Beyond Sports: Bringing Athletics and Academics Together
Board of Directors
Founder
Elias Karras, the owner of EFT Sports Performance, has had the privilege of training hundreds of athletes ranging from youth, high school athletes, and collegiate athletes, all the way to top-level professionals. As one of the most sought after Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist, Karras has built a reputation for developing speed, strength, and muscular power through the use of break-through training concepts. His desire to make athletes’ stronger, faster, and more explosive is his foundation for his continued success.
Previously, Karras was honored by the United States Olympic Committee with a Special Recognition Award, received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Sports Sciences Association, and was presented with the Professional Recognition Award from the IDEA – Health and Fitness Association. Karras also served as Operational Performance Enhancement Specialist to the Military’s Special Forces Personnel.
Board President
David D. Grumhaus, Jr., joined the BSF board at the beginning of 2012. He has spent his entire professional career in the financial services industry. For the past 10 years, David has been a partner and portfolio manager at Copia Capital, a long-short equity hedge fund based in Chicago. Prior to that, David spent 11 years in investment banking with Goldman Sachs and William Blair. David received his BA in history from Princeton University and his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was also a George F. Baker scholar.
In addition to his professional career, David served for six years as an alderman for the City of Lake Forest, including five years as chair of the City’s finance committee. He is on the board and executive committee of both PADS Lake County and the Lake Forest Country Day School. He is also on Foundation Board of the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
David and his wife, Jennifer, have five children and reside in Lake Forest, IL. They have had the privilege of housing numerous BSF college athletes over the past two years and remain committed to helping BSF and its athletes.
Vice President
Adrienne grew up in the Midwest, but has lived all over the country during her corporate work experience with Maremont/Alusuisse, AMF Inc, Kraft Foods Inc., General Foods Corporation, Miller Brewing Company and Gap Inc. Her final corporate job was Chief Operating Officer of a privately held software and book publisher in Minneapolis.
When she left that position she became a personal historian and was Treasurer of the Association of Personal Historians, a worldwide organization devoted to training and supporting the profession.
In 2008 she started EcoWrap, LLC (which designs, manufactures and distributes a greener fabric gift wrap), after a particularly waste filled post Christmas season. She is an avid traveler in and outside the USA, and resides in Lake Forest, IL.
Adrienne Johns is also the Midwest Region Chair for the National Parks Conservation Association and is on their National Council and is on the board of the Beyond Sports Foundation.
Treasurer
CEO & founder of Vail Systems, Jim has thirty-five years of computer, telecommunications, and service business start-up experience. He founded Direct Marketing Technology, a leader in the direct mail listing business now owned by Experian, and Dytel Corporation, a pioneer in premise-based call processing systems. Jim is also Founder of Versay® Solutions, a voice application development and consulting firm; Verascape, a provider of highly-scalable VoiceXML systems; and Webley Systems, a unified messaging services provider.
Director
Kristen Hertel lives in Winnetka, Illinois with her husband and five children. She is a homemaker, serves as an active member of the Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy’s Advisory Board, and runs her family’s Foundation with her husband (Satter Family Foundation).
Kristen graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and Social Policy. She began her career in 1986 as a Credit Officer at First Chicago Bank and remained as a top Credit Officer through the transition to Bank One before ending her career in 2004 at J.P. Morgan Chase.
Kristen has been an active Board of Directors’ member for the Beyond Sports Foundation since the start of the Foundation.
Director
Board member, Mitchell J. Melamed, is a partner at Aronberg Goldgehn, a law firm comprised of over 40 attorneys located in downtown Chicago. As an advisor and attorney to corporations, he devotes a substantial part of his practice to representing third party administrators, consultants, self-funded health benefit plans, managed group underwriters, physicians and medical and dental practices. Mitch received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1968 and his Masters of Law in Health Law from DePaul University in Chicago in 1996.
Mitch currently resides in Glencoe and is actively involved with Beyond Sports Foundation since its inception where he helps the foundation fulfill its mission that participants are equipped with the necessary tools, knowledge and skill sets to be successful in their future endeavors.
“BSF has and continues to have a direct positive impact on young student athletes unlike any other program.”
