By Kelly Mulcahy Dolan, Member, PR Committee, The Bronxville School Foundation

Oct. 17, 2018: The Bronxville School Foundation kicks off its 28th year with six new board members as well as a new slate of officers for the upcoming year. Over the years, the nonprofit organization has given more than $9.6 million in grants to The Bronxville School to enhance the quality of education by funding new curriculum, technology, faculty training, facilities projects, and special materials and equipment.

Following are biographies of the new board members.

Robert Crystal is a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he has worked in the investment management division for the last twelve years. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Rob worked at Brant Point Capital and Schroders. He received a BA from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Rob and his wife, Courtney, have lived in Bronxville since 2007 and have three children attending The Bronxville School.

Michael Finley (ex officio member, trustee, school board liaison), a Bronxville resident since 2004, has had an extensive career in private equity, first at Lehman Brothers and then, for the past 23 years, at two private equity firms that managed multi-billion dollar funds. Over the course of the last 20 years, Michael has been a member of multiple private and public company boards, interacting with all levels and types of management teams. Michael holds an MBA and is a certified public accountant. He attended Union College and St. Thomas University in his native Minnesota, where he majored in business and economics. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Michael and his wife, Denise, are raising two girls, one who attended The Bronxville School and graduated in 2017 and is a college sophomore and one who is in ninth grade at The Bronxville School.

Christopher Krieg graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BS in business. He is a partner at Exane BNP Paribas, where he is head of US sales and trading. Prior to joining Exane, Chris was a managing director at Deutsche Bank in the global markets division in both New York and London, and he also previously worked at Citigroup and JP Morgan. He serves on the board of The Community Fund, where he helps oversee the agency evaluations and annual fundraising programs. In addition, he is also active in the University of South Carolina’s recruitment and mentorship initiatives. His wife, Katie, was born and raised in Bronxville and graduated from the school in 1991. He has three children, with two attending The Bronxville School.

Jennifer Lescott is the managing director of strategy and operations at The One Love Foundation, overseeing the strategic direction of the organization as well as operating functions including finance and human resources. Prior to One Love, Jennifer had over a decade of experience in finance, strategy, and operations at companies including Morgan Stanley, Disney, and Insight Communications. Jennifer has been an active volunteer in Bronxville for many years, serving on the elementary school council, as a church school teacher at The Reformed Church of Bronxville, and on the boards of RCNS and The Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester & Tuckahoe. She received a BA with distinction from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Jennifer and her husband, Beau, are raising four children who are attending the Bronxville Elementary and Middle Schools.

Lansing L. Martinelli has lived in Bronxville for over eleven years. She spent thirteen years as a publicist in the fashion industry in New York City, most recently as the director of public relations for Vera Wang. Prior to that, she was the director of men’s publicity for Ralph Lauren and senior director of publicity for Anne Klein. Lansing grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and received her BA in English and art history from Dickinson College. Lansing has been active in the Bronxville community since her move in 2007. She has held the position of fundraising chair at the Reformed Church Nursery School and class parent and elementary and middle school grade chair at The Bronxville School, and she sits on the board of Bronxville Youth Lacrosse Association as well as being a member the Racquets Committee at Siwanoy Country Club. Lansing and her husband, Chris, have four children attending The Bronxville School

David Outcalt is a partner of Lexington Partners, a global alternative investment manager primarily involved in providing liquidity solutions to owners of alternative investments and co-investing alongside leading private equity sponsors. Prior to joining Lexington in 1994, David was an associate at Landmark Partners, and prior to that, he was an analyst in investment banking at Bear Stearns. He graduated from Williams College with a BA and from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA. David currently serves on the board of trustees of University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio, on the New York Regional Leadership Council of the One Love Foundation, on the New York Advisory Board of Enterprise Community Partners, and on the Board of Governors of Siwanoy Country Club. David and his wife, Katharine, have lived in Bronxville since 2008 and have three daughters attending The Bronxville School.

Ian Putnam is the president, real estate and chief corporate development officer of Hudson’s Bay Company and is chief operating officer of HBC’s joint ventures: HBS Global Properties and the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture. In this role, Ian is responsible for all aspects of corporate activities that have strategic significance to the company and leads the real estate team. Prior to Hudson's Bay, Ian was a partner at the Canadian law firm of Stikeman Elliott LLP based in Toronto. Ian also practiced corporate law for five years at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York. He holds a bachelor of arts (Honors) degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, a master of science degree from London School of Economics and Political Science, and a law degree from the University of New Brunswick. Ian is the secretary of the Bronxville Youth Lacrosse Association and is active in other community organizations. Ian and his wife, Betsy, have three sons attending The Bronxville School.

Suzette Sands (ex officio member, president-elect PTA) holds a BS in economics from Babson College. She worked for Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan as a managing director of corporate bond syndicate for 18 years. Suzette has been a committed volunteer to The Bronxville School, serving as elementary and high school council chairs. She is serving on the board of The Bronxville School Foundation in her capacity as president-elect of the PTA. In the past, she has chaired Jansen Hospice and Palliative Care and was education chair at the Reformed Nursery School. Suzette and her husband, Michael, have three children in The Bronxville School and have resided in Bronxville for 21 years.

"We are thrilled to welcome our new board members to the foundation. They bring an exceptionally broad array of talent, experience, and commitment to our board. We look forward to working with them,” said newly elected chairperson Romy Coquillette. Formerly vice president of the grants committee, Romy has been elected chairman of the board, replacing outgoing Chairman Jennifer Thomas. Romy joined the Foundation board in 2014. In addition to her work on grants, she also served on the nominating, public relations, and development committees.

The other directors and officers for 2018-19 are Priscilla Newman, VP development; Eileen Casey Marshall, VP grants; Eddie Sulimirski, VP grants; Jane Goodell, VP alumni; Joseph Hutchins, VP public relations; Kelly M. Dolan, VP nominating; Vincent McBride, VP finance; Robert O’Hare Jr., VP legal; Timothy McGrath, secretary; Peggy Benziger Williams, executive director. Returning board members are Lori Beecher, Matt Burnell, Brian Bodell, Kristen Evans, Won Giuriceo, John Kelty, Nancy Yu Kochansky, Erin Krestinski, Nancy Marshall, and Tom Welling. Additional ex officio members include the superintendent of the Bronxville schools, Roy R. Montesano.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about The Bronxville School Foundation, please contact Peggy Williams, executive director, at 395-0515 or any of the board members or visit www.BronxvilleSchoolFoundation.org.

Pictured here (L to R): Ian Putnam, David Outcalt, Lansing Martinelli, Robert Crystal, Jennifer Lescott, and Christopher Krieg (not shown here: Roy R. Montesano, superintendent of the Bronxville schools, PTA vice president-elect Suzette Sands, and school board liaison, Michael Finley).

Photo courtesy Kelly Mulcahy Dolan, Member, PR Committee, The Bronxville School Foundation

Editor's note: As a public service, MyhometownBronxville publishes articles from local institutions, officeholders, and individuals. MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements therein, and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff.