Allen S. Furst has spent over 35 years of his professional career working in the world of sports and entertainment.  While currently managing the business affairs of high profile professional athletes and entertainers as Managing Partner of Monarch ASF, Allen is also the President and co-founder of Agency 21 Consulting, LLC, a firm that provides event management & marketing services for both non-profit organizations and corporate sponsors.  Some of Agency 21’s clients include Hip Hop 4 Health (a program that partners with South Florida After-School All-Stars through The Carrie Meek Foundation), Reid & Fiorentino Events (which benefits Lauren’s Kids and Dade Schools Athletic Foundation), Wade’s World Foundation (which benefits underserved children in both South Florida and Chicago), the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival (which supports FIU School of Hospitality), and many other high profile events that benefit well deserving non-profit organizations.  Allen has also been the Miami Campaign Manager for the National Women’s Healthy Heart Campaign and Health Fair and serves on the Board of several local charities, including the Mourning Family Foundation and the Overtown Youth Center.

Allen started his career with ProServ, Inc., formerly a Washington, DC based international sports marketing and management company where he represented and managed the business affairs of such well-known athletes as Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Payne Stewart, Boomer Esiason and Jimmy Connors.  Allen was also one of the founding partners D&F Group, a national event marketing and sponsorship agency formed in 1989, which he and his partner further expanded in 1999 by bringing together insiders in the fastest growing segments of sports and entertainment.

Allen has worked with a number of well-known companies over the years, including Budget Rent a Car, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Evian Waters, Hershey Chocolate, McDonald’s, Marriott, Nissan, the U.S. Postal Service and VISA.  In addition, Allen had been active in creating national television specials and national tour sponsorships of sports and entertainment properties for his clients.  Allen is considered a leading authority in sports business and corporate event sponsorships.  He has been featured in articles in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Advertising Age, BrandWeek, and the IEG Sponsorship Report.  Allen has been a guest speaker at various conferences and college sports management programs and has contributed articles to industry publications on various topics.

Allen received his B.S. in Economics in from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, his J.D. from the Catholic University School of Law, and is also a Certified Public Accountant.  Allen and his wife Arlene reside in Coconut Grove, FL.  Allen enjoys playing all sports, traveling and spending time with his family which includes his daughters Lisa and Lauren along with their husbands Jeff and Michael, as well as the newest addition to the Williams family, granddaughter Riley Emma.

Bobby has served the needs of the real estate community of the Washington Metropolitan Area, since graduating from the American University—Washington College of Law in 1994.  As an attorney, he conducts residential and commercial real estate settlements, offers continuing education classes to real estate professionals, including real estate agents and fellow attorneys, and serves as legal counsel to builders, real estate brokers and individuals.  Bobby’s legal experience also includes debtor and creditor rights along with business entity formations.  He enjoys serving the needs of the greater community as well having volunteered his time with D.C. HPAP (helping lower income residents to purchase homes).  He also served as President of the Georgetown Preparatory School Alumni Board of Governors, his high school alma mater, and remains active a member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Parish in Potomac, MD and Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, MD.  Bobby graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1990 and resides in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife and son.  He is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia and is an Affiliate Member of Greater Capital Association of Realtors (GCAAR) where he previously served on the Contracts and Clauses Sub-Committee and Public Policy Committee.

Diana Hellinger has spent the past 25 years in various non-profit management and Director positions at the Project on Equal Education Rights and Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project.  She also served as a Board member and Vice President of Board America’s Charities (1989 to 2001).  Language Arts Teacher, Middle School, St. Michael, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Doug Hellinger is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of non-profit The Development Group for Alternative Policies (Development GAP).  He has worked in Third World Countries (Peace Corps/Brazil); consulted at theInter-American Foundation, World Bank, and other development assistance organizations; advised Congressional committees; co-authored three books; and organized global civil-society movements for economic justice.  Along with brother Steve at The Development GAP, Doug helped create the African Development Foundation through the U.S. Congress and took the Baltimore Orioles to Nicaragua as part of baseball diplomacy in 1980.

John Coyle has 35 years of professional experience in publishing and asset management, leading various businesses as President & CEO.  He is a proud Washington, DC native and has served as a board and foundation member of numerous organizations and companies in the area.  One of his most memorable experiences is coaching young Roy Hibbert in club basketball.  John holds a BS in Accounting from Providence College.

Marci Levin is a grant writer and researcher for the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, DC, a world-class boarding school where serious students prepare for a career in classical ballet.  She is in charge of prospect research, strategic planning and grant writing.  Previously, Ms. Levin was responsible for grant research and grant writing at The Textile Museum in Washington.  She was Grants Manager for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, and prior to that, was with Levine School of Music.  Earlier, she represented cities and colleges before Congress and federal agencies, after serving as Director of State Relations for the Corporation for National Service’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs during the Clinton Administration.

Ms. Levin is on the Board of Directors of Career Catchers, a Maryland nonprofit, and is a member of the Women’s Leadership Group of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.  She also serves on the Advisory Board of Reel Fathers.  Originally from New Castle, PA, Ms. Levin is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, and received her Grant Professionals Certification in 2007.  She is a resident of Chevy Chase, MD, and is the proud grandmother of two girls.

Sheryl Watkins Wilbon is a native Washingtonian.  She graduated from the University of Virginia in 1988 with a double major in International Relations and Rhetoric and Communications Studies.

Following an internship in the U.S. Senate Press Gallery, she attended Duke University School of Law.  Upon completing her law degree in 1992, Sheryl clerked for Chief Justice Leroy Hassell on the Virginia Supreme Court.  Returning to Washington, she spent several years working in public relations.

Sheryl has been an active volunteer at the University of Virginia since her graduation.  She served for eight years on the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Board of Directors with two years as the Scholarship Committee Chairman.  In addition, Sheryl served for eight years on The College Foundation of the University of Virginia and is a member of Washington, DC/Northern Virginia Regional Selection Committee of the Jefferson Scholars Program.

In the spring of 2011, Sheryl joined the Board of Managers of the Alumni Association.

Sheryl served four terms as a member of the Board of Trustees of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, where she also served on the selection committee for the new Head of School.  Sheryl’s other volunteer activities, both past and present, include American Women in Radio and Television, Inc., the Suburban Hospital Foundation Ball Committee and the Board of Trustees of The Woods Academy.

She and her husband Michael and son Matthew, reside in Bethesda, Maryland.

Since Winnie Ballard became the First Lady of Indianapolis, she has been working hard to improve financial literacy in our city by making sure families have access to the tools and resources they need to be more financially fit. With eight years of banking experience and the former owner of a bookkeeping business, she understands the importance of financial fitness for the entire family.

In October 2008, Mrs. Ballard, working with the City of Indianapolis, launched Indy’s Campaign for Financial Fitness, a public-private partnership between the city, federal and state governments, corporations, financial institutions and community-based organizations.

Mrs. Ballard spearheaded this innovative three-pillar program, which raises awareness of the importance of financial health by giving residents access to no- or low-cost bank products, free tax preparation, and teaches financial fundamentals through household budgeting coaching.

In October 2009, under her leadership, she launched the Bank On Indy initiative. Mrs. Ballard keeps herself busy with expanding the ICFF three-pillar financial fitness program to serve our Indianapolis families by taking the “Live within your means” program to families where they live and work.

She actively supports other causes, including arthritis awareness and minority- and women-owned business and diversity initiatives within our city. She is also a physical fitness advocate, and in September 2009 launched the “Walk with Winnie Series” in partnership with Indy Parks.

Mrs. Ballard is an accountant by trade, and she and Mayor Ballard — her husband of 31 years — reside in Pike Township. They have two children, both of whom graduated from Indiana University.

For more information, please visit the First Lady of Indianapolis website.