Alexandra (Sandra) Poe is a partner in the Securities Department of WilmerHale. Sandra has 20 years of experience in investment management practice counseling hedge funds, mutual funds, investment advisers and broker-dealer advisory programs in matters involving fund formation, governance, registration and distribution, service, program and platform agreements, and the drafting and implementation of compliance policies and programs.
A graduate of New York University Law School and Cornell University, Sandra was most recently Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at U.S. Trust and Chief Legal Officer of the Excelsior family of funds. Before joining U.S. Trust, Sandra spent five years as General Counsel at Schroder Capital Management and served as President of the Schroder family of mutual funds. She also served as Chief Legal Officer for Managed Accounts and Alternative Investment Strategies at Prudential Financial and as Vice President and investment company counsel for Citibank Global Asset Management. She also spent seven years of her early practice years in private practice.
Sandra is a member of the New York bar and occasionally speaks at conferences on investment management law. She is proud to serve currently as a co-leader of the High Water Women microfinance initiatives; she also values her prior experience as a Director and Executive Director of Artists to End Hunger, Inc., producer of the International Art Show for the End of World Hunger exhibited in major museums and arts venues in twelve countries from 1987-1991.
Eleanor L. Thomas, Meteora Partners
Eleanor L. Thomas is a Managing Director of Meteora Partners, L.L.C., a specialized financial services firm. Prior to joining Meteora, she was the Director of Alternative Investment Strategies and Chief Executive Officer of the Alternatives business of Prudential Financial Derivatives LLC. Eleanor ran the global hedge fund-of-funds platform for this former unit of Prudential Securities.
She was responsible for product origination, negotiations, risk management and administration. During her tenure, Eleanor managed the regulatory reporting and audits of the Alternatives business for Prudential Securities as well. Prior to Prudential Securities, she was fund manager and controller for MC Baldwin Financial, a managed-futures investment manager. She had joined them after a stint as an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co., primarily in the financial services sector. Eleanor holds her Masters of Business Administration in Accounting from Bernard Baruch College. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Long Island University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Marina Winton, High Water Women Foundation
Marina Winton is a non-voting member of the Board, and brings 20 years of non-profit management experience to the organization, primarily with at-risk women and youth on both the local and national levels. Prior to joining High Water Women as its Acting Executive Director, she was President and CEO of the national “I Have a Dream”® Foundation and oversaw the opening of 21 new sites or chapters representing $30 million in private funds and pledges raised locally. Marina also improved the Foundation’s chapter services, increased private funding sources by 20% to 77% of the overall budget, and raised its national profile in numerous media outlets. Prior to that, she was an Assistant National Executive Director with the YWCA of the USA, which oversaw 3,000 different YWCA locations across the country with programs devoted to empowering women and girls. While at the YWCA, she oversaw its Development Department. She also held senior executive positions with a national fundraising consulting firm and with United Way of New York City. Marina graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Management, both from McGill University.
