Desktop Manual Authors

Howard W. Buffett

Adjunct Associate Professor and Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs

Howard W. Buffett is an adjunct Associate Professor and Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. His award-winning research, Social Value Investing: A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships (Columbia University Press, 2018), analyzes innovative collaborations from across sectors and outlines a new methodology to measure social and environmental impact called Impact Rate of Return.

Before joining Columbia's faculty, Buffett was the Executive Director of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which distributes over $150 million annually to strengthen food security for vulnerable populations throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He coauthored the New York Times best-seller 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World (Simon & Schuster, 2013), which examines the foundation’s work to address global hunger and food systems challenges.

Prior to that, Buffett oversaw economic stabilization and redevelopment programs in Afghanistan and Iraq while at the U.S. Department of Defense. For his work in Afghanistan he received the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award. Buffett also served as a Policy Advisor for the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he coauthored the president’s cross-sector partnership strategy. He also managed the White House Partnerships for Innovation interagency working group. Before joining the White House, Buffett was a member of the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform policy working group for the 2008-09 Presidential Transition Team.

Buffett earned a BS from Northwestern University, an MPA in Advanced Management and Finance from Columbia University, and executive education certificates from Harvard Business School. He was a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he serves on a number of corporate boards and advisory boards, including Case New Holland Industrial (NYSE:CNHI), and Toyota Motor North America (NYSE:TM). He also chairs the Advisory Council for Harvard University’s International Negotiation Program.

John Holdsclaw, IV

Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, National Cooperative Bank

John Holdsclaw IV serves as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the National Cooperative Bank (NCB) located in Washington, DC. John is charged with establishing NCB as a thought leader in community development and cooperative expansion that leads to business development and solutions.

Prior to coming to NCB, John worked as Director of Policy and Development at Capital Impact Partners, a national certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), where he developed and implemented the organization’s public policy strategy.

He currently serves as the Board Chair of the National Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions and serves on the boards of Self Help Venture Fund, Charleston LDC, Global Communities, and the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking. In 2019, John received NCB’s Stanley W. Dreyer Spirit of Cooperation Award, bestowed annually to those who live and work with the spirit of cooperative principles. In addition, John is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University, a diploma from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and a Wharton School Leadership Certificate and a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Rob Lalka

Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and Executive Director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Robert T. Lalka is the Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and Executive Director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 

From 2008 to 2012, he served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships and was on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff.  Among other honors he received for his service, he was recognized with the State Department’s Superior Honor Award with specific commendation for “leadership in the creation of the Department’s Policy Framework and Legal Guidelines for Partnerships.”

Lalka moved to New Orleans from Washington, DC, where he was a director at Village Capital and a senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Lalka currently serves on the boards of Public Democracy, Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and Venture For America in New Orleans. In both 2019 and 2020, he received the A.B. Freeman School’s Excellence in Intellectual Contributions Award.
Lalka graduated from Yale University, cum laude with distinction in both history and English, and he holds his master’s degree in global public policy from Duke University.

Kate Yoo McCrery

Editor and Contributing Author

Kate Yoo McCrery is the Editor of the Desktop Manual and also a contributing author. In her dayjob, she is also the Director of Programs for digitalundivided.

Originally hailing from the New Orleans area, Kate was a Fulbright Scholar in Germany and taught high school students in Busan, South Korea. Previously, she was with Echoing Green, produced a TEDx event in New York City, and served as a consultant to various USAID and UNICEF projects in Pakistan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mongolia, and Korea. Kate also served as the first Global Communications Director for Village Capital, a Washington DC-based impact investment fund and global accelerator.

Prior to digitalundivided, Kate was the Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Interim Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development at Loyola University New Orleans. She received her BA from Wesleyan University and graduated from Columbia University with an MA in International Educational Development.

Mark Newberg

President, Stockbridge Advisors

Mark Newberg is the President of Stockbridge Advisors, founding the firm to build on his decade of experience in the Impact Economy.

Over that decade Mark has led Impact and ESG-related initiatives in both the public and private sector. His work has ranged from for-profit strategy development for fast-growing businesses, to Federal policy creation, to disaster recovery, and beyond. He is also responsible for creating the Simple Vetting Process, an approach to problem-solving that simplifies identification and integration of Impact opportunities into clients’ core business models.

Mark serves as a Project Fellow for Opportunity Zones at the Beeck Center at Georgetown, a Special Advisor to SOLVE at MIT, an Industry Champion for Social Impact at MassChallenge, and a judge for the Louisiana Startup Prize. He’s also an occasional contributor to Forbes and the Huffington Post, generally focused on impact, innovation, and business.

Prior to founding Stockbridge Advisors, Mark served as Director of Impact Strategies for a transatlantic law firm, Deputy Director of the Global Innovation Summit, a Senior Policy Advisor at the US Small Business Administration, and a Post-Katrina Advisor to the New Orleans City Council.

Mark holds a BA from Tulane University, a JD from Tulane Law School, and was a Visiting Student at Harvard Law School.

Jade Nikaylah Williams

Visual Architect

Jade is a groundbreaking model, featured designer, and spiritual guide whose work revolves around the essential reminder that we are infinite beings living a human experience. 

She began her college career studying fashion design at the prestigious SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). She finished her studies at Howard University, completing her BFA in Design & Visual Communication while launching her modeling career. Jade has been featured in global campaigns and editorials for Fenty Beauty, CoverGirl, GAP, The Cut Mag, and much more.

Her design experience consists of brand development, logo design, illustration, social media marketing, and more. Over the course of 5 years, she has designed for Digital Undivided, The Skillman Foundation, BrownGirlsLove, SDOT Beauty, Black Women at Work, and other trailblazing brands. 

Through her creative work and digital presence, she influences culture through consciousness, creativity, and purpose. She encourages the practice of awakening the power we all hold within ourselves.