Board of Trustees

Padgett D. Berthiaume ’97 P ’27 ’29

Padgett attended Wheaton College where he earned a B.S. with a concentration in psychology and philosophy and was a captain of the lacrosse team. He then went on to earn a JD at Western New England College School of Law. Following admission to the Massachusetts Bar in 2006, he joined his father and brother and became a partner in the family firm, Berthiaume & Berthiaume, located in North Brookfield. Padgett is an active member of the Worcester County Bar Association having served multiple terms on the organization’s Executive Committee. He also serves as a co-chair of the Parks Committee for the town of North Brookfield. Padgett is an engaged member of the Bancroft community as an alumnus and, through the PFA, as a parent, taking on the lead role in the Fall Family Festival at Homecoming. During the spring season, you can find Padgett on the sidelines cheering on the Bancroft Lacrosse teams and his wife, Paige, who is the Head Coach of the girls’ team. Padgett and his family enjoy spending winter weekends skiing and snowboarding in Vermont.

Audit Chair, Governance, Board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Mary Halpin Carter, Ph.D. ‘83

Mary has served as Head of The Derryfield School since 2013. She relishes working with young people to help them develop their gifts and use them for purposeful lives. Mary received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Dartmouth College, Masters from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Doctorate in Education from the University of New Hampshire. Mary has taught history and coached at Pingree School, Newton North High School, and Newton South High School. She was awarded a Columbia University Klingenstein Fellowship for excellence in independent school teaching. Before becoming Head of School, at Derryfield, Mary served as Director of Admission, Academic Dean, Chair of the English Department, Head of the Upper School, Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs, Assistant Head of School for Faculty and Academic Programs, and Interim Head. She is a board member of the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE), and a member of the Headmistresses of the East, the Country School Headmasters Association, the Headmasters Association, and the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England (ISANNE). Mary lives on a blueberry farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire with her husband Chris, and is the proud mother of three graduates of The Derryfield School.

Finance, Capital Planning Task Force

James P. 'Trey' Cassidy III

Head of School

Finance, Capital Planning Task Force

Michael Chang ‘96

Michael is the Managing Member of AMC Capital Management, a private investment firm. Prior to forming AMC, Michael spent 20 years in real estate private equity, and investment banking. Michael served as Head of US Real Estate Asset Management at Cerberus Capital Management and was a member of the US Real Estate Investment Committee at Angelo, Gordon where he made principal investments totaling $3.5 billion. He began his career on Wall Street in the Investment Banking Division at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Michael received a BA in International Relations and Economics from Tufts University and was a member of the men’s lacrosse team. Michael lives in New York City with his wife Amy, and two children, Dylan and Natalie, who attend The Dalton School. Michael enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible and coaching youth lacrosse.

Susanne Choate P ‘21- PFA President

Susanne grew up in northern New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a B.A.s in Mathematics and Political Science. She went on to earn an M.B.A from Boston University. Susanne has worked for over 20 years as a management consultant with Fortune 100 companies. She has expertise in client relationship management, strategic planning, business process definition, and integration of new technologies. Since 2016, Susanne has been a Principal Consultant with Castle Hill Managed Risk Solutions. Susanne lives in Princeton with her husband Jon, and two sons.

PFA President, BluePrint125 Oversight, Advancement Task Force

Catherine M. Colinvaux P ’15 ‘19

After graduating from a PK-12 independent day school in Columbus, Ohio, Catherine received her A.B. from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges (Russian History and Literature) and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. For more than 20 years, as a lawyer in private practice, Catherine specialized in resolving complex, high-dollar disputes through litigation and negotiation. Among other significant representations, Catherine represented one of the world’s largest insurers in connection with the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and other 9/11 related property losses. She has been named one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s “Top Women in Law” and a Massachusetts Top 50 Female Super Lawyer. Catherine also served as her firm’s Diversity Partner. In 2013, Catherine retired from the law to spend more time thinking, learning, writing, reading, enjoying her children, and engaging in philanthropic work. Catherine is a past president of Bancroft as well as of the Worcester Art Museum, the Massachusetts Reinsurance Bar Association, and Birthday Wishes. She and her husband, Phillip Zamore, live in Northborough, Massachusetts. 

Finance, Capital Planning Task Force, Advancement Task Force

James “Jim” Condon ’83 P’19 ’24

Jim received his BA in Business Administration from Assumption College and an MBA from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Jim is the Director, Human Resources and Risk Management for Wagner Automotive Group. Before joining Wagner, Jim had his own human resources consulting business working with a variety of organizations from start-ups to mid-sized companies, regionally and nationwide. He also held positions as Director of Human Resources, Director of Maintenance, and Facilities Manager at Table Talk Pies and as a Project Manager at O’Brien & Gere Operations in Syracuse, NY. Jim serves on the board of the Automotive Insurance Compensation Corp., a captive workers compensation insurance company serving the automotive industry. Jim has long been active in the Bancroft Alumni Association, serving as the Alumni Council President from 2003 to 2013. Jim and his wife, Isabel, live in Holden. 

Finance, Capital Planning Task Force

Ben Dobson ‘97

Ben graduated from Ithaca College in 2001 and launched a career in television news. Today he is Vice President of News for NBCUniversal’s Owned Television Stations. In that role, he is responsible for the overall editorial direction and strategy for three television stations in the Boston television market: NBC10 Boston, NECN, and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra, a post he’s held since 2018. He works out of the station headquarters in Needham, MA. Before that, he was Vice President/News Director for the group’s station in Hartford, CT. His early career began at Charter Communications’ Worcester News Tonight as an on-air reporter and anchor before jumping to run the news assignment desks at the FOX and NBC-affiliated stations in Boston. He also hosted the long-running Central Mass Chronicles seen on CharterTV3 for ten years. Ben has developed expertise in crisis communications, market research, marketing/branding, long-range planning, and has extensive experience in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion space. Ben has been active in the Bancroft community since graduating. He previously served on the Board of Trustees and also held a leadership role with the Alumni Council.

John J. Duggan ‘77

John is Director of Project Delivery for Optum Care, the clinical platform of United Healthcare.  In that capacity, he is responsible for the construction and renovation of 16 Million square feet of ambulatory medical space throughout the United States. Prior to joining United Healthcare John was the Vice President of Real Estate Operations at Reliant Medical Group, a multi-specialty group practice with 20 clinical locations throughout Central Massachusetts. In his capacity at Reliant, John is responsible for all leasing, construction, planning, design, and maintenance of Reliant’s real estate. John has been involved with facilities management and real estate development for ambulatory over 25 years, including the construction of the Worcester Medical Center. John and his wife Marybeth live in Worcester and are the parents of two adult children.

Executive First Vice President, Capital Planning Task Force Chair, Finance

Khurston S. Ellia-Epple ’86 P ’23

Khurston is an IT Project Management professional with 20 years’ experience delivering complex, highly visible projects on time and within budget. She is an Agile evangelist and is passionate about coaching teams to constantly improve the quality and value of their deliveries. Khurston is a Senior Project Manager in the Microsoft Business Unit at Perficient, Inc, a global digital consultancy firm that helps Fortune 1000 companies scale large, complex projects in order to connect with their customers and grow their business. She is a skilled facilitator and collaborator and excels at helping her teams break down big ideas into actionable plans, then guiding them to deliver on those plans. Khurston received her BA in Political Science from Skidmore College and a JD from Western New England University School of Law. Khurston and her husband Chris have a daughter who has attended Bancroft since kindergarten. Khurston enjoys cooking, crafting, and all things Pixar, and the entire Epple family are huge supporters of the New England Patriots. 

BluePrint125 Oversight Chair, Goverance

David Fahlstrom P ’07 ‘11

A lifelong Worcester resident, David attended the Worcester Public Schools, Worcester Academy, and Suffield Academy before going on to Worcester Junior College—where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration. Dave continued his studies in the business program at Clark University. Following his family’s interest in real estate investment and management, David obtained a Massachusetts Real Estate Broker’s License in 1958 and has been active in the management, development, investment, and general brokerage in commercial real estate holdings in Worcester and Cape Cod, including through his company, Fahlstrom Realty Management Company. David has been active in political circles and campaigns since his early 20’s. He has served on the Worcester Republican City Committee, served as an election warden for several years in Worcester, and has been active in local, state, and national campaigns for many years. He, and his wife Paula, have homes in Worcester and Harwichport. On the Cape, David serves as a member of the board of directors of Allen Harbor Yacht Club and as a Commodore of the Half Seas Over Yacht Club in Hyannis Port. David and Paula have four daughters, two of whom graduated from Bancroft. 

Goverance, Audit

Peter A.  Janhunen Jr. ’85

Pete considers his opportunity to attend Bancroft in the seventh grade as a defining moment in his life. He subsequently graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1989 and earned a Masters in Public Communications from Syracuse University in 1997. After spending 7- plus years on active duty as an Army officer, Pete made his way to Washington, DC, where he had the opportunity to work as a communicator and leader for several outstanding organizations, including The Pew Charitable Trusts, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the Air Line Pilots Association. He played a key role as the IAFF's public relations director after the union lost 347 members on September 11, 2001. Pete now runs his own communications firm in Providence, with clients ranging from the Rhode Island Department of Education to the European Union, to a variety of trade associations and advocacy groups.

Execuative at Large, MVV Task Force Chair, BluePrint125 Oversight

Elvisi Mena P ‘21

Elvisi Mena is a healthcare business professional at Reliant Medical Group. After migrating to the United States in 1995, Elvisi pursued her college education at Clark University where she earned a BA in Psychology and continued on to receive an MBA at Clark’s Graduate School of Business. With over 20 years of experience in care delivery, Elvisi is skilled in healthcare analytics, business strategy, and negotiations. In her current role, Elvisi serves as the Director of Business Operations at Reliant Medical Group where she provides financial and business management direction to all specialty and ancillary services. Elvisi partakes in various wellness activities from running and cycling, to yoga and reading self-actualization books. She lives in Worcester, Massachusetts with her husband, Stephen, and her son. 

Finance, BluePrint125 Oversight

Susan Onffroy P ’18 ’20 ’23

Susan J. Onffroy has over 24 years of experience in human health and nutrition and is a Licensed & Registered Dietitian. Early in her career, she served at the Clara Barton Camp for diabetic girls and at St. Joseph’s Manor Care and Rehabilitation Center. Later, as Brown University’s Administrative Dietitian, Susan developed the student dining hall menus as well as specialized menus for students with special food requirements. She has mentored college dietetic students and delivered nutrition workshops for athletic teams and students in college, high school, and middle school. Susan has been a principal in the entrepreneurial startup of two businesses: the first, an Anytime Fitness club franchise and, more recently, a recipe assembly business named MVPantry. She also provides personalized, healthy eating consulting for clients on an ongoing basis. Susan received her B.S. in Human Nutrition from UMass Amherst and completed her dietetic internship at Beth Israel Hospital. She has served as a member of the Winthrop School Committee as well as the President of the State Student Advisory Council and a voting member of the Massachusetts Board of Education. She has been an active parent volunteer at Bancroft over the past 10 years. Susan lives in Shrewsbury with her husband, JP, and three children. She enjoys cooking, playing tennis, family travels, watching movies, and attending live concerts. 

Board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Advancement Task Force

Michael Palermo P ’10 ’15

Michael was a senior vice president, head of Institutional Relationship Management at Pyramis Global Advisors, a Fidelity Investments company until 2014. In this role, he was responsible for overall relationship management for institutional clients at Pyramis. He joined the firm in 2011 and played a significant part in building and executing a strategy to establish a greater presence for Pyramis in the institutional asset management industry by developing and implementing strategic plans in all critical markets. He was an active and valuable member of the Executive Management team. Prior to joining Pyramis, Michael was a senior vice president and a director of Sales, Consultant Relations, and Marketing at The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC from 2005 to 2009. Prior to assuming that role, he served in two different business development roles as a senior vice president of Sales and a vice president, senior sales representative at The Boston Company Asset Management from 1996 to 2005 and Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company/ Mellon Trust from 1990 to 1996. In those roles, he was responsible for marketing and client service for corporate, public, and Taft-Hartley pension plans, endowments, foundations, and sub-advisory entities. He has been in the investments industry since 1990. Prior to these roles, Michael held Sales and Client Service roles at Wang Laboratories and Dancorp Industrial Supply. Michael earned his bachelor’s in science from the University of Connecticut. He also was a member of the Board of Directors for Pyramis Global Advisors Trust Company and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC. He held the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses. Michael and his wife, Martha, live in Grafton. 

Executive at Large, Finance

Martin S. Richman

Martin is currently vice president of philanthropy at Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) for Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Before moving to BILH, Martin served as executive director of advancement for UMass Memorial Medical Center and as vice president of philanthropy and executive director of the Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation. A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Martin was also the director of development and marketing for the Worcester Art Museum. Martin is a graduate of Clark University with a Masters degree in professional communication and teaches public speaking at Clark's School of Professional Studies. Moving to Worcester with his wife, Joanne, in 1990, Martin first worked in a number of roles in alumni relations and fundraising at Bancroft School, ultimately leading the development office through the late 1990s before leaving Bancroft in 2000 to serve as director of development at St. Mark's School.

Executive Treasurer, Finance Chair

Dr. Sheena Sharma ’89 P ’24 ’26 ’29

Sheena graduated from Wellesley College in 1993 and from Boston University School of Medicine in 2001. She completed her Internal Medicine training at Boston University and the University of California, San Francisco in 2004, and went on to complete an Echocardiography Fellowship at UCSF. Sheena returned to Worcester and completed a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts. She then fulfilled a lifelong dream and joined her father at InterMed Associates in Webster, MA. Sheena is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Echocardiography, and Cardiovascular Medicine and enjoys practicing all aspects of outpatient cardiology, with a special focus on Preventative Cardiology, and Echocardiography, and remains an active affiliate of St Vincent and UMASS Hospitals. Sheena's husband, Joe Cotten, is a research anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and they reside in Northborough with their three boys. In her free time, Sheena enjoys playing tennis and cheering her boys on at their matches. 

Executive Vice President, Finance, Board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair

Katy K. Sullivan P ’19 ‘21

Katy has been active in the Bancroft community for the past fifteen years. Currently serving as Board President, she has held many roles including trustee, BluePrint125 Strategic Planning Team Chair, Advancement Committee Chair, Out in Front capital campaign advisory committee member, Bancroft Fund Chair, Room Parent, and substitute art teacher. Katy is the Marketing and Studio Manager for STIMSON, a nationally recognized landscape architecture firm specializing in the design of school campuses, museums, parks, and gardens. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and recently completed a master’s degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University. With a particular interest in financial sustainability, equity, and education, her research focused on how museums can create programs that build sustainability by engaging more diverse audiences. She volunteers with a number of Worcester organizations, including the Worcester Art Museum where she contributes as a Docent, Corporator, and Collections Advisory Committee member. She also serves as a Trustee Associate at the Nativity School and a Board member at the Worcester Club. Katy was the Executive Director of Worcester Local First, a non- profit network of local independent businesses, and General Manager of Worcester radio stations WSRS and WTAG. She lives in Princeton with her husband Peter.

Board President

Josephine (Herron) Truesdell ’72 P ’02

A native of Worcester, after attending Bancroft’s Upper School Jo graduated from Middlebury College, then came back to Bancroft with the intention of staying for one year. Forty-one years later, having taught Kindergarten throughout that time and having been an admission associate for most of that time, she retired from Bancroft, after which she and her husband embarked upon new careers when they opened TidePool Bookshop in Worcester in 2020. As it turns out, one can raise, tag, and release Monarch butterflies in bookstores, just as one can in Kindergarten! Jo currently sits on the board of the Worcester Historical Museum and is a trustee of Rural Cemetery. She was a volunteer at Worcester Children’s Friend Society’s Carriage House for many years and worked with the Reading Together Program through the Worcester Education Collaborative and with the Worcester Family Partnership after leaving Bancroft until she and Huck opened the bookstore. When TidePool opened she also needed to stop working with Bancroft’s Worcester Partnership, a program she was fortunate to have been a part of each summer from the day it began.   

Alumni Council President, Board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Advancement Task Force

Karen Walton Bowen P'25 - PFA President

Karen grew up in England and attended Southbank University in London where she earned her BSc. Honors in Mathematics and Computing.  She went on to earn an MSc., the following year in Medical Statistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  Karen has worked for over 35 years in Biostatistics and Clinical Research in the Pharmaceutical Industry with a focus on Neuroscience.  She has expertise in biostatistics, clinical operations, and medical writing.  She maintains Chartered Statistician status through the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and is also an active member of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the Drug Information Association (DIA), the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and the Society for Clinical Data Management (SCDM). Karen works for Clinical Research Associates (CRA) which is affiliated with the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) of the Simons Foundation.  Karen lives in Shrewsbury with her daughter Darcy, a recent Middle School Graduate from the Hope Graham Program, who has been at Bancroft since 1st Grade.  

PFA President

Elizabeth Wambui

Elizabeth Wambui is the Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Impact at Fontaine Brothers, Inc. Prior to joining Fontaine, she served as the Director of Advancement at Nativity School of Worcester. Elizabeth is passionate about engaging with the community. She currently serves as a Board Member at Bancroft School, Shine Initiative, Women in Development of Central Massachusetts, Worcester Historical Museum, and YWCA. Elizabeth is also a Mechanics Hall Modern Mechanics Guild Member, Worcester Art Museum Corporator and she has served as a Greater Worcester Community Foundation Early Childhood Committee member and scholarship community reviewer. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross. She was part of the Leadership Worcester Class of 2016-2017 and she has been recognized in the Worcester Business Journal’s 40 under 40.

BluePrint125 Oversight Chair, Board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, MVV Task Force

Bill Zujewski P ’16 ’18 ‘21

Bill Zujewski is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of the Green Business Bureau and is responsible for building the company’s brand and promoting the value of being a certified green business. He is passionate about helping businesses become more sustainable and socially responsible. Bill and his wife Sue reside in Grafton, MA, and have 4 children. Matthew and Jonathan both graduated from Bancroft and both currently attend UConn. CJ is currently a Junior at Bancroft and captain of the basketball and baseball teams. Their daughter Annie attended Notre Dame Academy of Worcester and UConn and is a marketing manager for Truly at the Boston Beer Company. Bill has over 30 years of global marketing experience in the high tech and software industry and has led marketing organizations at 4 hyper-growth companies with 4 successful exits. He was CMO of Tulip Software from 2016-2019 and helped the startup raise $40 Million from Kleiner Perkins. He was CMO for 5 years at a software company called Axeda which was acquired by PTC in 2015. Before that, Bill held executive leadership positions at ATG (acquired by Oracle), eDocs (acquired by Oracle), BroadVision and Informix (acquired by IBM). Bill holds a B.S. in Computer Science from UConn and an MBA from Boston College.

Goverance, MVV Task Force