buildOn Welcomes Three New Members to National Board of Directors

Leaders from human resources, marketing, and financial services join global nonprofit to expand access to education and opportunity

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- buildOn, a nonprofit dedicated to uniting people through service and education to ignite opportunity, is proud to announce the appointment of three distinguished leaders to its National Board: DJ Casto, Suzanne Kounkel, and Ranjit Samra.

Each board member brings a wealth of expertise and a deep commitment to advancing opportunity for youth and communities around the world.

DJ Casto, EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Synchrony, is a purpose-driven HR leader with a passion for people-powered growth. At Synchrony, he leads global people strategies for more than 20,000 employees. Over the course of his career, including leadership roles at PepsiCo, Casto has championed inclusive, people-first cultures and built programs that unlock potential at every level.

Suzanne Kounkel serves as the Deloitte Global Chief Marketing Officer, where she leads brand, partnerships, marketing, and communications efforts around the world. Kounkel is a recognized thought leader on purpose-driven branding and a bold voice for transformational change.

Ranjit S. Samra, Managing Director & Head of Product and Experience at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. With more than 35 years of experience in technology and financial services, he has led digital transformation initiatives across firms, including Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. Samra's leadership spans six countries and includes launching innovation centers and scaling diverse, high-performing teams. Ranjit previously served as Chair of buildOn's NY/CT Advisory Board.

"We are honored to welcome DJ, Suzanne, and Ranjit to our National Board," said Jim Ziolkowski, Founder and CEO of buildOn. "Their leadership will help scale our impact in some of the world's most underserved communities—from high school students in the Bronx to children and adults in Nepal and beyond."

The members join at a pivotal moment as buildOn continues to grow its U.S. service learning and global education initiatives. To date, the organization has built 2,940 schools in low-income countries, which are attended by 381,000 children and adults. In the U.S., buildOn works in five regions across the country, with 12,000 students currently active in their programs. Since its founding, buildOn students have served 2.5 million hours in their communities.

To learn more about buildOn's mission and impact, visit buildon.org.

To contact buildOn, reach out at [email protected]. 

SOURCE buildOn, Inc.