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 through her children, who have participated in the program as students, faculty and staff members. Her son, Meade, has attended Walden since 2002, and studied piano with Leo Wanenchak in Baltimore.  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, Baltimore Chamber Jazz and the Walters Museum of Art.

Carol Brown is President and Executive Director of Philadelphia Sinfonia, a 100-member youth orchestra. She was introduced to The Walden School in 2000, when her younger daughter, Eliza, became a student. Carol and her husband, Baird, a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll, are actively involved with numerous cultural and educational institutions in Philadelphia and each has served on the boards of several of them. Carol has a degree in Women’s Literature and has held various jobs in quite divergent areas. Her favorite was coordinating a history project for Friends Select School in Philadelphia, in which she researched, wrote, and published the school’s history with the help of students learning to use primary source materials. She is also a self-taught fiber artist whose work has been exhibited in Chicago and Philadelphia. Carol has maintained an on-going connection to The Walden School through Eliza, who progressed from student to staff and (finally) to faculty, in 2008. Eliza is a doctoral candidate in composition at Northwestern University. Carol and Baird’s older daughter, Hannah Marzynski, is the married mother of two sons and a historic preservation architect.

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 graduated from 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. 

Dr. Arno Drucker has had a varied and distinctive musical career as a piano soloist, chamber music and orchestral performer, teacher, and scholar.

A native of Philadelphia, his debut performance was with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 13. While attending the Eastman School of Music, where he received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees, he performed with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, playing the Hanson Piano Concerto, with the composer conducting. He was a scholarship student at the Music Academy of the West. As a Fulbright scholar he studied at the Akademie in Vienna and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. During U.S. Army Service he appeared as soloist in twenty-one performances in Germany and the Benelux countries with the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra.

He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, studying at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University with Leon Fleisher. He has been a soloist with the Baltimore, National, Chatauqua, New Haven, and Augusta Symphony Orchestras, and has presented solo recitals in various U.S. cities.

As a chamber music performer he was the pianist of the American Arts Trio, in residence at West Virginia University, performing concert tours of Germany and Mexico, and television programs for WQED (Pittsburgh). The trio premiered compositions during their New York Carnegie Recital Hall concerts and performed concert tours of the United States. He also performed with the Tokyo String Quartet. 

Dr. Drucker is the founding Artistic Director of Festival Chamber Players. With members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra he directed and performed eleven years of summer chamber music concerts in Baltimore. As an accompanist he has performed recitals with Benita Valente, soprano, and cellists Stephen Kates and Leslie Parnas, and numerous Master classes and recitals with his wife, the soprano Ruth Drucker, in Indonesia, Austria, Canada, Germany and throughout the U.S.

He has been a faculty member of West Virginia University, Westminster Choir College, Essex Community College and the Peabody Conservatory, a recording artist for Orion Records, Principal Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for over twenty years, and the author of “American Piano Trios: A Resource Guide,” published by Scarecrow Press.

Cortlandt B. Fengler (Corty) learned of Walden School through Seth Brenzel and was surprised to find out that it originated in the city where she grew up long ago. A “chorus junkie,” she now sings with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and still takes voice lessons. She majored in Music at Wellesley College and received her M.A. from Bryn Mawr College, also in music, but ended up with a career first in computers in the late 60’s and then in fund raising for the most recent 30 years. She retired in 2009 from the position of Canon for Development for Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the third largest Episcopal Cathedral in the country, but still serves as a fundraising and management consultant. She is a still senior associate part-time with the firm of John Brown Limited, a leader in the fields of planned giving and capital campaigns. Her career in philanthropy over the years included executive development positions with the San Francisco Symphony, the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Wellesley College and Westover School. Her clients have ranged from choruses and orchestras such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra and many in California to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, to museums, schools, colleges, and a community foundation. She currently serves as Development Chair on the Board of Directors for Chorus America, a service organization for choruses across the American hemisphere. Two sons, their wives and two grandsons living in far flung places keep her and husband Alf traveling to visit as often as possible.  Music is key to life, and she is extremely happy to be able to make it her avocation.

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., Andrew attended Harvard Law School, was a law clerk for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and then practiced commercial bankruptcy law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Most recently, Andrew has been in-house legal counsel to a number of hedge funds. 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, after which he served as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Hutchin Hill Capital, LP. Andrew is currently the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of BAM Capital, LLC, based in New York City, where he lives with his wife Kathy Park and daughter Sabine.

Laura Mehiel began her relationship with The Walden School in 1973, when she attended the school’s second season at Hannah Moore Academy in Reisterstown, Maryland.  She was a student for a total of 8 summers, and later served as staff, faculty, and as the Chair of the Board of Directors for 5 years (2000-2005). She is a registered professional engineer, and currently employed at HNTB Corporation. Laura holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree with Distinction from the University of Delaware, cum laude, where she minored in violin.  Laura also studied violin, piano, musicianship, and cello at the Peabody Preparatory, where she received the Louis Cheslock award in 1982.  She has continued her involvement in music throughout her adult life by teaching Musicianship and Theory at the Peabody Preparatory, and by singing in choir performances for holiday and other special events.  Laura currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

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.

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.

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 now lives with her family at Sage Farm in Stowe, Vermont, where she operates a small goat dairy. She makes artisan chesses from the milk of her 6 alpine does. 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.

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.

Noël Theodosiou is Founder and President of her own business, Luminous International Ltd. which specializes in working with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations on strategic planning – to help make decisions, set priorities and overcome challenges that stand in the way of growth. She has 15 years of international business experience, and has worked and lived in London (UK), Athens (Greece) and New York, as well as in Central & Eastern Europe. Noël began playing the violin at the age of five – she studied privately with Marylou Speaker-Churchill, Eric Rosenblith and David Arden. She also attended the Longy School of Music, in Cambridge, MA, the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division in Boston, MA, and participated in a number of summer chamber music festivals including Yellow Barn, in Putney, VT. Noël became familiar with and began supporting The Walden School while studying at Swarthmore College, where she was a member of the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter String Quartet for three semesters, as well as a principal player in the Swarthmore College Orchestra and Early Music Ensemble. She graduated with Honors in Music and History, specifically focused on Baroque performance practice for the violin. Noël currently lives in London, and divides her time between the UK and the East Coast.

Leo Wanenchak has been associated with The Walden School for 31 years and is a contributing author to The Walden School Musicianship Course: A Manual for Teachers. Leo currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and is on the faculty of the Preparatory Department of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He is also the Director of the Larks, a women's vocal ensemble, a community service project of the Junior League of Baltimore. Twice being honored A National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts Outstanding Educator, his students have awards from NFAA, MTNA and ASCAP.

As a conductor, keyboard artist, vocalist and narrator, he has performed throughout the USA, including Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Saint Thomas Church, Riverside Church and Carnegie Hall in New York City and abroad in France, Greece, Holland and Romania. He has been heard on NPR locally with Choral Arts Classics, Backstage at the BSO, Face the Music and featured nationally on Pipe Dreams. 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.

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