Daryl Fox

Chairman

Daryl Fox is currently vice-president of STEM at Macmillan. He has spent the past thirty years in publishing — acquiring, developing, marketing, and managing digital and print content used by students around the world.

Mr. Fox began his editorial career as the Economics Editor at Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich and then published extensively in the Sciences at Pearson. He went on to numerous executive management roles.

He holds degrees from Miami University, Southern Methodist University, and the London School of Economics.

He lives and works in New York City.

William J. Gedale

Director

William J. Gedale is a Senior Advisor and co-founder of NGN Capital. He has been in the investment business since 1965. He joined NGN from Mount Everest Advisors, which he founded in 1996.

Mr. Gedale holds an M.B.A. from New York University, a J.D. from Fordham Law School, and an A.B. from Syracuse University.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of PIN Pharma and previously served on the Board of Directors of KIKA Medical Inc., acquired by Merge Healthcare, and BioArray Solutions, acquired by Immucor.

He and his wife live in Greenwich, CT. 

Peter Jovanovich

Director

Since 1972, Peter Jovanovich has worked in the field of book publishing. Right after college, he went to work at Macmillan as a college textbook salesman. He quickly rose to become head of the Trade Department and vice-president. He went on to serve as President of Academic Press in London.

Returning to the United States, he became a vice-president of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, then President and CEO. When the company was sold in 1992, Mr. Jovanovich moved to Macmillian/McGraw Hill School Publishing, of which he became CEO. 

In 1997, he was hired by Pearson to head Addison Wesley. When Pearson acquired Simon & Schuster, Mr. Jovanovich became Chairman and CEO of Pearson Education, the world's largest educational publisher. 

Now retired, he works as a consultant for companies looking to invest in book publishing. He is a director of The Learning Lab, an after-school enrichment program based in Singapore.

He served as Chairman of the Association of American Publishers. Since 1986, he has been a director of the Alfred Harcourt Foundation. A longtime resident of Rye, N.Y., he served on the City Council and on the board of the Rye Nature Center. 

He is a graduate of Princeton University, from which he received a degree in English. 

Robin Thrush Jovanovich

President

For the last 20 years, Ms. Jovanovich has worked at The Rye Record, a community newspaper in Rye, N.Y., serving as a contributing writer and photographer, before becoming editor and publisher. She has covered the news, helped nonprofit organizations promote their missions, and highlighted the good work of many. 

She began her career in newspaper and magazine publishing at Time Inc. in 1972, and went on to become an editor at The Westport News, Family Weekly, Good Housekeeping, and Self. Over the years, she has interviewed presidential candidates, authors, actors, self-help gurus, and leaders of houses of worship. She is also the author of a young adult mystery. 

While a board member of Francis Parker School in San Diego, she made finding and supporting scholarship students her mission. When head of the deacons at Rye Presbyterian Church, she helped expand their community outreach. As a longtime board member of the Rye Free Reading Room, she raised funds through an annual book sale and donated children's books to New York City shelters. 

She is currently a board member of 5 Steps to Five in Port Chester, NY, an educational initiative for new mothers.  

A graduate of Skidmore College, with a Bachelor's degree in American Studies, she has taken fiction writing classes at SUNY Purchase. 

Cynthia Winston-Proctor

Director

Dr. Winston-Proctor is a narrative personality psychologist and professor at Howard University where she conducts research on the psychology of success within lives.  

A member of the Editorial Board of the American Psychological Association journal, Qualitative Psychology, she is also President of the Society of STEM Women of Color, and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.  

She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Psychology from Howard University.

Dr. Winston-Proctor and her husband live in Washington, D.C., and are the parents of a young son. 

Robert F. Sermier

Treasurer

After serving nine years in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Sermier spent fifteen years in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, primarily as the Department’s Chief Information Officer.

He subsequently worked for two years as Chief Operating Officer of New York City’s Human Resources Administration and, for fifteen years, was Chief Financial Officer at John Jay College.

He has been teaching in the College’s Master of Public Administration program since 1990 and has taught more than 75 courses pro bono. Since 2001 he has also served as the MPA Program Administrator and Student Advisor.

He and his wife live in New York City.