BOSTON– The Boston Foundation announced the appointment of Jane Steinmetz, the Office Managing Principal of Ernst & Young LLP’s Boston office, and Raj Sharma, Managing Director/Private Wealth Advisor and Founder of The Sharma Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management, to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for terms beginning July 1, 2022.
Steinmetz and Sharma will be taking the places of Paul Gannon and Peter Nessen, who will step down from active board membership after ten years because of term limits. In addition to being recognized as Directors Emeriti, both Gannon and Nessen will remain involved with the Foundation in ex officio committee roles.
“Paul Gannon and Peter Nessen both have my undying gratitude for their decade of service to the Boston Foundation. Both Peter and Paul have been active, supportive members who have brought their decades of experience in finance, government and philanthropy to bear to help the Foundation remain effective through one of the most challenging periods in Greater Boston history, and I am pleased they will both remain actively connected to TBF,” said Linda Mason, Chair of the Board of Directors.
“It is also with great excitement that we welcome Jane Steinmetz and Raj Sharma to the Board,” continued Mason. “Jane is both a renowned business executive in the city and an active and thoughtful leader in the nonprofit sector, and Raj brings both tremendous acumen and insights as a financial advisor and his own history as a leader and advisor for a number of organizations.”
The Board is also announcing that Vice-Chair T.J. Rose is also stepping down from the Board because he is moving out of the Boston area. A replacement for him as Vice-Chair and a replacement Director for the remainder of his term will be determined at a later date.
“T.J. Rose has been a great friend and colleague on the Board for the past three years,” said Mason, “And I have especially appreciated his support, advice and counsel as Vice-Chair of the Board since 2020. On behalf of the Board, I thank him and wish him the best as he heads out on new ventures.”
Full biographies of Jane Steinmetz and Raj Sharma are below.
With the appointments of Steinmetz and Sharma, the Boston Foundation Board of Directors is majority female – with 11 of 19 seats occupied by women – and the most ethnically diverse it has been in the Foundation’s history. Nine of the 19 current directors, as well as President and CEO M. Lee Pelton, are of Black, Latino or Asian backgrounds.
About Jane Steinmetz
Jane Steinmetz is a business leader within EY who brings over 25 years of experience serving Fortune 100 clients, leading high-performing teams and advocating for change.
In her role as Office Managing Principal of the EY Boston office, Jane is responsible for overall client service, market growth and internal management of the Boston office, in which there are over 2,300 assurance, tax, transaction and consulting professionals.
As a managing principal and business leader, she is connected to top leadership and uses her experience to guide strategic, client service and operational recommendations.
Prior to her current role, Jane served as the New England Market Leader for Financial Services and has led the national Financial Services state and local tax practice for EY, managing a team across the US and India.
Jane is also active in giving back to the community, pursuing her passion to personally make a difference in youth mentoring, women’s advancement and equality for all. She chairs the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and serves on the executive committee of the Massachusetts High Tech Council and Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. She is a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and the National Association of Corporate Directors – New England chapter. She is a corporate member of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and member on The Boston Club corporate advisory board. She also engages with numerous charitable organizations including Earthwatch, NVNA Hospital, and the International Institute of New England.
For her professional and personal accomplishments, Jane has been named to the Boston Business Journal Power 50 and Women Who Mean Business. She was also a 2020 Boston Chamber Pinnacle Award recipient, a Massachusetts Society of CPAs 2018 Women to Watch honoree, and Girls’ LEAP Honoree of the Year.
Jane started her career at PwC and joined EY in 2011. She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Rhode Island College and her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut bar associations.
Jane resides in Cohasset with her husband of 25 years, four children and 2 Newfoundlands.
About Raj Sharma
The founder of The Sharma Group, Raj has more than 30 years of financial services experience. Before joining Merrill in 1987, he worked for 12 years as a financial analyst, management executive and media specialist. Thoughtful and analytic, with an excellent understanding of the global markets, Raj has received numerous industry recognitions. Barron’s has named him as one of America’s Top 100 Financial Advisors for 18 consecutive years through 2022 – putting him among the “Barron’s Hall of Fame’, a distinction accorded to advisors who have been on the top advisor list for ten years.
In 2021 and 2022, Raj was named the #1 Financial Advisor in Massachusetts on Barron’s America’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors list for the thirteenth consecutive year. Forbes named Raj the #1 Financial Advisor in Massachusetts on Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list in 2019-2022. He was also named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Wealth Advisors” list 2016 – 2022. Most recently, The Sharma Group was featured by Barron’s as a Top 50 Private Wealth Teams in 2020 and Top 100 Private Wealth Teams for 2021. Additionally, he was named to the Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisors 2013 – 2021. Raj earned a Master’s degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Finance, from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and a Master’s degree in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston. Raj holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation and is a member of the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute). Passionate about giving back to his community and the world, Raj is active in many local and global organizations. He is a former chairman and board member of Boston Harbor Island Now, sits on the board of trustees of Emerson College as well as Youth LEAD, an organization devoted to promoting dialogue and tolerance among young people. Raj is also a charter member of TIE, a global organization supporting entrepreneurship and business formation, and Director Emeritus and trustee of the American India Foundation, which is devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India. Raj also serves on the advisory board of RIAN Immigrant Center. RIAN empowers immigrants, refugees and international exchange visitors on the path to opportunity, safety, and a better future.
Raj lives in Massachusetts with his wife and four children. He enjoys traveling, hiking, art and playing golf and tennis.
The Boston Foundation Board of Directors, as of July 1, 2022, includes:
Linda Mason, Chair
Zamawa Arenas
Andrew Arnott
Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D.
Elyse Cherry
Brian Conway
Pam Y. Eddinger, Ph.D.
Betty Francisco
Paul W. Lee
Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan
J. Keith Motley, Ph.D.
Ron O’Hanley
Tracy Palandjian
Dwight Poler
Raj Sharma
Scott E. Squillace, Esq.
Jane Steinmetz
Kate Walsh
C.A. Webb
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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, seeks to bring the collective power of our region’s people and resources together to drive real change. Established in 1915, it is one of the largest community foundations in the nation—with net assets of $1.7 billion. In FY2021, the Foundation and its donors paid $174 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. The Foundation has many partners, including its donors, who have established more than 1,000 separate charitable funds for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. With support from the Annual Campaign for Civic Leadership, the Foundation also facilitates public discourse and action, commissions research into the most critical issues of our time and advocates for public policy that advances opportunity for everyone. The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), a consulting unit of the Foundation, designs and implements customized philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. To learn more about the Foundation and its work, visit TBF.org.
