The Weinberg Foundation may be best known for its grants serving people experiencing poverty. But, in simplest terms, those grants would not be possible without carefully managed investments that fuel the engine of giving.
In 2014, as part of a comprehensive strategy to professionalize and maximize organizational performance and efficiency, the Foundation launched an internal investment team, employing a chief investment officer as well as managing director of investments. In addition, the Board approved an investment advisory committee (IAC), consisting of two Board members, two Foundation staff, and now has grown to include four external members, to oversee Foundation investment activities across all asset classes.
All four external members work within the investment community and bring additional perspective to the work of the Foundation’s investment team. Equally important, the IAC ensures internal transparency and oversight for the Foundation’s investment strategy and goals.
Currently, Weinberg Foundation Trustee Nimrod Goor serves as the chair of the IAC, and Paula Pretlow is the second Foundation trustee on the committee. Of course, all Weinberg Foundation trustees participate in investment meetings from time to time. The IAC’s external members include Jon Havice, Denise Olsen, Reginald Sanders, and Sonali Wilson. The Foundation is grateful that these four external members have given their time and their talent to advance the work of the Weinberg Foundation. Below is a brief summary of each of these professionals (listed in alphabetical order):
Jonathan Havice
Founder – DGV Solutions
“It has been one of my greatest personal and professional joys over the past several years to serve on the Investment Advisory Committee of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation has made significant strides over this time to improve the governance and management of its assets. These steps have greatly improved the Foundation’s odds of successfully fulfilling its perpetual mission of helping people experiencing poverty meet their basic needs.”
Jon Havice founded DGV Solutions in 2014. DGV Solutions is an SEC-registered Investment Advisor that develops and manages investment strategies for institutional investors and family offices. As of August 1, 2020, DGV managed $1.8 billion. Prior to founding DGV, Mr. Havice was the Chief Investment Officer at Slocum, an institutional investment consulting firm advising $130 billion in assets that was acquired by Pavilion Advisory Group (now Mercer). Prior to his consulting role, Mr. Havice spent seven years with Interlachen Capital Group, which he co-founded. Interlachen managed a flagship global multi-strategy hedge fund with assets over $1 billion as well as opportunistic funds. Before founding Interlachen, Mr. Havice was a Portfolio Manager at EBF and Associates, a $3+ billion global multi-strategy alternative asset manager.
Mr. Havice began his career in 1990 with O’Connor and Associates as an options trader on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. O’Connor & Associates was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1994. Mr. Havice managed currency derivative portfolios for Swiss Bank Corp/UBS in London from 1995-1999. He earned a BSE in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. Mr. Havice is a member of the Investment Committee for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland and the GHR Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also a Trustee for the Camp Fire Minnesota Foundation.
Denise Olsen
Senior Managing Director, GEM Realty Capital
“It has been a great joy over the last three years to work with the Weinberg Foundation and its dedicated team of professionals across the entire organization. One of my most memorable days in Baltimore was meeting many of the Foundation’s grantees and learning about the positive impact they have made on so many lives and families. I am honored to have a role in helping to ensure the Foundation has perpetual capital to support those in need for generations to come.”
Ms. Olsen is a Senior Managing Director and Investment Committee Member of GEM Realty Capital, a real estate investment company founded in 1994 that invests in private market real estate assets and publicly traded real estate securities. GEM Realty Capital has $5 billion of assets under management on behalf of investors, including pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions, and private clients. As a member of GEM’s Investment Committee, Ms. Olsen is involved in setting investment strategy for the firm. Ms. Olsen oversees business development and leads new business and capital raising activities and has primary responsibility for investor relations, reporting, and communication to GEM’s investors. Ms. Olsen has been active in the commercial real estate business since 1987. Prior to joining GEM, Ms. Olsen was a Vice President at EVEREN Securities for two years in the Real Estate Corporate Finance group. Prior to EVEREN, Ms. Olsen spent seven years at JMB Realty Corporation in various capacities, including senior portfolio manager of corporate mixed-use developments and as an associate in JMB’s acquisition group.
Ms. Olsen serves as an Executive Committee member of the Zell Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a member of Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and co-chair of its Capital Markets Affinity Group. Ms. Olsen is on the Investment Advisory Committee of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and a board member of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR). Ms. Olsen received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1987.
Reginald G. Sanders, CFA, CAIA
Director of Investments, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
“The mission of the Weinberg Foundation to structurally improve the conditions of those who are less privileged is one for which I am very passionate. I look forward to serving on the Investment Advisory Committee and furthering the Foundation’s work to fundamentally change the trajectory of the lives of the people in its target communities.”
Reginald G. Sanders, CFA, CAIA is Director of Investments for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, reporting to the Chief Investment Officer. Prior to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mr. Sanders was Manager of Pension Investments for Eastman Kodak Company, where he was primarily responsible for managing the alternative asset classes, which included the hedge fund and illiquid investment programs, for the company’s US, UK, and Canadian pension plans. Prior to Eastman Kodak, Mr. Sanders was an equity research analyst for AEW Capital Management. Mr. Sanders also has prior equity research analyst experience with both T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and GW&K Investment Management. Additionally, Mr. Sanders was a utilities industry analyst for A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
Mr. Sanders holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Florida A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert A. Toigo Fellow. Mr. Sanders has previously served in the Office of President for the Toigo Alumni Association. Mr. Sanders currently sits on the Investment Advisory Committee of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland and on the State for the State of Michigan Investment Board, which oversees the $75 billion Michigan Retirement Systems pension plan.
Sonali Wilson, CAIA
Executive Vice President, PIMCO
“I am both humbled and thrilled to join the Investment Advisory Committee for the Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation’s mission to help those who are structurally disadvantaged through education, jobs, and housing initiatives, strikes a deeply personal chord. As the daughter of immigrants, I watched my parents successfully overcome adversity and embody the American dream. I am honored to be part of a team whose work allows others to achieve the same.”
Sonali Wilson, CAIA, is an Executive Vice President in PIMCO’s New York office, and account manager specializing in alternatives strategies. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2012, she was a vice president and portfolio specialist in the investor relations and marketing team at BlueMountain Capital Management. Previously, she worked at Och-Ziff Capital Management and as an investment banking analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions Group. Ms. Wilson has 14 years of investment experience and graduated magna cum laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting.
