An independent school in Middletown, DE for students in Preschool through Grade 8

Board of Trustees & Governance

St. Anne's Episcopal School is an independent, private not-for-profit school which is governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees. Board members are responsible for the financial integrity of the school and for hiring, evaluating and supporting the Head of School. The Head of School is responsible for implementing policies and for running the day-to-day operations of the school.

Trustee meetings are held bi-monthly during the school year. Board Committees which include trustees, administrators, and others who are invited to attend, typically meet on the alternate months. These committees include Enrollment Management, Finance, Major Gifts, Strategic Planning, and the Committee on Trustees. An Executive Committee is comprised of the Head of School, the President of the Board, Vice President, and at least two other representatives of the Trustees.

 

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES DIRECTORY

2021-22

Officers of the Board

Ms. Ana Ramirez, (P '22) - President  - Ana was born in Costa Rica, but moved to the United States to attend college.  Ana graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa from Kenyon College, where she studied English Literature. She holds an MA from Georgetown University in Latin American Studies.  Her passion for education led her to St. Andrew’s School, where she has been since 1997. Ana is the Associate Head of School at St. Andrew’s School. Among many responsibilities at St. Andrew’s, Ana has served as Dorm Parent, Advisor, Director of Residential Life, Dean of Students and Assistant Head for Student Life. Currently, Ana is the Dean of Leadership, Chair of the Modern Language Department and Spanish Teacher. Ana and her husband David Miller have one child, Gabriel, who joined the St. Anne’s family in Kindergarten and is currently in the 8th grade.

Mr. William Robinson III,  (P ' 22, '24, '28) - Vice-President  - Will and his wife, Lindsay, have been a part of the St. Anne's community for 10 years and are parents to three proud Herons: Greta (1st), Luke (6th) and Liam (8th). Will holds a B.A. from Colgate University and earned his J.D./M.B.A. as a Rubin Public Interest Scholar from Temple University. He spent three years teaching special education in rural Louisiana through the Teach For America program. For the past twelve years, Will has worked at St. Andrew’s School as an administrator, teacher, coach, and advisor.  

Trustees

Dr. Jamie Ahl  (P '20, '25) - Jamie has been a part of the St. Anne’s community since 2009.  She has two daughters, Brianna (12, 7th grade) and Elaina (7, 2nd grade) that attend St. Anne’s.  She graduated from Ursinus College with a major in biology and minor in research in 1999 followed by University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine with honors in 2003.  She received her master of oral biology during her orthodontic residency at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry. She has been practicing orthodontia for the past 13 years.  Her practice has locations in Dover, Milford and Lewes. Jamie is a proud parent and advocate for St. Anne’s mission.

Mr. Harry Baetjer -  Harry Baetjer retired from Tower Hill School in June of 2017 where he was a teacher and administrator at the school since 1970. During that time, he served as a Middle School then Upper School history teacher and coach. Harry also was the Dean of Students for the Upper School, Head of Upper School for over twenty years, and Assistant/Associate Head of School. He also served as Head of School from October 2013 until June of 2015, after which he returned to the role of Assistant Head until his retirement. Harry graduated from the Gilman School in Baltimore, MD and received his B.A. in European History from Trinity College in Connecticut and his M.A. from the University of Delaware. He and his wife, Caryl, have three grown children who graduated from Tower Hill and are also proud grandparents.

Laurie Housey- Laurie Housey has her degree in Journalism and a minor in Speech Communication. After jobs in Public Relations (NYC), Advertising (Boston), and Pharmaceutical Sales (Chicago), Laurie left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur where she developed a business facilitating enrichment classes for children ages 3 to 12. Laurie and her husband, Mike, are the parents of Luke (rising 8th grader) Hayden (7th) and Cooper (5th). 

Mr. Forrest Gordon Brown, ('07) - A St. Anne’s alumnus of the Class of 2007, Forrest graduated from St. Andrew’s in 2011 and UVA in 2015. At Virginia he was a Jefferson Scholar and majored in English Literature and Cognitive Science, and also captained the men’s rowing team. After two years of a teaching internship at Greenwich Country Day School, he is now an English Teaching Fellow at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. He is pursuing an MS in Education from Penn and an MA in English Literature from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury. Forrest is the oldest son of Louise Howlett (founding SAES Chaplain)  and Lindsay Brown (former SAS faculty and SAES trustee) who now live in Dublin, NH.

Ms. Laura Cogar  (P ‘22) - Laura Cogar is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 30 years of experience and parent of of St. Anne's Heron, Chloe ('22).  Ms. Cogar has held teaching appointments at the Thomas Jefferson, Johns Hopkins, and Robert Wood Johnson programs for allied health sciences. She has  extensive experience in development and training of healthcare professionals. Ms. Cogar holds a B.S. in Physics and Physical Sciences from Thomas Jefferson University and a MBA in Health Administration and Finance from Widener University.

Mr. Anthony Johnson (P '06, '13)  - Anthony is a licensed securities professional with more than 30 years of professional experience. He earned a bachelor's of science in business administration from Ashland University and joined Edward Jones in October 1997, where he currently has a branch office in Middletown, DE. Antony is an active volunteer in the Middletown community. He serves as a board member of the Middletown Historical Society and convened a committee to recognize an Underground Railroad site here in Middletown, DE. He is also a founding board member of St. Anne's Episcopal School. Anthony’s daughters graduated from St. Anne’s, Camille’ 06 and Caleigh ‘13.

Mrs. Nancy Leonard (GP '23) - Nancy grew up in New Castle, Delaware, graduated from William Penn High School and attended the University of Delaware. For the past 40 years, she has  worked for Sam Beard, President and Founder of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service (presently the Jefferson Awards Foundation) as his assistant and program director.   Over the years she helped to create and work on many programs from honoring unsung heroes in the United States Supreme Court Building to training high school students about the importance of volunteerism and community service. To date the Jefferson Scholars are working in 43 Delaware High Schools, and over the past eight years they have trained more than 2000 student leaders. Nancy has worked on every phase of the Jefferson Awards from program development, event planning, and fundraising. She is also the very proud grandmother of Hunter Skelton ('23), a fourth grader at St. Anne’s.

Mr. K. William Lowa III (GP '27) -  President of The Lowa Group, Inc a Property & Casualty insurance firm based in Pottstown, PA, Bill is a Certified Insurance Counselor as well as a Certified Instructor for several insurance carriers. His past board affiliations are the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Community College, and The American Red Cross. During his tenure he served as the Board of Directors chair for both the Chamber and the College. Bill’s grandsons Benjamin Roznowski ('26) and Luke Roznowski (' 30) both attend St. Anne’s. Additionally his daughter Lindsay is a graduate of St. Andrew’s School and is currently the Associate Director of Counseling at SAS.

Mrs. Avani Parikh - Avani has extensive experience with school finances as a Director and Lead Analyst for S&P Global Ratings in New York and Dover acting as the Director and Lead Analyst of Public Finance Ratings . In layman's terms, she does the credit ratings for independent schools and other non-profits.  She has served on boards in NYC before moving to Delaware.  Her husband Amol Parikh is a St. Andrew's alumnus of the class of 1997, which makes her the sister-in-law of Vicki and Anush Parikh, former SAES parents.   She and Amol have two young daughters, Kira  and Nikki .

Mrs. Louisa Zendt (P '05)  - After graduating from St. Andrew’s School and the University of Pennsylvania, Louisa began her school career teaching K-8th grade art for 10 years at the Montgomery School in Chester Springs, PA.  After a move to Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, Oregon, Louisa became the Director of Admission and served for five years before returning to Middletown, Delaware. Recently Louisa retired from the role of Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at St. Andrew’s School. Louisa has over 35 years of experience in independent school admissions, teaching and advising in Episcopal schools and is passionate about dynamic school opportunities for all students. Louisa currently serves on the boards of ASSIST, an international exchange program for high school student, and St. Anne’s. Louisa and her husband Harvey Zendt (St. Anne’s founding head of school) live in Oxford, Maryland. Their children, Peter (SAES ‘05, SAS ‘09, Trinity ‘13), Becca (SAS ‘05, Occidental ‘09) and Christy (SAS-Sewanee ‘03, Tulane ‘07) all live in New England.

Mr. Eric D. Gustafson (P '22, '25, '27) - Throughout his more than 20 year career as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Eric has advised numerous individuals and entities on asset allocation, investment manager selection, fixed income securities trading and has helped dozens of high net worth families implement comprehensive wealth management strategies.  Eric began his financial services career after earning a B.A. in English and Economics at Colorado State University. Eric also is a U.S. Army veteran who served overseas as a flight engineer on Chinook helicopters. Eric and his wife Megan have three children at St. Anne’s, Carter (1st grade), Colton (3rd grade) and Kendall (6th grade).

Mrs. Marjorie Williams (GP '21) - The St Anne’s community became a part of Marjorie’s life when her grand daughter entered second grade in 2013 and she attended her first Special Friends Day.  Originally from Jamaica, Marjorie lived, worked and travelled the world over 28 years of work with UNICEF, before moving to Washington DC.  She now leads the US branch of a UK organization devoted to family planning and women’s reproductive health.  Marjorie and her Australian husband Gil fell in love with the Delmarva peninsula in 1993 when her daughter  registered at Washington College in Chestertown.  The bought a house in the area In 2007 to prepare for a more rooted life after retirement.  Marjorie graduated from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and studied French at the University of Paris, Sorbonne.

 The Rt. Rev. Kevin S. Brown, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware (ex officio) - Bishop Kevin Brown grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and studied mathematics and psychology at Duke University. He completed his master of business administration at the University of West Florida while in the U.S. Air Force, worked in finance and marketing at FedEx, and launched an investment firm, before gaining a master of divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York City. Before his election as the Bishop of Delaware, he served as rector at Holy Comforter in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he led the merger of separate English and Spanish preschools into a single groundbreaking school focused on bilingual education and dedicated to access for low-income and immigrant families. He previously served as rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Paris, Tennessee. Bishop Brown and his wife, Caroline, an accomplished artist, relocated and now live in Wilmington.  They have two college-age daughters. The Episcopal Diocese of Delaware encompasses the three counties of Delaware and includes 9,300 congregants and 34 worshipping communities.  Bishop Brown was appointed Vice Chair to the Task Force on Theology of Money (General Convention Resolution 2018-A061) and also serves on the Board of Trustees of General Theological Seminary.

Mr. Barry L. Davis, Head of School at St. Anne’s (ex officio)  Mr. Davis arrived to St. Anne’s  in July 2019 from Greensboro Day School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he is the Middle School Director. With 38 years of experience as an educator, Mr. Davis has helped young people to reach their potential as an administrator, teacher, and coach at schools including Brooklyn Friends School (New York), Flint Hill School (Virginia), the Metropolitan Learning Center, Inter District Magnet School for Global and International Studies and Technology (Connecticut), Worcester Academy (Massachusetts), Eastern Connecticut State University, St. Lawrence University (New York), and University of Dallas (Texas).   Mr. Davis earned his B.S. in Physical Education at St. Lawrence University. Two years later he earned an M.Ed. in Educational Counseling and Human Development. These degrees were followed by a second M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and School Administration and Supervision from Central Connecticut State University.

Emily Sawyer-Kegerreis - Emily grew up in Chestertown, MD and returned to the Delmarva peninsula in 2017 with her husband, David, and two daughters Hana and Clara.  Emily has lived throughout the US as well as in Spain and Japan and she currently resides with her family in Costa Rica. She spent her early career working in international brand management for Johnson and Johnson before transitioning into higher education, serving as the MBA Program and Admissions Director at Mississippi State University and now as the owner of an admissions consulting firm for prospective MBAs. Emily graduated Summa Cum Laude from Syracuse University and holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Graduate Management at Arizona State University.  She served as the St. Anne’s Episcopal School Parents’ Association President from 2020-2021.

Taylor F. Cameron (P’14, ’16) – Taylor is a Mortgage Loan Officer with PNC Bank with over 20 years of experience in the retail and consumer banking industry.  A 1990 Graduate of St. Andrew’s School, Taylor also holds an AA degree in Business Administration from Cecil College and holds an honors diploma from the Maryland Banking School at University of Maryland in Financial Institution Management.  Prior to working at PNC Bank, Taylor served as a Major Gifts Officer at St. Andrew’s School.  Taylor has served on the St. Andrew’s School Alumni Association Board and The Cecil County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  Taylor and his wife, Shannon, are the parents of Alexandra ’14 and Logan ’16 and enjoy traveling with their family. 

Libby Lakeman- Libby is a proud graduate of St. Anne’s Class of 2007 and St. Andrew’s Class of 2012, and Lake Forest College’s Class of 2016. She holds a bachelors degree in both History and German. For the past five years, she has worked for Bryn Mawr College and is currently the Senior Assistant Director of Admissions, overseeing all visits and event inquiries. She currently lives in Philadelphia.

Phil Walsh (ex officio - SAPA President, 2021-22)- Phil and his wife Mindy are the parents of three St. Anne's students: Brian (6th grade); and twins, Eleanor and Andrew (3rd grade). He graduated from the College of William & Mary (Classical Studies) and received his AM and PhD from Brown University (Comparative Literature). For eight years he taught at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. His book, Brill's Companion to the Reception of Aristophanes, was published in 2016. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Classics at St. Andrew's School, where he teaches Latin and ancient Greek at all levels, as well as sections of history and English.

Trustee Emeritus

Katherine Gahagan- Kitten has four sons and 12 grandchildren (two of whom attended St. Andrew’s, graduating in 2010 and 2011) and one great-grandchild. Kitten was educated at Wilmington schools, St. Anne’s School in Charlottesville, Va., and Wellesley College. She has been active in numerous volunteer organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the Taft School, Brandywine Conservancy, Children’s Beach House, Chichester duPont Foundation, and the founding of St. Anne’s Episcopal School in Middletown, Del. She enjoys keeping up with her scattered grandchildren and hosting their gatherings.

Caroline duPont Prickett

Gretchen Hurtt

Gordon Brownlee