Team

John Simon, Board Chair and Co-Founder

jsimon@greenlightfund.org
In 2003, John conceived of the GreenLight Fund after successful early careers as an entrepreneur and investor in both the business and nonprofit worlds.

As Co-Founder and Board Chair, John is an active leader in the strategic direction of the GreenLight Fund as well as fund development. John brings his ties to the business, particularly entrepreneurial, world to draw the involvement of entrepreneurs and private sector investors in the GreenLight Fund and its portfolio organizations.

John is a Managing Director of venture capital firm General Catalyst 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 B.A .from Harvard University and an M.A. from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Margaret Hall, Executive Director and Co-Founder

mhall@greenlightfund.org, 617-252-2570
As Co-Founder and Executive Director, Margaret is responsible for strategic planning and overall operation of the GreenLight Fund. She leads the process to identify promising social innovations, conduct due diligence on final candidates, and select GreenLight portfolio organizations. She serves on the Boston Boards of portfolio organizations and oversees efforts to provide them with strategic assistance.

Margaret has 20 years of experience in senior management roles and Board roles in the nonprofit sector. Before co-founding the GreenLight Fund with John Simon, Margaret was a Fellow at the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Prior to that, 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.

Margaret’s volunteer involvement has focused on helping people find meaningful ways to make a difference in their communities. She chaired the Boards of CityCares (now Hands On Network) and Hands On Atlanta and served on the Board of Boston Cares.

Margaret earned an M.P.A. at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. from the University of Georgia. She is a member of the Lead Boston class of 2005.

Julie Babyatzky, Development and Operations Associate
Julie@greenlightfund.org, 617-252-3235
As the GreenLight Fund’s Development and Operations Associate, Julie is responsible for supporting the Director of Partnerships in all development and fund-raising efforts, including GreenLight events and donor relations. She also coordinates day-to-day internal operations including financial management, benefits administration and office management, edits GreenLight’s e-newletter and social media outlets, and works on special communications projects.

Prior to joining the GreenLight team Julie was the Communications Assistant at Root Cause. She is an active Boston Cares volunteer and has worked at nonprofit organizations in Boston, New York, and South Africa. She graduated from Northeastern University in 2011 with a B.A. in Sociology.

Matt Joyce, Executive Director, GreenLight Philadelphia

mjoyce@greenlightfund.org, 267-973-0043
As Executive Director of GreenLight Philadelphia, Matt is responsible for leading the Philadelphia operations and selection cycle. This includes working with the local selection advisory committee to identify critical needs, researching and engaging innovative organizations from around the country, and ensuring the successful replication and implementation of selected models in Philadelphia. Additionally, Matt works with foundations, private sector leaders, and committed supporters to continuously grow GreenLight’s capacity for impact in Philadelphia.

Matt brings to GreenLight a background in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management in Philadelphia. He served as a founder and co-executive director of Philly Fellows – a service and leadership program connecting top college graduates to capacity building positions in Philadelphia’s nonprofit sector. Additionally, he has worked with the William Penn Foundation and the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness.

Matt serves on the board of Broad Street Ministry and previously was co-president of Philadelphia Young Nonprofit Leaders’ board of organizers.

Matt earned an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2010, where he was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, and received a B.A. from Haverford College.