About
Governance
Board of Trustees
Meet Our Trustees
Emma Willard School has a dedicated body of volunteers from within our community—alumnae, parents, friends—who bring their diverse and expert backgrounds to bear in supporting the administration of the school and stewarding its financial and physical resources.
The Board is made up of 25 Trustees, including 23 elected Trustees who serve three year terms. The Head of School, who is appointed by the Trustees, serves as an ex officio Trustee for the duration of their tenure. The President of the Alumnae Association Council (AAC), elected by that association’s membership, serves as an ex officio member of the Board during her tenure in that role.
Our Trustees share a passion for advancing the vision of Emma Willard School with purposeful courage and informed action.
Officers
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Elisabeth “Lisa” Allen LeFort ’72
Chair (2020); Chair-Elect (2019), Chair (2015-2017)
Winter Park, FL
Trustee since: 2008
Committees: Advancement, Facilities, Executive, Investment, Governance, Finance and Audit, DEI
Education: BA Medieval History | MS Secondary Education from University of Pennsylvania
Occupation: Trustee International Yacht Restoration School, Member Trustee Council of Penn Women
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Megan Toohey Scremin ’00
Chair-Elect (2022)
Denver, CO Trustee since: 2018
Committees: Advancement, Chair; Executive - Chair-Elect; Governance
Education: BA in Integrated Strategic Communications from the University of Kentucky | MS in Tourism and Non-profit Management from Arizona State University
Occupation: President & CEO at Special Olympics Colorado
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Ann Gambling Hoffman ’70
Secretary
New Hope, PA
Trustee since: 2012
Committees: Executive, Secretary; Governance, Finance and Audit
Education: BA from Lake Forest College Occupation: Former Institutional Municipal Bond Salesperson; Director of Development The Eastern New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Senior Managing Director, NYC for Foundation Source
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Elizabeth “Betsy” Gifford Gross ’72
Treasurer (2018)
Bethesda, MD
Trustee since: 2017
Committees: Finance and Audit, Chair; Executive, Treasurer; Investment, Ex Officio
Education: BS from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Occupation: Former accountant at Baker & Miller, PLLC, former computer programmer for a life insurance company
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Trustees
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Linda Gill Anderson ’77
Silver Spring, MD
Trustee since: 2021
Committees: Governance
Education: BA Dartmouth College; Executive training Stanford University and Babson College
Occupation: Director of Membership, National Parking Association
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Katharine “Kate” Berry ’76
Boca Raton, FL
Trustee since: 2017
Committees: Facilities
Education: BS in hotel management from Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration
Occupation: Consultant, former Vice President with The Ritz Carlton Company
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Rachel Birnboim ‘93
New York, NYTrustee since: 2021 Committees: Facilities, Co-chair; Executive Education: BArch from Carnegie Mellon University Occupation: Associate Principal, Studio Leader, Senior Project Manager for Perkins Eastman |
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Karen Brifu-Lacy '04
Mount Vernon, NY
Trustee since: 2022
Committees: DEI
Education: BA Mathematics & Economics from Fordham University | MBA International Business & Information Systems from Zicklin, CUNY Baruch
Occupation: Advisor and Chief of Staff for Market Operations, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
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James Dawson New York, NY Trustee since: 2020 Education: BS and PhD from State University of New York at Albany Occupation: Head of School, Professional Children’s School |
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Stephen Gonick P’16 ’20 Rexford, NY Trustee since: 2017, Parent Trustee (2015-2017) Committees: Advancement; Executive; Governance Education: BS in Personnel and Industrial Relations from Ithaca College Occupation: Co-Founder, Passport for Good; Co-Owner of The Palette Cafe; Executive and Entrepreneur in Residence at his alma mater, the Ithaca College School of Business |
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Valerie Gonyea ’82 Novato, CA Ex-officio member since: 2020 AAC President Committees: Advancement; Facilities; Finance and Audit Education: BA in Broadcast Communications from SUNY Oswego | MS in Instructional Technology & Curriculum Design from SUNY Albany | MS in Accountancy from Golden Gate University in San Francisco Occupation: Certified Public Accountant, Corporate Controller |
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Wendy S. Graham ’85 Hoboken, NJ Trustee since: 2020 Committees: Advancement; Finance and Audit Education: BA Bates College | MBA Cornell University Occupation: Vice President Human Resources and Business Partner, Wiley Publishing |
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James Hackett P’20 Milton, MA Trustee since: 2019 Committees: Finance and Audit; Investments Education: BA from College of the Holy Cross | JD from Cornell Law School Occupation: Jim worked at the law firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston for 20 years, where he was a partner. He then served as General Counsel and VP of Business Development of Crane & Co., Inc., until the sale of the company. He is currently the General Counsel and Head of Acquisitions of Creation Technologies Inc. |
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David Howson
Westport, NY
Trustee since: 2022
Committees: Facilities; Finance and Audit
Education: BA and MLA from University of Richmond | MFA Theater Management from David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University
Occupation: Senior Teaching Professor and the Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs
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Susan “Susie” Hunter ’68 Vero Beach, FL Trustee since: 2015 (Board Chair 2017-2020) Committees: Finance and Audit, Governance Education: BA from Smith College | MSW from Rutgers University Occupation: Board of Overseers at WGBH in Boston, Board of The Learning Alliance, a literacy program in Vero Beach, FL |
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Samantha Jones '92
Stamford, CT
Trustee since: 2022
Committees: Governance
Education: BA in Political Science from Williams College | MBA in General Management from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Occupation: Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at Pitney Bowes
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Sharon Khanuja-Dhall ’89 Katonah, NY Trustee since: 2015 Committees: Advancement; Finance and Audit Education: BS in Information Sciences & Technology from Syracuse University | Executive MBA from the University of Connecticut | MA in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University Occupation: Chief Information Officer at Kroll |
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Wendy Shuang Liu ’95
New York, NY
Trustee since: 2018
Committees: Investment, Chair; Finance and Audit, Ex Officio
Education: BA in History from Columbia University | MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Occupation: Business Development Group Lead, Rare Disease at Pfizer
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Eleanor H. Lumsden ’94 Lisbon, Portugal Trustee since: 2021 Committees: DEI, Co-chair Education: BA Princeton | JD NYU Law Occupation: Attorney, Founder of Eleanor Lumsden Consulting |
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Sarah “Sally” Klingenstein Martell ’85 New York, NY Trustee since: 2020 (previously 1998-2012) Committees: Advancement; DEI, Co-chair; Executive Education: BA Tulane University | MFA Stony Brook University Occupation: Executive Director, Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation |
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Denise Mormino Slingerlands, NY Trustee since: 2013 Committees: Finance and Audit Education: BBA from Siena College | MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Occupation: Chief Accounting Officer at St. Peter’s Health Partners |
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Betts Howes Murray ’73 South Dartmouth, MA Trustee since: 2016 (previously 1994-1997) Committees: Advancement; Governance, Chair Education: BA in history, Brown University | JD Boston College Law School Occupation: Retired Executive Director/Program Director at Cohasset Maritime Institute and Duxbury Bay Maritime School | Former attorney at Ropes & Gray, Hutchins & Wheeler |
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Elizabeth “Lisa” Radcliffe ’82 Brooklyn, NY Trustee since: 2014 Committees: DEI, Co-chair; Governance Education: BA College of William and Mary | MBA Baruch College Occupation: Founder and CEO of PunkinFutz, Director & Chair of the Board of Powered by Inclusion |
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Jennifer Schmelter ’85 Boston, MA Trustee since: 2016 Committees: Facilities; Finance and Audit Education: BA Barnard College | MBA Boston University Occupation: Investment Professional |
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Roger Tennent P'24
Brooklyn, NY
Trustee since: 2022
Committees: Investments
Education: BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College | Executive MBA in Finance from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania
Occupation: Head of Counterparty Risk for Millennium Management
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Timothy Winstead Durham, NC Trustee since: 2015 Committees: Facilities, Co-Chair Education: BArch and BEDA (Environmental Design in Architecture) North Carolina State University Occupation: Regional Director |
Honorary Trustees
Jameson "Jamie" Adkins Baxter '61
Douglas E. Hart P'01
Wendy Pestel Lehmann '64
Erica Ling '75
Ian B. MacCallum Jr.
James E. Morley Jr. P'87
Kendra Stearns O'Donnell '60 P'88
Linda Glazer Toohey '66 P'00 P'03
Michal Colby Wadsworth '65
Victoria "Vicky" Thompson Winterer '61
Anne N. DePrez ’73
Thomas S. HalseyDouglas E. Hart P'01
Wendy Pestel Lehmann '64
Erica Ling '75
Ian B. MacCallum Jr.
James E. Morley Jr. P'87
Kendra Stearns O'Donnell '60 P'88
Linda Glazer Toohey '66 P'00 P'03
Michal Colby Wadsworth '65
Victoria "Vicky" Thompson Winterer '61
285 Pawling Avenue, Troy, NY 12180 | P: 518.833.1300 F: 518.833.1815
© EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL
emmawillard.org
© EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL
emmawillard.org
Welcome to Emma Willard School, a private day and boarding high school for girls in Troy, NY, and a leader in girls' education for over 200 years.
PLEASE NOTE: All visitors to campus must check in with Campus Safety, which can be found at the red flag entrance to Sage Hall (Pawling Ave. entrance).
PLEASE NOTE: All visitors to campus must check in with Campus Safety, which can be found at the red flag entrance to Sage Hall (Pawling Ave. entrance).