Benjamin and Carol Turchin Monderer

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Box Hill Systems Corp, Alphagenome

FUNDING AREAS: Health & Disabilities, Education & Youth 

OVERVIEW: Benjamin Monderer and his wife Carol conduct their philanthropy through the Monderer Foundation, a private foundation that aims to expand life possibilities for children and adults with multiple disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Benjamin Monderer graduated from Princeton University in 1980 and from Columbia University in 1988 with a Doctor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He, his wife Carol, along with Mark Mays, co-founded Box Hill Systems Corp, a maker of data storage systems, in the late 1980s. He went on to serve as president of Genpathway. Monderer is currently chairman of Alphagenome, a venture capital firm in New York. 

Carol Turchin Monderer graduated with a B.A. from Vassar College. She was one of the founders of Box Hill Systems Corp. and was executive vice president of marketing and strategic planning and a director of Genpathway Inc., a biotech company. She currently serves as CEO of Alphagenome and also of Carol Monderer Publishing. 

HEALTH & DISABILITIES: The Monderers steadily support the Center for Discovery and helped name the Michael Wittenberg Center for Imagination at the outfit. The center “provides individuals with a range of disabilities and medical frailties innovative educational, clinical, residential, and social and creative arts experiences designed to enrich their lives through personal accomplishment.”

The Monderers support West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, the Good Samaritan Foundation, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

EDUCATION & YOUTH: Benjamin Monderer supports alma maters Princeton University and Columbia University. Other grantees include Columbia Prep and Tuxedo Park School. 

LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple to stick with established interest areas for now. They're still very much engaged in business, but perhaps more money will go toward these causes in the coming years.