Young Associates

To complement the mission and goals of the executive board, The Valerie Fund Junior Board aims to ensure the longevity of The Valerie Fund by engaging a younger generation of participants with the cause, and enlisting supporters to carry the organization into the future. A primary focus of the Junior Board is to connect enthusiastic young professionals in the Valerie Fund’s many activities through the establishment of The Valerie Fund Young Associates program:

The Junior Board is seeking to attract upstanding individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 to serve as “Young Associates” of The Valerie Fund. Young Associates will be invited to all Valerie Fund events, especially those social and service-oriented events exclusively targeted towards younger members. Additionally, Young Associates will have the opportunity to get involved with all aspects of the organization, including community outreach, social event planning, recruiting and fundraising. Young Associates will have the option to join Junior Board committees that suit their particular interests, and will be encouraged to contribute a suggested $20 of annual membership dues, which are fully tax-deductible.

Click here to download the Valerie Fund Young Associates first ever April 2010 Newsletter!

Click here to download the VFYA March Madness Press Release

Junior Board

William Morel - Co- Chair
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Will has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund since his time as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley, where he began his career following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. Will currently works as an associate at Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a media-focused private equity firm located in New York City. In addition to co-chairing the newly-established Valerie Fund Junior Board and overseeing the development of the Valerie Fund Young Associate program, Will sits on the junior boards of the Chelsea Art Museum and the Elisa Monte Dance Company. He is incredibly enthusiastic about the VFJB and the VFYA program, and would love to hear from you if you or someone you know is interested in getting involved. He can be reached at wamorel@gmail.com or morelw@vss.com

J.C. Uva - Co-Chair
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A former Valerie Fund patient and current cancer survivor, JC has been involved with the Valerie Fund for over 10 years in various capacities, including as a member of the Thanksgiving Gala Committee and as a counselor at Camp Happy Times. JC is currently completing his MBA at NYU Stern and will be working in investment banking following graduation. Prior to NYU, he worked as an Account Executive in advertising sales at CNN for six years. JC can speak firsthand to the incredible services the Valerie Fund provides to children and is thrilled to be a part of this new venture for the organization. He can be reached at jcucnn@gmail.com

Steve Blum
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Steve is honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with the Junior Board in helping to support the Valerie Fund. Since 2007, he has been an Associate at the Two River Group, where his primary responsibilities have focused on helping to create and execute on development plans for a number of start-up biotechnology companies. Prior to Two River, Steve was a Director of Client Services from 2006 to 2007at ReputationDefender, an online reputation management company where he was the first employee. Steve received his Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A.S. in Biomedical Science from the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Melissa Drucker
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Melissa Drucker has been a supporter of the Valerie Fund since 2006 when she first volunteered to help organize the first CAREOKE for the Kids media charity event in NYC. The event, now in its fifth year, has raised over $400,000 for the Valerie Fund. Melissa attended George Washington University and is now the VP of National Advertising Sales at BBC America.

Caley Gray
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Caley first became aware of the Valerie Fund’s work after a close childhood friend fought and defeated cancer. Since that time, Caley has been an active supporter of the Valerie Fund, attending the annual Thanksgiving events and participating in the Valerie Fund’s 5k Run/Walks. Caley resides in Montclair with his fiancé and splits time between New Jersey and Washington, D.C. where he works as the communications director to a member of the United States Senate. Previous to his work in the Senate, Caley worked as a legislative aid and communications director to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Caley is excited to be a member of the Valerie Fund Junior Board and committed to helping advance the VF mission of supporting health care for children with cancer and blood disorders.

David Krupnick
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David has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund since joining Morgan Stanley as a Leveraged Finance analyst in 2006. Some of David’s fondest memories are from attending camp as a kid and he immediately connected with the Camp Happy Times effort. He attended Brown University where he was a member of both the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Varsity Squash team, graduating in 2006. David currently works in a corporate strategy effort for Morgan Stanley. David is excited to be a member of the Valerie Fund’s Junior Board and he looks forward to working towards its’ continued success. He can be reached at davidkrupnick@gmail.com

Phoebe Lapine
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Phoebe graduated from Brown University in 2007 with a B.A. in Urban Studies. Until August 2009, she worked as an assistant manager in global marketing at L’Oreal, first at Kiehl’s Since 1851, and later at Ralph Lauren Fragrances, where she managed new product development for the women’s category. In November of 2008, during a bout of professional apathy and creative frustration, Phoebe started the blog Big Girls, Small Kitchen—a food and recipe guide for twenty-something cooks looking for user-friendly, affordable ways to navigate their kitchens. The blog has recently spawned a book, Cara & Phoebe's Quarter-Life Kitchen, which will be published by HarperStudio, the imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, in May 2011 and will be geared toward young urban cooks challenged by the constraints of budget, space, skill, and time. Passionate about caring for all kids, big and small, Phoebe is extremely excited to join the VFJB and support this fantastic organization.

Cara Lewis
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Cara grew up in Cranford, NJ. She attended West Virginia University and graduated in 1999. She is a member of AOII sorority. Cara started working in Advertising in NYC when she graduated at The Media Edge as an assistant buyer on Glaxo Wellcome Pharmaceuticals. In 10 months she was promoted to buyer. After a year and a half, Cara changed agencies and went to work for TN Media. She was at TN media/Initiative (was bought in 2001) for 7 1/2 years, where she was promoted internally. Cara left Initative in August of 07 for another agency called MPG, where she was again promoted to VP, Account Director on the Sears account. She has been married for almost 7 years to her college boyfriend, and lives in Clifton, NJ. Cara is a 4 year breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed on Jan 9, 2006 and she is officially going on year 5!

Andrea Mangione
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Andrea became involved with The Valerie Fund when a loved one was diagnosed with cancer. She spent time in high school and college volunteering at various events and spreading awareness of the organization to my family and friends. Her love for children is what makes giving back to the Valerie Fund so easy. Following her graduation from Fairfield University in 2007, Andrea was selected to be a counselor at Camp Happy Times. Since then she has organized a fundraiser with her sister and fellow counselor called "Cheers To The Valerie Fund" and was the captain of "Team Kickin It For The Kids" at the Walkathon in 2009. Currently, Andrea is working as a preschool teacher for children with developmental disabilities and counting the days until her third summer at Camp Happy Times.

Justin Silver
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Justin is thrilled to be able to help support the Valerie Fund as a new member of the Junior Board. Since 2009, Justin has been working as an Operations Analyst for Morgan Stanley helping develop ways to monitor and reduce risk for the Settlements, Position Services, and Cash Management groups. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Justin graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Psychology. In addition, he spent his junior year studying abroad at University College London. Justin can be reached at Justin.P.Silver@gmail.com

Anthony Yoon
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Anthony graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, currently works as a Securities Analyst on the Global REITs team at Macquarie Bank, and has been an active supporter of The Valerie Fund as a member of the Junior Board since its inception. In addition to serving on the VFJB, Anthony serves as a mentor through iMentor, and volunteers through Animal Haven and NYCares. He is ecstatic about working as a VFYA coordinator and spreading awareness about the mission of the Valerie Fund. He can be contacted at ayoon617@gmail.com