Bay Area Board Welcomes Two New Members
Posse Bay Area welcomes Laura Pantaleo from Laird Norton Wetherby and Richard Horvath from Dechert LLP to its advisory board. While new to the advisory board, Laura and Richard have both been dedicated supporters of the porgram for several years.
Laura Pantaleo is a wealth manager at Laird Norton Wetherby. As a dedicated Career Program partner since 2020, Wetherby has hosted many Posse Scholars as interns. The company has also extended Posse volunteer opportunities to their employees. Laura saw joining the board as an opportunity to expand her impact.
“Working with Posse is a natural fit,” says Laura. “I was impressed with the organization through our internship program partnership at Wetherby.”
Dedicated to educational access for students in the Bay Area, Laura also serves as a Co-Chair of the Professional Advisors Council of the San Francisco Foundation and as a board member on the Berkeley Athletic Fund.
“I was the first in my family to graduate from high school, college, and graduate school,” says Laura. “I am passionate about helping young people that may not have the guidance or connections that others might.”
Rick Horvath is a partner at Dechert LLP who has offered invaluable legal advice and analysis to the Foundation for years prior to joining the board.
“Almost four years ago, I started providing pro bono legal work for Posse, as that was the easiest way for me to contribute to the organization,” says Rick. “Today, I am thrilled to join the Bay Area Advisory Board to expand my support for Posse, so I can help to identify ways for Posse to grow and expand its impact.”
Rick’s support of Posse aligns perfectly with his passion for education causes.
“The U.S. has become much less merit based and much more class based, which breaks with our social compact and could lead to greater social and political turmoil,” he says. “Posse, being a merit-based program that looks to identify future leaders from a variety of backgrounds and place them in top colleges, appealed to me because it is directly combating class-based inequality and positively impacting lives.”
Posse Bay Area is grateful to Laura and Richard for their many contributions to the program’s success.
