COMMUNITY
Administration
Community
The Ross School Senior Leadership Team and Administration oversee the day-to-day workings of the school and strive to ensure a phenomenal educational experience for our students every day.
The majority of Ross faculty hold advanced degrees in their specialty areas. They hail from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds, thereby adding to the rich tapestry of a Ross education. Teachers develop close relationships with students, providing a caring and supportive environment where academic excellence, social skills, self-esteem, and respect for others are fostered through cooperative learning and personal development. Small class sizes ensure that each student benefits from mentor relationships with their teachers.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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Emily Tisch Sussman is a podcast host, women’s empowerment and family policy advocate, leading democratic political strategist, co-owner of Gotham FC, the championship-winning women's soccer team for New York/New Jersey, a contributor to Marie Claire and Parents Magazine, as well as a mother of three. As a member of the Fieldston School Board for nine years and former Senior Advisor for Paid Leave US, Emily brings years of experience solving complex issues affecting women and families. Emily and her husband Kevin have three children enrolled at Ross Lower School.
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Nicole Ross Eloff graduated from Ross School in 2001 and was one of the School’s original two students. Nicole attended Duke University before transferring to Columbia University, gaining a BA in Psychology in 2005.
After beginning a Master's degree in Psychology at NYU, she became interested in international relief work when she accompanied Duke University's Neurosurgical and Orthopedic teams on a medical mission to Kampala, Uganda; she participated in numerous surgeries and apprenticed with doctors, nurses, and surgeons during her tenure with the team. This led her to volunteer in an Internally Displaced Peoples camp of 40,000 people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after the earthquake of January 2010. She worked with medical professionals ranging from EMTs to MDs in a medical tent and around the greater areas of Port-au-Prince.
After continuously returning to Haiti over the course of five months, Nicole became Medical Operations Coordinator for an NGO called Global Disaster Immediate Response Team (headquartered in Port-au-Prince) and traveled to a refugee camp in the north of Sindh Province, Pakistan where she worked in the medical tent that was jointly run by International Medical Assistance Teams and Canadian Medical Assistance Teams. Members of Nicole's team also arranged for the import and assemblage of a high-volume water filtration system for the camp. Global D.I.R.T. teams were sent to Fukushima and Christchurch after the earthquakes in 2011.
Mrs. Ross Eloff received her B.S. in nursing in 2014 from NYU and is currently pursuing a career in the field of medical-surgical nursing. She plans on furthering her studies as a nurse practitioner and continuing her international relief work. -
Lee Feldman is the Managing Partner of Twin Lakes Capital, a private equity firm focused on control investments in branded consumer products and media which he co-founded in 2007. He is Chairman of the Board of Sergio Tacchini and a co-founder and member of the board of directors of Guide Beauty. From 2008 to 2020, he was the Chairman of the Board of Entain PLC, an FTSE 100 company that grew from 60 to 30,000 employees during his tenure. From 2008 through 2015, he was CEO of Aurora Brands—the owner of both MacKenzie-Childs and Jay Strongwater, the iconic American luxury home furnishings and personal accessories companies.
Prior to co-founding Twin Lakes, Lee was a partner at Softbank Capital Partners, where he focused on consumer and media investing. Lee is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons. He attended Columbia University and received a B.A. from Columbia College and a JD from Columbia Law School. He currently has three children at Ross Lower School. -
John Papp is a Managing Director at the investment management firm PDT Partners. He holds a BS in Mathematics and Quantitative Economics from Tufts University and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University, with a concentration in Financial Economics and International Development. As part of his doctoral work, John spent a year in India designing and running a survey studying the impacts of a large public works program. For the past 12 years, he has served on the board of R.I.C.E., a non-profit research organization focused on health and well-being in India.
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A Northern Michigan native, Amalie graduated from Northwestern University and went on to become a Vice President at a top public relations firm in New York City, managing corporate communications for Fortune 500 companies. Her focus involved working with companies to manage their global philanthropic efforts. She is currently serving as the Board Secretary of CTREE, the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End, and served as the President of the Board of Directors for over 5 years. In addition, she has served on the board of Hamptons Community Outreach. She lives in Sag Harbor with her husband, two daughters who are in the Ross Upper School, her horse and their two dogs.
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John is a highly accomplished President with a proven ability to lead profitable growth within top consumer packaged goods companies. Most recently John has served as President, North America, for Revlon based in New York City. John is a goal-oriented problem solver with an exceptional record of simplifying processes, visualizing solutions, and developing strategies that deliver sustained results. He is a trusted decision-maker and advisor to public companies and private equity with expertise in successfully navigating mergers and acquisitions. Born in Canada and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, John has lived in New York for 15 years and has two children at Ross Lower School.
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Christina is a graduate of St. Georges School in Newport, Rhode Island, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in both Art History and Communications from Wake Forest University. She is a Director of Di Donna Galleries on Madison Avenue, an art gallery specializing in Impressionist & Modern Art. She is the co-founder of Selavy by Di Donna, a salon headquartered in Southampton that celebrates the intersection of fine art and collectible design. Christina and her husband Emmanuel live in Southampton, New York, and have two children at Ross School.
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Rob is a Managing Partner of Lateral Capital, a New York-based Venture Capital fund that invests in education companies among other sectors in emerging markets. Rob started his career in capital markets at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. He holds a M.A. in finance from Cambridge University and a B.A. with dual majors in philosophy and economics from the University of Cape Town. Rob joined the Ross Board of Trustees in October 2015.
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Alexandra Fairweather is a 2008 graduate of Ross School. She received her B.A. from Columbia University, was the director of a leading art gallery, directed and produced films, and launched two startups. She is currently the director of the John Chamberlain Estate, overseeing exhibitions, special projects, and publications. She also leads strategy for an NYC private equity firm.
As a board member, Alexandra is committed to strengthening the Ross alumni community and working to achieve long-term financial security for the school. She has two children who both attend Ross Lower School. -
Christina attended UC Berkeley and USC. She and her husband Stephen Grant have been members of the Ross Community for nearly 20 years. Their daughters India and Sienna attended Ross for 15 years each, graduating in 2020 and 2024, each as valedictorians of their respective grades and the school’s first two bilingual graduates (Mandarin and English). India received the Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award and Sienna received the Ross Board Award for Leadership. In 2024, India graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University, and Sienna was accepted by Yale University. Both daughters want their children to go to Ross one day! Christina’s passion for the education that Ross provided her children is a tremendous asset to the board.
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Brett, a graduate of The Lawrenceville School and Hobart William Smith College, is the Chairman and CEO of Greater China Capital Limited. A frequent guest on CNBC and Bloomberg, Brett brings years of international investment and financial expertise to his new seat on the Ross School Board. Brett and his wife Nadine have two children at Ross.
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Maryanne Paul is the General Counsel of Contingency Capital, a global asset management firm focused on credit-oriented legal assets. Prior to this, she was in-house counsel at a publicly listed investment company, where she advised on governance, asset management, and transactional matters, and an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell, where she practiced mergers and acquisitions and alternative investment management.
Maryanne holds an LLM from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and received the Walter Gellhorn Prize as valedictorian of her LL.M class. She also holds a BA/LLB, with First Class Honors, from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Maryanne is admitted to the New York bar.
Maryanne lives in Water Mill with her husband, Louis, and currently has three children at Ross Lower School. -
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As President of Pace Gallery, Samanthe Rubell is responsible for steering the gallery’s mission and envisioning how to consistently enhance its support for artists. Since her appointment to the role of President in early 2023, Rubell has taken the lead on business strategy at an international level, with oversight of Pace’s seven gallery spaces across the US, Europe, and Asia. Beyond Pace’s permanent locations, she has fostered a collaborative model with a number of partner galleries across the globe. Rubell also works directly with high profile artists across the gallery’s program—with a particular focus on women artists—including Michal Rovner, Sonia Gomes, Jo Baer, Arlene Shechet, and Marina Perez Simão. She also leads the gallery’s relationships with Adam Pendleton, Matthew Day Jackson, William Monk, Julian Schnabel, and Robert Nava. Rubell has been with the gallery for over 15 years. Hired as a gallery assistant in 2008, she has worked her way through the ranks of the organization, cultivating her relationships with artists and collectors while honing her expertise in the art market. In 2024, Rubell is spearheading the gallery’s expansion to Tokyo and Berlin. Samanthe is a 2003 graduate of Ross School and she currently lives between New York City and Sag Harbor.
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Courtney Sale Ross is a global philanthropist and visionary leader in pre-collegiate education.
In 1991, Sale Ross and her late husband, Steven J. Ross (then co-chairman of TimeWarner, Inc.) founded Ross School in East Hampton, New York, as a private incubator for education in the global era. They recognized that preparing students to meet the challenges of the next century requires initiating models that will transform education. Aided by the research of many educational pioneers and scholars, they set out to expand upon some of the best practices in PK–12 education. With its motto of “educating the whole child for the whole world,” Ross School inculcates students in the innovative Ross Learning System’s Spiral Curriculum.
Using Ross School as its laboratory, the Ross Institute for Advanced Study and Innovation in Education began in 1996. Ross Institute’s mission is to transform the way education meets the future; that is, to prepare learners with the knowledge, skills, and values to succeed in and contribute to a complex, global society. Ross Institute, as a nexus between educators and scholars, is a catalyst for research in areas relevant to education, such as globalization and intercultural understanding; interdisciplinarity; mind-brain-education; well-being; and sustainability. Ross Institute creates and disseminates curricular, pedagogical, and professional development resources that support the Ross Learning System.
Outreach from the lab model ensued. Sale Ross and the Ross Institute partnered with the City of Stockholm and the Stockholm Education Administration in 2002 to bring the Ross Learning System to Tensta Gymnasium, a Swedish public secondary school with a high proportion of immigrant and refugee students. From 2006–2011, Sale Ross chaired the Ross Global Academy Charter School in New York City, in collaboration with New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education and New York City’s Board of Education. With the University of California Press, RossInstitute co-published three books: Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millennium (2004), Learning in the Global Era (2007), and Educating the Whole Child for the Whole World (2010).In recognition of her work, Sale Ross was appointed Honorary Chair of the Pontifical Academy of Science’s workshop “Children and Sustainable Development: A Challenge for Education.” In 2016, Sale Ross was celebrated with the inaugural UCLA Global Citizen Award.
In addition to PK–12 education, Sale Ross employed her vision and philanthropy to higher education. Sale Ross created Ross Scholarships for deserving minority women at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and USC School of Cinema & Television. At NYU Steinhardt, she endowed the Courtney Sale Ross University Professorship in Globalization and Education. Skidmore College benefitted from the Ross Chair in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Her philanthropic interests extended to the People’s Republic of China, where she has endowed a number of museums with contributions related to education and research, including establishing the Courtney and Steven J. Ross Multi-Media and Communications Center at the Shanghai Museum. Also, she has created the Courtney Sale Ross Mainland China Scholarship for Arts in Education at Harvard School of Education.
Sale Ross has served on a number of boards, including those of New York University, the Asia Society, the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, the Committee on U.S./China Relations, and the United Nations Association of the United States of America.
Sale Ross is an alumna of Skidmore College where she was granted an honorary Doctorate. Prior to her work in education, she produced award-winning documentary films. -
Jay Schneiderman is a distinguished leader celebrated for his extensive public service, environmental conservation efforts, fiscal responsibility, and community advocacy. He holds an M.A. in Science Education from SUNY Cortland and a BA in Chemistry from Ithaca College.
He began his career managing his family’s resort in Montauk during summers and teaching science at local private schools, including Ross School, Hampton Day School, and the Waterfront School, before transitioning to public service.
Jay served four terms as Southampton Town Supervisor (2016–2023), six terms as Suffolk County Legislator for the 2nd District (2004–2015), and two terms as East Hampton Town Supervisor (2000–2003). He also chaired the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association and the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals. Over his twenty-four years in elected office, Jay is credited with lowering property taxes, improving employee morale, and receiving the highest municipal bond ratings for both East Hampton and Southampton Towns.
He is currently President of Deep Blue Property Management, President of the Breakers Motel Inc., and Co-Founder of local non-profit organizations Third House Nature Center, Hamptons Observatory, and Mecox Bay Conservancy. -
Ann Fristoe Stewart holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York. In 1995 she founded an art fabrication business with her husband Bill, and continues serving top museums, galleries, and artists today. She has been Director and Curator of The Leiber Collection Museum and Sculpture Garden in East Hampton for over a decade.
Ann and her family have been members of the Ross Community for 18 years. Her two daughters, Caly and Fairleigh, each started Ross School in Pre-Nursery and are now a recent graduate of Cornell University and a senior at Ross Upper School, respectively.
Ann is dedicated to Ross School, its mission, and its community, and has been a part of the Ross School Parents Association for 18 years, with roles in PA leadership and on its Executive Board. She has been a member of the Ross Board of Trustees since 2020. -
Peter is a Senior Managing Director at Lubert Adler Funds, a real estate investment firm with offices in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New York City. Before joining Lubert Adler in 2024, Peter was the Co-Founder and Managing Member of New York-based real estate investment firms Urban West Capital and ZT Realty.
Prior to founding ZT Realty, Peter was an analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Investment Banking Group. He also sat on the Board of Directors of Idaho First Bank/Peak Bancorp, where he served on the Credit Policy, Audit, and Asset-Liability Committees. The bank was sold in 2023 to BAWAG P.S.K. in an off-market transaction, and Peter was an integral part of Idaho First’s special committee, assigned to act as an intermediary and work through pricing and execution negotiations with the buyer.
Peter grew up in New York City and graduated from Riverdale Country School. He attended Hamilton College where he graduated with a B.A. in Public Policy. Peter currently lives in East Hampton with his wife Monica, and their three children, all of whom attend Ross. -
Lauren is a graduate of Lehigh University, College of Business and Economics, and holds a BS in Finance with a Double Minor in Marketing and Women's Studies. She is currently the Principal of Thayers Outdoor Living, a full-service outdoor furniture, accessories, and design company based in Bridgehampton. Thayers is a fourth-generation family-owned business. Lauren resides in Sagaponack with her two daughters and husband, Dr. Elliot Weiss.
Over the years, she has volunteered a great deal of time with local organizations that are near and dear to her Sagaponack roots, including:
> Sagaponack School Board: President and Board Member (2016–2024)
> Sagaponack Village Zoning Board: Member (2015–2019)
> The Bridgehampton Club: Vice President, Juniors Program Director, and Social Chair (2016–2024)
Prior to moving out East, Lauren worked in Manhattan serving as the Vice President of Lisa Lori Communications, a full-service, award-winning marketing communications agency specializing in publicity, special events, branding, and integrated marketing programs. At LLC Lauren specialized in working with clients and brands in the arts, non-profit, fashion and lifestyle sectors including: Alzheimer's Association, G'day USA: Australia Week, LongHouse Reserve, NYC Opera, Princess Grace Foundation and Rodeo Drive Walk of Style, Watermill Center, Saks Fifth Avenue and School of the American Ballet. Lauren’s first job was in the Development and Special Events department at the American Museum of Natural History. -
Born and raised in Sag Harbor, Jeremy graduated from Ross School in 2008 and earned his BA from the University of San Diego in 2012, with a double major in Political Science and History.
Jeremy has worked in investment banking for the past eight years, currently serving as a credit officer in the Structured Products Group with Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jeremy has extensive experience in China, having worked with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai in 2013, studied at Peking University and Fudan University during his college years, and volunteered as an English teacher in the summer of 2011.
Jeremy and his wife Katie have two young sons, Charlie and Everet. An avid surfer, Jeremy was a founding member of Ross School’s Surfing team and frequently reconnects with fellow Ross alums in the ocean.
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Head of School Thomas Sturtevant joined Ross in August 2022, bringing nearly four decades of leadership experience at some of the finest independent schools in the nation. Combining strategic vision with a deep commitment to educational excellence and community-centered leadership, Tom is known for fostering forward-thinking learning environments and guiding schools through periods of growth, innovation, and global complexity.
At Ross, Tom brings this breadth of experience to advancing the School’s future-focused mission, strengthening academic rigor, supporting faculty excellence, and aligning strategic planning with Ross’s interdisciplinary Spiral Curriculum and global perspective. His leadership emphasizes thoughtful growth, institutional sustainability, and a student-centered culture that balances innovation with care, ensuring Ross continues to evolve while remaining grounded in its Core Values.
Tom’s educational leadership is rooted in his experience as an English teacher, coach, and dorm parent. Over the years, he also taught Environmental Philosophy and Math in addition to English. At St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, Tom served as Director of College Counseling as well as the Boys Varsity Lacrosse coach. In his 20+ years as a school head, Tom has served as Executive Director or Head of School of independent boarding schools, public charter schools, and international schools.
A cum laude graduate of Tufts University, where he captained the Varsity Lacrosse team, Tom earned his master’s degree at Stanford University. He and his wife, Dianna Raedle, founder and CEO of Deer Isle Group, share a love of reading, the arts, and the outdoors. They are proud parents of three adult children pursuing work in clean energy, healthcare, and law. -
Bryan began his career in education as a founding faculty member at the School at Columbia University in 2003. Bryan joined the Ross community in 2006 when he was a part of the curriculum writing team and founding faculty at Ross Global Academy Public Charter School (RGA) in New York City. Bryan served as the Lead Middle School Teacher and taught grades five through eight Cultural History and English.
In 2015, after six years of full-time doctoral studies and university research and teaching, Bryan returned to Ross School as the Assistant Head of Lower School and as an academic advisor for the Ross Learning System curriculum documentation project. In 2019, Bryan shifted his focus to the research and application of mental health awareness education for students and school communities, serving as the Senior Coordinator for Training and Education at the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Chicago.
Bryan earned his BA in liberal arts from St. John's College, his MA in Communication and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his doctoral studies in the sociology of education at Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. -
Ria Maxwell returned to Ross after an 11-year tenure at Miami Country Day School. In 2013, she moved to Miami to work as a Grade 4 teacher, where in 2014, she became the Dean of Faculty/Director of Human Resources followed by her appointment to Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Initiatives in 2022.
Prior to this, Ria taught classes in grades 4–9, and high school English electives. After teaching at Hampton Day/ Morriss Center School, she went to The Winsor School in Boston where she taught English for grades 6 and 7. She was also asked to lead the Middle School Health team, where she wrote advisory and health curriculum for grades 5–8. She was co-chair of The Teaching and Learning Committee charged with designing in-house professional development, a new employee evaluation system, and restructuring the discipline policy for middle school. In 2008, she was selected to be a teaching fellow at Harvard University for two years. In 2009, Ria relocated back to East Hampton, where she taught Grade 5 at Ross School. In 2010, she moved to Grade 8, and she became the Middle School Coordinator in 2012. Ria returned to Ross in 2024 to teach Grade 7 and 8 English and now serves as Interim Head of Upper School. -
Heather joins the Admissions Office after several years leading the Ross College Counseling Office as well as with a great depth and breadth of experience as an educator.
Since joining Ross in 1999, Heather has taught all levels of high school mathematics, was a curriculum editor for the Ross Institute, and also held the position of Dean of Mathematics, served as a senior project mentor, and worked closely with many students as they transitioned to college.
Prior to Ross, Heather worked at Chase Manhattan Bank in Global Education as an AVP where she led the implementation of the first self-paced learning programs and was a curriculum writer and trainer. Heather earned her B.S. at SUNY-Albany in Mathematics, an M.A. from NYU Steinhardt School in Educational Communications and Technologies, and an Advanced Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA Extension. -
Jeff Dionne has worked as an educator for 25 years in Boston, Tokyo, Charleston, Honolulu, and now in East Hampton, NY, as Ross School’s Director of Residential Life. Prior to Ross, Jeff held Director positions in Global Studies, Admissions, Residential Programs, and Travel Programs at ‘Iolani, Ashley Hall, and Showa Women’s University. In the early 2000s, he greenfield-designed a free, online social networking alternative for schools called PikiFriends, used by over 120 schools from 29 countries.
Jeff is from Maine and loves spending time with family, backpacking, basketball, guitar, and Japanese language and culture. -
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Uria Espinoza Leopold is a San Diego native who has brought her talents to East Hampton as Ross School’s Financial Controller. With over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance, she has held leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, American Collegiate Sports LLC, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). Uria brings a strong background in financial leadership, GAAP expertise, and managing day-to-day financial operations.
When she’s not immersed in numbers, Uria can be found on the tennis court, in the pool, or out on the water. She also enjoys spending quality time with friends, family, and her dog. (Fun fact: Uria ran the San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon with no prior running experience, and loved it so much she ran it again (though she decided two was the perfect number!). -
hr@ross.org
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Born and raised in East Hampton, Courtney has over 25 years of experience in business, education, and the nonprofit sector. Her expertise spans fundraising, strategy implementation, event management, relationship building, and creative marketing. Prior to joining Ross School in 2010, where she began her career in philanthropy, she held positions in marketing and finance in New York City for Titan Capital Group, Deutsche Bank Securities, and the United Nations.
Courtney rejoined Ross in 2024 following an eight-year tenure as Director of Development at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island. There, she managed a substantial portfolio of major donors, successfully raising significant contributions that greatly enhanced the organization’s fundraising initiatives and cultivated enduring relationships within the community. Additionally, she co-led a $13M Capital Campaign, repeatedly exceeded annual revenue goals, created all fundraising printed and digital marketing materials for the organization, and was responsible for the production of the Annual Report each year. She was also responsible for the management of all fundraising events and related engagement initiatives.Courtney holds a BA in Communication from the State University of NY at Geneseo, an MA in School Counseling from C.W. Post, and a Certification in Fundraising Management from the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Courtney and her husband, Marcus, have two children, Chase and Sydney. She has always loved the beach and is grateful to be raising her family in this incredibly special place. Courtney has a passion for volleyball and music, loves traveling and fitness, and thanks her lucky stars that her husband enjoys cooking because she does not.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP