I have been a finance professional for 28 years and a venture capitalist since 1996.  I am an outspoken advocate of best practices in board governance and have written three freely available white papers and numerous articles on this topic because I believe that good governance is good business.  My career path and educational background are not typical of most venture capitalists, and I view this as a core strength because my experience brings fresh perspective to the VC industry.  My undergraduate degree is in Government from Harvard (my thesis adviser was the late Samuel P. Huntington).  After college I spent nine years in New York, all in finance, and seven of those years on Wall Street as a risk arbitrageur in the 1980’s (five and a half of those years at the First Boston Corporation).  I have very strong public policy interests, which I have continued to develop through my life membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, through thirteen years of active involvement with the Aspen Institute (principally the Socrates Society), and as a director of the National Venture Capital Association.  As a first generation American and the first person in my family to go to college, I’ve worked hard to achieve success.  I care deeply about our country and am very concerned about America’s slipping global competitiveness over the past decade.  I serve as a director of the Security Innovation Network because I believe that we need to improve collaboration between the Government and the private sector in securing our nation’s critical infrastructure.  I believe in religious pluralism and that diversity is essential to breakthrough innovation across many disciplines and pursuits.  In short, I have strong views on many topics and take the time to develop them responsibly.  This blog is meant to share my views with others, and I invite your comments.