Our Thought Leaders

School Ventures boasts a formidable group of thought-leaders who both inspire the company's work and provide valuable advice and creativity. They include:

Tom Bird
Tom Bird is founder and president of the venture partnership Farm Capital Services, LLC. He was CEO of Farm, Inc. from 1988 until 1999, operating a venture-backed Silicon Valley information management firm that eventually provided data storage and retrieval services for more than one thousand clients. Tom is chairman of the GlobalGiving Foundation, a trustee of the American University in Bulgaria, and an advisor to the Schooner Foundation. He is on the board of Microfinance International Corp, and B Lab. Tom did his undergraduate work at Dartmouth College, and then went on to earn an MBA from Stanford University and a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University. He frequently teaches a workshop at Stanford that captures the essence of the Divinity School experience for interested MBA students.

Bill Milliken
Bill Milliken is Founder of Communities in Schools, the leading community-based organization in the USA helping children succeed in school and prepare for life (www.cisnet.org). For 25 years Communities In Schools has championed the connection of needed community resources with schools. By bringing caring adults into the schools to address the children’s unmet needs, Communities In Schools provides the link between educators and the community. Mr. Milliken, who founded Communities In Schools in 1977, is one of the most successful and respected youth advocates in the U.S. Milliken serves on the board of Leadership Foundations of America. He is the author of three books, “So Long, Sweet Jesus,” “Tough Love” and “The Last Dropout”.

Brendon Moyo
Brendon Moyo was formerly a Consultant in the Finance and Administrative Division of the Legal Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunis, Tunisia. Prior to AfDB, Mr. Moyo served as Business Compliance Manager at Kingdom Zephyr, a private equity firm in Washington DC, and as Company Secretary for Kingdom Financial Holdings, Legal Department Manager at Zimbabwe Banking Corporation, and Associate at McNaught Wickwar Legal Practitioners, all in Harare, Zimbabwe. Brendon has an LL.B from the University of Zimbabwe, an MBA in Financial Studies from the University of Nottingham, and LL.M in Commercial Law from the University of South Africa, and an LL.M in International Business Law from American Univerisity, Washington DC.

Peter Woicke
Peter Woicke was most recently a Managing Director for the World Bank Group and Chief Executive Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Before joining IFC, Mr. Woicke held numerous senior level positions over nearly 30 years with J.P. Morgan. His career in international finance includes leadership positions in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and New York. Mr. Woicke was a member of J.P. Morgan’s executive management group. Mr. Woicke is a member of the board of directors of the International Youth Foundation (www.iyfnet.org)