Members/Officers and Bios

Alex Cabot is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Birch Run Financial, a boutique wealth management company in Wayne, PA.  He has been featured several times in the Wall Street Journal, and has contributed his expertise as a guest commentator on NBC 10 in Philadelphia.  The author of two books on personal finance, Alex has been invited to speak at events in and around the Philadelphia area about investing, behavioral finance, and fraud.  In 2018 and 2019, he was named a Top "Next Gen" Advisor by Forbes.  In addition to leading Birch Run Financial, Alex is also the Chair of Philadelphia Chapter of the Washington University Eliot Society and an ex-officio member of the Wash U Philadelphia Regional Cabinet.  

Alex resides in Phoenixville, PA with his wife, Patty, and his children Samantha ('23) and Jack ('27).  In his spare time, Alex is an avid (but mediocre) chess player and golfer, and a (much stronger) cyclist.  You can often find him meandering around the back roads of Chester Springs on his road bike when the weather is nice.  

Prior to joining the Montgomery Board, Alex was a member of the Charlestown Playhouse Board for three years.  

Patty is an independent consultant, specializing in large-scale information systems implementation, change management, business process design, program management and organizational effectiveness. Patty has extensive experience with global pharmaceutical sales and marketing operations, customer relationship management, anti-bribery/corruption and compliance controls. Patty graduated from Temple University, studying business and computer science.

Patty is parent of Georgia Dahm ’15, who attended Montgomery School for 11 years (3 years old through 8^th grade). Patty was involved as class parent, golf outing chair with her husband Tony, and various school activities over the years. Patty, Tony and Georgia reside in West Chester, PA.

Grant is the CEO and Founder of EIR Healthcare; a healthcare modular design firm based in Philadelphia, PA. Grant is a local, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. He is an alumnus of the Montgomery School, graduating in ’02 and served as the captain of the Greeks in his final year. He graduated from Devon Preparatory School and then Drexel University receiving a BSBA with dual concentrations in International Business in Marketing, with a German minor. He currently resides in Philadelphia, PA with his wife and three dogs.

Doug is Chief Financial Officer for Ralexar Therapeutics, Inc. and Velicept Therapeutics, Inc., two development stage pharmaceutical companies. In addition, Doug is a founding Partner, CFO and COO of Nexeption, LLC, a company that provides development and management services to its portfolio of pharmaceutical companies. Between 2004 and 2013, Doug held the CFO position at Ception Therapeutics and then Ceptaris Therapeutics. Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years working at a number of commercial and investment banking institutions in the Midwest. A native of Wisconsin, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin – Madison before earning his MBA from the University of Chicago. Doug joined the Montgomery Board of Trustees in 2015 and served on the Finance Committee in the 2015-16 school year. Doug currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. He and his wife, Jean, live in Chester Springs with their son Fritz (Montgomery School ’15), daughter Ava (Montgomery School ’17) and golden doodle Lucy.

Paul and his wife, Susan Braithwaite-Gilbert, live in Chester Springs with their three children. Spencer is a Montgomery graduate in 2017. Elsa (2020) and Perry (2023) currently attend the Montgomery School. Paul is the Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer for DataCeutics/Navitas Data Sciences, a specialty Functional Service Provider supporting clinical trials with technical expertise in biostatistics, statistical programming and clinical data management. Paul is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany with a BS in Chemistry. 

Paul’s Linked-In profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgilbert1/

Kristine Ilaria is a seasoned executive with experience leading strategy, finance, and acquisitions. She currently works at Smith & Nephew, a leading medical technology company, as Vice President of Corporate Development. She is also serving on the board for Micah Orthopaedics. Prior to Smith & Nephew, Kristine worked for Stryker, in a variety of roles across its Orthopaedics’ businesses. She is passionate about causes that improve children’s lives, especially education and healthcare. She holds a B.A. in Psychology & Political Science from Drew University and an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University.

Kristine and her husband, Dan, reside in the local area with their two children both attending Montgomery School. 

Steve Lisk became the tenth Head of School at Lancaster Country Day School in July 2008. Across twenty-seven years in independent schools, he has served also as a division head, department chair, dorm head, classroom teacher, advisor and athletic coach.In his first eight years at LCDS, Mr. Lisk has led the school through strategic enrollment growth, programmatic development, and enhanced professional development. From 2003 – 2008, Mr. Lisk led the Upper School (grades 9-12) at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, FL. Earlier, Mr. Lisk served as the History Department Chair at the Kent School in Kent, CT. Mr. Lisk began his school career at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. Starting as a history teacher, coach of football and basketball, and dorm parent, he spent a total of twelve years at this all-boarding school of over 400 students in grades 9-12.

Mr. Lisk attended the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where, as a Morehead Scholar, he majored in Political Science. Later, he also studied at North Carolina State University where he earned an M.A. in History. Mr. Lisk currently serves as the Board Chair for the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS) and on the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) Commission for Accreditation. With his wife, Kirke, he has two sons, ages 17 and 15.

Michele joined the Montgomery Community in 2016 when her family relocated to Pennsylvania from Connecticut and her daughters enrolled at the school.

Michele leads the Communications and Marketing function for Triumph Group, a global leader in manufacturing and overhauling aerospace structures, systems, and components. Prior to that she spent 10 years at United Technologies Corporation working in a variety of communications roles across the company’s six business units. She began her career in the field of Development, working for organizations including Cornell Medical School, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the University of Chicago.

Michele received her bachelor’s degree in Religion from Dartmouth College and a master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University. Michele and her husband Marlon live in Chester Springs with their daughters Linden (Montgomery ’24) and Anissa (Montgomery ‘26). She also serves on the Board of Custom Collaborative, a non-profit that aims to make a difference in the lives of underserved and immigrant women by creating opportunities in the fashion industry.

Saroj Ramdas is the Director of CMC Biopharm Regulatory Advocacy, Strategy & Policy at GlaxoSmithKline based in Collegeville, PA. She is passionate about putting patients first and leads strategic initiatives focused on industry alignment regarding pharmaceutical development topics, drives strategic approaches from a regulatory perspective to enhance product development and engages globally with respect to Health Authority policy and regulations. She is an active leader in various pharmaceutical industry trade organizations and is the Scientific Director of The Wanda Bilec Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer. She has a B.S. in Chemistry from The College of William & Mary and a M.S in Biochemistry from The Medical College of Virginia. Saroj and her husband Naresh joined the Montgomery family in 2012 when their son Siddarth joined Middle School who is currently at AIM Academy, class of 2019. Their second son Inan is currently a member of Montgomery’s class of 2019.

Morreen Rukin founded Creative Restaurant Solutions, Inc. in 1997 and Combined Resource Solutions, Inc. in 2006. Both companies focus on helping other organizations improve the employment experience to ensure high levels of engagement, productivity, and profitability. Recognized as a dynamic consultant and leader, Morreen has built a team of experts who consistently deliver results with their industry knowledge, creative approaches, and dedication to superior customer service.

Before starting CRS, Morreen acquired 25 years of deep and diverse experience in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, retail, and restaurants. She has applied the hands-on experiences garnered along the way to help organizations improve the employment experience through initiatives that focus on retention, productivity, and profitability.

Morreen earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from University of New Hampshire and also holds a Master’s in Education with a focus on Education and Instructional Design from Pennsylvania State University. An advocate for giving back, Morreen and her family have been recognized as a top fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand (a children’s cancer research foundation) and have raised nearly $210,000 in the past 13 years. Morreen is fortunate to manage the Michael B. Rukin Charitable Foundation in memory of her father which furthers her interest in philanthropy. She also co-authored Dream, Inc. – Million Dollar Business Strategies from 32 Successful Philadelphia-Area Entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia Business Journal recognized Morreen as one of the Women of Distinction in 2007 and she was recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s “Best 50 Women in Business” in 2009. Under Morreen’s leadership the CRS team was recognized as a Philly 100 Winner in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by the Entrepreneur’s Forum of Philadelphia and the Wharton Small Business program. Additionally, Morreen was a recipient of the 2017 Enterprising Women of the Year Award.

Morreen lives in Downingtown, PA with her daughter, Sydnie '18.

Danielle is Assistant Director of Human Resources and Employee Development at the Chester County Intermediate Unit, where she provides guidance on a variety of topics including compliance with state education laws and regulations, new teacher induction, and leadership development.  She also provides legal advice on contracts and agreements. Previously, Danielle was a special education teacher and director of special education for a local school district. Before entering the field of education, Danielle practiced law in the area of complex civil litigation.

Danielle graduated high school from Kingswood School Cranbrook, an independent school in Michigan.  She holds a B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, a J.D. from the Delaware Law School, an M.Ed. from Penn State, and an Ed.D. from Immaculata University.  Danielle resides in Malvern with her husband, Richard. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Staci joined the Montgomery School community in 2013 when her son enrolled in fourth grade. She has been Board Chair since 2018, and has served on the Board’s Executive and Advancement Committees, the Financial Task Force, and has Co-Chaired the Annual Fund.

An active volunteer, Staci is a trustee of St. Andrew’s School. She is a past trustee at Bowdoin College and Belmont Day School. As a Bowdoin volunteer, she served as Alumni Council President, and on her 25th and 30th Reunion Committees. Staci earned her M.A.T. from Brown University and her A.B. from Bowdoin College.

Staci is an Associate at Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in education. Until 2019, she was the U.S. College Mentor and Scholarship Coordinator for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. Previously, she held fundraising positions at charter schools in the South Bronx, New York, and administrative and teaching positions at Prep for Prep, Groton School, Concord Academy, and Bowdoin College.

Staci and her husband Chris, the Assistant Head of School at Church Farm School, live on the CFS campus in Exton, Pennsylvania, with their children Camille, a junior at Pomona College, and Crawford ’18, a sophomore at St. Andrew’s school.

Joshua Stewart is an Account Manager at Excellis Health Solutions, a Life Sciences partner company specializing in compliance and ERP consulting. Prior to his current position, Joshua was an Integrated Delivery Systems Account Lead with Merck and Co., focusing on delivering Population Health Centered solutions to major Health Systems in the Philadelphia area. Joshua is a 12-year veteran of the US Navy where he served as a Nuclear-Submarine Officer on two forward-deployed fast-attack submarines. His shore tours included teaching Leadership and Ethics at the US Naval Academy, and standing up a capstone practicum for submarine-bound midshipmen. He holds a BS from the Naval Academy, MS in Human Resource Development and Leadership from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an MBA from Penn State. Joshua acts as a Character Ambassador for the Travis Manion Foundation.

Joshua is a 1992 graduate of The Montgomery School. He, his wife Kelly, and children, Lincoln (7) and Jasmine (5), reside in East Norriton, PA.