2008 Board of Directors' Award - Pascal Pinson & Société Générale
Pascal is the Managing Director, Deputy Head of Corporate and Financial Institutions for the Americas at Société Générale. Since 2004, he has led the hiring of the greatest cumulative number of TEAK interns, 26 placements through TEAK’s Private Enterprise Internship program, and he has been an incredible advocate of Société Générale’s sponsorship of TEAK’s Alumni Career Center. He has also generously volunteered his time at Alumni events, and he is currently participating in the Professional Mentors Database. Pascal’s accessibility, involvement and interaction with students, and support of TEAK programs have been invaluable to the Fellows, Board, and staff.

2007 Board of Directors' Award - Amy Louise Burns
Amy is the Managing Director of the Conference Department at Cowen and Company, LLC.  In preparation for The TEAK Fellowship 10th Anniversary Celebration, Amy lent TEAK her considerable expertise in event planning.  From talent negotiation and décor to production and transportation, she dedicated many hours, days, and months to ensure a spectacular evening.  Her professionalism and commitment provided immeasurable support to the Board and staff.

2005 Board of Directors' Award - Purandar Rao
Purandar Rao is a partner at Ernst & Young and has been with the firm for over fourteen years.  Purandar first volunteered his professional accounting services in 1998, and has been providing in-kind bookkeeping for TEAK ever since. His experience as a student volunteer in under-privileged communities and the charitable work of his grandmother in India inspired him to dedicate his time and talents to TEAK. Purandar has provided hundreds of hours of work and consultation to TEAK. His contribution of professional services has been an immense financial and institutional support, allowing TEAK to focus its resources on its Fellows.

2004 Board of Directors' Award - Kim S. Fennebresque & SG Cowen & Co.
Kim S. Fennebresque is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cowen and Company, LLC. As President and CEO of SG Cowen & Co. in 2004, Kim hosted seven Fellows as summer interns in an unprecedented commitment. SG Cowen & Co. not only provided the most placements ever for TEAK's Private Enterprise Internship Program, but Kim took significant steps to expose each of the Fellows to the varied facets of the company as well as the financial industry. This 2004 commitment led to even more internships at Cowen and Company and Société Générale in the years following. Kim has also contributed to the TEAK community as a guest speaker at the Summer Institute. Kim joined the TEAK Board of Directors in 2005.

2003 Board of Directors' Award - Jesse Johnson
Jesse Johnson is the co-founder and CEO of Q Collection, a home furnishings company focused on sustainable design. In honor of his ongoing support of TEAK, Jesse was the recipient of the 2003 Board of Directors' Award. Jesse has long been a Mentor to a Fellow in Class Three, and in 2002 he spearheaded the Morgan McKinzie Endowment for TEAK's Public Interest Internship Program. He tirelessly organized friends and family to endow a fund at TEAK that would honor the spirit of Morgan McKinzie, his roommate at Princeton. The Morgan McKinzie Endowment covers all expenses related to the Public Interest Internship Program, ensuring its place at TEAK in perpetuity.

Back to Top

2002 Board of Directors' Award - Rod Dyer, Creative Ignition
Rod Dyer is Teak Dyer's father and an award winning graphic designer based in Los Angeles. In honor of his ongoing commitment and contributions to TEAK, Rod Dyer was named the recipient of the 2002 Board of Directors Award. Rod designed TEAK's original logo in 1998, provided design services for TEAK's stationery and New Years cards since 1998, and completed many other major projects for TEAK, all pro bono.  He designed all materials for TEAK's Columbus Day Golf Classic, a commemorative TEAK t-shirt, and he updated TEAK's logo as part of TEAK's fifth anniversary.

Back to Top

2001 Board of Directors' Award - Barbara & George Kovacs
Barbara and George have been tireless volunteers since the spring of 2000 as the founders of Culture At TEAK on Saturdays (CATS). Barbara and George learned about TEAK in August 1999 through an article in the New York Times. They immediately arranged a meeting with TEAK and presented their plan to bring Fellows to cultural performances - outings that the Kovacs both sponsor and attend with the students.  Each class begins the CATS program by learning about the Kindertransport, the children's train that brought Jewish children from Austria to England before the outbreak of World War II. A discussion with George, who was a child on the Kindertransport, follows. Through CATS and the Kovacs' generosity, the Fellows have seen shows including Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, The Music Man, The Producers, Metropolitan Opera's Romeo et Juliette, Julius Caesar, and Blue Man Group. George joined the TEAK Board of Directors in 2003.

Back to Top

2000 Board of Directors' Award - David Woodman
David Woodman and his company Punchlist, which specializes in high-end and landmark construction projects, donated the renovation of TEAK's previous office space at 15 East 65th Street - a job worth over $100,000.  David and his team worked weekends and nights to get the space ready in six short weeks. He also helped secure $14,000 in donations - most of it from his family - to pay for everything from carpets to the phone system.  David joined the TEAK Board of Directors in 2001.

Back to Top