Board of Trustees

Roles of the Board of Trustees at Rio Grande School

Like most independent schools, a Board of Trustees governs Rio Grande School. Per Best Practices of Independent School governance, the board serves the following roles:

Serves as the guardian of the school’s mission and it formulates and supports policies that perpetuate the mission.
Sets policy, focusing on broad policy issues rather than operational details
Leads fundraising efforts through personal giving, solicitation of others and oversight of the development plan
Oversees the finances of the school by setting appropriate tuition, approving the budget and monitoring spending
Hires and guides the Head of School
Plans strategically for the future through a formal planning process, with yearly goal-setting
Evaluates the performance of the school, the Head of School by defining measurable performance indicators and annually reviewing success in achieving mutually defined goals.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Trustees
Kate Ferlic - Chair

Christina Price- Vice Chair

Todd Wax - Treasurer

Guillermo Bleichmar- Compliance Officer

Evie Brunner

Jacqueline Davis

Ariana Feinberg

Ali Effati

Sydney Kinzie Horning

Teddy Huyck

Bob Kirkpatrick

Melanie Maxon

Mollie Parsons

Yvette Roybal

Anne Salzmann

Wilson Scanlan

Shane Woods

Martha Yazdani

Board Bios

Guillermo Bleichmar is the Compliance Officer of the Board and also serves on its Strategic Planning Committee. He and his wife Katie Dry are the parents of Mateo who is in 5th grade and Gabriel who graduated from RGS and is now an eighth grader. He was born in Argentina, grew up there and in Mexico City and moved to the U.S. to attend college. After completing a BA in English at Columbia University and a PhD in Comparative Literature at Harvard he moved to Santa Fe in 2008 to teach liberal arts at St. John's College.

Evie Brunner and her husband Magnus have 3 children: Iona in 2nd grade, Campbell in Kindergarten, and Felicity who is 2.5. Evie serves on the Development committee at RGS. She is originally from Dallas and has a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. She moved to London and worked in finance before going back to law school, attending BPP Law School in London. She is a qualified UK solicitor who specialized in commercial litigation. The Brunners moved from London to Santa Fe and joined the RGS community in 2015. She enjoys hiking, reading and cooking in her spare time.

Jacqueline Davis and her husband, John Anderson, have a daughter, Juliette, who just started her final year at RGS. Juliette has been at RGS since she was three years old, and graduation day is going to be a tough one, as Juliette truly considers RGS to be her second home. Jacqueline has a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Hailing from New York, Jacqueline moved to Santa Fe in 2008. She currently works as a permanent law clerk to Senior United States District Judge Martha Vázquez. Since joining the RGS community, Jacqueline has been a member of the development committee. She is grateful for the opportunity to support RGS, which has been such an integral part of her family’s life for almost 10 years. She loves spending time with family, friends, and her two dogs, hiking, and reading fiction, preferably on a beach.

Ariana Feinberg is originally from Seattle, WA, where she received her B.A. in sociology from the University of Washington. In Seattle, Ariana held many corporate positions related to human resources including Arthur Andersen, Washington Mutual Bank and Nordstrom. She also helped found the Sauvage Healing Heart Guild, a guild supporting the renowned Hope Heart Institute. Ariana and her husband, Bill, moved to Santa Fe in 2008 and are the proud parents of Noah, an 8th grader at Santa Fe Prep, and Max, a 5th grader at RGS. She is a former board member of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum and has served as a member of the development committee of Rio Grande School since joining the RGS community. Her interests include indoor and outdoor exercise, beating her husband in road bike races, travel and spending time with her family and best dog in the world, Willy Bear.

Kate Ferlic is the Board’s chair and proud parent of Rohan ('21 graduate and now 8th grader at Santa Fe Prep) and Max (5th grade) with her husband Chris Stanek. She is a partner in the Santa Fe law firm Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez + Harwood where she specializes in litigation including personal injury and civil rights. She serves on the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women and the board of New Mexico Women.Org – a non-profit fund that supports the advancement of women and girls statewide. She graduated from Georgetown University and the University of New Mexico School of Law. Kate believes that education is the most meaningful gift you can give a child and that elementary school sets the tone for a lifelong love of learning. Kate loves the confidence and curiosity that RGS fosters in her children. She enjoys tennis, yoga, skiing, travel and spending time with her family in Taos Ski Valley. Kate has lived in Santa Fe since 1999.

Bob Kirkpatrick and his wife Sue, also an educator, moved to Santa Fe in June 2016 upon Bob’s retirement as Head of School at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, TX. Bob received his BA in history from Kenyon College and an MAT from Colgate University. Bob’s 42 years as an independent school educator have prepared him well for service on the RGS Board. Prior to his nine-year tenure at St. Stephen’s, Bob was school head at Fox Chapel Country Day School, an independent elementary school in Pittsburgh, PA. For 26 years, Bob served in many capacities at Pittsburgh's Shady Side Academy including acting lower school head, director of admission, history department chair, teacher, coach and dorm parent. As an educator, he served on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest, and the executive committee of the Southwest Preparatory Conference. In addition to serving on other local boards in Pennsylvania, Bob spent 22 years as a volunteer firefighter in suburban Pittsburgh. Bob is currently working part-time for an independent school consulting firm, The Education Group and is a trustee of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian here in Santa Fe.

Melanie Maxon and her husband, Ryan Bailey, are the proud parents of Kora Bailey (Kindergarten). Melanie grew up in Santa Fe and is excited to give back to the wonderful community that gave her so much in her formative years. After graduating from Santa Fe High School, she moved to The Hague, Netherlands. Melanie then returned to the United States and attended the University of Arizona Tucson, American Intercontinental University London, and the University of Colorado Denver where she received a BS in Business Management. Her passion for business brought her to Northern California, where she worked for Goldman Sachs and Indus Capital Partners. Melanie and Ryan returned to the Land of Enchantment to start a family in late 2015. She currently serves on the Santa Fe Children’s Museum's board of directors while continuing to invest in start-ups and private companies. Melanie enjoys many outdoor activities with her family and two dogs including hiking, mountain biking, skinning, and skiing.

Christina Price and her husband Connor Browne are parents to Ella (9th grade at Santa Fe Prep), Juliette (7th grade at Santa Fe Prep), Pippa (4th grade), Haddie (Pequeno) and Edgar (Senior at University of Washington). Christina is an East Coast transplant, moving to Santa Fe in 2008 after finishing an Emergency Medicine residency in Philadelphia. She has worked as an Emergency Medicine physician at the University of New Mexico since 2008. Christina is an Assistant Residency director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at UNM, where she focuses on resident education and well-being. Christina received a BS from Boston College in 2001 and earned a MD from Drexel University College of Medicine in 2005. Christina and Connor have had children at RGS since 2009. They are lifers!!

Anne Salzmann grew up in Sedona, Arizona on the campus of Verde Valley School, a boarding school that emphasizes stewardship of the planet, a diverse student body and the importance of labor that serves others. Those values have been a consistent focus of her life. Anne graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and earned her Masters Degree in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her professional life has included working for Minnesota Outward Bound School, counseling in a school for delinquent kids on the North Shore of Boston, directing school counseling at Phoenix Country Day School in Phoenix, and heading Verde Valley School. Anne and her husband Davidmoved to Santa Fe 22 years ago and Anne worked at Monte del Sol Charter School as Assistant Head of School and as Head, followed by 10 years at The Masters Program Charter School as Founding Head. Anne currently tutors for Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, is on the Board of Monte del Sol, spends time with her dogs and cats, travels (including to see grandchildren in Minneapolis), reads, quilts and marvels at the beauty of New Mexico on early morning walks.

Wilson Scanlan and his wife, Jenna, are the proud parents of three RGS Hawk graduates: Hank (class of ’22), Owen (class of ’20), and Jack (class of ’18). Born in Austin, Texas, Wilson has been a proud New Mexican since 1999. He received his B.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles, with a focus on Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture. Wilson owned and operated Verve Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe for 14 years. A passionate environmentalist, Wilson is an enthusiastic partner at Positive Energy Solar, New Mexico’s largest residential solar panel installer. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and the New Mexico Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Wilson joined the Rio Grande School Board of Trustees in 2015, and he currently chairs the Building and Grounds Committee. Wilson enjoys skiing, tennis, fly-fishing, mountain biking, and, most of all, spending time with his family.

Todd Wax and his wife, Jessica, are parents to a current student at Rio Grande School. Todd holds BBA and MBA degrees from Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder. Professionally, Todd is a fixed income analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, supporting its municipal strategies. Todd is also a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of New Mexico. For leisure, Todd and his family enjoy the many pleasures of Santa Fe as well as visiting with family and playing golf.

Shane Woods and his wife, Deborah, are proud parents to Ashton who is in fifth grade and Brayden who is in second grade. Born and raised in Santa Fe, Shane returned to the City Different in 2008 to take the helm of the family business, Woods Design Builders. Since that time, Shane and his brother Rob have worked together as second-generation owners of Woods. Before returning to Santa Fe, Shane attended the New Mexico Military Institute and the University of Utah, and eventually made his way to San Diego where he was a managing partner of two restaurants. An entrepreneur by day, Shane is also a passionate outdoorsman and athlete. In addition to being a skilled surfer, Shane has competed professionally in the freestyle moguls. If not in the office or with his wife and kids, Shane can often be found on the mountain.

Martha Yazdani was raised in Tchad, immersed in North African culture alongside the traditions of her Persian immigrant parents. Her upbringing has played a significant role in her interest in micro-finance and grass-roots community development, recognizing both as tools for improving community life. Working in small business account management for over 14 years, she has developed the ability to identify and implement improvements which can streamline processes and increase efficiency and productivity. Driven by a true desire to bring people of diverse backgrounds together around a common purpose, Martha has spent the last 8 years building The Birthing Tree Cooperative & recently the TBT Fund, a local business providing childbirth education and postpartum services in Santa Fe city & county. Martha has a BA in International Studies and Economics, is the proud mother to Nadia (7th grade) and Mateen (3rd grade), and an active member of the Baha’i community.

Teddy Huyck and his wife Clea Lopez—an RGS alumn—have two girls at RGS, Nellie and Bea. Teddy is a practicing architect and a member of the Building and Grounds Committee for RGS. Raised in the Chicago area, Teddy fled to the West to Stanford University for a degree in Anthropology. A few years in finance and graphic design led to architecture school at Harvard. After he and Clea started their careers and in Portland, Oregon, he and the family finally call Santa Fe home.