Heidi Rosbe, Chief Executive Officer

Heidi brings two decades of experience at the intersection of innovation, governance, peace-building, and economic development. As Acting Project Director, along with other leadership roles at the International Rescue Committee’s Ahlan Simsim initiative, Heidi has successfully managed transformative programs for children in conflict areas, impacting over four million children and families. She has deep experience in cross-sectoral partnerships, navigating complex geopolitical landscapes in the Middle East, and scaling programs.

Her background, including living in both Jerusalem and Beit Sahour, leadership roles at Encounter, and expertise in facilitation and conflict resolution, makes her uniquely suited to guide OGS into its next chapter of impact and growth. In addition, Heidi is experienced in fundraising and is an excellent storyteller and communicator, important aspects of the work at OGS and bringing our mission to a wider audience.

You can reach Heidi at heidi@ogspeaks.com.

Ellen Varney, Chief Finance and Operations Officer

Ellen joins OGS with experience in executive leadership in a range of environments and organizational cultures. She has served as a board member, executive leader, chief financial officer and risk management executive in healthcare, financial services and nonprofit organizations, with leadership and expertise in finance, audit, risk management, capital risk frameworks, regulatory compliance, corporate governance and operations. Ms. Varney is a qualified financial expert. She has held executive roles in highly-regulated environments, including insurance (commercial and captive), health care, brokerage, nonprofit/public charities. Ms. Varney is a member of the Board of Pact, Inc., a nonprofit international development organization, operating in nearly 40 countries to improve the lives of those who are challenged by poverty and marginalization, and serves on the finance/audit committee and is chair of the governance committee of its Board.

Ms. Varney holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Maine and an M.A. in economics from the University of Memphis. She has also completed executive programs at Northwestern University in executive leadership and financial management strategies.

Ellen can be reached at ellen@ogspeaks.com.

Jennifer Miniman, Operations Manager

Jennifer is an experienced Operations Manager with a background in Workforce Development. Before joining the team at OGS, she worked for The Workplace where she oversaw day-to-day operations of an American Job Center. There, she and her staff helped people who were unemployed and under employed find placement in job training programs, and connected them with career counselors for additional supports. Prior to that, Jennifer was a program manager at Community Work Services, where she ran both the Culinary Arts and Hotel and Hospitality job training programs.

Jennifer has a B.A. from Johnson and Wales University and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Human Services Management from Suffolk University. She is currently studying to receive her EMBA from Quantic School of Business. She lives with her partner and two stepdaughters in Taunton, MA. She can be reached at jennifer@ogspeaks.com.

Marie Encabo, Executive Assistant

Sami Awad, Program Manager

Born in Jerusalem and residing in Haifa, Sami has worked with and supported local and global startups for over 10 years. His passion is creating win-win situations and connections, as he aspires to break through communication barriers and bring people together. Sami has extensive experience in digital marketing, community building, leading and managing complex cross-sector projects and delegations, as well as in creating tailored per-sector programs. He has an MA in Organizational Behavior and Development from Reichman University and a BA in Business and Marketing. In his spare time, Sami enjoys meeting new people and forging new connections.

Sami can be reached at sami@ogspeaks.com.

Shenhav Rubin, Alumni Programs Coordinator

Shenhav is a people-centric person with experience working in both big companies like Teva and small Israeli startups, gaining hands-on knowledge along the way. She cares deeply about people and community, and believes in their power to create real change. A 2023 OGS alum, she holds a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies.

In her free time, Shenhav loves doing yoga and playing with her cat.
Shenhav can be reached at shenhav@ogspeaks.com

David Mendels, Chairperson of the Startup Growth Committee

David has helped build and lead several of the most innovative software companies of the last 25 years. Most recently, David worked as the CEO of Brightcove, the leading software-as-a-service online video platform. Brightcove was also named Best Place to Work in Boston by the Boston Globe. Prior to Brightcove, he held multiple leadership roles at Macromedia and Adobe for over 16 years, including leading the business units for technologies that had a fundamental impact on our experience of the internet such as Adobe Flash and PDF. David currently serves on the Board of Witness and Resilient Coders and serves as an advisor to the Movement Voter Project.

Sally Ourieff MD, Founder of Translational Consulting

Sally Ourieff MD has over twenty-five years of experience as a physician, health care leader, executive advisor, and management consultant. As the founder of Translational Consulting, she works with C-suite leaders and teams to improve leadership performance and organizational management. Her clients range from Fortune 25 companies to start-up ventures with a primary focus in health care, pharma, biotech, academia, and finance. Sally is an adjunct faculty member at Brandeis University in The Heller School of Social Policy and Management where she teaches in their MBA for mid-career physicians. She also is a facilitator and coach in executive education at Harvard Business School, including in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative for mayors.

Lester Fagen, Retired Partner at Cooley LLP

Les Fagen has been a leading attorney representing both emerging and established technology companies and investors, as well as non-profit businesses, for over 35 years. His clientele runs the gamut from entrepreneurs launching new disruptive technology to Fortune 1000 clients in the fields of life sciences, software, information technology, medical devices, health services, smart city technologies, data, and artificial intelligence. He focuses his practice on companies that have the promise for meaningful social impact and entrepreneurs who are mission-driven. He co-founded and served as the head of Cooley’s Boston office and serves on the Board of a number of non-profit organizations.

Lee Cohen Senderov,

Lee currently serves as the Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for Foundation Partners Group. Previous roles include President of Digital at Richline Group, a Berkshire Hathaway Company and various roles launching and growing private equity and venture capital-backed start-up companies. Lee has a History degree from Brandeis University and obtained her MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Perry Solomon, Board Member and Chair of the Finance Committee

Perry is the former CEO and Chairman of Esquire Solutions, which is a company that employs 2500 people and operates in 36 domestic cities. Perry served for 6-years as CEO of Wordwave, during which the company grew EBITDA 470% and revenue 175%. The company acquired and integrated 36 acquisitions and successfully sold to Merrill Communications. Perry has also served as the CEO of Bankruptcy Management Solutions, HR Logic, BostonCoach, and as an Executive in Residence for Battery Investment.

Meyer Koplow, Of Counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Sandra E. Goodstein, Principal and Senior Financial Advisor, Wescott Financial Advisory LLC

Lester Fagen, Retired Partner at Cooley LLP

Les Fagen has been a leading attorney representing both emerging and established technology companies and investors, as well as non-profit businesses, for over 35 years. His clientele runs the gamut from entrepreneurs launching new disruptive technology to Fortune 1000 clients in the fields of life sciences, software, information technology, medical devices, health services, smart city technologies, data, and artificial intelligence. He focuses his practice on companies that have the promise for meaningful social impact and entrepreneurs who are mission-driven. He co-founded and served as the head of Cooley’s Boston office and serves on the Board of a number of non-profit organizations.

Brenda Anderson, Academic Director

Brenda serves on the faculty at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the International Business School at Brandeis University, and is an adjunct associate professor at Tufts School of Medicine. In these roles, she teaches in the accounting and finance fields across numerous Brandeis graduate business programs and is extensively involved in providing financial literacy training to physician leaders in executive education programs. Brenda received her BS from the University of Connecticut and PhD from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. She is a Certified Public Accountant and prior to entering academia, Brenda worked for KPMG.

Carole Carlson, Venture Development Leader

Carole is the Director of the MBA program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management where she teaches courses in strategy, entrepreneurship, and consulting skills.  She has worked with OGS teams from the very beginning helping them create, shape and pitch their ventures.  Prior to joining the Heller School, Carole was a Principal and Engagement Leader for The Parthenon Group, where she directed client engagements in the nonprofit, government, information, and education sectors.  Carole is the author of multiple case studies, three Core Readings in Entrepreneurship (Harvard Business School Publishing) and Social Entrepreneurship (Sage Publications, forthcoming.)  She holds advanced degrees from the Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Elif Sisli Ciamarra, Teaching Faculty

Elif is an associate professor of finance in the Leo J. Meehan School of Business at Stonehill College and an adjunct associate professor in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Her research and teaching interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship and financial technology. She is also the founder and president of Derin Adaptive, a start-up company that meets the clothing needs of children with special needs. Elif received her BS from Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey), MBA from International University of Japan (Niigata, Japan), and PhD from Stern School of Business at New York University.

Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Teaching Faculty

Joel is a professor in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, with expertise in large-scale systems change, multi-stakeholder collaboration, employment relations, high performance work systems, negotiation, and new technology.  Previously he served as a professor and dean of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and as a faculty member in MIT’s Engineering Systems Division. Joel has consulted with unions, employers, and government agencies in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, United Kingdom, and the United States.  He holds a Ph.D. in industrial relations from MIT.

Alain Lempereur, Teaching Faculty

Alain promotes responsible negotiation, mediation and leadership, as the Alan B. Slifka Chair Professor and Director of the Conflict Resolution and Coexistence Program at Brandeis University.  He is an affiliated faculty and executive committee member of the Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON), the academic editor of Negotiation Briefings and a PON Global instructor.  He published a dozen books, including The First Move. A Negotiator’s Companion and Mediation. As a facilitator or a mediator, he supports nonviolence programs in the Near East (Forward Thinking, Negotiation Strategies Institute, Our Generation Speaks) and humanitarian organizations (HHI, ICRC, MSF).

Brian Denenberg, Teaching Faculty

Brian Denenberg is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Venture Lane Studio, Co-Founder of Sales Hunters Inc and an Adjunct Professor at the Brandeis University Heller School of Business – Our Generation Speaks program.

He has been part of multiple founding teams, a 6 time founder and has over 25 years of senior sales experience. He has held sales leadership roles at early-stage companies that were acquired by Thomson Reuters, Hewlett Packard, Business Week, Quadient, and Yellow Media.

He has extensive experience building direct, channel, and inside sales teams. In addition to working with over 100 early stage companies, he has advised over 50 multinational companies on their regional or global channel sales strategies. This has included working directly with partners of major IT vendors to better plan their Go-To-Market strategies.

Brian has developed the Agile Sales Method ™ which assists company founders and executives in evaluating, building, and measuring the best path to market for their company’s products, services, and culture.