GW Board of Trustees to Welcome New Members

Four new trustees will join the board starting July 1.

May 18, 2018

New board members

New Board of Trustees members (from left to right) Charles R. Bendit, Chelsea Lenhart, Todd Klein and Christine Piorkowski Barth.

The George Washington University Board of Trustees voted Friday to elect four new members. They include:

Christine Piorkowski Barth, B.B.A. ’88
Ms. Barth is the chief financial officer and chief compliance officer of Harren Equity Partners, a middle market private equity manager. She has more than 15 years of experience in private equity and has held several board positions at portfolio companies. She has experience in both the nonprofit and private sectors working for U.S. and international organizations.

Ms. Barth earned a B.B.A. from GW and an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. She is also a member of the Darden School’s Alumni Board of Directors and serves as a class agent.

Charles R. Bendit, B.B.A. ’75
Mr. Bendit is the co-chief executive officer of Taconic Investment Partners, an owner, operator and developer of commercial and residential real estate. Prior to founding Taconic in 1997, Mr. Bendit founded CBC Properties and, earlier in his career, Mr. Bendit was a managing director at Jones Lang Wootton.

A GW alumnus, Mr. Bendit sits on the executive committee of the board of advisors of the School of Business and is a member of the advisory board of the university’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis. He served two terms as the Manhattan representative to the Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department, and he serves as vice chair of the Board of Directors of PENCIL, an organization that creates and supports partnerships between public schools and private enterprises.

Todd Klein
Mr. Klein is a partner at Revolution Growth. He joined Revolution after serving as co-founder, managing director and chief investment officer of SWaN & Legend Ventures and interim chief operating officer of Anonymous Content.

During his 20-year career, Mr. Klein has been involved in financing and building more than 150 venture and growth stage companies in the media, consumer, technology, education and health care sectors. He has also served on more than 30 corporate boards. Mr. Klein has authored two books: “East of Wall Street,” a work of business fiction, and “Built for Change:  Essential Traits of Transformative Companies.”

Mr. Klein began his career at Salomon Brothers and earned a B.B.A. from the University of Texas and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Chelsea Lenhart, B.A. ’14, M.P.A. ’16
Ms. Lenhart works for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, conducting investigations into allegations of fraud, waste and abuse.

Originally from Phoenix, Ms. Lenhart graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs in 2014 and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration in 2016. While pursuing her graduate degree, Ms. Lenhart served as a Presidential Fellow in the Office of Safety and Security. Ms. Lenhart is active in the Washington, D.C., alumni community, serving as a mentor to current GW students and supporting LGBT programs and initiatives around the city.

“We are excited to welcome our new trustees, who bring strong leadership in business and higher education in addition to great passion for GW and its continued growth,” said Chair Nelson A. Carbonell Jr., B.S. ’85. “I also want to thank our outgoing trustees, who have lent us their expertise and enthusiasm for the university for so many years.”

Outgoing trustees, who complete their terms on June 30, include: Kyle Farmbry, B.A. ’92, M.P.A. ’94, Ph.D, ’99; James Humphreys, J.D. ’78; David Karlgaard, DSC ’74; Stuart Kassan, M.D. ’72; Jay Katzen, B.A. ’67, M.D., ’72; J. Richard Knop, J.D. ’69; Peter Kovler; Sally Nuamah, B.A. ’11; Steven Ross, B.B.A. ’81; Robert Tanenbaum, J.D. ’82; and Cynthia Steele Vance, B.A. ’79. They were recognized for their service Friday.