Members/Officers & Bios

Anthony J. DiFrancesco, Jr., Chair

Bio:

Tony is Vice President for Construction Services at CMC Engineering, a multi-disciplined civil engineering firm based in Kimberton. He manages client relationships and a staff of construction managers and inspectors for highway, bridge, and other transportation-related work throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. His previous work includes highway design and field work as a construction manager on highway, bridge, and commercial construction projects. He studied civil engineering at Drexel University and is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers, and an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Tony has assisted in fundraising efforts at Montgomery School as chair and member of the advancement committee and as a member of the Growing Minds, Expanding Vision capital campaign committee. He also serves on the building and grounds committee and served on the Strategic Planning Forum that developed the current Strategic Plan. Tony also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust in Chester Springs and served on the West Pikeland Township government study subcommittee on the roles of employees and contracted firms. Tony and his family have been part of the Montgomery School community for over 11 years. He is the father of daughters Emma ’08, who is attending the Baldwin School, and Corinne ’11, who is attending Blair Academy. He, his wife Jeanne, and their daughters reside in Chester Springs.

George Wm. Cavalieri, Vice Chair

Bio:

George is the Director of Construction and a Partner in Gardner/Fox Associates, an award winning residential and commercial design, construction, and construction management company in Bryn Mawr and serving the Philadelphia area since 1987. George oversees the commercial division with a diverse portfolio of projects including multi-family residential, hotels, restaurants, retail, office, historic, and healthcare. Gardner/Fox Associates participates with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ with the adoption of sustainable green building and development practices. George was a "lifer" at The Haverford School and attended Villanova University where he studied mechanical engineering. George joined the Montgomery School community in 1999 when his eldest child, Will, enrolled in 2nd grade. George was a participant in the October 2007 Future Forum and subsequent co-chair of the committee to study financial sustainability and stewardship. He has served on the Wallace Township Parks and Recreation Board and continues to participate in community affairs. He and his wife Christine live in Glenmoore with son William '06 now attending Virginia Tech, daughter Tess '08 now at Westtown School, and son Nicholas '15. With a history of volunteering and fostering, their home is a constant flow of foster and rescue animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and even honey bees.

Christopher M. Veno, Secretary

Bio:

Chris is one of the founding partners of Trion, one of the nation’s largest privately held employee benefit consulting and administration firms. A native of Scranton, PA and alumni of Scranton Preparatory School, he earned his Bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC and his MBA from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA. He is an active member of the Board of Director’s of The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. Chris has been a member of the Montgomery School Finance Committee and will be joining the Advancement Committee this year. Additionally, he has been a football coach for both the Marsh Creek Eagles and Conestoga Generals youth organizations. He and his wife, Meg, live on an old farm in Malvern with their five children: Chris, Jr., (HillTop Prep ’10) Kelsey (Montgomery School ’07 – Baldwin ’11), Shane (Montgomery School ’09 – Haverford School ’13), Aidan (Montgomery School ’13) and Cameron (Valley Forge Elementary School).

Kathleen C. Gubanich, Treasurer

Bio:

Kathy has worked at Vanguard for the past 24 years and is currently a Managing Director, responsible for all aspects of Human Resources. She earned her BBA in marketing from the University of Notre Dame and her MSOD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the past chair and a current executive officer of the American Benefits Council, a Washington based, nonprofit employer advocacy group, is a Trustee for the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, and is part of Wharton's Financial Services HR Advisory Council. Kathy and her husband, Chris, have three daughters: Jessica ’08 who attends Baldwin, Alli who graduated from the University of Arizona, and Nikki who graduated from University of San Diego and recently earned her MBA from Drexel's Business School.

Kevin R. Conklin, Ex Officio

Bio:

Kevin began serving as Head of School in July of 2000. He joined the Montgomery School community after seven years as Middle School Director at Beaver Country Day School in Massachusetts. From 1988 to 1991, Kevin was the Director of Alumni Affairs at Phillips Exeter Academy, which he attended as a post-graduate student. He also has Admissions experience at Beaver Country Day and at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont where he taught mathematics and european history. Other past teaching experiences include positions at Groton School, Massachusetts and Kent School, Connecticut. In addition to advanced course work, Kevin has a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College in Mathematics and Economics.

In 1987, Kevin joined the Board of Directors at Burke Mountain Academy and served as its Chair from 1995 to 1997 when the school had its most successful trustee fundraising. As an emeritus trustee, he currently serves as a member of Burke’s Trustee Advisory Council. Kevin also is the President of The Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS), a Member of the Board of Trustees for The Mill at Anselma, and a Member of the Advisory Board for Historic Yellow Springs.

Joan E. Bevans

Bio:

Joan is Vice President, Global HR Risk Management for GlaxoSmithKline, where she is responsible for data privacy, Sarbanes-Oxley, internal controls and business continuity planning for GSK’s global Human Resources organization. During her extensive career at GSK, Joan has held a number of senior financial and planning roles and been involved in numerous outsourcing, shared service, and process improvement initiatives. Most recently, Joan spearheaded GSK’s HR Business Process Outsourcing program. As VP Financial Planning & Analysis, she helped establish a shared service operating model for corporate functions. Joan’s previous experience includes Director, Worldwide R&D Consolidations, Portfolio Analysis & Systems, where she was involved in the financial aspects of strategic planning and reporting for drug discovery and development. In addition, Joan spent ten years in various financial roles in International Pharmaceuticals, where her specialty was Latin America. She holds a Master of International Management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Joan and her husband, Alan Walter, live in Downingtown and their daughter, Mackenzie, attends Montgomery School, class of 2014.

Laurie S. Boerma, Esquire

Bio:

Laurie is a past parent of Michael, ’00 and Kate, ’04. During her childrens’ years at Montgomery School, she was an active member of the Parent’s Council, a precursor to the MCA. Laurie graduated from Skidmore College and Villanova University School of Law. She worked for 12 years as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where she was head of the Child Abuse Unit.
For the past 3 years, she has been working as an Ombudsman for the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. In addition to Michael, ’08 graduate of St. Michael’s College in Vermont and Kate, a senior at Northeastern University in Boston, her eldest son, Erik, ’06 graduated from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Laurie and her husband, Hans, live in Birchrunville.

Antaya M. Cooper

Bio:

Antaya, a long-time resident of Chester County, has been a part of the Montgomery School family since 2002. She has served on the Building and Grounds, Future Forum, and Diversity committees. Antaya is currently a Realtor with Keller Williams Real Estate in Exton along with her husband, Claude, together forming the Cooper Team. Prior to launching her real estate business, Antaya was gainfully employed as a Computer Programmer/Analyst and Web Developer with several consulting companies. Antaya is an active member of Jack and Jill of America where she has chaired various committees and has contributed her time to many community service projects. Antaya and her husband have three sons at Montgomery: Myles ’13, Cole ’16, and Bryce ’18.

Anne Dugan

Bio:

Anne is a relationship executive in Vanguard Institutional Asset Management business where, for the past 7 years, she has been responsible for some of Vanguard's largest institutional client relationships. Prior to that, she worked in leadership development designing and implementing an accelerated training program for high potential recruits and managed Vanguard's training university for the institutional division. Before joining Vanguard in 1995, Anne spent more than 10 years in client-facing roles in the financial services industry, including eight years at Price Waterhouse where she served as a certified public accountant and supported the firm's business development efforts. She received her B.B.A. in accounting from George Washington University and was also awarded the Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française (DELF) and the Diplôme Approfondi en Langue Française (DALF) diplomas by the Ministry of Education in France for French language proficiency. Anne and her husband, Jim, live in Chester Springs where their son, Reilly '17, and daughter, Kirby '19, attend Montgomery School.

Maureen Fendrick

Bio:

Maureen has been active in the Montgomery School Community and has chaired the Annual Benefit, the Book Fair and has served on the Advancement Committee. She is currently the chairperson for the Yellow Springs Art Show, and has chaired the show for the past three years. She had previously been active with the Mill at Anselma. Her background includes an extensive career with Mars Electronics International (a division of Mars, Inc.) as Marketing Communications Manager. Prior to that she was in sales and was also a court reporter. Maureen is a graduate of Temple University. She currently resides in Chester Springs with her husband, Jim, and youngest daughter. Her daughter, Lisa, is entering ninth grade at the Agnes Irwin School and her oldest daughter, Ashley, is a graduate of Gettysburg College and is employed by Vanguard.

Barbara J. Lombardo, Ph.D.

Bio:

Barbara is a Partner in the Public Sector Organization & People Practice of IBM Global Business Services, which provides consulting services to clients in the areas of learning, change management, human resources strategy & transformation, talent management, and knowledge & collaboration. Barbara has twenty years of consulting experience helping public agencies and higher education and not-for-profit institutions define their strategies, optimize their processes, and leverage technology to achieve their goals. Barbara received her MBA and PhD degrees from the Haas School of Business, the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on Business & Public Policy. She has been an adjunct professor of not-for-profit management at Lewis & Clark College and Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. She has served on the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College, her undergraduate alma mater, as well as several other education and arts related not-for-profit organizations. Barbara and her husband Jeff Romeo have two daughters who attended Montgomery School. Barbara served as Board Chair from 2007-2011, and has also served as Vice-Chair of the Board and as Chair of the Advancement Committee.

Frank M. Mastrangelo

Bio:

Frank has been the President, Chief Operating Officer, and a director of both The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ NM: TBBK) and The Bancorp Bank since 1999, and also serves as the President and a director of FinTech Acquisition Corporation, a recently organized special purpose acquisition corporation. He currently serves on the boards of St. Mary’s Franciscan Shelter and the Elite Charitable Foundation. Frank and his wife, Cindy, have two children, Quintin ’14 and Tabitha ‘17.

Kim M. Morgan

Bio:

Kim began her association with Montgomery School in 2000 when her eldest daughter, Emily ’09, enrolled in kindergarten. A year later her daughter, Bradlie ’12, enrolled in preschool and Kim first served as a homeroom parent. Ever since that time, Kim has been a strong advocate and volunteer for the School, whose involvement includes co-chairing the Annual Benefit, serving on a variety of MSCA committees, the Lower School Head Search committee, and the Tuition Task Force committee. During the 2004–2005 academic year, Kim worked in the Development Office managing Special Events and the Annual Fund. Since joining the Board of Trustees in 2006, Kim has served on several board committees including the Finance Committee, the Committee on Trustees, the Enrollment Committee, and as past Chair of the Advancement Committee. Kim was a participant in the October 2007 Future Forum and subsequent co-chair of the committee to study community and citizenship. Kim has volunteered her time to other organizations including the Southeastern region of Easter Seals, the Children's Museum of Chester County, and the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Auction Committee. Kim is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where she received her BS in marketing. She has held marketing, sales and management positions for InScribe, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, Ziff Davis Publishing, and Information Access Company in New York City. Kim will complete her Master of Leadership Development at Penn State Great Valley in December 2011. She and her husband, Kirk, live in Chester Springs with their girls.

Steven S. Piltch

Bio:

Steve holds a Bachelor's degree from Williams College, two Masters degrees in education, and a Doctorate in education from Harvard University. He has taught in public and independent schools and is currently an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. He has coached a number of sports including soccer, basketball, baseball and squash. Along the way, he had the privilege to coach the women's and men's squash teams at Harvard, which combined to win six national championships under his direction. Steve has been Head of School of The Shipley School since 1992. He has served on a number of boards, including The Gladwyne Montessori School, The Wyndcroft School, ADVIS, and PAIS. Currently, among others, he is on the boards of The Center for the Study of Boys' and Girls' Lives, The Gesu School, and Girard College. He is an avid sportsman and enjoys his time with his wife, Sunny, and their three children, Matt, Ali, and Jamie. Matt and Ali both attend Williams College where Matt is a senior and Ali is a sophomore. Jamie is an eleventh grader at Shipley.

Reid O. Smith

Bio:

Reid is a Portfolio manager for RBC Global Asset Management (US) and a Chartered Financial Analyst. His area of expertise is in municipal bond investment and he manages several funds for Vanguard. Reid graduated from Punahou School and completed a BBA and MBA at the University of Hawaii. His area of study included international business with focus on the Pacific Asian basin. He went on to a management-training program at Chase Manhattan Bank and became a Vice President in Trust Investments at the Bank of Hawaii. Reid and his wife Kirstin have two daughters attending Montgomery School: Haley ’14 and Lexington (Lexi) ’17. Their family lives in Charlestown Township.

Michael T. van der Veen, Esquire

Bio:

George B. Vosburgh

Bio:

George Vosburgh is an Independent Educational Consultant, guiding families through the school or college admissions process. He came to know Montgomery School in the process of referring families to the School during his 15 years as headmaster at The Crossroads School. George has served independent boarding and day schools as a teacher, counselor, coach, and headmaster. His background includes counseling and educational transition planning for families, consulting to Episcopal churches, serving on accreditation visiting teams to day and boarding schools, and serving as headmaster in three independent schools: The Barlow School, Kildonan School and The Crossroads School. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in education from the University of Denver. George has served on several governing boards, including ADVIS and the Vestry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Pennsylvania Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, and Delaware Valley Friends School. He and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters and six grandchildren all of whom reside in New England. George and Melissa continue their work in education, enjoy time with family, and are both active in their church.

Thomas L. Williams

Bio:

Tom grew up in Devon, PA and is a graduate of Episcopal Academy (’71) and Duke University (’75). After college, Tom and his father, Buck Williams, founded IMC Construction, a Construction Management and General Contracting Company. Tom served as President and CEO from 1990-2005, during which time IMC Construction grew to become one of the top ten contracting firms in the Delaware Valley, specializing in Commercial, Institutional and Healthcare projects. Tom is currently the Chairman of IMC Construction. Tom is a member of World President’s Organization (WPO) and is currently on the advisory board for Devereux. He served on the board of Historic Yellow Springs from 1995-2005, during which time he was Chairman of the Property Committee. He is an active volunteer in West Pikeland Township, currently serving on the board of West Pikeland Land Trust and the Historical Architectural Review Board (H.A.R.B.) and is personally involved in many other environmental and conservation organizations. Tom and his wife, Trish, have lived in Chester Springs since 1985. Both of their sons, Jim ’99 and Will ’01, attended Montgomery School from preschool through graduation before attending St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE.