Tim is changing how finance and business advice are delivered to small companies in U.S. cities.

He has already shaped successful enterprises on both sides of the Atlantic and in Asia as head of investments at Putnam Investments and as CEO of HSBC Asset Management and of County NatWest Securities. In these capacities, Tim oversaw operations that directed global capital flows to large corporations and institutional investors. Small business was not on his radar until a friend asked, “When you’re 70 years old, what do you want to have done?”

Capital with purpose. Capital was flowing everywhere except to the small and midsize firms that create the lion’s share of American jobs. Tim founded Next Street to give business owners the same access to financing and expertise that Fortune 500 CEOs receive from the big banks he used to run.

An expert on urban economics, Tim is on the leadership council of Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, and on the boards of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University and Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. He is President of the Boston Children’s Chorus and a trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Art. Tim is an avid triathlete, competing in Ironman events since 2005, when Next Street was launched. Together with his dogs, a pair of Vizslas, he has climbed 24 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 foot-plus mountains and the climbing trio hopes to scale all 48 by 2015. Tim has a degree in politics, economics and law from the University of Buckingham.

“It was really clear there’s a huge frustration with banks.”

Ron is creating a new kind of company to help small businesses grow.

Ron connects business owners to the know-how and the institutions they need to get to the next level – as well as the capital that fuels expansion.

In senior executive posts at Sovereign Bank and Fleet Financial Group, Ron fought to get his bankers to look beyond a company’s track record to its potential. On his watch, thousands of companies got their start, expanded, and thrived.  The next step for Ron was to either become a bank president or do something new.

Changing the game. In 2005, he began talking over an idea with Tim Ferguson: a firm that could deliver FORTUNE 500-level expertise in strategy, organizational development, and marketing to small businesses. The banks weren’t doing it. No one was doing it. Next Street would do it. By the end of the year the new firm had the first of its 80 clients.

Ron has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Finance from Prairie View A&M University and completed Harvard Business School’s Executive program in Finance. He sits on the leadership council of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program in Washington, D.C. He is a director of Emerson College and the Boston Medical Center, board chair of the Roxbury Comprehensive Health Center and a board member of the Community Builders Inc. He has received leadership awards from Boston Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and Spike Lee. An athlete in college, Ron played semi-pro football before moving on to open holes for business owners.

“What intrigued me was bringing high-level domain expertise
to entrepreneurs. That’s where the barrier is.”

Jon understands his clients’ businesses from the engine-room up.

He combines a rigorous analytical approach with hands-on experience across a broad range of industries that include manufacturing, food, health care, retail and technology — among others.

A founder of the firm, Jon heads Next Street’s Strategy and Talent practices, but his unique connection with business owners comes from having sat on both sides of the table. After earning a B.A. in Economics from Yale, he took the fast track into management consulting at Marakon Associates and later at Galt & Company. After 12 years of solving problems for organizations in virtually every industry sector, he launched his own small company. Suddenly strategic planning had to compete for attention with the press of day-to-day operations. “Now,” he says, “I apply a ‘practicality screen’ to any advice we give to Next Street clients.”

Why Next Street? For Jon, Next Street is an opportunity to combine his passion for business with community impact, and pioneer a new national model for investment in America’s urban markets. His work at the intersection of enterprise and community makes him a sought-after speaker and he is active in a host of civic organizations. His professional skills in organizational development carry over into fantasy baseball, where he is a five-time league champion.

“We understand a CEO’s need to balance long-term planning
with day-to-day operating realities and the occasional curve ball
that a business throws at you.”

Erin helps Next Street connect with business owners, and business owners to connect with the world.

She runs all Next Street’s communications activities and oversees the Agency practice that puts industry-leading capabilities to work for small and mid-size advertisers.

Before joining Next Street, Erin was founder and chief executive of Bitflip, a marketing communications firm she led for most of a decade. Her company created digital and traditional media campaigns for Goldman Sachs, PricewaterhouseCoopers, TIAA-CREF, Layne Bryant stores, the Open Society Institute and The New Yorker. As Vice President/Account Director at Foote, Cone & Belding, she led teams of 30+ marketing, media and creative professionals on assignments from Marriott, Citibank and Planters Lifesavers.

Why Next Street? Erin likes the challenge of building a new kind of business to change the equation for her clients and their communities. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard. She has lived and worked in Asia, and began her career at the Asia Society.  She was among the first female bartenders in New York, and still makes New York City nights more interesting as lead singer for the Obo White band.

“Call me a geek, but successful collaborations
among uniquely talented people get me going.”

Gloria puts money to work for Next Street clients and communities, leading a team with more than $2 billion in investing, lending and real estate transaction experience.

Born in Seoul, Korea, she grew up in Queens, New York, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia. Most of her working life has been where finance and civic improvement intersect. There may be no one with a more extensive network in the community development finance industry. Before joining Next Street, she headed Pembrook Community Capital, a pioneer in financial solutions for underserved markets. She managed a $600 million investment portfolio within the community development finance practice at Citigroup and held a similar position at JP Morgan Chase. She maintains close relationships with the financial institutions, investor groups, community groups, foundations and government agencies that help Next Street clients get things done in a complex environment.

Why Next Street? Working alongside professionals in business strategy, organizational development and marketing puts financial challenges in context, giving Gloria – and Next Street – more ways to help clients succeeed. The change in scale from giants like Citi and Chase to Next Street fits in a more personal way. Gloria is wired to help people, and would rather do more for a few individuals than a little for many. She is a regular advisor for community development organizations.

“Running a business means the workday is never really over.”

Samip brings an unusual breadth of experience to the challenges of helping successful companies grow – including Next Street itself.

He prepared for his role at Next Street as a strategy specialist at Galt & Company and Deloitte Consulting, where he advised senior executives in industries from manufacturing to media.

Samip is an expert in business processes and improving operations, and has achieved results for companies of every size. He has designed profitable growth strategies for global corporations – JPMorgan Chase, Miller Brewing and metals giant Alcan – and played a hands-on role in four start-ups, including the young Next Street.

Why Next Street? Samip likes the challenge of creating something new. A particular focus is developing profitable new connections between national corporations and small companies in urban markets. Samip holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance and information systems from the Boston University School of Management. A determined golfer, Samip divides his time between Next Street offices in New York and Boston, where he serves on the board of City Year Boston, a national youth services organization.

“A lot of people here could go elsewhere
and do what they’re doing in an easier environment.”

Tameka helps business owners find the best people for key positions and shape their companies for the future.

Her job is to help Next Street clients build an organization that can weather storms and scale up to serve bigger customers and new markets.

Tameka developed her vast skill-set at Right Management Consultants, the world’s largest career management consulting firm, serving over 80% of the FORTUNE 500. Her own clients at Right, and later at Capital H Group, included a who’s who of well run organizations: MetLife, Morgan Stanley, PepsiCo, Pitney Bowes, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Boston Red Sox.

Why Next Street? Tameka and Next Street discovered each other when the firm wanted to lease her church’s parking lot. Now that she’s Director of Talent, recruiting at Next Street no longer happens by accident. Tameka earned a dual-major Bachelor’s degree from Yale University in Sociology and African-American Studies. At Yale, she won the prestigious Elm-Ivy award for strengthening ties between the university and the city around it. A leader in her field, Tameka is a contributor to Workforce magazine and speaks at industry events. She is a third-generation member of Zion F.B.H. Church, (across the street from Next Street’s Roxbury office), where she sits on the finance committee and heads the youth group.

“Leadership is lonely. Business owners need
somebody they can talk to about their organization.”

Eric is a futurist: envisioning where
markets are headed and what it means for our clients.

Eric’s focus is on understanding the overall landscape that our clients operate in, analyzing regulatory frameworks, competitive environments and industry trends, and drilling down to what’s most important to business owners so that they can make smart decisions.

Seeing the big picture comes naturally to Eric. Following high school, America’s vast horizon beckoned, and he biked 3,000 miles cross country. Concerned about the future of our country and the fact that too many children don’t receive a quality education, he joined Teach for America after graduating from Tulane (with a degree in International Political Economy) and spent two years as a high school social studies teacher and rugby coach in the Mississippi Delta.

Why Next Street? The way Eric sees it, harnessing the for-profit motive to address social issues is the great challenge and opportunity of the 21st century. That’s why Next Street’s model of aligning its success with the sustainable economic growth of urban communities was so appealing to him.

“To paraphrase Mike Bloomberg – or was it Ed Koch? – New York is where
the future comes to audition.”

Molly helps Next Street clients attract the best people and focus their talents on business objectives to improve their company’s overall performance.

She is a specialist in getting employees to buy in to ambitious goals and give their best.

Prior to joining Next Street, Molly worked for global human resources giants Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt, which merged in 2010 to become the world’s largest employee benefits consulting firm. She has managed projects for global clients, including researching employee roles and attitudes and matching them with tasks. She has helped senior executives identify and groom potential leaders from within company ranks and helped them steer their companies through expansions, reorganizations and culture changes.

Why Next Street? Molly is inspired by the opportunity to bring the expertise of the world’s largest human resource and risk management firms to the small companies that are creating opportunities in our cities. Molly’s “own” cities are Tulsa, Atlanta, Chicago, and now Boston. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Hendrix College and a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational psychology from the University of Tulsa. She is a longtime volunteer at Habitat for Humanity and Girls on the Run – where she’s a leading role model, having completed eight marathons.

“We don’t sleep because our clients don’t sleep.
They own a business and it’s never off their minds.”

Trevor can help a company grow in almost any direction:

by expanding geographically, developing new capabilities, making an acquisition, or the old fashioned way – by winning more customers.

Before taking on Next Street’s strategy practice in New York, Trevor was a Senior Project Manager at the Monitor Group, a top ten consulting firm that accepts only one applicant in fifty. Trevor knows: Between strategy projects for FORTUNE 500 clients in technology, construction, consumer brands and healthcare, he led U.S. recruiting for Monitor.  At Next Street, he also wears two hats – helping clients reach the next level, and helping Next Street itself expand relationships in the New York market. His early experience as a business analyst for two leading commercial banks helps ensure that his recommendations to clients are financially practical and that growth will be sustainable.

Why Next Street? Trevor cites the commitment of Next Street’s professional staff to the small business community and creating jobs. “I’m committed to the work we do here,” he says. Trevor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He travels to the extent that a busy schedule permits and is a certified scuba diver.

“I heard a business owner wonder: ‘Why isn’t there a Deloitte Consulting
for companies like me?’  Well, that’s why we’re here.
We bring in the kind of talent large organizations receive.”

Troy helps business owners think through where they want their company to be in a few years and make smart business decisions along the way.

His emphasis is not simply on providing advice, but ensuring that the company develops the internal capabilities for sustained growth.

At Stockamp & Associates, Troy worked with some of America’s largest health systems, helping them improve both financial performance and patient care. His responsibilities ranged from managing vendors to management training for executives, guiding clients through mergers, and developing systems to streamline operations while accelerating performance towards new goals. He now applies these skills to Next Street clients in many industries, but remains one of our go-to guys on healthcare engagements.

Why Next Street? Troy appreciates that the firm is in many ways a peer to its clients: a growing company with deep local roots and national aspirations. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Vanderbilt University and a Master’s in International Business and Development Economics from the Fletcher School of international affairs at Tufts University. He is the co-founder of Manna Project International, a nonprofit community development organization with chapters at eleven U.S. universities and ongoing projects in Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. A Tennessee native, Troy retains his passion for barbecue and great live music.

“Most of the business owners who come to us are at a crossroads.”

Mindy brings a big agency perspective to the needs of small business.

As one of the pioneers behind Ogilvy & Mather’s groundbreaking sustainability practice, Mindy approached the challenge of starting a new enterprise with the same determined mindset as any small businessperson creating something from the ground up.

Add to that a life in advertising that extends across such diverse brands as Clairol, DHL, The Environmental Defense Fund, BP, DuPont and Coca Cola, and you’re looking at someone who understands how to identify opportunities for brands big and small, because she’s spent her career delivering them.

Spend an hour with Mindy and she’ll help you identify the best way to build your brand, too.

Why Next Street? Mindy was looking to apply her skills toward creating an impact on the world. “I was drawn to the Next Street mission of providing services to small and mid-market businesses who aren’t well-served by the larger corporate giants,” she said. Mindy graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Communications and Media Studies and is an avid runner, foodie and theater-goer. No surprise, then, that you can find her in our New York office.

“It’s hard work to create something new and bring it to market, but it’s
extremely rewarding to be part of the team that transforms the way business is done.”

Eric is a specialist in community development finance and structured transactions using tax credits.

No one in the firm knows more about affordable housing. His unique experience in for-profit, nonprofit, and government organizations helps Next Street clients “see the whole field” in complex urban markets.

Before joining Next Street, Eric was Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s Deputy Director in Rhode Island, where he mobilized $112 million in private, public and philanthropic funds for investment in low-income communities. On Eric’s watch, LISC completed thousands of new affordable housing units and opened hundreds of thousands of square feet of new retail and child-care space throughout the state. Eric’s initiation into the mysteries of tax credits began during his work as a senior officer at Rhode Island’s state housing finance agency.

Why Next Street? Next Street widens Eric’s role from the housing sector to include the prosperity sector: helping local businesses expand and create jobs. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science at Boston College, where he also saw the whole field as the captain of the school’s legendary football team. Now he plays golf. The ball is a lot smaller but it goes a lot farther.

Bennett helps Next Street clients stand out in the marketplace.

He leads the writers, designers, filmmakers and web producers that develop creative solutions to marketing challenges. A deep background in journalism as well as advertising gives his clients a competitive advantage in today’s content-driven online world. It’s called credibility.

Before joining Next Street, Bennett was a creative director at Time, Inc., with responsibilities ranging far beyond traditional marketing to speechwriting, documentary filmmaking and the company’s extensive work with nonprofit organizations. He began his career as a celebrity publicist.

Why Next Street? Bennett grew up in his family’s small printing business on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn. After 20 years leading projects for some of the world’s best-known brands – American Express, IBM, HBO, Business Week, Vanity Fair, In Style – “the opportunity to help small businesses was irresistible.” Bennett received his B.A. from Pace University and did his graduate work at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has written and directed for the stage, and is an award-winning playwright. Like many creative people, Bennett doesn’t turn it off at the end of the day. He has mentored students at NYU’s Graduate Dramatic Writing Program, brings his marketing expertise to Opening Act, a nonprofit that brings the theatre arts to underserved public high schools, and is a founding member of AFCAF (Adoptive Families with Children of African Heritage).

“I lived in that small business
for the first 20 years of my life.
Ask me anything about offset printing.”
 

Michael creates the web interfaces and applications that define the user experience for Next Street client brands.

His work is what people see and touch online. When Next Street people say, “We can create an app for that,” they really mean Michael.

Michael began creating digital wizardry professionally when he was 20. He has developed web platforms and applications for local businesses, global businesses, nonprofit organizations and at least one state government. As an independent web designer and developer before joining Next Street, Michael worked with digital design legends at Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. Some of his client sites support communities of over 200,000 users and produce millions in revenue.

Why Next Street? Michael responds to the wide variety of challenges that come to him at Next Street and the “family-like” atmosphere that surrounds him as he takes those assignments on. He graduated first in his class at Full Sail University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Web Design and Development. Michael is a demon basketball player on New York City courts and is one of very few New Yorkers who owns a truck.

Kristina is a bridge between small companies and the capital markets.

She works with Next Street’s senior leadership and plays a central role in raising the investment capital that provides financing to our clients.

Kristina began her career as an analyst at Lehman Brothers in Boston, where she co-founded a professional network for women. As a credit analyst in Lehman’s Asset Management unit and later at Neuberger Berman, she developed deep expertise in cash management and liquidity strategies, structured finance vehicles and the credit profiles of large corporations and financial institutions. At Next Street, she carries the story of small companies’ potential to banks, fund managers, foundations and private investors.

Why Next Street? The firm offered Kristina a chance to “do something that was bigger than me,” and a place where “doing well by doing good was more than a slogan.” She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Northwestern University and has passed Level Two of the Chartered Financial Analyst exam. She is a ferocious downhill skier and still thinks about moving to the mountains and becoming a ski bum.

“Investors need to shift the way they look at small companies
and gauge their potential, not just their history.”

Adam understands both the business and the art of online marketing.

He translates Next Street clients’ marketing objectives into unique digital experiences that also build awareness, engagement, and sales.

Adam came to Next Street from MTV Networks where he was a web developer and animator. Previously, he was a web producer at Interactive One, the largest online media company serving African Americans, where he supported interactive platforms for news, trends, culture, women, and the company's fast-growing social media network.

Why Next Street? Adam liked the people, and appreciated that they wanted to learn about what matters to him before getting into job requirements.  His educational background makes him the perfect complement for business owners who don’t know a lot about online marketing: He has a degree in Interactive Multimedia from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communications, where he minored in Business Administration.  In his rare free hours, Adam is a team leader at Minds Matter, a nonprofit that prepares low-income students for college: just what you’d expect from an Eagle scout. Which he was.

Lynn understands what’s at stake for the business owner.

She looks beyond the numbers to where small company CEOs want to be in a few years. As a retail buyer, she developed a visceral sense of the risk that a business owner takes in every significant purchase decision and the imperative to put customers first. She brought this understanding to her role as a branch manager for Fleet Bank and later a community banking officer at Sovereign Bank. At Sovereign, she developed a 360º view of business owners, helping them get financing for their companies and manage their personal wealth.

Why Next Street? Next Street’s broad array of services equips Lynn with more solutions for business owners than she could deliver as a bank manager. She also appreciates that her women and minority clients will become the majority of business owners in coming years. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Plymouth State College and served on the board of the Cambridge Family YMCA. Lynn’s four-season devotion to Boston teams makes her an infrequent visitor to Next Street’s New York office; and her own sports include golf, swimming, hiking and skiing.

Josh identifies the best cross-discipline marketing strategies for our clients to realize their full potential.

A graduate of Boston University with a major in advertising, Josh has led account and marketing teams for some of the world’s leading agencies – Margeotes, McCann and Ogilvy – and brands, including Time Warner Cable, Verizon, ALDO Shoes and Remy Cointreau, as well as nonprofits like Coalition for the Homeless.

As a veteran of the New York City Marathon, with his eyes set on completing a marathon on every continent, Josh brings that same kind of long-range vision and intensely focused preparation to his work on behalf of Next Street’s clients.

Why Next Street? The opportunity to work within Next Street’s innovative model, and serve the diversity of our clients – large, small, for profit and not-for-profit – proved irresistible.

Next Street’s core mission and values, and its unique business model,
are new and exciting and I wanted to be a part of that.

Lisa brings ideas to life with design.

She does this online, on the printed page, and on store shelves, in galleries and in peoples’ homes.

Lisa has designed ad campaigns, websites, brand identities, and books. She has designed graphic installations, dishes, fabrics, and entire environments. Her pattern and color work has been featured in House Beautiful, Bon Appetit, Interior Design and Elle magazines. Before joining Next Street, Lisa was a senior designer at IconNicholson, with primary responsibility for Nestlé Waters’ stable of six North American brands. People who think design is just about “pretty” should ask Lisa how she used design to increase sales and decrease customer service inquiries. Like the best in her field, she applies design as a method for solving problems.

Why Next Street? For Lisa, the connection was personal, an attraction to talented people who want to do great things. She earned her BFA at Hampton University and an MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York, where she has taught web and print design at both the undergraduate and graduate level. A passionate seamstress, Lisa imagines a second career creating her own hand-sewn clothing line and selling it in a shop by the sea.

“I ran a small design company for a few years.
I know what it’s like to believe in what you do,
but not always know what to do.”

Paul specializes in the kind of rigorous economic analysis that helps business owners gauge the risks and rewards of different courses of action.

In his career at consulting giants Galt & Company and NERA, Paul applied quantitative analysis to complex business problems in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, software, banking and consumer products. Clients guard his work for them very closely: The only two clients not covered by confidentiality agreements are Coca-Cola and medical device maker Medinol.

Why Next Street? Paul can make a bigger difference applying lessons learned from working with large companies to urban growth businesses. His work provides a level of strategic certainty that has simply not been available in the urban small business market.  Paul received a Bachelor of Science degree from The Colorado College, where he pursued a double major in Mathematical Economics and Physics. Surprisingly for an economist, Paul interned at MTV and performed as a backup singer for Shania Twain. As a board member of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Paul is a zealous advocate for Boston’s underutilized waterfront. His dog answers to “Harbor.”

“There’s no shortage of ideas in the world.
There’s a shortage of people who get things done.”

Curt has a gift for helping brands make an indelible first impression – even if the brand has been around awhile.

He is a master at using design to convey a new story at a glance – a feat he has performed for the History Channel, Ladies Home Journal, New York’s legendary Plaza Hotel and, most recently, Media Innovation Group. Other clients seek him out to create unique brand identities, packaging, and websites that get prospects to stop, look, and engage. The hallmark of a Middleton solution is clarity. Nothing gets in the way of the story that a Next Street client wants to tell.

Why Next Street? Curt has a visceral understanding of the challenges that confront business owners today. He has run his own successful design firm and founded the award-winning communications and digital development shop Bitflip with Next Streeters Erin Jurew and Ted Papoulas. Curt has B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University and earned his Master’s degree in Visual Communications from Pratt Institute in New York. He is an expert on the lives and music of Mississippi’s blues players, and recently established a foundation with his wife to promote rural development in Senegal, where he served in the Peace Corps.

I was drawn to the fact that Next Street is a mission-driven organization,
as well as its highly collaborative environment of talented, passionate people.

Karen makes sure that Next Street is a model of best practices in every phase of its operations – for clients, vendors, community partners, and staff.

Her responsibilities range beyond financial management to planning and daily oversight of the firm’s performance.

She brings over 25 years of financial, consulting, and general management experience to the challenge of creating a new kind of enterprise in a complex urban market. At investment bank Morgan Stanley, she served as Director of Finance in both New York and London. She was Chief Financial Officer of Putnam Investment’s international and corporate units; and ran the business office for Wellington Management, serving nearly 2,000 institutional clients around the world.

Why Next Street? After two decades overseeing the fortunes of international investment firms, Karen is excited to apply her financial acumen and management savvy to helping individual local businesses – and their communities – prosper. She earned her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a B.A. in Economics from the College of William and Mary. In her scant spare time, Karen follows opera the way some fans follow the Red Sox, and sits on the finance committee of The Boston Club, the region’s premier network of women executives and a potential resource for the women business owners who now represent 40% of Next Street clients.

Jeff removes uncertainty and risk from what is often a business owner’s largest decision.

He helps Next Street clients think through significant commercial real estate transactions, makes sure the deal works for them, then gets it done.

Jeff brings years of experience with complex, high-stakes transactions to the deal table. He knows how to source the financing that growing companies need. He knows when and how to get other parties to the table – and when to walk away. He knows how to stay on top of the details until the transaction closes, and because of Next Street’s advisory relationship with clients, long after. Before Next Street, Jeff oversaw loan portfolios and transactions measured in $billions at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America.

Why Next Street? Jeff felt more at home, and more himself, at Next Street than at the big investment banks. Simple as that. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard University with a degree in Business Administration. As a champion of diversity in corporate recruiting, he has become a tireless mentor to minority youth of promise, leading a workplace mentoring program for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York City. When he’s not giving young people professional wings, he’s piling up flight time towards his pilot’s license.

“I see the glass half-full. 
Actually, I always see it full.”

Steve helps Next Street clients obtain a wide variety of financing sources such as debt, equity, tax credits and philanthropic sources to make projects happen.

In the last two years, Steve has helped direct over $100 million in financing to community development projects for businesses, real estate developers and nonprofit sponsors.

As a Director at Pembrook Community Capital, Steve helped set up a new division focused on New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and renewable energy investments in low-income communities across the U.S. His relationships with developers, government agencies and financial institutions as well as his prior experience making similar investments in low-income communities were superb preparation for managing Next Street’s project finance team. At Citibank’s community development unit, he specialized in real estate, tax credit and private equity investments in urban neighborhoods, delivering over $130 million in financing. Next Street clients count on Steve’s wide-angle view of the market as well as his specialized expertise. He began his career as a management consultant at Deloitte.

Why Next Street? Steve began following Next Street in 2007. He appreciated the “tireless” focus on client success, and the opportunity to put his own entrepreneurial spirit to the test. Steve earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. A native Russian speaker, Steve grew up in Belarus and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Monica helps Next Street clients assess their growth opportunities and identify every obstacle in the way.

She designs the blueprints – and the budgets – for business expansion.

Before joining Next Street, Monica helped shape strategy for Citigroup’s Securities and Fund Services unit, finding new avenues of growth for one of the world’s largest financial networks. At Citi her responsibilities included mapping the way forward, analyzing possibilities, and implementing the functional business changes necessary to achieve success. She has vetted potential acquisitions to make sure of their value, and analyzed which markets – geographical and product categories – are ripest for growth. Next Street clients respect her rigorous market research and the insight she brings to analyzing competitive activity.

Why Next Street? The firm aligns Monica’s professional ambitions with her personal goals. She enjoys helping high-potential companies realize ambitious plans while playing a tangible role in urban economic development. Monica earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Politics from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, and is equipped to help Next Street clients solve problems in Spanish, French and Arabic as well as English. She is a regular competitor in marathons and has enough wind left over to play the flute and the piccolo.

Ted helps Next Street clients create online properties that are more effective – and unforgettable.

Beyond leading-edge technology chops, his training as an artist ensures that a web user’s experience – with a site, an app, or a digital video – will be uniquely rewarding.

Ted’s career in digital development parallels the development of the Web itself, beginning in the 1990s. He was a founding partner of Bitflip, one of the seminal firms that led the way into online marketing. He helped train today’s rising generation of web developers, teaching classes at both Pratt Institute and the New School in New York.

Why Next Street? Next Street reunites Ted with some smart people he has worked with in the past, including a partner from Bitflip days. He enjoys the energy of a start-up: Next Street is his third. Ted studied computer programming at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned a Bachelors degree in Fine Art at the Pratt Institute. A successful artist, his paintings and photographs are regularly exhibited in New York and Philadelphia. He has served on the board of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and is passionate about protecting the marine environment. As a photographer, he specializes in startling 3D images of underwater life.

“I like the challenge of combining aesthetics with functionality.”

Jeff makes sure that new clients get the best from Next Street.

He helps business owners analyze their companies’ challenges and works with Next Street practice area specialists to identify precisely where we can help, and what form the help will take.

Jeff’s career experience is astonishing, ranging from Coup de Taco, his own West Philadelphia catering start-up, to private equity and venture capital fund raising at Goldman Sachs. His consulting experience began at the Wharton School’s Small Business Development Center and continued at Opera Solutions, the world’s leader in helping companies discover valuable ideas in haystacks of data. His first job was at Bloomberg, the financial software and media firm.

Why Next Street? Jeff has a personal passion for entrepreneurship and small business development. He has spent his career discovering potential and helping companies realize it. Jeff earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia University and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Operations Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is an amateur graphic designer (the pros are at Next Street Agency) and a successful chef: Jeff created the original menu and recipes for Coup de Taco. As a volunteer, he helps returning U.S. soldiers develop their career potential in civilian life.

“What I have in common with the business owner
is that I am a business owner.”

Damian knows how to help business owners get the best from everybody in their companies —

and find the best person when a key hire is the missing ingredient for success.

Damian has helped improve the performance of some of the world’s best-known companies by helping their people perform better – including senior management. He has deep expertise in designing the materials that help people see where they fit in achieving big-picture goals…and doing the little everyday things that get you there … fast.  Before Next Street, Damian played this role for Pacific Sunwear, a 1980 startup that now has nearly 1,000 stores in 50 states and online. His experience also includes leading projects at Watson Wyatt, a global leader in human resource consulting, now Towers Watson.

Why Next Street? Damian has many more ideas than he had the chance to implement for a few large clients at previous jobs. At Next Street, his creative approach can benefit a lot of companies – and Next Street itself. Damian received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.  He is a complete participant in anything he does: He plays the sports he watches, and you can see him on improv stages as well as in the audience.

“I love thinking about what could be.”

Adina helps make companies stronger – as well as bigger.

She leads Next Street’s strategy practice in Boston, where she advises business owners on growth strategies, personnel issues and financing.

She brings over a decade of experience at McKinsey, the world’s most respected consulting firm, where she walked point in the health care sector, helping clients navigate a rapidly changing environment. Adina has shown insurers how to improve their sales organizations, partnerships and policy benefits. She has helped medical device makers and biotech firms out-market their competitors. She has improved the performance of nursing homes, diagnostic labs and a major academic medical center – perhaps the most complex organization in existence. As senior consultant at Water Street Partners in Washington, she helped health providers and insurers collaborate in new ways, improving technology, efficiency – and care. She has led investors to growth companies and is now helping Next Street clients find financing.

Why Next Street? Adina thrives on big challenges, like helping to reshape America’s health care system. The opportunity to change what is possible for small companies in urban markets is a challenge worthy of her abundant skills. Adina has a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She runs a local Main Street organization and keeps personal tabs on the agriculture sector as the head of a farmer’s market.

Rojin helps business owners secure the financing they need to get to the next level,

and has the expertise to advise Next Street clients at any scale in the urban enterprise. He has developed innovative financing solutions for individual companies, local communities and city governments.

As an SBA loan officer at Nara Bank, Rojin helped business owners identify their opportunities and document their companies’ potential in order to secure the financing they needed to get there. As an Assistant Vice President at Citibank’s Municipal Securities unit, he helped local governments fund vital projects, using sophisticated analytic tools to ensure that these investments would prove sustainable as well as successful. As a project finance portfolio manager at Citi Community Capital he coordinated the complex transactions that transform neighborhoods at street level.

Why Next Street? Having worked at every level in urban market finance, Rojin can say with authority that, “no one has ever offered Next Street’s array of services to small businesses.” Rojin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Stony Brook University, where he minored in Business Administration. He may be Next Street’s most tireless volunteer: at New York Cares, in the food program at Saint Bart’s, an animal shelter in Queens, and as a certified tax preparer for needy New Yorkers.

Nicole orchestrates the marketing and creative resources that Next Street clients need to gain a competitive advantage in their markets.

She gives business owners and nonprofit leaders a single point of contact for marketing strategy, audience targeting, digital and traditional communications, sales promotion, public relations, and creative solutions that are potent, timely, and efficient.

Like many Next Street people, Nicole knows what it’s like on the client side of the business. She led a single Target store in Boston to $60 million in sales. At Activate Sports and Entertainment, she developed a network of valuable contacts in the world of sports marketing, and useful experience in working with public-sector agencies as well as private-sector clients.

Why Next Street? Nicole came to Next Street to prove that small companies can get the same smart, strategic, thoughtful work that big Madison Avenue ad agencies deliver to big advertisers like, well, Target. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Connecticut.  Still a passionate volunteer for the Animal Rescue Foundation in her Connecticut hometown, Nicole could hardly buy one of those poufy little pocketbook dogs from a breeder, so her dog is Riley the Rescue Pup.

“Everything counts when you’re marketing a small company.
I am the keeper of the details.”

Rishi helps Next Street innovate in business development, strategy, and execution for clients.

He has been a big city hospital administrator and a start-up CEO. He has raised capital to fund business expansion and developed path-breaking medical informatics systems. Rishi changes what is possible.

Before joining Next Street, Rishi was co-founder and CEO of Fitness Forward, a national public health organization that helps children make healthier choices. His company’s innovative educational and social media programs produce documented success: kids that eat better, watch less TV and exercise more. A few years earlier, he spearheaded the development of a first-of-its-kind pediatric nutrition unit at Boston Medical Center, the largest safety-net hospital in New England.

Why Next Street? The firm’s unusual reach gives Rishi an opportunity to apply his unusual skills towards creating economic impact. Rishi has a B.A. in Neuroscience from Boston University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has published articles in medical and engineering journals and is a regular speaker in healthcare and entrepreneurship circles in Boston and beyond. As a volunteer, he helps low-income patients and families from area hospitals connect with affordable housing, job training, and nutrition assistance.

Ingrid manages the New York office with the same efficiency and attention to detail that our clients value – and experience.

Ingrid’s professional experience in a variety of industries – from legal to marketing to travel and tourism – is a big part of the reason she’s so well suited to providing across-the-board support to a company with four diverse practice areas.

Every day, Ingrid brings to Next Street the same positive energy that sent her backpacking through Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras and the cool competence required in her position as concierge at Casa Dorada at Cabo San Lucas.

Why Next Street? Ingrid is nothing if not eclectic. Having attended the College of Aeronautics, and having held a wide range of past positions – at least one involving the cosseting of high-profile celebrities – Ingrid was nonetheless drawn to Next Street for its focus on the energy and vitality of urban markets.

“I enjoy people but, more than that, I enjoy cultures.”

Shane helps business owners forge the team that will take their companies to the next level.

She specializes in finding the one key player with the critical expertise that a growing business may be missing. She has found the difference-makers in industries from banking and high-tech manufacturing to food service and nonprofits.

Along with a deep knowledge of the talent marketplace, Shane has the relationship-building skills to connect with business owners and job candidates from the entry level to senior executives. She is a master of using professional networks like LinkedIn to extend her already seemingly limitless reach.

Why Next Street? Shane believes that helping local companies attract superior talent not only helps Next Street clients grow, it expands potential in the communities that surround them. She earned her Master’s degree in Management from Lesley University, where her focus was on Human Resources. Her Bachelor’s degree is from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in Social Thought and Political Economy. She served on the board of the Boston Pearl Foundation, which helps fund African-American women at four-year colleges and universities.

“We always, always, always have the client as our focus.”

Chris has a rare ability to discover patterns in oceans of information

and weave them into actionable marketing strategies for Next Street clients and inspiring briefs for project teams. His background as both a brand strategist and creative director helps ensure that recommendations can be executed in the real world.

As Brand Strategist at Ogilvy & Mather in New York, he helped marketers position their brands in a changing environment, articulate their organization’s story, and align employees to new challenges. His clients included senior executives at SAP, Kimberly-Clark, Hospital for Special Surgery and American Express OPEN, the company’s small business unit. Prior to becoming a strategy guy for the C-Suite, Chris headed a creative group, creating business-to-business campaigns for IBM, American Express, AT&T, United Technologies and FORTUNE Magazine – along with consumer campaigns for Kimberly-Clark, Unilever and Hershey.

Why Next Street? A big picture thinker, Chris enjoys working with business owners more than fighting to get ideas through corporate marketing departments. His articles on innovation and technology have appeared in the business press, along with occasional snarky contributions to Funny Times. In off hours, he plays the guitar and works as a staff guide for Atlantic Kayak Tours.

“It’s easy to imagine better ways to do things.
It’s hard to imagine whole new things to do.”

Having founded a business and a nonprofit, Ryan knows what Next Street clients are looking for…before they’re Next Street clients.

Ryan’s been there. He’s lived the excitement and the frustrations of establishing an enterprise: forging relationships, meeting payroll, getting it done. Even in corporate settings, the bulk of his experience has been advising principals – the people who are the business.

He has advised financial executives how to make the most of sophisticated Exchange Traded Funds. As Vice President of the Warner Companies, he designed financial management solutions for individuals and employee benefit programs for businesses. He advised business owners at Merrill Lynch and professional athletes as co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Jade Private Wealth Management.

Why Next Street? Most of Ryan’s working life has been about helping high-potential businesses and individuals succeed. Next Street gives him a bigger tool-kit. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College in Communications with a minor in Economics and his M.B.A. from the University of Maryland’s Smith School. He is a co-founder of IMPACT, the Washington, DC-based nonprofit to promote civic engagement and economic success among minority youth of promise. He is a member of 100 Black Men of Washington, DC, and was recently named as one of the “Top 40 under 40” by the EnVest Foundation.

“At Merrill Lynch, I dreamed of starting a business
with the capabilities of Next Street.”

Nobody knows Next Street
like Pamela Jones. She’s been
here from the start.

As the fifth member to join Next Street, Pam is the institutional memory of the firm. That’s why everyone at Next Street relies on her for everything from operations management, HR and employee benefits to insight into the history of the firm.

Prior to joining Next Street, Pam was assistant to the Executive Director of Madison Park Development Corporation, a nonprofit community development corporation.

Despite over a decade of office administration experience – and her responsibilities as a member of the M.E.T.C.O. Parent Advisory Board and Roxbury International Film Festival Committee – Pam returned to school for her Masters of Management. In fact, she takes her work so seriously, that by her own admission “I don’t think anyone knows how playful I really am.”

Why Next Street? Pam was there as the original four members built out the Boston office space. As she got to know them and understand their vision for the company, she knew she was the right person to provide the high-level administrative support they would need.