Board of Directors

The purpose of the Board of Directors is to carry out The Mission of The Walden School.

Ellen Bernard was introduced to the Walden School when her son Whit started attending six years ago. Her younger son, Meade, has attended Walden since 2002, and studied piano with Leo Wanenchak in Baltimore. Ellen and her husband Ed (an executive at T. Rowe Price Associates) have long been supporters of the arts in Baltimore, including development work with the regional theater, Center Stage, where Ed is a board member. Ellen has sung with both the Chestnut Ridge Women's Choir and the Larks, a project of the Junior League of Baltimore, with Leo Wanenchak, Director. She is a founding member of the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle, and serves on the boards of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the Walters Museum of Art. She has also been actively involved in development at St. Paul's School in Baltimore and pastoral programs at Second Presbyterian Church. Ellen and Ed met at Brown University, where Whit is currently majoring in music. Meade attends Oberlin College and Conservatory in the double degree program.

David Callan is a Certified Public Accountant and a founding partner of Callan & Palmer, a full service public accounting firm that also offers financial services through an affiliation with The Raymond James Company. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Accounting and received his Masters in Taxation from the University of Baltimore. David has participated in Music Ministries as a guitarist and choral singer and is currently a music student of Leo Wanenchak. Over the years, David has assisted numerous non-profit boards in compliance-related work and tax-exempt status. He has been an active member of church and community organizations, and enjoys piano, golf, scuba diving and running. David and his wife of 32 years, Alix Ann, have twin boys, Anthony & David. Alix Ann is also an amateur pianist and singer.

Todd Cleary is Director of the Retail division of T. Rowe Price Group, managing the Marketing and Sales functions. He earned a B.S. in accounting from the University of Connecticut and a Masters in Business Administration from Pace University. Todd and his wife Darcy live in Timonium, Maryland. Their daughter Lyssa attends the University of Virginia and their son Brayden, a Walden “graduate,” is at Duke University. It was Todd’s personal Walden experience as a parent that led him to serve on our board. He is proof that Walden deeply touches not only the lives of students, but the parents as well.

Michael Cornog first encountered The Walden School during his 13-year tenure as Headmaster of the Dublin School. Michael Cornog received a B.A. in English from Harvard in 1963, and an M.A.T. in English from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in 1965. He attended a doctoral program in educational administration at Teachers College Columbia University. He was a Teaching Fellow at Phillips Academy Andover and also taught at Lexington High School in Massachusetts.

In addition to his time at The Dublin School, he has been Headmaster at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut and The MacDuffie School in Springfield, Massachusetts, and has held interim positions at The Cathedral School in New York City, Trinity Episcopal School in Menlo Park, California, and Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. In addition to serving on the board of The Walden School, he is an incorporator of Historic Harrisville, a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the mills in that town just north of Dublin, Walden’s summer home. He became chair of the Democratic Caucus of Nelson, NH in the summer of 2006.

Michael’s wife, Mary, teaches Latin at Keene High School and plays the French horn in the Nelson Town Band. They have two daughters, Sarah and Mary Alice. Sarah attended Walden for many summers, also served on Walden’s board, and now lives in New York City with her husband, Chris Chesney, and son, William Wolfe Chesney. Mary Alice graduated from Bates College, and teaches in Slovenia.

Ruth Franklin attended The Walden School from 1984 to 1987 and again in 1989. She is currently a writer and editor at The New Republic in Washington, DC and a freelance book reviewer. A Baltimore native, she received a B.A. in English from Columbia University in 1995 and an M.A. in comparative literature from Harvard University in 1998. She has also studied at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Before joining The New Republic, she worked at The New York Times' Warsaw bureau, for the Let's Go travel guide series, and in book publishing. Her writing also appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, and other publications. Her musical interests include classical piano, theory, and world music.

Andrew Jacobs was a student at The Walden School from 1985 to 1990. From 1991 to 1993, Andrew attended the Curtis Institute of Music, during which time he also received composition awards from BMI and ASCAP. He holds an A.B. in music from Harvard University, where he studied composition with Mario Davidovsky and Bernard Rands. After working as an investment banking analyst at Wasserstein Perella & Co. from 1997 to 1999, Andrew attended Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 2002. From 2002 to 2003, Andrew was a law clerk for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; from 2003 to 2006 he practiced commercial bankruptcy law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and from 2006 to February 2008 he was employed by Millennium Management LLC, an alternative investment manager, most recently as a Managing Director and Associate General Counsel. He is currently Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Hutchin Hill Capital, LP, based in New York City, where he lives with his wife Kathy Park.

Robin Kenney attended Boston College and holds a doctorate in psychology from Boston University. He currently maintains a consultation practice in New Hampshire. He is a frequent presenter at regional and national conferences, and has consulted in Massachusetts, California and other states on the creation of mental health services for people with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions. Dr. Kenney has served on numerous professional and community boards and committees, but is especially proud of having been the founding president of The Raylynmor Opera, a regional company performing in the Monadnock area of New Hampshire. He counts as one of the highlights of his life the opportunity to meet and talk with composer Walter Piston when he was twelve years old (Robin, not Walter Piston!). Although music is his first and greatest love, he is a lifelong, avid tennis player and historian of the game, and has recently taken up golf. Dr. Kenney lives with his wife Leslie in Peterborough, NH, and is the father of two lovely and accomplished daughters.

Rita Mitra became acquainted with The Walden School through her daughter Danielle, who has attended Walden since 2004. Danielle was introduced to Walden by her English teacher, Sarah Cornog (a Walden alumna and former board member). Rita was a professional pianist for many years. She received a B.M. from Texas Tech University, an M.M. from the Juilliard School, and a D.M.A. from Manhattan School of Music, all in Piano Performance. Rita also studied violin through college and was a member of several regional orchestras. She has concertized widely as a solo pianist and in chamber ensembles as a pianist and violinist, and has premiered several new chamber works. Rita taught piano for over ten years privately and at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Brooklyn College of Music pre-college division. She is also interested in Indian classical music and has studied Indian ragas on the violin and tabla.

After a career change to computer science, Rita received a M.S. from NYU in 2002. Currently, she is working as a freelance technical editor and writer. Rita continues to perform in her free time and especially enjoys premiering the compositions of her daughter. Rita lives with her husband and daughter in New York City.

Molly Pindell has been associated with Walden for 10 years. She has served in a variety of capacities: as a staff member and administrative assistant, as Director of Operations for 7 summers, and most recently as a member of Walden’s Board of Directors. A native of the Monadnock region, Molly spent the last two years in Boulder, CO, where she worked at Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy making cheese and playing surrogate mother to approximately 100 goat kids. In June Molly moved to Stowe, VT, where she plans to start a goat dairy of her own. Molly also writes about food and farming professionally; her recent publications have appeared in 5280 magazine, Boulder Weekly, Colby magazine, and Delicious Living. A professionally-trained chef, Molly holds an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from Tufts University and a B.A. in International Studies from Colby College.

John O'Meara became a Walden fan through his wife Mary Anne (a Junior Conservatory alumna), and his daughter Caroline (a 6 summer Walden alumna). John has been Chairman, CEO, President, and director of a number of companies in the Rowan Technologies Group. He is currently retired, doing occasional management consulting work. He is vice president of the multi employer pension, health, and education funds for IUE local 463, a trustee of the Moorestown Free Library Association, president of his condominium association, and active in his church and Rotary club. With wife Mary Anne, he founded the not-for-profit Moorestown School of Music, in Moorestown, NJ. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Stanford University. While John claims that his musical instrument is the CD player, he happily supports Mary Anne and two musically talented daughters, Caroline and Isabel, in their varied musical study, composition, and performance interests. John lives in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Susan Rosen was introduced to The Walden School when her son Michael attended the program in 2004 and 2005. Michael is now studying composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Susan received a B.S. degree in Pharmacy at University of Colorado and did a mini-residency in geriatrics at University of California San Francisco. She works as a clinical pharmacist at Laguna Honda Hospital and Jewish Home for the Aged. When not practicing pharmacy, she can be found volunteering in The Walden School office in San Francisco. She is on the Young Conservatory Council at American Conservatory Theater and was the parent representative for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division for 5 years and attended board meetings in that capacity. She was also the President of the Parents Association at Town School for Boys in 2000 and attended school board meetings. Her other son, Jonathan, is a senior in high school. He has acted on the main stage at American Conservatory Theater and is a budding filmmaker. Susan lives in San Francisco.

Leslie Stephens became familiar with The Walden School through Seth Brenzel and has supported the program for several years. She currently works in marketing for Abbott Vascular, a cardiac medical device company, focusing on stents and other products for coronary angioplasty. Leslie is a graduate of Kenyon College in central Ohio and UC Berkeley graduate programs and prior to attending graduate school worked in R&D for medical diagnostics. She lives in San Francisco with her husband Geoff and their two cats. While Leslie does not play an instrument and attempted to sing in her church’s youth choir, she does greatly appreciate the talent of others.

Leo Wanenchak has been associated with The Walden School for 30 years. Leo currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. He is on the faculty of the Preparatory Department of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Leo is the Director of the Larks, a women's vocal ensemble, a community service project of the Junior League of Baltimore. His activities this past year include performances with the Baltimore Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Paris and the Peabody Camerata. Leo is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and is a member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association, Music Teacher's National Association and Chorus America. Leo’s music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Copyright 2007-2008, The Walden School, All Rights Reserved.