Fearless Leaders
Board of Trustees
David Gardner
Motley: Excelsior
David Gardner
Co-Chair and Co-Founder, The Motley Fool
David Gardner is Chief Rule Breaker and Co-Chair of The Motley Fool, a financial services company he co-founded in 1993 alongside his brother Tom. He also serves as the Chair of The Motley Fool Foundation.
The Motley Fool’s purpose is to make the world smarter, happier, and richer. To that end, for 28 years David picked stocks for a worldwide membership through the company’s flagship service, Motley Fool Stock Advisor. From inception in March 2002 through May 2021, he generated returns for members of 20.6% annualized, vs. the market’s S&P 500 average of 9.1%. David also picked a few hundred stocks for Motley Fool Rule Breakers as part of a larger team; Rule Breakers returned 16.2% annualized vs. the market’s S&P 500 average of 10.6%. Believing in both quality and quantity, David made 13 accountable and market-beating picks a month for 15 years.
David hosts a weekly podcast, Rule Breaker Investing, which has published a new episode every week since July 2015. Spending equal parts on his three great passions – investing, business, and life – he regularly welcomes world-class authors, renowned conscious capitalists, game designers, and all-star athletes. The show is most of all driven by his listenership, which shares constant feedback that he tackles in month-end Mailbag episodes. Rule Breaker Investing reaches a monthly listenership of 90,000.
David and his wife Margaret both graduated as Morehead-Cain Scholars from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988; he is a recipient of UNC’s prestigious “Distinguished Young Alumni Award.” He plays games of all kinds, especially board games, having a collection of hundreds of them, which the Gardners have played a lot over the years with their three (grown) children. David served on the Individual Investor Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange for 15 years and the Folger Shakespeare Library board for 10 years. A native Washingtonian, he particularly enjoyed his 2019 graduating class for Leadership Greater Washington. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Conscious Capitalism Institute and is a Co-Founder of Conscious Capitalism DC. He is “Limited Partner #1” in the Motley Fool Ventures debut fund, and continues to love investing in all forms.
Margaret Gardner
Motley: Create delight — Give thanks
Margaret Gardner
Margaret Gardner has known the Fool since its inception as its first cheerleader and consultant, advisor, and activist. Supporting its growth and championing its mission is a lifetime goal. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar with a BA in English and History and has an MA in English Literature from UVA, and a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Seminary. She has worked as an English teacher, researcher, editor, and at-home mom of three. As a community volunteer, Margaret is engaged with issues of homelessness, hunger, and educating at-risk youth. She has served on the boards of churches, schools, and nonprofits, focusing on fundraising and development, grant distribution, governance, and strategic planning. She is currently a Ministry Associate for Small Groups and Adult Discipleship at National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.
As David is to games, Margaret is to flowers. An avid gardener Margaret served as president of the Garden Club of Alexandria, which worked on the recent renovation of the garden at Alexandria’s Visitor Center on King Street. (There’s even a Foolish touch – go see!) As a floral artist, she has won awards at state and regional flower shows. She teaches floral design classes and recently published on floral design for sacred spaces in the Spring 2022 issue of the arts journal.
Ollen Douglass
Motley: Purpose & Profit
Ollen Douglass
Ollen Douglass is the Finance Chair of the Motley Fool Foundation. He is also the Managing Director of Motley Fool Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. The fund focuses on startups deploying technology as a strategic asset to increase efficiency, improve access, or operate at scale in large, growing markets. Ollen serves on the Board of private companies Bitwise Industries, Eyrus, InHerSight, Ketos, StreetShares, and Upskill.
He is the board chair for the nonprofit group Young Artists of America. Before creating the fund, Ollen served 14 years as the corporate CFO of The Motley Fool Holdings, and previously held several positions in banking and public accounting. He earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of Baltimore and is an inactive Motley CPA. Ollen lives in Maryland with his wife and three sons.
Elaine Hungenberg
Motley: Thoughtful Disruptor
Elaine Hungenberg
Elaine Hungenberg is a proven leader of financial empowerment interventions and research, and offers expertise in leading successful strategies to help close financial inclusion and wealth gaps. Her passion to financially uplift communities, combined with her experience in developing data insights to pioneer real change for at-risk populations, has defined her career. Elaine is currently Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Impact at XPRIZE, where she leads the organization’s efforts to harness the power of its unique and innovative partnerships to create positive, global impact.
Formerly, Elaine was an Executive Vice President at Operation HOPE, overseeing the HOPE Research and Impact Institute. During her decade-long tenure at Operation HOPE, Elaine focused her efforts on evaluating cutting-edge solutions to financial inequities and systemic economic challenges. Partnering with some of the world’s largest employers, she worked to equip organizations across industries to function as a force for good and to build a future where all people can thrive financially.
Elaine began her career in the nonprofit sector in 2007 with the Colorado Children’s Campaign and, subsequently, with Invest in Kids in Denver, Colorado. Analyzing statewide data, Elaine focused her efforts on creating publications to help Colorado’s legislature create appropriate and formative programs for at-risk youth. While working with numerous organizations in her early career, Elaine was able to successfully help with the formation of positive public policy to close educational attainment gaps.
In 2022, Elaine was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Colorado for her work in advancing real social impact. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont, and a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Econometrics and Political Science. Elaine is a current resident of Windsor, Colorado, with her husband and three children. With endless energy to make the world a better place, she considers herself a thoughtful disrupter in the pursuit of positive social change.
Sylvia Sierra
Motley: Be the change
Sylvia Sierra
Neil Grayson
Motley: Understanding Matters
Neil Grayson
Bernita Bailey
Motley: Make a Positive Impact
Bernita Bailey
Distinguished Advisors
Joy Grayson
Joy Grayson
Trish Costello
Motley: Do The Impossible!
Trish Costello
Our passion starts with
The Motley Fool Foundation Leaders
The Motley Fool Foundation couldn’t move toward our goals without the people who work here, who help us steer the ship, and who add their knowledge and passion.
David Gardner
Board of Trustees Chair
David Gardner
Board of Trustees Chair
George Khalaf
Interim Executive Director
George Khalaf
Interim Executive Director
As the Program Director at The Motley Fool Foundation, George leads the program strategy and portfolio to actualize the Foundation’s vision of Financial Freedom for all. He has spent half his career in the for-profit sector and half in the nonprofit and startup space, working in the U.S., India, Lebanon, and Egypt. In the private sector, he worked at Accenture, Dalberg, and The World Bank advising leading multinational organizations and corporations in the areas of strategy, multi-sector partnerships, and business process re-engineering.
Most recently, George was the co-founder and executive director of Empatico, a digital platform that connects children around the world to build bridges across lines of difference. George took a philanthropist’s initial vision and built a team of 30 people, an award-winning digital platform, and a globally recognized brand reaching over one million students across 140 countries. Empatico is the recipient of a 2018 Fast Company World-Changing Idea Award and was featured on NBC Nightly News.
Prior to Empatico, George was the director of the Middle East and North Africa region for the Synergos Institute, a nonprofit poverty alleviation organization. In this role, he directed all programs and activities in the MENA region with the aim of connecting people, ideas, and resources to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and inequity. He designed, implemented, and raised $7.8M for the Arab World Social Innovators Program, which is the Arab world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs.
George has a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. in political science and international studies from Swarthmore College. He lives in Brooklyn NY with his wife and two children, Gavin and Oliver.
Motley: I grew up in a war in Beirut, Lebanon, and learned at an early age the importance of building bridges across lines of difference. I see our diversity as a strength and am constantly seeking to build bridges across lines of difference to help people overcome divides and discover a shared humanity. I was a nationally ranked college tennis player and represented my home country of Lebanon in a match against Saudi Arabia. I keep up my tennis as a weekend warrior on the public courts in Brooklyn. Both on and off the tennis court, I believe a better world starts with habits – deliberating with curiosity, relating with empathy, and collaborating with courage across perceived lines of difference.
Sean Milliken
Motley: Positive Persistence
Sean Milliken
Sean Milliken serves as Managing Director of the Motley Fool Foundation’s ImpactFool (IF) Fund. He is a renowned social entrepreneur who has also served in leadership roles with some of the world’s most impactful companies and nonprofit organizations.
Most recently, Sean served as PayPal’s Head of Global Social Innovation, where he led all aspects of the company’s philanthropic efforts focused on Financial Health, Charitable Giving, Environmental Sustainability and Employee Engagement. During his tenure, the company was consistently recognized as a leading force for good.
Prior to his role at PayPal, Sean served as Director of Nonprofit Strategy for eBay Inc., where he was responsible for harnessing the company’s assets and expertise to benefit nonprofit organizations. Sean joined eBay Inc. following its acquisition of MissionFish, an organization he founded and led as its Executive Director for more than 10 years. Under his leadership, the award-winning social enterprise partnered with eBay to launch eBay Giving Works (now eBay for Charity), a ground-breaking customer giving program that has raised over $1 Billion for nonprofit organizations around the world.
Sean’s more than 25 years at the intersection of corporate social impact, nonprofit advancement, and social entrepreneurship has been marked by an unwavering commitment to creating new sources of awareness and support for charitable organizations. His idea for MissionFish was formed while serving in marketing and development roles for Communities In Schools, Inc., and later Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.
His passion for using entrepreneurial initiatives for social good was developed while helping teens start successful businesses. He led a collaboration with the University of Southern California Entrepreneur Program that created the Center for Entrepreneurship at Manual Arts High School, a business incubator and micro-loan program for young people in South Central Los Angeles.
Sean previously served on the Board of The Motley Fool Foundation and is currently Board Chair of Communities In Schools of Northern Virginia. He holds a BS in Communications from Virginia Tech and resides with his family in Alexandria, Virginia.
Jeff Haslow
Treasurer
Jeff Haslow
Treasurer
Jeff Haslow has been living his Motley “Up and to the Right” since joining The Motley Fool in 2014. He is the Treasurer/Finance and Operations Director of The Motley Fool Foundation and Treasurer/Finance Director of the related for-profit companies under The Motley Fool Holdings umbrella. He has more than 34 years of experience as a finance executive for private high-growth companies and has served on multiple nonprofit boards. Jeff is a CPA and CGMA, and a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Adrian College and a master of business administration from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He and his husband split their time between Northern Virginia and Palm Springs, California. Jeff has many hobbies, including cooking, reading, fitness, and performing. His acting career included a performance of the Shakespeare monologue that gave The Motley Fool its name (“As You Like It”, Act 2, Scene 7).
Tee-Era Turner
Operations Manager
Tee-Era Turner
Operations Manager
The Next Big Bet: Launching a New Public Charity
Interview with the co-founders of The Motley Fool
With close to 30 years of history under their belts, the co-founders of The Motley Fool reflect on their successes and what is needed for society and for the company to thrive. They discuss the newly formed Motley Fool Foundation and its purpose of making the pathway to Financial Freedom more accessible for all.
Can you tell us a bit about the history of The Motley Fool?
David: My brother Tom and I founded The Motley Fool nearly 30 years ago in a backyard shed. Looking back on it, it’s hard to believe that The Motley Fool grew from such humble beginnings to become a trusted advisor to millions of people and helping them realize the wealth-building power of the stock market.
Tom: Our family instilled in us a passion for investing, the wisdom in taking the long view, and an enthusiasm for learning. All of that – plus a good dose of levity – came together to create The Motley Fool.
What brought about the decision to create The Motley Fool Foundation?
David: I’m proud of the work The Motley Fool has done to make the world smarter, happier, and richer, but we realize we have much more work to do, and now we have the resources to start to do it.
Tom: The stock market is one of the most powerful wealth creation tools in the world. But for many people who struggle daily to make ends meet, this tool is financially out of reach. Personal finance truisms can only go so far when one is also fighting systemic racism, unconscious bias, an education gap, and many other roadblocks to building wealth.
What role do you see Fools around the world playing in the Foundation?
Tom: Over our company’s history, I have seen our community of Fools come together not just as investors, but as philanthropists in support of many worthy causes. We ask them to join us now on the next leg of the journey in support of The Motley Fool Foundation and its mission. With David at the helm as Chairman of the Foundation and Jennifer Gennaro Oxley as our Executive Director – combined with the support of our global Foolish community – the Foundation will achieve remarkable, lasting change for the benefit of millions.
David: Thanks Tom. That means so much coming from you. The Foundation wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for your conscious and empathetic leadership as our CEO.
What do you hope to achieve with The Motley Fool Foundation?
David: One of my guiding investing principles is this: “Make your portfolio reflect your best vision for our future.” I know many of you share this thinking and find investing not only personally enriching but also a way to create a better world for all. We are about to welcome a LOT more people to the campfire. The warmth we will show them will lead to global betterment, and the stories they will tell will fashion a lasting legacy for our Motley Fool community!
Join the thousands who have already signed up to be a part of our
Fools For Good Community.
