Biographies of the nominees for the Board of Trustees.

Nominations for Trustees

Ben Lawsky

Ben Lawsky is the Chief Executive Officer of The Lawsky Group, a strategic advisory firm in the financial technology space. He is also the Global Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at NYDIG, a financial services firm. He is also a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and serves on the Board of Directors of the Trust for Governors Island. Mr. Lawsky was New York State’s Superintendent of Financial Services from 2011-2015 where he regulated all New York State-chartered banks, foreign banks, and all insurance companies in New York.

Mr. Lawsky also served as co-chair of the New York State Cyber Security Advisory Board and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Empire State Development Corporation. He also served on the Joint Forum, an international body made up of banking, insurance and securities regulators from fifteen countries. Prior to serving as Superintendent of Financial Services, Mr. Lawsky served in a senior position in the New York State Attorney General’s office, having previously spent more than five years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He began his career as Chief Counsel to Senator Charles Schumer on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Mr. Lawsky is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Columbia College. Following law school, he clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Karen Picquet

A seasoned classroom educator for over twenty years, Karen currently enjoys working with young children and their families at The Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church Day School. Originally from the Windy City, she moved to New York City after teaching Hebrew and Judaic Studies to second and fifth graders in Orlando, FL. She has a Master of Arts in Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary and a Master of Education in International Education Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. Karen loves a good story, strong coffee, and resides in the city that never sleeps with her two children and amazing partner.

David Weil

As Co-President of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, David Weil oversees Schusterman’s operations and administration and focuses on strategic opportunities to enhance the organization’s impact and scale. David also leads the organization’s work on criminal justice reform and voting rights.David previously served as President and COO of TPG-Axon Capital, a global equity hedge fund. Prior to Axon, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where he held several management roles, including COO of the Investment Management Division, Global Treasurer of the firm, head of Finance and Operations for Goldman Sachs Asia (based in Hong Kong) and Chief Financial Officer for the firm’s Whitehall Real Estate Funds. David also serves on the boards of New York Road Runners and Gendler Grapevine. David has a B.A. in History from Yale College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.