AHOY!

President

Brett Morash, Ph.D.

Brett Morash is the Chief of the Funding Branch for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing over $2.5 billion in contracts across thirteen states and D.C. He is also an adjunct professor at Norwich University, teaching Strategy and Policy to active-duty military personnel. A retired U.S. Naval Officer, he served on five ships and in an overseas task force in East Africa, concluding his career at the U.S. Naval War College.

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Prior to HUD, Dr. Morash worked with various nonprofits supporting military veterans, including Services for the UnderServed in NYC during the homeless veteran crisis and the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which focuses on helping injured veterans and their families thrive.

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He holds multiple degrees: a B.S. in Marine Transportation from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, an MBA from Framingham State University, and a master's in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He earned a doctorate in Humanities from Salve Regina University in 2015 with a dissertation on the Union of Islamic Courts. An adjunct professor since 2012, he teaches a range of courses at both master's and undergraduate levels.

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Dr. Morash received Salve Regina University’s 2018 Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award and is the HUD Northeast Region Employee of the Year for 2024. His military accolades include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and several other commendations. He has also received multiple awards for operational excellence. He resides in New Rochelle, New York, with his wife and two children.

Executive Vice President

Ira S. Bigeleisen, DMA

Ira, Program Director and  Past Commodore of the City Island Yacht Club, founded City Island Junior Sailing in 2018 after two years of dedicated research. A lifelong sailor, Ira brings extensive experience to the program as both a professional and a volunteer. He competed at the collegiate level and was a founding member of the Brandeis University Sailing Club. Additionally, he has earned recognition as a trophy winner in the PHRF Fleet in Oxnard, California.

Ira is also a Past Commodore of the Anacapa Yacht Club in Oxnard, CA, and served for nine years as the Assistant Program Director for the Pacific Corinthian Youth Foundation’s Junior Sailing Program. He holds a US Sailing Level 1 Instructor’s Certificate.

In his professional life, Ira served as a clergyman in the Jewish faith for 35 years, teaching children and leading youth choirs.

Ira believes in giving every child the opportunity to grow as a person. He views sailing as a sport that fosters a deep respect for the marine environment, teaches sailors to understand the forces of nature, and instills the Corinthian spirit, which emphasizes helping others and taking responsibility. Above all, Ira believes that true success comes from a child’s personal growth through mastering the skills and values of the sailing community.

Treasurer

Stephanie Sparvero

Head of Data Solutions Operations and Securities Services In-Business CDO, Fusion by J.P. Morgan

Stephanie has a passion for sailing and serves as the treasurer of the City Island Youth Foundation Board, which encourages young people in sailing and STEM education.

Stephanie is responsible for leading Data Solutions aligned operations teams, the Firmwide instrument reference data team, and serves as the In-Business CDO for Securities Services. Stephanie works closely with the Data Solutions business, which offers managed services to institutional investors, spanning a range of services across performance, compliance, and data management as part of “Fusion by J.P. Morgan.” She also manages the Instrument Reference Data team, a central data operations function for the firm, focused on a range of data services including vendor incorporation, quality control, management, and internal distribution. As the In-Business CDO, Stephanie is responsible for the execution of data governance within Securities Services

Stephanie has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry.  Having spent the first decade of her career in mortgage securitization issuance and trading, building one of the leading buyside firms in the subprime space, Stephanie then expanded her career to strategic operations and technology in fixed income more broadly.  She has worked in chief operating officer roles within sellside trading, quantitative research, private real estate funds, and data product management. Immediately before joining J.P. Morgan, Stephanie was the Global Head of Evaluated Pricing product (BVAL) at Bloomberg, in which she drove strategic innovation, technology and product development, integrating data science practices and scalability for complex quantitative processes. Stephanie is a past member of the Bond Pricing Institute Steering Committee and the Financial Instruments Board of the International Valuation Standards Council.

Board Member

Judy Judson

Judy Judson