Team

John Simon, Board Chair and Co-Founder

jsimon@greenlightfund.org
John is an entrepreneur in both the nonprofit and for-profit worlds. He is a Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners where he invests in both new and existing technology businesses. He was Founder, Chairman and CEO of UroMed Corporation, a start-up, which merged to form Alliant Medical Technologies. John is currently a board member of BzzAgent Inc., go2Media, GTESS Corporation, Hands-On Mobile, Inc., JumpTap, Maven Networks, Inc., MocoSpace, OutStart, Inc., QuickPlay Media, Inc., SignalDemand, Inc., and Vette Corp., which are all active General Catalyst investments. In the nonprofit sector John is co-founder of The Steppingstone Foundation in Boston and founder of KEEN, based at Oxford University in England. John earned a BA from Harvard University and an MA from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Margaret Hall, Executive Director and Co-Founder

mhall@greenlightfund.org, 617-252-2570
Margaret has more than 15 years experience in senior management positions in the nonprofit sector. Prior to this position, she served as Associate Director of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, a statewide organization that supports the nonprofit sector through capacity building, research and advocacy. She has served on several nonprofit Boards of Directors and chaired the Boards of CityCares (now Hands On Network) and Hands On Atlanta. She currently serves on the Board of Boston Cares and is a member of the Lead Boston class of 2005. Margaret earned an MPA at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and completed a fellowship at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.

Melanie Damsker, Director of Special Events and Outreach
mdamsker@greenlightfund.org, 617-252-2815
Melanie served as Manager of Special Events and Programs at the Boston Public Library Foundation (BPLF) prior to joining the GreenLight team. While there, she directed a variety of fundraising and children’s events and coordinated the BPLF’s Young Professional group. Melanie brings her passion for connecting people and organizations to build a better Boston through the GreenLight Fund. In addition to her involvement with Friends of the Children, Raising A Reader, Peer Health Exchange, and Youth Villages she continues to support the Boston Public Library. Melanie holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Kate Fitzgerald, Communications and Operations Coordinator
kfitzgerald@greenlightfund.org, 617-252-3235
Prior to joining the GreenLight Team, Kate lived in Denver, Colorado where she worked in customer service and sales at Harrow Sports. This past Spring she was head coach of the junior varsity girls lacrosse team at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. She graduated from Colorado College in 2007 with a BA in History and was Captain of Colorado's winning lacrosse team. She studied and traveled in several countries during college, including Ireland, Spain, England, and Mexico. She also found time to write for Colorado College's newspaper, The Catalyst and volunteer as a mentor with the Roots and Shoots program in the Colorado Springs schools. Kate is thrilled to return to the Boston community and help to build a better Boston for all.