ILPA Staff

As Acting CEO for the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Jennifer Choi directs the association’s engagement with external industry stakeholders to inform and enhance ILPA’s education, research, membership and advocacy platforms. Ms. Choi also leads the implementation of ILPA’s responses to emerging issues impacting the asset class, including efforts to establish and promote industry best practices.

Prior to joining the ILPA, Ms. Choi served as Vice President of Industry and External Affairs for the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), where she led the association’s member and industry engagement activities, including efforts to encourage policy frameworks that support the growth of the asset class. As EMPEA’s Research Director, she built the industry’s first global database of private equity activity in the emerging markets. A frequent speaker and commentator on the industry, Ms. Choi also oversaw the association's media communications and global institutional partnerships. Previously, Ms. Choi was a consultant with Boston-based Stax Inc., leading due diligence engagements and providing advisory services for the U.S. private equity and venture capital industry.

Jennifer holds a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a B.A. summa cum laude in Economics and Political Science from Augustana College.

As Managing Director of Corporate Development for ILPA, Greg Durst is responsible for the interactions with the non-LP members of our community, including service providers and General Partners. He manages the relationships for ILPA’s sponsors, as well as guiding sponsors and other service providers in their interactions with ILPA around content development, event participation and other member engagement opportunities. With GPs, Mr. Durst is leading our outreach on key initiatives around industry standards like the ILPA Fee & Expense Reporting Template, as well as other industry issues for all players in the PE ecosystem.

Prior to joining the ILPA, Mr. Durst was the founding COO and Head of Business Development for a hedge fund manager in New York. Mr. Durst has broad experience in private equity as a GP, and as a service provider and financier to leading players in the industry. In addition to his work in private equity and other top tier professional services firms, Mr. Durst has lived and worked in North America, Europe and Southern Africa and has extensive experience working in South Asia.

Mr. Durst has an undergraduate degree in Finance from Georgetown University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Pamela Jenkins is the Sr. Director of Events at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA). She is responsible for the overall strategy and planning of ILPA’s event program; this includes oversight of major conferences, the ILPA Summit New York and Europe, Members’ Conference and Legal Conference, as well as the 40+ events held globally each year, live and virtually. Pamela partners across ILPA to ensure members, general partners and service providers are thoughtfully engaged in the event process, helping to drive ILPA’s mission to engage, empower and connect LPs globally.

Prior to the ILPA, Pamela worked in the hospitality industry in positions with Hilton, Holiday Inn and Princess Cruises. Pamela is an honours graduate of the Special Events Planning for Destination Tourism program at George Brown College.

As Sr. Director of Education for the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Nick Jenson is responsible for the strategic execution and operational oversight of the organization's diverse educational platform including the ILPA Institute, Workshops, Webcasts and Professional Development Series.

Prior to joining ILPA, Nick spent 13 years at Cambridge Associates in numerous operational leadership roles across the investment manager data, client performance reporting, and investment operations divisions based in the US. During this time Nick also spent 3 years in Singapore leading the build out of Cambridge’s APAC operations office and most recently served as Head of Public and Private Investment Manager Data, as well as, Program Manager to the Chief Data Officer.

Nick holds a Bachelor of Social Science & Psychology degree from Macquarie University, Sydney Australia.

Neal Prunier, Senior Director, Industry Affairs at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) is responsible for the continuing evolution and expansion of the ILPA standards to help ILPA provide impactful service for its members.

Prior to ILPA, Neal spent his career at Cambridge Associates where he most recently served as Senior Director in CA’s Arlington, Virginia office. In this role, he oversaw staff across Singapore, London, and Arlington as head of a global investment operations department responsible for enterprise data management for Private Investment, Hedge Fund, and Long Only investment manager/client specific data. This work focused on serving the data needs of Research, Consulting, and Performance Reporting functions, as well as clients and the broader industry. This work also included the creation of the ILPA Private Markets Benchmark reports.

Neal holds a BS in Finance from Elon University and an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

Matt Schey is Senior Director of Sustainable Investing & Strategic Projects at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), where he leads the Association’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. He also manages ILPA’s Research team.

Prior to joining ILPA in 2019, Matt was a management consultant specializing in providing business transformation advisory services to clients in both public and private markets. Previously, he was a manager at Cambridge Associates, supporting the firm’s institutional client consulting business and leading the daily operations of its Singapore-based performance reporting function, serving APAC, Europe, and ME&A client relationships.

Matt holds a BA in International Business & Management from Dickinson College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Nicky Cavanagh serves as the Director of Membership at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA). She is responsible for delivering on the value proposition for all ILPA members, with a particular focus on understanding the needs of the LP community and working with internal stakeholders to deliver content and resources to help meet those needs. Nicky first joined ILPA as Executive Assistant to the CEO in 2015.

Prior to ILPA, Nicky worked as an Executive Assistant to a former NBA Coach. Nicky’s original field of experience was in organizational psychology and market research. She completed a Bachelor of Behavioural Science and Graduate Diploma of Psychology at Griffith University.

Amar Dzaferovic is the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (“ILPA”). Amar is responsible for executing on a portfolio of interconnected activities related to legal and regulatory considerations for Limited Partners investing in the global private markets.

Prior to ILPA, Amar worked at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) where he was responsible for identifying, monitoring, and analyzing possible violations of rules and laws in the financial services industry. Prior to FINRA, Amar worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) with their Office of Compliance, Inspections, and Examinations (“OCIE”) and their Office of International Affairs. Prior to the SEC, Amar worked directly with the General Counsel at a family office where he handled all legal matters that were affecting their clients at the time.

Amar is a licensed attorney in the State of New York. Amar holds a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and International Affairs from Indiana University.

Megan is the Director of Strategic Communication for ILPA where she is responsible for elevating and amplifying the voice of ILPA and its members.

Prior to joining ILPA in 2022, Megan spent the better part of a decade leading and supporting membership communications and media engagement at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Megan brings a versatile background managing board relations, authoring reports and other publications, overseeing organization-wide branding, and designing newsletters, social media campaigns, podcasts, and videos that make an impact. She also previously served as the Assistant Director of Public Relations for the American University Washington College of Law.

Megan holds a BA in Broadcasting and Political Science from Baldwin Wallace University and an MA in Strategic Communication from American University.

Mandy Ilk joined the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) in March 2014, working in both the Accounts and Education Department. As the Director of Education, she is responsible for the operations of the ILPA Institute courses, Webcasts, Workshops and the Professional Development Seminar series.

Mandy came to ILPA from a background in the Art Industry, spending 11 years at a notable Toronto Auction Firm. She holds her Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Toronto, where she specialized in Literature with a minor in Cinema Studies.

Jyoti Marwaha is Director of Talent at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) within the Corporate group.

Prior to ILPA, Jyoti spent her career working for Fortune 100’s, 500’s and the last decade in a variety of trade associations building her experience as an HR Generalist. Most recently, Jyoti led the performance management, employee relations, talent management and talent acquisition at National Governors Association. Jyoti brings deep expertise in all HR functions and proudly shares her blended experiences on LinkedIn. She genuinely loves to see the growth of her colleagues and is a Certified Career Coach and a Professional in Human Resources, a known industry-wide HR credential.  

Jyoti holds a BS in Health Science from George Mason University and an MS in Human Resource Management from NOVA Southeastern University.

 

Jae Strnisha is Director of Finance at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) and is responsible for overseeing ILPA’s financial health and long-term growth, managing all finance and accounting operations and related data and systems.

Prior to ILPA, Jae spent his career working in various corporate accounting and finance roles at financial service companies.  Most recently, Jae was responsible for the five-year strategic plan, budgeting and expense analysis at a life insurance company.  Jae brings a comprehensive set of skills in accounting operations, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis.  He holds a BS in accounting from Towson University and a CPA license in the state of Maryland.

Jennifer Lis

Jennifer Lis is the Event Manager at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA). She is responsible for planning and executing of ILPA’s major conferences: ILPA Summit, Annual Members Conference and European Forum.

Prior to ILPA, Jennifer worked as an Event Specialist at the Toronto Region Board of Trade where she helped to organize a variety of events as well as managed the Young Professionals Program. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ryerson University as well as a Post-Secondary Certificate in Events Management from Humber College.

Holly is a Manager at the Institutional Limited Partners Association. She is responsible for planning and executing ILPA's Global Events and the ILPA Private Equity Legal Conference.

Holly holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours from Queen’s University where she specialized in health and economics.

Brian Hoehn is Senior Industry Affairs Associate at the Institutional Limited Partners Association. Brian assists the Industry Affairs team in engagement with external industry stakeholders, advocacy efforts, as well as efforts to establish and promote industry best practices.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and a minor in Business Administration from the George Washington University.

Wei Dai is a Associate & Data Management of ILPA since September 2012. Prior to joining ILPA, Wei was a Research Associate of the Private Equity Team of Thomson Reuters.

Mr. Dai earned his undergraduate degree in Engineering of Tsinghua University in China and his MSc from University of York in England.

Tricia is the Event Coordinator at Institutional Limited Partners Association. She is responsible for supporting the Events team in executing major conferences.

Prior to ILPA, Tricia worked in the hospitality industry as an event planner. Tricia holds a Bachelor of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management major in Hospitality Management from De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde, as well as a Diploma in Special Event Planning from Centennial College.

As the Membership Coordinator, Lili serves as a primary contact for ILPA’s global membership to engage and assist members in navigating resources.

Prior to joining ILPA, they worked with the Ontario Science Centre on their Membership team and have over a decade of customer facing experience. Lili holds a degree in Performance Production from Toronto Metropolitan University.

As the Associate, Corporate Development & Events for ILPA, Daniele Guarnaschelli is responsible for relationships with Service Providers along with supporting ILPA’s robust event program, including the flagship ILPA Summit, Annual Members’ Conference and ILPA Summit Europe.

Prior to ILPA, Daniele worked as a Special Events Coordinator for WE Day (WE Charity) where he organized and planned Honoured Guest events across the US and Canada. Daniele has a Bachelor in Sports and Exercise Science from the Università degli Studi di Roma “Foro Italico” as well as a Post-Graduation Certificate in Event Marketing from Seneca College.

As a Research Associate for ILPA, Ben supports the execution of ILPA’s research and content efforts and provides analysis on issues impacting limited partner and general partner relationships, including fund governance, reporting, transparency, policy and regulation.

Ben graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he studied Financial Economics as well as Media and Communication Studies.

As a Research Associate for ILPA, Kassidy supports the execution of ILPA’s content and research efforts, membership initiatives, and industry affairs and standards.

A 2022 graduate of American University, Kassidy earned her degree in Communications, Law, Economics, and Government. Over the last year, Kassidy has worked as a Program Assistant in the Politics, Policy and Law Scholars Center where she planned events, wrote policy memos, blogs, and researched legal topics.

As a Research Associate at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Isabelle supports the execution of ILPA’s research and content efforts and provides analysis on issues impacting limited partner and general partner relationships, including fund governance, reporting, transparency, policy and regulation.

Prior to joining ILPA, she worked as a private market fund management consultant. She supported legal entity administration and risk management efforts with a focus on European funds.

Isabelle studied Political Science and Business Administration and Management at Hope College.

Vanessa Fountain-Allen serves as ILPA's Washington DC Office Manager as well as Executive Assistant to the Washington DC team. Prior to ILPA, Vanessa spent five years with the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) where she provided a range of support to the organization. Before SBIA, Vanessa worked with an industry association serving small telecom companies (OPASTCO) for 18 years.

Vanessa graduated from Howard University with Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.