COMMUNITY
Staff
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.
ADMINISTRATION | FACULTY | STAFF
ACCOUNTING
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As a proud East End resident and active member of the community, Julia is passionate about mindful healthy living, sailing, and local farming. A lifelong learner, she enjoys reading when not balancing budgets and is excited to bring her expertise to Ross, supporting the school’s core missions and ensuring its long-term financial stability and growth.
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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!).
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
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Lorely Holmes has been a dedicated member of the Ross Community since 1999. She began her journey at Ross as the Receptionist in the Middle School office on the Goodfriend Drive campus. Over the years, Lorely has taken on various roles within the school, showcasing her versatility and commitment to the institution.
In addition to her role as a Receptionist, Lorely has also assisted with registration for Community Programs and worked in the College Counseling office at the High School. Her time as the Administrative Assistant in the Development Office further showcased her organizational skills and attention to detail.
Since 2010, Lorely has held the position of Administrative Assistant at the Ross Lower School. In this role, she is responsible for a wide range of tasks that contribute to the smooth functioning of the school. From effectively communicating with faculty, staff, parents, and students to managing teacher budgets and coordinating special events, Lorely ensures that the daily operations of the Lower School run seamlessly. She also handles digital forms and student records, as well as the logistics of busing for field trips and daily dismissal.
Outside of her professional responsibilities, Lorely finds solace and joy in spending time outdoors, immersing herself in nature. She has a passion for photography and captures the beauty of sunsets, flowers, animals, and the stunning beaches that surround the community.
Lorely’s dedication, attention to detail, and ability to handle multiple responsibilities make her an invaluable asset to the Ross Community. Her commitment to ensuring the smooth functioning of the Lower School and her passion for capturing the beauty of the world around her make her a cherished member of the Ross family. -
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ADMISSIONS
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admissions@ross.org
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 BS at SUNY-Albany in Mathematics, an MA from NYU Steinhardt School in Educational Communications and Technologies, and an Advanced Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA Extension. -
Marcelo serves as the Director of Financial Aid and Senior Associate Director of Admissions. With over eight years of experience at Ross in a variety of leadership roles—including Athletic Director, Head Tennis Coach, Director of Summer Operations, and now in admissions and financial aid—Marcelo brings a comprehensive understanding of the school’s mission, culture, and community. His diverse background gives him a unique lens into nearly every facet of the student and family experience.
Originally from Brazil, Marcelo came to the United States on a Division I tennis scholarship and has dedicated his career to creating inclusive, student-centered environments. In his current role, he oversees admissions strategy, international recruitment, and the school’s financial aid program, working to ensure accessibility, equity, and personalized guidance for every family.
Marcelo is a relationship-driven leader, known for his warm communication style, deep integrity, and commitment to helping students thrive both academically and personally. -
Ray Ramos joined the Ross School as an Associate Director of Admissions in the summer of 2025. No stranger to boarding school life, Ray grew up as a faculty child at Cardigan Mountain School, where his father taught full-time for 47 years. Ray attended Kimball Union Academy and then Villanova University, where he graduated in 1998 with a BA in Media and a foreign language minor in French.
Ray went on to work in the sports & television industry with positions at FOX, CBS, and Comcast/NBC Universal, most notably serving as the Vice President of Research, Marketing, and Sponsorship Solutions for the NBC Sports Group for nearly a decade. In 2017, Ray pivoted to the gaming industry and was named the Vice President of Esports & Global Gaming for VIZRT, the world’s leading graphics solutions company, where he had the opportunity to work on gaming projects around the world. In 2016, thanks to his unique experience in sports and gaming, Ray was asked to join the faculty at St. John’s University (Queens, NY) and continues to teach courses today.
Throughout his career, Ray has balanced his love of music with over 1500 live performances to date and is known for successfully creating bands throughout his stints on the East Coast in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York City, and now in the Hamptons, where you can find him performing most weekends.
Ray moved to East Hampton in 2020 and lives with his partner, Ashley (Ross ’02), and their French Bulldog “Larry Bird”. -
ADVANCEMENT
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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 (12) and Sydney (10). 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. -
Chris is an artist, educator, and expressive arts therapist who incorporates Jungian philosophy and techniques into his work. His immersion in the arts began as a child growing up in the theater and surrounded by the art of his parents. He began exhibiting his work in the mid-1980s in NYC and has continued to exhibit his work in Paris, Buenos Aires, NYC, and the East End. Currently serving as Director of Community Programs at Ross, Chris has spent the past 30 years as a visual arts teacher in New York City and on the East End. He has worked with children with special needs at the NYC Foundling Hospital Pediatrics Center, designing and implementing the first Expressive Arts Program. He served as the Arts & Education Coordinator for the City of New York Parks & Recreation where he designed, developed, and taught programs in Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and Dramatics as well as facilitated Science/Environmental programs for inner-city children. As Director of the Youth Environmental Science Society, an offshoot of Friends of Fishes, he ran environmental education programs.
Chris has also collaborated with The American Museum of Natural History/The Rose Science Center and facilitated Astronomy workshops. He has run Creative Arts Programs & Workshops in the Hamptons at The Child Development Center of the Hamptons (CDCH), The Charter School, The Tuller School, the Children's Museum of the East End, Art House, as well as Ross School. He has studios in Sag Harbor, NY, and Guilford, CT. He is represented by Romany Kramoris Gallery.
ATHLETICS
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Mark serves as Co-Director of Athletics at Ross School, bringing a rich blend of educational and athletic expertise. With over 30 years of coaching experience in sports ranging from baseball to ping pong, and roles from coaching young children to college students internationally, Mark has a diverse athletic background. He started the soccer and baseball programs at Ross and has coached in mainland China and Hong Kong. Academically, Mark holds a Master’s Degree in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has extensive experience at Ross, including as the Co-Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, Dean of English and World Languages, and Ninth Grade Team Leader. He returned to Ross in 2022 after serving as the Dean of Student Activities and AP English Literature Teacher at BASIS International School Shenzhen for four years. Mark’s combined academic and athletic leadership skills make him ideally suited to advance Ross School's athletic programs, fostering an environment where physical education complements academic growth.
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Throughout her career, Robyn has demonstrated a strong commitment to creating a nurturing and inclusive learning environment for her students. She believes in fostering a love for learning and helping children develop the necessary skills to succeed academically and socially. Robyn's dedication to her profession and her students makes her a valuable asset to the educational community.
CAFE
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Tony brings extensive experience to the role of Executive Chef at Ross School, having previously served as Lead Chef Supervisor at Ross for nearly a decade. In addition, he was the owner and Executive Chef of The Coast Restaurant in Montauk and has also worked in Colorado as an Executive Chef overseeing the café operations for Frisco Elementary School.
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Novella first joined Ross as Project Manager for the Communications Office before transitioning to Ross Institute Media, where she managed the design and production of multimedia projects showcasing the Ross Spiral Curriculum. She returned to the Communications Office in 2019 and now serves as Communications Manager.
Before joining Ross, Novella was Communications Coordinator for a leading branding and design firm in Auckland, New Zealand. She also has experience in the art industry in both New York City and on the East End of Long Island. Novella earned her BA from Colgate University.
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FACILITIES
HEALTH OFFICE
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nurse@ross.org
HUMAN RESOURCES
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hr@ross.org
REGISTRAR
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Christine holds a BA in Communication Arts from Brooklyn College. Prior to Ross, she worked in the advertising field in Manhattan for over 15 years. She is also the founder of Your Style Shopper, a personal shopping service for men's and women's fashion. You can follow her on Instagram @your_styleshopper. Christine was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and has one son who graduated from NYU Stern and is currently living and working in Manhattan in the field of Data Science. She loves nature, fashion, music, yoga, and other fitness activities.
RESIDENTIAL LIFE
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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. -
TECHNOLOGY
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After graduating from the University of York with a BS (Honors) Computer Science degree in 1994, Sean worked for the Transport Research Laboratory developing software to model how traffic travels around road systems. He continued this work at the Hague Consulting Group, working on software to model peak spreading as well as working on an early version of the Danish National Transport Model.
After moving to the US in 1999, Sean joined Ross Institute as a Software Engineer, developing software to house the school's curriculum. In 2006, Sean became Ross School's Director of Technology, where he currently manages the school's technology department.
Publications and conference papers:Carmichael S, T Van Vuren, J Polak, G Hyman and S Cross (1999) "Modelling Peak Spreading in Continuous Time", European Transport Conference, Cambridge, UK, Proceedings of Seminar F (Transportation Planning Methods), pp 93-105.
Carmichael S, T Van Vuren, EP Kroes, F Hofman and H Taale (1999) "Dynamics at any price?"
Verkeerskunde, Vol 50, No 7/8 (July/Aug), pp 24-30 (in Dutch).
Carmichael S, T Van Vuren, et al, (1998) "Disappearing traffic?" Verkeerskunde, Vol 49, No 6 (June), pp 33, 35 (in Dutch).
Carmichael S, T Van Vuren, F Hofman and H Taale (1998) "Converting static to dynamic assignment models: preliminary findings", European Transport Conference, Loughborough, UK, Proceedings of Seminar E (Transportation Planning Methods II), pp 59-71.
Carmichael S, N B Taylor (1995) “Dynamic Assignment Modeling”, European Transport Conference, Loughborough, UK -
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TENNIS
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tennis@ross.org
Richele LeSaldo brings more than two decades of international coaching and leadership experience to Ross. A former Barbados #1 female tennis player for over a decade, LeSaldo represented her country in international competition and competed at the highest levels of collegiate tennis at Clemson University, where she was team captain and part of two consecutive NCAA Division I Final Four teams. Upon graduation, Richele served as the Assistant Coach to the Women’s tennis team at Cornell University.
Most recently, she served as Lleyton Hewitt’s Director of Tennis at the Albany Tennis Academy in Nassau, The Bahamas, where she led all operations and implemented long-term player development plans that resulted in a 100% college scholarship placement rate for graduating athletes. She has coached at all four Grand Slam tournaments and was based at the prestigious Mouratoglou Tennis Academy under renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Richele looks forward to building a comprehensive tennis culture that supports students on and off the court. Her goal is to create an environment where every student feels seen, supported, and inspired. -
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Rafaela is a 21-year-old Brazilian tennis player who just graduated with a Sports Management degree from PennWest Edinboro. Rafa worked closely with the athletics department at the sports information office and was a student manager for the university’s football team. Her background in tennis includes coaching young athletes with a focus on building strong fundamentals, confidence, and love for the game. She believes in creating a positive, fun, encouraging, and educational environment where every player can improve both technically and mentally.
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Born and raised in Colombia, Federico grew up in a tennis family and picked up his first racquet at the age of 8. His passion for the sport carried him to the United States, where he competed at the collegiate level for the University of West Florida’s NCAA Division II men’s tennis team.
Federico has built a career coaching and managing programs at top facilities across Florida, including Mantilla’s Tennis Academy in Orlando, Pensacola Tennis and Pickle, brACE Tennis Academy, and Keene’s Point Tennis. Since 2023, he has also spent his summer seasons coaching at the Meadow Club of Southampton in New York. A PTR-certified professional, he has worked with players of all ages and skill levels—from young juniors to professional athletes—creating tailored training programs, leading clinics, and providing career guidance. With a unique blend of competitive experience, coaching expertise, and a lifelong love for the game, Federico is dedicated to helping each player unlock their full potential on and off the court. -
After college, Edoardo played on the professional tour, obtaining the ranking of 1400 ATP and competing in several international events, including the ATP 250 in Delray Beach, Florida. He previously worked as a sparring partner for top 600 WTA Italian player Martina Colmegna, as well as coaching many top junior players there.