Bill is the former executive director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, Inc., an ecumenical institute supporting contemplative living and leadership founded in 1973. He continues to teach and lead retreats and workshops for Shalem and other faith-based organizations and serves as a chaplain in hospice and long-term care settings. He also serves on several nonprofit boards. Bill is a former Certified Public Accountant and holds a BS from Georgetown University.

Royce is president of Flippin Associates, a consulting firm for the public and private sectors. Formerly, he was director of athletics at Princeton University and director of both athletics and program advancement for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Royce is on the board of Technical Career Institute, NYC, TerraCycle, Inc. as well as several nonprofit institutions. He earned his AB from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mellody is responsible for firm-wide management and strategic planning, overseeing all operations outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as chairman of the board of trustees for Ariel Investment Trust. Beyond her work at Ariel, Mellody has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. Specifically, she is a regular financial contributor on Good Morning America, the featured consumer finance expert on Tom Joyner’s Money Mondays radio program and a regular columnist for Black Enterprise. In addition, she is a spokesperson for the Ariel/Hewitt Study: 401(k) Plans in Living Color and the Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey, both of which examine investing patterns among minorities. Mellody is a director of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Groupon, Inc., and Starbucks Corporation. In addition, she serves on the boards of various civic organizations including The Field Museum, The Chicago Public Education Fund and the Sundance Institute. She is also on the board of governors of the Investment Company Institute. Mellody earned her AB degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. She also received an honorary doctorate degree in humanities from Howard University.

Chris is chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois and the Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. Additionally, he serves as treasurer of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, is on the Executive Committee for the Chicago Community Trust, and is a board member of both the Catholic Theological Union and Interface, Inc. Chris earned his BA from Boston College and his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University where he serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board.

Merrillyn is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s mutual fund business from strategic planning, marketing, advertising, customer retention and shareholder servicing to Ariel’s online presence. As chief marketing officer for the mutual funds, she spearheads the creation and execution of integrated marketing and advertising campaigns designed to generate mutual fund sales and promote Ariel’s patient investment philosophy. Additionally, she is in charge of all media and public relations for the firm. Merrillyn serves on the board of trustees for Ariel Investment Trust and is president of Ariel Distributors, LLC. Prior to joining Ariel in 1999, she served as a senior executive at the Acorn family of funds and Kemper Financial Services. Merrillyn is the former chairman of the Mutual Fund Education Alliance as well as a current board member of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. Merrillyn earned a BBA in marketing from Andrews University and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, where she serves on the council of regents as well as the investment policy committee. She is also on the advisory board for Loyola’s Graduate School of Business.

As a senior executive at Lazard Ltd, Bill advises blue-chip clients on a broad range of corporate and financial issues including merger and acquisition activity and leveraged buyouts. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Bill spent 24 years with Morgan Stanley in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as managing director and co-head of the firm’s Global Banking Department. Beyond his work at Lazard, Bill is actively involved in the broader community and serves on the boards of Phillips Academy, Morehouse College and the New York Philharmonic. Additionally, he is a director of Darden Restaurants. Bill attended Harvard University where he earned both his undergraduate degree with honors and his MBA.

Carl serves as chairman of the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees. From 1993 to 2002, he served as the comptroller of the State of New York where as chief fiscal officer, he was responsible for governmental and financial oversight and pension fund management. Previously, Carl served three terms as a New York State senator. He has also served as an ambassador to the United Nations; commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and as commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights. From 1991 to 1993, he served as president of the New York City Board of Education, where he set policy for the largest school system in the nation. Carl graduated from Dartmouth College, Andover Newton Theological Seminary and studied at the University of Edinburgh.

John’s passion for investing started when he was 12 years old when his father bought him stocks every birthday and every Christmas instead of toys. His interest grew while majoring in economics at Princeton University. After graduation, he worked as a stockbroker for 2½ years at William Blair & Company, LLC—a regional investment banking firm. In 1983, John founded Ariel Investments to focus on undervalued small and medium-sized companies. Patience served as the cornerstone of a disciplined approach that still drives the firm today. Beyond Ariel, John is a regular financial contributor to Forbes magazine and currently serves as a board member of Exelon Corporation and McDonald’s Corporation. Additionally, he is a former chairman of the Economic Club of Chicago, a director of the Chicago Urban League, and a trustee of the University of Chicago. In 2008, John was awarded Princeton University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to the alumnus whose career embodies a commitment to national service. Following the election of President Barack Obama, he served as co-chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009. In 2010, John was also appointed by President Obama to chair the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. Furthermore, that same year John was named an Outstanding Director by the Outstanding Directors Exchange for his leadership on governance, management and diversity in the boardroom. He received an AB in economics from Princeton University where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team.

As vice president and CIO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, Jim is responsible for a $6 billion endowment which underwrites the Trust’s art museum, acquisitions, grants and art conservation activities. Previously, he served as president of Harbor Capital Advisors and the Harbor Mutual Funds. He also spent nearly thirty years with Ford Motor Company, most recently managing the company’s pension plan. Jim serves on the board of SEI Mutual Funds. He holds a BS in engineering from the University of Michigan and earned an MBA in finance from The University of Chicago.