Dean's Council

Sharon Chang
Founder, Guild of Future Architects; Member NYU Board of Trustees; Co-Chair, NYU GPH Dean's Council

Sharon Chang is a future architect and the founder of the Guild of Future Architects. Her work focuses on reframing the relationship between capital, creativity, and impact through masterfully calibrated collaborations.

A philanthropist, entrepreneur and investor in transformational ideas and technologies, Sharon is also trained as an artist, designer, and architect. Early in her career, she developed creative and business expertise at the nexus of Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley as an award-winning strategic mastermind. After nearly two decades exploring the most consequential intersections of these culture-making forces, she began to pioneer a powerful discipline – future architecture – that designs, translates and manifests the intangible to shape complex cross-sector collaboration. Since 2010, she has been remixing philanthropy, private equity and impact investment, social entrepreneurship, leadership development, design thinking and filmmaking into dynamic new configurations to challenge outdated systems.

As Sharon pursues her own journey toward mastery, her wide-ranging endeavors continue to design and test new systems that govern our everyday activities – the way we eat, shop, travel, learn, work, think, dream and create. From a film that inspires gender equality to a fashion brand that drives conscious consumption; a smart city operating system to a fair-trade apparel factory in West Africa, all her projects confront the status quo and help to make the world more beautiful for more people. By choice she remains an outsider to every industry and strives to be a native to all the communities that she works hard to cultivate.

Sharon lives in New York City and travels the world often. She makes spectacular martinis and loves snow-capped mountains and exotic ice cream.

Margaret Crotty
President and CEO, JSI Research & Training and World Education

Margaret Crotty is the CEO of for-profit John Snow, Inc. (JSI), and non-profits JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., World Education, Inc., and the Partnership for Supply Chain Management. In her role, Margaret oversees more than 4,100 public health-and-education-focused staff across the three organizations who operate in more than 45 countries and have combined budgets of more than $750 million. Margaret has served in executive leadership roles in both the not-for-profit and private sectors in the areas of education and public health. Prior to joining JSI, she was CEO of the Partnership with Children. Margaret also formerly launched and ran Save the Children's $2 billion initiative to reduce child mortality in the developing world.

Previously, she was the President and CEO of AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, formerly the American Field Service, which has provided intercultural exchanges for over 300,000 high school students since 1947. Margaret has also served as the executive director of a workforce development agency serving New York City and Washington, D.C.

In the private sector, Margaret spent seven years at the global corporation E.F. Education, the world's largest privately-held education company, living in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Paris, first as a member of the founding management team of E.F.'s online language education business, and later as President of E.F.'s higher education business. She has also lived in Indonesia on two occasions, working for McKinsey & Co. and for Save the Children.

Margaret graduated with honors from Princeton University in History and African American Studies. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master's of Public Health from the Mailman School at Columbia University. She serves on several health and education boards, including those of Northwell Health, Lenox Hill Hospital, The Open Medical Institute, ACCESSHealth, the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, and Third Street Music School. She is a member of the Seachange Capital Partners board, a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and the Program Leader for the Emerging Leaders Program, a management and leadership program for young leaders in the social sector.

Jeffrey S. Gould
Founder & President, PortAble, Inc.; Member NYU Board of Trustees; Co-Chair, NYU GPH Dean's Council

After obtaining his Juris Doctorate, Jeffrey S. Gould joined his family business, Gould Publications/GouldLaw, which was founded by his parents, Norman (1927-2018) and Jeanette Gould. This fully vertically manufacturing company provided our country’s law enforcement community with up-to-date laws and training materials. Jeffrey has also taught as an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Evidence and Criminal Law.

Gould has founded portablecontainers.net, a company upcycling unused shipping containers into housing, storage, and medical units. With his wife Lenore, they established the 3E Fund to support expression, education, and the environment.

Jeffrey serves on several philanthropic boards including the Federal Drug Agents Foundation, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, and NYU Board of Trustees. With his family, he has established many College Academic Scholarships, in addition to the Gould Law Library, a Criminal Justice Library, NYU’s Welcome and Alumni Center and College Publishing & Programing Center. Gould is also an advisory member of the Stern Center for Sustainable Business.

Frances Halsband
Founding Partner, Kliment Halsband Architects

Frances Halsband is a founding partner of Kliment Halsband Architects. Her role as lead designer for many of the firm’s university projects and campus plans has been recognized with numerous awards and honors.

Frances is a consensus builder. Her varied roles as a designer, faculty member, and peer reviewer have provided a unique perspective on the many voices that shape planning and design today.

Frances was the first woman president of AIA New York and the Architectural League of New York. She is a former Commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and has served as an Architectural Advisor to the US Department of State Office of Overseas Building Operations, and the Federal Reserve Bank.

She has served as dean of the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute, and has been visiting professor of design at Harvard, U Penn, UC Berkeley, Rice, U Virginia, U Maryland, and North Carolina State. Frances served as Architect Advisor to the Brown University Corporation, as an architectural review panel member for Harvard University, and architect advisor to Smith College. Her research papers on campus design have been published in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Places Journal.

In 2018, Frances initiated the successful movement to amend the American Institute of Architects Code of Ethics and Professional conduct to state that “members shall not engage in harassment or discrimination in their professional activities on the basis of race religion national origin, age, disability, gender, or sexual orientation.”

Frances received a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. She was a recipient of the William Kinne Fellowship and a National Merit Scholarship. This June she received an Honorary Doctorate of Design from the New School of Architecture and Design. She is a registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Joel Holsinger
Partner, Portfolio Manager & Co-Head of Alternative Credit, Ares Credit Group

Mr. Holsinger is a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of Alternative Credit in the Ares Credit Group. Mr. Holsinger serves as a member of the Ares Credit Group's Alternative Credit Executive Committee and Alternative Credit Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Ares in 2019, Mr. Holsinger was a Partner at Fortress Investment Group in the Credit Group, where he served on the Management Committee of Fortress and the Investment Committee for the Credit Funds. He also co-headed Illiquid Credit, which included leading the Direct Lending, Structured Equity, Net Lease, Structured Finance and Energy Groups at Fortress and focused on tactical and opportunistic direct investments across all asset classes, industries, and geographies.

Previously, Mr. Holsinger was a Founding Partner of Atalaya Capital Management, where he co-headed the investment committee. Additionally, Mr. Holsinger held prior positions within financial services at Navigant Consulting, American Commercial Capital (subsequently acquired by Wells Fargo) and Citigroup. He currently serves on a number of corporate boards and advisory groups. Mr. Holsinger is also active in a number of charities, with a particular focus on global health and education, which includes serving on the board of directors of PATH Global Health.

Mr. Holsinger holds a BA from California State Fullerton in Business Management and Administration, with an emphasis in Finance.

Brian Levine
Founding Partner and Practice Director, Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine New York; NYU Emeritus Board Member

Brian A. Levine, MD, is the founding partner and practice director of CCRM New York. He is board-certified in both reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Levine attended New York University School of Medicine, completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University Medical Center, and then completed his fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Levine has over 50 publications and was awarded the highest prize by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine for his assisted reproductive technology (ART) video submission on three-dimensional sperm imaging techniques. He has also received multiple honors and teaching awards and continues to mentor students, residents, and fellows on both basic science and clinical research.

Dr. Levine is a member of the New York Surgical Society, the New York Medical Society, the New York Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB), the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

In addition to his clinical expertise and ongoing research, Dr. Levine is currently the technology editor of Contemporary OB/GYN magazine and has lectured nationwide on how physicians and laboratory personnel can adopt common technologies to improve clinical efficiency.

In 2017, Dr. Levine was honored with the Doctors of Distinction award in Westchester County, was also named a Rising Star by Super Doctors in 2017 and 2018, a New York Super Doctor in 2019, and a Castle and Connolly “Top Doctor” in 2019.

Vincent Lopez
Founder and CEO of Parker Health

Vincent Lopez is the founder and CEO of Parker Health, a biotechnology company shifting healthcare into the next century. At Parker Health, he is the chief visionary leading strategy with government agencies to economize spending, minimize legacy technology costs and inefficiencies, enhance patient care/outcomes, and deploy the latest healthcare technology: the Parker Suite™.

Mr. Lopez was recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2023. He is a mentor who advises aspiring and current entrepreneurs at the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, as well as for a health equity accelerator program sponsored by the Johnson & Johnson Venture Impact Fund.

In 2015, Mr. Lopez was nominated by Governor Tom Wolf to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors. He was student body president at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in English and political science. He also completed a fellowship furthering STEM education in minority communities with Organizing for Action, a nonprofit founded to support the agenda of President Barack Obama, and he has worked on programs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense.

A native of Sacramento, CA, Mr. Lopez was raised in Arlington, VA and resides in Washington, DC, where he created the Lopez Foundation, a nonprofit working to advance education and health access in disadvantaged communities.

Bi Ran 
Founder and CEO, New Dimensions Group

Bi Ran is a dynamic entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, renowned for his leadership in driving innovation and creating meaningful impact. As the Founder & Chairman of New Dimensions Group (specializing in investing, family office management, and K-12 education), he spearheads ventures that promote growth and long-term value creation.

He is the founder of Bi’s Family Foundation and serves as an ambassador for the World Leading Scientists Institute (WLSI). Bi Ran is also actively engaged in academic and philanthropic advisory roles, serving on the USC Viterbi School of Engineering East Asia Advisory Board, the NYU Shanghai Education Foundation, the European and American Alumni Association, and the Berkeley Chinese Alumni International Association (BCAIA).

A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Bi Ran holds three master’s degrees from Berkeley Law School, the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, and Harvard Medical School, reflecting his dedication to interdisciplinary excellence and global impact. He is particularly passionate about advancing bioethics education in Southeast Asia and supporting biotech startups.

Laurie Zephyrin, MD, MPH, MBA
Senior Vice President, Advancing Health Equity, The Commonwealth Fund

Laurie Zephyrin, MD, MPH, MBA, is senior vice president for Advancing Health Equity at the Commonwealth Fund.

Dr. Zephyrin has extensive experience leading the vision, design, and delivery of innovative health care models across national health systems. From 2009–2018, she was the first national director of the Reproductive Health Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs, spearheading the strategic vision and leading systems change through the implementation of evidence-based policies and programs to improve the health of women veterans nationwide. In 2016–2017, she served as acting assistant deputy under secretary for Health for Community Care, and later in 2017, as acting deputy under secretary for Health for Community Care.

While directing the V.A.'s Community Care program, a key component of V.A.'s high-performance network with an operating budget of over $13 billion, Dr. Zephyrin spearheaded efforts to implement legislation, develop internal governance structures, and address patient outcomes through systemwide optimization of care delivery. As part of the leadership team, she also represented V.A. before Congress and other internal and external stakeholders.

Dr. Zephyrin is a board-certified clinician. She is a clinical assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone School of Medicine (2013–present) and was previously an assistant professor at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons (2007–2012). She earned her M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, MBA and MPH from Johns Hopkins University, and B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the City College of New York. She completed her residency training at Harvard's Integrated Residency Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.