Board of Directors
Sonali Dalal (Co-Chair Finance Committee)
Sonali Dalal (co-chair Finance Committee) holds an Undergraduate degree from Bombay University, India and MBA in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University. Sonali is a Chartered Accountant (CPA equivalent) and is CFA Charter holder.
Sonali is Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. Previously she worked in the Office of Investment Management at The Pennsylvania State University in for 19 years where she worked in various investment roles including Deputy Chief Investment Officer. Sonali worked as a manager with the Overseas Investment Finance Group at the Export & Import Bank of India. Sonali also serves as a member of The American Baptist Home Mission Societies’; Investment Advisory Council. Sonali lives in Minnesota, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”.
Anju Jain (Chair)
Anju Jain holds a PhD in Human Development from The Pennsylvania State University.
Anju is a senior psychologist, global HR leader, consultant and book author. She is the former chief human resources officer at Fermilab where she led a team in supporting the lab’s workforce needs, modernizing business processes, and ensuring Fermilab’s mission success. Anju enjoyed a long tenure at Caterpillar and has experience in designing and executing global people strategies. She previously served as the head of HR for Caterpillar India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), focusing on optimizing workforce and organization performance in the region.
In addition, she has industry experience with Avon and Kraft Foods. Anju is also a member of the Leadership Group, which is a network of C-suite executives that pay it forward for CFO’s, COO’s and CHRO’s during employment transitions and beyond.
Anju joined Almost Home Kids (AHK) Board of Directors in the fall of 2023 after serving on its President’s Advisory Council in Naperville and AHK’s Strategic Advisory Council since 2022.
Anju lives in Naperville, Illinois.
Ariel Novak
Ariel Novak is a graduate of Bates College, Lewiston, ME
Ariel is Vice President at Boston-based integrated marketing agency PAN, where she leads client strategy for B2B tech clients and runs the firm's cybersecurity practice. She has been with PAN for 14 years and has 18 years of agency experience. Ariel began her career as a newspaper reporter. Her passion for content writing and compelling storytelling is evident in her award-winning campaigns helping clients to build strong narratives and increase brand visibility.
Ariel has remained active in the Bates community and was a member of the Steering Committee of the Boston Bates Business Network for six years prior to returning to Maine.
Ariel lives in Scarborough, Maine.
Richard Ramsay
Richard Ramsay holds a BS degree from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.
Rick is a Systems Developer in The Pennsylvania State University, Information Technology (IT) area in the department of Enterprise Systems and Services. He has worked in the higher education information technology field for the last 28 years in several different roles including IT manager. His focus has been with student systems, primarily in the Bursar and Financial Aid areas. Prior to that, he worked for a few years in the biotech industry as a programmer/analyst. His experience includes design and implementation of custom software for students and staff as well as the implementation of both cloud-based and on-premises vendor products.
Jayashree (Jay) Sonti (Co-Founder)
Jayashree Sonti holds a B.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Higher Ed. Administration and Post-Graduate Certificate in Family Literacy from The Pennsylvania State University.
Jay worked for twenty years at The Pennsylvania State University in various departments, including endowment accounting. Nine of those years were in the Office of Investment Management as the Director of Investment Operations and Chief Operating Officer. Jay retired in 2016. After few years hiatus, Jay co-founded Early Math and Language Initiative (EMLI). Jay lives in Cumberland, Maine.
Elizabeth Standen
Elizabeth Standen holds a BA degree in Early Childhood with a focus on educating children with special needs from Tufts University, Boston, MA.
Since graduating, Elizabeth has been a kindergarten teacher in Cambridge Mass, a first-grade teacher at Breakwater School in Portland ME, a preschool teacher in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She is certified in developmental testing and worked as Director at a Montessori School in Falmouth Maine.
She served on the Freeport School Board for 6 years, and on multiple building committees, planning for and guiding the construction of new schools in Freeport. While volunteering in Brunswick and Freeport , she mentored children struggling in academic settings and also supported teen Moms in developing positive parenting skills. Just recently, Elizabeth retired as a Co Executive Director of the Frank Foundation, which operates a residential boys’ camp in western Maine.
Elizabeth lives in Freeport, Maine.
Luke Swinford
Luke Swinford holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
Luke is a Senior Analyst on the Investment Fund Services team within the Investments department of Howard Hughes Medical Institute's endowment. He has worked in Investment Operations for the last 18 years supporting accounting, treasury, and investment performance measurement specifically for non-profit organizations in healthcare and higher education.
Luke lives in Washington, DC.
Bonnie Walstrom (Acting Treasurer)
Bonnie Walstrom holds a B.S. in Mathematics, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC and M.Ed. in Math Education from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Bonnie worked for fifteen years in the classroom teaching math to students, ages 5-15, but mostly as a middle-school math teacher and curriculum planner/department head. (Burgundy Country Day, Alexandria, VA; Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C.). She worked for seven years as an instructional designer and computer trainer at the U.S. Senate. Bonnie also worked for five years as an editorial project manager in educational publishing. (Time-Life Books and others). Other related employment experiences: Computer programmer in academic environments; GED math tutor; freelance math tutor; and math curriculum designer for a special year-long, grant-funded project in Delaware. She is currently retired and serves as board member of a condominium association. Bonnie lives in Cumberland, Maine.