Our Founders

As the founding CEO of The Management Center, Jerry brought together his dual passions for advancing social change and creating effective organizations that deliver on what they set out to accomplish. Over 15 years, Jerry grew The Management Center from a donor-funded, two-person start-up that reached ten clients in its first year to a go-to resource serving 400 organizations and more than 15,000 individuals a year, with a multi-racial team of 50 and a diversified revenue base of over $10 million. Prior to his time at The Management Center, Jerry, an alumnus of McKinsey & Company, played leadership roles in a number of nonprofits. At Teach For America, he served as the second-in-command for seven years and helped expand the scale and impact of the organization dramatically, with applications to the program and funding both growing more than five-fold during his tenure. Before graduating from Yale Law School, where he was active in legal clinics and a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, Jerry taught high school math and U.S. history in Compton, California. He has written and spoken extensively on nonprofit management and leadership, is the coauthor of the book Managing to Change the World, has served on numerous nonprofit boards, and currently runs his own advising and executive coaching practice for senior public sector leaders. In his spare time Jerry is a passionate, albeit mediocre, pick-up soccer player.

Rebecca Epstein was the founding staff member of The Management Center, co-authoring the proposal that led to TMC’s founding, developing many of the original tools, trainings, and client practices, and managing the organization’s internal operations. Becca’s experience as a community organizer in Chicago and commitment to helping social justice organizations achieve their desired impact deeply informed the early work of The Management Center. After leaving TMC, Becca spent five years at Planned Parenthood Federation of America managing the advocacy, communications, and political division and leading the organization’s strategic planning. A certified professional coach, Becca runs her own coaching and consulting practice with a focus on leaders, organizations, and movements confronting strategic challenges and seeking transformation in order to advance equity and justice. 

Peter B. Lewis served as Progressive Corporation’s CEO from 1965 to 2000 and its non-executive Chairman from 2000 until his death in 2013. As CEO, Mr. Lewis grew Progressive from a small, specialized insurance company with $6 million in revenues and 100 employees into the nation’s fourth largest auto insurer, with 27,000 employees and annual sales of $17 billion. Through his philanthropy, Lewis invested in people with purposes he shared and the management ability to achieve those purposes. Lewis served on the Board of his alma mater, Princeton University, and was its largest-ever contributor. He believed deeply in the value of individual freedom and worked to foster governmental and social change. He supported the American Civil Liberties Union and helped finance the beginnings of The Management Center, America Coming Together, MoveOn.org, Media Matters, and the Center for American Progress. Lewis was the father of three and grandfather of five.