Board of Trustees

List of 9 items.

• Justin Shay - Chair (2019–2025)

  Committees:
  Executive, Finance, Investment, Facilities, Governance, Advancement, DEIB
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Former parent of 3 early childhood students
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Justin is a commercial real estate broker and provides expertise in he area of finance, an understanding of facilities, and marketing and business development.
  
  

  Education:
  Associates degree: Graphic Design
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  My wife is a Barnesville Alumni and attended from Pre-k to 8th grade. Her family have been long-time supporters of Barnesville School for decades and when our children started in the early childhood program I felt it was my turn to give back.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  As a parent, my moment of joy was seeing the excitement from my son when talking about Bee School with Ms. Gekas and telling his younger sister all about what she would get to do next year when she was in EC-4. As a board member, my moment of joy was a simple conversation with an alumni student who was now in college. I was inspired by the kind words and appreciation this student shared about their time at Barnesville School and how pivotal that time was to making them the person they are today.

• Dale Glass - First Chair (2022–2025)

  Committees:
  Executive, Advancement (Chair), Governance, DEIB
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Supporter of school’s mission

   

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  A retired biomedical engineer and science teacher, Dale is a passionate advocate for science and environmental education. She volunteers with Girl Scouts, NOAA’s Planet Stewards, and the Goethe Institute’s Transatlantic Outreach Program.

   

  Education:
  Master’s degree: Science Education, Master’s degree: Applied Mathematics, Bachelor of Science degree: Biomedical Engineering

   

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  Supporting the school’s mission and learning more about school leadership.

   

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  Seeing the enthusiastic smiles on the faces of students during last year’s Green Week as they hammered flowers onto cloth to make botanical imprints.

• Tatyana Riley - Treasurer (2020–2026)

  Committees:
  Executive, Finance (Chair), Investment (Chair), Facilities
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Current parent of 3 children at Barnesville
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Tatyana has been a Financial Advisor with RBC Wealth Management for the last 7 years. Prior to working in Wealth Management, Tatyana had an extensive 15-year career in finance, technology, and project management.
  
  

  Education:
  Georgetown University: MBA, University of Maryland: BS in Finance and Information Systems
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  Serving on the Board of Trustees allows me to give back in a meaningful way and feel involved while supporting the school's mission and helping to ensure its success. My background in finance and investment management helps me to support the school's long-term financial health and sustainability.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  The Barnesville community is truly something special. When our family experienced a recent tragedy, Barnesville was the best place for our kids to be. The community rallied around our kids and our whole family. We will forever be grateful to Barnesville for helping our kids and our family through a tough time.
  
  

  Share something that makes Barnesville unique/special or an achievement of the school or your child.:
  My kids love Barnesville School so much that when we mention moving to other areas, they want to hear nothing of it because they say they will never leave Barnesville School.

• Gary Williams - Secretary (2020-2026)

  Committees:
  Executive, Audit (Chair)
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Current guardian of 1 student at Barnesville
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Director of Manufacturing for a multinational communications company.
  
  

  Education:
  Bachelor’s degree: Business Administration
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  Wanted to get more involved with the Barnesville community
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  Before attending Barnesville, my granddaughter did not like going to school. The first time my granddaughter went to class at Barnesville, she couldn’t stop smiling.
  
  

  Share something that makes Barnesville unique/special or an achievement of the school or your child.:
  Barnesville has opened up opportunities for my granddaughter to nudge her outside her comfort zone.

• Susanne Johnson - Head of School (2015–Present) non-voting

  Committees:
  Executive, Finance, Investment, Facilities, Governance, Advancement, DEIB
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Head of School; Alumni Parent :)
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Susanne is the Head of School and has been in the Barnesville School community since 2000, previously serving on the Board of Trustees from 2002-2008. Prior to being in the field of education, Susanne was an Executive in the Health Care industry.
  
  

  Education:
  Master's degree: Business Administration (MBA); Bachelor of Art, Earth Science
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  Passionate about the mission of JOY, SUPPORT, & EXCELLENCE impacting the lives of our students.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  The privilege of my role at the school is that I experience moments of joy each & every day! But the resounding moment of joy centers around the grounding foundation that my daughter received through her Barnesville education.
  
  

  Share something that makes Barnesville unique/special or an achievement of the school or your child.:
  The passionate and dedicated teachers committed to the next generation of empathic and critical thinkers preparing them to navigate in an increasingly complex and diverse world.

• Colin Berry - Trustee (2025–2027)

  Committees:
  Advancement
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Current parent of child at Barnesville
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Colin is the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Washington County in Hagerstown, Maryland. Prior to her 5 years in this role, she served as the shelter’s Development Director.
  
  

  Education:
  Masters of Science in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; Bachelor of Arts in English and Anthropology from Guilford College
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  Interested in ensuring that BSAS continues offering regular hands-on learning opportunities to students
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  Watching my child perform on stage
  
  

  Share something that makes Barnesville unique/special or an achievement of the school or your child.:
  Small class size

• Catie Trombley Garcia - Trustee (2025–2027)

  Committees:
  DEIB, Audit
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Current parent of child at Barnesville
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Catie works in Global Benefits and HR strategies for corporate and non profits. She is also a student of Early Childhood Education and aspires to be in the classroom one day.
  
  

  Education:
  Bachelors International Studies
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  There is truly something so special about Barnesville. I have been inspired by the unique and wholesome character of the school to support the strategic aspects that will keep it thriving for future generations. As a student of Education, I am inspired by the quality of teachers and instruction and am honored to be of service to the community.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  Joy is abundant at Barnesville. Daily moments of joy occur when I open my child's backpack and see the creativity that bursts out which I know has been encouraged by her teachers and curriculum.

• Jodi Kern - Trustee (2025–2027)

  Committees:
  Governance
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Current grandparent of children at Barnesville
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Served for 11 years (1996-2007) as the Executive Director for a 650 family synagogue in Potomac, MD
  
  

  Education:
  B.A. in Urban Management, University of Maryland
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  I am deeply appreciative of the phenomenal education my grandchildren have received while at Barnesville, as well as the school’s mission of joyful learning, which is practiced on a daily basis. Serving on the Board is a way for me to give back to the school that has given so much to my precious grandchildren.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  Prior to attending Barnesville, my grandson, Johnny, was a very shy, insecure, withdrawn child who had very few friends (his sister was always the complete opposite so I never worried about her in the same way). Although he started at Barnesville in the fall of 2020, he didn’t really begin to feel a sense of belonging in the school until classes resumed in the spring of 2021. Pretty quickly he began to morph into a young man who was gradually developing confidence and a sense of self-worth. The first time we noticed how transformational Barnesville was for Johnny was when he performed a solo at a Veteran’s Day concert (outdoors, since activity in the school was still limited due to Covid). While he was clearly nervous, as this was his first time ever performing before an audience, the applause and cheers he received from his fellow classmates and the other children in the school became a defining moment for him. It was from that point forward that we witnessed our incredible Johnny 2.0, who now looked forward to going to school and was able to find a way to keep up his grades while getting more and more involved in sports and other extra curricular activities offered by the school. As a grandparent, I have to say that was just my first of many joyful moments connected to Barnesville.
  
  

  Share something that makes Barnesville unique/special or an achievement of the school or your child.:
  Barnesville has the unique ability to make EVERY child feel special and valued. Additionally, the phenomenal teaching staff has a way of making learning fun. Our grandkids have always looked forward to going to school and have always felt absolute love and acceptance by their peers and staff at the school.

• Tom Stevens - Trustee (2020–2026)

  Committees:
  Governance (Chair), DEIB
  
  Connection to Barnesville:
  Trustee
  
  

  Day Job and/or relevant experience for board:
  Retired
  
  

  Education:
  Master's degree + 60 credits: Developmental Psychology, Bachelor's degree: History and Psychology
  
  

  Interest/reason for serving on the board:
  I worked in independent school for 47 years as a teacher, coach and administrator, 30 years as Head of School. I have also served on numerous committees of state-level independent school associations.
  
  

  Moment of Joy connected to Barnesville:
  The faces of the teachers and administrators as parents shared their joy!