Greenwich Harbor Partners was retained to partner with Thrive Scholars Chicago to expand its Regional Advisory Board. New members identified by GHP include Jared Banner, Vice President, Player Development for the Chicago Cubs, Teedra Bernard, SVP, Chief Talent and Diversity Officer at TransUnion, Sedhu Krishnamurthy, General Manager, Data and AI at Microsoft, and Talvis Love, SVP, Chief Information Officer at Baxter International Inc.

“We are excited to welcome our new board members – each with diverse expertise and experiences from various sectors–to join our effort to strengthen opportunities toward economic mobility for high-achieving students of color in Chicago,” said Kylia Kummer, Executive Director of Thrive Scholars Chicago.

Jared Banner is Vice President, Player Development for the Chicago Cubs and has 15 years of experience in baseball operations.  Mr. Banner started out as a fellow in Boston’s baseball operations department and rose to the rank of VP, Player Personnel, overseeing international professional scouting. After receiving three World Series rings with Boston, he worked for his hometown team, the Mets, for two years in player development before joining the Cubs. Mr. Banner earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Amherst College.

Teedra Bernard is Senior Vice President, Chief Talent and Diversity Officer at TransUnion, responsible for all global talent and diversity functions across the associate lifecycle. Ms. Bernard previously served as their VP of HR for Global Technology. Prior to joining TransUnion, she held a series of HR leadership roles at Hewlett Packard, including Head of HR for the HPE Pointnext Global Client Services organization. Her diverse industry experience includes Operations, Sales, Retail, Investment Banking, and Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Bernard holds a Master of Science in HR Management & Development from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Michigan State University.

Sedhu Krishnamurthy is a business and technology executive with over 10 years at Microsoft, where he currently leads the Data and Artificial Intelligence business for US Retail and Consumer Goods. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Krishnamurthy has served in technical leadership roles at Innovex Technology, Insuresoft, and Allstate Insurance. He has an MBA from Northwestern University, a master's degree in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy.

Talvis Love is SVP, Chief Information Officer for Baxter International Inc. Mr. Love joined Baxter in 2020 from Cardinal Health's Pharmaceuticals, where he was CIO responsible for overall IT service delivery. Previously, he held the positions of SVP, eCommerce, Governance Execution, Enterprise Architecture & Chief Information Security Officer of Cardinal Health. His career has also included several executive and management positions within TD Bank Group, Ford Motor Company, Oracle Corporation and Quaker Oats Company. Mr. Love holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland.

Thrive Scholars’ mission is to help high-achieving students of color from low-income communities get into and graduate from top colleges equipped to achieve their full career potential. Through Thrive programming, Scholars receive six years of robust academic support to help their Scholars excel in rigorous academic environments. Thrive provides support to overcome financial and social barriers to higher education; and connects Scholars to internships, mentors, and corporations to build professional and social networks.

In Chicago, there are 2,500 students of color from under-resourced communities with the academic qualifications to attend top colleges. Yet, there simply aren’t enough city-wide programs to support them all. That’s why, as part of our strategic national expansion to serve as many students of color as possible, Thrive Scholars is proud to add Chicago to our growing list of regions. Starting in 11th grade and extending through college graduation and early career, our Scholars benefit from a continuum of support to overcome systemic barriers and help them develop the economic mobility they deserve.

Thrive Scholars is in its 20th year of operation. Founded in Los Angeles and now serving students nationwide, Thrive expanded to Chicago in 2019. With a growing national footprint, Thrive also supports Scholars in Boston, Cleveland, and New York City and has plans to expand to two new sites each year. Currently, 1,000 Scholars nationally are participating in the six-year program, from 11th grade through college seniors. Thrive continues to achieve sector-leading outcomes, boasting a 98% college graduation rate among its Scholars nationally.