iMentor is thrilled to welcome two new national board members: David Saltzman, the co-founder and former Executive Director of the Robin Hood Foundation, and Bianca Gottesman, a current mentor in our program and executive in the luxury sector. These dynamic, talented, and experienced leaders further enhance the expertise and depth of iMentor’s incredible board at a key moment for the organization as we begin planning for our next strategic plan, spanning 2018-2023.
David Saltzman, who co-founded the Robin Hood Foundation and served as its Executive Director for 27 years, has been a true trailblazer for models of effective philanthropy. Under his leadership, Robin Hood has grown into NYC’s pre-eminent poverty-fighting organization, raising more than $2.5 billion dollars annually to support hundreds of essential and innovative programs in NYC.
David has been an ardent iMentor champion for many years, both through Robin Hood’s decade-long, and game-changing support of iMentor, as well as through his own personal counsel. David shares that he is “honored and thrilled to join the board of iMentor because iMentor is one of the most effective organizations Robin Hood supported over the past three decades. The staff and volunteers of iMentor are second to none. I am excited to join their efforts to help more students reach their full potential and help more mentors find a wonderful way to give back.”
Bianca Gottesman first decided to get involved with iMentor in the most important and personal of ways – as a mentor. Over the last two years, she has been one of our highest performing and most dedicated mentors to her mentee Jade, who is now a senior in high school navigating the path to college. Bianca reflects poignantly that upon first meeting Jade, she “realized rather quickly that mentoring would be as much about learning as it is about teaching.”
Bianca joins the board with more than 10 years’ experience in the luxury sector, bringing invaluable knowledge around marketing, growth, and business development, as well as her unique vantage point as a mentor in the program. Bianca shares that she is “excited to join a board comprised of such brilliant and caring individuals, all devoted to furthering the iMentor’s reach and impact”.
You can read more about David and Bianca’s backgrounds below, as well as through this inspiring WallStreet Journal article about David, and this profile of Bianca and Jade’s amazing mentoring relationship.
David Saltzman
David Saltzman co-founded the Robin Hood Foundation in 1988 and served as its Executive Director for more than 27 years before stepping down to join Robin Hood’s Board of Directors at the end of 2016. Under David’s leadership, Robin Hood grew from an all-volunteer effort started by five friends over take-out Chinese food into a respected philanthropic institution raising more than $2.5 billion from 360,000 donors to help the 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty.
David helped start and serves on the boards of the RELAY Graduate School of Education and Zearn. He also sits on the boards of Uncommon Schools New York City and the Milton Hershey School.
Bianca Gottesman
Bianca Gottesman is a business executive with 10+ years’ experience in the luxury sector. She has worked in executive positions at global fashion brands such as Prada and Vera Wang and most recently as Global Senior Director, she oversaw the merchandising and sales areas at Reed Krakoff, formerly a luxury spin off of Coach. In her roles, Bianca has built merchandising and product development plans for new and existing businesses, lead product launches in new markets, managed international franchise partnerships, and extensive global distribution strategies. Bianca graduated from Boston University with a BS in Communications/Marketing and earned a Business Certificate at Columbia University’s School ofProfessional Studies where she also served as a TA in Marketing Strategy. Bianca is currently consulting at TOMS capital and is in her second year of mentorship in the iMentor Program at Union Square Academy. She and her family live in New York.
