Nicole Hamilton Bernheimer
Member, Brooklyn Monthly Meeting; Current Parent
Managing Director, Mobile Validity
Appointed to the Board: 2009
“My belief in the value of Quaker education, and a desire to help the school advance, inspires me to serve on the Board. Having benefited myself from Quaker education in profound and meaningful ways, I value the opportunity to give my time to the school to further its mission and to work to improve education for its students."
Wade Black
Member, Brooklyn Monthly Meeting; Alumni, Class of 1992
Chief Operating Officer, Scarsdale Equities
Appointed to the Board: 2009
"I attended Brooklyn Friends for nearly my entire K-12 education, and during my time there, gained many of the skills and tools I use in my everyday life. My life has been shaped by Quaker values, and I'm delighted to bring my efforts to bear in the furtherance of these values at BFS."
Karine Blemur-Chapman
Associate Director of K-12 Admissions
Appointed to the Board: September 2008
"While at Brooklyn Friends, I have had the honor of getting to know many different people, including third graders in the classroom, Horizons students on the Roof, faculty and staff at the conference or lunch table, parents on the African American Celebration Commitee, and prosepctive parents throughout the Admissions season. Building diverse relationships has given me the opportunity to hear incredible stories that have shaped my growth, inspired my work, and affirmed my belief in BFS's fundamental values. As a Board member, I want to continue to acknowledge these testimonies and allow them to inform my voice during policy discussions that impact the direction and future of our school."
Dorothee CatesCurrent Parent
Teacher
Appointed to the Board: 2011
"As a birthright Quaker, alumni of a Quaker college, and Friends school educator, I can truly appreciate the quality of a Friends education. As a student in Friends schools, I learned to think critically about the world, and also understood my responsibility to help and problem solve. As a teacher, my career has been entirely in Friends schools. In my experience, at Friends schools the academic caliber is critical, but students are also taught to think about the world, injustice, issues of equity, equality and peace. They learn they can make a difference and they can impact their world, through the used book sale that benefits a non-profit organization, collecting compost, recycling, and speaking out against prejudice and discrimination. We are thrilled that our daughter is attending BFS. Brooklyn Friends School provides more than just an academic education for its students. It helps foster the natural empathy in children, has a strong commitment to community service, and allows children to recognize their ability to enact change, and to assume their place in the world as agents for change. I believe BFS is the ideal setting for children to develop not only as students, but also as citizens of the world. I am excited to join the Board and help support current initiatives, but also help to build for the future well-being and longevity of the school."
Sarah ClarkeMember, Ottowa Monthly Meeting
Associate Director, Quaker United Nations Office
Current Parent
Appointed to the Board: 2010
“As a life-long member of the Religious Society of Friends, I am thrilled to have my child attend BFS. It is an educational institution that not only supports my son’s enthusiasm for books, numbers, and the world of science, but allows him to express his passions through art, dance, music, and to explore his relationship and care for other individuals as well as his place within a diverse community. This is the very best that I look for in Quaker education and that I seek for my child.”
Richard Cutler
Alumni, Class of 1962
Trusts and Estates Lawyer
Appointed to the Board: 2008
“I have always felt close to the school; I even taught a poetry-writing class back in the 1970s, and have been involved in development for the last several years. My profession requires a moral commitment to do pro bono work, and helping Brooklyn Friends the best I can certainly qualifies as that kind of work. I consider it a high honor to have been asked to serve and couldn’t imagine saying no.”
Darrick Hamilton
Alumni, Class of 1989
Assistant Professor of Economics
Milano - The New School for Management and Urban Policy
Appointed to the Board: 2007
“The school’s philosophy emphasizes not only intellectual development, but also ethical, social and spiritual development in order “to support a productive life of leadership and service.” As an alum, I am a product of this philosophy, which has also compelled me towards a career as a researcher, mentor and teacher. Finally, my service on the Board of Trusties is a natural extension of my desire to continue, strengthen and extend the school’s mission."
Séamus G. Henchy
Current Parent
President, Séamus Henchy and Associates, Inc., Project Management
Appointed to the Board: 2009
"I am profoundly grateful that my two daughters and my family are an integral part of this school community, which cherishes integrity, honesty, the peaceful resolution of conflict and recognizes each student's capacity for individual growth and his or her unique gifts. Serving on the Board permits me to help ensure that the values and strengths, the bedrock of the institution, continue and thrive well into the future and as such benefit and touch the broader community."
Lara Holliday Member, Brooklyn Monthly Meeting
Director, The Fund for Public Schools
Appointed to the Board: 2007
“I see my service on the Board as a way to give back to the Quaker community. I would love to see more people able to benefit from the kind of excellent Quaker education that I had growing up. I also like to support Brooklyn Friends, as it is a strong member of the downtown Brooklyn community in which I live.”
Hildemarie Ladouceur Current Parent
Social Worker
Appointed to the Board: 2006
“As I have three children who attended the middle and upper school, I have been involved with Brooklyn Friends for many years. Our family is very devoted to the school and its philosophy. I feel that the best way to make further contributions is to be actively involved on the Board.”
Peter Laughter
Member, Brooklyn Monthly Meeting; Current Parent
Alumni, Class of 1989
CEO, Wall Street Services
Appointed to the Board: 2002
“My experience at Brooklyn Friends and that of my daughter draws me to serve on the Board. I work on behalf of the School because of my profound understanding of the need Friends education fills. In order to heal this deeply divided world, we need women and men who know that there is that within all people that needs to be listened to and cherished. The graduates of Brooklyn Friends School bring this to their future endeavors, and I intend to do what I can to nourish the school's ability to advance such understanding in the world.”
Brad MulderCurrent Parent
Alumni, Class of 1983
Managing Clerk, Law Firm of Hunton & Williams, LLP
Appointed to the Board: 2010
"I am a graduate of Brooklyn Friends School and serving on the Board allows me to give back to the school that gave me and my two brothers such a wonderful education and experience. Since graduating, I have remained in the vicinity of the school and have maintained friendships with my fellow classmates, other alumni, faculty and parents of students with whom I graduated, so I feel I have a strong relationship with the school’s past. I addition, I now have a son who is a first grader, and we have already formed new and exciting relationships with the parents and students in my son’s class, as well as with the current faculty and staff. I have served on the School Affairs Committee for two years, and Board service is part of my new connection to the school. I am looking forward to being a part of the school’s future. This is an exciting time for the school; there is a new Head of School (who was my older brother’s teacher some time ago!), the school is more independent and is looking to expand and grow. I feel honored to be chosen to serve with such a diverse, talented and positive group of Board Members.
Karen Robinson, Co-Chair
Member, Society of Friends
Current Parent
Managing Director, Youth, Education and NGO/IGO Development
Appointed to the Board: 2006
“I choose to serve as a trustee for BFS because of my commitment to education and in particular, Quaker education."
Ninon Rogers
Member, Flushing Meeting
Actor and Film Maker
Appointed to the Board: 2004
“I consider Board work my Quaker service -- my way of giving to the community and helping the world to be a better place. The school inspires me and I hope to ensure its health and well-being for the next 100 years.”
Lisa Sack, Co-chair
Current Parent, Former PAT President
Principal, LRS Consulting, LLC; provider of professional moderating services for meetings and conferences
Appointed to the Board: 2007
“Brooklyn Friends School provides a superb education that is at once intellectually rigorous, deeply spiritual, and unabashedly ethical. I strongly support the Quaker values of truth, community, service, and simplicity and am grateful that these values are a taught and modeled for my children every day. I want BFS to thrive for centuries to come and am happy to offer my skills in service of that goal.”
Shelley UllmanCurrent Parent
Managing Director, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Appointed to the Board: 2009
"When we started the kindergarten search for our son, we toured many schools. During the course of the admissions process, we saw each school multiple times. BFS was the only school that we liked better each time we saw it. We liked the way the teachers spoke respectfully to the children. We liked the way the children listened attentively to each other at Meeting. We loved the artwork in the halls. We loved the way the classes were conducted - each child considered individually but working together as a collective whole to master the curriculum. When it came time to select a school for our very different daughter, we applied only to BFS. As I served on the Finance Committee, I began to understand both the effort that goes into maintaining such a unique institution and the deep commitment required to move it forward in difficult times. I also came to better appreciate what makes the School so special. In a world often bereft of values, civility and constructive discourse, and attracted to quick, superficial solutions, the School serves as an anchor-- a reminder that there is a better way forward. I hope that, by serving as a Trustee, I can help ensure the longevity and essence of the School for generations to come."