Board of Trustees

Co-Vice Chair, Board of Trustees
Board member since 2007
Committees: Building & Grounds (Chair), Executive (Co-Vice Chair), Finance

Steve is president of Investment Capital Partners, Ltd., a commercial real estate investment and management firm in Shelton. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A. '65) and The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (M.B.A. '71). He retired from the United States Marine Corps as a captain in 1970. He and his wife Lisa serve on the board of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, which focuses on awareness and treatment of primary immune deficiency diseases. Two of Steve's sons attended GFA in the 1980s, and his stepson Michael graduated in 2010. His son Owen currently attends. Steve and his family live in Southport.

Co-Vice Chair, Board of Trustees
Board member since 2013
Committees: Advancement, Executive (Co Vice-Chair), Finance

Mike is the Head of TMT and Business Services Investment Banking, Americas at Nomura Securities. Prior to Nomura, he held similar positions at Jefferies and UBS. Mike is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Mike’s great grandmother, Mary Bolton, founded GFA and his three daughters have all attended GFA, representing his family’s fourth successive generation to have done so. Mike has been a member of the GFA Alumni Council and is a member of Vanderbilt's Alumni Association Board. Mike and his wife Lisa reside in Darien with their daughters.

Co-Treasurer, Board of Trustees
Board member since 2016
Committees: Advancement, Athletics, Executive (Co-Treasurer), Finance (Co-Chair), Head of School Search, Investment

David graduated from Stanford University and has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. David is a former founding partner of Avista Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm based in New York City. He previously worked as a partner at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and in investment banking at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Earlier in his career, David worked in public accounting and achieved the CPA designation. He also serves as a Corporator of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. David lives in Darien with his wife and their four children.

Co-Treasurer, Board of Trustees
Board member since 2012
Committees: Advance Plan (Co-Chair), Educational Policy, Executive (Co-Treasurer), Faculty Housing, Finance (Co-Chair), Head of School Search, Investment

Zac Zeitlin is the Founder and Managing Partner of New Ground Ventures, an investment fund for early stage companies. He is a former Partner of Silver Point Capital, where he co-founded and ran the firm’s Principal Finance business, and previously was a private equity investor at Goldman Sachs and TPG Capital. Zac also served on GFA's Steering Committee for NEASC Accreditation. He is a Plan II-Business Honors graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Zac and his wife Amanda live in Palo Alto with their three children.

Secretary, Board of Trustees
Board member since 2013
Committees: Committee on Trustees (Co-Chair), Educational Policy, Equity & Inclusion, Executive (Secretary), Marketing

Arlene is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Accounting and holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University. She spent 10 years working as a CPA in auditing and financial reporting in the banking and securities industry. Arlene is an active parent volunteer at GFA. She has served as Co-President of the Lower School Parents Association, Annual Giving Class Captain, Class Parent, and volunteer supporting GFA Performing Arts events. Arlene lives in Darien with her husband John and their four sons.

Board member since 2010
Committees: Building & Grounds, Executive, Faculty Housing

Roger is an architect and founding principal of Roger Ferris + Partners, where he directs the design and master planning work of the firm. He is a graduate and former Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Design of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Roger currently serves on the boards of the Centre Pompidou Foundation and the Watermill Center for the Performing Arts, where he is also a member of the executive committee. He resides in Weston with his wife Wendy and their four children.

Board member since 2011
Committees: Advisory Council (Co-Chair), Committee on Trustees (Co-Chair), Educational Policy, Executive

Mike Greenberg has been an on-air personality for ESPN and ABC since 1996, and is the author of four New York Times best selling books. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He lives in Westport with his wife Stacy and their two children, both of whom have been at GFA since kindergarten.

Board member from 2003 to 2009 and since 2014
Committees: Athletics (Co-Chair), Building & Grounds, Coyle Scholar

Dr. Henry Backe has been in practice in Fairfield, Connecticut since 1993, and is a partner in Orthopaedic Specialty Group. He is also on staff at Bridgeport Hospital, Division Chief of Orthopaedics at the St. Vincent's Medical Center, and a director of the Fairfield Surgery Center. He is active with the Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation and participates annually in surgical missions to Central America. He is a member of the Board of Councilors for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery. Henry lives in Fairfield with his wife Tara and their four children.

Board member since 2015
Committees: Committee on Trustees, Educational Policy, Equity & Inclusion, Head of School Search, Marketing

Vani is a graduate of Northwestern University and has a M.H.S. from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. She worked on women’s, maternal, and infant health issues for 15 years, most recently serving as the Director of the Perinatal Data Center at the March of Dimes. At GFA, Vani has served on the Advisory Council, Education Policy Committee, and as an Annual Giving Class Captain. Vani lives in Wilton with her husband, Manu, and their two daughters.

Board member since 2016
Committees: Committee on Trustees, Investment (Chair)

Michael is a Managing Partner at Kingstown Capital, a New York City-based investment firm that he founded in 2006. Previously, Michael was an investment analyst at Gotham Capital and JPMorgan. Michael is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Business School, where he has been an adjunct professor, and currently serves on the advisory board for the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing. Michael lives in Westport with his wife Julie and two sons.

Board member since 2016
Committees: Athletics, Coyle Scholar (Co-Chair), Educational Policy, Marketing

Elizabeth lives in Greenwich, with her husband Robert and their four children, Lukens ('17), Jackson ('18), Jesse ('20), and Rebecca ('22). She attended Dartmouth College and received her M.B.A. from Kellogg. Elizabeth worked in a variety of public relations and marketing capacities in Chicago, Los Angeles, Colorado, and New York. From 2004-2008, she ran a real estate development business in Greenwich. Elizabeth has served on the Parent Association Board of Stanwich School for seven years, her last year as PA President. She is active with World Vision, and served as Co-Chair of its Fairfield County chapter for three years. From 2014-2017 Elizabeth served on the Elder Board of Stanwich Congregational Church and in 2015 became a founding board member of Project Blessing, a long-term initiative in Rwanda. In 2016, Elizabeth launched Global PEHT (Partnership to End Human Trafficking), a social enterprise dedicated to fighting human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.

Board member since 2016
Committees: Advance Plan, Advancement, Athletics

Rich Canning has been a Managing Director–High Yield Trading at several banks and retired in 2001. He has been the Board Chair of The Mead School (Stamford, CT) since 2009 and is a Board Director of Silver Hill Hospital (New Canaan, CT). He serves on the Boston College Athletic Director’s Council and the Advisory Board of Change for Kids (NYC). Rich received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School (’87) and his B.S. - Finance from Boston College (’81). Rich and his wife, Celia, have three children: Olivia, Madeline (GFA ’19) and Michael (GFA ’20).

Board member since 2013
Committees: Educational Policy, Equity & Inclusion (Co-Chair), Head of School Evaluation (Chair), Head of School Search (Co-Chair), Marketing (Co-Chair)

Carolyn graduated from Brown University, and has an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. After working 10 years in consumer packaged goods marketing, Carolyn retired to raise her family. Carolyn held positions of leadership in her Boston-area synagogue and in her children's nursery and elementary schools prior to moving to Connecticut. At GFA, Carolyn has served as Annual Giving Class Captain and as Class Parent, and has worked on many Parents Association events and committees. Carolyn resides in Westport with her husband, Gary, and their four daughters.

Board member since 2015
Committees: Advancement, Athletics (Co-Chair)

Stephanie is President and a senior macro-analyst at Discovery Capital Management, a global investment firm. Prior to Discovery, she worked at JPMorgan holding a number of senior leadership positions across the Global Markets business. Stephanie is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in business and mathematics and an M.S.I.A. from the Business School. Stephanie is a member of Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, Board of Advisors and on the board of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. She lives in Westport with her husband Brian, and their three daughters.

Board member since 2015
Committees: Building & Grounds

Ward, a film and television actor, has worked with studios and networks nationwide alongside some of the industry's leading directors. He earned his business degree from Wake Forest University and subsequently worked in finance at Smith Breeden Associates before focusing full-time on his acting career. Most recently he was a series regular on the CBS drama "Pure Genius" and is now in the Second Stage production of Harvey Fierstein's revival Torch Song. Ward has served on the GFA Advisory Council and he and his wife, Alexa, live in Fairfield with their two children.

Board member since 2016
Committees: Head of School Search (Co-Chair), Coyle Scholar, Equity & Inclusion, Marketing

After a long career at GFA, Lynne retired as Assistant Head of School and Director of Upper School Student Life. She has a B.A. in English and Secondary Education from Russell Sage College and an M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State University. Lynne was the President of the NAIS Assistant Heads Association and Chair of the CAIS Commission on Women in Independent Schools. Lynne is a tutor in the Bridgeport Public Schools, a member of the Unitarian Church of Westport's Beardsley School Committee, and the Pequot Library Special Collections Committee among other activities. Lynne's son is a GFA alumnus.

Board member since 2017
Committees: Athletics, Marketing

Kristen McDonald graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in English. After spending three years in publishing, television, and contracting for the Coca-Cola Company, Kristen was the founding employee of a high-tech firm, Intradiem, where she performed a variety of roles including marketing, product development, creative services, and running their professional services group. She has been a prolific volunteer at GFA, where she has served as co-chair of Grandparents Day, class parent for multiple grades, and member of the Marketing and Educational Policy Committees. She has served on several community boards including the Christ and Holy Trinity Preschool Board and Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County Executive Board. Kristen lives in Westport with her husband Patrick and their three children.

Board member since 2016
Committees: Advancement, Athletics, Educational Policy, Marketing

Samantha attended Germantown Academy and continued her education at Denison University, graduating with a B.A. in Marketing and Communications. She began her career in marketing, public relations, and merchandising at Tiffany and Company. Her focus later turned to retail buying in the fashion industry for Barney’s New York, MaxMara, and later Letarte Swimwear. Since 2008 Samantha has volunteered at GFA with the Lower School PA, Annual Giving program, and been the president of the PA, among other positions. Samantha lives in Southport with her husband and two daughters.

Board member since 2017
Committees: Educational Policy, Equity & Inclusion

Kate is a graduate of GFA who went on to Dartmouth College, where she received a B.A. in Social Sciences. She earned her Doctorate in Education as well as an M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and her M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College. Kate taught kindergarten, first grade, and Reading Recovery in several urban districts and has published more than 20 books for children on how to write. She recently wrote a book on writing instruction for teachers in grades PreK-5. Kate continues her career as a literacy consultant who coaches teachers around the country, as well as those at Horizons at GFA, on writing instruction. She lived in Shanghai, China for many years with her husband Erik and three children before moving to Wilton in 2014.

Board member since 2012
Committees: Committee on Trustees, Educational Policy (Co-Chair), Horizons at GFA Board of Directors Liaison

Nan is a graduate of Duke University and the Sotheby's Works of Art program in London. She worked for four years at Christie's auction house as a specialist, and retired to have four children with husband, George. Jackson is an '11 GFA graduate, Margot a '12 Darien High School graduate, Henry is GFA class of '15, and Owen GFA class of '16. Nan was on the Parent Faculty Organization Executive Board at Pear Tree Point School. At GFA, she has been a parent representative on the Coyle Scholar Committee and the Educational Policy Committee.

Board member since 2014
Committees: Building & Grounds, Educational Policy, Faculty Housing (Chair), Marketing

Peter is past president and current Partner of Tauck Inc., a travel company offering a variety of cultural trips around the world. He is a past trustee of Salisbury School and serves on the board of the Tauck Foundation, which funds social and emotional learning for children K through 5 in Bridgeport. Peter lives in Westport and is the father of four children.

Board member since 2012
Committees: Advisory Council (Co-Chair), Finance, Investment, 403(b) Pension Plan (Chair)

Jim is Head of Global Leveraged Finance for RBC Capital Markets where he is responsible for overseeing the origination, structuring, and execution of noninvestment-grade debt financings for corporations and financial sponsors. Prior to joining RBC in June 2008, Jim spent 15 years at Bear Stearns, most recently as a Senior Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Group. Jim received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jim has served as Annual Giving Class Captain and is Co-Chair of the Advisory Council for the GFA Board of Trustees. Jim lives in Darien with his wife Rose and their three children.