Board of Directors
Meet our Board Members
- Stephanie Saroki de Garia - Chair (and Brilla representative)
- Eric J. Grannis (Public Prep representative)
- David Sweeny
Stephanie Saroki de Garia - Chair (and Brilla representative)
Eric J. Grannis (Public Prep representative)
Eric J. Grannis is a graduate of Columbia College ('86) and Columbia Law School ('93). He graduated third in his class, was an editor of the Law Review and a Kent Scholar, and was awarded first prize in oral advocacy. Following graduation, Mr. Grannis served as a law clerk to the Honorable Peter K. Leisure, United States District Court Judge, Southern District of New York. Mr. Grannis was subsequently associated with the firms of Debevoise & Plimpton (1994-1998) and Salans (1998-2002). At both of these firms he specialized in civil litigation and commercial arbitration. Mr. Grannis's publications include Fighting Words and Fighting Freestyle: The Constitutionality of Penalty Enhancement for Bias Crimes, 93 Colum. L. Rev. 178, 191-92 (1993), and A Problem of Mixed Motives: Applying Unocal to Defensive ESOPs, 92 Colum. L. Rev. 851 (1992). Mr. Grannis is an experienced litigator who has tried six Federal cases to jury verdicts. He also speaks French and represents numerous French clients in U.S. litigation. Mr. Grannis has been a founding board member and pro bono counsel to two charter schools: the Bronx Preparatory Charter School and the Girls Preparatory Charter School of New York.
David Sweeny
David Sweeny will provide guidance and technical assistance as a founding advisor on real estate and facilities. David is a Founding CEO and current board member of Civic Builders, the current Vice-President for Real Estate and Finance at Children’s Aid Society, and will be the Chief Real Estate Officer for Vertex Partnership Academies. David is a seasoned executive motivated by improving non-profit financial performance through leveraging private sector strategies and best practices.
David has a strong track record in sourcing social-impact capital and startup grants, generating earned income for government-funded agencies, launching and scaling social enterprise, and supporting organization change. He has a deep understanding of real estate, opportunity zones, and how to bring large-scale facilities projects to on-time, on-budget completion. At Children's Aid Society, David designed and executed a five-year strategic plan to reorient the agency’s real estate and finance practices to better support business and program priorities. The assignment included $100M in asset sales, $80M of new acquisitions, 190,000 square feet of new construction, and the issuance of $75M in tax-exempt revenue bonds. He drove improved performance across the company’s portfolio of forty three sites, including 400,000 square feet of charter schools, medical clinics, community centers and administrative offices. David is an Advisory Member of LISC, Chairperson of the Disability Investment Fund, and was named by Crain's New York Business as New Yorker of the Week.