, where he was also a Fellow at the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies researching alternative economic models.

Michael began his career working in the executive office of The Posse Foundation, supporting the Chief Operating Officer and leadership team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology with honors from Grinnell College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Michael is originally from the Midwest, and enjoys cooking, running, and exploring New York's many great neighborhoods.

Ashley Vuu

Principal, Ownership Culture & Employee Engagement (Deloitte secondee)

Ashley Vuu joined Ownership Works in February 2023 as a Deloitte secondee for the Culture & Employee Engagement team. Prior to this secondment, she worked as a leader in Deloitte's M&A Human Capital practice where she advised C-Suite clients on strategic shifts in organizational culture with her expertise in change management.

Ashley has wide-ranging global experience through which she has gained a broad understanding of the relationship between human motivation and organizational success. In addition to her expertise in organizational culture and HR functional, Ashley spends time supporting Deloitte’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy.

In her free time, Ashley also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mercy for Animals nonprofit.

Ashley studied Social and Organizational Psychology at Northern Illinois University (PhD ABD), Roosevelt University (MA), and Adrian College (BA). She also holds a GPHR.

Anji Herman

Manager, Advancement   -

Anji joined Ownership Works in 2023 as an Advancement Manager, bringing her expertise in equity-driven fundraising and a vested interest in economic equality to support the organization’s capacity and relationship-building efforts. Prior to joining Ownership Works, Anji spent over three years at TruFund Financial Services (TFS), a minority-led and focused nonprofit lender and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). There, Anji developed and executed numerous successful federal, corporate, and private funding requests and cultivation strategies to help further TFS’s mission to drastically increase the availability of affordable capital and financial support for minority-owned businesses in underserved communities.

Anji first found her passion for economic equality at the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), a nonprofit collective that serves diverse women business leaders and advocates for inclusion and access for all women entrepreneurs. While at WPO, Anji took on various roles in both Resource Development and Communications.

Anji was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and was raised predominantly in Northern California. She graduated magna cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University, where she majored in political science, minored in gender studies and economics, and ran Division III cross country. Anji has been living in New York City for the past seven years, where she enjoys museum-hopping, crafting, and searching for the best bakeries.

Christina Karabas

Manager, Events & Convenings   -

Christina joined Ownership Works in 2023 as an experienced event professional to support the organization in building and executing convening strategies for partners, companies, donors, the public, and other key stakeholders.

Previously, Christina was Assistant Director of Events at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, where she planned and executed a wide variety of events including conferences, weddings, product launches, and film shoots.

Christina is originally from Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Philadelphia University and began her event career at a local winery. Her background in entrepreneurial family-owned and operated restaurants enabled the progression toward a career in events and hospitality as a natural fit.

Alex Kaufman

Manager, Business Engagement   -

Alex joined Ownership Works in November 2021 to manage partnerships with investors, corporations, and non-profits. Alex's career has focused on roles that apply economics and public policy to address pressing financial and social issues. He has a longstanding belief in shared ownership as a pathway to social prosperity.

Previously, Alex was an associate at TPG on the Y Analytics impact team, where he led social impact assessment of potential investments in the education and healthcare sectors. Prior to that, he was a research assistant at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where he contributed to economic research and policy initiatives to protect American consumers.

Alex holds an MPA from the Princeton School of Policy and International Affairs and a BA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Stacy Kowsz

Manager, Business Engagement   -

Stacy is a manager on the Business Engagement team at Ownership Works. In this role, she is responsible for partnering with clients to implement holistic shared ownership programs. She believes that business success is defined more broadly than financial outcomes, and she is passionate about creating cultures of ownership and engagement at work. Previously, Stacy was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company where her work focused on supporting clients on organizational change management from design through implementation. She has experience across large and small organizations as well as private and public sector organizations. Stacy holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering and a M.A. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Saketh Bhavanasi

Associate, Business Engagement   -

Saketh joined Ownership Works in March 2023 as an Associate on the Business Engagement team. Saketh supports clients in structuring and implementing broad-based shared ownership plans that align interests of companies and their employees. In this role, Saketh develops financial models to aid in sizing equity plans and to project expected performance improvements for companies. Saketh is motivated by the opportunity to join a movement that helps create meaningful wealth-building opportunities.

Previously, Saketh worked as a Financial Analyst at BVA Group. In this role, he focused on valuation and transaction engagements across various industries.

Saketh earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a triple major in Finance, Management Information Systems, and Business Fellows from Baylor University.

Ben Garelick

Associate, Business Engagement   -

Ben joined Ownership Works in November 2022 as an Associate on the Business Engagement team. Ben supports clients in sizing and structuring broad-based shared ownership plans that align the interests of companies and their employees. As part of this role, he develops financial models that allow companies to project the value of employees’ ownership shares as well as expected performance improvements for companies. Ben is motivated by the chance to create meaningful wealth-building opportunities for working families.

Previously, Ben was a Category Analyst at Restaurant Brands International. At RBI, Ben analyzed sales and market research data, and he evaluated strategic challenges for new product launches.

Ben earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, concentrating in Finance, with a double major in Political Science from Emory University.

Mahnoor Khan

Associate, Marketing & Communications   -

Mahnoor joined Ownership Works in October 2022 as the newest addition to the Marketing and Communications team. Prior to Ownership Works, she led the digital marketing efforts for Aptimized, a start-up technology consulting firm in Wayne, New Jersey. Throughout her experience, Mahnoor demonstrated a deep desire for learning and growth by prioritizing an understanding-first approach.

From academic consulting during her time as an undergraduate to interning with the Small Business Administration, Mahnoor deeply enjoys developing and executing communications and digital marketing strategies for small businesses to promote meaningful missions and establish positive change in the world. She participated in the Rutgers New Brunswick NEW Leadership Program at the Center for American Women and Politics, working alongside young women with a leadership mindset and a dedicated desire for change.

Mahnoor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Mathematics in May 2021 from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Steffani Saxey

Associate, Business Engagement   -

Steffani joined Ownership Works in March 2023 as an Associate on the Business Engagement team. In this role, she supports the development of holistic engagement and ownership models to uplift both employees and businesses. She is passionate about advancing the employee ownership movement to build wealth and economic prosperity for all.

Previously, Steffani was a Business Analyst with McKinsey & Company where she focused on supporting clients on growth strategy and organizational design implementation.

Steffani earned a Bachelor of Science with honors from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in May 2021.

Caroline Terens

Associate, Business Engagement   -

Caroline joined Ownership Works in November 2022. As an Associate on the Business Engagement team, Caroline supports clients with implementing holistic shared ownership programs and develops client-facing content focused on how companies can create meaningful cultures of high engagement and ownership. She is passionate about the potential for businesses to positively impact the lives of employees and their families by sharing wealth and economic opportunity.

In her previous role, Caroline worked at Share Our Strength on the Grants team, supporting the No Kid Hungry campaign’s grantmaking strategy. Caroline managed a pilot grant fund and grantee cohort focused on advancing organizations’ programmatic and organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She also enhanced reporting and compliance processes, conducted qualitative impact analyses, and led efforts to prioritize equitable grantmaking practices.

Caroline earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2020.