WHO WE ARE

Gus Gast is partner at Moneta, one of the nation’s largest fee-only Registered Investment Advisers.  Throughout his 19 years at the firm, Gus has worked as a Family CFO by creating comprehensive, long-term plans for successful families, helping them achieve their goals while staying true to their values.

After growing up in a small rural community in Illinois, Gus earned his B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois.  His first experiences in the financial services industry were with Price Waterhouse, now PwC, helping companies with consolidation and financial reporting requirements in their initial public and secondary offerings.  He continued those efforts in industry as Treasurer for a publicly-traded company with responsibilities for SEC reporting, and in mergers and acquisitions during the company’s evolutionary phase.  He then worked as VP – Finance at 2 start-up companies with ground-floor involvement providing structure, processes and financial reporting systems.

Gus is married to Kelly Gast, an executive at Bayer.  They have 3 children, all following in their accounting/finance footsteps.  Gus and Kelly are active in many charitable causes serving on several boards over the years in an effort to improve their community and the lives of those in it.  Gus is an avid outdoor enthusiast, enjoying a myriad of outdoor sporting activities including snow skiing, scuba diving, golf, hunting and fishing.

Diane was born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1960. She received her undergraduate degree from Villanova University in 1982, her law degree from University of Southern California in 1987 and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1988. Since retiring from practicing law, Diane has been a member of the NFL Heads Up Football advisory committee and was a frequent speaker for the NFL and NFL team events. Diane has been national spokesperson for the USA Rice Council and authored the book, He’s Just My Dad. Diane supports numerous nonprofits as a community volunteer focusing on youth development. She is a longtime board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia and has co-chaired three successful capital campaigns for the construction of new club buildings, as well as taken leadership roles in the design of the buildings in Virginia and Montana. Diane is married to Howie Long and has three sons and two grandsons. She resides in Virginia, Arizona and Montana.

For the past 12 years, Jilli has worked at Google helping organizations around the world move to and work in the Cloud – first enterprises, and now schools. As a Program Manager on the Google for Education team, Jilli helps K12 education leaders adopt Google technology to make an impact in the classroom. Her team strives to make learning possible for everyone, everywhere – a mission Jilli cares deeply about and sees mirrored in the Chris Long Foundation’s focus on equity and education.

Jilli spent the first 21 years of her life in Charlottesville, VA, graduating from the University of Virginia in 2008. She’s lived happily in San Francisco ever since, now with her loving husband and two beautiful little boys.

Rahul is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at Columbia University. Prior to business school, Rahul was a Senior Associate at Endeavour Capital, a middle-market private equity firm. During that time, he worked with companies in the transportation and logistics, food and consumer, specialty retail, and healthcare industries. Prior to Endeavour, he was an Analyst at Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory.

Rahul is a graduate of the University of Virginia and a long-time UVA sports fan. He began volunteering with the Chris Long Foundation in 2017 and is passionate about the Foundation’s focus on equity and education. Rahul currently resides in New York City with his wife.

Amanda serves as a prosecutor for the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.  Amanda is an attorney whose legal career is focused on pursuing justice for victims of child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking. Amanda graduated from American University with a degree in Business Administration and was a member of the women’s lacrosse team. Following her graduation from American University, she attended Villanova University School of Law and received her Juris Doctorate in 2013. Amanda lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and son, Jay.

Matt O’Malley is the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Orthopaedics – a $120M+ physician enterprise headquartered in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, and one of the largest private orthopaedic groups in the country. A seasoned leader, Matt brings to the Chris Long Foundation nearly 20 years of experience in strategy, business development, and transformation in both the nonprofit and for-profit healthcare sectors. Matt holds undergraduate (BS, Biology) and graduate (MBA) degrees from Villanova University and resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tom is the Founder and Managing Partner of Dry Creek Partners. He began his professional career as a tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. After earning an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Tom held a number of roles in Alternative Asset Management and Investment Banking. He enjoys staying involved in the football community, most recently serving as a coach at Howard University. He currently resides in Washington D.C.

Nate Boyer is an Army Green Beret and former NFL player turned filmmaker. After three combat tours in the Special Forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, Nate walked on at the University of Texas despite never playing a down of organized football in his life. Boyer earned a scholarship and started for three years with the Longhorns before becoming the oldest rookie in NFL history at age 34 while playing for the Seattle Seahawks. In 2015 Boyer and Chris Long co-founded Conquering Kili, a program of the Chris Long Foundation’s Waterboys initiative. Conquering Kili empowers current and former athletes, military combat veterans, and clean water advocates to unite for collective impact and better communities by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro—the highest peak in Africa—and raising funds to build sustainable water wells. Each new Conquering Kili class accepts the challenge to embark for the summit, a walk that represents the miles that many African women journey on a daily basis to fetch water for their families. Boyer has guest starred in several movies and TV shows to include12 Strong, Den of Thieves, Medal of Honor, This Is Us, Mayans MC, The Terminal List; while co-creating, producing, and hosting the NFL Films series: Indivisible in 2018 and 2019. He went on to write and produce his directorial debut MVP (2022), a narrative feature now available on Paramount Plus, Prime, and Apple TV. Nate recently hosted the Discovery Channel series (now available on MAX) Survive the Raft in 2023, and is currently in production on a highly anticipated WWII documentary based on a soldier’s journey to Normandy 80 years after D-Day.

For over 15 years, Alyssa has worked in the sports and entertainment industry focusing on communications, marketing and social media strategy. Starting as an intern, Alyssa is now the Chief Marketing Officer at Octagon, a global sports marketing agency that has been around for over 40 years. She oversees the agency’s public relations, social media and creative departments and has worked with MVPs across the WNBA, NBA and NHL, Pro Football Hall of Famers and award-winning broadcasters, among others. Originally from New York, Alyssa was a captain of the lacrosse team at American University and received her master’s degree from Georgetown University. She currently splits her time between Orlando, FL and Long Beach, NY.

Peter is an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In his role, he provides sophisticated advice on investments, credit, cash management, trusts and estates, and charitable planning. Peter started the Waterboys Young Professionals Committee (YPC), a New York City-based chapter of the Chris Long Foundation focused on raising funds and awareness for the Waterboys initiative. Peter earned his MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and his BBA from East Tennessee State University, where he was a member of the men’s golf team. He currently resides in New York, NY.

Carly is a communications and PR professional with 15+ years of experience working for award-winning creative, media, entertainment and sports agencies. Carly got her start in advertising after graduating from the University of Alabama. She began at Scout Branding in Birmingham, AL, though it wasn’t long before she headed to New York. There, she helped launch Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ NY office, before joining award-winning agency Droga5 to lead comms and PR. Carly continued her trajectory by joining Vox Media (digital publisher for Vox, SB Nation, The Verge, Eater), and most recently spent several years with Endeavor, the entertainment, sports, media and marketing portfolio company. It was there that she supported Endeavor’s corporate communications initiatives for companies such as Endeavor Streaming, Endeavor Analytics and global marketing agency 160over90. She was lucky to be involved in Endeavor’s Impact efforts, including Walk The Walk to help NYC communities, as well as a service trip in Ghana with fellow Endeavor executives. In May 2024, after independent consulting for a year, she was named Director of Communications for creative agency Arts & Letters Creative Co. who are based in Richmond and New York. She is newly involved in YPO and NYAC in New York, but is now officially very happy to be a full-time Charlottesville resident! At the University of Alabama she was a Phi Mu and active with Ad Club, Speech team, the Crimson White newspaper and club lacrosse team. Carly enjoys all the usual pleasures of Charlottesville living and mostly the people that make the place so special. She is enjoying parenthood alongside husband, Richard Walsh.

Nancy Hopkins joined the Chris Long Foundation in 2022. She previously served as Director of Programs for the Presidential Precinct, where she designed, implemented and evaluated programs that help leaders from all around the world deepen their impact by coming together to learn, exchange ideas and collaborate. Prior to joining the Presidential Precinct, Nancy ran her own consulting practice, providing services to several leading global development organizations. She served as Director of Program Planning and Assessment and Cambodia Country Representative at the Asia Foundation, and has also worked at Oxfam America and for Ashoka in Bangladesh. As a longtime Charlottesville resident whose two children have attended the Charlottesville City Schools, Nancy is a dedicated PTO volunteer supporting local educational equity. She holds a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School.

Cain Turner joined the Chris Long Foundation in October 2022. A descendant of Lebanese refugees, he was galvanized by the Afghan crisis in 2021 and joined International Neighbors, where he served as their Director of Development. Cain focused on digital campaign development, stakeholder stewardship, and resource mobilization for the recently resettled Afghan community. Prior to this role, he spent six years in the electoral campaign and advocacy space, serving in strategic senior roles for leaders like Senator Tim Kaine. Cain prioritized building coalitions with crucial constituencies, leading digital engagement initiatives, cultivating stakeholder relationships, and developing equitable public policy with issue leaders that would ultimately influence federal legislation. Cain also serves on the board of March Forward Virginia and holds a B.A. in Sociology and Public Policy.

Portia joined the Chris Long Foundation in October 2023. She previously served as the Director of Advancement and Communications at Local Food Hub. There, she led all fundraising efforts and external communications, and supported program development and organizational operations. Prior to Local Food Hub, Portia served at the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville and Blue Ridge Literacy in Roanoke, Virginia. Portia holds a Master’s of Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. She currently serves on the board of Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville-Albemarle and on the steering committee of Charlottesville Women United in Philanthropy.

As Associate Director of Athlete Partnerships & Programs at the Chris Long Foundation, Dasmine leverages her expertise in athlete marketing, player relations and brand partnerships to drive social impact through athlete-led initiatives, philanthropy, and community engagement. Previously at the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), she optimized $40M in sponsorship partnerships across major sectors, orchestrating campaigns that connected players with impactful brand opportunities. Her innovative approach to athlete relations led to the creation of the NFLPA’s first Parents’ Forum—an educational initiative that became a signature event at the NFL Draft. With experience spanning the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS and collegiate sports landscapes, Dasmine specializes in amplifying players’ voices and connecting athletes with important causes. She develops strategic partnerships that generate lasting value for athletes, brands, and under-resourced communities. A Florida native, Dasmine holds an MBA in Marketing from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Florida State University. A proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Dasmine brings her strategic mindset to community service. When she’s not developing athlete partnerships, you’ll find her attending sporting events or concerts, exploring new cities and trying new restaurants.