Past Board of Directors

Impact is built and driven by leaders who feel a responsibility and duty to improve our civic life and discourse. They come from various backgrounds with differing perspectives but all share the common bond that objective analysis, open minds, and hard work are key ingredients to progress.

Past Board of Directors

Alistair Cooper

Alistair Cooper is the Founder and CEO of Hero Technologies, a platform connecting domestic technical issues with neighbors capable of solving them.

His background is in the investment industry, having worked in hedge fund financing in New York after beginning his career with Goldman Sachs in commodities trading. Alistair has spent much of the last decade building, advising, and operating businesses in Asia and Europe, most recently establishing a network of engineering operations in Ukraine, India, and the Philippines. Alistair was a Morehead Scholar at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He can occasionally be found in his public therapy sessions, performing stand up at Gotham Comedy Club. Alistair is from Scotland and speaks French and German.

Adriana Guzman

Executive Producer, Booking & Planning, Cheddar News

Adriana is currently the head of booking at Cheddar News, covering the latest in business, culture, media, technology & innovation. Since launching in 2016, Cheddar has been breaking the mold of traditional news with an authentic voice and fresh perspective that reflects the diversity, energy and intellectual curiosity of its viewers.

In her role, Adriana leads a team of producers, securing A-List CEOs, politicians, celebrities, newsmakers and more for daily live broadcast interviews. Adriana also plays a key role in the newsroom’s forward-thinking and planning around major news and cultural events.

Prior to joining Cheddar, Adriana held various roles in news & entertainment at the national network level with ABC/Univision, and CBS Entertainment.

Adriana graduated magna cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College.

Born and raised in Miami, Florida she currently resides in Wilton, CT with her husband and young daughter.

What causes are you most passionate about?
The failings of our criminal justice system — How to combat the climate crisis — and clearer, more humane immigration policies.

Who is a real life hero of yours?
My mom! Becoming a parent gave me such renewed appreciation for working mothers, and my mom specifically. She always made it look easy, though I now know it very much wasn’t. She instilled in me the belief that women can have it all — a successful career you give your all to, while proudly raising a family.

What do you think some of the most pressing problems we face are?
Combatting the “fake news” epidemic and how to control the spread of disinformation.As well as the need for a close examination and overhaul of paid family leave in this country.

Andrea Bonaiuto

Andrea’s day job as acting Head of Marketing (acting) at ATPCO consists of making sense of the airline industry for B2B customers and partners by communicating the solutions that will be most effective for industry recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before joining ATPCO, Andrea worked for Brussels Airlines and Eurowings (part of the Lufthansa Group) marketing international routes with a focus on Africa and India. At Brussels Airlines she enjoyed two career highlights; getting up close and personal with gorillas in Uganda, and producing the first-ever international dance party at 30,000 feet, complete with 2 DJs, glow sticks, and film crew, in partnership with Tomorrowland.

Preceding her career in the airline industry, Andrea worked at a compostable party supply start-up, Susty Party, as head of sales and awesomeness. Prior to Susty Party Andrea stayed busy in Panama, working in fashion distribution while producing a Panamanian adaptation of Reservoir Dogs for theater. Andrea has a habit of identifying unique opportunities and giving it her all, which is why she looks forward to the contributions she’ll make with IMPACT.

What causes are you most passionate about?

Investment in social-emotional learning: Social-emotional learning (SEL) is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s fundamental to a child’s development, yet only 29 states in the U.S. has SEL standards in place for educators. SEL teaches kids how to regulate their emotions, use compassion and empathy to understand the needs of other people, build relationships and make good decisions – all fundamental skills in today’s polarizing, tech-heavy world. The results are tangible, from academic improvement to earlier intervention in mental health issues to more positive contributing members of society. Personally, I owe my relationship skills to SEL and would advocate for SEL in every school around the world.

If you could make one improvement in the world what would it be?

Paying public teachers more: Teachers hold one of the most influential, yet underrated positions in a child’s life. On average teachers make $60,477 a year, with a range of $45,547 to $85,889 depending on the state*. By making the profession more economically desirable, people with higher education are more willing the apply for the job, there would be more competition, and ecosystem around students would ultimately grow. *EdWeek.org

What ideas or efforts do you think will or have changed the world the most?

Campaign finance reform: I’ve heard before that all roads lead back to campaign finance reform. I think it’s true. Big money = big influence in American politics and as recently as 2014 the Supreme Court ruled on a decision that removed further restrictions that would allow donors and PACs to give more to candidates or party committees. The impact was immediate; close to $2 billion was raised between candidates for the 2020 presidential election, of which some funds were untraceable and/or significantly influenced by foreign sources. The implications are extensive, long-lasting, and discount the democratic values the U.S. stands on. *Ballotpedia.org

Somi Kim

At Google, Somi partners with researchers to define, procure, and refine data requirements to fulfill machine learning model needs across visual and audio recognition projects.

Previously she worked at Bridgewater, managing operations for the Daily Observations and special projects in the Research department. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Government where she was the Student Director for DREAM, a student led non-profit organization focused on village based mentorship. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her dog, reading, and cooking.

Who is a real life hero of yours?
My grandfather was a community leader in Los Angeles who worked tirelessly to help bring and place Korean immigrants, often opening up the family home to these families until they were able to get jobs and settle into their new lives. The house was never quiet for sure!

My ideal future world includes…
Popularizing the nursing home combined with childcare model, “intergenerational programming,” that focuses on combating isolation and loneliness that members of our senior population often face. See articles HERE and HERE.

What do you think some of the most pressing problems we face are?
I worry about a lot of things! But the problems that keep me up at night are climate change/environmental issues, the ever widening socioeconomic gap, and knowledge misinformation.

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Past Board of Directors