SOURCE OF WEALTH: New Mountain Capital
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth
OVERVIEW: Steve Klinsky founded Modern States Education Alliance, which is dedicated to free, universally accessible college education for motivated students. According to available tax filings, the alliance dispersed just over $4 million in funding in 2018. The couple does not appear to have any other family foundation.
BACKGROUND: Steve Klinsky received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1976, and an MBA and J.D. from Harvard in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Klinsky was a co-founder of the leveraged buyout group of Goldman Sachs, and worked at Forstmann Little, rising to general partner. In 1999, he established New Mountain Capital.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Klinsky has been involved in the education space for years. In 1999, he founded New York’s first charter school, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem. He had previously opened an after-school program in the city in honor of his late brother, called the Gary Klinsky Children Centers. In addition to Gary’s influence, Klinsky’s wife Maureen, who also worked on Wall Street, has tutored at inner-city schools. Maureen is an active board member of charities focused on families in poverty, equality in education and environmental sustainability. Klinsky also chairs the board of Great Oaks Charter Schools.
More recently, Klinsky has focused on his Modern States Education Alliance, “a non-profit dedicated to making a high quality college education free of cost and accessible to any person who seeks one.” The outfit’s first program, Freshman Year for Free, offers online college courses free of charge to prepare students for AP and CLEP exams that can count toward college credits. The nonprofit is covering exam fees for the first 10,000 test takers. If students pass enough exams, they could shave a year off college for a fraction of the cost.
LOOKING FORWARD: For now, expect Klinsky to remain focused on Modern States but down the line expect other interests to emerge, as well. Klinsky has mentioned an interest in health. Maureen has transitioned from Wall Street to writing, and is outspoken on issues of sexism in finance. These issues may come into play.
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