West Harlem
Innovation Network
A new paradigm for Opportunity Zone investing
About
In 2022, Spring Mountain Capital launched a Social Impact investment strategy that attempts to leverage the Opportunity Zone legislation to continue SMC’s history of opportunistic, flexible, and progressive investing while positively impacting historically overlooked communities. As we focus on Opportunity Zones in and around the Greater Harlem region, we call our strategy the West Harlem Innovation Network – or “WHIN” for short.
Unlike many Opportunity Zone investment strategies, WHIN is not focused on real estate assets, but rather how its investments in Opportunity Zones can have a positive Social Impact on the community. Instead of funneling capital into rehabilitating and repurposing buildings, WHIN invests in businesses that seek to mitigate the disproportionate health, educational, and socioeconomic outcomes in historically underinvested communities.
To achieve this mission, WHIN invests across the growth cycles of dynamic and innovative companies in four synergistically-related sectors – Life Sciences, Education, Amplifying Technology, and the Food Ecosystem.
To learn more, please visit https://whin.nyc or contact us at hello@whin.nyc
Team
Kumasi
Bangudi-Smothers
Mr. Kumasi Bangudi-Smothers is an Associate in Spring Mountain Capital, LP’s Social Impact Group.
Prior to joining SMC, Kumasi was an associate at Techstars, LLC, where he and his team partnered with JPMorgan to invest in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Women owned businesses. At Techstars, Kumasi was responsible for evaluating prospective startups, assessing market dynamics and competitors, and conducting due diligence on investment opportunities across a range of sectors. He also ultimately served on the investment committee alongside several industry experts. Kumasi was first introduced to impact investing through his role as a Supplier Diversity & Analytics co-op at Bristol Myers Squibb, where aided BMS in pursuing their goal to spend $1 billion dollars supporting small Minority / Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE). Kumasi graduated from Howard University with a B.A in Finance where he was a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Scholar and Executive Leadership Council Scholar.
Lucy
Cai
Ms. Lucy Cai is an Associate in Spring Mountain Capital’s Social Impact Group, where she assists the Life Sciences team on a wide range of projects. Ms. Cai also currently serves as a Research Fellow in the inaugural cohort of the City Innovations Collaborative (CInC) at The City College of New York. At the CInC, Ms. Cai aids in the early development and commercialization of university-generated intellectual property, assists in operational programming of the Masters in Translational Medicine, mentors current students, and conducts industry research in the Life Sciences sector.
Ms. Cai graduated from The City College of New York with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Master of Sciences in Translational Medicine.
Jessica
Dzienius
Ms. Dzienius is SMC’s Office Manager Benefits Coordinator, and Chief of Staff of SMC’s Social Impact Group, and joined the firm in 2019. Jessica brings over six years in both the retail and hospitality industries, including cross-functional roles in operations, management, and sales. Jessica received her B.S. in Business Management from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2010.
Moji
Fagbemi
Ms. Moji Fagbemi is SMC’s Manager of Client Relations and joined the firm in 2021. Prior to joining SMC, Moji worked at Goldman Sachs, where she supported multiple executives within the private wealth management division. Previously, she was a Finance Specialist, resolving issues of NYC’s private and commercial property owners; a Client Service Specialist in insurance and risk management; and she spent a decade working in Management and Human Resources at a multinational clothing retailer. Moji graduated from CUNY Brooklyn College with a double major in Pre-Law and History.
Pavel
Greenfield, Ph.D.
Mr. Pavel Greenfield is currently co-head of the Education Technology practice in SMC’s Social Impact Group. He is also the founder of Lemma, an innovative education technology startup that develops educational content and has served thousands of students across the globe. Since joining SMC in 2001, Pavel has held a range of positions across the firm from technical architecture and cybersecurity to risk and quantitative analysis.
Pavel is also an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Drexel University. He was employed by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. from July 1996 to February 1999. While in the Management Science area, he contributed to the calculation of the ML Baby Boom Index, as well as the creation and maintenance of a system for the construction of optimal portfolios of mutual funds. Upon transferring to the Global Risk Management area, he supervised the development of the VaR system, assisted in testing derivatives pricing models, and was instrumental in designing the new risk system S2 for monitoring market exposures across all trading groups.
Pavel received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Physics from Princeton University.
Current Portfolio Company Board Seats:
- Lessonbee
Gregory P.
Ho
Mr. Gregory P. Ho is the President of SMC and one of its founding partners, as well as the head of the Social Impact Group. Prior to joining SMC in 2001, Greg was a Principal and Chief Financial Officer of McKinsey. During his 16 years with McKinsey, he led the financial and tax planning for the firm and led McKinsey’s expansion into over 30 new countries. Greg also was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and a Trustee of McKinsey’s Profit-Sharing Retirement Plan (PSRP). In these capacities, he oversaw the identification, evaluation, and selection of traditional and alternative asset managers and investments for over $1 billion of partner and employee assets and, with several other McKinsey partners, co-founded the McKinsey Investment Office. After leaving McKinsey in 1998 and prior to joining SMC, Greg was a private investor and consultant to several prominent NYC financial services companies and technology start-ups. Prior to joining McKinsey, he was associated with the law firm of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine.
Greg is currently a member of the Advisory Board of Venture for America and the Advisory Council for Columbia Law School’s Center for Public Research and Leadership. He is a former Trustee of the Museum of Chinese in America and a former Regent of Boston College. Greg received a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.S., with honors, in Administrative Science from Yale College. He is a member of the New York Bar and the California Bar.
Current Portfolio Company Board Seats:
- Allyx Therapeutics
- Athari Recruiting
- AtlasXomics
- Episteme Prognostics
- ReNetX Bio
- TripWorks
- WHIN NHRE
Jack
Januszewski
Jack Januszewski is a Vice President in Spring Mountain Capital, LP’s Social Impact Group, where he co-leads WHIN’s Education Technology practice.
Prior to joining SMC, Jack was the President and COO of Lemma, an online mathematics education technology company based in Philadelphia. Under his leadership, Lemma partnered with dozens of college access organizations across the country to provide high-quality education technology solutions and college preparatory materials to thousands of students. Lemma has and continues to provide high-quality college preparatory materials to thousands of first-generation-to-college students across the country and mathematics content to students around the world.
Jack received B.A.s, cum laude, in History and Romance Languages from Boston College. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors at Blair Academy in New Jersey and is a Trustee of the Katama Airfield Trust on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
Miriam
Minkowitz
Ms. Miriam Minkowitz is an Associate in Spring Mountain Capital’s Social Impact Group, where she assists the Life Sciences team on a wide range of projects. Prior to joining SMC, Miriam was an Investigative Fellow at the City Innovations Collaborative (CInC) at The City College of New York. At CInC, she contributed to the early development and commercialization of university-generated intellectual property, assisted in the functional programming of the Masters in Translational Medicine platform, mentored current students, and conducted robust industry research in the Life Science sector. Her dual interests in science and community impact motivates her to learn more about new technologies, and work to advance the state of their respective fields with purpose.
Miriam received her Bachelor’s in Science from Touro College with honors and her Master's in Translational Medicine from the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York.
Jason
Rifkin
Mr. Jason Rifkin is Co-head of the Life Sciences Strategy in Spring Mountain Capital’s Social Impact Group. In this capacity, Jason leads discovery and diligence on WHIN’s investments in Life Sciences companies focused on neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, biologic, and small molecule therapeutics, drug delivery, and medical devices. Jason has extensive experience in developmental stage life science and healthcare companies. Across his career, Jason has managed all aspects of company operations. Prior to joining SMC, Jason held executive roles at PhageNova Bio, Cage Pharma, and Delcath Systems, Inc.
Before his career in the Life Sciences, Jason practiced law with Fox Rothschild as an Associate in the Corporate Department/-Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Group. Jason received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Law Degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and a Masters of Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Representative Past and Portfolio Company Board and Observer Seats:
- Allyx Therapeutics
- Episteme Prognostics
Tara
Sharp, JD
Ms. Tara Sharp is the General Counsel of SMC. Before joining SMC, Tara was an associate in the Finance Department at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Prior to joining Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP, Tara was an associate in the Credit and Mergers and Acquisitions Departments of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and served as law clerk for the Honorable Richard Conway Casey, in the Southern District of New York. Tara received a J.D., cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. from The College of William and Mary, and is a member of the New York Bar.
Col. Aaron
Stanek (R)
Aaron M. Stanek is Head of Government Affairs, and a Senior Advisor / Operating Partner in Spring Mountain Capital’s Social Impact Group. Aaron also serves as Chief Operations Officer of WHIN NHRE, a portfolio company.
Prior to joining SMC, Aaron was a career United States Army Colonel and senior strategic leader specializing in acquisition, logistics, and technology. His final Department of Defense appointment was in defense retail grocery operations as the Chief of Staff of the Defense Commissary Agency, a global network of two hundred thirty-six grocery stores for over eleven million eligible patrons. During his thirty years of military service, he led multiple small and large-scale multi-functional logistics organizations, Joint Force Logistics units, and an Army Logistics University that provided high-quality initial and progressive military training and educational services to thousands of junior and mid-level Army logistics leaders and Soldiers across the country.
Aaron received a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Logistics Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science in and National Security Strategy from the National War College.
John
Wang
Mr. John Wang is Head of Spring Mountain Capital’s Food Ecosystem strategy in the Social Impact Group. John brings his expertise in the industry to analyzing the commercial viability of early-stage food and beverage concepts. John is also uniquely qualified to assess the needs and competencies of founding teams as well as their strategic fit in the WHIN ecosystem. John is the founder of the Queens Night Market, a uniquely affordable, family-friendly community event that has attracted nearly three million visitors since it debuted in 2015. The hugely popular and critically acclaimed event has helped launch nearly 400 new businesses in New York City and has represented over 90 countries through its food offerings.
John graduated from Yale Law School and the Yale School of Management. He earned his undergraduate degrees at the University of Michigan.
Kenneth
Wang
Mr. Kenneth Wang is a Managing Director in SMC’s Social Impact Group, where he co-leads WHIN’s Life Sciences practice. Ken currently serves as CEO of AtlasXomics, Inc., a life science tools company based in New Haven, Connecticut. Ken has worked in the chemical and life sciences industry as a process research engineer, investment banker, and entrepreneur for over 30 years, and has also consulted for SMC on several Life Sciences investments.
A chemical engineer by training, Ken has a range of experience in polymers and advanced materials with microscopic and nanoscale features. After gaining a broad range of investment banking experience at JPMorgan and CS First Boston, he became an independent financial advisor to multinationals (Mitsubishi Corporation, ITOCHU, GE Plastics, Marubeni, Mitsui) as well as to entrepreneurial small companies.
Ken holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively, and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Current Portfolio Company Board and Observer Seats:
- AtlasXomics
Kris
Woo, CFA, CPA
Mr. Kris Woo is the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and joined SMC in 2010. He was formerly a Senior Audit Associate in the financial services department at McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. During his three and a half years with McGladrey, he was responsible for performing audit, tax and administrative services for a variety of hedge funds. Kris received a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Accounting and Information Systems from Queens College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.