About

Board of Trustees

Holding Newark Academy “In Trust”

As an independent, private school, Newark Academy is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees as required by local, state and federal regulations pertaining to nonprofit educational organizations. The Board of Trustees is made up of a group of non-paid volunteers, including alumni, parents – both current and former, and community leaders, who bring diverse experiences, skills and expertise to bear to guide the school. Volunteer leaders who take on the role of an NA Trustee hold Newark Academy, its mission and its future “in trust” for future generations by guiding the school’s strategic vision, stewarding its reputation and ensuring that NA is fiscally strong.

Executive Committee

List of 9 items.

Samuel W. (Sam) Croll III ’68

Chair
Alumnus
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Sam is married to Ann Garner Croll. They live in Greenwich, CT. Sam has been a member of the Board since 2012. He is the CEO of Ocean Engineering, a company he founded in 2013. Sam graduated from Skidmore College and received a master's degree in theology from Yale University in 1975. He is Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Yale Divinity School and serves on the Advisory Council of the Hastings Center Bioethics Research Institute. He is Trustee Emeritus at Skidmore College and serves on the Board of Directors of Mazda Ltd., Ahmedabad, India.
Lawrence G. (Larry) Cetrulo ’67

Secretary of the Board
Alumnus
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Larry and his wife, Lynn, reside in Cambridge, Mass and are the parents of four adult children. Larry is a founding partner of the Boston law firm Cetrulo & Capone LLP. A three-sport athlete at NA (fencing, football and baseball), Larry is a member of the Newark Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. He also received Newark Academy’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2017 in recognition of his success in the field of law. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, Larry earned a graduate degree in education (Harvard) and the J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. Larry joined the Board of Trustees in 2012. He is the Board of Trustees' Chair of the Advancement Committee and serves on the Headship Committee and Trusteeship Committee. In addition to his service to NA, Larry is a Corporator at Northeastern University, a member of the Board of Harvard Varsity Club, a member of the Board of Advisors for the New England Center for Children and a Corporator for The Cambridge Homes.
Marika Alzadon ’89

Alumna, Current Parent
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Marika and her husband, Sam Cole, have three children – Benjamin ’21 , Ava ’22 and Jacob ’25. Marika graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in English. She also earned an MFA from Columbia University. Marika is a supporter of education reform initiatives in New Jersey and New York, including Success Academies. Marika currently serves as the Board of Trustees' Chair of the Trusteeship Committee and Chair of the Headship Committee. She is also a member of the Security Task Force.
Donald M. (Don) Austin

Head of School
Alumni Parent
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Don and his wife, Kiki, have three sons that graduated from NA – Ben ’12, Charlie ’15 and George ’15. Don was appointed Head of School in 2007. While NA’s Head of School, Don also served as President of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools from 2012-2014 and was elected a member of the national Country Day Schools Headmasters' Association in 2014. Don currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at New Jersey SEEDS. Prior to joining NA, Don served as Resident Director of the School Year Abroad in Rennes, France. From 1985 to 2000, Don held teaching and administrative posts at the Collegiate School in New York. Don holds an undergraduate degree in English and French from Georgetown University, a master's degree in French Language and Civilization from New York University, and a master's of philosophy in French Studies, also from New York University.
John Bess ’69

Alumnus
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John Bess is the son of Jerome Bess, a member of NA’s Class of 1940. Prior to being elected to the Board of Trustees in 2015, John served for three years as president of the Newark Academy Alumni Board of Governors, having been a member of the BOG since 2007. As an NA Trustee, John serves as an at-large member of the Board’s Executive Committee. He is also a member of the Committee on Trusteeship. John is a graduate of Clark University (B.S.) and holds an MBA from New York University. Through his 27-year career at Proctor & Gamble, John worked in the consumer products industry, overseeing some of the most recognizable consumer brands in the world. In addition to his service to Newark Academy, John is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He also serves on a number of corporate boards.
Patricia (Pat) Budziak

Alumni Parent
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Pat and her husband, Bill Beecher, have two children who attended NA – Alex ’06 and Emma ’12. Pat began her service to Newark Academy in 2003, serving as assistant treasurer of the Newark Academy Parents Association (NAPA). She began her service to the Board in 2006-07 and served as NAPA president in 2007-08. As a Trustee, Pat serves as Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and the Constituent Relations subcommittee of the Advancement Committee. She also serves on the Finance Committee. Pat holds a bachelor’s degree from Albany State University and the MA from Columbia. In addition to her involvement with Newark Academy, Pat serves on the Board of the Urban Justice Center.
Lauren Hedvat ’01

Alumna
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Lauren serves as an at-large member of the Newark Academy Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee. She also serves on the Trusteeship Committee, the Finance Committee and the Faculty Subcommittee of the Strategic Planning Committee. She holds a Master's of Science in Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Lauren is the Head of Capital Markets at LoanSnap, a mortgage lender providing financial solutions. She has held positions at Barclay’s and at Goldman Sachs. Lauren serves also as a Board member of the Young Patrons of Lincoln Center. She is active in both her alma maters, serving as a member of Penn’s Alumni Leadership Council and the Young Alumni Committee of the Penn Club in NYC. In addition to her commitment to Newark Academy and Penn, Lauren is a founding member of the New York Chapter of 30 Years After - - a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading political awareness and philanthropic endeavors in the Persian Jewish American community. Lauren joined the NA Board of Trustees in 2012.
Wayne D. Kent '85

Alumnus, Alumni Parent
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Wayne and wife, Patti, have three girls, all of whom attended NA: Samantha ’15, Chloe ’17 and Mackenzie ’19. Wayne served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2004 through 2013. Returning to the Board in 2017, Wayne assumed his role as Chair of the Properties Committee. Prior to service as a Trustee, Wayne was a long-time member of the Alumni Board of Governors. As a BOG member, he chaired the Minuteman Invitational golf event for several years and continued to serve on the golf committee. In recognition of his service to NA, Wayne received the Fulton MacArthur Award in 2005. He is the owner of Empire Lumber Company. As an NA student, Wayne was a three-sport (soccer, basketball, lacrosse) captain and went on to attend the University of Colorado (Boulder).
Robert Marcus

Alumni Parent
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Rob and his wife, Wendy, have a son Mike '21, who graduated from NA, and two older daughters, both of whom attend the University of Texas at Austin. Joining the Board in 2017, Rob serves as Chair of the Finance Committee. From 2014 through 2016, Rob served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Cable Inc. Prior to that position, he served in a number of roles with Time Warner Cable including COO, President, Senior Executive Vice President and Acting Chief Financial Officer. Rob graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. from Brown University in 1987 and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1990. He was the Editor of the Columbia Law Review. In addition to his role on the NA Board of Trustees, Rob has been an Independent Director of Equifax Inc. since November 1, 2013 a Director of National Cable Satellite Corporation, a Director of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc., and a member of Advisory Board at Canoe Ventures, LLC.

Trustees

List of 17 items.

Rohit Bawa ’93

Alumnus
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While at Newark Academy, Ro was Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, The Minuteman as well as Polymnian, the NA yearbook. He graduated summa cum laude from NA and attended Williams College where he received his B.A. in Political Economy. He began his career on the bond trading desk of D.E. Shaw and later joined Deutsche Bank, serving as Managing Director. After a 20-year career on Wall Street, Ro founded his own private investment company, Green Lantern, focusing primarily on real estate development. Ro and his wife Vini have two two young children. Ro joins the Board of Trustees after serving for three years on the Alumni Board of Governors.
Debra Caplan

Current Parent
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Debbie and her husband, Ken, are parents to NA graduate Leo ’23 and current student Evan ’25. Debbie is a leading voice for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), she serves as a current Board Member, chairing both their Governance and Nominating committees, as well as being a trained volunteer Advocate. CASA advocates for the welfare of children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment. She is also an Executive Board Member of the National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section (NCJW), where she co-chairs the Period Project which focuses on the issue of menstrual inequity. Debbie serves as Vice President and Co-Founder of the Lisa B. Fishman Foundation, an organization that provides critical funds for Hodgkin’s lymphoma research. Debra’s older sister Lisa, passed away from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2001. Each week Debbie volunteers with Meals On Wheels delivering hot meals to homebound individuals who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meal. Her prior Board and Volunteer work include: Pencils of Promise, Sundara, EIES, The Place2Be Organization and The Knightsbridge School in London. At NA, she has served as a Parent Liaison, a Monitor for The Apostles’ House tutoring program, and a Parent Ambassador for the Annual Fund. Debbie graduated with a B.A. in Business and Psychology from the University of Michigan. She spent 10 years in the Fashion Industry as Vice President of Sales for Levi’s/Dockers Women’s Clothing and Vice President of Calvin Klein Mens’ Underwear.
David Castelblanco

Current Parent
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David Castelblanco is a Partner at Redbird Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on media, entertainment, experiential consumer and sports investing with over $6 billion in assets under management. In his current role, David focuses on Media, Entertainment and Consumer investing.

Prior to joining Redbird, David spent over 20 years with Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division where he was a Managing Director in their private equity investment business. David has invested across a number of sectors including, media, communications, entertainment, retail/consumer and healthcare. He went on to establish and run the Merchant Bank’s Latin America investment business, opening their first office in São Paulo.

During his tenure at Goldman, David worked closely with entrepreneurs and management teams to build several successful industry leading platform companies, including the Yankees Entertainment & Sports (“YES”) Network, the #1 Regional Sports Network in the United States. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oncoclinicas, one of the world’s largest private providers of cancer care.

Philanthropically, David is a Member of Stanford Law School’s Board of Visitors and Dean’s Advisory Council. He serves on the President’s Advisory Council on Economics of Brown University. David received a BA from Brown University, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Elizabeth Christou Woodall
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Liz and her husband, Steve, are proud parents of four children – Katie, James, Mary and Annie – all of whom attend or attended independent schools. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Liz began her work as a teacher in the South Bronx and East Orange before spending 28 years at Kent Place School. Liz taught seventh and ninth grade English. She started the school’s Writing Center, was the school’s first Dean of Students and then led the Upper School. She was also co-founder and co-director of the Girls’ Leadership Institute, and she helped on two major construction projects with design, moving, and improved instructional practices. With a deep understanding and respect for the school’s history and tradition, Liz pushed for more inclusive programming and teaching practices. She brought ethical and cultural competency leadership, Project Adventure, and women’s studies among other changes. Liz is currently the Head of School at Saint Dominic Academy in Jersey City. Prior to that role, she served as the founding Director of Development at Bridges Outreach, helping to bring necessities and housing equity to those experiencing homelessness locally.
David Crall

Current Parent
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David and his wife, Hilary, have three children that graduated from or currently attend NA - William ’23 and two current students, Ted ’25 and Emma ’27. David is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management (NCRAM), a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings that manages portfolios of high-yield bonds and other credit products for institutional clients around the world. He is also a member of NCRAM’s Board of Directors. Previously, he was a portfolio manager and investment analyst with NCRAM, having joined the firm after college. David received a B.A. in English from Yale University.
Ajay Dhankhar

Current Parent
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Ajay and his wife, Nidhi, have two sons, NA graduated Riann ’21 and current student Ishaan '24. Ajay serves on the Strategic Planning Committee of the NA Board. Since 1997, Ajay has served as a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company. With a background in computer science and a PhD in biochemistry, Ajay leads McKinsey's work with pharmaceutical and medical products companies on R&D. Previously, Ajay was a Teaching Fellow, Biochemistry Department at Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, a MPhil in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and a B.S. in physics and computer science from Angelo State University.
Lorraine Dias-Sotiriou

Current Parent
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Lorraine and her husband, Evan, are parents to Sebastian ’24 and Carolina ’25. Lorraine is currently the president of the Newark Academy Parents Association (NAPA). She was the NAPA vice president during the 2022-23 school year and an Upper School parent liaison in 2021-22.

Lorraine is the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Moms Helping Moms Foundation, serving also as chair of the foundation’s finance committee. Over the last nine years, she has focused on strategic planning and finance issues with the Moms Helping Moms leadership team to shepherd the foundation’s exponential growth in providing New Jersey families with the essentials they need for their children, such as diapers, clothing, car seats, toiletries and period products.

Lorraine has held various senior management positions in the financial exchange and banking industries. She spent nearly 11 years at the International Securities Exchange (ISE) in various cross-functional positions helping the company address the stages of its own monumental growth. Most recently, she headed the Corporate Services Division, which oversaw the Project Management Office, Corporate Sourcing and Vendor Management Office, and Facilities and Real Estate. While no longer an independent company, the ISE was the first Options exchange to have a fully automated (virtual) trading floor. Lorraine was also a key leader of the merger team for the Deutsche Boerse (a majority owner of the ISE) and NY Stock Exchange merger. Prior to the ISE, Lorraine also worked for Merrill Lynch, the American Stock Exchange and Price Waterhouse.

Lorraine has an M.S. in management of technology from New York University (Polytechnic University) and a B.S. in international business and management from Northeastern University.
Robert Fink

Current Parent
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Robert Fink and his wife, Rachel (Bier), have three children that graduated from or currently attend NA – Kyle ’23, Chase ’25 and Madeline (Maddie) ’27. Kyle, Chase and Maddie were the third generation of their family to attend what was formerly the Solomon Schechter Day School (now the Golda Och Academy). Rob is a Product Sales Specialist at CISCO, a leading technology conglomerate and provider of network infrastructure solutions. Prior to his career at CISCO, Rob was Global Sales Manager for West Corporation; Senior District Manager with WinMill Software; Channel Sales Manager for Convad Communications and Senior Channel Manager with XO Communications. Rob holds a B.S. degree in Marketing from the University of Maryland – College Park. Rob has been a very active NA parent – serving on the Minuteman Golf and Tennis Invitational Committee and serving as a parent volunteer for the annual Day of Giving. Rob is serving as the Chair of the Annual Fund for the NA Board of Trustees.
Karen Guy-Smith

Current Parent, Alumni Parent
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Karen and her husband, James Smith, have been NA parents since 2009 when their oldest son Jalen Smith began in ninth grade. Daughter Jada ’20 and son Josiah ’25 are also part of the NA community. Karen is the Director of Operations for J. Anderson & Associates, a firm which Karen and James founded focusing on executive leadership, executive staffing, talent management, organizational development, human resource management and diversity recruiting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Rutgers University – Douglass College and is working toward completion of an MPA from Kean University. Karen serves on the Access and Affordability Subcommittee of the Strategic Planning Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees' Trusteeship Committee.
Milwood Hobbs, Jr.

Current Parent
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Milwood Hobbs, Jr. and his wife, Kimberly, have a son, Corey, who is in Newark Academy’s Class of ’26.

Milwood is the Managing Director and Head of Oaktree’s North American Sourcing and Origination (S&O) group, which focuses on private credit sourcing and deal-origination for the firm’s U.S. Private Debt, Strategic Credit, Special Situations and Distressed Debt investment teams. Previously, he sourced and originated private debt opportunities across Oaktree’s credit strategies.

Prior to joining Oaktree in 2013, Milwood was an executive director at Natixis Securities focused on building the high yield sales and trading franchise. Prior thereto, he spent five years at Goldman Sachs as a vice president in leveraged finance origination and sales. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2007, Milwood was a director in Leveraged Finance at Deutsche Bank Securities, which he joined in 2000. Additional experience includes regional account management focused on fleet financing at GE Capital Corporation and controller for Leveraged Finance at Bank of America.

Milwood received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.S. degree in accounting from Rutgers University. Milwood is serving on the Finance Committee of the Newark Academy Board of Trustees.
Basel Kayyali

Current Parent
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Basel Kayyali is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm. Based in Summit, New Jersey, he heads the McKinsey Healthcare and Public Sector Digital and Analytics Practice globally. He has worked primarily with several large prominent high-tech and telecom clients across a wide range of topics. In addition, he serves healthcare and public sector clients on large digital and analytic transformations and has more than a decade of experience operating at the intersection of healthcare, technology and operations. Prior to McKinsey, Basel spent three and a half years at Intel Corporation, as a marketing strategist and processor architect who helped design the Pentium III processor.

Basel graduated valedictorian from Pennsylvania State University’s Schreyer Honors College with an electrical engineering degree and earned his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as a Palmer Scholar — the highest distinction bestowed to the top five percent of the graduating class.

Basel and his wife, Andrea, have two children at NA, Alexander ’27 and Madeleine ’25. In addition to serving as a non-trustee member of NA’s Strategic Planning Committee, Basel sits on the board of his undergraduate alma mater, Pennsylvania State University’s Schreyer Honors College.
Andrew Kogan ’90

Alumnus, Alumni Parent
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Andy, and his wife, Nina, are both 1997 graduates of NYU Law. They have two children who graduated from Newark Academy – Lizzie ’21 and Jason ’23. Andy has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the past 10 years and has served in that office’s Economic Crimes Unit and the Terrorism Unit. Andy attended Muhlenberg College as an undergraduate. Joining the Board in 2017, Andy serves on the Trusteeship Committee and chairs the Board’s Security Task Force.
Rebecca Moll-Freed ’94

Alumna, Current Parent, Alumni Board of Governors Representative to the Board of Trustees
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A member of the Class of 1994 and the parent of NA graduate Lauren '22 and current student Ethan '24, Rebecca has been an active and loyal alumna for many years. She joined the Board of Governors in 2015. In addition to her service on the BOG, Rebecca was instrumental in garnering support for the Newark Scholars from her firm and that of other organizations within the City of Newark. As a member of the BOG, Rebecca served as chair of the BOG’s Affinity Committee, the Programming Chair and Life of the Academy Committee Chair. Upon graduation from NA, Rebecca went to Tufts University as an undergraduate, majoring in English and Political Science. In 2001, she graduated from Georgetown University School of Law. Crediting her interest in her law career to her years on the NA Mock Trial team, Rebecca was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 2001 and to the New York Bar in 2002. In addition to her active role as an NA parent and alum, Rebecca is a partner in the law firm of K&L Gates, LLP where she focuses on government contracting, campaign-finance, non-profit, lobbying and government ethics laws. Prior to this, she was a partner at Genova Burns for 16 years where she chaired the firm’s Corporate Political Activity Practice Group and the Nonprofits, Trade Associations & Tax-Exempt Organizations Practice Groups, served on the Management and Marketing committees and worked as the co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. Rebecca has been widely recognized in the legal field, including being named by NJBIZ® in 2019 as among the Best 50 Women in Business Award. In 2016 she received the Mary Philbrook Award from the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey and in 2014 was named a Woman of Distinction by the Newark Academy Alumni Association.
Lisa Powers

Alumni Parent
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Lisa and her husband, John, have two children who graduated from NA – Jackson ’20 and Katherine ’22. Lisa has been an active member of the NA parent body since Jackson arrived at NA. Lisa's service as a NAPA volunteer culminated in her service as its President in the 2017-18 academic year. Prior to her role as a volunteer leader, Lisa earned a BA in Psychology from Vassar College and her MBA, with concentrations in marketing and finance, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Lisa’s career includes 12 years managing brands for Kraft Foods. Lisa serves as Chair of the Institutional Identity Subcommittee of the Advancement Committee.
Michael Rockoff ’87

Alumnus
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Michael is President of Universal Nutrition in New Brunswick, a family-owned company that manufactures nutritional supplements for bodybuilders and athletes. He lives in Far Hills with his wife, Chi, and three children: David, Matthew and Lily. Michael attended the University of Pennsylvania as an undergraduate and earned his MBA from Stanford University. Michael serves on the Finance Committee.
Rasheea Williams Hall '95

Alumna
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Rasheea is the Vice President, Broadcast Standards & Practices (BS&P) for Fox Broadcasting Company, where she helps protect the network against potential FCC infringements and fines by ensuring all entertainment programming is appropriate for primetime broadcast distribution. Rasheea oversees the broadcast standards process for scripted programming and manages a team of top standards executives who work on a diverse set of shows. Rasheea serves as the primary standards executive on shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” and Lee Daniels’ “Empire,” a series that garnered close to 20 million viewers at its height.

Rasheea is an active alumna of Newark Academy’s Class of 1995. She regularly attends regional events in Los Angeles where she resides, has never missed a milestone class reunion and frequently engages with the school community and fellow alums online and in person. She would like to collaborate on outreach efforts to current and prospective students from Newark, NJ.

Originally from Newark, NJ, Rasheea earned her B.S.in psychology from Wellesley College, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and her M.S. in broadcast journalism from Columbia University. She is a member of Word of Encouragement Church in downtown Los Angeles and volunteers as a baby cuddler in the NICU unit at Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center. She is married and has two daughters, Bella (11) and Rae (9). The job she is proudest of is nurturing these two dynamic spirits.
Dr. Kalenah Witcher ’87

Alumna
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Kalenah graduated from Newark Academy in 1987 and received a B.A. in Psychology and Honors in Education from Stanford University in 1991. After Stanford, she attended Teachers’ College at Columbia University and completed her Doctor of Psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She has spent her professional career as a school psychologist in and around Newark. She is also a founding Board Member of Newark G.A.L.S, Inc., (Girls Acquiring Life Skills), an organization that aims to develop powerful, successful and productive young women from Newark and surrounding urban communities by guiding them with leadership, advisement, social skills, educational planning, and mentoring. Kalenah also serves as Vice Chair of the Central Planning Board of the City of Newark, is a member of the Newark Public Library President’s Coterie, volunteers with the Irvington NAACP and is an advisor to local Muslim Students’ Association chapters. As a student at NA, Kalenah participated in the Black Awareness Club, enjoyed history and English classes, played clarinet and softball, and gained notoriety for her infamous “Kiwi poem”. Kalenah credits NA’s rich curriculum for early introduction to deep study of American and global history and culture. Her siblings, Kanileah and Kaleem, and her cousin, Amoni, are all NA alums. She has two children, Aliyyah Connie Torres (24) and Idris Bilal Wheeler (11).