JENNIFER HAMMERSTEIN
Co-President
Jennifer Hammerstein is an original member of the Only Make Believe board. Her background is in documentaries and children’s radio and television production. She is currently a producer and casting director in commercial photography, and a member of the Three Lakes Council of Lewisboro. Jennifer lives in South Salem, NY with her husband and three children.
Laura Angel-Lalanne
Treasurer
Laura Angel-Lalanne joined the Only Make Believe board in 2019. An attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel, she represents high-net-worth individual clients in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration, with an emphasis on charitable planning. Laura assists individual clients with the creation and administration of private foundations and advises both private foundations and individual donors with respect to charitable grants and gifts. Laura also advises educational institutions and other public charities, including many of the firm's pro bono clients, with respect to formation and recognition of tax-exempt status, board governance, policies and procedures, endowment administration and planned giving. Laura received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan. Laura and her husband, Luis, have one daughter and live in Rye Brook, New York.
Holly Fedorcik
Board Member
Holly Fedorcik has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition from New York University as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Elmira College. She worked in Education for over 10 years before working in the Nutrition field for The New York Road Runners. Since leaving the Nutrition field, the majority of her time has been spent raising her children. She sat on the Board of Trevor Day School (TDS) for 3 years and is still an active participant in the Parents Association at TDS. She has recently joined the Board of her residence as Head of the House Committee. Holly lives in New York City with her husband Mark and two children.
Ken Haller, MD
Board Member
Ken Haller, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. He is Past President of the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and he has served on the board of the Missouri Foundation for Health. He currently serves on the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis where he helped to create the new Arts and Healing Initiative to fund arts and medical organizations that utilize the arts to promote health and healing. He is also a writer, actor, and cabaret artist who has performed in cities including New York, San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago and has twice been named Best St. Louis Cabaret Artist by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He appears regularly in local and national media to advocate for child health, LGBTQ health issues, and the arts, and his special interests include expanding health care for marginalized communities, ameliorating toxic stress in children, and educating the medical community and the general public about cultural competency, health literacy, vaccine hesitancy, the relationship of medicine to the arts, the effects of media on children, and the special health needs of LGBTQ youth.
Achilles M. Perry
Board Member
Achilles M. Perry joined the OMB Board in 2022 inspired by its mission to bring joy to children through engaging with their imagination. Achilles is General Counsel (International) for CIBC Capital Markets. He joined CIBC in 2003 and became head of its US Legal team in 2007 and since then has taken on responsibility for managing legal support in Europe and APAC. He is the General Manager of CIBC’s New York Branch and a member of the Board of Directors of CIBC First Caribbean. Achilles attended Brandeis University for his undergraduate education and obtained his law degree at the Fordham University School of Law, where he is a member of the Board of the Alumni Association. Achilles lives in New York with his wife and son.
SALLY WHEELER MAIER
Co-President
Sally Wheeler Maier is an actor and producer in television, film and theater. Her company, Friend of a Friend Productions is engaged in the production of both documentary and narrative films. Ms. Maier is on the board of Wheeler Farms, Wheeler Companies, Boston Mining and Preservation of Natural Florida, and on the Board of Trustees at Queens University of Charlotte. She is a nationally ranked amateur competitor in the Arabian horse industry, and is an active volunteer with the children’s non-profit Brightening Birthdays as well as the PTA at her children’s schools. Sally lives with her husband Bill and their two young sons in New York City.
BRADLEY BUTWIN
Board Member
Brad is the Chair of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, an internationally acclaimed law firm now in its 132nd year. Under Brad’s leadership, O’Melveny has consistently ranked among the top 10 on “The American Lawyer’s ‘A-List’” and earned perennial honors in The American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year” competition. It was named “Best Firm to Work For” in Vault’s 2017 Law Firm Rankings.
A member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Brad serves on the boards of the Legal Aid Society, the Supreme Court Historical Society, the American Society of Legal Writers, and the New York State Bar’s Managing Partners Conference. He cofounded the Court Square Law Project, an innovative public-private collaboration that pairs recent law school graduates with clients of modest means to bring affordable legal representation to underserved communities. In recognition of his dedication to justice, Brad recently received the Human Relations award from the New York Lawyers Division of the Anti-Defamation League. Brad was also presented with the New York City Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award for his role in freeing a wrongly convicted man from Georgia’s death row. He and his wife, Randi, have four children.
Lara Flath
Board Member
Lara Flath joined the Only Make Believe board in 2023. She is a litigation partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom where she represents a wide variety of clients in complex, high-stakes commercial, securities, and antitrust litigation in courts throughout the country. Lara received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her law degree from the University of Chicago. In her spare time, she teaches as a Master Instructor at the Bar Method Brooklyn, a barre-based fitness studio. Lara lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two dogs.
Mirza Kafedzic
Board Member
Mirza Kafedzic joined Only Make Believe’s board in 2022. Knowing first hand that the power of imagination can help heal he was moved by Only Make Believe’s mission.
Mirza is a Managing Director at Mizuho Americas. He co-founded the Municipal Markets business, and serves as co-head of Municipal Financing. The group provides balance sheet financing to socially and environmentally impactful projects including affordable housing, charter schools, healthcare facilities and renewables. Mirza previously co-founded and was Chief Investment Officer of Dreadnought Capital Management, an investment firm focused on affordable housing. He started his career at Citigroup. Mirza received a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Florida. He also spent years training to become a Jedi Master.
SARAH ROSAND
Board Member
Sarah started volunteering with Only Make Believe in 2005 as a buddy at the Rusk Institute and joined the Board in 2009. Her diverse marketing and business background includes working in both the private and non-profit sectors, including owning a handbag company and developing the National Executive Service Corps’ first Seminar Series. Sarah grew up in Paris and Geneva and received her B.A. in Psychology and Art History from Cornell University.
David Travin
Board Member
David Travin is the General Counsel at PJT Partners, a global advisory-focused investment bank. Prior to joining PJT Partners, David was a member of the legal departments of both UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG. David received a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a J.D. from The George Washington University School of Law.
David joined the Only Make Believe Board in 2019, and has been an advocate of OMB since he hosted a Day 6 party in 2005 and was able to see first-hand the joy shared by the children, actors and volunteers. David and his wife have two children and live in Chappaqua, NY.
WASEEM NOOR
Secretary
Waseem Noor joined the Board of Only Make Believe in 2009. He previously was Vice President of Strategy & Portfolio Analysis at IMS Consulting Group where he supported global organizations as they addressed challenges in improving healthcare. He also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University. Dr. Noor holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Columbia University and an AB in economics from Stanford University.
JOE DIPIETRO
Board Member
Joe has been a board member since 2000. He is a playwright and probably best known for writing the book and lyrics to I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, the longest-running revue in New York history. Other works include the hit musical Memphis, co-written with Bon Jovi’s David Bryan, a much-produced comedy Over the River and Through the Woods, an Elvis Presley jukebox musical All Shook Up, and the Off-Broadway sensation The Toxic Avenger.
John Hardiman
Board Member
John Hardiman has practiced in Sullivan and Cromwell’s litigation department for almost 30 years, handling a wide array of litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters. Mr. Hardiman has led the Firm’s Merger and Acquisition-related litigation for a number of years, working on many high stakes contests for corporate control. He also has extensive experience handling regulatory investigations for the Firm’s broker-dealer and corporate clients, as well as standard commercial litigation. Mr. Hardiman joined the Only Make believe board in 2012.
Brad Oscar
Board Member
Brad has been involved with Only Make Believe for twenty years now, performing at almost every annual gala since 2001, and as an honorary board member since 2005. He is a two-time Tony nominee for his performances in “The Producers” and “Something Rotten!” and has also appeared on Broadway in “Jekyll & Hyde,” “Spamalot,” “The Addams Family,” “Big Fish” and the upcoming “Doubtfire.” His film and TV credits include “The Producers,” “Ghost Town,” “Madame Secretary,” “The Good Wife,” and, of course, several episodes of “Law and Order!” A graduate of Boston University, Brad is 2012 Lunt Fontaine Fellow and lives in New York City with his wonderful husband and longtime OMB acting company member, Diego Prieto.
Monica L. Spruill
Board Member
We are thrilled to announce the addition of Monica (Lewis) Spruill to Only Make Believe’s National Board! Monica, a Senior Marketing Director at Accenture, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization. As the Global Head of Marketing for Accenture's Strategy business, she is dedicated to helping companies achieve profitable growth through continuous reinvention. Additionally, Monica serves as the Global Head of Diversity, Development & Learning for Accenture Marketing + Communications, where she champions diversity and empowers professionals to excel in priority areas like Gen AI and data-driven decision making. Monica's impressive background of 25+ years, including her HBX Certificate of Strategy from Harvard University, MBA from Pace University's Lubin School of Business and BS in Marketing from Hampton University, makes her a valuable asset to our board. We are honored to have her join us in our mission to make a positive impact in the arts community.
