Each fall, the Board of Trustees undertakes a year-long process to assemble a diverse board with the appropriate skills and experiences to advance Mark Day School's long term health and strategic initiatives. This process, led by the Board's Governance Committee, involves great care and consideration and is one that the Board takes seriously. This effort is consistent with the National Association of Independent Schools' (NAIS) best practices for governance.

It is with great pleasure that we write to welcome new trustees to the Mark Day School Board for the 2012-21 school year. With a broad range of expertise, this group will be invaluable to the Board as we continue long term oversight of Mark Day School in accordance with its mission.

 

As they begin their terms on July 1, 2020, we thank these trustees for generously offering their time and talent to the Board:

 

Ryan Brown, parent of Kathryn (6th), Henry (3rd), and Evan (1st), lends his experience in finance and philanthropy to the Board. For the past two years he has volunteered for The Mark Day Fund and for the past year he has served the Mark Day School community as Co-Chair of the Fund. He has also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC and is a member of the Getty Center Economic Club of New York.  A graduate of the University of Florida and past Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Ryan is a Chartered Financial Analyst and financial portfolio management professional with Capital Group. His strong background in finance will be an asset to our Board.

Prathap Dendi, parent of Ananya (6th) and Ayla (3rd), is committed to using his strategic and operational expertise to further the mission of Mark Day School. As the child of two teachers, he "...believes an education is the best value you can give to your children." Prathap is the General Manager for Cisco AppDynamics and earned a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology in India. Prathap is a dedicated volunteer, having used his knowledge as a tech startup executive to build a coalition which has enabled poverty-stricken communities in India with technological access to education, civic services and data. He serves on a number of boards in addition to serving as a Forbes Technology Council member. 

Scott Faber, parent of Phoebe (1) and Chloe (incoming K), brings an entrepreneurial mindset to the Board having co-founded Ingenio, an e-commerce based knowledge exchange company. Scott graduated from Yale University with degrees in English and Engineering and then went on to earn his Master of Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Bay Area Discovery Museum and is a Director at Betabrand. We look forward to Scott's contributions as a visionary in strategic planning, technology, and communications.

Chelsea Ialeggio, parent of Francesca (1st), has served on numerous non-profit boards including Project Glimmer and City of Dreams, and looks forward to being of service to the Mark Day School community. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in English at UC Davis and currently manages 65 agents and three offices as a Sales Manager at Vanguard Properties. Chelsea previously worked as a Managing Director in Equity Sales for Banc of America Securities. We look forward to benefiting from her extensive experience in business development in the years ahead.

Ashley Ransom, parent of Bodie (7) returns to the Board as a trustee emerita. A graduate of Middlebury College with Bachelors degrees in Biology and Psychology, her professional experience includes work as a marine biologist and as an educator, with over twenty years of experience teaching K-12 students. Combining her love of both fields, Ashley developed various project based learning programs for schools in conjunction with the Marine Mammal Center. At Mark Day School, Ashley has been a devoted volunteer and most recently served as the PA President from 2017-19. 

Shalu Saluja returns to the Board as a trustee emerita. She brings a wealth of experience as our former Board president and the We Create campaign co-chair over her six-year term. Shalu is mother to Aria, who will be graduating from 8th grade in a few days. She also holds the position of Chief Administrative Officer and general counsel at E2 Consulting Engineers Co. A graduate of UC Berkeley Law School, Shalu chairs the board of Heart to Heart Global Cardiac Care, a non-profit dedicated to bringing life saving cardiac procedures to children around the world. 

David St. Martin will serve as the faculty trustee in the upcoming year. David is a multi-talented teacher who combines the roles of Organic Garden Educator and Tinkerer-in-Residence for Kindergartners through 8th graders. Together with Tatian Greenleaf, David has been a leader of the Tinkering School at Mark Day summer program and through his work integrates design thinking and making to projects across the disciplines.

Welcoming a new slate of trustees is always bittersweet, because at the same moment we bid farewell to an exceptional group of outgoing trustees who have made significant contributions to Mark Day. Completing their terms this year are Sam Parker, Dan Kalafatas, Nicole Stanton and faculty trustee Kelly Giddings. Please join us in extending a sincere thank you to each of these trustees for their thoughtful and professional collaboration over the years and their unwavering commitment to Mark Day School and its mission.

 

Kind regards,

Robert Hee, Board President

Sharina Belani, Governance Chair