Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the long-term financial health of the School. The Board sets broad policy of the School based on the principles of progressive education and consistent with the objectives of the School and our founder, Caroline Pratt. Voting membership includes representatives from the teachers, alumni, parent body, and friends of the School. Committees reporting to the Board are listed at the bottom of this page.
Lakshman Achuthan joined the Board of Trustees in January of 2014. He began studying recessions in the early 1990s at Columbia University and then co-founded the Economic Cycle Research Institute in 1996. Lakshman also serves on the Putney School board, among others. He and his wife, Tracy White, have three children (’22, ’26 and ’29) at the School.
Melissa Beyer joined the Board in 2021 as the Parent Representative. She has a C&C alum (’19) and a current student (’22), and has served the School in a variety of volunteer positions, including Group Representative, Admissions tour guide, Annual Fund Representative, and Spring Benefit art auction advisor. With her husband, she owns a business that works with contemporary artists to produce museum- and public-scale sculpture. She also has a background in development and curatorial programming at art museums and nonprofit organizations such as the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia and the St. Louis Art Museum. Melissa holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.A. from Washington University, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Alf Blitzer, a long-standing Trustee and son of a C&C alum, serves as the Chair of the Board's Audit and Risk Committee. Previously, he served as the Chair of the Board’s Development Committee from 2006 until 2011. He has been an IT executive for over 25 years and had roles on the national board of City at Peace and the board of directors of the Greenwich Village Little League. Alf’s son attended City and Country from the 2s–13s, graduating in 2009.
 
Kate Bostock-Shefferman, who joined the Board in 2014, serves as the Board's Secretary and chairs the Development Committee. She and her husband, Jesse Shefferman, are the Parent Chairs of the School’s Annual Fund. Kate is engaged in many community and philanthropic interests. She has a B.A. in History from Duke University and received her M.B.A. from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. She and her husband are parents of two daughters—a C&C alum (’21) and a current student (’24).
Ruth Cataldo joined the Board as a Teacher Representative in 2020, her 10th year teaching at C&C. She has held a number of roles at the School, including as a VIIs Associate, Interim Rhythms Teacher, and Vs Group Teacher. She has been in her current role as a VIIsR Group Teacher since 2014 and has served on numerous committees at the School, including as a representative to the Education Committee. Ruth holds a Master’s of Education dual degree in Early Childhood/Childhood (birth to 6th Grade) from Bank Street College and is a fully Certified Teacher of Education in the State of New York. In the past, she worked as a professional actress, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Boston University and a Master’s degree in Theatre from The Catholic University of America.
Josh Cender joined the Board in 2016 and is the Board Chair. He also serves as the Chair of the Communications and Finance Committees, and Vice-Chair of the Development Committee. He previously served as Co-President of the Parents Association (2014–16), and has been a Group Representative and Annual Fund Representative multiple times. Josh and his wife, Laura Raicovich, have a son at C&C ('23). Josh is a family office executive experienced in finance, law, and operations, and began his career as a transactional attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He has a law degree from New York University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sheelah A. Feinberg '85, a C&C alum, grew up in Greenwich Village. She has served as Chair of the Alumni Annual Fund and as a Group Rep for two years. Sheelah and her husband, Michael Rutkoski, have a daughter at C&C (’27). She is currently the Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Prior to her current position, she served as Executive Director of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free City, and conducted advocacy campaigns covering a range of policy areas including economic self-sufficiency, parks development, and public health. She holds an M.S.A. from Saint Michael’s College and a B.A. from Goddard College.
Kevin Gillespie is the father of a current C&C student (’26) and joined the Board of Trustees in 2021. He has volunteered for several events and school committees at City and Country since 2017. Kevin, a native New Yorker, has spent years working in different artistic fields. He is currently an art director at Newell Brands.
AZ Jenkins has spent her entire life in and around schools as the daughter of a math teacher, and as a student, teacher, librarian, tutor, parent, trustee, and volunteer. She has a particular interest in early childhood and literacy, and is involved in efforts to promote education in the Dominican Republic. AZ has been a part of the City and Country community since 2001 and is the mother of three graduates and one pig (who volunteers her time for the C&C auction!)
John Kolz joined the Board in 2012 and is past Board Chair. He has also served as the Finance Committee Chair, Development Committee Chair, and Chair of the Annual Fund. John is a Managing Director at Credit Suisse and is Head of Equity Capital Markets for Technology, Media & Telecom and Healthcare. John has his undergraduate degree in engineering from University of Cincinnati and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. John and his wife, Amy, are parents of a C&C alum (’20) and a current student (’22).
 
Leah Modigliani joined the Board in 2009 and chairs the Board’s Investments Committee. She also serves on the Board’s Finance and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees. Prior to joining the Board, Leah was Co-Chair of the Parent Diversity Group for three years. A graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard Business School, Leah is an Institutional Portfolio Strategist with a focus on the US stock market. In her professional career, she spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley and also worked for Neuberger Berman and, most recently, Bridgewater Associates. Leah’s daughters both started at C&C at age two, and her youngest daughter graduated in 2017. Leah also serves on the Oberlin College Board of Trustees as Co-Chair of the Investment Committee, and as Chair of the Board of Youth Communications.
 
Scott Moran is Principal of City and Country School. He started his career as a student teacher at C&C in 2000. He was then VIIIs Group Teacher, IXs Group Teacher, the Math Specialist and Specials Coordinator, and Director of the Middle/Upper School (2007–2012). Scott was the Head of School at Westland School in Los Angeles from 2012–2017. Scott holds a B.A. in Psychology, and a Business Management Certificate, from the University of Rochester. He holds an M.S.Ed. from Bank Street College in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and is a permanently certified teacher in New York State. Scott and his wife, Jennifer, are parents of a C&C alum (’20) and a current student (’24).
 
Barry Munger, a photographer, is a parent of two City and Country alums ('11 and '14). A native of Los Angeles, he attended Stanford University, and worked as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor in Los Angeles before moving to NYC in 1990. Barry chairs the Committee on Trustees.
 
Jennifer Sage '70, a C&C alum, was born and raised in Greenwich Village and she attended the School with her sister and five cousins, and her three children ('04, '07, '11) also attended C&C. After earning degrees from the High School of Music and Art, Harvard College, and the Yale School of Architecture, she pursued her architectural career with I.M. Pei. & Partners before opening her own office, Sage and Coombe Architects, with partner and fellow C&C parent Peter Coombe. As chair of the Board’s Facilities Committee, Jennifer has supported all aspects of the School’s physical plant improvements, campus expansion, and ongoing renovation.
 
Paul Salmon first joined the Board as the Parent Trustee Representative, serving two years. He rejoined as an At-Large Trustee in 2008, and has previously served as the Board's Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. In addition to operating restaurants in New York, Paul is the founder and chair of Rockhouse Hotel in Negril, Jamaica. He founded and runs Rockhouse Foundation, building and supporting elementary schools and libraries in Jamaica. Paul is the parent of two C&C alums (’13 and ’18) and one current student (’25).
Veronica Rivera Savage joined the Board in 2016 and chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Previously, she served as parent Co-Chair of the C&C Diversity Group for three consecutive years. Her husband Israel has shared his artistic background with C&C, by offering improvisation classes through our Add-ins Program. Veronica and Israel are parents of a C&C alum (’19) and a current student (’22). Veronica is a licensed social worker and educator for the NYC public school system. She has spent over two decades promoting youth development, social justice, and community building for NYC youth. She earned her M.S.W. degree from Fordham University and her undergraduate degree in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University.
 
Namita Tolia joined the Board of C&C in 2018 as an outside educator. She has been a classroom teacher and school leader since 1994. She has served as an elementary school teacher at The San Francisco School in California, as Lower School Principal at Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City, as Head of School at Montclair Cooperative School in New Jersey, and is currently serving as Lower School Principal at Rutgers Preparatory School in New Jersey. She holds a B.S. from Georgetown University, a teaching credential from the University of San Francisco, an M.A. from Stanford University, and an M.A. from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University.
Todd Triller joined the board in 2020 and has also previously served on the Audit Committee. Todd and his wife, Mimi Lee, have two daughters at the school (’24 and ’26). Todd is a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, where he is co-head of portfolio management and workouts for the global credit platform. He is also co-head of energy credit. Prior to joining The Carlyle Group, Todd was a partner at an international law firm with a focus on complex finance transactions. He has a B.S in finance from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and a J.D from the University of Virginia Law School, where he also served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review.
Crystal Wald joined the Board in 2020. She shares time between NYC and Minneapolis, where she grew up. A Parsons School of Design graduate, it was fashion that initially brought her to the city. Ultimately, social justice initiatives, the importance of narratives from underserved communities, and the awareness of the power of entertainment led her to co-found nonprofit “2 Brass Brads,” which has evolved to become the socially-relevant production company, Level Forward. She is the parent of two children at C&C (‘26 & ‘27), and she previously served as Co-President of the Parents Association (2018–2020), Vice President of the Parents Association (2016–2018), and a Group Parent Representative every year since her family’s entry.
Adam Winkel joined the Board in 2021 after several years in the C&C community as father to two daughters (’25 and ’28), Annual Fund Representative, and regular member of the Spring Fair barbecue pit crew. A native of southwest Michigan, Adam has lived in NYC since 2003. He holds a BA in Math with Computer Science from MIT and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. He has worked in technology at Jane Street Capital since 2004.

Trustees Emeriti

Ellen Breslow Newhouse served on the Board from 2005–2020. During her tenure, she chaired the Communications Committee, the Development Committee, co-chaired the School's Centennial celebrations, and oversaw the rebranding of the School. She continues to serve on the Development Committee. A mother of one alumnus ('12),  she received her BA from the University of Michigan and is a former writer and editor for such publications as Vogue, Self, and Harper's Bazaar.

Stuart Gold joined C&C’s Board in 1992 and served as its Chair from 1999–2005. Stuart was a litigating partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP until his retirement in 2014. He is the parent of two City and Country alumnae (’01, ’04). He is currently an advisor to the Strategic Planning Committee.
 
Virginia Josephian served on the Board from 1988–2011. She received her undergraduate degree from University of California at Berkeley and did graduate work at the University of Chicago and overseas, where she received a doctorate in demography at the Australian National University. Her professional experience includes work in West Africa for the U.S. Agency for International Development in the U.S. Department of State, for the United Nations as editor of the UN Demographic Yearbook in New York, and as an economic affairs officer at the World Food Council in Rome.

Frederick J. Knecht is the father of two alumni ('07, '11), and was Board Chair from 2006–2015. Fred is retired after a legal career in banking and the securities industry. Before his retirement in 2020, he was Deputy General Counsel of BNY Mellon. Prior to that he was a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling, and also served as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School and a bachelor's degree from Tufts University.

D. Edward Martin, M.B.A., C.P.A., served on the Board from 1990–2021, and previously served as the Board’s Treasurer. An accountant and consultant by profession, Ed is a founder of, and current advisor to, EisnerAmper LLP's Not-for-Profit Industry Group (currently working with a number of NYC’s prominent independent schools) and has a widely respected expertise in not-for-profit auditing and other financial services. He is also an adjunct professor at Baruch College, sits on the advisory board of the Accountants Club of America, and is the former chair of, and a present consultant with, the audit and compliance committee of the New Jewish Home. Ed’s two sons both started in the 2s and graduated from the School in 2002 and 2007.

Committees

The Ad Hoc Committee on Metrics and Enrollment compiles statistics helpful in admissions, fundraising, finance, and other areas of the School’s management.
 
The Archives Committee manages and ensures that the School’s archives are up to well maintained and accessible.
 
The Audit Committee ensures that there are adequate procedures for keeping accurate books and records, and has the School’s books examined and the accounts audited and certified annually by a certified accountant.
 
The Building Committee oversees the day-to-day space and facilities maintenance needs of the School.
 
The Committee on Trustees supervises the recruitment, education, and participation of Trustees.
 
The Communications Committee oversees the School’s print publications; print and electronic communications with parents; and website, press, and media relations.
 
The Development Committee oversees fundraising, including the Annual Fund, Benefit, Endowment, and Capital Campaigns, and publicity, mailings, and presentations related to fundraising.
 
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee works to support the School's commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion.
 
The Facilities Committee oversees and plans for the School’s long-term space needs.
 
The Finance Committee supervises the handling of the School’s finances, real estate, and property.
 
The Investment Committee is responsible for the management of invested funds, specifically the School’s Endowment.
 
 
 
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City and Country School

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Phone: 212.242.7802