DRAGON TALES
Presenters
May 18, 2024
Join fellow alumni as they discuss with students their career experiences, share industry expertise, and talk about their paths since leaving the Hilltop.
Our Presenters
8:30-9:20 A.M.
Bill Dean ’73, P’06 Retired Fixed Income Specialist & Financial Advisor
John Roeser’s Advanced Economics class Academic Center, Room 115
Colin Hanna ’64 Political Commentator
John Roeser’s Advanced Economics class Academic Center, Room 115
Christopher “Kim” Elliman ’71
CEO at Open Space Institute
Sarah Matarese’s Environmental S cience class Academic Center, Room 104
Garth Fasano ’04
CEO of Top Dog Sales Center
Doug Lewis’ Advanced Statistics class Academic Center, Room 117
Sylvester Monroe ’69, P’95
Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Meg Coffin’s Humanities I class Memorial Schoolhouse, Room 21
9:30-10:20 A.M.
Katherine Gallagher Fairchild ’04
Director of Machine Learning and AI at Digital Diagnostics
Holly Williams’ Honors Biology class Academic Center, Room 201
Diane Gardella Rocco ’90 Head of Global Regulatory Affairs at Biogen
Holly Williams’ Honors Biology class Academic Center, Room 201
Omar Shahine ’94
Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Word + Editor
Cheryl Larson’s Advanced AB Calculus class Academic Center, Room 116
10:30-11:20 A.M.
Howard Balloch ’69 Partner, PacBridge Partners (HK) Ltd.
Angel Zhu’s Chinese I class and Evan Jackson’s Programming for Problem Solving class Academic Center, Room 215
Moana Casanova ’04 Director, West Coast Production at HBO/HBOMax
Doug Lewis’ Advanced Statistics class Academic Center, Room 117
Web Golinkin ’69
Healthcare Executive, Entrepreneur, and Author
Chris Hyson’s American Studies English class Arts Center, Morris Common Room (1st Floor)
Jeffrey J. Kimbell ’89 President & CEO, Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, Inc.
John Roeser’s Criminal Law & Literature class Academic Center, Room 115
Parker Wise ’90 Advisory Board, Clearspeed Former Directorate of Operations, CIA
John Roeser’s Criminal Law & Literature class Academic Center, Room 115
Anthony E. Mason ’74 Senior National Correspondent at CBS News
Chad Ploskina’s Sports Journalism class Arts Center, Room 102
Kane Phelps ’59 Psychotherapist, former professional musician/actor
Ray Woishek’s Video Art class Arts Center, Computer Lab (1st Floor)
11:30 A.M. - 12:15 P.M.
Jay Sweet ’88 Executive Director and Executive Producer of Newport Festivals Foundation Madeira Hall
Howard Balloch ’69 Partner, PacBridge Partners (HK) Ltd.
Howard Balloch graduated from St. George’s in 1969 and went on to study economics and political science at McGill University in Montreal, followed by graduate studies at the University of Toronto and the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques in Paris. He then joined the Canadian Foreign Service for a 25-year career that culminated in a six-year stint as Canada’s Ambassador to China. Following that, he founded a China-based merchant banking firm that supported both state-owned and private Chinese firms in their overseas acquisitions and investments, as well as international firms investing in China. Resources, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, education, and alternative energy were sectors of primary activity. His firm was ranked as China’s leading boutique bank for several years and was acquired by a larger investment bank in 2012.
Following the sale of his firm, Howard continued to run an Asia-based private equity fund focused on young Chinese education and healthcare companies. Following its successful winding-up, Howard became a partner of Hong Kong-based PacBridge Partners, specializing in providing early stage and growth capital, as well as advice, to companies seeking to leverage disruptive technologies in building scalable businesses. He is now also a board member of Providence-based Cherrystone Angel Group, which supports young entrepreneurs in the med-tech, advanced materials, and other breakthrough sectors.
Howard has served as a director of a number of public and private companies, including Methanex Corp. and Ivanhoe Mines, and served on the WEF Global Council on Metals and Mining. He was also President and then Vice-Chairman of the Canada China Business Council.
Still, a keen sailor since his time on the SG sailing team, Howard and his wife split their time between Jamestown, RI and Ottawa, Canada, with visits to homes of their children and grandchildren in London, Singapore and Toronto.
Moana Casanova ’04
Director, West Coast Production at HBO / HBOMax
Moana Casanova graduated from St. George’s in 2004 and went on to study Art History and the Visual Arts with emphases in Film Theory and Film Production at Occidental College.
Moana is Director, West Coast Production at HBO / Warner Bros. Discovery. She manages the production process for HBO and Max original scripted series such as The Staircase, We Own This City, Industry, and Los Espookys. In 2019, Moana helped create and launch HBO’s sustainable production program, HBO Green, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of television production. She has been with the company since 2009 and has held Executive Assistant, Coordinator, and Manager roles prior to becoming Director in 2021.
Originally from New York, Moana resides with her husband, son, and two cats in Los Angeles, CA where she enjoys exploring the local farmers markets and finding the best breakfast burrito in town.
Bill Dean ’73
Retired Fixed Income Specialist & Financial Advisor
Bill Dean graduated from St. George’s in 1973 and the University of Vermont in 1977. He clerked on the NY Stock Exchange in the Fall of 1973 & the Summer of 1974, so when he was hired right out of UVM by the Bank of Boston’s Bond department, they thought he knew something, and put him right on the Municipal Bond trading desk, trading short term bonds when rates were 13%. After a few hair-raising years, he started selling bonds to large institutional investors like Fidelity, IBM & Allstate. He also structured deals using rate swaps and other derivatives. Eventually, Bill joined Smith Barney, and while he remained in the same office for 26 years, the name of his employer changed 6 times, and he retired from Morgan Stanley in 2022. Bill is an active investor, and financial educator, and continues to advise SG graduates on career paths and internships. He has 5 children, including son Sam SG ‘06, and 2 grandchildren (SG 2038 & 2041??). His three older brothers all graduated from St. George’s as well.
Christopher
“Kim” Elliman ’71
Former CEO at Open Space InstituteChristopher “Kim” Elliman graduated from St. George’s in 1971 and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Yale University.
As the former president and CEO of the Open Space Institute and a distinguished chair of countless nonprofit and foundation boards, Mr. Kim Elliman has demonstrated those qualities. He has dedicated his life’s work to land conservation and environmentalism.
Early in his career, Mr. Elliman worked in the private sector — at a newspaper and in government — before joining an alternate energy company and working in private equity. An avid adventurer in the Adirondacks in New York, he always had an interest in renewable energy, healthy local foods, and forest management.
For the last 31 years, Mr. Elliman has served in leadership roles at the Open Space Institute, a national land conservation organization that seeks to make parks and other protected areas more accessible to the public. Mr. Elliman was instrumental in transforming OSI from a New York state and Hudson Valley land trust into a nationally recognized organization, active in 16 states and three Canadian provinces.
Mr. Elliman retired as president and CEO of OSI in March 2024. During his tenure, OSI and its partners protected more than 2 million acres of land, helped to form OSI’s Parks Program, created more than 50 parks and 120 miles of trails and greenways, and instituted initiatives to embrace diversity and inclusion in an effort to make access to the outdoors equitable and welcoming for all.
In addition to his work in OSI, Mr. Elliman served on numerous foundations and boards, including the Cherokee International Partners Sustainability Council, The Wilderness Society, Yale School of the Environment Steering Committee, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Mr. Elliman’s work has stretched far beyond his career and into his personal mission in life. Privately, Kim and his family have helped to preserve thousands of additional acres of land.
For his deep-rooted dedication and commitment to land conservation, Kim was honored by the Council on the Environment of NYC in 2008 and named Adirondack Conservationist of the Year in 2019.
Mr. Elliman will be presented with St. George’s highest alumni honor, the John B. Diman Award, on Friday, May 17, in the St. George’s Chapel.
Katherine Gallagher Fairchild’04 Director of Machine Learning and AI at Digital Diagnostics
Katherine Fairchild graduated from St. George’s in 2004, and holds a BA in Political Science from Dalhousie University and an MLA in Software Engineering from Harvard Extension School.
When Katherine first entered the field of Artificial Intelligence, it was hard to imagine that “ChatGPT” would one day be common vernacular. Seeking to model cognition in biological organisms, Katherine joined the MIT Quest for Intelligence, where she developed computational models and software applications at the intersection of AI and neuroscience and eventually became Head of Engineering. Katherine is currently the Director of AI and Machine Learning at Digital Diagnostics, focused on fully autonomous medical diagnostics. Her approach to AI is informed by a versatile background, including work in program management at Harvard University, machine learning for financial applications at State Street Corporation, and as a legal assistant.
Garth Fasano ’04 CEO of Top Dog Sales Center
Garth Fasano graduated from St. George’s in 2004 and went on to study at the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Pennsylvania. He acquired a small business that provides outsourced sales services to local businesses around the United States and Canada. This process is known as Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) and has now been popularized at many business schools. This fall Garth will be teaching ETA at the University of Colorado Boulder. ETA involves buying and growing an existing small business that has already demonstrated product-market fit rather than starting a new business from scratch.
Garth lives in Boulder, CO, with his wife Peggy. When not focused on Top Dog, they are typically trail running, rock climbing, and backcountry skiing in Colorado’s mountains.
Web Golinkin ’69
Healthcare Executive, Entrepreneur, and Author
Web Golinkin graduated from St. George’s in 1969. After subsequently graduating from Harvard, he went on to become the CEO of five healthcare companies, including three he co-founded, all focused on making reliable health information and routine care more accessible and affordable.
These companies include the largest cable TV network devoted to health (America’s Health Network), one of the nation’s largest operators of retail-based clinics (RediClinic), a leading population health management company (Health Dialog), and one of the nation’s largest operators of urgent care clinics (FastMed). Web also co-founded the Convenient Care Association and served as its Chair for many years.
Web has been widely covered in the national media and has spoken at numerous healthcare conferences. Recently adding published author to his resume, Web’s new book, “Here Be Dragons” (possible SG connection to be discussed), was published by Forbes Books in February 2024 and has already become an Amazon bestseller. Web grew up in New York City and Long Island but has lived in Houston since 1988, so he is almost a Texan. A longtime runner and fitness enthusiast, Web also enjoys tennis and golf—as long as he can walk and carry his bag. Web has been married to the same extraordinary woman for 39 years, and they have two amazing sons who make him proud every day.
Colin Hanna ’64 Political Commentator
Colin Hanna graduated from St. George’s in 1964, where he created an unlicensed but legal low-power radio station called Radio Free Auchincloss that could be heard throughout the Hilltop. Following St. George’s, he attended the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1968 as an English major. At Penn, he was Chief Announcer in the News Department for the University’s radio station, WXPN. Upon graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy. The bulk of his time in the Navy was served in the office of the Chief of Information (CHINFO), the Navy’s Public Affairs command in the Pentagon. He was made a briefer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a daily Navy liaison with the national radio, TV and print Pentagon correspondents during the Vietnam War.
After the Navy, he joined CBS in New York and Philadelphia in a series of sales and management positions. He then became President of a regional advertising agency. The common theme throughout is communications, which somewhat naturally led to a later career in politics and public policy. As President of Let Freedom Ring, a conservative public policy nonprofit, he was a regular guest on MSNBC, Fox News, PBS and a host of local stations, as well as an op-ed writer for several newspapers. He believes that the single most important and enduring skill he learned at SG was how to write with precision and intellectual integrity.
Jeffrey J. Kimbell ’89 President & CEO, Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, Inc.
Jeff Kimbell graduated from St. George’s in 1989. Jeff is now President of Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, Inc., a Washington, DC-based lobbying firm representing over sixty clients in the life sciences community seeking legislative and policy remedies. Founded in 1998, the fifteen-person firm provides strategic solutions to hand-selected clients seeking creation, modification, or proper implementation of public law.
Jeff began his career as a personal aide to former U.S. Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) and personal attaché to former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger. After these careers, Jeff served as the first Executive Director of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) from 1994-1998. In 2001, Jeff was named to President George W. Bush’s Transition Team Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Following SG, Jeff graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX, where he earned his B.A. in Political Science. While at SMU, Jeff worked for U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, and a significant portion of Medicare.
Jeff currently serves as a Board Advisor to BioUtah, Director at Large of the Safari Club International (SCI) and is on the Board of the SCI Foundation. He serves as Co-Chairman of the SCI Political Action Committee (SCIPAC). Mr. Kimbell and his three children are avid sportsmen who enjoy fly fishing, hunting, and skiing at locales throughout the world when U.S. Congress is in recess.
Anthony Mason ’74 Senior National Correspondent at CBS News
Anthony Mason graduated from St. George’s in 1974 and went on to Georgetown University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Government. His 44-year career in television news began in 1980 when he joined KJRH TV, the NBC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two years later he was hired by CBS to work at their Philadelphia affiliate. He has been in the CBS family ever since.
Anthony spent seven years as a foreign correspondent for CBS News in the London and Moscow bureaus, covering the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, which won him a DuPont Columbia Award. He later served as the network’s chief business correspondent covering the financial crisis.
Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years, and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast. He is currently Senior Cultural Correspondent, perhaps best known for his profiles of musicians like Adele, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, and The Rolling Stones. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards.
Anthony lives in New York City with his wife, Christina. They have three children.
Sylvester Monroe ’69, P’95
Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Sylvester Monroe is a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. Before retiring from newsroom journalism in 2018, Monroe served as an Assistant Foreign Editor at The Washington Post in charge of reporting from Europe and South Asia from 2014 to December 2017. During his storied career, Monroe has had a variety of important assignments with Newsweek, TIME, The San Jose Mercury News, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Ebony. He is currently working on a book about the black students in Harvard’s 1973 graduating class.
Monroe graduated from Harvard University, cum laude with a B.A. in social studies in 1973. He then started as a full-time correspondent in Newsweek’s Boston bureau, where he covered the Kenneth Edelin abortion trial and school desegregation in South Boston. He served as a Newsweek correspondent in the Chicago bureau from 1976 to 1978, as Deputy Bureau Chief from 1978 to 1983 and as Boston Bureau Chief from 1983 to 1985, when he joined Newsweek’s Washington bureau. Monroe won several awards for his reporting on such stories as “Why Johnny Can’t Write”, “American Innovation”, and the three-part series “Why Public Schools are Flunking”. Monroe covered Harold Washington’s successful Chicago mayoral campaign in 1983 and Reverend Jesse L. Jackson’s bid for the U.S. presidency in 1984. In 1987, Newsweek featured a cover story about Monroe’s return to Chicago’s housing projects to follow up on eleven of his childhood friends. The story, “Brothers” coauthored with Newsweek senior editor, Peter Goldman, developed into a best-selling book, Brothers: Black and Poor—A True Story of Courage and Survival.
Monroe joined TIME Magazine in 1989 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. There, he worked as a principal reporter for post-riot coverage of the Rodney King trial, as well as on the 1993 cover story, “Is L.A. Going to Hell?” and a 1994 feature about Minister Louis Farrakhan. Monroe became an assistant managing editor in charge of National, foreign and business and technology news at the San Jose Mercury News in 2000. In 2003, he joined the Atlanta Journal – Constitution as Sunday editor for the National /Foreign Desk. In 2006, Monroe joined the staff of Ebony Magazine as Senior Editor, where he was political editor and covered Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Since leaving Ebony in 2009, he has worked as a freelance editor and writer for several publications including The Root.com and The Defendersonline. com. Monroe has been a contract editor and writer on the Corporate Citizenship Team at Oracle Corp. and Oracle Education Foundation.
A longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Monroe served on the board of St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island, his high school alma mater, and is frequently sought after as a public speaker.
Kane Phelps ’59
Psychotherapist, former professional musician/actor
After graduating from St. George’s in 1959, Kane earned his B.A. at Middlebury College. Subsequently, he embarked on a career in the motion picture industry by driving his BMW R50 motorcycle from Germany to Calcutta, eventually landing at his destination, Manila, P.I., where he interned in producing/directing at Filipinas Productions. While in P.I. he co-habited with a cohort of Hollywood stalwarts including Jack Nicholson. Nicholson mentored him and invited him to come to Hollywood to reside with him and pursue an acting career. Thus, from 1964 - 1969, Kane lived in Hollywood and pursued acting with, at best, modest success. Discouraged and disappointed by the vagaries of the movie business, Kane became inspired by the “Back to the Earth” movement. He bought land in beautiful Big Sur, CA where he built his dream home and started a meditation practice. Another turning point came when he met Dee Dee Sperling in 1974. She had been a famous recording artist (“Dick and Deedee”). They were married on Jan. 1, 1975 and recorded an album together. Their love has been the bedrock of his life.
After the album flopped, Kane decided to go to graduate school and become a social worker. He worked for DCFS, the child protection agency of Los Angeles for 27 years before transitioning in 2011 to become a psychotherapist in private practice which he maintains to this very day. He has a passion for helping people overcome their life difficulties. He is also an avid Pickleball player.
Diane Gardella Rocco ’90
Senior Vice President, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs at Biogen
Diane Gardella Rocco graduated from St. George’s in 1990 and went on to Dartmouth College where she majored in biology. After graduation, she went into a master’s of science program and conducted research on tropical coral reef biology which enabled her to spend several years living in Discovery Bay, Jamaica and Key Largo, FL at the Aquarius Reef Base. Following graduate school, Diane pivoted by taking a job at a clinical stage biotech company in Cambridge, MA focused on developing medicines for inherited rare genetic disorders. After submitting and defending the Company’s first new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration, she moved to New York City and worked at Pfizer in numerous roles of increasing responsibility in an 18-year tenure during which she earned her master’s in business administration from New York University. She is currently the Senior Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at Biogen Inc. in Boston, MA. Diane Leads a large global team focused on developing medicines for difficult to treat neurological diseases. In 2023, her team delivered 4 novel, new drug approvals in the areas of Alzheimer’s, Friedreich’s Ataxia, ALS, and Postpartum depression.
Omar Shahine ’94
Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Word+
EditorOmar Shahine graduated from St. George’s in 1994 and Georgetown in 1998 with a BS in Biology. Currently, Omar leads the Microsoft Word, Copilot + Editor team at Microsoft - as Corporate Vice President in the Office Product Group.
At the Office Product Group (OPG), our mission is to re-invent modern productivity solutions, creating experiences that radically improve how people conceive, communicate, preserve, and share the best expressions of their thoughts and ideas... together. Our solutions provide intelligent and reliable endto-end experiences, available on any platform or device, or through any medium –words, numbers, images, or video.
Omar’s Team delivers Generative AI capabilities to Microsoft Word as part of our Copilot family of products. His team uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence capabilities that will power a new era of productivity and computing. Microsoft Word is core to Microsoft’s mission and legacy as a cornerstone of our productivity tools and value in Microsoft 365. Editor is an amazing opportunity to recognize the reality that writing happens in many places – writing continues to be critical to numerous products.
Omar has worked at Microsoft over 25 years and held numerous product roles helping Microsoft achieve its mission of — connecting people everywhere with tools and technologies to create, build, and achieve more together. Most recently he led the Product Management organization for OneDrive and SharePoint and led both products to be industry leaders. Omar is one of OneDrive’s “co-founders”. Omar also invests in Microsoft communities such as his role as a co-captain for the Principal Women’s Mentoring rings, executive co-sponsor for a divisional chapter of Blacks at Microsoft Employee Resource Group and founded the E+D Product Leader Community for Microsoft’s most senior product leaders and serves as Co-Chair for the Experience + Devices Product Management Leadership Team where he helped co-author the “Book of Product Management”.
Omar lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and two kids. Outside of work, Omar serves on the Board of Trustees at The Bush School and writes a newsletter on product reviews (OmarKnows.com).
Jay Sweet ’88
Executive Director and Executive Producer of Newport Festivals Foundation
Jay Sweet graduated from St. George’s in 1988 and the University of Colorado Boulder. Jay Sweet is the Executive Director and Executive Producer of Newport Festivals Foundation (NFF), the 501(c)(3) which continues the legacy of the Newport Jazz & Folk Festivals and expands their impact through music education initiatives throughout the United States.
During his tenure at NFF, the Festivals have won a combined six Pollstar awards for Music Festival Of The Year.
Prior to joining the Newport family, Sweet was Editor at Large for Paste Magazine for a decade. He was also the principal and co-founder of Sweet & Doggett for over a decade - a consulting firm that helped corporate America with its music initiatives. In addition to his work with the Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals, he also serves as producer of Pilgrimage Music Festival in Tennessee and a frequent keynote speaker at Music Industry conferences and events. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two sons, where he is an avid surfer and member of the East Coast surf community.
Parker Wise ’90 Advisory Board, Clearspeed
Former Directorate of Operations, CIA
Parker Wise graduated from St. George’s in 1990 and in 1994 received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in History and Political Science.
Parker retired from the CIA in 2022, after a 23-year career in the Directorate of Operations where he was promoted to the Senior Intelligence Service ranks. His career took him overseas to postings in Iraq, Afghanistan, Austria, and the UK. His tenure at the CIA encompassed work primarily on Iran and counter-terrorism. Parker was also an Executive Assistant to the CIA’s first female Director, Gina Haspel. Before his career with the CIA, Parker was a U.S. Marine Corps officer for five years. He first developed his interest in working for the US government while on the Hilltop in the classroom of Robin Rogers (also a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin). Currently, Parker works for a Washington-based tech start-up company.