Board & Staff

Teresa Heinz is Chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation and Chair Emeritus of The Heinz Endowments. She founded the Heinz Awards, an annual program recognizing outstanding vision and achievement in areas including the arts, the economy and the environment.

André Heinz is a venture partner at Obvious Ventures, was a co-founder and general partner for Sustainable Technologies Associates LP, and co-founded and managed the Sustainable Technologies Fund, the first Nordic focused cleantech venture fund. He has served on the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, and The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, which sought to bring researchers, environmentalists and business leaders together to jointly address society’s most pressing environmental challenges. André Heinz is Chairman of the Board of The Heinz Endowments, with the core mission of fostering equity and the promotion of a more just community with a focus on three main areas of giving: Sustainability, Creativity and Learning. André received a Bachelors (BA) in English from Georgetown University, Masters of Environmental Management (MEM) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is a member of the Yale FES Leadership Council.

Elissa Brown is a documentary filmmaker with a particular interest in social and environmental issues and the arts. Elissa’s producing credits include the feature documentaries By the People: The Election of Barack Obama and Vessel. In 2016 she directed, produced and edited Windshield: A Vanished Vision, and over the past decade she has produced videos about sixty-four Heinz Award recipients. Elissa is also an active member of several environmental and community organizations in Montana and New Zealand. She earned her B.A. from Brown University with a concentration in Urban Studies.

Alison M. Byers, Psy.D., is an Executive Coach and Leadership Development Consultant. She uses her clinical training as a psychologist to inform her work in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, uniquely blending psychology, coaching and business acumen to empower leaders and help organizations thrive. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Professor and supervisor for doctoral psychology students at Long Island University and serves on the Board of the Richard King Mellon Foundation and on the Board of Stonybrook Eastern Long Island Hospital Foundation.

Ronald Davenport is Chairman of Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation and a former Dean of the Duquesne University School of Law. In addition, Mr. Davenport served as a member of the President's Commission on White House Fellowships and on the National Board of the United States Chamber of Commerce, as well as several civic and corporate boards. He is also a former member of the National Urban League Board of Directors and past president of the Urban League of Pittsburgh.

Arie Kopelman is Vice Chair (and former President) of Chanel, Inc. Before joining Chanel, Mr. Kopelman was the Vice Chairman and General Manager of Doyle, Dane, Bernbach. He has served on the boards of many civic organizations including the Nantucket Historical Association (Past President), East Side House Settlement, Municipal Art Society, New York City Ballet, and Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School.

Wendy Mackenzie is the step-sister of John Heinz. Born in London, she came to America in 1948. She graduated from Radcliffe College; attended Carnegie Tech Drama School, (now a department within Carnegie Mellon University); and received a Master of Arts in social anthropology from Columbia University. When her children were young, she worked in the theater as an actress and casting director, and as a consultant in public relations and public affairs. In 1974, after Roe v Wade was decided, she joined the staff of Planned Parenthood of New York City, later becoming a board member and board chair. For over thirty years, she ran a nonpartisan, pro-choice pac for New York State, and was a long-time board member of the bipartisan Women’s Campaign Fund, the national Planned Parenthood pac, as well as the national NARAL Foundation. She is now on the board of She Should Run, a not-for-profit nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected office, and providing them with on-line training.

Mrs. Smith, a practicing attorney, taught telecommunications and Internet law at the University of Wisconsin Law School from 1991 to 2010, and served as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association Publications Committee from 2001 to 2006. Mrs. Smith also served with the Wisconsin Governor's Blue Ribbon Telecommunications Infrastructure Task Force and the U.S. State Department's Advisory Panel on International Telecommunications Law. Formerly a partner in a Washington, D.C. law firm, Mrs. Smith has been a member of Leadership Greater Washington, and served on the boards of such organizations as The National Cathedral, the Beauvoir School and the Beloit College Museums Project.

Dr. Stebbins earned both a law degree and a doctorate in art history from Harvard University. Recognized as one of the foremost authorities on American Art, he has served as curator at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, and has taught at Yale, Boston University, and Harvard. He is the author of over seventy-five books, exhibition catalogues, and scholarly articles on all aspects of American art. Dr. Stebbins was a schoolmate of John Heinz at both Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University and they each served as best man at one another’s wedding.