Board of Governors Candidate Biographies

In February 2023 the Nominations Committee, composed of current members of the Board of Governors, convened to consider applications from qualified alumni to fill fourteen positions on the board. Applications were evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Volunteer Service to Georgetown University
2. Public Service and Community Involvement; and
3. Career Accomplishments

The Nominations Committee recommended nine current Governors to stand for election for a second term, and five alumni to stand for election for a first term. The candidates will begin their terms on July 1, 2023 after the Alumni Elections are held and the election results are certified.

All alumni are eligible to vote in the 2023 BOG Election. The election launched on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 and will close on Saturday, June 10 at 11:59pm EST. Please check your email for your username/password. The election website is can be found here.

The Board will accept applications for its 2024 Election in the fall of 2023. Please check back for updates.

Thomas Bianco (B’77, Parent’26) – Incumbent

Tom was one of the first members of the Advisory Board for the Wall Street Alliance and has served in that capacity since 1993. Tom also serves his Class as Co-Chair for his reunion fundraising committee. Over the past 20 years the Class of ’77 has won many donor awards including being honored with the Blue Gray reunion cup at their recent 40th^. For over 30 years Tom has been interviewing students for AAP and feels it is an honored to be a part of this Georgetown tradition.

Hiring and mentoring Georgetown graduates has always been a passion of Tom’s. As lead member for the recruitment teams of JP Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns and BAC/ Merrill Lynch, Tom has hired hundreds of Georgetown grads over his 35 years on Wall Street. After a career in traditional investment banking capital markets, Tom has been a serial entrepreneur for—a technology startup, a TMT hedge fund and a mental health advisory. He is currently working on financing an extraction company and starting a private investment firm.

Tom’s other passion is his family. He has served on Boards and coached many youth sports in Yonkers and Tuckahoe, New York. He and his wife, Molly, have 2 children and live in Bronxville, NY. Tom is a proud Hoya Parent with son, Nick, in the class of 2026. During his first tenure with the Board, Tom is especially pleased to be working on the Audit and Finance Committee and enjoys working with the students in GUSIF and GIF. Honored and looking forward to another exciting three years of service.

Mannone A. Butler (B’94, L’99) – Incumbent

Mannone A. Butler is an accomplished executive and justice system professional blending over two decades of legal and policy experience with her passion for justice and equity. Ms. Butler serves as the Head of Programs and Partnerships for the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition (Coalition), established in 2020 by players, coaches, team governors and league executives to lead the NBA family’s social justice advocacy. She spearheads development and implementation of the Coalition’s policy agenda and stakeholder engagement efforts.

Prior to joining the Coalition, Ms. Butler led the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), an independent justice agency comprised of federal and local justice agencies that address the District’s criminal and juvenile justice issues, and oversaw the jurisdiction’s integrated justice information sharing system (JUSTIS), and Statistical Analysis Center.

Ms. Butler, a native Washingtonian, earned her B.S. in Finance from Georgetown University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She currently serves on Georgetown’s Board of Governors (first term) and chairs Georgetown’s Black Alumni Council.

Catherine Conway Castro (B’88) – Incumbent

Citsi (kit-see), as she is known by her family & friends, lives between Annapolis and Miami, with her husband Jerry

and their eight children. She currently works as the Director of Marketing for a leading orthodontic practice. She also serves her local community by actively volunteering. Citsi is the past President of the Friends of the Lighthouse Shelter Board where she led the fundraising efforts for the homeless shelter. Additionally, she helped to open Annapolis’ first social enterprise, The Lighthouse Bistro. She also actively serves as a Trustee of the Board for Indian Creek School. She is the Chair of the Advancement Committee, and serves on the Governance Committee, Finance Committee and Executive Committee.

Citsi was honored to serve as the co-chair for the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Gala for three years. During that time, a record total of $4 million dollars was raised for their amazing and innovative cancer researchers. She has served on the Board of Governors since 2020. She has been very involved on the Communications and Philanthropy Committees. Citsi is on the team that manages the GUAA social media accounts and communications calendar, with daily posts and biweekly meetings.

Previously, Citsi was a First Vice President at Morgan Stanley in Washington, D.C. She left that position to care for her quadriplegic newborn son and remained his 24/7 caregiver for his short but happy life of 15+ years. Citsi’s father was the late Paul McLane Conway. He served as a GU Professor of Law from 1956-1984 and was one of the very first Chimes. She also has two older sisters and one brother that are proud Hoyas!

Marsha Dixon (C’02) – Incumbent

Marsha Dixon serves as Senior Associate General Counsel at Nasdaq, Inc., where she provides strategic policy and legal advice on a wide range of securities matters to Nasdaq’s senior executives who oversee the company’s U.S. regulated markets. She recently served as one of the principal legal advisors to the CEO and executive leadership team for Nasdaq’s groundbreaking diversity listing rule.

Prior to joining Nasdaq, Marsha was special counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Trading and Markets where she oversaw regulation of the self-regulatory organizations. She also previously served as an elected council member in Riverdale Park, MD. Marsha is an active volunteer and mentor, currently serving on the Georgetown University Board of Governors and Hoyas Unlimited – Georgetown University alumni athletics board. Marsha received her Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctor from University of Florida Levin College of Law.

K’sean Henderson (C’12, L’18) – Incumbent

After graduating from the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences in 2012, K’sean joined Teach for America as a Corps Member in the Mississippi-Delta region teaching eighth grade English Language Arts. After teaching for three years, K’sean began his studies at Georgetown University Law Center (“GULC”). While at GULC, K’sean interned for the Department of Justice in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, focusing on affirmative civil rights cases and violations of the federal False Claims Act. Also, while at Georgetown, K’sean served as vice-president and then president of the

Black Law Students Association, Senior Editor of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty and Policy, and as a member of the Barristers’ Council. After graduating from law school, K’sean joined Ropes & Gray LLP in their Washington D.C. office as an associate focusing on government enforcement matters, internal investigations, export controls, and sanctions. K’sean currently serves as the chair of the Patrick Healy Fellowship, a member of the Recent Alumni Advisory Council for GULC, an alumni interviewer, and a volunteer for the Black Alumni Summit. During his first term on the Board of Governors, K’sean served on the Nominations, Class Advancement, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committees.

Susan Levine (I’89) – Incumbent

Susan Levine joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2006. She is a Partner and Head of Talent for North America Private Equity. As Head of Talent, she leads the human capital agenda across our North America portfolio which includes ensuring our companies have strong leadership teams supporting our organization acceleration and high performance culture initiatives within our companies.

Prior to joining Bain Capital Private Equity, Ms. Levine worked at Bain & Company for eight years on the consulting side serving clients across the financial services, consumer products and industrials areas. Previously, she worked in the global consulting practice of Barents Group, advising clients in M&A activity in emerging markets. Ms. Levine serves as a Director of three private equity companies: Diversey, a leading public global provider of cleaning, infection prevention and hygiene produces; TI Fluid Systems, a leading public global manufacturer of fluid storage, carrying and delivery systems; and Rocket Software, a privately held global infrastructure software provider.

Ms. Levine serves as a Director on five non-profit boards, including: The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC); Boston Medical Center’s WellSense HealthPlan; The Fessenden School, an independent day and boarding school for boys; 3Point Foundation, a nonprofit for underserved and low-income elementary and middle-school students in the Boston area; The Directors Academy, a non-profit which provides governance education for future corporate board members, with a focus on professionals from diverse backgrounds who are underrepresented on boards of directors.

In addition, Ms. Levine is extremely devoted to her alma mater, Georgetown University. She is proud to serve on the Board of Governors for the Georgetown University Alumni Association. She currently serves on the Awards Committee and the Career Services Committee and has served as the Chair of the Awards committee. She has also served on the Executive Committee for Hoya Gateway. Ms. Levine received an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MA from the University of Pennsylvania, and she graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Spanish/International Affairs from Georgetown University.

Sara Margolis (C’16) – Incumbent

Sara Margolis, a North Carolina native, graduated from the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences with a major in Government and minor in Education, Inquiry, and Justice in 2016. During her senior year, she served as a Student Governor on the Georgetown University Alumni Association’s Board of Governors (BOG). After graduation, she followed the path forged by many (possibly too many) Hoyas before her—to Capitol Hill and then to law school.

Sara spent several years as a Congressional aide before moving back to her hometown—Chapel Hill, NC—in 2020 to pursue her JD at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She will graduate later this spring, take the DC bar this summer, and move back to Washington this fall to pursue a career in public interest law.

Sara has served as a co-chair of her class committee for several years and will complete her first term on the BOG later this year. She hopes to serve a second term to continue her work on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and the Campus Engagement Committee. As the most recent graduate on the BOG, she hopes to use her understanding of what the Hilltop looks like today to better inform the decisions the BOG makes that impact future Hoyas and members of our alumni community.

Ellen McGinness (C’89, Parent’25) – Incumbent

In her first term as a Governor, Ellen served as Vice-Chairman of Club Awards for the Alumni Clubs Committee, overseeing the awards nomination and selection process. She also served on the Social Media Subcommittee of the Communications Committee, helping to grow GUAA’s Instagram account to nearly 1,300 followers through original and engaging content.

On a local level, Ellen spearheaded the relaunch of the Alumni Club of Fairfield County, for which she currently serves as President. The Club has won several awards over the years. For her dedicated service in the alumni clubs arena, Ellen was awarded the Charles R. Fazio Volunteer of the Year in 2019. She has also served on her 30th Reunion Committee and is an active AAP interviewer.

After receiving her Master’s in English Literature from Yale, she embarked on a communications career that included deep dives into the news, technology, and nonprofit industries. Ellen is married to a fellow Hoya, Neil (C’90). Together they are brainwashing their three children to appreciate the value of a liberal arts education, like the ones they received on The Hilltop.

Bennie Smith, Jr. (C’86) – Incumbent

Bennie Smith, C’86, has built a career in the online advertising technology space with a focus on data policy, user privacy and information ethics.

Leading a underwiring practice at Chubb & Son, provided a foundation for the development of the principles of balance risk and reward as it applies to the consumer experience. Moving into the online advertising tech space at various companies including DoubleClick (Google), Right Media (Yahoo), Merkle, Inc and a fantasy sports entertainment startup, Bennie was able to apply these principles to the intersection of consumer privacy and the evolving mobile, social and ecommerce tech enabled applications. He has presented and written extensively on data policy and privacy issues including contributing to “The Rise of the Platform Marketer” published in 2015.

Additionally, Bennie has held a number of non-profit board roles including director of the board for the Maria Montessori School of Massapequa. NY, the America SCORES national board, global consumer privacy leader TRUSTe and the former Direct Marketing Association’s Ethics Policy Committee.

As an undergraduate he volunteered as a tutor in the Sursum Corda program, led the Students of Georgetown, Inc. as VP, Operations and was member of the GUASFCU Board of Directors.

As an alumnus, he is a member of the Corp Alumni Advisor Committee, GSP mentor and frequently attends John Carroll Award weekends, most recently, he co-authored “Georgetown History” to be published April 2020.

Michelle Bernard (L’88)

Michelle D. Bernard (L’88), is an attorney, author, journalist, public speaker and president & CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy where she concentrates on domestic and foreign policy matters and provides media commentary about politics, foreign policy and national security issues. She is a passionate advocate of racial and gender justice and political activism in a democracy.

She is the recipient of the National Congress of Black Women’s Shirley Chisholm Memorial Trailblazers Award (2018); Howard University’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for Outstanding Post-graduate Achievement in the Fields of Media, Journalism, and Public Policy (2016); the Anvil of Freedom Award for Journalism and Democracy by the University of Denver’s Edward W. and Charlotte A. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media (2015); and a place in the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University’s Plaza of Heroines (2015). She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Calculus Roundtable, the International Women’s Forum of Washington, D.C., and the McLean Project for the Arts. Prior to founding the Bernard Center, among other things, she was a partner at the District of Columbia’s Patton Boggs, LLP.

Since graduating from the Georgetown Law in 1988, she has been extremely involved with the University and the law school, including working with the Black Alumni Council, the Law Center’s (and later the University’s) Women’s Forum, the Own It Summit; a joint immigration reform program with the Supreme Court Institute, guest speaker at the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and the law school’s 2020 “Evening with David W. Wilmot” and the David Wilmot Endowed Opportunity Scholarship. In addition to her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown Law, Ms. Bernard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science from Howard University.

Douglas Donohue (B’89)

Doug Donohue (B’89) is the proud parent of three Hoyas (classes of ‘16/’19/’22). He is an investment banker in New York City, where he lives with his wife Courtney. Doug has remained connected to Georgetown through his 20+ year participation in the Alumni Admissions Program. In addition to interviews, Doug has hosted numerous accepted student receptions and represented Georgetown at several high school college fairs and Exploring College Options panels.

He is a dedicated alumnus of the rowing team, and he continues to row with the Georgetown Alumni in races each autumn. Doug has been a fundraiser for the crew, as well as Campus Ministry. Outside of Georgetown, Doug has been very active in his community. He is the past chairman of the parish council of his church, his children’s grammar school, and his local YMCA. In addition he has served on the boards of his local library and a food pantry/soup kitchen. Doug is currently a volunteer guide for runners with disabilities through Achilles International.

Christopher Lucey (B’01, S’12)

Chris Lucey is a lifelong Washingtonian, growing up in Holy Trinity Parish and graduating from Gonzaga College High School. He continued his Jesuit education and commitment to being “people for others” on the Hilltop graduating from the McDonough Undergraduate School of Business in 2001 and going back to Georgetown for a Master’s in Real Estate Development in 2012. His family are longtime Hoya basketball fans having season tickets since 1981.

Lucey is a Managing Director at Newmark’s Washington, DC office where he is a commercial real estate broker with over 20 years of experience. He provides tenant representation services to a wide array of corporate and non-profit organizations, including associations, embassies, financial services firms, government affairs offices, government contractors, higher education, life sciences, law firms and technology companies. Lucey specializes in insightful strategic planning, financial analysis and negotiating business terms in the leasing and purchase/sale of commercial real estate including office, flex, industrial, multifamily, retail and lab space.

Lucey is on the Board of Directors of The Father McKenna Center and is an active volunteer with Holy Trinity School and Parish, Washington Jesuit Academy, The Ireland Funds, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

Lucey, his wife, Katie, and two children, Jack and Charlotte, live in McLean, Virginia.

William L. Oppenheim, M.D. (M’70)

William L. Oppenheim, MD is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Orthopedic Surgery, the Margaret Holden Jones Kanaar Professor of Cerebral Palsy and former Chief of Pediatric Orthopedics at the Orthopedic Institute for Children / UCLA Department of Orthopedics at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles. He founded and is Emeritus Director of the UCLA / OIC Center for Cerebral Palsy which now includes the Kameron Functional Assessment Gait Laboratory and the Cerebral Palsy Muscle Disease Laboratory.

After graduating from the University of Maryland in College Park, he attended medical school at Georgetown University in Washington, DC graduating Magna Cum Laude. After military service with the US Air Force, he resumed his medical training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, and then as the Girdlestone Scholar in Oxford England at the Nuffield Orthopedic Centre. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Pediatric Orthopedic Sections of both the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy for Orthopedic Surgery.

He has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, presented at over 270 Regional or National Meetings, authored 21 text book chapters, and has served as a Visiting Professor on over 20 occasions in Europe, the Far East, and throughout North America. He was the recipient of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and a Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2018. He is the current Historian of the AACPDM, and the Co-Chair of the Awards Committee of the Georgetown Medical Alumni Association. The yearly William and Patricia Oppenheim Lectureship in Pediatric Orthopedics commenced in April of 2023.

Carrie Walker (C’97)

After spending years in the event planning world, Carrie decided to pursue a career that better allowed her to spend time with her growing family. In 2009, she started Golden Peak Partners; a real estate investment and management company specializing in short-term and long-term residential leasing across the US. In 2018, she joined as a co-owner of Five Oceans Capital; a commercial and multi-family real estate investment firm. Aside from a love of real estate, Carrie also enjoys working as an EMT and volunteer in the Emergency Department of Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

In addition to hospital volunteering, Carrie also serves on the boards of several non-profits including Kidspace Children’s Museum, Young & Healthy, CS Arts – SGV Foundation, Words2Action, and Las Madrinas (serving Children’s Hospital Los Angeles). Giving back has been an integral part of Carrie’s life since her days at Georgetown. As an alumna, she has served as a member of the Alumni Admissions Program for 19 years, planned pre-reunion events, served on her Class of 1997 committee, and is now excited to join the GU Board of Governors. When not busy working or volunteering, Carrie loves spending time with her husband of 22 years and three, teenage children.