Brian Banner
Co-Founder of MVK of Greater Atlanta. Brian has lived in Atlanta since enrolling at Georgia Tech in 1987. With his degree in Electrical Engineering Brian worked his way up the ranks at Inglett & Stubbs Electrical Construction for 22 years. For the past two years Brian has been a consultant to data center clients. Outside of work, Brian is active with coaching his kids' basketball and robotics teams, the Temple, JELF finance committee, and the Zeta chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi - New House steering committee. Brian lives in Atlanta with his wife Susan and three children, and attends as many Georgia Tech sporting events as time allows.
Susan Banner
Co-founder of Most Valuable Kids of Greater Atlanta. Since moving to Atlanta in 1995 from Memphis, Susan has been actively involved in the community. In addition to co-founding MVK of Greater Atlanta, Susan serves on the board of the Zaban Paradies Center, a shelter serving homeless couples. Susan is also very involved in her children’s school, Sarah Smith Elementary, and served as treasurer of its Foundation for three years. Susan has also served on the board of trustees for The Temple and on the board of the Midtown Assistance Center. Professionally, Susan was the Director of Finance for The Winter Properties, the Director of Investor Relations and Treasury for Post Properties and a Senior Tax Associate for Deloitte. Susan is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Tennessee. Susan holds her BBA from The University of Wisconsin in Madison and a MPA in Taxation from the University of Texas in Austin. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Brian, and their three children.
Harold Berger
Harold Berger is a practicing CPA, and has operated his own practice since 2003. Prior to that, Harold was an equity partner for over 11 years at a large Public Accounting firm in Atlanta. Harold holds his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and a Masters in Professional Accounting degree with an emphasis in Taxation from the University of Texas in Austin. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Harold's involvement in the community currently includes serving as a Board Member of the Atlanta Group Home Foundation, Inc., a member of the Finance Committee of the Jewish Educational Loan Fund, Inc. (JELF) as well as Secretary of the Holly Lane Foundation, Inc. In the past three decades, Harold has served as a Board Member and Treasurer for JELF, a Board Member and Treasury for Positive Impact, Inc. as well as a volunteer positions with Hands on Atlanta, Inc., American Red Cross and various other organizations. Harold and his wife, Sally, live with their three children, in Sandy Springs.
Elaine Rosenblum
Founder and Chief Articulation Officer of ProForm U®, Elaine Rosenblum is an entrepreneur and visionary at heart. Foreseeing the impact of technology on communication skills, in 2001 she founded Courageous Conversation. As part of a second entrepreneurial adventure, five years later, she co-founded Access Test Prep & Tutoring. Elaine now teaches collaborative communication and negotiation skills not only to professionals at all levels but also to budding professionals, including students preparing for college and job interviews. Across careers as an entrepreneur, attorney, teacher and marketer, Elaine acquired deep experience working at and consulting for corporate organizations from start-ups to Wall Street.Elaine is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a B.S. in Advertising in the College of Communications, and of Cardozo School of Law in New York City; she also completed Harvard Law School’s Advanced Negotiation Program for Lawyers. Elaine is a member of the New York State bar and is an expert in collaborative negotiation and alternative dispute resolution in the corporate environment.Elaine is a trustee for The Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta and on the Board of Most Valuable Kids of Greater Atlanta. Elaine lives in Atlanta with her husband, Charles, and their son.
Russ Belin
Russ Belin is the Vice President, South Region for Broadway Across America, the foremost market leader for live touring theatre in North America. A veteran in the entertainment field, Belin has more than 20 years of experience in entertainment sales and marketing. He oversees all aspects of the Broadway in Atlanta series at the Fox Theatre, bringing the best musicals direct from New York to Peachtree Street. Before joining Broadway Across America, he spent 14 years at Feld Entertainment, most recently as a regional Vice President for Feld, where he worked with premier touring productions, such as Disney On Ice, Monster Jam and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in the Southeast region. A Baltimore-area native, Belin earned a bachelor's degree from Towson University, where he studied sports management. He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Peachtree Corners with their two sons. Belin is honored to serve on the Board of Directors for Most Valuable Kids in Atlanta, as he is passionate about introducing the next generation to the magic of live entertainment.
Zachary Elfenbein
Zachary (Zak) currently serves as the Athletic Director at the MJCCA. Prior to moving to Atlanta, Zak attended the University of Florida where he received both his undergraduate and master's degree, while serving as a Graduate Assistant for the Florida Gators Men's Basketball team.
Born and raised in Miami, Zak has been involved in sports his entire life and is passionate about providing meaningful sports experiences for young people.
Jeff Eiseman
Jeff is President of Agon Sports & Entertainment. Jeff and his partners formed Agon Sports & Entertainment as an acquisition and management arm to sports and entertainment properties. The company owns and operates the Augusta GreenJackets and Boise Hawks as well as two music venues, the iconic Georgia Theatre (Athens, GA) and the Variety Playhouse (Atlanta, GA). As part of his responsibilities, Eiseman oversees the business operations of both the Augusta GreenJackets and the Boise Hawks.
Jeff holds Bachelors in Sports Management from the University of Maryland, and has had the honor of being recognized with numerous awards such as, Executive of Year honors, Larry MacPhail Promotional Award, John H. Johnson President’s Trophy, Bob Freitas Award for Outstanding Minor League Operations, Baltimore's "Top 40 under 40" by the Baltimore Business Journal.
Michael Luscher
Michael has two decades of sports marketing, licensing, sponsorship and media sales experience at the NFL, Major League Baseball and most recently, leading a sports technology start-up to profitability. He is a third-generation "garmento" whose founding and leadership of POINT 3 has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Men’s Fitness and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Michael still takes charges in his Monday night rec league games. Michael lives in Atlanta with his wife and two daughters.
Cecile Prager
Cecile Prager has worked in the field of education for over forty years. She taught school in Atlanta and Memphis for eighteen years. She then worked as a program developer for Memphis Partners, a nonprofit started by Holiday Inn. She developed and ran programs for at risk middle school and high school students. Since moving to Atlanta 12 years ago, Cecile has taught in the La Amistad program for Hispanic students at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. She has also worked as a reading instructor at Sarah Smith Elementary and as religious school teacher at The Temple.
Jennifer Rosenfeld
Jennifer Rosenfeld is originally from Connecticut and graduated from Emory University with a BA in mathematics and economics. Jennifer spent 15 years as a software consultant in the utility industry. She and her husband are founding board members of the Appalachian Children’s Emergency Shelter in North Georgia. She currently serves as a Board of Director for the Ahava preschool in Atlanta.
She is also an outreach coordinator for providing meals bi-monthly to the Zaban Couples Shelter. Jennifer lives in Atlanta with her husband Joel and their two daughters. They spend some of their free time watching their daughter play soccer on weekends, and are fans of USA Women and Atlanta United Soccer teams, as well as Georgia Tech basketball and football teams.
Jenna Shafer
Jenna is the Assistant, Corporate Social Responsibility for the Atlanta Hawks. While she was born in Cleveland, OH, she has resided in the Atlanta area since 2001 and proudly calls Atlanta home. She received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sport Management from Georgia Southern University in 2016. Through the various jobs and internships she has held with the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Braves, the PGA TOUR, Erie SeaWolves and many others, she has established a strong network within the sports world. She is passionate about building strong foundations for youth to have access to the same opportunities she did and serves as mentor for College For Every Student at Brown Middle School.
Michael Schiff
A resident of Atlanta since 1996, Michael Schiff has been with Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta since 2004. He experienced immediate success as a Realtor and was honored as the 2005 Rookie of the Year for the Southeast Region of Keller Williams. Michael’s role on the team is to represent all of the Buyer clients. Building upon his sales background in minor league baseball and textiles, he earned a reputation as an expert negotiator, bringing numerous transactions to successful completion. In addition to securing desirable homes at excellent prices, Michael provides long-term strategic planning services to his clients. In addition to spending time with Leigh and his daughters, Eden and Alexandra, Michael enjoys playing golf and ice hockey. Michael graduated from the University of Michigan (B.A. 1990) and is an avid supporter of Michigan athletics.
Denise Smith
A PMP certified Senior Project Management professional, whose experience and expertise spans over 16 years with a focus on all project stages, including business development, project estimating, requirements determination, gap analysis, business process reengineering, issue resolution, configuration, custom code specifications, testing, training and post implementation support. Denise graduated from Spelman College with Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. She also earned her MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Information Technology). Denise serves as a Young Professional Leader (YPL) for United Way of Greater Atlanta.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Jay Cohen
Jay is the founding partner of Monterey Wealth. Jay has a diverse background that includes corporate finance, taxation, accounting, investment analysis, and executive benefits consulting. He has a Masters degree in taxation from The University of Texas, is a licensed CPA in the state of Georgia, and has obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. Jay is a member of PEAK, a national coaching organization dedicated to helping other top financial advisors grow and manage leading financial management firms. Jay is married, has two sons, lives in Sandy Springs, & enjoys coaching baseball at Morgan Falls. He is involved in a number of organizations serving as Bama for Business – Atlanta – President, Men’s Health & Wellness Center – Board Member, Quality Care for Children – Finance Committee Member, and Signature Bank of Georgia – Advisory Board Member.
Patricia Garrett
Patricia “Patsy” Garrett, an Atlanta-native, is a Team Financial Advisor for The Garrett Group at Merrill Lynch. Patsy earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and History from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She currently lives in Midtown, Atlanta and enjoys spending time with her nephew, Aiden, cooking with her friends and family, and practicing yoga in Piedmont Park. She is passionate about helping the Atlanta community through her philanthropic outreach by participating in various organizations such as the Alliance Theatre Advisory Board, Young Professional Leaders of United Way, The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational, Supporting Adoptive Foster Families Together (SAFFT) and Next Generation Women.
